Expansion

Near a grand mountain chain, in a desolate land.

Rohan and V embarked once more on a journey to connect with other creations of the moon—specifically, dwarves and ghouls. Normally, such a task wouldn't require a moon's servant to travel, but a significant challenge lay ahead. The dwarves and ghouls had been engaged in a relentless war since the last servant, Leth, perished—an ongoing conflict known as the Hidden War. This conflict, marked by extensive bloodshed, never unfolded on the surface but rather in the depths beneath it, as both empires were masters of the underground.

Standing before the entrance to the underground, V remarked, "You can smell the blood and decaying corpses from here." Rohan, preparing for the journey, moistened a scarf, imparted a blessing upon it, and secured it around his face. "If all goes well, this underground battlefield must be cleansed," he said.

They ventured into the cave, navigating the dark passages. Rohan's eyes transformed, taking on an appearance resembling those of Manat's, with dark purple eyeballs and irises shaped like a blue crescent moon. As they delved deeper, the stench grew stronger, and they encountered countless corpses of dwarves and ghouls, making the path impassable. V teased, "I bet you now wish you had brought Limuru." Rohan sighed and retorted, "Fuck you, V." With that, he summoned Limuru, who swiftly began clearing the path.

After a grueling journey, they reached a pivotal juncture—a spacious T-shaped crossing leading to the dwarven and ghoul empires. Rohan flipped a coin to decide their path, which ended with selecting the dwarven empire. "Dwarves it is," he declared.

Advancing cautiously, V's keen ears detected unfamiliar sounds, prompting him to halt abruptly. "Stop! Limuru, get behind me," he commanded. Rohan inquired, "What did you hear?" V responded, "Is it possible for this world to have mechanical machines?" Rohan recalled, "The past orc kingdom had them." V clarified, "No, I meant machines of war. I heard heavy machinery and ticking sounds buried beneath the floor," V explained. Rohan's eyes widened. "You mean they've developed robots and landmines!?" he exclaimed. Limuru interjected, "Servant Rohan, the advancements of the dwarves remain unmatched and unrelenting. It should be of no surprise that their machines of war will be years, if not centuries, ahead of the creation."

Rohan instructed Limuru to take cover in his satchel and reverted V to his original form, all while erecting an energy barrier for added protection. Pressing forward, they encountered a perilous minefield. V cautioned Rohan, guiding him safely through the hazardous terrain by having Rohan jump over a ten-kilometer stretch. As they emerged from the minefield, they confronted a formidable opponent—an imposing figure of a heavily armored mech.

"I don't need to tell you how bad it would be if those bullets hit one of the landmines," V warned. Rohan swiftly disabled the robot's weaponry and confronted the pilot, realizing he was no literal dwarf. The pilot was an average-sized guy with a beefy build. He was decked out in heavy armor and sported a thick helmet.

He activated a mechanism in his glove and socked Rohan, sending him flying. Rohan crashed against the wall, tumbled to the floor, and let out a groan of pain, muttering, "Damn!" V quickly materialized and helped Rohan to his feet. "Did that actually hurt!?" he asked confusedly. Rohan staggered and replied, "My head feels numb." The mysterious pilot approached them, speaking in a digitized voice, "I don't know how you got past the minefield, but this is as far as you go." Before V could charge at him, Rohan held his shoulder and said, "Don't kill him; he's one of the faithful."

V approached him, retracting his third and fourth arms, leaving only two, and said, "Understood." He lunged at the mysterious pilot, dropping low to the floor to sweep his legs. The pilot stepped away and attempted to kick V's head. V blocked the strike with his arm, then forcefully pulled the pilot's leg and punched him in the gut. The pilot staggered back, grunting, and said, "You hit like a bitch." V growled and muttered, "Fuck this guy."

The pilot assumed a boxing stance, lowering himself. V raised his eyebrows and remarked, "Interesting." Rohan watched from a distance and muttered, "Huh?" The pilot advanced swiftly and threw a hook. V blocked it with his arm, which led to it breaking. V screamed in pain and retreated. "What the fuck are you doing, V?" Rohan shouted. V looked at him and snarled, "Shut it, Rohan! This guy isn't normal!"

The pilot giggled and mocked, "You got soft arms, blue boy." V glared at Rohan and asked, "How good is your healing?" "As long as they're alive, I can fix them," Rohan said. V glared at the pilot and muttered, "Good…" V relaxed his broken arm and took a stance for kickfighting. He approached, and the pilot advanced, preparing for another devastating strike. The pilot threw a jab, and V lowered his torso and kicked the pilot's head forcefully. The pilot slammed against the wall but quickly got back on his feet. He approached again while keeping his guard and said, "You still hit like a bitch!" V rushed to him, and the two continued their brawl. The pilot was quick on his feet and evaded most of V's kicks, and V was agile and cautious to avoid more of the pilot's lethal punches. The battle concluded when V managed to sweep the pilot off his legs and axe kick his head.

