Mana Mutation Menace (Journey to Chaos Book 3) (3 page)

There was a pause as the hostiles reflected on The Trickster's
words. They reconsidered each other and sheathed their weapons: guards put
their blades away, mages depowered spells, and Eric kicked the grendel back to
the basement of his mind.

 "The Trickster's right. We don't want to kill you,
but you must admit that you are dangerous to us."

“Yes, I am. I bet I could crush your head like...Sorry!
What I meant to say was—”

Kallen grabbed his arm and pushed him forward with a hand
to his back. It was clear that she was trying to smile through her cringe and
doing a terrible job of it.

“Let’s put some food in your mouth before you stick your
foot in it again.”

“You’re right!” Eric exclaimed. “I
can
eat my
foot!” He stuck his hand in his mouth and chewed on it. “I don’t taste good.”

“He’s still groggy from waking up. He’s not normally like
this,” Kallen said apologetically to the guards.

While hesitant, they allowed her to pass with her strange
charge. Their weapons were still at hand and the spells were still charged and
ready. Kallen smiled and nodded as she led Eric through their midst.

“I used to be pretty strange myself. Percy could tell you
all kinds of stories about the shenanigans I got into. Now I’m perfectly sane
and helpful.”

“I completely agree,” Tasio said. He was again floating
above them. “I couldn’t ask for a more pious devotee.”

“You’re not helping!”

Inside the cafeteria, Kallen showed Eric the food line.
Then she had to hold him back from pouncing and eating all of it right then and
there. She had to explain the use of utensils and why they were necessary.

“We don’t use those at my guild. I remember that!” Eric
insisted. “Some people used them, like Nolien, but he was in a minority.”

“Your guild, right. That’s good!” She looked over her
shoulder at one of the guards that had followed them in. “Please fetch some videos
about the Dragon’s Lair, and none of that offensive slanderous stuff.”

The guard looked to Talbot, who nodded. The guard ran off
and someone else filled his place. Kallen returned her attention to Eric, who
was loading his plate with bacon. When he ran out of room, he put all the bacon
back into the tub and simply took the tub with him to the table. He ate a piece
along the way.

“What is this stuff? It’s
magnificent!
”

 “It’s called ‘bacon.’”

Eric swallowed and then stuffed another four pieces into
his mouth and swallowed again. He started choking. Kallen performed the Heimlich
maneuver and it came out. Eric stared at slimy bacon and then put it back in
his mouth, chewing this time before swallowing.

 “Memo to myself: Never eat cooks because they make
bacon."

While this scared the sapients (except the cook, of course),
Kallen immediately shushed them. Instead, she sat next to Eric and encouraged
this line of thinking to convince him why he shouldn't eat others. For
instance, she explained that he shouldn’t eat plumbers because they unclog
toilets and to respect policemen because they neutralize threats like he did.

 "Okay. That makes sense. If someone is unemployed,
can I eat them?"

 "No."

“Why not?”

“Because even the unemployed have friends and family.”

“What if they’re unemployed
and
loners?”

"
No
."

“Why not?”

“It’s dangerous for you to attract attention.”

“I can handle that.”

Kallen scratched her head. The answer was obviously “it’s
illegal.” Nor was it civil. It was clear that his monster instincts and human
memories had merged to create a new sense of morality. Only by appealing to
that could she make him understand. She didn’t remember having to deal with
this years ago. Then she got an idea.

“You know the Omnipresent Mana Principle, right?”

“Oh yeah. Reality is made of chaos and mana is the most
diluted form of chaos. Thus, everything is made of mana; you, me, this food,
those walls—everything.”

“Right. And everything can become everything else. That’s
the River of Chaos; cycling through Noitrearc and through different stages on
its way back to the Sea of Chaos. The same holds true for human relationships.
Someone without a social circle or a job could become a bread-winning family
maker and vice versa.”

“So, I shouldn’t eat them because they could
become
a job or friend.”

“Yes.”

“Hmmm... That’s stupid. Rot needs to cycle and they can do
that by becoming food for something stronger.”

Guards, already surrounding the pair with weapons ready,
prepared to strike. Kallen started fidgeting.

