Ultimate Spin System: Ero Spin?-Chapter 136: A Man From Legend

His body tensed instinctively. The air around them suddenly felt heavier, the rhythmic creaking of the wagon wheels seeming distant in the wake of M’baku’s question.

Lucas forced himself to stay composed. He couldn’t afford to show his surprise. If M’baku had noticed something, others might have too.

His mind raced for an answer.

Lie. Deny it.

But then he met M’baku’s eyes.

Golden. Steady. Unwavering.

Lucas swallowed. He knew that look. It wasn’t suspicion. It was certainty.

Damn it.

He could deny it, but would that accomplish anything? M’baku was too perceptive. If he lied now, he’d only make things worse later. Still, the idea of openly admitting the truth made his stomach churn.

Lucas sighed, rubbing his temple. "What makes you ask that?"

M’baku’s gaze didn’t waver. "You do not act like a man of this world. You do not think like one. The way you speak, the way you hesitate before answering questions, as if weighing them against knowledge we do not have... And then, there is your slime."

Lucas glanced down at the small gelatinous creature resting on his lap, its translucent body wobbling contentedly.

"What about it?"

M’baku’s lips pressed into a thin line. "That is not a creature from this land."

Lucas stiffened.

M’baku noticed.

"So I ask again," the orc continued, voice calm but firm. "Are you not from this world?"

Silence stretched between them.

Lucas knew he had reached a crossroads. He could either double down and deny everything, or—

"...No," he said quietly. "I’m not."

M’baku inhaled deeply, his expression unreadable.

Lucas braced himself for some kind of outburst, but it never came. Instead, the orc nodded slowly, as if confirming something he’d already suspected.

"I see."

That was it?

Lucas blinked. "That’s all you’re going to say?"

M’baku chuckled, the deep rumble of his laughter reverberating in the air. "Would you rather I throw you off this wagon?"

Lucas scoffed. "I’d rather you not."

"Then it is settled."

Lucas frowned. "You’re... really not going to press me on this?"

M’baku smirked. "If you wished to tell me more, you would. If you do not, then I will not demand it. You are my Lord, but more importantly, you are a man of honor." His golden eyes gleamed. "I trust that when the time comes, you will tell me what I need to know."

Lucas exhaled, feeling some of the tension in his chest loosen.

"...Thanks," he muttered.

M’baku merely grunted in response.

For a while, they rode in silence, the road stretching endlessly ahead of them. The trees grew denser, the air cooler as the sun began to dip toward the horizon.

Then, without warning, M’baku spoke again.

"My people have a legend," he said, his voice softer now, tinged with something almost reverent. "A story passed down through generations."

Lucas glanced at him, curious. "A legend about what?"

M’baku’s grip tightened slightly on the reins.

"About a man who once sought to unite monsters and humans under one banner."

Lucas blinked.

M’baku continued, his deep voice carrying over the sound of the wagon wheels.

---

Long ago, before kingdoms and empires, before men built their walls and monsters roamed freely... there was war.

Not war as men know it today, where armies clashed for land and kings fought for power. No, this war was older, deeper. It was a war of existence.

Men feared the monsters. Monsters despised the men.

It was an endless cycle of blood and vengeance.

But then came a man unlike any other.

He was neither beast nor human, yet he walked between both worlds. Some say he was born of a god, others that he was merely a warrior too stubborn to die.

Regardless, he did not fight for one side or the other.

He fought for peace.

He traveled from tribe to tribe, kingdom to kingdom, challenging the strongest warriors, the fiercest beasts, proving his strength not through words, but through battle.

And when he won, he did not kill.

He extended his hand.

Some took it.

Many did not.

But those who did found themselves bound by something greater than fear, greater than hatred.

Loyalty.

Together, they carved a path through the chaos, forging a new era.

A time when men and monsters did not slay one another upon sight.

A time when strength was not determined by race, but by one’s actions.

For years, this man fought, bled, suffered. But in the end, he succeeded.

And for a time, there was peace.

