User blog:Gnomehunter/WWYD Response: The Man on the run who could Break Magic

Response to an old wwyd, The Man on the Run Who Could Break Magic by Zenrony

"A man called James was born with a interesting ability. He have the power to completely and permanently wipe out the effects of demonic energy. It isn't a talent he could control however, it work passively. If he touched a monster girl, she would permanently turn into a regular human woman. Slimes, Arachnes, Lamias, even the strongest monster girls such as Pharaohs, Baphomet and Lilims were turned human. The victims also became immune to demonic energy, all monster girls who tried to reverse the transformation failed. James's power also work on incubus and regular humans. Incubus were turn back into regular men and the already normal humans who touched him became immune to demonic energy.

It wasn't something he deliberately do but he just run into situations where touching people, whatever accidentally or intentionally, was bound to happen. Yes, he did ran into many such situations, he possess a amazing ability and people took notice. Particularly after people discoved that the effects of his power are permanent. Many people, particularly the former monster girls, tried to get rid of their demonic energy immunity but to no avail. The most intelligent people of the world tried to create a cure but it's impossible. Even the Demon Lord and Gods are completely incapable of creating one. James's power is beyond everything and anything, nothing can stop it, nothing can reverse its effects. Even the knowledge and technology of the people from the Other World, a world where there's only humans, no monster girls and magic, are useless.

James became a target. Some people wanted to exploit him or make experiments on him, he was seen as a threat by some and as the key to humanity's salvation by others. However, James just wanted to be alone. To avoid being captured or even killed, James became a nomad, moving from villages to villages, cities to cities, constantly moving and traveling. He is always on the run. This time, he's running in your city. Yes, your city, where you live.

You're just a regular man, married to a monster girl. One day, you decided to accompany your wife for shopping in the market. Things were pretty calm until you see a hooded man running through the crowd, almost bumping people. He is being chased by guards and as he run past you, he accidently bumped your wife, touching her. Your girlfriend loses balance and fall to the ground as the hooded man and the guards moved to another part of the city. You give your hand to your wife and as she tried to took it, something happened. Her whole body become shiny, she's covered with lights but they eventually go off. Your girlfriend has changed, she's no longer a monster girl, never will be ever again. There's nothing you can do to reverse the transformation, even the smartest minds, Demon Lord, Gods and the Other World can't help you. No magic or technology, whatever how powerful and advanced, can transform back your wife into what she was.

What do you do?"

'''There I am, walking through the market, taking in the scene with my Gnome wife when suddenly we heat a commotion. People are parting behind us and as the crowd shifts closer to us, a man bursts out, running straight toward us. He knocks me over as he runs by. As I try to sit, my chest seized up. I clutch it in pain, and my wife, in her chibi spirit form, flies out onto the ground. She glows, then reverts back to her full sized form. She appears to have been unchanged. Until she speaks up. “Husband? I...I can’t feel anything.”'''

'''“What do you mean you can’t feel-” I pause. I feel something is off as well. The vibrations of the people’s footsteps, the subtle changes and shifts in the earth, are no longer there. I point at the ground in front of me to try to lift it and nothing moves. I try again, multiple times now, to access my powers and there’s nothing. Now both my wife and I are worried. She tries to change shape but can’t. Especially when I notice the few plant parts that are normally sprouting out of her body have disappeared. She pulls her arms close to her chest. “Cover me?” I pull off my cloak and throw it over her. She steps close to me, completely naked underneath it, as we try to decide what to do. Suddenly a group of men run up, dressed in Order garb. '''

'''“Have you seen any suspicious figures pass by? The man we’re trying to find hiding himself in a hood and cloak!” The man barks at me. I pause, pulling my wife close, and glare at him.'''

'''“I haven’t seen anybody of that description”. '''

'''“That man is of great value and we must find him at all costs. Do you know what could happen if-”'''

'''“Hold on a moment, do you know where you are? This is monster friendly territory and I do not appreciate being threatened by a bunch of goons! Instead of chasing after some man, why don’t you find an exit before you make more trouble!”'''

'''“Do you have any idea what he’s capable of? He can instantly change monsters back into human women, and make them immune to demonic energy! We have to find him at all costs!” “Well I haven’t seen anybody like that”, I lied. The soldiers muttered, then took off in the direction they were headed, unfortunately still following their target. '''

'''“Well I guess that’s that. Should we go home now?” I asked my wife. She nodded and we left the town square. Back at home, we sat down, she in my lap, like we often did. And I noticed she had been crying. “Sweetheart, what’s the matter?” She sobbed for a bit and spoke up, more than I’d ever heard her speak at one time. '''

'''“Was it true? What that soldier said? That I’m a normal human woman now? No powers, or magic, nothing to help you with or defend you? Not even any way to pleasure you? I don’t know what I’m supposed to do now. I can’t change form or feel connected to you like I used to, do you think I could change myself into a different monster? Would you be happy with a Zombie, or a succubus, or-” I cut her off by giving a big hug.'''