“Think of it this way! Are you a monster or a mercenary?”

“Mercenary definitely because I’m human and not a grendel.”

“Then they could become a
client
or the subject of
a client’s mission.”

“Ohhhh! That makes a lot more sense.”

He grabbed a vat of mustard and slurped it like a beverage.

Kallen looked uneasily over her shoulder. “Progress is
progress.”

Eric slammed the vat on the table. “Speaking of progress,
how much do I have to make before I can leave?”

“Um...” Kallen looked to Talbot, who shook his head. “Uhh...”

“Setting goals and achieving them is a sapient mindset,
isn’t it?” Eric asked. “What do I have to do to prove that I am not a threat to
the general public?”

“You see, Eric, there are public concerns due to mana-born
demons because of past events...and so there’s a...um…”

“The Butchin Tragedy will make releasing you difficult,” Talbot
said.

"Butchin Tragedy...Harry Butchin... Nulso.
Threat
."

 Kallen reached across the table and squeezed his hand.
Peace and contentment mitigated his aggression. He took a deep breath and
continued speaking.

 "I remember Annala telling me about the Butchin
Tragedy. Amputees, terminal illness sufferers, and body artists received
components of monsters in surgery. Over a span of time, they all went insane;
no different from monsters. You think I'll relapse. Maybe not today or next
week, but it will happen eventually."

 "I think it is possible,” Talbot said. “You will
stay here until I am proven wrong."

 "What if Her Incandescent Majesty said
otherwise?"

 "I would ignore her. This facility is under the
aegis of the Global Avatar and Mortal Alliance of which Queen Kasile is merely
one member. She herself has no authority here."

 Eric's eyes narrowed.

 "Do you consider me a threat?" Talbot asked.

 "No," Eric said. "I consider you an
asshole."

 "Surely we can arrange for a conditional release,"
Kallen said reasonably. "After all, you let me go where I want whenever I
want. Have I ever killed and eaten anyone in monsanity?"

 Talbot considered this. Eric imagined him retrieving the
records in his brain like a computer and reading over them.

"I will work with Percy and the board of directors to
arrange something. Mr. Watley, you can consider me an asshole if you wish, but
I am simply trying to keep people safe. Surely you cannot blame me for erring
on the side of caution."

 "I understand and, in return, I hope that you
understand that I want to leave as soon as possible. BACON!”

Talbot raised an eyebrow. Then he coughed and said, “Yes,
it is good bacon.” He turned on his heel and left the cafeteria.

Eric slumped back into his seat. Kallen stroked his hand
with her thumb, which eased some of the disappointment. The smile she flashed
him helped too. He sat back up and finished eating. By then, another guard
approached and said Eric’s new quarters were ready for him.

It was designed to be a transitional area for patients
once they regained their sapience. Since Eric was the first one to do so, he
was the first one to use it. On one hand, it was built for a sapient: a bed,
desk, drawers for clothes, a Crystal Vision set, and computer, etc. On the
other hand, it was built for a monster: the door could be locked from both
sides, shackles in the center were bolted to the floor, and there was a camera
watching the entire area. Eric snarled at the latter, but Kallen pushed him to
the former. She started up a video of the Dragon’s Lair.

“I bet you’ve never seen your guild like this before.”

When Eric joined the Dragon’s Lair, it was peacetime. His
first mission was gathering bird poop for an apothecary. This video showed him
how his guild operated during wartime.

Specifically, it was Latrot’s War of Starvation. Latrot
was experiencing a famine and invaded its neighbor, Mithra, to feed itself. The
Dragon’s Lair was called upon by both sides and, like proper mercenaries, they
fought for both sides depending on the member, time, and battle.

One scene showed Captain Quando of Squad 3 directing a
contingent of Latrot’s army with his trio of living puppets. With their senses
synchronized, Quando positioned them at strategic points to keep himself
informed of the flow of battle. When he gave the command, they fired fearsome
spells on Mithra’s soldiers. Eric felt nothing for the dead on either side and
only pride in his squad captain. So much power and control of others matched
with compassion and control of himself; truly a more worthwhile role model than
Dengel.

