Chapter 5 - Herald

"Bobby I am here, open the door", said Damien as he knocked on Robert's door.

"Danny its unlocked come in", replied Robert. As Damien entered the familiar room, he could feel that the air pressure was absurdly high around Robert.

"Did you become a Herald!", exclaimed Damien as the possibility of that happening was present all around them.

"No, although I think I have reached a bottleneck... if I can somehow overcome it I might become a Herald", Robert voiced his concerns to Damien while Damien was engrossed in understanding the density of aura around Robert.

"What is this glow around you?"

"It is mana", explained Robert.

"I still can't believe that just by becoming a Herald you can gather such heavy amount of mana. If I didn't know better this might be the total mana I have accumulated in my life, you did this in a matter of hours. This is amazing, brother", concluded Damien as he finished analysing the room.

"Can we stop looking at what I have done and, focus on the problem ?"

Damien looked at his brother and understood that Robert was more inclined to solve the bottleneck than entertaining Damien's curiosity.

"All right, what did you have in mind? ", asked Damien looking Robert in the eye. This was a signal of sorts for the brothers to understand when either one of them was extremely serious. This showed that they were completely focussed on what the other was saying and will give their most honest opinion.

"I wish to enter the forest and fight a Herald ranked beast", said Robert as he waited for Damien's opinion.

"I concur if you fight a beast stronger than you then it might bring out your potential and help you get through the bottleneck. It is a difficult task though, it requires extensive planning and near perfect execution", Damien voiced his concerns while also supporting Robert's wishes.

"Leave the beast hunting plans to me, convince Mother to let us spend some nights in the forest. I know she won't listen to me but you are her most cherished child she will listen to whatever you say if worded properly, besides you know what Father's letter said", Robert pointed out the deep-seated love their mother had for Damien of which Robert had always been jealous of but not to the point that he starts hating Damien for it.

(R: why the partiality? O: you never had a sibling did you?)

"Come now brother you can't be bringing up that old incident when we were 8 years old, its already been nearly 5 years since then", taunted Damien as he gave Robert menacing glance.

"Ah! That... I wasn't referring to it", a hint of nostalgia and guilt twinkled in Roberts' eyes.

"Nevermind then...the dead past should remain buried"

"Stop acting like a philosopher and help me out", complained Robert.

"You need to keep a cool head Bobby", giggled Damien.

***

"Good evening Damien, may I know why you were looking for me ?", Lady Katherine was sitting behind a table, on a luxurious armchair writing some documents.

"Mother you know about Father's letter-" at this Lady Katherine's expressions turned grim, and she gestured Damien to stop, "Servants, leave!" all the attendants left obediently.

"Yes, dear Damien what were you saying", a smile spread across her face, however, the atmosphere became heavy indicating her anger.

"M-Mother, well...", Damien stammered.

"Speak it out!", she snapped.

"Mother, as stated in Father's letter, he wants us to train harder and become stronger, he states that we should spend more time in the forest! A-And Robert has hit a bottleneck, so he wants me and him to spend some nights in the forest, so he can figure out a way to break through!", Damien quickly said it all and crossed his fingers.

"Oh! So that's the case... well tell me is our mansion, not a good place to practice your meditation techniques?", the air in the room turned even gloomier and Lady Katherine's voice grew softer indicating that things were going downhill.

"B-But Mother...", Damien's mind was going blank, "We can't get enough exposure in the Mansion"

"Exposure to what?"

"U-Umm, we want to learn how to survive in unfavourable conditions!"

"Well, now you have said it, I believe henceforth the mansion will certainly come under 'Unfavourable conditions'", cold sweat appeared on Damien's forehead, his Mother's wrath wasn't something he would like to incur, he knew that she had held herself back when they had returned late sometime ago.

Damien gritted his teeth, "Mother... please, please try to understand that w-we want to grow up and face harsh conditions, we are not children any more!"

'Okay, I went too far...', thought Damien, he closed his eyes as he waited for the ultimatum.

