Chapter 4. Out of reach.

"Ugh, are we there yet?" "Shut it, Neptune. Stop being so noisy. I said a minute ago that we are nearly there!" "Calm down, Lady Noire. I'll carry her if she starts to fall behind." "Uwah, I'm not a kid anymore!" "Then don't act like a one! Walk faster or you will be ditched here." "Secretary, you wouldn't do such thing to a good ol' me, would you?" "…" "Nepu! He's already Noire's! You were supposed to be mine, not hers." Despite the initial difficulties, our party slowly advanced towards the area known as Jet Set Peak where younger siblings of both CPUs were supposed to go on a picnic.

We were walking through a small forest when Noire matched to my pace. "I appreciate you want to help out, but if situation gets dangerous, leave it to us, okay? Although you have some equipment now, it doesn't mean you can act recklessly." "Yes, I know. At least I can protect myself from smaller fishes, so you won't have to be distracted in case of emergency." That was the main reason why I bought this set yesterday. A pretty basic, but still decent katana and a sturdy leather armor. Apparently, since it had extremely high elemental resistances it costed quite a fortune, so I hoped it would be sufficient for a while. "Now I think about that, last night I met one of your friends, Neptune." "Whoa, whom?" "Falcom. That cheerful adventurer. She gave me some tips while shopping and even promised to teach me how to fight later." "That's really nice of her." "Yeah. I'll do my best." "That's a good spirit. If you are that willing to train, then I guess it wouldn't hurt to support you a little. Remind me later and I will give you a few pointers on organizing training regime if I have time." "Thank you, Lady Noire." Though somehow, I felt it would be deadly for someone of my level … Progress was made gradually, so jumping into deep waters on a first day could have fatal consequences. Fortunately, this subject was shortly after dropped as we left the trees behind and a completely different scenery appeared in front of our eyes.

If we could afford to do so, I would most likely stop here for a moment to enjoy the view. Right ahead there was a small river which current ended in a pond. The water in it was crystal clear, however, I wouldn't risk drinking out of it yet. In a world of magic, such a miraculously looking liquid could be as well a disguise, hiding a lethal poison against thirsty travelers.

In the background, I could see a lone mountain. It wasn't high, but still rather massive. From the side of stone layer, there was a gap, which seemed to be a cave's entrance. I wished I wouldn't have to go there. If there were places with guaranteed 100 percent chance of troubles, it had to be underground. That was a lesson I received from horror movies and games.

No matter how beautifully it looked, there was something terribly out of place disrupting the balance. Though on the first glance I thought a battle had taken place here that wasn't entirely true. When we got closer, I could already say that a picnic was indeed held in this area once.

"I know this carpet. Uni must have brought it from home." As we began investigation the first clue came out in instant. Although I wouldn't call it a carpet anymore, thanks to it we could be sure that CPUs' sisters really spent their time here. "Looks like if something heavy stomped on it." "Agreed. But what? There shouldn't be any giant monsters around…" "Look guys, I found a basket!" Neptune called us from a small distance. "Same modus operanti, I dare to say…" The basket was completely smashed together with its contains. I could see a colorful jelly substance 'bleeding' out of the container. "We should search around for more evidence. Unless the damage was made afterwards, there should be some signs in which direction they went next." I suggested. "You might be right. Okay, so if no one has any objections then I'll go down the river, Neptune will cover the forest and you, Michael, check around the mountain. If anything attacks you, just run. I would rather have my records clean from dead party members, alright?" Neither I nor Neptune protested and just nodding to acquired commands, we left towards designated to us places.

As to be expected, my task turned out to be the easiest and the hardest one at the same time. When I was done with exploring the picnic site and circling around the mountain, I stood in front of the cave entrance. Instructions I received didn't actually mention going inside of it, so I guessed that she wouldn't held it against me if I didn't search there alone. However, given how portentous this place seemed to be, maybe I should at least take a peek? Cowardice wouldn't really bring me anywhere in this world, but better be safe than dead, as some wise man had said. Leaving my bag on the ground, I went in with just my flashlight and the blade hanging from my waist.