'''“Dear, I’m not going to give up on you just because you lost your powers”. I love you for who you are as a person. And as for the other part of being a monster, I think we’ll get by just fine”. She seemed to be calming down. '''

“Why did you lie to that Order soldier?” 

'''“Oh, I didn’t really think it was a good idea to tell the Order anything I don’t have to. But I do wonder about that man they were chasing. What do you think of him? Would you rather he was caught?”'''

'''“No, I don’t want anyone to be taken by them, even if he did something like this to me”. “Well, I think we should talk to Bill and Louise”. They were a couple of friends of ours, Bill, and his wife Louise, an Undine. We walked to their house, my wife dressed in some of my clothes. She still looked as beautiful as she had yesterday. I knocked on the door and fortunately, they were home. '''

'''“Jace! It’s so nice to see the both of you! Why are you-” Louise had answered the door, Bill in sight  behind her, and she looked confused when she saw my wife dressed in my clothes. She put her hand to her mouth in shock. “Oh! No, did you run into that man who was running through the streets today?” My wife could only nod. Louise pulled her into a hug. “I’m sorry it had to happen to you. We were home when we heard about him, and decided to stay inside. We were going to go out later, but…” She paused, and stepped aside to let us in. As I sat down, I turned to Bill.'''

“So do you know anything about this fellow?” 

'''“Well, not much more than you. There’s probably other monsters who’ve been affected by him. But, I really can’t say much more than, I’m sorry for your loss”. '''

'''“I appreciate it. I think we’ll both be able to deal with it. But there’s something both of us came here to ask you. We wanted to see if we could find this man, and help him get out.” Bill looked surprised. '''

'''“Are you sure, Jace? Aren’t you angry with him?” I had always prided myself on being even-tempered even in the face of big problems.'''

'''“Maybe a little. But listen man, there were Order soldiers chasing after him. We need to get them out of here, and I don’t think it’ll do us much good if he gets in their hands. But obviously we can’t do much by ourselves. So I was hoping you would help us, however you can.” Bill pondered. '''

'''“I think we should try”, Louise said. “But, I’d prefer not to get too close to him myself.”'''

'''“And Bill should try to be careful, too. My wife was in her spirit form and he bumped into me. Ejected her right out onto the street”. So we sat and tried to come up with a plan. Of course, none of us really had any idea how to find a man who was doing his best to stay hidden. As the day grew late, the sun finally set, and we decided to return home, thanking our friends. When we opened the door, there was a man standing in our house. He stared for a second, then lunged at us. “Woah woah woah there buddy, we aren’t going to hurt you”. He paused, then slumped down. He had a thick beard and overgrown messy black hair. He had long and lanky limbs under the cloak he wore, and a thin frame. There were heavy circles under his eyes. He looked frantically up at me. '''

'''“I don’t know where I got these powers. I can’t control them, and I can’t undo them. I didn’t mean to, and I’m so sorry!” I held up my hand. '''

'''“We’re not going to hold it against you. As a matter of fact, some friends of mine were going to help us get you out of here”.'''

“Really, he asked warily”.

'''“Really. You can rest here tonight, and tomorrow, and we’ll help you get out tomorrow night”. He still looked suspicious. “Or you can leave right now. I won’t make you stay.” '''

'''“I’ll take my chances here. You can call me James”. We spent the night talking with James, trying to figure out how best to help him escape, and listening to his stories. For all the stress, he had been all over the place, meeting many different people, some more happy to meet him than others. At last he fell asleep on the couch, as my wife and I had assured him we would stay up and make sure no one found him. Just after midnight there was a soft knock on the door. '''

“Who is it?”

'''“It’s Bill”. I opened the door, ushering him in quickly. I turned to see James sitting up, and eyeing Bill. '''

'''“That’s our friend Bill. He won’t bother you either”. My wife assured him.'''

'''“So you’re the fellow the city has been in an uproar about”. James nodded. “Well, I haven’t come here to give you up. Jace and his wife here were asking my wife and I to help you escape. I came here to see if we could come up with a plan, but it looks like you’re here. But I’m not sure if we can give you that much time to escape. Apparently there’s more search parties looking for you, I even ran into some monsters patrolling the skies. I don’t think we’re going to be able to get you out of here at night”. '''

'''“Then tomorrow”. James answered. After some more discussion, we knew what we were going to do. James fell asleep, and the three of us took turns staying awake. Luckily, no one bothered us. The next morning, we executed the first step. Dressing up in big cloaks and hoods. A classic diversion tactic. We planned to leave at noon, when the streets should be the busiest. When we got to the square, we would separate. Louise, who had been given the details, would follow James from a distance to help him escape. We donned our cloaks, and left the house heading in the direction of the town’s center. We surrounded James, trying to make it harder to see him. '''

'''“You there! Stop!”'''

'''“Time to run!” We split, James making a beeline for the side street. I ran down my own street, 2 soldiers on my tail. I led them along the way, straight into a dead end alley. They drew closer. “Show yourself!”'''

