[Elsword] - Destination: Descendants

Chapter 21 - Love

[Add's Point of View]

...

Lunatic? I had to admit that there was a steep amount of character development there. It was almost as if my presence altered and affected Ace's personality....

Oh wait.

I was his father. Not his true parent, but it was close enough, was it not? I still had an influence on him, regardless.

"Before we get 'lunatic', Ace..." I bluntly interrupted him.

"U-Uh, yes?" he blinked.

I chuckled, retrieving his tee from the ground before hurling it at him. "Put your shirt on."

A blush lightly tinted his face as he threw it over his head, placing his arms through the sockets. "Oops."

"Now, that's much better."

...

Promptly, without notice, a new environment was set out in front of us. We were teleported, but where? It seemed quite similar to the lobby, but had some noticeable traits that differed. One, the room was completely empty, just like the foyer, yes, however, the walls were painted with a light orange. Two, the tiled floors were black instead of white. It appeared to suit... Ara. No, not the Sakra Devanam. The Yama Raja.

Soon after, more familiar faces popped up. Amelia, who had Ara resting on her for support to my left, and the Hamel saviour duo that consisted of Eve and Chung to my right.

Amelia and I shared eye contact for a moment, as if we were mentally communicating to each other, having the utmost desire to switch places. Tch, I wanted to be the one to aid Ara, and she probably felt the same about Ace. Whatever, the happy reunion party could commence afterwards, as much as I hated celebrations, however, I the first thing I planned to do was to embrace Ara in my arms as tightly as I could.

Our nonexistent conversation abruptly came to an end when the Ruler of Darkness revealed herself in the opposite side of the room.

She greeted us with a dainty smile and a bow. "There you guys are! I simply got tired of waiting, and so, I decided to directly summon you here instead. It is quite boring without some form of entertainment throughout the day, you know?"

Our Ara, er, no, Light Ara? Yes, let's go with that. Her eyes dilated in surprise. "Why... Why are you doing this?" she cried.

Dark Ara's grin grew wider. "Why, you ask? Shouldn't you know this better than anybody else? We're the same person, after all. It's for our love. Our never ending love for Add!"

"Bullcrap! You still haven't gotten over that?!" I grimaced.

"Quite the opposite, actually. I am perfectly fine with announcing you as the winner, fair and square, of that battle. But, a new opportunity presented itself. A chance to revive the Mastermind, at the cost of all of your souls." she simpered. "Ah, how wonderful Luto is for offering!"

Did I seriously hear her say those very words just now? There must have been a few loose screws in her head.

"Wonderful?! HELL NO! Have you forgotten already, you idiot?! That was the entity who caused the damn Mastermind's death in the first place!" I wrathfully yelled with ire.

"Hmm? What'd you say?" she smiled some more.

There were two possibilities. One, she was slightly deaf, which was unlikely. Two, Luto was definitely taking control of her. Were his powers that omnipotent to begin with? Freaking geezer, screwing things up for his personal pleasure.

"Off to the main point. You wanted a quarrel, am I correct? Are you sure that you can handle six challengers at once, given the fact that I defeated you when it was only a one versus one match?" I scoffed.

"Oh? ♥ Please don't underestimate my shadows, Esper!"

The countless brigades of shadowy silhouettes materialized, the same ones who kidnapped Ace. Hmm, interesting, however, they will not emerge victorious this time.

...

---[CHAPTER 21 - LOVE : END]---