Angel Monarch

Chapter 175: Approaching the Dardanelles

They moved swiftly through the empty plains. There were a few forested areas, but most of the terrain were made up of hills with low amount of vegetation.

The Sun had nearly set by the time they made camp. It was near a strait called the Dardanelles, which they had to pass to continue the last part of their long journey.

The strait wasn't anything special, but David told them that it was the home of some horror which only came out at night, so they had to wait until daytime to cross.

Sera and David both let the setting up of the camp to the others. While waiting they both left the group and walked towards the edge of a cliff which stood above the Dardanelles.

The strait was small, a bit more than two kilometers wide. They could easily see the other side from here.

There was nothing really noteworthy to see, but they still made sure to look at everything that has a chance of causing trouble.

For the next ten minutes they just stood there silently, the early night breeze blew against Sera's long golden hair. David stared at it for a moment too long and Sera didn't miss the chance to make an obvious joke.

"What? Imagining what it's like to have hair... Must be sad living so baldly..." David just looked at her with a raised eyebrow which caused Sera to second guess her joking capabilities, but soon came the deep rumbling laughter came out of him.

Sera breathed a sigh of relief. She had started to think her acting had become worse.

It wasn't easy to pretend to have emotions all the time. Making jokes that you know are supposed to be funny, but you just simply can't feel joy... It was exhausting...

David must've noticed her less than happy demeanor. His laughter abruptly stopped and with a kind expression he placed one hand over Sera's shoulder. Without giving it much thought she leaned into him and accepted his silent support.

It was strange. After losing her memory she always felt like there was nobody supporting her. She felt alone most of the time.

Only now did she start to realize that just because she didn't feel it, there were still people helping her along the way. Keeping her from the endless chasm of despair that she could fall down in any moment, on any day.

Melinda with her childish, way too friendly, almost family like behavior. David here with his strong stoicism... Then there was Bran...

He was different from the other two. He never tried to get close to her and only did when she got a few sweet moments of lucidity. It was like he didn't want to be with the emotionless Sera, but the fun and amazing full of life Sera...

She fully understood him. If she could choose, she would be that Sera too, but life didn't let you pick what will happen.

Her only hope was that maybe after all of this is over and if they both survive the upcoming hardships... If she gets her soul repaired... Maybe they can try to get together...

The thought kept her going even more. She would traverse this darkness that her current life had fallen into. At this point she could see a small light flickering at the end of the tunnel. The question was... Will she be able to hold out for that long...

...

While Sera and David were away, the others at the already lit campfires began talking.

Most of the Ouroboros Cohort kept to themselves, but a few of them tried to mingle with Percy and Kathy. Hector just walked away from the camp with an angry expression.

'He is probably still mad at me for nearly killing him... or maybe he is just jealous at David... I hope he stumbles and breaks his neck.' Thought Kathy while talking to a man named Conrad.

He was one of the shield-bearers in the cohort's formation. He seemed to be a nice and kind person, but definitely a bit simple-minded. He was also very enthusiastic about warfare.

"...But enough about me. What is your favorite type of attack, or do you prefer to defend against a larger force?" Kathy tried really hard not to laugh into the strange individuals face.

He seemed so genuine, but at the same time kind of slow in the head. She had been holding his hand and sending signals to make a move for the past ten minutes, but instead he just explained different kinds of strategies for many battle scenarios.

Still she enjoyed this peaceful conversation. It also helped take her mind of that annoying voice inside her mind.

"I don't particularly like either. I'm great at infiltration though, because of my shapeshifting ability!" Conrad nodded along thoughtfully, not paying any heed of the small squeeze Kathy had done.

"That's indeed a perfect use of your ability, but I've seen you transform. You can change shape into anything either smaller or larger than your human body, why constrict yourself in battles?" Suddenly Kathy's eyes widened a bit. This topic was actually really interesting and she wanted to hear more of his opinion.

Since evolving she had tried many different forms in battles, but she always kept it simple. Something large and terrifying, but not necessary the best for the scenario.

"What do you mean exactly?" She asked curiously. Conrad seemed thoughtful for a moment, than eventually he found the right words to use.

"In the last battle you used some large wolf-like creature. You could've turned into something not as large, but faster. Also, you should definitely use different kinds of weapons and not restrict yourself with only beast forms. You could even have four arms with sword's in each and multiple legs for faster movement. Or maybe..."

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He proceeded to name about half a dozen different forms for her to use in a fight, but Kathy's mind was already on something else.

While Conrad was still talking she raised her right hand, which wasn't holding onto his hand. The fingers on said hand started to change, becoming sharper and longer, like claws or talons.

Next their material started to transform, turning into something resembling steel, but much tougher. When she was finally ready, Conrad was still talking about how versatile her ability was, but seeing her clawed hand he looked at it with amazement.

"What do you think? Can this be considered a weapon?" With one finger Conrad touched the sharp edge of her claw, he left it with a few blood droplets on the blade. It took him a few minutes to calm his turbulent emotions.

He was breathing heavily, his eyes glazed over as he looked Kathy up and down seemingly for the first time since the start of their conversation.

"You... You can turn into a weapon... That's so hot!" Before Kathy could even react, Conrad leaned in and kissed her.

This was probably the weirdest way she had managed to turn a man on, but she went along with it.

Soon both of them left the camp leaving Percy and a woman from the cohort laughing hysterically. They had listened to their whole conversation attentively, not wanting to miss a single word.

"Is that guy always like this?" Asked Percy between laughs. The woman next to him was beautiful, way out of his league and she made it clear that she won't going to have sex with him.

"Conrad?... Kind of. His great in a fight and an amazing addition to the cohort, but he's a bit dull as you have seen. His emotional intelligence is also quite awful, and his true love is only for weapons and warfare tactics..." Suddenly the woman – who's name was Morren – turned silent for a moment before bursting out in an even larger bout of laughter.

Percy looked at her curiously, not understanding the origin of her glee. Morren seemed to notice it as well and between laughs she explained.

"Don't you understand... He got Fucking turned on by her hand changing into a weapon!... That idiot will have sex with her, while her hand is like that..." Hearing this Percy began laughing too, but he still poured more oil on the fire.

"But Kathy can change anything about herself... Will he ask her to change her other hand as well, or maybe her whole arm will turn into a sword... Maybe he will ask her to change her whole body into metal!" At this point both were rolling on the ground from laughing so hard.

"Stop!... Stop... I will piss myself, if I laugh more!" Said Morren while continuing her chuckling.

It took them close to five minutes to finally calm down enough to continue their conversation.

"So... Did you perhaps change you mind about..." Before he could say more Morren cut him off.

"Fuck no!... I know about your wives and your unfaithful tendencies. Sadly for you I don't fuck for pleasure, only for emotion and what I'm feeling towards you is definitely not love. It's more like a bit of disgust mixed with boredom."

Percy ignored everything she said and throughout the night he would ask her about a dozen more times.

He was about to say something witty, when a giant shriek shook the whole area where they had been camping. All of them turned and looked towards the Dardanelles where the scream originated from.

Back on the cliff Sera and David watched with deep curiosity as the monster of the strait emerged from the depths of water.