Hyperdimension Neptunia GB

Chapter 38 (Lust: Voiceless Night)

Grun's POV

It's been a month ever since I saw that happened... It was a night of silence not a single peep could be heard, I was patrolling the streets looking out for the beast that has been causing chaos in my nation...

Grun: "...Who would have thought really...Emerald... she's different..."

...While I was observing the area with my ability overseeing air, I noticed that some invisible traps were laid down right outside of the outer gates, the bombs were placed in such a way that if one blows up, the others will too...

I thought about lifting the bombs with my magic but then...

I realized the bombs were being pressed down by some sort of force... a barrier if you may, the barrier was also another form of trigger, if the bombs were to touch the barrier for a period of time they would then explode...

While I was contemplating what to do, a child was approaching the gate, I intervened immediately and told him to stay away, apparently the boy was going to venture out to get some Crystalline grass... An herb that heals any form of sickness... So I told him to stay put while I go get the materials he needed and commanded the guards to never let him out...

The Crystalline Grass were located in a dense forest south of Leanbox, it only took me 5 minutes to get the materials, when I got back I saw the boy approaching the outer gate with his size he nimbly avoided the guards who were desperately trying to stop him, he was about to step on a bomb!

...I rushed to him as fast as I could, but I was too far away... his foot touched the barrier, it descended and touched the bomb... 2 seconds... the boy realized his mistake and jumped back... unfortunately the explosion radius would still get him...

4 seconds...

I'm not gonna make it!

5 seconds... and...

...It was a devastating moment... the smoke from the explosion covered the area, and the fiery hell from the bombs turned night into day...

I was so heart wrenched... I couldn't stand... I fell to my knees and lamented... was I wrong to leave the child?

Questions of regret and sorrow circled my head... until...

When the smoke cleared... I saw something I never imagined...

...A glowing shield surrounding the child... and in the center of it all... it was her... Her golden locks flowed effortlessly in the heated atmosphere caused by the explosion... her spears were responsible for the barrier as she held the child closely... it was as if, though I thought to be impossible, she who was a beast, was protecting a human child...

...Was it just a ploy?

Something to trick me with?

Was this another trick or prank?

...I was still on my guard... Beasts have been our dreaded enemies for years... And while I don't want to remember it anymore... Emerald and I had battled a lot in the past as well... sometimes she won... sometimes I won... but never once did it include a full scale invasion...

...Is it possible...?

Can humans and monsters... live in peace?

...That's when I decided to change my outlook and tried a different perspective... I started accepting monsters into my nation, all the while trying to convince people that we can live in harmony...

From then on, I also stopped fighting Emerald, sometimes I would just hang her upside down, deflect her sticky grenades far far away, or sometimes I would even hang out in crowds and she just wouldn't do anything... She just looks at me with an irritated face... and once I was away from the crowd only then would she try to jump on me... and when she did... she would fail...