The Demon Lord And His Hero

Having spent the entire night exploring, when the avid adventurers had roused, it was half-past noon.

The house was filled with the smell of a fragrant lunch. Yui, Syryn learnt, was an excellent caretaker. She was a mother to the cats while the boys were occupied. And when they woke up every morning, Yui was always prepared and ready with a hearty breakfast.

After a satisfying lunch that Syryn had thanked Yui for, they were visited by the second patient that Riaku had wanted the teen to take a look at. Utsui had also arrived and was beside him when they began examinations. It was a complicated case that Syryn was sure he couldn't solve. Sicknesses that dealt with the eyes were difficult to treat. Not even Syryn's experience could mitigate the complexity of it. The unfortunate patient was sent home with a promise that Syryn would try his best to help him.

"Utsui, wanna come with us?" Syryn asked the avian who was packing away his notes. Syryn looked at the scribbles and found them just as endearing as the cute Utsui.

"Where? I have a case study to work on."

"To the cradle of lightning bugs!" Luci burst into the room excitedly. "Akida said there's a change of plans and we'll search for winter blossoms another time."

"I'll come then," Utsui replied. "I've been looking to get myself a plasma star."

"Utsui! But that's only for the avians who wish to attempt a trial of courage," Luci stood before the young avian and said with gravity. "Is that what you're planning to do?"

The young avian nodded. "I'm turning eighteen soon. I'd like to get it done before it's too late."

"What is the trial of courage?" Syryn curiously asked.

Utsui turned to Luci and smiled. "Why don't you explain it to your big brother, Luci?"

"Me? But I only know a little."

"That's alright."

"Oh, alright then. Akida told me that a few foolish avians go through a trial of courage before they turn eighteen. The avian has to pluck a fruit of the plasma tree without getting fried by lightning."

Syryn turned to Utsui. "Does your grandfather know what you're planning?"

"No."

The teen leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms. "Why do you want to do this?"

The young avian shrugged. "I just want to."

Syryn didn't believe that. "Is this a form of rebellion?"

"Rebellion? No. It's not that deep, Syryn. I'm just looking to do something fun. If I die while attempting it, it means I overestimated myself and am just another idiot who died trying to catch something out of reach."

Was this self-awareness, or confidence backed up by real strength? The teen was getting flashbacks to Alka's antics. Now he was sure that Utsui would fit well in his home of daredevils and oddballs.

"Utsui, if you ever want to leave Nua, my home is open to you," he said. "You'll have a lot of fun and excitement putting your life at risk every day with the others."

"What risks?"

Where was Syryn to begin? Could he even mention the corpse tree and his pet, Blue?

"Er- I'll tell you if you ever decide to join us."

"I'll consider it. Something tells me you lead a very colourful life, Syryn."

"Ain't that the truth? But you'll fit in with the others, Utsui. You're smart, good looking, and a little crazy." Syryn was beginning to see a list of criteria that his housemates fulfilled.

"I'm intrigued. Tell me about your other friends."

"I'm glad you asked, Utsui. Let's start with Alka."

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At sunset, Akida informed Syryn that it was time to go. They met up with Utsui at a bridge where Helios' border ended. Several hours of walking past pretty dragon feather flowers allowed Syryn to marvel at the ways the plant had adapted itself to the different environments of Nua.

At the rockier places where soil and nutrients were scarce, dragon feathers were shorter and had longer roots to leach nutrients from deep under the rocks. Their flowers were even more flamboyant and gorgeous than the ones that grew at Helios. This was done to attract the scarce amount of pollinators that survived in such harsh environments.

"If you're interested, there's a book I can lend you. It's a traveller's record about the different kinds of dragon feathers they've encountered all over Nua."

"There are more variations of these things?" Lucien asked. In his hand was a dragon feather stem. The flower on it was so vivid in its colour, it almost looked unreal.

"About a hundred and two variations have been listed," Utsui answered.

Syryn was blown away by the thought of how a single type of plant had adapted in such myriad ways to survive its environment.

"They're like cockroaches," Red didn't share his sentiment. "No different from weeds. Just because they're pretty to look at, it doesn't mean they aren't annoying if you're forced to tolerate them every day." Red was smiling at Syryn with intent when he said those words.

"You're right. It's especially the short and bright coloured ones that survive like cockroaches in this wasteland," Syryn lifted his brows and shot back at Red. "They've adapted to leech off anything they can get their nutrient sucking roots into."

"Let's go, Syryn," Red said as he manifested a dagger made of ice.

"I don't bully weeds," Syryn replied but his hands were covered in flames.

"What did I say about getting into fights near the plants?" Akida got between the brothers and stared them both down. "If you insist on fighting then I'll kick the both of you back to Helios."

"He started it!" Syryn pointed to Red.

"He's thirteen years old, Syryn," Utsui reminded him. "You're his older brother."

Red's smile was as smug as they came. It made Syryn grind his teeth in irritation.

The teen put his hands on Red's shoulders and squeezed them very tightly. He was bending down to the redhead's eye level and smiling. "Lucien, want me to push you off the cliff?"