by Virlyce
“Dungeons drop spellbooks all the time,” Alice said. “It’s not that weird for more technical books about how to cast spells to appear.”
“But for every book to be on this kind of ancient and forgotten and most-likely-going-to-be-banned-if-they-circulated-through-the-world kind of magic?” Mr. Skelly asked. “Do you know what I’m thinking?”
“That Apollonia’s lying to us?” Alice asked back, raising an eyebrow. “She seems pretty nice on the outside, but she’s a noble. No doubt there’s a snake inside of her waiting for the perfect chance to rear its ugly head.”
Mr. Skelly sighed. “That’s not what I was thinking at all. I’m thinking we have to go raid a dungeon. If this dungeon continuously spews out books like these, then we have to get our hands on some of them. Tafel will definitely agree to go once she hears there’s information on becoming a demon lord within.”
“We’ve already read the book that had the bit on demon lords,” Alice said, pointing at the pile of books in the corner.
“Well, the steps were vague and blurry,” Mr. Skelly said. “To become a demon lord, one must seek vengeance to the point of burning away everything inside of them? Too vague. Provoking Tafel and making her chase after Mary probably wouldn’t be enough. I don’t remember much vengeance seeking from the first demon lord when demons were being created back in the central continent centuries ago, but I don’t remember much from that time other than lots of war and battle. Let’s find more books.” Mr. Skelly chuckled. “Besides, you’re extremely interested in these books as well, aren’t you?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Alice asked, narrowing her eyes at Mr. Skelly.
“Well, you said you were going to read some books instead of training because there were other ways you could help Tafel and Vur’s party, no? Read some books on the geography, learn the names of places and their characteristics, you know, the boring logistical stuff that someone has to do,” Mr. Skelly said. “But then you came across the topic of how to get stronger in a short period of time.” Mr. Skelly’s face was covered by metal, but Alice could tell he was grinning. “And you’re not the teensiest bit interested in using this knowledge to match Vur and Tafel in strength? The Alice I know has a greater greed than that. You’re not fine with being relegated to a logistical role. And you’re trying to create a chasm between Tafel and Mary under the guise of helping Tafel become a demon lord. Why? Because you’re afraid you’ll be replaced if Mary somehow joins the party.”
Alice sighed and placed the book on her lap on top of a nearby pile while standing. “For someone without a brain, you’re awfully sharp sometimes,” she said. “Let’s go raid that dungeon.”
***
Tafel was hunched over, her palms pressed against her bent knees as she panted for breath. She wasn’t sweating, but she was ejecting thick steam onto the ground from her mouth with every exhalation. Her staff was planted in the ground beside her, and past the staff to her right, Vur was in the same exact pose as Tafel. A vein bulged on Tafel’s forehead as she whipped her head to the side. “You’re not even tired! Why are you doing that!?”
Vur blinked and scratched his nose. “Didn’t you say it was okay for me to copy you?”
Tafel’s expression darkened as she straightened her back. “It’s not okay to copy me when I’m exhausted,” she said and rubbed her eyes with her palms. “It feels like you’re making fun of me.”
“Oh,” Vur said and straightened his back. “You were tired?”
Tafel’s eyes trembled as her fists clenched. “You’re definitely making fun of me right now. When did you become like this? Who taught you how to bully people? Was it Stella? I bet it was Stella.” She nodded and placed her hands on her hips.
“Vur! I’m being falsely accused by a phoenix who gets exhausted after using only four thousand spells!” Stella’s head popped out of Vur’s chest, her eyes as wide as a guilty puppy’s as she looked up at him. Then she twisted around to face Tafel and stuck her tongue out. “I didn’t teach Vur anything. You know he’s brutally honest.”
A low groan rumbled out of Tafel’s throat as she clutched her staff. “Back to practice,” she muttered before giving Vur a dirty look which Stella hid from by retreating back into his chest. Vur looked as if he had been asleep for a week. There was nothing off about him to indicate the fact that he had shot out over a million lightning bolts over the last six hours. At least, she was pretty sure it was a million. “Hey, Vur.”
