It was very earning in the morning. Orphen was taking a walk in the village. He no longer had a headache, after he left the dungeon he went outside the tower and beat up two guards. Although it was dawn, it seemed the village had woken up very early——most of the villagers had already woken up and left. Orphen walked together with them.
Middle-aged women, children, working men, tall and weak girls——stop——he wasn’t going to examine every villager. The young men of the village basically blended into the crowd. Sarua mentioned this to him, the energetic guy who was Makudogaru’s attendant.
The members of the Dragon Faith were wary of the sorcerer——unfriendly eyes were cast upon him. Moreover, he was wearing black clothes and the dragon pendant, the symbol of the Tower of Fang. He was lucky the crowd didn’t start hurling stones at him, at least now yet anyway.
(Fear, they are afraid of me——)
Orphen became aware of this as he walked. From his point of view, it was impossible to stay hidden.
(Why should they be afraid, shouldn’t Makudogaru be the one whose afraid?)
Orphen felt weird as he walked. His destination was the south of the Tower—— Makudogaru’s estate.
When he casted his eyes upon the house, he knew the ancestors who lived here didn’t have any kind of luxuries, it was a simple dwelling——most of the houses in this area were, it was like any other house, it had a small garden, and a small flower bed in front of the entrance. He looked at the shape and number of windows on the house, it was as common house. Except almost all of the walls were made with bare wood.
He didn’t bother knocking——there wasn’t any doorbell anyway——he placed his hand on the doorknob. Since it was dawn, it was naturally locked, though he knew think it was odd that the others were awake but the owner was not.
Finally he saw the difference between him and the ordinary villagers, Orphen was unconsciously relieved.
He raised his right hand and seized the opportunity——instead of knocking on the door he hit it directly with his hand——
Suddenly it sounded as if the door was being unlocked, it squeaked as the timber was removed, the door opened. A voice said:
“Hey. It’s really early……some of the others of Feina should have already told you.”
At the door was Sarua. He was wearing the same clothes from last night, but no sword. He didn’t look tired, he went on to say:
“The Monsignor is still asleep——he had a late meeting last night.”
“I came to wake him up.”
Orphen was done talking, he moved past Sarua and entered the house.
When he passed Sarua, he lowered his voice.
“What are you doing, kid?”
“You know what——he has someplace to be. Listen, Feina said that today the village was going to be destroyed, I’ve got to let him make the first move.”
“What are you thinking, do you want to get him now? Let the guy run away first, then take action. I won’t notice a thing——take my advice.”
“I don’t care. I won’t do something just because an assassin wants it. Let me open his eyes.”
The place was a mess——he was in between the porch and the hallway. Orphen went to open the first door——it seemed to be the reception room, it was very dirty. The floor was littered with bottles, in the opposite corner was a heap of clothes waiting to be washed——it seemed this was a place where certain men spent the night, it had been turned completely upside down.
After he entered the room, Sarua also entered.
“……Did a pack of wild boar run through here?” Orphen asked. Sarua chuckled twice, and said:
“Well, this is the aftermath of our first meeting. Though……the bottles were drunk rather quickly, the first-class wine too.”
“Must have been some party?”
Orphen said as he picked up an empty bottle that Sarua had kicked. Sarua shut the door, he sighed and said:
“Where is Makudogaru?”
“In the bedroom obviously……however, do you want to see the other men?”
“Of course I do. Anyway, where are they?”
“They should be home by now. The meeting continued until dawn, when morning arrived they left.”
“Oh……”
Orphen then went back into the hallway. He heard a panicked voice.
“Hey, hey, who is talking out there? What do you want?”
Orphen didn’t respond. He spotted a door opening.
Scattered all over the floor were books and pieces of paper, it seemed they weren’t being read, but simply thrown onto the floor. From the entrance to the bed, a long line of clothing was hung up, shirts, pants, socks, and even some summer clothes like skirts and sweaters. He couldn’t understand why they were ordered like that. There was a gas lamp on the bed that was very dangerous, it could easily burn the place down if knocked over. The bed sheets were crumpled, there was a young woman wrapped in blankets lying on the bed snoring, she seemed dead-like. In addition to her hair being a mess, her feet were sticking out of the blanket.
Orphen quietly glanced towards Sarua. Sarua scratched his head, and said:
“Never mind. This is my room.”
Orphen shut the door and pretended he saw nothing.
“Are you really from the Church?”
“Uhm, well, I had to deceive the others about somethings I like to do.”
“…………”
“For example, I like to pretend to get drunk every night, or tell children ghost stories if I’m in the mood. My favourite story to tell is the one about the rubber faced man, anyway I’ve taken great strides to hide my more noble activities.”
“…Whatever floats your boat.”
Orphen proceeded down the hall.
“Hmm……which one is his bedroom?”
Sarua pointed to the door.
Orphen motioned to open the door.
He entered Makudogaru’s bedroom, it was surprisingly clean——or rather it should be said that there wasn’t much to misplace, the look of the room was very consistent of someone belonging to the Church——he tried to not think about the real face of the man who owned this room.
“It’s a lovely morning.”