The pilot lay on the floor, out cold, and his helmet was broken. V stood over him, panted and shouted, "Who's the bitch now!!?" He bent down, glared at him and snarled, "That's right. You got knocked the fuck out! Like the bitch you are!!"

Rohan wobbled to V, looked at the pilot, and said, "This is not a normal creature, yet I sense his faith." "His body felt like I was kicking a wall, and his strength is abnormal," V said. Rohan asked V, "Do you think the dwarves have delved into genetic alteration?" V inhaled deeply, and his body was instantly healed. He bent down, leveled the pilot on the floor, took off his helmet, backed off and stared at the man in awe.

It was a dwarf, alright. The descriptions of a thick beard, sizeable round nose, and uniquely shaped skull were all there, but on that dwarf's face were glowing veins and artificial eyes colored bright blue. Rohan squatted, touched the dwarf's eye, and muttered, "Electronic piece?" "Now, it makes sense how he was able to incapacitate you," V said.

Rohan lifted the dwarf on his shoulder and continued traveling on the path. V followed him and walked beside him. V sighed and asked, "Aren't you worried?" "About what?" Rohan wondered. "The dwarves might've developed a weapon to kill servants," V said. "If they did, that's a defiance against the moon. We might need to consider them a threat that needs to be wiped off," Rohan said. "How will we do that if one of their soldiers gave us this much trouble?" V asked. Rohan smirked at him and said, "Gave you trouble, not me." "You never won a sparring match against me," V said mockingly. "What a sore loser you are," Rohan jested. V chuckled, then said, "Once we finish our journey, you're more than welcome to have a rematch with me." "I don't involve myself with sore losers," Rohan jested. V became furious and snarled, "You know damn well the only reason I got hurt was because I need to practice constraint!"

The dwarf grunted and muttered, "Ser…vant." Rohan glanced at the dwarf and said, "You're tougher than I thought, dwarf." He stopped, placed the dwarf on the floor and healed him. The dwarf looked around, breathed deeply and asked, "Who are you?" V looked at him, crossed his arms, nodded to Rohan and said, "This is servant Rohan, and I'm V, the one who made you into a bitch." The dwarf stood quickly and snarled, "The fuck did you say, blue boy!!?" V approached him and snarled, "You heard me, bitch! I'm ready to shave your beard and make you a real woman!!" "By the moon, I saw manlier women than you," The pilot growled. "Ultimately, you got your ass kicked by me, bitch!!" V growled. Rohan stepped in and said, "Okay, enough. I'm not here to waste time watching you two fight." He looked at the dwarf and asked, "What's your name, dwarf?" The dwarf looked at Rohan and said, "My name is Balor." "Balor, what happened to your race? What are all these mutations you have?" Rohan asked.

Balor walked toward his empire and said, "Follow me." Rohan and V followed him. "I don't have permission to release this information, not before verifying you're a true servant," Balor said. "The man just healed you with his hand!" V said. Balor looked at them and said, "Even so, other creatures can do that. The servant must appear before the council; if he's not a fraud, then this damn long war will end." "How long has this war been going on?" Rohan asked. "The better question is, how long will it last? Our fight started with the Djinns, elves, and ghouls. All that shit show started with the death of Leth," Balor said. Rohan looked at his pouch and asked Limuru, "When did Leth die, Limuru?" Limuru peeked out and said, "About two centuries ago." V rubbed his chin and said, "A race that faces existential threats for that long would either die out or adapt in terrifying ways."

Rohan looked at V, leaned closer, and whispered, "He's not telling the full truth. Be on your guard." He looked at Balor and asked, "How long till we arrive at your empire?" Balor checked what seemed like a smartwatch and said, "We're close; ten minutes left." Rohan and V glanced at each other. They switched to a means of communication unique to them, which was telepathic. They kept walking and communicated.

"V, this guy has a smartwatch!" Rohan said. "I know, I've noticed that. I swear the more we delve into their territories, the more suspicious it gets," V said. "I should've known this wasn't right when we met those slimes; don't you think the name Limuru sounds too familiar?" Rohan said. "…Nooo, don't tell me," V said. "Leth was a fucking weeb and a dumbass! I should've known the moment I learned he was a fucking elf," Rohan said.

"I remember you telling me the servants were all originally human. Why did you choose to remain the same?" V asked. "Because reincarnation is cringy, I don't want to spend my first years in a foreign world sucking a tit and shitting myself," Rohan said. "You could've gotten a woman if you reincarnated. Like all those reincarnation protagonists," V said. "Those protagonists 'coincidently' end up loving a minor. Mind you! The protagonists are mostly grown men," Rohan said. "Damn, do you think Leth has done that?" V asked. "He blocked some memories from me; all I can remember is him preaching and dying," Rohan said. "So, that's a servant's way of using incognito mode?" V asked.

"…Yes," Rohan said.

The End