Each of my steps deeply echoed throughout the dungeon. If it wasn't for the source of light, I would have to go back already. It was so damn dark… I had no experience with escapades like this but as my common sense was hinting, following the wall with one of my hands and keeping track of the ground nearby would highly decrease likelihood of falling into a pit. Truth to be told, it was one of the least concerning me issues. Getting out later would be still more challenging.

Ignoring my previous ideas, I ended up going deeper. It may have been foolish of me to do so, however, the time for regrets would eventually come. I was certain of it. Avoiding all kinds of crushed rocks on the way, I slowly made my way through a dark corridor.

Besides my footsteps, the only sound I could hear was my racing heart. I felt like if it was about to burst out of my chest anytime and I couldn't calm down at all. Not even breathing techniques were helping, nor holding to the handle of my katana. I was sure that in this state I could slash at any sight of sudden movement, no matter if it was an ally or foe. Geez, what was I thinking? That had to be the worst idea of my entire life! Being on the edge, I didn't even notice that walls began to gradually widen as well as the ceiling went up.

Soon after, I arrived to a large chamber. Surprisingly, I could turn off the flashlight since because of artificial sources of lightness it was nearly as bright as outside. On top of each of six supporting columns, I noticed a large diamond-like crystal, which must have been responsible for this phenomenon.

If I were to compare this place to anything, the first impression would be an ancient shrine abandoned by its believers. Once it could be quite spectacular, however, in front of my eyes were only ruins. I couldn't even guess what they were used to portrait as remains of 5 different sculptures were already too far from being recognizable. It was kind of depressing, so I decided to move along towards the opposite end of the hall, where I caught a glimpse of a closed door.

In midway, I stopped for a moment to see that those pillars had monuments of muscular men in variety of poses engraved on them. "Awaken, my masters." Of course, there was no response to my summon.

Finally, I reached the last checkpoint before my destination – a statue of a dragon. Unlike the other ones, its state was nearly perfect. It was preserved so realistically that for a moment I felt like if it was about to breathe fire any second. The work had so many details that I wished I had a camera on me. Such masterpiece should be made public, so everyone can enjoy it as much as I did now. However, after I took a look from every possible angle, a sudden realization struck me.

The position of this sculpture was a little off. Destroyed ones were standing symmetrically, yet this stood out here, in a middle of the hall... I doubted a possibility of it being moved and even if it truly was, then from where? No matter how much I scanned the chamber, I couldn't find a spot from where it could have been taken without destroying the harmony. Then why…? I stopped for a moment. So many things weren't summing up that I shouldn't mess with this thing. Sooner I checked what I needed, the better. If I were to activate some sort of a trap or a curse… I slowly began to walk backwards, avoiding blinking at any cost. Unexpectedly, at that moment I hit something and an ear-piercing crack rang out.

I turned to see what it was. A vase? Ceramic shards laying around the platform must have indicated such answer. Anyway, what was it doing here? The way it was located was so random, like if somebody had just placed it for me to bump into. I sighed with a relieve. My mind was racing, but I was slowly cooling off. Then, I felt a wave of heat on my back and all of the progress in calming down instantly vanished. Getting ready for a jump scare, I turned my head around once again.

Until that moment, I used to disbelief in a saying one could drop dead from fear, although, I was proven wrong. What I saw made me stop breathing. Also, I could no longer feel my heartbeat. If that was the case, I would be already gone, but since no darkness had come to take me within, I knew that I was still on the side of living.

The alleged statue of a dragon opened its eyes, locking its gaze on me. It seemed to be curiously checking out the person who interrupted its sleep. Dragon's eyes sparked with fury. It was not a trick of light, nor an illusion. It had to be a real thing. Knowing that, there was only one thing to be done… RUN!

How much of luck I had to meet a freaking dragon in the first dungeon I entered?! I ran as fast as I could, given the visibility and state of the tunnel. Good news, in all of this mess, the monster wasn't exactly as fast as the wind. It continued to heavily stomp in my direction and if I were to suddenly stop, then it would be a game over. I didn't know how I managed to successfully find the exit from this goddamned cave with no light, but I did it. As the brightness of the sun nearly blinded me, I cleared my throat and… "NEPTUNE, NOIRE! A WILD DRAGON APPEARED! HELP!"