Orphen forced himself to say. Makudogaru glanced towards him, he rubbed his chin as if he was listening to a bad joke.
“Of course it is, it’s morning in the forest.”
“Doesn’t it rain here?”
“Even if it rains, it’s still quiet in the morning. Quiet……and sacred. The beginning of the end will come soon.”
“Is that so? With that kind of talk it’s easy to tell you are a member of the Church.”
At that moment, Makudogaru appeared to be shaken. His face tensed up, he said:
“What do you want, sorcerer?”
“What do I want?”
Sarua repeated the question after Orphen didn’t reply, he ignored him.
“Behind me stands an assassin from Kimurakku, he better stop bothering me.”
Sarua mumbled something. Orphen went on to say:
“Listen, I don’t give a damn about the heart of the forest, but you choose to indiscriminately shoot me. You shouldn’t have done that!”
“Hey, hey, it’s a bit too late for that.”
Sarua was about to grab him, Orphen looked back——seeing an opportunity, he dodged, he stretched his hand out and said:
“Guide me, O Starling of Death!”
After he said the incantation, he touched Sarua’s body, a destructive shockwave came down upon him——the assassin tumbled to the ground. He rolled on the floor a couple of times, desperately crying while doing so:
“You——traitor——”
“I don’t intend to join forces with an assassin.”
“Do you think you’ve bought yourself a favor?”
Makudogaru said. He fell to the ground without looking at Sarua.
“It doesn’t matter, he would have only complicated the transaction.”
“Transaction……?”
Makudogaru frowned. Sarua couldn’t talk, he could only ferociously moan——
Orphen continued:
“Feina.”
“What……!?”
Makudogaru’s eyes widened. Orphen stared at him, and repeated:
“Nothing more, nothing less. I’ve come to directly request——Feina. This way we can avoid further death. The same goes for the villagers.”
Makudogaru quickly regained his composure.
“What nonsense……”
Orphen silently approached him. With Sarua lying on the floor, he went to Makudogaru’s bedside.
He went on to say:
“You don’t understand……I’m aware of the dangers of this project. Even so I continue……”
“What?”
“I’ve seen things that you haven’t, no matter what you think——this continent is doomed……a powerful race is needed, we must go beyond the Dragon race……”
Upon hearing those words, a memory flashed in Orphen’s mind. A few weeks ago, he met an abnormal spirit who said something similar.
“I met a guy who said something similar——except he didn’t seem afraid, are you?”
“Naturally.”
Orphen took a step closer, he was within arm’s length of Makudogaru.
“All of our reasons, are in the past.”
Whoosh——Orphen’s vision went black for a moment, all he could see was white sparkles. It was apparent he had been hit by a hard object, his body slumped onto the floor. He then heard a flurry of footsteps, Makudogaru had left the room.
(Damn it……)
Orphen’s forehead was stained with blood, he looked around and only saw Makudogaru’s shadow, a broken vase, and Sarua on the floor.
Orphen chased Makudogaru into the hallway, he saw him enter a room two doors away, it snapped shut.
“Wait a minute, Makudogaru!”
Orphen said weakly. At the same time he opened the door.
The room appeared to be a storage room, Makudogaru was holding a pistol, he pointed it straight at him.
“Don’t be so arrogant, you are a mere sorcerer!”
“And you are a stubborn old man.”
“Sorcerers cannot be allowed to exist. Two hundred years ago was the Great War, do you know what happened?”
“The sorcerers survived and created nothing but a generation of envy……”
Orphen was a little groggy, the loss of blood was getting to him. The distance between him and Makudogaru was about five meters, even if he jumped he wouldn’t be able to make it in time.
Makudogaru laughed, and said:
“Haha! Did you really think the Heavenly Beings could be defeated!?”
Makudogaru cried as he was about to pull the trigger. Orphen began an incantation:
“Sword of light, whom——”
Click! ——and then, a dull pain——
Orphen stumbled backwards, as he fell——he saw Sarua holding a smashed vase.
“You traitor——”
A voice said, in the process of falling back, he lost sight of everyone else. Makudogaru intended to pull the trigger again, but he stopped. He heard something——
Ker-chak——
On the right hand side of the corridor, a door opened. It appeared a bullet had struck the door.
A familiar stocky figure appeared at the door.
“……Huh?”
A bewildered Vulcan appeared wearing baggy pyjamas. He came out of the servant’s room, Dortin followed after him.
There was no time to explain——Orphen’s nerves were aching, he sweep kicked Sarua to the ground. It would be very easy to escape, he had been hit once, but he had enough strength to get him out of here.
He slammed the down behind him. Orphen intended to flee towards Makudogaru bedroom. Once again, the door was opened, Orphen jumped towards the bedroom door, Makudogaru raised his pistol and pulled the trigger——
Another door was opened in front of him, it blocked the bullet.
“Huh, what the hell?”
It was the room Sarua’s woman was sleeping in. She wore a towel from her chest downwards, she had a groggy look about her. Orphen impatiently kicked the woman back into the room.
“Get down!”
He used the door as a shield.
“Sword of light, whom I do release!”
