Day 18: End Of The Beginning

Mom: WHY CAN'T YOU JUST BE NORMAL!!!?

Thienlibra: *screams and post day 18 of the Grim*

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This is it

This is the day (we've been waiting for)

I'm gonna tell them the truth, the truth about just who I really am (Belle. I'm a motherfucking vampire and you suck, no pun intended in that. In fact, the entire Twilight movie sucks ass)

I'm not a genius tactician, nor am I a charismatic leader. I don't even know the reason why they're following me in the first place

Is it out of pity? Sympathy, perhaps? Those two seems likely enough, but I wouldn't put it past them to be foolish enough to believe in my capabilities as the alpha of the pack

I'm sorry, but you guys will have to be disappointed today

My steps halted, and I took a deep breath before exhaling. The weather's so cold that I can actually see the white mist that came out of my mouth as I did so.

The others also stopped on their tracks and look at me. Good, I have their attention now

"Everyone" I began "I just want to say that...I haven't been completely honest with you guys recently"

Murdoch's eyes became wide as saucers, it was a look of utter disbelief and incredulity, just as I expected. I turned to the other too, thinking they'd be like that too

"........"

Wait, why are they smiling?

Maybe they thought this was a joke or something. I need to make this more serious

"You may not know it, but the truth is that I've been lying to you this whole time. I'm actually not what I appeared to be" I spread my arm "In fact, I think you'd be shocked at what I am"

"....."

Instead of the effect I desired, both girl's smile keep widening until they were outright grinning. The two female Grimm looked at me with something akin to the 'we already know look'

"So, it's like that huh?"

"Since the beginning...why am I not surprised?"

"From that time, and that time also. I should have realized sooner"

"As expected of my Lord, from the start you've been playing us like a damned fiddle"

"....."

Nani?

Did I fucked up somewhere?

No matter how thoroughly I searched my memories I could not remember how and when I've messed up. I think there's a slight misunderstanding in communication here

Before I could say anything, it was Murdoch who speaks first

"...You're saying that everything you did until this point has been an act?"

Yes! This man here gets it! I pointed my finger at him excitedly

"Indeed my friend! Everything up until this point has been nothing more than an act, a trickery, a sham! You have all been fooled by me ever since we met, and now I've decided to tell you the truth about who I really am! I. Am. Just. A. Normal. Guy!" I almost yelled at the last part, but already too tired to do so

Now, here comes the insults

"...."

"Big bro, that's freaking amazing!" Murdoch yelled in a reverent tone "To think that we've all been tricked by you, that blows my mind!"

"So you finally noticed until now huh? His Lordship has always been three steps ahead of us at every twist and turn, leading us by the nose without us even noticing it this whole time" Alistair said with a superior smirk

"But, to tell the truth to us at this time" Helen said with her hands on her chin "That means Phase 1 has been completed right?"

"........"

Phase 1? What Phase 1 are you talking about?!

"Well yes, the first step of his plan is to gather all the necessary pieces to create a strong foundation toward his goal. He would do this one at a time, slowly but surely. For every events that happened, for every pieces that he acquired, there will be millions of possibilities and an infinite number of choices opened, yet he carefully calculated each of them and make sure to choose the one with the highest chance of occurring, and they did"

She stopped for a moment, at which I found myself at a loss for word, before continuing with her speculations

"The most impressive thing about this, however, is that he did it without gaining the least suspicion. The day he met us, the day we left the cave and encountering the bandits which just happened to be there, enabling us to gain enough money to stay in the town just for one day. The day that village was attacked by the Grimm, thus drawing your attention to that place. All of it...so that he can have you in his pack"

Helen nodded at this, a playful smile on her face

"Indeed. If didn't know anything, I would say that it is sheer dumb luck that everything happened the way they do, just as you have planned"

"As it is, the initial stage has been set, the pieces are in position, only waiting for him to put it on motion. In other world, Phase 1 completed"

