[ Ryo sort of just. Looks at the sword for a moment, a crease forming between his brows in what appears to be distaste. He wants to snap the blade in half and melt it down to a shapeless lump, and he isn't sure why he feels this way over an inanimate object. ]

...Keep it.

[ IT SUBCONSCIOUSLY REMINDS HIM OF MICHAEL AND HE DOESN'T WANT IT. ]

I won't.

[ Firmly, a note of irritation seeping into his tone. He'd rather rely on one of the knives he keeps under his coat than use that sword, honestly.

As they walk deeper into the forest, the town disappearing between the trees behind them, he changes to change the topic. ]

What do you know about the manticore? [ Not much, he assumes, but he'll ask so he doesn't have to tell him things he already knows. ]

It's a Persian legendary creature similar to the Sphinx. It has the body of a lion, the head of a human, and the tail of a scorpion; in some depictions, it has a tail of venomous spines similar to porcupine quills instead.

[ In other words, watch out for the tail. ]

No, it'll just try to devour us whole. [ As usual, his voice is neutral, almost disinterested. He steps over a thick root potruding from the ground as they walk, eyes searching for movement between the trees. ]

We should try to find one with a scorpion tail—there are accounts of the other variant being able to shoot its spines like arrows, making it more dangerous to deal with.

Of course, Akira. [ He thinks Akira could just ask right now, but he doesn't get to say that when he spots movement in the distance. ]

Did you see that?

[ Ryo's attention orients briefly to the sword when the other stabs it into the ground before pulling back to the beast stalking out of the grass, poised to attack. He opens his coat just enough to pull out his gun, flicking the safety off and before moving to stand behind a tree. ]

Don't let its face distract you, Akira.

—!!

[ Ryo immediately seizes the opportunity, lifting his rifle. He takes aim, inhales a deep breath, firing off a bullet on the exhale. A splatter of blood hits Akira when the bullet goes through its ribcage; the manticore makes a pained noise but isn't about to throw in the towel yet, slashing at Akira with sharp claws. ]

[ Ryo recalls the description for the quest and realizes they're probably not supposed to kill the thing, but as he watches Akira get pinned to the ground under its weight it becomes obvious that he's going to have to kill it. He doesn't care about the quest when Akira's safety is at stake and the mere thought of having to watch him die again makes his stomach twist.

He fully steps out from behind the tree, ready to fire. He quickly brings the rifle to his shoulder, takes aim at the head to guarantee the kill, and squeezes the trigger hard—

—only for the weapon to conveniently jam on him. ]

Fuck— [ He curses, tossing the weapon aside. Left with no other option, he clenches his hand and focuses, trying to will that power into manifesting. He inhales, and in the next second something sparkles and several lightning bolts fly through the air toward the manticore, tearing through its flesh. ]

[ As Akira gets back up on his feet, Ryo steels himself for the questions he knows he'll have to answer; there's no lying his way out of this one, no claiming what Akira saw wasn't real.

He nods, keeping his expression as neutral as possible. ]

I'm not human, Akira. My memory's still full of holes, but I recall enough to start putting the pieces together.

Humans don't summon lightning bolts. [ Or make make a walnut grow into an adult tree within months, or recover so fast from injuries; a normal human wouldn't be standing after taking several hits from a baseball bat to the head, nor would their broken leg heal within a week. Did Akira never notice how quickly he had the cast removed? ]

I was born in a village in the Peruvian Amazon. When I manifested strange powers, they began to worship me as a deity.

[ ...he decides to tactfully omit the memory of actual human sacrifice. ]

....I wasn't ready to tell you. I'm sorry. [ He says after a moment of hesitation, not quite looking the other in the eye. He's trusted Dextera with his past, but he just hadn't been able to bring himself to share it with anyone else. Maybe part of him thought Akira would jump to the conclusion that he's actually a demon and turn on him, even though he knows that logically that wouldn't happen..

He isn't sure. ]

The details are fuzzy, but I was pushed into the sea and spent a few months floating all the way across the Pacific. I lost my memories and washed ashore in that small village where you lived.