Crackle!
A wave of light and heat punched through the door, scattering debris everywhere, the corridor began to burn——the whole building began to shake. After the burst of light had disappeared, the corridor bore multiple scorch marks. At the other end of the corridor was Makudogaru, him and the others were lying on the floor, only Sarua couldn’t be seen.
Vulcan and Dortin were shivering on the floor, Orphen walked around them towards Makudogaru. Although he was still alive, he was subject to the debris from the door, he sustained multiple wounds and was bleeding. He couldn’t see the pistol, it must be somewhere else. Orphen patted Makudogaru on the face.
“Hey, get up!”
He groaned——slowly blinked his eyes, he regained consciousness.
Orphen slowly said to him:
“Listen——those are mortal wounds. Left unattended, you will die. Though I could use my magic to heal you.”
“Ah……!”
Makudogaru groaned due to the pain, or maybe he was just revolted at the thought of using magic to heal himself, Orphen couldn’t tell.
“If you want to live, speak up——or would you rather die without seeing Kimurakku again?”
Makudogaru said nothing.
“You bastard! You must really want to die! If that’s true, then it’s no big deal!”
“Ah…ah…”
“Damn it…you are such an idiot!”
Orphen closed his eyes, he quickly pulled Makudogaru’s body out from under the debris. He stretched forth his hand, and said:
“I heal thee, scar of the setting sun!”
Using magic, Makudogaru’s injuries were quickly cured——even the scratches were gone, with the disappearance of the wounds, Makudogaru’s strength began to recover.
“Ah……ah……hmm…”
Orphen heard an eerie sound, he looked around for the source. He was surprised that he couldn’t find it, he then looked back towards——suddenly, Makudogaru had raised his hand. He was holding a pistol directly at himself——the muzzle was pressed against his forehead——
Bang!
“…………”
The bullet penetrated Makudogaru’s skull. As if he was a puppet whose strings had been cut, his head fell backwards. Makudogaru was taking his secrets to the grave.
“I……”
Orphen stood up, he was shocked by what happened.
“Weird, it shouldn’t have went off. You see, it was damaged from you magic attack.”
It was Sarua. He fled into a nearby room. With his sword in hand, he hid behind the woman wrapped in a towel.
Small bits of flame were still present in the hallway, Sarua shrugged.
“I guess my time here is at an end——people have been trying to kill him for a while, but now this, retribution will follow. I will not become a prisoner, nor besieged by the villagers.”
The woman began to panic.
“W-Why did he have to die?”
“Because it’s a good day today, isn’t that right, Krylancelo?”
Sarua winked at him. Orphen was indifferent.
“Well, there’s no more need for killing, right? I’ll be leaving, take Feina with you.”
“…………”
“How can you be so calm after this?”
“That goes without saying, I’m used to this sort of thing.”
He then walked towards the entrance. Sarua looked back and said:
“Although I can’t say that I’m happy. It’s been nice knowing you, traitor, later.”
A moment later, Sarua was gone——Orphen watched him leave, thinking all the while.
(Makudogaru shot himself in the head.)
He remembered that moment.
(Why……did he despise magic so much that he would refuse treatment?)
“Anyway, you’re dead now. Nobody weeps for an idiot, Makudogaru.”
After Orphen was done, he wiped the blood off his forehead.
(What an idiot, I bet he was real happy pulling the trigger……)
“Who cares? It’s no big deal anyway. Though, I better save that stupid racoon dog before he causes trouble.”
He thought about that moment again, he wondered if Makudogaru was unconsciously smiling. After a while, he felt sorry for him.
Just then, he heard a familiar voice outside.
“Come on, hurry!”
There was a lot of movement outside the house, he could easily tell that a crowd was gathering——he could hear them through the walls. Orphen looked around the corridors, he didn’t know where to run——
He recalled what Sarua had said to him, “I will not become a prisoner, nor besieged by the villagers.”
(Prisoner, whose prisoner?)
He then heard someone shouting outside——it was Vulcan.
“Gather round! The evil sorcerer has stuck, he’s killed our beloved leader!”
“Of course it would be him, the fool……”
Orphen said to himself, then he heard the crowd cursing his name outside.
* * *
“Oh, this is so boring.”
Cleo said as she hid in the bushes. Beside her, a few men turned around in anger.
“Obviously.”
“Ah.”
“Ugh.”
“…………”
Cleo was holding her sheath, she looked at the three men——they were around thirty years old, they wore military jackets, all of them began to mumble.
They were in the outskirts of the village, in front of a row of houses, the villagers couldn’t see them from here. All houses in the village had a smaller warehouse type building, it also acted as a side entrance. Cleo hid in one of these the night before yesterday. In accordance with Orphen’s plan, she was to wait with the soldiers outside the village.
“I can’t stand much more of this.”
A soldier complained, then he sighed. Although he didn’t like the idea of Cleo being armed, it was necessary to keep her safe. He and his companions carried iron bars, they were half a meter long, these weapons could be easily used to deflect attacks and carry out a follow up attack, this was one of the standard pieces of equipment that soldiers carried.