There was a brief silence, in which my mind tried to comprehend what they just said. It wasn't easy at all

Woman...why do they just have complicate things up? As if it's not already messy as it is

"Hehehe..." It came as a giggle, before I bursted out laughing "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"

"It is exactly as you said, this has all been a part of my plan from the start. I didn't expect you to have figured it out though. To that regard, I seems go have severely underestimated your intelligence"

Tears were streaming down my cheeks. It wasn't tear of proudness, it was that of extreme frustration when people just can't seem to get what you're saying

Because of that, I've decided to just play along with them for now. No matter what I say, it would just probably worsen the current situation

Their eyes were full of admiration as they look at me

"Now that you know I see you as nothing more than pawns in a chessboard, what are you going to do about it?"

This is my last futile attempt at a confession of my uselessness. By reminding them of the fact that they are unimportant to me, I could hopefully offend them enough to leave me alone

Damn it all to hell if this failed

I watched as the three of them exchanged glances. They seems to have reached a decision together judging from the way they simultaneously turned to me

One by one, the three Grimm slowly prostrated themselves to me. Their postures were refined and experienced, a clear sign of early educations about etiquette, befitting that of a noble

"We have swore before, and we will do it again"

"We have swear our loyalty to the pack, and by extent we accept to be your servants. In death we shall stand beside you, in battle we shall protect you, and in blood we shall serve you until our last breath. The deepest pit of hell awaits anyone if us who dares to break our vows, so shall be it"

"So shall be it" I said quietly, a bitter smile spread across my face

"This will be a test of your loyalty. From now on, I will leave each of you on your own, not because I want to abandon you, but because I want each of you to learn about this world through your eyes, to become stronger and prove your usefulness to me. Do it, and Ishall accept you as worthy of being my servant"

They nodded, each of them having a determined look on their faces

"Hai!"

I smiled and turned back, before walking away

Finally, the nuisances are gone

I can finally get some peace

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"So.. this is it, huh?" Alistair mumbled sadly as they watched his silhouette disappeared behind the thick snow "We're back at where we begin"

Murdoch tried to cheer her up, but to no extent as his eyes too start watering

While Helen has only knew him for a week, the slime could say that she understood him more than the other two combined

Her Lord is someone who, despite his cold exterior, cares deeply for the members of his pack. She had watched as he converse with them, seemingly guiding them with their own problem, he offered words of wisdom for her, who is lost on her own path. He taught Alistair about how perfection isn't some kind of unreachable dream, but rather is a part of us. He is also friendly to Murdoch, despite knowing him as a Hellhound, a specie of Grimm that used to wreak chaos upon the human world in ancient times

In other world, he treated them not as pawns, but rather as family

And that's why she understand the reason why he would do that. In this world, the strong eats the weak, it has always been the natural cycle of life. He knows the only way for them to stand beside him would be to getting stronger, and so they must part ways until a later time. It is not what he wants, but what he must

If they are loyal to him, they will strive to become stronger. It is not a test, it is proof of the faith he has in them

Helen could not cry because she is a slime by default, yet she found herself greatly saddened by his departure

To think that they'd just met each other for several days only for him to disperse the pack, the slime couldn't help but wondered just why would she care about something like that

The whim to join him was one made on the spot. At that time she'd just considered him as a temporary shelter for her until Helen could find (Y/n) the Prince of Pride, but she soon grew attached to him in less than one day, and even lost her virginity to his tongue at that. There's no denying that he has been enjoyable company

It's such a shame...looks like she'll have to search for (Y/n) Lucifer all by herself now

Just as the slime Grimm were about to turn back, a silhouette caught her eye in the distance. It seems to be crimson in color, and is...heading toward them with supersonic speed?

