Evil

Caw!

Without hesitation, I threw the orb into my mouth and crunched down on it. It wasn't as bitter as the titan's blood but still disagreeable nonetheless.

A warm feeling surged within me as I let out a burp.

Congratulations on passing the second level Artemis. From hereon out, you will have your very own Inquirer. It will answer any questions you have and, with some time, will have more uses. As for me, I'll be going over to Arakan to give him a little push. Unlike you, he needs my help. So, keep working hard and destroy the righteous faction completely, alright?

"Wait you—" I shouted but there was no reply. He had disappeared.

[Hello. I am the Inquirer. I am a magical construct designed to provide relevant information.]

"Where's that bastard gone to?"

[The creator is currently helping out Arakan Akino. I am here in his stead to answer any burning questions.]

"Adamant tempering. What is it?" I asked without hesitation, still curious as to how it worked.

[Adamant tempering is the method of forging which has a prerequisite of the bloodline of colossi to use. When forging an item, the blacksmith using adamant tempering will face off against the inner spirit of a metal. If they are able to subdue it, the metal will come out eight to ten times as better than a normal product.]

"But I don't even know how to smith..."

[Please work hard, Artemis.]

Somehow, this Inquirer was more annoying than the guy that had made it.

Looking down at my arms, I found the new addition of a silver harpe appearing along the length of my right shoulder to the elbow, just below that mark of the strange word Tarkyol had planted on me. It was basically a sword with a sickle like protrusion at the end, much like the one Perseus used in Greek mythos. Below area the harpe imprint was, along my forearm, a blueish-white thunderbolt imprint stood. On my left arm, the tattoo of Frigus, Tundra Stalker appeared next to the rest of the tattoos.

"Is everything okay?" Lucius had paused his shovelling of food into his stomach to ask.

"Yeah, c'mon, let's eat or the meat'll get cold!"

"Mm!"

"Here, eat more vegetables. Not just meat." I put a bunch of lettuce into his bowl, a flash of resentment entering his eyes,"But I don't like vegetables."

"You still need to eat some."

"Why?" He whined, giving me puppy dog eyes. His eyes full of pleading gave my heart a critical hit.

"F-Fine! Just this once. But you'll have to eat more next time, alright?" I caved in almost immediately. He nodded happily before giving me the lettuce I'd put into his bowl cheering that I was the best.

Though I rolled my eyes, I couldn't resist smiling a little as we ate,"So, where do you wanna go?" I asked Lucius.

"Wherever you want to go, Artemis, I will follow."

"Well I suppose we deserve a break seeing as we've done quite a bit in these past few days," I pondered out loud as I took out the map trinket from before.

"Ooh."

"We can hold off on going anywhere for a bit. What about Shellsby Harbour? I think this is one of the places Orthello recommended me. They have rather delicious fish cuisine from what I hear. The soft meat drizzled in a bit of honey ginger and dipped in soya sauce, glistening raw salmon served ice cold...Their sweet and sour snapper is divine but I suppose Blackharp is nearer to u—" As I muttered to myself, I heard a bang. My head snapped up to see Lucius staring at me with wide eyes,"Lucy?"

"Artemis!"

"Y-Yeah?"

"Let's go to Shellsby Harbour!"

"What? Why would you want to go the Shellsb—" My mouth formed an 'O' shape as I realised it. I'd been describing the food there, something this glutton of a titan loved.  With a helpless smile, I gave in,"Okay then. Shellsby harbour it is."

"Yes!" He exclaimed, joy evident in his eyes. Such an oaf who wore his heart on his sleeve and spoke with child-like honesty, his joy was infectious, a smile tugging at my lips.

Dawn.

I woke up in Lucius' arms. The oaf was fast asleep and I didn't want to wake him up so I kept still.

We were lying in a makeshift hammock, chatting the night away under stars till our eyes were droopy and our breaths shallow. I found myself growing closer to him by the day, an unspoken bond between us forming slowly but surely.

I decided to spend this small amount of time afforded to myself to practice a little.

A small droplet of water formed before me. Then ten. Then a hundred. I tried to get them to move in different directions but my control fell apart, the droplets pattering silently onto the grass. As I practiced, I listened to a bit of music.

An hour or so later, the slumbering giant finally woke up,"Ngh...Mm...Artemis?" His gruff voice calling out.

"Morning sleepyhead. You were tuckered out, weren't you?" I greeted, absentmindedly tracing lines on his arms.

"Holding you, of course I could sleep so well." He growled lowly in my ear, sniffing my hair.

I blushed crimson red from his praise,"D-Don't just say that out of nowhere i-idiot!" I wanted to struggle out of his arms but he only tightened them.

"Why not? I only speak the truth." His whisper made me frisson in a confusing mix of embarrassment and delight, my mind unexpectedly relishing in his words, the scent of his musk filling my head.

"I want to hold you like this forever and ever. I want to see Artemis blushing like this. I also like it when Artemis smiles. It makes me very happy."

I turned around to face him, hands pressed against his chest,"I-It does?" I didn't think anything I did could make anyone feel a modicum of content, let alone happiness.

But smiling and blushing like a damsel in distress wasn't exactly my 'thing' per say. Quite the contrary, actually. Ever since the 'edgy gothic teenager' phase I went through, gone were black coloured everything, self-harming, shitty poetry and complaining that everything was horrible and that life sucked ass.

What did stick with me was the 'never falling in love' thing and not usually smiling unless it was killing. I had long abandoned the idea of wanting to make things right and just decided to do whatever the hell my heart desired.

But now, this oaf had come along like a spanner thrown into the works,"It makes me very happy." Lucius nodded seriously, reaffirming his words.

Our faces were centimetres apart. I could feel his hot breath fanning on my face,"I suppose I could smile a bit more..." I mumbled as the distance was mere millimetres now.

"Caw!"