“Why didn’t we rescue them yesterday?”
“Because…we can’t. Orphen said not to move until morning. I’ve got no idea why I agreed to wait......”
“The hostage should never command the rescue team……”
When she heard the soldier’s words, she wanted to beat him over the head, but she ignored him, looking back towards the village.
“Come on, let’s draw up a plan, where are the weak points?”
She said passionately, but the guards weren’t listening to her.
“Is there something wrong?”
One of the guards began to cry.
“You know, I was just thinking about my mother’s last words……don’t trust blondes, they only cause suffering——”
“Ah, I’m getting sick of you. Enough.”
Cleo angrily whispered, her angry face full of color.
At that time——
“Huh?”
Cleo noticed something. It was at her feet——something black and furry was touching her shoes. The hairball was as bigger than her hands, for a moment Cleo thought it was a black fox, but she soon realize that it was no black fox. The hairball——its black tail dangled in the grass, it was about the same size as a dogs tail.
“Hey, what is that?”
Cleo poked one of the soldier’s shoulders.
“Who knows……maybe it’s a dogs tail.”
The soldiers mused about this for a moment. Cleo began to feel the tail, and said:
“A dog’s tail wouldn’t be so wet, would it?”
“Wet……?”
The solders became somewhat shocked.
“Yeah.”
Cleo confirmed for a second time, she was about to grab the tail. At that moment, the grass began to shake——
Suddenly she grabbed the tail, what seemed like a black puppy came out from the bushes. The pup rolled around, trying to regain control of its own tail again. Cleo thought that this puppy seemed to be more intellectual than most——Cleo couldn’t help but stare as it opened its face, the puppies eyes were bright emerald green.
“A Deep——Dragon——”
The three soldiers screamed all at once.
“……A deep dragon?”
Cleo stared at it, and pondered. It was indeed a child of a Dragon.
The small Deep Dragon pressed the tip of its nose against Cleo’s hands. It was nothing like a baby pup, it was trying to push her hands. Upon seeing this, Cleo couldn’t help but laughed——she remembered what Orphen said about this, that they were meant to be very dangerous.
Cleo turned to the soldiers, she was surprised to find that they had raised their weapons——they were bearing them down upon the pup.
“What are you doing!?”
Cleo cried out, she tried to cover the Deep Dragon from their attacks——her face took the blunt of the attack, she was knocked to the ground.
“It hurts……!”
Cleo groaned, the Deep Dragon struggled to move in her arms. The soldiers were very surprised.
“Hey, hey——are you okay?”
“How——”
She suddenly became furious.
“How dare you! It could have been crushed from the fall!”
“It doesn’t seem to be hurt……”
One of the soldiers said. Cleo turned to him and shouted:
“It’s a child!”
She motioned her chin towards the Deep Dragon, it seemed very comfortable in her arms.
“Hey, hey, wait a second——”
She got up from the ground and rubbed her chin. One of the soldiers said:
“It’s a Deep Dragon, if you found it in this forest then it spells doom for all of us.”
“Keep quiet, we don’t want the villagers finding out.”
Upon hearing this, Cleo instantly shut up. Even though they were in the outskirts of the village, someone could be lurking nearby.
“Don’t you find it strange that a Deep Dragon is near a human settlement?”
“Maybe it’s lost.”
Cleo felt an ominous presence sweep over them——she didn’t know if the others felt it, but she looked behind herself anyway.
She looked in fear——a huge black beast was nearby.
“Ahh——”
It silently stood among the trees, hidden from sight.
“Why didn’t the others notice it?”
Cleo asked herself. One of the soldiers answered in a trembling voice:
“It’s said that a Deep Dragon can hide in its own shadow.”
“We’re done for……”
“My mother was right——blondes are nothing but trouble……”
Cleo quietly observed the Deep Dragon.
The Dragon stood about four meters tall. It had a thick black coat, its elongated nose pointed towards her, and its eyes were green just like the pups.
(It’s such a beautiful animal.)
Cleo said to herself. Now she knew why people worshiped such creatures.
The eyes of the Deep Dragon suddenly narrowed. Its mouth moved towards Cleo, its jaws gently opened and lifted the small Dragon from her arms.
(It seems this little pup is its child, but why is it near the village?)
“Why have you come here?
The Dragon didn’t answer.
“I said……”
Cleo suddenly stopped speaking. For something else had appeared——it was another Dragon. She hurriedly looked around.
“Uh……”
Cleo stood in dismay. Around her——countless Dragons had appeared around the village, all of them quietly standing still.
She glanced towards the three soldiers, all of them were trembling——they looked at its fine sharp nose——and then to the village, they shook their heads. None of them could believe this was happening, it was like a dream. The total number of Deep Dragons surrounding the village were a few dozen. Even an army of sorcerers couldn’t take them out, and yet they seemed to stand in Orphen and Majic’s way. Caught in between these Dragons and the village, Cleo couldn’t be in a worse situation.
She then felt something poking her shoes. She looked down, it was the small Dragon rolling around on the ground.
Cleo picked it up, and sighed. Whatever was going to happen, they would face it together.