“Hmm?”
“There should be a focus when you’re training,” Tafel said. “You know how sometimes quality is better than quantity? Instead of focusing on creating more lightning bolts, why don’t you focus on making one lightning bolt as strong as possible?”
Vur tilted his head. “But I do both? I make as many lightning bolts as strong as I can.”
Tafel furrowed her brow. “And you’re not exhausted?” she asked. Was the difference between their mana pools that great? Just because he had four elementals and maybe a fairy supplying him with mana of their own? That … was a pretty valid reason. “Wait, alright. Fine. More importantly, why are you so obsessed with lightning? You don’t even have a lightning elemental.”
“But I do?” Vur asked, raising an eyebrow. He reached into his chest and pulled out a pink egg-shaped object despite Stella’s protests. “See?”
Tafel’s eyes bulged as she pursed her lips. “That’s not an—”
“And Alice told me I could shoot down a star if I train my lightning enough,” Vur said as he stuck the so-called lightning elemental back into his chest. “Right, Alice?”
Tafel turned around. Mr. Skelly and Alice were approaching them from the garden’s entrance. “Hey,” Alice said, raising one hand in greeting. That hand went to scratch her neck that suddenly became itchy under Tafel’s murderous glare. “Did I say something like that? I’m pretty sure you misheard.”
“No, I’m sure you said I could shoot down a star with lightning if I believe,” Vur said and nodded. He turned towards the yellow rune on his shoulder. “Right?”
“That’s right,” Sheryl said. “I heard everything loud and clear.”
Alice coughed and shrank back under Tafel’s further-narrowing eyes. “You know it’ll happen one day if he sticks to it,” she said. “Anyways! I found out the location of a dungeon, courtesy of Apollonia. It has a lot of books and information on demons, including a detailed guide on becoming a demon lord.”
“You just lied to Vur about shooting stars down with lightning,” Tafel said, crossing her arms over her chest, her staff tilting to the side as it was gripped in her hand. “Why would I believe you? Besides, how do you know there’s a guide inside? Demons are a race unique to the central continent. If you wanted to raid a dungeon, you could’ve just asked and we’d’ve said yes. There’s no need to tease me like that.”
“Right, sorry,” Alice mumbled as she lowered her head, avoiding Tafel’s eyes. “Shall we go?”
“Yes,” Tafel said. “It’s been forever since I’ve raided a dungeon. The last one was back in the northern continent with Swirling Winds.”
Vur rubbed his chin. “Dungeon’s a very familiar word….”
“What kind of adventurer are you?” Tafel asked as she wrapped her arm around Vur’s. “A dungeon is a place filled with monsters, a mini-boss, and a final boss that drops great treasures when you conquer them. Usually, there’s something special inside that a lot of adventurers seek that it’s even worth their own lives. Dungeons are exciting places filled with adventure and glory and equally worthy hardships to match them. Conquering a dungeon is the best part about being an adventurer.”
Vur’s brow furrowed. “You mean like Auntie’s place?”
Tafel’s expression froze, the light in her eyes dimming. Her neck creaked as she turned her head to face Vur. “That’s right…,” Tafel murmured. “Auntie does live in a dungeon. In fact, she’s the final boss before you can reach the Fountain of Youth…. And the dragon roost is a du
ngeon with multiple final bosses that no one’s ever managed to reach yet….” Her head drooped as she released Vur’s arm and whirled around. Mr. Skelly happened to wander into her vision. “And let’s not forget about the graveyard where the fallen heroes are buried in a mire. The final boss there is an elder lich, but the unique part about it is the multiple skeleton knight mini-bosses.”
Vur blinked. “My home’s a dungeon?” he asked and tilted his head. “Does that mean I’m a final boss too?”
“…No.”
“I’m not?”
“No, you’re not,” Tafel said, more firmly this time.
“How come?”
“Because I said so. You’re not allowed to be the final boss of a dungeon. You’re an adventurer like me.”
Alice raised an eyebrow. “You know, I bet if the dwarves saw your palace in the central continent, they’d think it’s a dungeon. Don’t you fit all the requirements? Strange unique race, lots of treasures inside, royalty mini-bosses, and an insecure final boss who’s not quite a demon lord yet.”
