by Virlyce
“I’m thinking I’ll eat this egg later,” Grimmy said as he reached up with his paws. He hooked one claw against the edge of Lindyss’ pocket and pulled it open before dropping the crying turtlesnake inside. “Let’s go see what this commotion’s all about. I don’t like the feeling it’s giving off.”
“Huh, it’s not very often you don’t like strange things,” Lindyss said. “Are you going to do what you usually do to things you don’t like?”
Grimmy nodded and spread his wings. “Of course.”
Erin tugged on Lindyss’ ear. “What’s he do to them?”
“Usually squishes them or casts a curse.”
“Oh.” Erin pursed her lips. “He likes me, right?”
Lindyss smiled at the fairy without replying.
21
Mary’s face hardened. “We’re being invaded?”
“Yes, my liege,” the Shadows member said. “It seems as if the other empires have been plotting this for an extremely long time. Knowing that the nobles in charge of our lands have come to attend your banquet, leaving their territories without a true leader, they’ve concluded that it’s the perfect time to attack.”
Mary stood up and drew her sword. “Shall I personally pay a visit to their palaces? I’ve left them alone because Uncle told me they were vital for our empire’s survival, but this is how they treat my goodwill?”
“Is it just me, or does Mary have a problem?” Vur asked Alora before taking her cake.
“H-hey! I was in the middle of eating that!” Alora could only say a sentence in protest before the cake disappeared into Vur’s mouth. She sighed. “What do you mean by problem? If by problem you mean only giving a single slice of cake to dragons, then yes, she has a very big problem.”
“No, not that,” Vur said after swallowing. “But that is a problem too.” He nodded. “It’s weird. Sometimes, Mary acts like an adult.”
“I am an adult!” Mary said and slammed her hand against the table, breaking it in half. “This is the banquet for my twentieth birthday, you big dumb dumby.”
Vur stared at Mary with a blank expression. Then he turned towards Tafel. Tafel nodded. “We’re adults too, Vur.”
Vur furrowed his brow and squinted his eyes. Then he shrugged and pulled the plate that Tafel’s cake was on towards himself and out of Alora’s grip.
The Shadows member cleared his throat. “My liege,” he said. “What will you do?”
“I’ll go straight to their palaces and take those backstabbers’ heads,” Mary said and raised her sword towards the gap in her armor. But before she could, a deep voice echoed through the dining room.
“You’re not going to do that.”
The door swung open, revealing a bald man with green eyes. Mary froze. Her eyes widened to the size of saucers, and a shiver ran down her spine as she took a step back, stumbling against her chair and falling over onto her butt. “U-U-Un...cle.” Her sword fell out of her hand, and an audible gulp resounded through the room as her throat bobbed. “You....”
A wide smile bloomed on Zyocuh’s face. He stepped into the room and spread his arms out to the side as if he were waiting for a hug. “Did you miss me, my dear niece?”
The Shadows member disappeared and reappeared by Zyocuh’s feet. His clothed forehead touched the ground. “My liege.”
Zyocuh frowned and lowered his arms before sweeping his gaze over the room. “Where are the rest?”
“They ... fled ... after an ... incident.”
“What—”
“Is this your dead uncle?” Vur asked, his voice echoing through the mostly silent room. He frowned at Mary, who was trembling and hugging her knees while staring at the ground. He turned back towards Zyocuh. “He looks very alive.” Vur waved towards the table that Alice and Mr. Skelly were sitting at. “You should ask him how he got his body back, Mr. Skelly.”
“And you must be the dragon boy,” Zyocuh said and narrowed his eyes at Vur. “I saw what you did to my niece earlier. The disgusting scent of a dragon is easy to smell from even miles away.”
Vur tilted his head. “I think your nose is broken. Dragons smell very nice.” He hesitated and snuck a glance at Alora before blinking at Zyocuh. “Unless they fart in their sleep.”
Alora looked around and pointed at herself. “Vur totally glanced at me just now when he said that, right? Am I the only one who saw that?”
“You’re imagining things,” Tafel said.