It was very earning in the morning. Orphen was taking a walk in the village. He no longer had a headache, after he left the dungeon he went outside the tower and beat up two guards. Although it was dawn, it seemed the village had woken up very early——most of the villagers had already woken up and left. Orphen walked together with them.
Middle-aged women, children, working men, tall and weak girls——stop——he wasn’t going to examine every villager. The young men of the village basically blended into the crowd. Sarua mentioned this to him, the energetic guy who was Makudogaru’s attendant.
The members of the Dragon Faith were wary of the sorcerer——unfriendly eyes were cast upon him. Moreover, he was wearing black clothes and the dragon pendant, the symbol of the Tower of Fang. He was lucky the crowd didn’t start hurling stones at him, at least now yet anyway.
(Fear, they are afraid of me——)
Orphen became aware of this as he walked. From his point of view, it was impossible to stay hidden.
(Why should they be afraid, shouldn’t Makudogaru be the one whose afraid?)
Orphen felt weird as he walked. His destination was the south of the Tower—— Makudogaru’s estate.
When he casted his eyes upon the house, he knew the ancestors who lived here didn’t have any kind of luxuries, it was a simple dwelling——most of the houses in this area were, it was like any other house, it had a small garden, and a small flower bed in front of the entrance. He looked at the shape and number of windows on the house, it was as common house. Except almost all of the walls were made with bare wood.
He didn’t bother knocking——there wasn’t any doorbell anyway——he placed his hand on the doorknob. Since it was dawn, it was naturally locked, though he knew think it was odd that the others were awake but the owner was not.
Finally he saw the difference between him and the ordinary villagers, Orphen was unconsciously relieved.
He raised his right hand and seized the opportunity——instead of knocking on the door he hit it directly with his hand——
Suddenly it sounded as if the door was being unlocked, it squeaked as the timber was removed, the door opened. A voice said:
“Hey. It’s really early……some of the others of Feina should have already told you.”
At the door was Sarua. He was wearing the same clothes from last night, but no sword. He didn’t look tired, he went on to say:
“The Monsignor is still asleep——he had a late meeting last night.”
“I came to wake him up.”
Orphen was done talking, he moved past Sarua and entered the house.
When he passed Sarua, he lowered his voice.
“What are you doing, kid?”
“You know what——he has someplace to be. Listen, Feina said that today the village was going to be destroyed, I’ve got to let him make the first move.”
“What are you thinking, do you want to get him now? Let the guy run away first, then take action. I won’t notice a thing——take my advice.”
“I don’t care. I won’t do something just because an assassin wants it. Let me open his eyes.”
The place was a mess——he was in between the porch and the hallway. Orphen went to open the first door——it seemed to be the reception room, it was very dirty. The floor was littered with bottles, in the opposite corner was a heap of clothes waiting to be washed——it seemed this was a place where certain men spent the night, it had been turned completely upside down.
After he entered the room, Sarua also entered.
“……Did a pack of wild boar run through here?” Orphen asked. Sarua chuckled twice, and said:
“Well, this is the aftermath of our first meeting. Though……the bottles were drunk rather quickly, the first-class wine too.”
“Must have been some party?”
Orphen said as he picked up an empty bottle that Sarua had kicked. Sarua shut the door, he sighed and said:
“Where is Makudogaru?”
“In the bedroom obviously……however, do you want to see the other men?”
“Of course I do. Anyway, where are they?”
“They should be home by now. The meeting continued until dawn, when morning arrived they left.”
“Oh……”
Orphen then went back into the hallway. He heard a panicked voice.
“Hey, hey, who is talking out there? What do you want?”
Orphen didn’t respond. He spotted a door opening.
Scattered all over the floor were books and pieces of paper, it seemed they weren’t being read, but simply thrown onto the floor. From the entrance to the bed, a long line of clothing was hung up, shirts, pants, socks, and even some summer clothes like skirts and sweaters. He couldn’t understand why they were ordered like that. There was a gas lamp on the bed that was very dangerous, it could easily burn the place down if knocked over. The bed sheets were crumpled, there was a young woman wrapped in blankets lying on the bed snoring, she seemed dead-like. In addition to her hair being a mess, her feet were sticking out of the blanket.
Orphen quietly glanced towards Sarua. Sarua scratched his head, and said:
“Never mind. This is my room.”
Orphen shut the door and pretended he saw nothing.
“Are you really from the Church?”
“Uhm, well, I had to deceive the others about somethings I like to do.”
“…………”
“For example, I like to pretend to get drunk every night, or tell children ghost stories if I’m in the mood. My favourite story to tell is the one about the rubber faced man, anyway I’ve taken great strides to hide my more noble activities.”
“…Whatever floats your boat.”
Orphen proceeded down the hall.
“Hmm……which one is his bedroom?”
Sarua pointed to the door.
Orphen motioned to open the door.
He entered Makudogaru’s bedroom, it was surprisingly clean——or rather it should be said that there wasn’t much to misplace, the look of the room was very consistent of someone belonging to the Church——he tried to not think about the real face of the man who owned this room.
“It’s a lovely morning.”
