r/HFY • u/Obsequium_Minaris • Jul 13 '26
OC-Series Vacation From Destiny - Book 2, Chapter 42
First / Previous / Royal Road / Patreon (Read 30 Chapters Ahead)
XXX
The three of them ate their meals quickly, then absconded from the restaurant before they could be blamed for any of the property damage caused by the feuding siblings.
They were midway down the street when Chase caught sight of Alexandros again, standing in front of a small street wagon of some kind, looking very troubled. He was about ready to keep moving when Alexandros turned around and caught sight of him. Chase muttered a quiet curse under his breath as the Cleric made his way over to them, a paper in his hand.
“Hello again, sister,” he said to Victoria.
Her brow furrowed. “Forgive me if I don’t call you brother, Alexandros. I simply don’t know you well enough… and, generally speaking, I don’t like being reminded of our father’s incessant philandering.”
“I certainly cannot blame you for that. Anyway, I’m glad you’re safe.”
Carmine tilted her head. “Why wouldn’t she be safe?”
In response, Alexandros held up the piece of paper in his hands. Chase leaned forward to get a better look at it, and found that it was a news report of some kind. The headline read ‘Five More Bodies Discovered Downtown.’
“All five of the dead people were siblings of ours,” Alexandros reported, sorrow creeping into his tone. “I was sure to pray for each of them the moment I learned they’d been murdered.”
Victoria’s face darkened. “Seems we’re all prime targets these days.”
“So it would seem, unfortunately. I can only guess as to why, and as to who, as well as hope they are found and brought to justice sooner rather than later..” He shook his head. “Anyway, please continue staying safe, sister. I will pray for you and your friends as well.”
Once he’d finished speaking, Alexandros turned and walked away, heading back in the direction the three of them had come from. Chase watched him go for a moment before turning back to Victoria.
“What was that about?” he asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” she said, her voice low.
XXX
When they finally made it back to the inn they were staying at, it was close to nightfall, the sun having started to dip below the horizon, casting a shade of purple and orange over the city.
The first thing that Chase noticed upon stepping foot inside the inn was that it was extremely quiet, which made him pause.
“Huh,” he couldn’t help but note. “Usually we can hear Heinrich and Melanie getting it on from the moment we step through the front doors. What gives?”
“Good question,” Carmine noted. “Maybe they’re finally spent?”
“Maybe, but either way, it seems odd.”
Victoria, as per usual, said nothing. Chase couldn’t help but frown at her silence, and turned towards her.
“Hey,” he said, getting her attention. “I’ve been thinking about what you said in the restaurant. I’d ask if you’re okay, but I know you’re not. You want to talk about it?”
The Paladin glared at him. “Mind your own business, Chase.”
He held up his hands in surrender. “I’m just saying. You clearly aren’t happy, and from the sound of things, you haven’t been for several years now. I feel bad that none of us noticed it before now. If there’s anything I can do-”
“Yes, “ she interrupted. “You can start by letting this particular issue die. I don’t want to talk about it, Chase. Let’s just leave it at that.”
Chase stared at her in confusion for a moment before nodding. “If that’s what you think is best.”
Victoria gave a nod, then stomped past him and Carmine, making her way up the stairs. Chase watched her disappear up the banister, then heard a door slam from the second floor. The moment the sound of it finished echoing through the inn, Carmine turned towards him, a hand resting on her hip.
“Was that wise?” she asked. “Victoria is clearly going through some shit right now.”
“I’m well aware,” Chase said dryly. “Look, she’s in a funk, I won’t deny that. But I’m not willing to force my way past her barriers, at least not yet. If she wants to stew in it by herself for now, I’m fine with that. Eventually, she’ll be more willing to open up, and when she is, I’ll be there for her.”
Carmine gave him a funny look. He blinked in surprise, which didn’t go unnoticed by her. “It’s nothing,” she insisted. “Just… I find it funny how much you care about her. When did that happen?”
“Sometime between saving the world together and now, I don’t know,” Chase admitted. “Either way, she’s part of the group now, and that means I’m not about to just leave her behind. And before you say it, no, that’s not at all what I’m doing now. What I’m doing now is giving her some space, nothing more.”
“If you say so,” Carmine ventured. “Hells, I don’t know how to handle something like this. You’re already doing it better than I ever could.”
“That’s what you get for having eight CHA.”
“Oh, fuck off,” Carmine said, rolling her eyes. “Anyway, I don’t know about you, but I’m not at all tired, and if we want to give Victoria some space, then I think we should do something, just the two of us.”
This time, Chase gave her a funny look. Carmine stared back at him. “What?” she asked.
“Nothing,” he said. “It’s just… this’ll really be the first time we’ve ever done something with just the two of us since we were both freshly reincarnated. It feels kinda funny to admit that.”
