(L18D) Chapter 2.1.2. If it does not destroy, it is bearable.
(L18D) Chapter 2.1.2. If it does not destroy, it is bearable.
May 30, 2025
🦅Sam: He's Lion, the design director.
Lion was about thirty years old and had a cast on his arm. His hair was gray, like the iris of his eyes. His beard was neatly trimmed, like a drawing. His well-trained muscles made him look strong, but his body, covered in marks and blemishes, gave a different impression. He was resting in one of the rooms made of wooden planks, on a mattress on the floor, having just woken up from a dream he regained after the shouting stopped.
🐲Atami: What?
⚜️Lion: I'm the one who makes the suits, and I can see you need it. He inspected his outfit from top to toe.
🐲Atami: Oh, okay... You could have put more effort into mine.
⚜️Lion: And this is why I don't get paid enough.
The newly met man kept his shoes neat and tidy, but his socks had a few holes in them. He seemed to be collecting rock sheets and stones piled up in a corner, their destination unclear.
🦅Sam: Don't complain, you charge what I get for each suit in ten "deliveries."
⚜️Lion: I don't make suits every day, and they last, at least the rest of the teams' suits outside of L2 do. I also have to work on the street to make ends meet.
Lion looked at the new girl after wiping away his sleep.
⚜️Lion: You're the Red Dragon, aren't you?
🦅Sam: We both decided we can call her Atami, because it's shorter.
🐲Atami: I'm fine with that.
⚜️Lion: Me too, calling you a dragon is ridiculous.
🐲Atami: I swear I'll beat you both up.
He bared his sharp teeth under his finger mask.
🦅Sam: You can take your hands off your face. Lion knows who's wearing each suit.
🐲Atami: Really? But you don't know, right?
🦅Sam: Me? I have no fucking idea.
⚜️Lion: I can't know names, that's private. But I need to know the measurements and the power, to see how they affect the suit and what materials I need to make it with. Yours was the easiest because you yourself asked for it to be light and easy to repair.
As the conversation progressed, a doubt arose in the Eagle's subconscious.
🦅Sam: Hey, dragon, what's your power?
🐲Atami: Umm... I... I can reach the second level of The Zone.
It was like talking about equations with a dromedary and hoping the little animal would understand you, not far removed from what happened back there with those two idiots.
🦅Sam: What Zone?
⚜️Lion: He has superfocus.
🐲Atami: The Zone is when a person focuses intensely on something. It increases the mental speed of the person who enters it, and they act almost instinctively.
🦅Sam: Okay...
He wasn't convinced by the explanation, no matter how much he accepted it.
🐲Atami: I can do things anyone else would do, but more effectively.
🦅Sam: Sounds good, but that's not a power.
🐲Atami: Depends. And you?
He nodded his head in the direction of the Eagle, an indication of who he was addressing.
🦅Sam: Haven't you seen him?
🐲Atami: I could barely breathe. How could I care for you if I was too busy trying to live? She held back her anger.
🦅Sam: Okay, calm down. I can't hurt myself or feel pain. I'm like a rock.
🐲Atami: (...) And you, Lion?
The named one smiled with a strange grimace.
⚜️Lion: I... I'm immortal.
🐲Atami: I guess... It's cool.
Lion: Not cool. My only power is not being able to die. It's more of a drawback than an advantage. I can take damage, although... I can also heal any wound over time, so I guess that's an advantage. I have no fucking idea. You guys have useful skills.
The one with the colorful hair headed for the door they came through.
Sam: You can argue about it all night.
Atami: Are you leaving?
Sam: Yes. Lion!
Lion: What do you want?
Sam: Show him the rooms and let him choose the one he likes best. He can decorate it, but he can't touch my things. What I put in there stays where it is.
The front door, the garage door, a heavy metal one, closed softly.
[-- ... .-.-.]
A figure wearing a gas mask walked through a laboratory, surrounded by scientists who stared at him like someone witnessing a divine apparition: fear and joy. They all automatically stopped what they were working on to greet him with firm handshakes.
Doctor: It worked.
Gas Mask: Uh... Really?
They ran into a dark room with the excitement of children on Twelfth Night, sitting down to watch a slide show.
- A group of superheroes for hire protect the largest city ever built from itself in an unknown future... Yes, for example.
"Dem Goats" is a story of stories that blends bad comedy and the horrors of humankind with a mediocre narrative. We see the characters' points of view, and the narrative ends if a character is unconscious or dies. There's also a protagonist; if they die, the novel ends abruptly.
- Content warning: This novel deals with sensitive topics. If you're sensitive, we recommend you avoid it. The author presents a credible perspective, not his own ideas. This isn't a joke. Likewise, if you admire a certain character, I would recommend skydiving without a backpack.
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