“That’s right,” Emile said and jumped onto the broken table. “Dragons always smell bad, dumb lizard.” He withered when Vur glared at him. “Except Vur since Tafel’s phoenixy scent rubs off on him when they sleep together.”
Emile squawked as Susan dragged him off the table and into a corner of the room.
Zyocuh cleared his throat and gave Vur a faint smile. “I don’t know why dragons chose to imprint you, but quite frankly, I loathe dragons. You can thank them for what’s going to happen.”
“What’s going to...?” Vur paused mid-question and lowered his head. A red line spiraled out of his bellybutton on his skin. A single red paw reached out of his stomach and extended its claws. The furry paw flattened and expanded, taking on the shape of a door connected to Vur’s bellybutton by a cord. The door swung open, revealing a green pasture with a sunny sky. A pink, egg-shaped object was hopping about amongst the flowers inside.
Tafel’s eyes widened. “What’s—“
Before Tafel could finish her sentence, Zyocuh burst out into laughter as hundreds of thousands of red lights flew out of his body and into the pasture through the red doorway. Everyone in the room shielded their eyes and retreated from the sudden wave of heat coming off of them. When the light stopped streaming from Zyocuh’s body, the door slammed shut and shrank back into the shape of a claw before sinking into Vur’s stomach, the red spiral on his belly disappearing. With a muffled groan, Vur collapsed onto his knees, then fell forward onto his face.
“Vur!” Tafel ran over to Vur’s collapsed body and lifted his face off the ground. She propped him up into a sitting position before shaking him, but there was no response. Her hands clenched into fists as she whirled her head around and glared at Zyocuh. “You, what did you do to him?”
A faint smile appeared on Zyocuh’s lips in reply. “Didn’t you see? It’s not my fault if you didn’t understand.”
A rune erupted on Tafel’s forehead as she rose to her feet. “If you don’t want to answer, that’s fine too.” She reached her arm out to the side and summoned a portal, retrieving her staff. “I’m a very reasonable ruler unlike some people I know. Before I resort to violence, I always try to negotiate with words.” Her eyes narrowed as blood-red flames materialized in the air around her. She pointed her staff at Zyocuh and spoke as if she were spitting out her words, “What did you do to my husband?”
Zyocuh snapped his fingers. “Mary.”
An audible clank resounded through the room as Mary flinched.
“Be a good child and subdue this horned wench for me, will you?”
Tafel frowned and turned her head towards Mary. The empress had stopped trembling and grabbed her sword. Like a puppet, she climbed to her feet with jerky motions, her head lowered, her gaze glued to the floor. Tafel clenched her staff as shivers ran down her spine. “Hey, Mary…?”
The empress raised her head, and the two’s gazes met. Mary’s eyes were dull as if she were staring at the wall behind the demon instead. With a metallic clink, the empress lifted her sword. There was a squelching sound as she stabbed it into the gap near her shoulder. Tafel gulped and jabbed Alora’s ribs with the butt of her staff, causing the polymorphed dragon to squeal. “How about you turn back into a dragon and take care of her?” Tafel said as her horns glowed silver.
“Not sure how, sorry,” Alora said while stuffing her face with cake that she found on a nearby table. She blinked as Tafel disappeared. An instant later, Mary was standing where Tafel had been, her sword thrusted into empty air. There was a cracking sound as t
he floor underneath Mary’s feet splintered into fragments, and she blurred as she leapt towards the ceiling where Tafel had teleported herself. “Whew. Tiny things always move so fast.”
Zyocuh raised an eyebrow and smiled at Alora. “You’re a dragon?”
“I thought you could smell dragons,” Emile said from the corner of the room, but Susan’s wings slapping his face cut him off before he could say anything else.
Alora choked on her cake and flailed her arms out. She grabbed a cup of water and drank it down before catching her breath. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, man. Like, really, do I look like a dragon?”
“No,” Zyocuh said and rubbed his chin. “You don’t talk like one either. If that’s the case, you won’t mind if I take away this freak here, will you?” He walked over to Vur and placed a hand on his unconscious shoulder.