Orphen forced himself to say. Makudogaru glanced towards him, he rubbed his chin as if he was listening to a bad joke.
“Of course it is, it’s morning in the forest.”
“Doesn’t it rain here?”
“Even if it rains, it’s still quiet in the morning. Quiet……and sacred. The beginning of the end will come soon.”
“Is that so? With that kind of talk it’s easy to tell you are a member of the Church.”
At that moment, Makudogaru appeared to be shaken. His face tensed up, he said:
“What do you want, sorcerer?”
“What do I want?”
Sarua repeated the question after Orphen didn’t reply, he ignored him.
“Behind me stands an assassin from Kimurakku, he better stop bothering me.”
Sarua mumbled something. Orphen went on to say:
“Listen, I don’t give a damn about the heart of the forest, but you choose to indiscriminately shoot me. You shouldn’t have done that!”
“Hey, hey, it’s a bit too late for that.”
Sarua was about to grab him, Orphen looked back——seeing an opportunity, he dodged, he stretched his hand out and said:
“Guide me, O Starling of Death!”
After he said the incantation, he touched Sarua’s body, a destructive shockwave came down upon him——the assassin tumbled to the ground. He rolled on the floor a couple of times, desperately crying while doing so:
“You——traitor——”
“I don’t intend to join forces with an assassin.”
“Do you think you’ve bought yourself a favor?”
Makudogaru said. He fell to the ground without looking at Sarua.
“It doesn’t matter, he would have only complicated the transaction.”
“Transaction……?”
Makudogaru frowned. Sarua couldn’t talk, he could only ferociously moan——
Orphen continued:
“Feina.”
“What……!?”
Makudogaru’s eyes widened. Orphen stared at him, and repeated:
“Nothing more, nothing less. I’ve come to directly request——Feina. This way we can avoid further death. The same goes for the villagers.”
Makudogaru quickly regained his composure.
“What nonsense……”
Orphen silently approached him. With Sarua lying on the floor, he went to Makudogaru’s bedside.
He went on to say:
“You don’t understand……I’m aware of the dangers of this project. Even so I continue……”
“What?”
“I’ve seen things that you haven’t, no matter what you think——this continent is doomed……a powerful race is needed, we must go beyond the Dragon race……”
Upon hearing those words, a memory flashed in Orphen’s mind. A few weeks ago, he met an abnormal spirit who said something similar.
“I met a guy who said something similar——except he didn’t seem afraid, are you?”
“Naturally.”
Orphen took a step closer, he was within arm’s length of Makudogaru.
“All of our reasons, are in the past.”
Whoosh——Orphen’s vision went black for a moment, all he could see was white sparkles. It was apparent he had been hit by a hard object, his body slumped onto the floor. He then heard a flurry of footsteps, Makudogaru had left the room.
(Damn it……)
Orphen’s forehead was stained with blood, he looked around and only saw Makudogaru’s shadow, a broken vase, and Sarua on the floor.
Orphen chased Makudogaru into the hallway, he saw him enter a room two doors away, it snapped shut.
“Wait a minute, Makudogaru!”
Orphen said weakly. At the same time he opened the door.
The room appeared to be a storage room, Makudogaru was holding a pistol, he pointed it straight at him.
“Don’t be so arrogant, you are a mere sorcerer!”
“And you are a stubborn old man.”
“Sorcerers cannot be allowed to exist. Two hundred years ago was the Great War, do you know what happened?”
“The sorcerers survived and created nothing but a generation of envy……”
Orphen was a little groggy, the loss of blood was getting to him. The distance between him and Makudogaru was about five meters, even if he jumped he wouldn’t be able to make it in time.
Makudogaru laughed, and said:
“Haha! Did you really think the Heavenly Beings could be defeated!?”
Makudogaru cried as he was about to pull the trigger. Orphen began an incantation:
“Sword of light, whom——”
Click! ——and then, a dull pain——
Orphen stumbled backwards, as he fell——he saw Sarua holding a smashed vase.
“You traitor——”
A voice said, in the process of falling back, he lost sight of everyone else. Makudogaru intended to pull the trigger again, but he stopped. He heard something——
Ker-chak——
On the right hand side of the corridor, a door opened. It appeared a bullet had struck the door.
A familiar stocky figure appeared at the door.
“……Huh?”
A bewildered Vulcan appeared wearing baggy pyjamas. He came out of the servant’s room, Dortin followed after him.
There was no time to explain——Orphen’s nerves were aching, he sweep kicked Sarua to the ground. It would be very easy to escape, he had been hit once, but he had enough strength to get him out of here.
He slammed the down behind him. Orphen intended to flee towards Makudogaru bedroom. Once again, the door was opened, Orphen jumped towards the bedroom door, Makudogaru raised his pistol and pulled the trigger——
Another door was opened in front of him, it blocked the bullet.
“Huh, what the hell?”
It was the room Sarua’s woman was sleeping in. She wore a towel from her chest downwards, she had a groggy look about her. Orphen impatiently kicked the woman back into the room.
“Get down!”
He used the door as a shield.
“Sword of light, whom I do release!”