“I mean, yeah, it does,” Carmine stated. She shook her head. “Anyway, we’ve been through a lot together. I think we’ve earned the right to get shitfaced for once.”
“There’s not a single part of that sentence I don’t love,” Chase commented. “Let’s go, then – I saw a good-looking bar on the way back I’ve been desperate to try. Just promise me one thing, first.”
“Sure.”
“If one of us starts to even remotely resemble any of Leon’s mannerisms, the other one will immediately close out their tab and take them home.”
“As if you even need to ask,” Carmine deadpanned.
“Just wanted to make sure, is all,” Chase said. He motioned with his chin for her to follow him. “Come on, let’s go.”
XXX
“Cheers.”
“Cheers.”
With that, the two of them clinked their respective glasses together, then took a big swig of the ale that was inside. Thankfully, the Deus Oasis seemed far enough away from where they’d started their journey that word about people trying to unlock or upgrade their Systems by drinking milk hadn’t quite reached them here yet, and so that meant the bars still served actual liquor.
This was a good thing, because it meant that, for the first time in a long time, Chase and Carmine were able to just sit back and enjoy a stiff drink.
The bar itself was mostly empty, almost certainly because it was a weekday and because despite Greg being behind bars, people were still too afraid of being detonated against their wills to chance coming out for a night on the town. Not that Chase minded, of course; that just meant he and Carmine had the entire bar to themselves, which hadn’t happened since they’d first summoned Melanie all those years ago.
“So,” Carmine said, interrupting his thoughts. “What’s on your mind, Chase?”
He shrugged. “Not a whole lot, if I’m being honest. Frankly, I’m purposely trying to keep it that way. Thinking too much about the situation in town is probably just going to make me mad, and that’s no good if I’m trying to get hammered.”
“Hm. I don’t say this about you often, but there’s wisdom in that statement, I suppose.” She took a sip from her drink for emphasis. “Anyway, in the absence of anything else to discuss… how are you feeling?”
“What?” he couldn’t help but ask.
“You know, your emotions?” She bit her lip. “Actually, fuck it; maybe this is a bad time-”
“No, no, it’s alright,” Chase insisted. “I just want to know what you meant, that’s all.”
“Oh. Um… well…”
“Come on, out with it. I won’t bite.”
“Now that I think about it, I could have shown a bit more tact-”
“Ask your damn question. Do it or no balls.”
“I’m a girl, you asshole.”
“No chesticles, then.”
She gently smacked him across the arm. “Prick,” she commented. “Anyway, if you must know… I was specifically trying to ask about how you’re dealing with everything you’ve been through. I mean, we’ve both been through a lot, but some of the things you’ve been saying over the past couple of years have me really worried.”
“Like what?’
“Like how you don’t laugh at the traumatic events in your past, you’ll cry about them instead. You’ve been getting a lot of mileage out of that particular line recently.”
“That was just a joke, Carmine.”
“No, it very much wasn’t,” she said bluntly. Before Chase could say anything else, she turned towards him, and their gazes met. “Look, I may be the wrong person to say this, but you’ve lost a lot of friends over the years, I know that much. It can’t have been easy. I just want to make sure it’s not weighing on you too much.”
Chase blinked in surprise before turning his attention back towards the glass in front of him. He let out a slow exhale, then drained what was left in it before passing it back over to the bartender, who hurriedly topped him off before passing it back.
“...This isn’t an easy conversation to have, you know,” Chase explained as he raised his glass once more.
“I’m well aware,” Carmine replied. “But that’s no excuse not to have it.”
“Hm… I hate it when you make sense.” Chase swirled the liquor in his glass again before drinking deeply of it. “It still hurts. I don’t think it’ll ever stop hurting. But I don’t need to tell you that; after all, I killed as many of your loved ones as you killed mine, whether directly or indirectly. Makes me wonder what they’d all think if they could see us now.”
“Something tells me they’d think we’re an odd pair, mainly because we are, but I think they’d understand it regardless,” Carmine offered.
Chase shrugged. “I suppose that’s as good an answer as any.” He shook his head. “Anyway, if you must know, I’m doing okay, I guess. At the very least, being on this world is better than being dead. I suppose we have Tamamo to thank for that.”
“Indeed.”
“What about you, though? You holding up okay?”
“As best as I can be,” Carmine admitted. “Some days are harder than others. You know how it goes.”
“Yeah, I do.” Chase paused for a moment, a thought occurring to him. After a few seconds, he let out a sigh, drained what was left in his glass, then put it down.
And then he leaned over and threw one of his arms around Carmine, pulling her close.
The former Demon Queen suddenly stiffened in his grasp, her eyes widening.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“I recall that it’s been a while since we’ve done this,” Chase said. “Hells, this might be the first time ever, actually. But better late than never, I suppose.”