After a minute of horrific silence, Lady Katherine pushed back her chair and got up, 'Here it comes', though Damien. Lady Katherine slowly walked up to him.

"Damien," her soft melodious voice sounded in Damien's ear, "You know what?" Damien's legs felt like jelly, but then Lady Katherine pulled him close in an embrace.

(O: want some incest? R: Jesus no, Katherine is out of bounds for you)

"You have grown so much!", she sobbed on his head with puffy eyes.

Damien was indeed half a head shorter than her. 'Wh-What in the world?', Damien's face was flushed red as he suffocated in her bosom, Lady Katherine's blonde hair fell on his shoulder as she hugged him even tighter, her sobbing stopped as she kissed his cheeks.

"Mother", as that word left Damien's lips Lady Katherine resumed her sobbing, "Y-You and Robert will leave me someday...", Damien tried to say something, but he realized that he could not speak any more as the words were not ready to leave his mouth.

"Damien, will you leave your Mother?", she asked with red eyes.

After sometime Damien finally let out the words he so dearly wanted his mother to hear, "N-Never Mother!"

"You are such a good child!", she started crying again and pulled him in another embrace, "Okay Damien, promise me that no matter what challenge you will face, you will always come back home!", Lady Katherine wailed.

"Y-Yes Mother!", stammered Damien.

***

Later that night.

Robert and Damien were walking in the familiar woods with big backpacks on their shoulders. Damien looked in deep thought.

"Did we overpack Damien?" asked Robert as he stared at the sky filled with branches and stars.

"W-What!?", Damien jumped back.

"What's with you looking so deep in thought", Robert stopped in his tracks and turned to face Damien.

"I-It's nothing!", Damien did not wish to tell what had occurred in his mother's quarters as he thought that would only make Robert jealous.

"Hmm, let me guess Mother said something when you went to convince her and its something I would not like so you're thinking of a way to tell me ", sighed Robert.

"W-What?! No! It is not that!", screamed Damien, "I-I am a bit s-scared"

"Hahahaha", Robert burst out laughing while clutching his stomach.

***

In Lady Katherine's room.

"My my what time is it?", Lady Katherine lay in bed, her nightgown whaphazard, butbut she paid it no heed, her white lustrous thighs were visible, with her back arched, her round bottom looked even more alluring. "They should have eaten their dinner by now..." she rolled on her back and stared at the stars, her chest was resting on her plentiful bosom as they changed shape under her weight, the light was reflected on her smooth skin making it glow "I hope the spell I left on Damien's cheek would prove helpful to them..."

Her round blue eyes glowed in the moonlight as she cupped her face and sighed, "I shouldn't have been that emotional with him... He is probably all unsettled right now"

"Guess I will spend my night alone."

(O: could have done some fine work over there Sad R: a pity that my delete key is still intact)

***

Wake up you sleepyhead!", Robert nudged Damien.

"Don't wanna", muttered Damien.

"Get up already"

"No"

"Get up or I will smack you"

"No"

"Get up or I will throw you in the river"

"No" a vein popped up on Robert's forehead but then an idea struck him, and he regained his calm

"Your wife is here!"

"N-My WHAT!", Damien jumped up and looked around with wide eyes only to see Robert rolling on the floor and laughing, "Old trick always works", he clutched his stomach and laughed.

"C'mon get ready", Robert left the tent giggling. Damien was left with a red face he got up and washed his face, brushed his teeth, wore his leather armour and picked up his sheathed sword as he left the tent.

"Ah man, I really wanna bathe", grumbled Damien, "Let's go to the river"

"Before that let's hunt some rabbits", Robert smirked.

***

"Is this what you meant by hunting a rabbit," Damien rolled sideways as he dodged a blow from the 'Giant Horse Squirrel'.

Yes, it was a 3-metre tall squirrel, it had long thick arms with ape-like hands. You must be thinking about the 'Horse' part? Well, it had the head of a horse, hence named 'Giant Horse squirrel'.

