[IC] A Hero Tale {Complete}

[Jensoman]

Jenso nodded at the swordsman, quickly dashing further to the left to avoid the green globs. He took aim with the palm of his left hand, launching a flame ball at the center of one of the creature's bodies, aimed for the hole. He suddenly make a quick circular motion with his left hand, and the flame ball shaped into a circle-shaped flame saw, making it move even faster and glow more powerfully as it moved.

[tex]

The two targeted artillery monsters immediately shut their 'mouths' to defend themselves, but Alvios' sword tore through their outer shell with ease, and sent pink blood spurting out from where his sword struck. Jenso's flame saw acted in a similar fashion, crashing through the outer shell and exiting through the other side, sinking the monster in a moment. The other three immediately saw the need to retreat, and began slowly sinking back into the ocean.

[Jensoman]

Jenso smiled as the monsters retreated back into the water. "WE DID IT!!" Jenso sung happily, as his voice echoed over the water. He waved over to the man. "You did amazing man!"

[Hatman1801]

Alvios swam his way back to shore, sheathing his blade at his side and wringing blood and water out of his shirt. "No need for the credit. I'm just glad to have some real help for once. You're the strongest person I've seen in a long time; not that many people wander over to this place anymore for me to judge."

Alvios sheathed his blade and began walking back towards the town, motioning for Jenso to follow. "Come with me, we'll relax and I'll tell you what's going on. The name's Alvios by the way, stranger."

[Jensoman]

Jenso smiled as the man motioned him to follow, and he suddenly stopped as he stated his name. His demeanor changed entirely, and he looked extremely serious now. He glared at Alvios and walked after him. "Right. I'm. Jenso." Jenso stated in an irritated tone, doing his best to hold his anger back. "Nice...to meet you.." He muttered, gritting his teeth.

[tex]

---

~ End Of Chapter 107 ~

[tex]

~ Chapter 108 ~

_{Hello, My Name Is Melina!}

Alvios brought Jenso through the city rather quickly, down the cobbled streets that were lined with oil lanterns. It seemed everyone was off the streets at this time of day. Did it have something to do with the monsters? Who knew. After quite some walking though, Alvios made a sharp turn into a lone building, bursting through the front door and greeting the people inside. And man, were there a lot of people inside.

"Alvi!" a woman shouted, waving him in, "That's a new record!" The young girl nodded to a man she was serving at the bar and made her way across the room in a rush.

[Hatman1801]

"I told you not to call me that. And don't give me all the credit. Fix us some food and drink, because we've got a guest." Alvios stepped aside and gestured to Jenso, smiling to the young girl. "This is Jenso, and he helped stave off the Swarm today! Treat him well as long as he chooses to stay here." Alvios turned to Jenso now, raising an eyebrow at his forced compliance. "No need to be so tense now, they don't attack more than once a day."

[Jensoman]

Jenso gave Alvios a confused look for a moment. 'This...is Alvios?..' Jenso thought, unsure how to react at first. He needed to have an in-depth conversation with Alvios, but now wasn't the time. They needed to be alone. He smiled at the people. "Hey, nice to meet you all! I'm glad I could help!" Jenso shouted in a cheerful tone. Everyone was happy, and Jenso was glad that they managed to defeat the swarm, so he didn't want to ruin the mood. He turned to Alvios. "Thanks, but...can we talk somewhere in private? I have something that I want to talk to you about." He said in a serious tone.

[Hatman1801]

Alvios had just been pulling out a chair for himself before Jenso spoke, and he furrowed his brow at the comment. He seemed so enthusiastic earlier...what's his problem? He sighed, pushing the chair back in, and waving a hand towards the stairs. "I have a permanent room here, we can talk without being bothered in there."

[tex]

"Oh, yeah! Of course!" The girl said, calming herself and backing away from the two men. She guided them towards the upstairs stairwell and pointed them towards Alvios' room, although he already knew where they were going, obviously. She just wanted to be as helpful as possible. "Nice to meet you, Jenso! I'm Melina! If you need anything, just let me know," She urged, "This is my bar, after all. Friends of Alvios don't have to pay for anything! Especially if they're defending the city as well!"