“Uh…, that’s a bit…, you know,” Alora said and emptied her hands by dropping her food and drink onto the ground. “Unacceptable?” She took in a deep breath, her stomach expanding, and exhaled out a breath of … nothing. Her brow wrinkled as she raised a finger. “Um. Hold on a second.” She arched her back and pointed her face at the ceiling. Her stomach ballooned outwards as she inhaled through her nose. She held her breath and bent her back, aiming her face at Zyocuh. Then she exhaled out another breath of nothing.
Zyocuh stared at Alora. She stared back. Shouts filled the room as Tafel and Mary’s clash impacted the nearby nobles who hadn’t been able to flee. A sword made of red light formed in Zyocuh’s hand, which he pointed at Alora. She sighed. “Alright, yeah, you can have him.”
***
Vur groaned and opened his eyes. He tried to lift his head, but something holding his neck down stopped him. He raised his hands to touch his neck, but a heavy resistance prevented them from moving more than an inch. Though he didn’t have any trouble seeing in the dark normally, he couldn’t see anything but darkness in front of his face. He arched his back, but his waist seemed to be tied down as well along with his legs. His brow furrowed before relaxing, and he cast a spell. “Poison body.”
Nothing happened.
Vur took in a deep breath and concentrated his mana on his throat before exhaling. Instead of a dragon’s breath, nothing came out except for a wheezing sound. Before he could try something else, a familiar voice broke through the darkness.
“Vur?”
“Stella?” Vur asked. He wiggled, but the restraints that he couldn’t see were still preventing him from getting up.
Lights flashed on, and Stella flew up to Vur, hovering over his face. He was lying on some sort of table, fettered by red chains. Stella tilted her head. “What are you doing in my dungeon?”
“Your dungeon?”
“You know, a place you keep prisoners of war and traitors to the throne,” Stella said and nodded. She paused, her wings freezing in midair. “Wait. What are you doing inside of yourself?”
Vur blinked and tilted his head as much as the restraint on his neck would let him. “I’m inside of myself?”
Stella blinked back. “You aren’t?”
“Am I?”
“Hmm.” Stella scratched her head and frowned. “Well, there’s one easy way to find out.” She turned her head and cupped her hand over her mouth. “Deedee! Get over here!”
A few moments passed before the room shook. The tiles on the floor contorted and warped as a boulder rose from the ground. Two diamond eyes appeared on the boulder’s surface. “What do you want?” Diamant asked in a voice that sounded like a sigh. His eyes widened when his gaze landed on Vur. “Is that Vur? What’s he doing inside of his soul?”
Stella nodded. “Yep,” she said and landed on Vur’s forehead. She sat down and crossed her legs, leaning forward to look down into his eyes. “We’re inside of you right now.” Without moving her head, she waved her hand at Diamant as if she were flinging away a booger. “You can leave now, Deedee.”
“Guys! Guys, guys, guys!” A gust of wind stormed into the room and slammed into the wall behind Vur. A green boulder materialized from the cracks left behind and fell to the floor with a thud. “Guys! We’re being invaded by red people!” Zilphy rolled up and shook herself off. “Sheryl’s raining fire on them, but there’s a lot!” She paused when she saw the table. “Is that Vur? Hi. Fancy seeing you here. Why are you tied down? Is that a thing you like to do? Was I interrupting something weird? Sorry.”
Stella tilted her head. “We’re being invaded? Someone’s invading Vur’s soul?”
“That’s right,” Zilphy said. Stick-thin arms sprang out of her surface, and she raised them up into the air while spreading them. “There’s a huge freaking army out there. There must be millions—or even billions—of them!”
Stella’s eyes narrowed as she clenched her fists. “How dare they launch a conquest against my home? I took root in this place because it’s the safest place in the world! Vur, what the heck were you doing to let invaders into you like this?”
Vur shrugged. “I don’t know. A red claw sprang out of my stomach, and a door appeared. Then I fainted.”
“A red claw…?” Stella muttered. “Was it bloody?”
“Maybe?”
Stella shot to her feet and launched herself into the air. “It was that chimera queen! Where is it? I’ll feed her to Chompy!”