“Who’s insecure!?”
Stella’s head popped out of Vur’s chest. She raised both her hands into the air. “My home was a dungeon too!”
Tafel groaned. “We’re adventurers, okay? Just normal adventurers with normal backgrounds raiding a normal dungeon in a normal adventure-like manner.”
***
Grimmy stared down at the unconscious girl who was lying by his front paws. He was looking at her, but his mind seemed to be elsewhere. A few moments later, he blinked before yawning, his tail stretching and arching up towards the cave’s ceiling, piercing the rock. With a crash, his tail hit the ground as he smacked his lips a few times. He turned his head to the side, dropping down and resting one cheek on his paws, nearly crushing the armored girl underneath. “When’s she going to wake up?”
“Why would I know?” Lindyss asked. She was running a brush through her hair as she sat on a stump. It was light out, the sun barely peeking over the horizon. Beside her, two phoenixes were huddled against her waist, shivering in the breeze. A frown appeared on the cursed elf’s lips as she lowered her head and glared at the two trembling birds. “How is it that you two are cold? Aren’t you phoenixes?”
“I’ve been stripped of my down,” Emile said. “It’s only obvious that I’d be cold!”
“I have to pretend to be cold or Emile will strip me too,” Susan said. “I’m actually very warm.”
Lindyss’ expression darkened as she moved her hair away from the two birds. The ends were curling from the heat coming off of them. “Since it was your down, you should know when that girl will wake up.”
“I don’t know…,” Emile said as he followed after Lindyss’ hair, walking across her lap. “You beat her up pretty bad. It’d be normal to never wake up again after that, you know? If we weren’t around, you’d be a murderer.”
Grimmy snorted. “She’s already a murderer, one more body doesn’t matter.”
Emile’s eyes widened as he froze midstride. He trembled as he tilted his neck up, making eye contact with Lindyss. She smiled at Emile, causing a few feathers to fall off of him as he trembled. “Calm down,” Lindyss said, reaching out to pet the poor phoenix. Emile tried to dodge, but Lindyss’ hand flashed and clamped down on his skull, preventing him from moving. “Grimmy was just joking. Does someone as sweet as me seem like she’d be a murderer?”
“No, of course not,” Emile said, his voice stiff.
“That’s right,” Lindyss said, her smile widening. She turned to face Grimmy as she released Emile. “See? This phoenix knows…. Are you stripping her?”
“Yup,” Grimmy said as he used the tips of his claws to pry off Mary’s armor. “If you won’t let me play with her sword, I’ll take her armor.”
“Is her armor even special?” Lindyss asked, raising an eyebrow. “I thought it was her blood.”
“She’s only been imprinted by a turtle,” Grimmy said as he slid a second gauntlet off of Mary. “That won’t make her blood resistant to magic. It’s the armor and sword that have built-in null-magic effects.” He pried off Mary’s sabatons and raised one of them up, bringing it to his eye. He blinked and placed it down. “It’s really been a long time since I’ve seen blood magic like this. There used to be a bunch of lunatics on the southern continent that loved this kind of stuff. The head of that cult probably fled over here. I always wondered where he went, but it seems like that mystery’s cleared up.”
“You don’t believe the natives of this continent independently developed blood magic?”
“Nah,” Grimmy said, shaking his head as he dug the tip of his claw into the crack by Mary’s waist between her upper and lower armor pieces. “I recognize these runes because I taught that crazy fellow how to make them. He wanted power and I thought it’d be interesting to give him something like this, but he ended up hating me for some reason.”
“For some reason,” Lindyss said, rolling her eyes. “I wonder why.”
“Probably because he needed the blood of a relative to draw them,” Grimmy said with a shrug. “Hmm, that’s weird. This armor won’t come off.”
“Don’t shrug off something like that,” Lindyss said, her expression darkening. “What do you mean blood of a relative?”