A second scene showed Basilard Bladi, his direct superior
and mentor, defending a Mithran famer’s homestead from Latrot soldiers. The
veteran mercenary was accompanied by three young adults that his human memories
recognized as Basilard's
original three
students: Sosuke Lokhin, Haru Tera, Kazuma Junao. His monster instincts decided
they were Basilard's children, which made them his siblings. Then another human
memory surfaced; they were killed soon after this conflict. The memory made him
sad and Kallen made sure that Talbot and the scientists noted this.

A third scene showed the leader of the guild, Ridley the
Dragoness, confront an army by herself. Never before had Eric seen her in
action, but he always knew she was formidable. Now he watched her stomp the
army into the ground. Neither Latrot with its budding ordercrafter corps nor
Mithra with its forest super soldiers could stand against her in the field.

 “There’s no eating in these films,” Eric remarked. “Why
do the bodies simply lie there?”

“There’s a different kind of eating,” Kallen replied.
“Looting.”

Eric leapt to his feet and shouted, “Dragon’s Lair rule
number six: Not all that glitters is gold but it can still be valuable. This is
followed by number seven: Grab what does whenever you can! Oh yes, now I
remember! The guild and its rules and structure. YES, IT MAKES SENSE!”

He hugged Kallen and so much peace and contentment
radiated through her at the contact that she swooned. Eric pulled back and
stared at her with wonder and happiness.

“I get it now. I really get it now. Social organization,
family bonds, the cities, and how so many people can live there without killing
and eating each other. It’s all thanks to you!”

He hugged her again and the second surge brought her
around to wakefulness.

“I...I didn’t do anything. All I did was say the word
‘looting.’”

“It’s a different kind of eating. You kill them and take
their stuff for your own use or to sell, which is the same thing as putting
their muscles and organs in one’s mouth. It put everything in context and I
could understand it.”

“What about before?”

Eric blinked. “Before? There’s a lot of ‘before.’”

“With Talbot and the soldiers, you talked about how you
were a mercenary and how a mercenary was supposed to act. You mean to say you
didn’t understand then?”

“That?” Eric shook his head shamefacedly. “I was
referencing my memories and making an educated guess about what was going on
and what I was supposed to say to neutralize the threat. I was acting like I
thought I would before. I didn’t really get it. It was like reading Najican from
a cue card and having no idea what I’m saying.”

Kallen gestured to a camera watching them, urging them to
make sure they were recording this and paying attention. Then she asked another
question, “When you talked with your teammates, it was fluent and natural.”

“My memories are clearest when it comes to my guild and no
one within the guild is designated as a ‘threat’...except for Hasina.”

Both of them shivered at the thought of that mad
scientist. She made everyone else here appear as the very model of humane and
civil treatment in comparison.

“However, even she is more of a...what do humans call it...uh...
‘Friendly enemy.’ That’s it; so the grendel stays quiet.”

“You mean you feel most comfortable when you are with
friends.”

“Ah yeah, you can put it that way.” He stared at the camera.
“Just so long as the record shows that I’m not a grendel.”

“Your views are essential for this project and so the
record will show that,” Kallen said. “Tell me more about why looting and the
Dragon’s Lair caused an epiphany for you.”

“By thinking of the guild as a family, I can understand sapient
relationships. By thinking of the guild as a business, I can understand
non-family sapient relationships. Based on how the guild works, I can make
connections to other parts of the city and sapient society. I guess ‘looting’ made
it click. I’d like to see gold.”

“Gold.”

“Yes, gold. Gold looms large in my memories and many
Dragon’s Lair rules concern gold, like numbers six and seven; not everything
that glitters is gold, but can still be worth a lot of money; grab what does
whenever you can, respectively. At first, I didn’t understand why because I
never ate gold before. This is because gold is used to buy food. Thus,
looting.”

“I see. Yes, commerce is a vital part of human, I mean,
sapient, interaction.”

Kallen pulled out her moneybag and dumped the contents on
the table. There were many sizes and many faces on them. Traveling as often as she
did, it was useful to carry different currencies. Eric looked in awe on them.