The chains on Vur’s body shuddered and whimpered. Everyone in the room froze and turned their gazes towards the table that Vur was tied to. Stella floated closer. “Vur? Did you just…?”
“Nope. Wasn’t me,” Vur said and wiggled his head from side to side.
“I didn’t know chimeras could turn into chains,” Zilphy said and waddled over to the table. A pair of eyes appeared on the red chains and blinked at her. Zilphy turned towards Diamant. “Do you think Toothy eats metal?”
Before Diamant could respond, a flame burst into existence over Vur’s chest. It solidified into a red boulder that dropped onto his body with a thunk. A pair of coal-like eyes appeared on Sheryl’s face. “So, um, there’s a lot of people out there. And they all seem to have classes. There’s mages and warriors and priests and archers and I’m really scared right now. They’re working together, and I can’t stop them all by myself.”
Stella wrinkled her brow. “If we send Chompy, do you think he’d win?”
A blue boulder waddled into the cell. “That wicked creature is fighting the chimera queen. The chimera queen seems weaker than normal, but it’ll still take a while for that beast to win.”
“She’s probably weaker because part of her is here restraining Vur,” Stella said and crossed her arms over her chest. “So, it’s up to us to stop an invading army.”
“Five against several million,” Diamant said. “I don’t like those odds.”
Stella snorted. “Five?” She flew out of the cell towards the adjacent one in the dungeon. “Who says there’s only five of us?” She kicked the lock on the cell, and it fell to the floor with a clank. The door creaked open, and a black humanoid blob walked out. “Alright, Breeze, you freeloader. Go earn your keep.” She flew to the next cell and opened that one as well. “You too, Mr. Golden Man. I never learned your name, but if you earn some merits in this upcoming battle, who knows what your future will hold?”
A man made of golden light strolled out of the cell while rolling his neck and shoulders. A giant, bushy mustache decorated his face. “It’s Sir Edward, little fairy.”
Stella nodded and flew back to Mistle. “Go find Mervin. He has to help too.” She puffed her chest out and smiled at Diamant. “See that, Deedee? There aren’t only five of us.”
“Oh. I guess I was wrong,” Diamant said and nodded. “Eight against several million. I still don’t like those odds.”
***
A red man wore a set of red metal armor. In his hands, there was a red shield and a red short spear. Beside him, to his right, there was another red man dressed in a similar attire. In fact, there were thousands of red men who were dressed exactly li
ke him behind him and to the left of him as well. But this red man was special because his name was Ralph. Ralph turned his head to the side while continuing to march straight ahead on the plains. “Hey, James.”
The man beside him didn’t seem to react, but a voice asked back in return, “What is it?”
“We’re just subduing a person’s soul, right?”
“That’s right, Ralph. If we weren’t, then you and I would be the kind of dead that didn’t move and talk. Do you have any other stupid questions you’d like to ask me?”
Though there was a helmet on James’ head, Ralph was sure his fellow soldier was rolling his eyes. “I don’t know if it’s a stupid question or not, but isn’t ten million men a bit too many men for the suppression of one person? Wouldn’t, say, three people be enough?”
“Why are you asking me? Am I the one who summoned us? Maybe Zyocuh wants to be extra, extra sure that we can subdue this target, alright?”
“But from three people to ten million?” Ralph lifted his helmet’s visor and scratched his head with the hand that was holding his shield. “You know people are a lot weaker in their own souls. If Zyocuh sent ten million of us, then doesn’t that make you think the person we’re attacking is a lot stronger than usual? Maybe he’s an expert in soul magic.”
“There’s no such thing as a soul magician.”
“We were sent into a man’s soul through magic, right?” Ralph nodded. “What kind of magic was used to send us here if not soul magic?”
James grunted. “Blood magic.”
“Alright, maybe this man we’re attacking is an expert in blood magic.”
“Brilliant deduction, Mr. Detective. And what gave that away? Was it just the numbers that Zyocuh sent, or was it the meteor-sized fireballs trying to kill us from the sky?”
“Well, the fireballs were a bit suspicious,” Ralph said and rubbed his chin. “But it was my deductive skills that really highlighted the issue, don’t you think?”