(R: I cant always stop orion's weird imagination...)

"Well, yeah! I used my mana sensing abilities to seek it out, be careful, it is a herald rank creature", shouted Robert as he tried to stab the squirrel but his blow was blocked by the thick palms of the squirrel.

"Then talk less and fight more!" Damien screamed as he threw a stone at the squirrel. The angry squirrel neighed and ran towards Damien. Robert blocked the squirrel's way and swung his sword diagonally at the squirrel, the Squirrel neighed in anger and threw a fist at Robert.

Damien circled around and attacked the squirrel from behind, but its bushy tail moved in response and blocked that blow. Damien repeatedly attacked the squirrel but to no avail, its tail blocked all of them.

Robert dodged two fists and slid on his knees and slashed at the squirrel's tummy.

"NEEEEEE!", the Squirrel neighed even louder as beads of blood appeared in a horizontal line.

At that moment Damien used this chance to stab the squirrel's back.

"My! it's angry now", Robert's face turned grim.

Suddenly loads mana were drawn in the squirrel and the fervour in its eyes grew.

Its every movement became quicker and stronger.

"What drug did it take?!", asked Damien as he was pushed back by the tail.

"Mana!" the Squirrel lunged at Robert. Robert dodged sideways but a fist came at him he defended with his sword and was pushed back as he fell. The squirrel regained its footing as smoke blew out of its nostrils. It turned and neighed at Robert who was trying to get up. However, its attention was drawn by Damien who ran crazily towards the squirrel as he screamed.

(Orion: HEEE HAWW Should have given it wings and multiple heads too)

"Damn it Damien! Don't attack like this", snapped Robert. Damien didn't heed Robert's words and continued to charge.

"Crap!", Robert got up and ran towards the Squirrel. The Squirrel's large fist clashed with Damien's sword and both flew back. Robert deflected the second fist which was going for Damien's head, Damien jumped back as it brushed past his face.

"You fool!", Robert scolded Damien but a resolute light gleamed in Damien's eye. "Brother I think I know how you can become a Herald..."

"What? How?"

"Remember that you were about to give up and you lost all hope so you were able to move mana, and right now the Horsehead Squirrel was hit so it was able to draw in mana, I think-" Damien jumped back to dodge a fist.

"What?", Robert ducked and slashed at the Squirrel.

"I think only with a blank mind can you control mana!"

"Eh?", Robert spaced out for a moment and was hit by a fist in his stomach.

He flew back as saliva and last night's dinner formed an arch in the air.

"No!", Damien screamed and started attacking like a madman, his quick haphazard blows rained upon the Squirrel, it was able to block most of them, however, its fists were now bleeding and multiple wounds were visible on its body.

Meanwhile, "Oww", Robert gasped for air. He was feeling nauseous and his tummy was a mess, his elbows were bleeding and his legs felt weak. 'Clear your mind' Robert thought. 'Arrgh! How can this work!?' he grew agitated each second. His brain ran at high speeds trying to figure out how can he influence mana and breakthrough to becoming a Herald.

Finally, his mind gave up, 'Okay I give up damn it! Do what you want mana!', he thought as he saw trillions of blue particles in the air moving hastily. His mind when blank, and he felt he should move in with the mana, 'But it's all random! How can I move with mana?!' Robert thought himself as stupid but then, He moved his body looking at a single particle as he moved large amounts of mana moved with his body. 'What? No don't think' he felt his grip at mana loosen when he tried to concentrate on something.

"Hey Squirrel", A large amount of mana flowed in Robert's direction as it was absorbed in his body, he felt as if his body had broken through a glass container, every cell in his body was being filled with energy. He felt his strength grow. At this moment Damien fell down from exhaustion.

Robert got up and brushed his clothes, the squirrel turned its horse head towards him. Robert picked up his sword and held it up as mana roared around Robert, he said, "I am your opponent!"

(Behind the scenes: R: wtf is a horse-headed squirrel? O: Google it R: excuse me w- O: trust me it will be hilarious )