Interesting Lineage

"Artemis. Apologize to him."

Ava stood firm, her hands planted firmly on her hips.

Artemis rolled her eyes, "Why should I apologize? He was gawking at the Captain when my yoyo hit him."

I interjected, "It's alright, Ava. It was my fault."

"See? Even he admits it.", Artemis retorted, taking a sip of her smoothie.

Suddenly, she stopped mid-sip, frowned, and swallowed.

"Apollo.", she said calmly, "Will you stop taking away my sense of taste?"

Apollo popped his head out from the kitchen door, wearing a mischievous smile.

"Do you even have a sense of taste?", he teased.

Artemis shot back, her tone sharp, "Do you want a taste of blood in your mouth?", She clenched her fist in warning.

He rolled his eyes, "Fine."

With a snap of his fingers, he vanished into the kitchen, leaving behind a yelp of pain.

"Ow! That bloody hurts! Stupid penalty!", his voice echoed from the kitchen.

"He deserved it for messing around with his stigma," Artemis commented, unfazed by her brother's outburst, as she calmly took another sip of her smoothie, a satisfied smile gracing her lips.

"Ah, much better.", she sighed contentedly.

Ava glanced anxiously toward the kitchen and asked, "Is he going to be okay?"

"Don't worry. Basil is there with him. He'll be fine.", I reassured her.

I couldn't help but think about Apollo's stigma.

Senses Devoid.

It allowed him to strip one of his opponent's senses for a chosen period.

But the catch? He'd endure the same sense of deprivation and agonizing pain afterward.

For instance, if he deprived me of sight for five minutes, he'd suffer the same blindness and excruciating eye pain for the same duration once the stigma deactivated.

Yeah, quite the troublesome stigma.

Ava looked at me, "Looks like Apollo is quite close to your mechanima."

"I'm not surprised.", Artemis chimed in, taking a leisurely sip of her smoothie, "Apollo used to play with snakes as a kid."

We exchanged bemused glances.

"Sounds like quite the adventurous childhood.", I commented.

"Oh, I was the normal one.", Artemis shrugged, casually discarding her empty smoothie cup into the nearby bin before twirling her yoyo.

"Hey, could someone lend me a tongue for tasting over here?", Apollo's voice echoed from the kitchen, followed by Basil's mechanical hiss for assistance.

"I'll go.", Ava volunteered, making her way to the kitchen.

In case you're wondering, we Lunatics are currently in our camp.

Each Deathwalker squad has its designated area within the Shield known as a camp. 

The size and amenities of these camps depend on the squad's status, and as Squad 21, we've got the best one.

Yeah. We are the best even without a majority of our members.

Our camp sits on the 47th floor of the Shield, resembling a massive penthouse.

It boasts a spacious lounge area, a fully stocked and advanced kitchen, an indoor swimming pool, and state-of-the-art entertainment systems. 

 But it's not all about luxury.

We also have a simulation room, a gym, an arsenal, and a sparring court, along with a control center directly linked to Minerva.

Additionally, we have crafting facilities for quick equipment fixes, and the camp serves as the home for our mechanima.

So yeah. That is the camp.

"INCOMING!", Krystal's voice cried out as Carlo unexpectedly hurtled out of the sparring court entrance, heading straight for me. 

Reacting quickly, I grabbed Artemis by the collar and leaped away just as the young Devereux crashed into the sitting area, shattering the glass coffee table in the process.

"Ow.", Carlo groaned, gingerly maneuvering amidst the shattered glass, his obsidian-black hair tousled and singed at the red tips.

"Dude. You okay?", I asked, approaching him with Artemis in tow.

Carlo clenched his teeth, shooting me a pointed glare, "Just peachy. Thanks for the concern, vice cap."

Iris bounced over from the sparring court, a bright grin lighting up her features. Dressed in a red tank top and shorts, a jacket tied around her waist, she exuded energy.

"That was a blast!", she exclaimed, seemingly unfazed by the chaos.

"You've got a peculiar sense of enjoyment.", Artemis quipped.

Iris shrugged nonchalantly, "Hey, I wanted to gauge Carlo's progress."

Extending her hand, she helped Carlo to his feet, "And I must say, you've definitely stepped up your game."

"Getting my ass whupped by you in five minutes is an improvement?", Carlo asked with a frown.

Iris flashed him a grin and gave his back a friendly pat, "Hey, you lasted five whole minutes against me. That's worthy of recognition."

Carlo rolled his eyes, "Well, I feel truly honored."

Turning to me, Iris asked, "Ready to go, love?"

I nodded, "Yep. I was waiting for you."

"Where are you two off to?", Ava asked, emerging from the kitchen, holding a tray of burgers.