'''I pulled my hood down. “Wrong guy.” They cursed and tried to turn back, but I lept at them with a fury in my veins, tackling them to the ground. I managed to get up, taking their swords. “You’re not going anywhere”. '''

'''James was running down the street. He couldn’t hear anyone following him. Suddenly he heard footsteps. He knew better than to try to look back, so he kept running. “My husband Bill is helping you escape. I’ll follow you and make sure no one gets close”. He heard a woman shout from behind. Good. But as he turned a corner, seeing that he was near the city’s exit like they had told him, he halted. There was a whole squad of soldiers standing in front of him. So close! “I’ve got this”. The same woman spoke up from behind him.'''

'''“What do you think you’re-” The soldier’s voice cut off as a huge wave of water rushed out behind James, knocking the soldiers off their feet. As the water dispersed, James sprinted forward, and out through the gates of the city. And right into a group of monsters that were waiting by the exit”.'''

'''“No! How did you know?” A demon standing at the front stepped forward.'''

'''“A little eavesdropping last night and we heard everything we needed to know”. James didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t run, and he couldn’t go back. '''

'''“Please, you’ve got to let me go. I didn’t mean to hurt anyone. I don’t know how I got these powers. I just want to be free.” '''

'''“We’re not going to imprison you”. We want to bring you to the Demon Lord’s castle. She’d like to hear about your powers and see if there’s something we can do about them”.'''

'''“No way! I’m not going with monsters. At least the Order won’t take my life”. The demon looked surprised. '''

“What gives you the idea we would try to harm you?”

'''“I was taken in by a Wight a year ago. She had liches and other monsters look at me and try to figure out how to remove my powers. I’m a light sleeper, and one night I overheard her talk about the possibility of ending my life and having someone revive me. I fled. I don’t want to die! I don’t want to bother anyone! If you just let me go I’ll try not to change anyone else”. James was looking desperate now, He couldn’t see anyone behind him but he wanted to get away before anyone else arrived, The demon looked horrified.'''

'''“My dear! I assure you we have no such intentions. We just want to give you a place to stay while we try to find a solution. Tell you what. How about we write an agreement-”'''

“You think I’ll sign a contract from a demon?”

'''“Oh, I’ll let you look it over. Besides, if I wanted to marry you, wouldn’t it involve coming into contact? And then I would turn into a human and the contract would lose its power?” James thought for a moment, and stepped closer, cautiously, to see what the demon had written. It stated simply that James would agree to come to the Demon Lord’s castle, and that no monster would try to harm him. It also said that the contract would not obligate James to marry the demon, or any other monster. After staring at the paper, reading and rereading it, James hesitantly took the quill and signed his name. “Splendid! The demon gestured for him to come forward. '''

'''“Please send someone back there to make sure my friends know that I’m safe. They were leading Order soldiers off my trail. And please give them my deepest gratitude!”'''

'''“Of course!” The demon pointed to one of the harpies next to her, who took off. She made a magic circle. James hesitated, then stepped into it, careful not to touch the demon, and they vanished. '''

'''As Louise was standing in the streets, the gate to her back, the soldiers had all sat down, no longer trying to get past her. They had taken off their helmets, as the sun beat down on them. Suddenly a harpie flew overhead, circling. '''

'''“James is gone! And he wanted to give you his deepest gratitude for helping him escape!” Louise waved to her, then turned to the soldiers. '''

'''“You heard her. You should all regroup and give up the search.” The soldiers stood up, watching carefully to see that she was not going to attack, then trudged back to the square. '''

'''I stood in the alley, the sword pointing at the soldiers, but they no longer made any move. My wife appeared from behind.'''

'''“James is gone”. I dropped the swords, and let the soldiers leave. None of them were interested in anything but getting out of the heat. We followed them from a distance. In the center of town, we met with Bill and Louise. '''

'''“James is going to the Demon Lord’s castle. There’s no way anyone is going to get him there”, Louise told us. '''

'''“Oh that’s good”. I can’t thank you enough for helping us at the end”, I answered. As we turned away, one of the soldiers approached us. He looked like the captain of the group. “Isn’t it time you all got out of here? Bill asked gruffly. “You’ve disrupted things enough already”. '''

'''“I just have to ask one question! Why? Why did you help that man escape? Weren’t you angry at him changing you and other monsters?” My wife had stepped behind me, trying to hide, but now she poked her head out.'''

'''“It wouldn’t have done any good for me or any other monster. My husband wanted to help him, so I trusted his decision”. The captain looked confused for a moment, then waved to his subordinates.'''

'''“We’re leaving!” They marched quickly out of the center, to no small relief of the crowd of people who’d been watching them. '''

'''Days later, I was sitting with my wife on the couch. I gave her a kiss. '''

'''“How would you like a name to call you by?” She smiled. “I think I’d like that. Did you have anything in mind?”'''

“How about Grace?” 

“Lovely”.

'''“And also...I think now that you’re a human, it will be much easier for you to have a child”. Grace had been worried about anything more than kissing and cuddling, still afraid it would be too different. But now, her eyes lit up as she realized that being a human might not be as bad as she thought. '''