If they were out of my voice range, I was genuinely fucked. I couldn't keep sprinting for eternity and it wasn't a big secret this beast had more stamina than I did. Sooner or later, there were three options awaiting: being chomped in half, getting roasted to charcoal or being crushed into the ground. None of them sounded inviting, so I prayed the CPUs better arrived on time. However, aimlessly dashing forward, I made a fatal mistake. I tripped and fell into the pond.

Water filled my eyes and eardrums. Though it was shallow enough for me to stand in, an abrupt vertigo made me unable to take any actions for a second. When I finally resurfaced coughing, it was already too late. The dragon was here, already preparing to fire at me. There was no more escape. Only death… Which didn't come as a rapid movement flashed right up my head.

"What are you waiting for, Secretary? I'll hold it to buy you time!" Once more Purple Heart became my savior with such an ideal timing. As she struggled in might duel against one of monster's claws, she yelled at me again. "Get going! NOW!" She wasn't messing around. After murmuring some inaudible response, I did as she told me and dove behind a boulder standing like 100 meters away.

Fuck. My breathing gradually returned normal. My luck parameter must have been ridiculously high. Just how low the probability of such encounter was? If it wasn't for Neptune I would have already become dragon's dinner. "Michael? What's going on?" I didn't even notice when Noire appeared. She seemed unaware of the fight taking place not so far away from us. "A freaking dragon out of nowhere!" Frankly, my nerves were still in a terrible shape and I could hardly control myself. "A dragon?! Where?" Her brow raised. "Where we split. Neptune's already battling it." "Stay put until we're back!" She shouted and transformed into the goddess form.

Even though it was only for a very short while, I managed to see the CPU Black Heart. As long as her body was concerned, she didn't change much, however, ironically to her name, her hair turned snow white and it was now freely falling down her waist. Also, her eyes became lime green and were similar to Neptune's. For some strange reason, my mind went blank as I watched her fly away.

… "That's nonsense." I slapped the sudden thought out of my mind. There was no way…

Around 5 minutes passed when Purple Heart found me and asked to come along. "Secretary, this monster is an Ancient Dragon. Do you know what it means?" "It's pretty rare. Legendary status I read in some book." I lowered my head to see its unmoving face on the ground. As expected from two battle-hardened CPUs, they subdued it without getting a single scratch. "Don't try to be smart now! What were you thinking to mess around it, idiot?! Do you want to die or something?!" Noire spat out in my direction. She must have already known how it went, but I didn't understand why she was so mad at me. "It ambushed me when I was exploring the cave. Speaking of which, we should go there and check out something. I think somebody had been fighting there recently." To be honest, it was more of a bluff to have their attention off me. Though pretty much I was the victim, their blaming gazes were slowly filling me with the feeling of guilt. "Don't change the subject. I thought you understand risks of such expeditions, but how you acted was highly irresponsible. You should have waited for us before going down there." "But…" You seriously think I volunteered to be attacked? Literally in the last second, I stopped myself from delivering a few harsh comments. "No buts on this one. Neptune's right. You promised me… If you were working for me, you would have already been fired!" "Umm… Guys?" In all of this ranting I seemed to be the only one who had spotted the unexpected threat, however, I was currently being ignored. "I won't go as far as that, though if you don't rethink your attitude I won't be taking you out anymore." "Just listen to me and…" "You're still mumbling about something? Excuses won't take you anywhere." They didn't even intend to let me talk and continuously pushed me back until it was already too late.

In order to avenge its fall, the dragon clenched to leftovers of its life for so long and aimed its last fiery breath in our direction. By the trajectory, Noire, who stood a few steps on my right would have been affected the most. Afterwards, everything happened so fast I could barely notice.

My muscles seemed to move on their own and made me lunge forward, unsheathing my katana. But why though? I knew it was useless. Then I threw it away with full force.

In the meantime, she also became aware of the situation. Unfortunately, the fire was already on its way. There was no escape…

A wave of heat was nearly upon us when I pushed Noire out of the line of fire. As she fell back, our eyes met for a second. The last one for me, I laughed ironically, engraving into my mind her expression. She desperately attempted to pull me towards her, but before our hands connected, my consciousness faded. At least I didn't have to feel the pain of being burned alive…