Nemean Lion 03-004

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Nemean Lion 04-005

&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x3C;strong&#x3E;&#x3C;em&#x3E;CUT 012&#x3C;/em&#x3E;&#x3C;/strong&#x3E;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x3C;em&#x3E;I think we skipped a few scenes.&#x3C;/em&#x3E;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;A Cursed Privilege?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Like the name, came up with it on the spot.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;It would make sense but I still don&#x27;t really understand what this whole privilege nonsense is.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;Calvo speculated for a moment, &#x22;The only way you&#x27;d turn into the way you are now is... The Nemean Lion is dead. They used their own body so you can live.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Wh-What does that entai-&#x22; I shook my head, &#x22;Wait, why would they do that, to begin with!?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;Calvo shrugged, &#x22;I&#x27;ll keep &#x3C;em&#x3E;explaining...&#x3C;/em&#x3E; but I want to explain this first,&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;What is it?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;You&#x27;re probably wondering why I want to keep you here a while, yeah?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;W-Well, no, I kind of pieced it together in the few scenes that we cut out.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Yep, don&#x27;t want anybody messing with your familia and such.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;What about the other explanation?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;&#x3C;em&#x3E;Well,&#x3C;/em&#x3E; it has something to do with turning ya back to normal.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Normal...? Like, not... uh...? Whatever I am?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Right now you&#x27;re some bastardized immortal kin, thing. That means you are &#x3C;em&#x3E;very&#x3C;/em&#x3E; dangerous-- not at this moment, but you can be in the future.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Like... what immortal...? I still don&#x27;t fully understand it.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Not really a vampire-- a failed one. More a... a ghoul.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;So... I&#x27;m a ghoul?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;Calvo groaned, looked to the side, and pondered, &#x22;No... that&#x27;s more like those thralls that Vampires can have. The incomplete ones that don&#x27;t really share a similarity to their master and such.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;H-How do Vampires work?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;Calvo groaned again, scratching his head, &#x22;I&#x27;ll have to give a full rundown...&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;He sighed and began walking-- I followed.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Do you know where Immortals first originated from?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;What did they originate from?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;A curse that led into a blessing of sin,&#x22; He paused, &#x22;The story of Cain and Abel.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;From the bible!?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;More like a predecessor to the original. A UMA named Abel and a human named Cain. Abel just so happened to have a similar name to the brother within the bible while Cain always had that name, you could say that he was a direct descendant to the original Cain-- someone who was cursed to follow the steps of his ancestor.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;What do you mean?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Cain killed the Dragon, Abel. They were close but Abel was betrayed by someone he considered his own brother and in his dying breath cursed Cain forevermore with immortality.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;And... that&#x27;s the immortality I have?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Yes, the curse of immortality,&#x22; A beat, &#x22;But there was one more thing that came from the birth of the first immortal. A &#x3C;em&#x3E;perfect &#x3C;/em&#x3E;immortal was created. One which encompassed sin. From the corpse of the Dragon, the Father of Vampires emerged. The same day an imperfect version of immortality was born-- no, rather, discovered since it&#x27;s been theorized to always have existed-- the perfect immortality was born, though through sin there are consequences. You are an attempt at making a Vampire-- or rather, a botched attempt at a UMA attempting to become a Dragon.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Do I have some untapped history with the Nemean Lion or something?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Probably-- you won&#x27;t remember it until we somehow revive the Lion itself.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;A failed Dragon...&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Hm~?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;What is it?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;He took out his phone and began typing something, spinning around to look at me, &#x22;Let&#x27;s hope I get some more information from my friend here,&#x22; He shook the phone, &#x22;I&#x27;ll come up with a better solution when we get there, so far though...&#x22; He threw his head back looking to the glass ceiling above, &#x22;It isn&#x27;t lookin&#x27; good for you. For now, Hijo, I just need you to not die. If you die again, there is no going back for you, &#x3C;em&#x3E;but...&#x3C;/em&#x3E;&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;But?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;You have a &#x3C;em&#x3E;very high regeneration factor, luckily for you, you just have to be as careful as possible to not encounter any Cazadors &#x3C;/em&#x3E;until we get you to &#x3C;em&#x3E;about&#x3C;/em&#x3E;... half normal. They won&#x27;t be hunting you anymore after that.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;I... I hope we can get this done quickly...&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x3C;strong&#x3E;&#x3C;em&#x3E;CUT 010&#x3C;/em&#x3E;&#x3C;/strong&#x3E;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x3C;em&#x3E;Why did we go back by two cuts?&#x3C;/em&#x3E;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;Not far away from the mall, multiple entities seemed to have been approaching.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;One of them seemed to be someone I recognized...