Crackle!
A wave of light and heat punched through the door, scattering debris everywhere, the corridor began to burn——the whole building began to shake. After the burst of light had disappeared, the corridor bore multiple scorch marks. At the other end of the corridor was Makudogaru, him and the others were lying on the floor, only Sarua couldn’t be seen.
Vulcan and Dortin were shivering on the floor, Orphen walked around them towards Makudogaru. Although he was still alive, he was subject to the debris from the door, he sustained multiple wounds and was bleeding. He couldn’t see the pistol, it must be somewhere else. Orphen patted Makudogaru on the face.
“Hey, get up!”
He groaned——slowly blinked his eyes, he regained consciousness.
Orphen slowly said to him:
“Listen——those are mortal wounds. Left unattended, you will die. Though I could use my magic to heal you.”
“Ah……!”
Makudogaru groaned due to the pain, or maybe he was just revolted at the thought of using magic to heal himself, Orphen couldn’t tell.
“If you want to live, speak up——or would you rather die without seeing Kimurakku again?”
Makudogaru said nothing.
“You bastard! You must really want to die! If that’s true, then it’s no big deal!”
“Ah…ah…”
“Damn it…you are such an idiot!”
Orphen closed his eyes, he quickly pulled Makudogaru’s body out from under the debris. He stretched forth his hand, and said:
“I heal thee, scar of the setting sun!”
Using magic, Makudogaru’s injuries were quickly cured——even the scratches were gone, with the disappearance of the wounds, Makudogaru’s strength began to recover.
“Ah……ah……hmm…”
Orphen heard an eerie sound, he looked around for the source. He was surprised that he couldn’t find it, he then looked back towards——suddenly, Makudogaru had raised his hand. He was holding a pistol directly at himself——the muzzle was pressed against his forehead——
Bang!
“…………”
The bullet penetrated Makudogaru’s skull. As if he was a puppet whose strings had been cut, his head fell backwards. Makudogaru was taking his secrets to the grave.
“I……”
Orphen stood up, he was shocked by what happened.
“Weird, it shouldn’t have went off. You see, it was damaged from you magic attack.”
It was Sarua. He fled into a nearby room. With his sword in hand, he hid behind the woman wrapped in a towel.
Small bits of flame were still present in the hallway, Sarua shrugged.
“I guess my time here is at an end——people have been trying to kill him for a while, but now this, retribution will follow. I will not become a prisoner, nor besieged by the villagers.”
The woman began to panic.
“W-Why did he have to die?”
“Because it’s a good day today, isn’t that right, Krylancelo?”
Sarua winked at him. Orphen was indifferent.
“Well, there’s no more need for killing, right? I’ll be leaving, take Feina with you.”
“…………”
“How can you be so calm after this?”
“That goes without saying, I’m used to this sort of thing.”
He then walked towards the entrance. Sarua looked back and said:
“Although I can’t say that I’m happy. It’s been nice knowing you, traitor, later.”
A moment later, Sarua was gone——Orphen watched him leave, thinking all the while.
(Makudogaru shot himself in the head.)
He remembered that moment.
(Why……did he despise magic so much that he would refuse treatment?)
“Anyway, you’re dead now. Nobody weeps for an idiot, Makudogaru.”
After Orphen was done, he wiped the blood off his forehead.
(What an idiot, I bet he was real happy pulling the trigger……)
“Who cares? It’s no big deal anyway. Though, I better save that stupid racoon dog before he causes trouble.”
He thought about that moment again, he wondered if Makudogaru was unconsciously smiling. After a while, he felt sorry for him.
Just then, he heard a familiar voice outside.
“Come on, hurry!”
There was a lot of movement outside the house, he could easily tell that a crowd was gathering——he could hear them through the walls. Orphen looked around the corridors, he didn’t know where to run——
He recalled what Sarua had said to him, “I will not become a prisoner, nor besieged by the villagers.”
(Prisoner, whose prisoner?)
He then heard someone shouting outside——it was Vulcan.
“Gather round! The evil sorcerer has stuck, he’s killed our beloved leader!”
“Of course it would be him, the fool……”
Orphen said to himself, then he heard the crowd cursing his name outside.
* * *
“Oh, this is so boring.”
Cleo said as she hid in the bushes. Beside her, a few men turned around in anger.
“Obviously.”
“Ah.”
“Ugh.”
“…………”
Cleo was holding her sheath, she looked at the three men——they were around thirty years old, they wore military jackets, all of them began to mumble.
They were in the outskirts of the village, in front of a row of houses, the villagers couldn’t see them from here. All houses in the village had a smaller warehouse type building, it also acted as a side entrance. Cleo hid in one of these the night before yesterday. In accordance with Orphen’s plan, she was to wait with the soldiers outside the village.
“I can’t stand much more of this.”
A soldier complained, then he sighed. Although he didn’t like the idea of Cleo being armed, it was necessary to keep her safe. He and his companions carried iron bars, they were half a meter long, these weapons could be easily used to deflect attacks and carry out a follow up attack, this was one of the standard pieces of equipment that soldiers carried.