“Ah, you know,” Grimmy said, waving his claw in the air. “You can’t have power without sacrificing something. It’s just not right, so I added a condition to his strength. Every so often, the runes would try to suck out all his blood unless he gave them similar blood to drink. Looks like this girl’s been doing fine by replenishing her blood with that turtle’s imprint though.” A low chuckle escaped from Grimmy’s throat as he smiled with his teeth bared. “His descendants must’ve gone crazy looking for a way to preserve themselves. Seems like they found one.”
“Preserve themselves? The runes are hereditary?”
“Of course,” Grimmy said, eyeing Lindyss. “What, you think the power to slay dragons comes for free? Think of what your boyfriend Vincent had to give up to put Nova to sleep.”
“Shut up,” Lindyss said, her expression turning dark. Emile and Susan stiffened and inched away from the shadows that were creeping out of Lindyss.
“Mm? Are you going to start hating me too?” Grimmy asked, raising an eyebrow. He grinned at her. “You know you don’t want to do that.”
Lindyss sighed as the shadows crawling out of her were sucked back into her body. “These runes you created,” she said, gesturing towards Mary, “what else do they do other than null-magic? You said they were strong enough to slay a dragon, but null-magic alone won’t do that.”
“They can do a lot,” Grimmy said, “but it seems like this girl hasn’t learned it all for some reason, or the knowledge’s been forgotten since a really long time has passed. If she could use the runes to their full potential, you might’ve been the one lying on the ground right now. Well, I can’t blame her, really. She’d have to sacrifice ten relatives or die ten times over to truly bring out the runes’ power.”
“Other than telling me, ‘look at how damn awesome I am for creating these super-powerful runes,’ you really haven’t told me anything about what they can do,” Lindyss said.
Grimmy nodded. “Well, yeah. It won’t be fun if you’re already prepared for the next fight between you two. That’s like watching a rigged fight. Boring.”
“Why am I fighting her again…?”
“You think she’s going to give up once she wakes up?”
Lindyss’ gaze shifted onto Mary. “You’re right. As long as I have her sword, she won’t. What a pain.”
Grimmy chuckled. “Maybe she’ll make a new one. That crazy cult leader must’ve left behind a lair somewhere with all his information.” He picked Mary up and manipulated her limbs as if he were playing with a doll. “I wonder if she knows where it is. Oh. That’s why her armor wouldn’t come off. Looks like she fused it with her spine. Neat.”
14
Two men dressed in armor were s
itting outside on wooden chairs, their helmets by their feet, mugs of alcohol in their hands. On their chests, there were engravings of a snake with spread wings and an open mouth, a bright green droplet hanging off of one of its fangs. There was a cabin behind the two knights and a small hut that seemed like an entrance to a mineshaft beside it. Shadows flickered through the screened windows of the cabin, and muffled, passionate cries leaked through, accompanied by deep grunts.
“They’re really going at it, huh?” one of the knights asked as he wiped his mouth with the back of his armored hand.
The other knight grunted, his mug pressed against his lips with his head tilted back. His eyes widened to the size of saucers as he choked and coughed, dribbling alcohol all over his beard and armor. He threw his mug down and shot to his feet. “Dragon!” he said through coughs as he ran up to the cabin. Knocking sounds echoed through the clearing as he pounded on the cabin door. “There’s a dragon!”
The first knight furrowed his brow as he lifted his chin. A blue speck in the sky was heading towards them, growing larger with every passing second. The knight’s eyes narrowed as he squinted. The approaching speck really did look like a dragon. “But do dragons come this far west?” he asked as he turned his head towards the first knight. “Maybe the alcohol’s playing tricks on us.”
“On both of us at the same time?” the second knight asked. “Are you daft?”
The first knight cleared his throat as he rubbed his pink nose. “Well, isn’t that more believable than a dragon coming this way?”
“Huh,” the second knight said as he lowered his hand which was about to knock on the cabin door again. “You have a good point.” He looked up at the sky and frowned. The ocean-blue dragon was getting closer, close enough to see four people standing on its head. One of them had horns, and another one didn’t even have a face on its skull. “Yeah, you’re right. We must be seeing things.”