&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x3C;strong&#x3E;&#x3C;em&#x3E;CUT 013&#x3C;/em&#x3E;&#x3C;/strong&#x3E;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x3C;em&#x3E;Oh, now we&#x27;re back?&#x3C;/em&#x3E;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;We&#x27;ll be met with some Cazadors soon.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Cazadors?&#x22; I paused, &#x22;Oh! Hunters-- you did mention that...&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Well, I guess I&#x27;ll explain this before things start getting &#x3C;em&#x3E;real &#x3C;/em&#x3E;bad.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;And what would that be?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;It&#x27;ll be the process necessary to revive the Nemean Lion.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;O-Oh... what would that be?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;The body parts of Geryon the Giant, you&#x27;ll need to consume those.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;C-Consume!? Like, bodypa- You said &#x27;Giant&#x27; too?!&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Don&#x27;t worry much, all you&#x27;ll need to do is bite into it-- you&#x27;ll naturally absorb the energy in the body parts and you&#x27;re done. The problem is the process necessary in order to retrieve the body parts.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;And what would that be?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;&#x3C;em&#x3E;Well&#x3C;/em&#x3E;, the eye is easy since I&#x27;ve had that for a while now.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Oh...&#x22; A beat, &#x22;&#x3C;em&#x3E;Should I eat that now?&#x3C;/em&#x3E;&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;Calvo shook his head, &#x22;We&#x27;ll handle the Cazadors first, then we&#x27;ll have you do the body parts-- wouldn&#x27;t want to be interrupted, y&#x27;know? Especially since some of these tests are &#x3C;em&#x3E;quite&#x3C;/em&#x3E; dangerous.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Tests?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;The Geryon Frog, The Geryon Protector, The Geryon Dullahan, and the Geryon Head. From has the arms, the protector has the legs, the Dullahan has the torso, and the head is the head.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Uh... I&#x27;m a bit confused about something.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Yes, Hijo?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;I&#x27;m just wondering why the body parts are spread out like this?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;The Giant was an annoyance for everyone so they banded together and killed the guy. The problem is, the UMA was much stronger than they believed it to be, and if the body parts, without some sort of seal placed onto at least a couple of them, would revive the cabr&#xF3;n. Now, it&#x27;s just things used to help UMAs get stronger and such. Sometimes specialists interfere in order to keep things from getting out of hand but for the most part, it doesn&#x27;t matter much if we let any other UMAs have it, in fact, it&#x27;s preferable since it&#x27;s a free seal for us. You&#x27;ll get the parts and consume the energy which should both help you and us. The body parts effectively become useless and you make progress to becoming more normal again.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;I&#x27;m a bit confused again.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;&#xBF;Por qu&#xE9;?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Whats, &#x27;UMA&#x27; even supposed to mean?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Well, it&#x27;s used pretty broadly but it&#x27;s an abbreviation to, Unidentified Mysterious Animals... That&#x27;s just kind of something that was popularized though. I like it, but most people just refer to them as oddities.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Are they all animals?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;&#x3C;em&#x3E;Technically? &#x3C;/em&#x3E;It&#x27;s like how you&#x27;d refer to humans as a part of the mammalian tree, see?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;I see...&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x3C;em&#x3E;Why do I feel like I&#x27;ve heard that abbreviation before?&#x3C;/em&#x3E;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;So I&#x27;ll get the eye, first...?&#x22; I mumbled, &#x22;Uh... what should I do after that?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Go for the frog. It may be strong but it&#x27;s dumb as bricks.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;He paused.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Just go in the order I introduced them in.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Do you know where they are?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;I&#x27;ll give you the locations and such later, right now we got more important matters,&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;He pointed past me.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Like that girl there.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;I turned around to look at what he was pointing at, greeted by a familiar presence.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Big Bro!&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;An old friend of my sister. Zenbu...&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;I&#x27;ve heard that name earlier before too... that guy... Nanbu...&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Z-Zenbu... what?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;A small girl, a middle schooler holding an umbrella, which she used to cover her face slightly. I&#x27;d recognize her anywhere though. Short black hair, a similar naval captain&#x27;s hate to Nanbu - pink, matching the color to her clothes-- a small pink coat resting on her shoulders, wearing the uniform for the Junior High nearby.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;What are you doing here?&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;&#x22;Big Bro... I...&#x22; She shook her head, &#x22;I have no choice here, sorry.&#x22;&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;From the umbrella, she pulled out a sword.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;&#x3C;p&#x3E;The situation just escalated into ridiculous territory.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;

&#x3C;p&#x3E;Have ye heard tell of beasts? Dubious creatures of the day and night, crawling about with twisted and corroded sheens. Manfolk struggle to fathom their existence.&#x3C;/p&#x3E;