"The library. Mordred has developed a sudden curiosity for his family tree.", Iris replied, snatching a mouthwatering burger from the tray with a black tentacle of darkness.

Artemis raised an incredulous eyebrow at me, "Seriously? You're just now getting curious about your family tree?"

I flashed her a sheepish grin, and Iris let out a chuckle.

"Oh. This is typical of Mordred. There was this one time he suddenly wanted to dissect a wraith in the middle of battle."

Iris recounted with a shudder, "It was quite the effort to pry him away from the still-alive and pinned wraith while he dissected the thing. That was the first and only time I ever felt sorry for a wraith."

The rest of the group turned their attention to me, their expressions a mix of amusement and concern.

"Guys. From now on let's not make the vice-captain curious. Like, ever.", Apollo remarked, looking genuinely disturbed.

"Great. I've lost my appetite.", Carlo sighed, shooting a glance at Iris, "You better take him to the library, Captain."

Iris nodded, "Yep."

She handed me a burger from the tray before we made our way to the camp's main entrance.

"Oh! And no making out in the library!", Ava called out to us.

"What are you, our mother?", I grumbled in response.

"More like an older sister!", she retorted.

Iris waved a hand behind her as we hurried out, "Don't worry Ava! We'll try to behave!"

"That's definitely not reassuring!"

Before we could hear any more from her, I and Iris booked it out of the camp.

*******

"Ah yes! Found it!"

Iris's eyes gleamed with excitement as she descended from the ladder, holding a hefty tome bound in crimson leather.

The silver embossing on its cover spelled out its purpose plainly:

The Book Of Lineages

She nodded, her gaze fixed on the book, "Indeed. It contains details not only about the Royal Family but also the lineage of other prominent noble families."

We settled into comfortable seats and she opened the book, tracing her slender finger across the index.

Her eyes lit up, "Ah! Pendragon."

She flipped to that page and we began reading side by side.

"Hm. Your father's lineage is ancient indeed, tracing back to Liyr the Dragon Tamer.", she remarked, breaking the quiet.

"The Dragon Tamer?", I echoed, arching an eyebrow in surprise.

Dragons in this universe are very different from the ones on Earth.

Unlike the flame and poison-sneezing glorified winged lizards of my past life, the dragons in this universe are among the most powerful beings in existence.

Their power is on par or even greater than the Incarni.

Yeah. They are a big deal, such that even some dragons are revered as gods.

The idea of a Dragon Tamer was both fascinating and perplexing.

"By Tamer, you mean?", I asked.

"Yes, the Dragon Tamer.", Iris confirmed with a nod.

"Legend has it that Liyr was the first to tame a dragon and... well, have sex with it."

I blinked, "What?"

She nodded again, her expression somewhat awkward, "Indeed. Some dragons are said to possess the ability to assume human form. Liyr's union with such a dragon is believed to have given rise to your bloodline."

"Oh.", I immediately calmed my wild imagination, "I guess that's where the 'dragon' part of Pendragon came from."

"Indeed.", Iris nodded.

"And they had a son. Bran, the first dragon half-blood. A powerful conqueror who..." I flipped the page and whistled.

"Oooh. Brought the world under his feet."

Iris chuckled, "Impressive lineage you've got there. From Bran conquering the world to your father becoming a being on par with the gods."

"And then there is you and Elaine. A Failed Prince who became a Deathwalker and a snobby princess.", she smirked.

I rolled my eyes, "Oh, shut up. Morgan and Gawain are holding down the fort just fine."

"Also.", I tapped the area beside mine and Elaine's names on the family tree list.

"I and Elaine are no longer the latest Pendragons."

Iris's eyes brightened, "Ah yes! This book is now outdated. It should be updated."

"Isn't it right? Big brother?", she teased with a mischievous smile.

Her gaze made me blush and I rubbed my neck sheepishly, "Heh. That sounds good."

"Anyway.", I quickly refocused on the book, "I need to see my mother's lineage. I'm more interested in that than the High King's."

Iris chuckled, "Alright alright. Calm down, mama's boy."

We flipped the page to my mother's lineage and pored through the names and information.

At first, I was immensely relieved to see that my mother and the High King were not related at all.

Yeah. I still had that anxiety. I even had weird nightmares due to that. But now, I could take a sigh of relief.

But I must say. We were quite surprised by what we learned.

"Well, this is interesting.", I remarked.

"Indeed.", Iris agreed and looked at me.

"You have a remarkable family history."

***

Author's Note...

I would like to thank Romance_guy for providing the idea for Apollo's stigma. If you guys have ideas for any wacky stigmas that even I can't come up with, post them in the comments and I will try my very best to integrate them into the story.

Stay healthy, folks!