“Why didn’t we rescue them yesterday?”
“Because…we can’t. Orphen said not to move until morning. I’ve got no idea why I agreed to wait......”
“The hostage should never command the rescue team……”
When she heard the soldier’s words, she wanted to beat him over the head, but she ignored him, looking back towards the village.
“Come on, let’s draw up a plan, where are the weak points?”
She said passionately, but the guards weren’t listening to her.
“Is there something wrong?”
One of the guards began to cry.
“You know, I was just thinking about my mother’s last words……don’t trust blondes, they only cause suffering——”
“Ah, I’m getting sick of you. Enough.”
Cleo angrily whispered, her angry face full of color.
At that time——
“Huh?”
Cleo noticed something. It was at her feet——something black and furry was touching her shoes. The hairball was as bigger than her hands, for a moment Cleo thought it was a black fox, but she soon realize that it was no black fox. The hairball——its black tail dangled in the grass, it was about the same size as a dogs tail.
“Hey, what is that?”
Cleo poked one of the soldier’s shoulders.
“Who knows……maybe it’s a dogs tail.”
The soldiers mused about this for a moment. Cleo began to feel the tail, and said:
“A dog’s tail wouldn’t be so wet, would it?”
“Wet……?”
The solders became somewhat shocked.
“Yeah.”
Cleo confirmed for a second time, she was about to grab the tail. At that moment, the grass began to shake——
Suddenly she grabbed the tail, what seemed like a black puppy came out from the bushes. The pup rolled around, trying to regain control of its own tail again. Cleo thought that this puppy seemed to be more intellectual than most——Cleo couldn’t help but stare as it opened its face, the puppies eyes were bright emerald green.
“A Deep——Dragon——”
The three soldiers screamed all at once.
“……A deep dragon?”
Cleo stared at it, and pondered. It was indeed a child of a Dragon.
The small Deep Dragon pressed the tip of its nose against Cleo’s hands. It was nothing like a baby pup, it was trying to push her hands. Upon seeing this, Cleo couldn’t help but laughed——she remembered what Orphen said about this, that they were meant to be very dangerous.
Cleo turned to the soldiers, she was surprised to find that they had raised their weapons——they were bearing them down upon the pup.
“What are you doing!?”
Cleo cried out, she tried to cover the Deep Dragon from their attacks——her face took the blunt of the attack, she was knocked to the ground.
“It hurts……!”
Cleo groaned, the Deep Dragon struggled to move in her arms. The soldiers were very surprised.
“Hey, hey——are you okay?”
“How——”
She suddenly became furious.
“How dare you! It could have been crushed from the fall!”
“It doesn’t seem to be hurt……”
One of the soldiers said. Cleo turned to him and shouted:
“It’s a child!”
She motioned her chin towards the Deep Dragon, it seemed very comfortable in her arms.
“Hey, hey, wait a second——”
She got up from the ground and rubbed her chin. One of the soldiers said:
“It’s a Deep Dragon, if you found it in this forest then it spells doom for all of us.”
“Keep quiet, we don’t want the villagers finding out.”
Upon hearing this, Cleo instantly shut up. Even though they were in the outskirts of the village, someone could be lurking nearby.
“Don’t you find it strange that a Deep Dragon is near a human settlement?”
“Maybe it’s lost.”
Cleo felt an ominous presence sweep over them——she didn’t know if the others felt it, but she looked behind herself anyway.
She looked in fear——a huge black beast was nearby.
“Ahh——”
It silently stood among the trees, hidden from sight.
“Why didn’t the others notice it?”
Cleo asked herself. One of the soldiers answered in a trembling voice:
“It’s said that a Deep Dragon can hide in its own shadow.”
“We’re done for……”
“My mother was right——blondes are nothing but trouble……”
Cleo quietly observed the Deep Dragon.
The Dragon stood about four meters tall. It had a thick black coat, its elongated nose pointed towards her, and its eyes were green just like the pups.
(It’s such a beautiful animal.)
Cleo said to herself. Now she knew why people worshiped such creatures.
The eyes of the Deep Dragon suddenly narrowed. Its mouth moved towards Cleo, its jaws gently opened and lifted the small Dragon from her arms.
(It seems this little pup is its child, but why is it near the village?)
“Why have you come here?
The Dragon didn’t answer.
“I said……”
Cleo suddenly stopped speaking. For something else had appeared——it was another Dragon. She hurriedly looked around.
“Uh……”
Cleo stood in dismay. Around her——countless Dragons had appeared around the village, all of them quietly standing still.
She glanced towards the three soldiers, all of them were trembling——they looked at its fine sharp nose——and then to the village, they shook their heads. None of them could believe this was happening, it was like a dream. The total number of Deep Dragons surrounding the village were a few dozen. Even an army of sorcerers couldn’t take them out, and yet they seemed to stand in Orphen and Majic’s way. Caught in between these Dragons and the village, Cleo couldn’t be in a worse situation.
She then felt something poking her shoes. She looked down, it was the small Dragon rolling around on the ground.
Cleo picked it up, and sighed. Whatever was going to happen, they would face it together.