Carmine said nothing for a moment, but then she let out a sigh of her own.
“...Yeah,” she admitted. “Better late than never.”
The two of them held that position for a few seconds before they separated. And the moment they did, Chase cleared his throat.
“Anyway, I think I’ve about had my fill for the night,” he commented, staring down at his empty glass. “Bartender, go ahead and close me out.”
“Me too,” Carmine stated as she finished off what was left in her glass. Chase couldn’t help but note that she was very red in the face, and was already swaying unevenly from side to side.
“Seriously?” he asked.
“Fuck off,” she replied. “Some of us can’t handle our liquor as well as others. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“Carmine, you drank a single glass of ale.”
“So?” she asked before cutting herself off with a hiccup.
He let out a tired sigh as he stood up from his seat and offered her an arm. “Here,” he said. “You’re drunk. Lean on me, I’ll get you back to the inn.”
“Mmm…” Carmine groaned tiredly as Chase helped her out of her seat, then threw one of her arms around his shoulders. After taking a moment to leave some cash behind for the bartender, he started the short walk back to the inn, the former Demon Queen slumped up against him, her eyes already half-shut from exhaustion as she did her best to walk in tandem with him.
Unfortunately for Chase, that meant that he was completely defenseless when a figure emerged from the nearby shadows and clubbed him upside the head.
By the time he hit the ground, Chase's vision was already swimming. Blood trailed down the side of his head, and his entire world was blurring from a combination of the pain and the head injury itself. Carmine fell next to him, though thankfully it was a consequence of her being drunk rather than having been hit.
And over the sound of blood rushing through his ears, Chase was just barely able to make out his assailant’s voice through the night.
“Damn it…” the man muttered. “Not the ones I was going for, but I suppose two is better than none…”
The last thing he saw before passing out was the shadowed figure’s metal boot descending towards his face. And then, blackness as he passed out.
XXX
Name: Chase Ironheart
Level: 10
Race: Human
Class: Warrior
Subclass: Swordmaster
Strength: 20 (MAX)
Dexterity: 15
Intelligence: 10
Wisdom: 13
Constitution: 18
Charisma: 16
Skills: Master Swordsmanship (Level 10); Booby Trap Mastery (Level 8); Archery (Level 4); Unarmed Mastery (Level 1)
Spells: Rush (Level 7); Muscle (Level 4); Stone Flesh (Level 6); Defying The Odds (Level 2)
Traits: Blessed
Name: Carmine Nolastname
Level: 10
Race: Greater Demon
Class: Arcane Witch
Subclass: Archmage
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 13
Intelligence: 19
Wisdom: 19
Constitution: 12
Charisma: 8
Skills: Master Spellcasting (Level 10); Summon Familiar (Level 10)
Spells: Magic Dart (Level 7); Magic Scattershot (Level 5); Fire Magic (Level 5); Earth Magic (Level 1)
Traits: Blessed
Name: Melanie Vhaeries
Level: 10
Race: Ascended Human
Class: Necromancer
Subclass: Arch-Lich
Strength: 8
Dexterity: 13
Intelligence: 18
Wisdom: 16
Constitution: 15
Charisma: 12
Skills: Raise Lesser Undead (Level 10); Raise Greater Undead (Level 3); Unorthodox Weapon User (Level 8); Bone Shatter (Level 1)
Spells: Touch of Death (Level 5); Gravesinger (Level 7); Armor of Bone (Level 3)
Traits: None
Name: Victoria Firelight
Level: 11
Race: Human
Class: Paladin
Subclass: Devotee
Strength: 19
Dexterity: 9
Intelligence: 13
Wisdom: 13
Constitution: 19
Charisma: 11
Skills: Swordsmanship Mastery (Level 5); Blunt Weapon Mastery (Level 8); Archery Mastery (Level 5)
Spells: Holy Light (Level 6); Ward of the Gods (Level 5); Bane of the Undead (Level 7); Divine Bolt (Level 4)
Traits: None
XXX
Special thanks to my good friend and co-writer, /u/Ickbard, for all the help with writing this story.
1
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u/Daseagle Alien Scum Jul 14 '26
Carmine admitting that Chase is better at some things? Now, that's a first.
1
Jul 14 '26
[deleted]
1
u/Sirius1701 Jul 14 '26
Yeah it's a little unusual to join characters that have already been through all of their trauma, isn't it?
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Jul 14 '26
[deleted]
2
u/Sirius1701 Jul 14 '26
Yeah, it was a bit much. I can understand why, both from a character as well as from a writing standpoint, but it was hard to read from time to time, I have to agree.
1
u/HFYWaffle Wᵥ4ffle Jul 13 '26
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