BOOOM

All of them jumped away in time to avoid the red missile. There was a brief silence as the smokes started to clear, before a woman rose out of it. One that they recognized

"M-Mistress Pride!" Alistair exclaimed as she bowed, slightly shocked by the sudden appearance of the woman. Murdoch seems to hold it worse than her, judging from the way his jaw dropped to the ground

It was a normal reaction, expected of people when they see Pride, the strongest of the Seven Deadly Sins, one whose power can rivaled Gods at her prime

This woman is the "Bloody Valkyrie", Salem Lucifer

“Ho..." Salem muttered as she gazed at them with mildly interested eyes, before pointing at Alistair

"You, you're Abraham's daughter" ignoring the Kumiho's stuttering she then turned to Murdoch "You're Heracle's cursed son"

At this the hound Grimm slightly winced, rubbing his arm in awkwardness

"And you" Helen blinked as she felt Salem's gaze landed on her "You smells like that bastard Avindale. So stinky"

'What is that supposed to mean?' Her eyes twitched in annoyance

"All of you are here, just as Abraham said. But where's my son?"

"Your son, Mistress Pride?" It was Murdoch who asked her, his face appeared to be puzzled

"Yes, my son" She tilted her head, as though she herself was puzzled by their reactions "He traveled with you, don't you remember him?"

"We don't recall meeting him, your majesty" Alistair replied "There's only one other person who traveled with us, and he is-"

The words suddenly seems to die down in her throat

Murdoch's eyes widened, as is Helen's

The words of their leader seems to echoed inside their minds

"You may not know it, but the truth is that I've been lying to you this whole time. I'm actually not who I appeared to be" He spread out his arms "In fact, I think you'd be shocked at what I truly am"

All at once, the puzzle which has been haunting their mind this whole time finally clicked open

"(Y/n)...so it was you who I was chasing this whole time huh?" She smiled "As expected, you already planned it out in advance, didn't you?"

Guh, he played her like a fiddle

Looks like she has really underestimated his intelligence

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Uhhg. Good riddance, those threes are now finally gone from my life. Now I don't have to worry about being Sasuga'd anymore

It feels kinda empty down there, though. A feeling that I've just lost something important. Could it be that I actually don't want to leave them behind?

"......"

Naaaaaaah, it's just my stomach rumbling. I haven't eaten anything for several days after all.

I could go hunt for some food now, but I know there will be nothing here, this is Atlas smack dab in the middle of winter. If they're not dead, they're probably freezing to death right now

No, what I need to do now is to find some place to hide, since I'm pretty sure Alistair can sense my presence from a far. Not that I think they will try that anyway, but it's still better to be sure

Looking around, I can see nothing but snow, some rocks, some dead trees and some more snow. Not giving up, I started wandering around the place looking for a cave or something that I can hide in

"?"

Well, I supposed I could hide in a truck?

Across from me stood a clearing, in which there was a truck with the word A.H.A on it, which I have no clue what it could means

I'm aware of what I'm about to do. This could either end badly or splendidly, or both

Deciding to just give it a try, I jumped inside the truck's back van and hid myself among other equipments. After waiting for several minutes, a human guy come up to the van and closed it, casting me in a complete darkness

Well, I'll just open the door later using [Acid Spit], so it's not that much of a deal

Closing my eye, I went to sleep inside the tight and cramped space of the truck, experiencing the life of a stowaway for the first time in my life

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Unbeknownst to him. Had he stopped to read what the word AHA stands for short, (Y/n) would have choose otherwise and try to stay away from that truck as far as possible

A.H.A stands for Atlas Huntsman Association, and the truck that he was currently in is heading straight toward their headquarter

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Author's Note: Phase one of the plan has been completed (lol). That means our current arc also drew nearer to an end, marked by the dispersing of the pack. Don't worry about those Grimm subordinates of ours though, we're going to see them at a later time. There's no way I can miss out those sasuga moments with them

But yeah, the results have just came in, and it seems we have a winner... that is Menagerie

Wow, didn't think you guys would actually listen to me...

Anyway, that's all for today, I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I do. With that said, peace!

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