But peace, like all things, is fragile.

Men are fickle. Monsters are prideful.

The unity he built began to crack.

And in the end, he was betrayed.

Some say he was struck down by the very people he swore to protect.

Others say he vanished, leaving behind only his legacy.

But one thing is certain.

He was the first and the last of his kind.

A leader of both men and monsters.

And his story serves as a warning.

A reminder that peace is a fleeting dream.

And that those who seek to change the world... must be prepared to lose everything.

---

M’baku’s voice faded into the night, leaving only the distant howl of the wind.

Lucas sat in silence, staring at the orc.

"That..." Lucas hesitated. "That’s a hell of a story."

M’baku nodded. "It is more than a story. It is a lesson."

Lucas frowned. "A lesson?"

M’baku turned to him, his golden eyes unreadable. "Those who stand between two worlds... are always the first to be torn apart."

Lucas exhaled.

He didn’t know why, but something about those words sent a chill down his spine.

M’baku’s golden eyes flickered in the dimming light as he turned his gaze fully on Lucas. The heavy reins in his hands felt like nothing compared to the weight of his next words.

"You remind me of him," he said, his deep voice carrying an air of certainty. "The man from the legend."

Lucas tensed. "What?"

M’baku nodded, his expression unwavering. "Your eyes. They do not hold fear when you look at us."

Lucas swallowed. "Why would they?"

M’baku chuckled, but there was no humor in it. "Because to humans, we are monsters. To elves, we are savages. Even those who tolerate us still see us as lesser. But you?" His golden gaze burned into Lucas. "You look at us like men."

Lucas let out a slow breath, his mind racing.

"You fought alongside us without hesitation," M’baku continued. "You did not question whether we deserved freedom. You did not hesitate to stand against the elves, even when they outnumbered you."

Lucas looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. "I just... did what was right."

M’baku smirked slightly. "That is exactly what he said."

Lucas froze.

The air around them seemed to still.

"What?"

"The man in the legend," M’baku rumbled. "When he was asked why he fought for both men and monsters, he did not claim righteousness, nor did he seek glory." The orc’s voice dropped lower. "He simply said, ’Because it is right.’"

Lucas felt his heartbeat quicken.

M’baku watched him carefully before continuing, "And there was something else."

Lucas inhaled sharply. "What?"

"In the legend," M’baku said, his voice slow and deliberate, "that man... claimed he was from another world."

The wagon felt suddenly too small. The night air was too thick. Lucas’s pulse pounded in his ears.

He forced himself to remain calm. "And people believed him?"

M’baku chuckled, but it was a low, knowing sound. "No. At least, not at first. But as time passed, they realized—he knew things no man should know. Spoke of things beyond comprehension. Fought in ways no warrior had seen before."

Lucas exhaled slowly, trying to process what he had just heard. His mind spun with a mixture of disbelief and unsettling realization.

A man from another world.

A man who tried to unite humans and monsters.

A man who ultimately failed.

The similarities between the legend and his own situation were too striking to ignore. It wasn’t just the details—his fighting style, his willingness to stand with the so-called "monsters"—but even the way M’baku spoke of him.

"You remind me of him."

Lucas clenched his fists, staring at the darkness beyond the wagon. "This man... in the legend," he began carefully, his voice low. "You said he spoke of another world. Did he ever describe it?"

M’baku’s expression darkened, his golden eyes gleaming under the moonlight. "Yes."

Lucas felt his heartbeat quicken. "What did he say?"

M’baku hesitated for the first time since they had begun talking. Then, slowly, he spoke:

"He claimed his world was one of towering structures that touched the sky, of rivers made of stone where great metal beasts roamed." His eyes narrowed slightly. "He spoke of a vehicle called a ’car’ and a device that allowed men to speak across vast distances, a ’phone.’"

"He also spoke of men who no longer fought with swords, but with fire and thunder that came from their hands," M’baku continued, studying Lucas closely. "And of a sky where men could soar, not with magic, but with machines of metal and wind."