[Jensoman]

"Okay." Jenso simply responded to Alvios, and headed upstairs. He turned to Melina briefly before going up, though. "Nice to meet you, Melina! Thanks!" Jenso said cheerfully to her, and walked up the stairs. He waited for Alvios to come up as well, and lead him to his room.

[tex]

Melina nodded and waved them off. "Don't be mean to Alvios! Otherwise, you'll be banned for life!" She noted, heading back to the bar.

[Hatman1801]

Alvios gave Jenso a wary glance after his brief talk with Melina. It wasn't just his outlook, as he wasn't nearly as curt with her as he was to him. Suppose I'll find out in a moment... He felt a familiar twitch in his fingers that wanted him to reach for his blade, but he also didn't necessarily feel like this man had killing intent in him.

Alvios stepped past him, leading him to the end of the hall, and stepping into the last room, sitting down in a chair next to a small desk, looking curiously at Jenso. "So, what is so urgent that you need to talk to me privately about?"

[Jensoman]

Jenso glared at Alvios and shut the door. He walked over to him and sighed deeply. "I'll just get straight to the point." Jenso stated, looking straight into Alvios's eyes. "Does the name 'Luke Juuno' ring a bell?" He asked.

[Hatman1801]

Alvios' eyes widened as soon as he mentioned the name, and he shot up out of his chair, in shock. "Luke?! How do you know Luke?! Is he alive?!" Alvios calmed down slightly, before taking a step towards Jenso. "You must tell me what you know about Luke. Please."

[Jensoman]

Jenso clenched his fists as Alvios spoke. "Yes, he survived your betrayal." Jenso spoke coldly, and got in a combat stance. "I'll make you pay for what you've done to him!" He suddenly spat. Alvios's way of talking made it seem like Alvios only wanted to know Luke's location to make sure he was dead. At least, that's how it came over for Jenso. According to Luke, he also trusted Alvios, and he ended up betraying Luke in the long run.

[Hatman1801]

Alvios stepped back, aghast. "Betrayal?! I would never betray him! Curse it all, is that what he thinks? Apollo would make it seem that way... Listen, Jenso, I think you've been misinformed. I wasn't the one who betrayed Luke." Alvios needed to do something before Jenso outright attacked him What if he wasn't convinced? He certainly looked angry.

Alvios reached to his side and unclipped the sheathe to his blade, letting the weapon fall to the floor, and pushed it towards Jenso with his foot. "I swear on my life. Let me explain. Take my blade if you don't trust me."

[Jensoman]

Jenso's anger seemed to fade away, and made room for sheer confusion. "What..." Jenso simply muttered, staring at the blade on the ground for a moment. He looked back at Alvios immediately, and began to calm down somewhat. "Alright...talk." Jenso said. He sounded less angry now, but was still on edge.

[Hatman1801]

Alvios let out a small sigh of relief, and looked Jenso in the eye. "I was sent to approach Luke for an alliance between Corona and Diver's Paradise by a the leader of Corona, Apollo. Tensions were extremely high between the people and the higher-ups in Apollo's circle. I had been told that Luke's men could help settle the tension, and that Diver's Paradise could use some supplies from the trade routes that used to come through here. I just tried to help. I didn't know just what Apollo was like."

Alvios slumped back into his chair, and sighed. "Didn't take long for him to decide and attack Diver's Paradise. Called them out as bandits who were going to invade the town. I didn't believe a word of it; Luke didn't seem the type, nor did anyone else. Before I could find out more though, the cavern connecting our two towns was sealed off by Luke. Apollo was praised as a genius leader for his 'forethought and perception' in dealing with the situation. I would have just left this place after that, explained to Luke what happened, but I had...personal reasons to stay." Alvios' eyes looked down, and he clasped his hands together. "Wasn't even two months after that when the Swarm started attacking. Now I can't leave. Underhanded politics and trade deals don't work against mindless creatures, so now I'm the touted 'village hero.'"

Alvios looked up at Jenso now, as if studying him. "If I hadn't agreed to be Apollo's messenger boy, I could have gone to Diver's Paradise for help with this real threat. But... if you know Luke, you could ask him to unseal the cave! I could explain what happened! Get Apollo's lies out of power!"