Mayor's Adventures: Enemies of the Past

by TheFoolOfTheNoon

Takes place after Town of the Dead. Nacho after recovering from his injury from his previous adventure is finally able to relax and enjoy life. Especially with his girlfriend Ankha, but when trouble arises from a land he worked in the past. He is forced to strap on his hunting boots and set out to solve the problem. However, there is more to this monster attack than he thinks.

21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20: Risks and Rewards

Author note:

Another chapter and another step closer to finishing this story. We are almost there beloved readers and it has been a ride. This chapter is filler-ish, but give some necessary training and power ups for the upcoming battle. Granted there will be some slight training in the next chapter, but I assure you all that the next chapter is the final battle with the Immortal Shagaru Magala. After that, the ending and the epilogue...and maybe something extra. Enjoy the story and feel free to tell me what you think of the chapter. This is TheFoolOfTheNoon signing off!

/

Ankha's P.O.V.

It has been some time after Nacho left with Isabelle and Sophia to help Isabelle learn how to use beast trigger. Being left to my own devices I used this time to continue my training in magic. With the help of the Carvaneer I was able to practice my fire magic on some targets and relearn some of my skills with the element. Adding to my kit I remembered; Fire mine, Immolation, Burning Serpent, Inferno rain, and Flame burst. These are spells I have used in the past and all very effective for battle, but remembering the level of mana and control needed to invoke such spells. I had a few misfires, no pun intended, and at the end of the training session I left nothing but scorched earth and burning dummies.

The Carvaneer was surprised at the amount of power I had and frankly so was I. This is what happens when you don't keep up with training, I guess. Either way, I'm another step closer to regaining my old power again, but I doubt I will get all of it in time for our showdown with the Shagaru Magala. Still with what I relearned it should really give us a serious edge against the monster due to it having a weakness for fire. However, destroying it for good needs another kind of power.

The ritual to summon one of the gods to aid us is a bit complicated, and they only have so much power to spare so we technically have one shot to pull it off. Not to mention the gathering of offerings to give to the god we need to summon. Each one has a specific taste and require specific items to satisfy them. Most of them may be kind or benevolent, but even for us we must give them tribute in order to gain their help. I been making a mental list on what we need to summon Anubis and his tribute to help restore his strength after helping us. With all this planning I can only hope we can gather the items in time.

In the meantime, I also need to work on my curse and hex skills again. Another branch of magic that has many ways of being invoked. I can use it without tools, but the main problem lies in finding someone to practice on. Well, actually, one person comes to mind, but I don't think the Carvaneer would have allowed it. This also strikes out any person who makes me angry, so I'll just have to wait until a willing volunteer shows up. While I could use myself as a test subject, I rather not hinder myself with a curse that may cause some damage.

"What to do...what to do..."

"Something wrong Ankha?" The Carvaneer asked.

"Yeah, I want to practice my curses and hexes, but there is no one to practice on."

"I see...that is a problem. I doubt there is anyone crazy enough to be willingly cursed."

"You have to be crazy to willingly subject yourself just for the sake of practice."

"Well...why don't you practice on me?"

I raised my eyebrows at this, "Really? You do know that you are risking your life if you submit yourself to my curses and hexes."

"Aye Ankha, I have experienced many things in my years. Laid my eyes on many golden treasures that were supposedly cursed. Not once I was affected by such voodoo and frankly, I was a bit disappointed. I guess it was just a bluff to scare off treasure hunters, but it was bit of a disappointment if you ask me. Anyway, I wanted to be at least cursed once in my life and since you need to practice on someone, I'll be your test dummy regardless of what happens."

"Okay...but just so you know, some of the curses I remember may affect your body in strange ways, so try not to regret helping me."

"There is only one thing I regret in this world Ms. Ankha and that's all the adventures I won't be able to witness after I pass."

"Alright then...but if you feel like you're going to faint then tell me so I can remove the curse...or if you do pass out then I'll do it anyway."

"Aye, hit me with your best shot!"

I shrugged and got to work focusing on the first curse I can remember; The stone foot curse. This does what the name implies and I know this will be a bit uncomfortable for the old man, but he asked of it. My hands were enveloped in a dark aura as I gave a small chant in my native language before firing the dark magic at the elderly man. The dark magic projectile exploded into a black cloud that swirled around him before dispersing into nothing.

"Alright, I just hit you with a stone foot curse."

"Stone foot eh? My feet are going to turn into stone?"

"Pretty much, if my memory is correct you should be feeling it now."

As if on cue, the Carvaneer had a look of discomfort on his face as he looked at his feet and attempted to move them. Very quickly he found out he could barely move at all as the weight of his stone feet slowed him down.

"Aye, I can barely move! So, I'm guessing this curse is supposed to slow me down?"

"Pretty much, but with enough force it can also destroy your feet."

"Yikes, good thing I never run into this curse. Although it seems very specific if you ask me."

"It is, but with a little hex I can actually make this curse a lot worse."

"Really now? Like turning my entire body to stone?"

"No, that is another more powerful curse by itself. What I can do is have you feel excruciating pain in your stone feet."

"Interesting, so what is the difference between curses and hexes if you don't mind me asking?"

"Well a curse is a type of dark magic that is design to inflict various inflictions onto a desired target. It's short ranged and has a multitude of uses, so it is very flexible but requires some chanting of what you want to happen in order to work. Hexes on the other hand is a type of dark magic spells design to complement curses. Unlike curses they don't need an incantation wind up and have long range, but they are very limited in use. Primarily they are designed to make a curse that is already placed on a person worse; like rubbing salt in an open wound. By itself though it's only capable of smaller misfortune like: causing minor physical pain, creating headaches or mental anxiety, giving a target bad luck, and causing certain things to fail."

"Certain things to fail? Like?"

"Like...if you were creating a potion. Just one small hex can cause the concoction to lose its healing effects or blow up. Another example is when an enemy fire a projectile at you, just one hex would cause it to go off course with no real cause at all."

"I see...is there anything else?"

I rolled my eyes, "You know what? I think it's better if I just showed you," with a quick charge of mana to my right hand, I flung the ball of dark magic at him. It hit him dead on as it poof into a cloud of smoke that was sucked in by his feet. It took a few seconds before the smiling leader of the caravan began wincing in pain before taking a seat and letting it all out.

"Argh ah! Hoo hoo ah! Ah! It burns! It feels like someone set my feet on fire!"

"Like I said, hexes make a curse worse. In the case of The Stone Feet curse it feels like someone is roasting your feet in a stone oven."

"I can feel that! Hoo hoo hoo! You can remove the curse now!"

I gave a small smirk before I started another chant. I pointed an open hand at the Carvaneer as the dark magical energy flowed out of his feet and into my hand; returning the mana used. The look of relief on the Carvaneer was amusing, but unfortunately for him this was just the beginning. I still have a few other curses in memory I want to use and he has to take it all no matter what.

"Hoo boy...that was an experience. Now I know what it feels like to have your feet toasted by a Rathalos."

"Nice to see you are taking it well. I still have three more curses I need to try out."

Curses are no joke and his confidence in handling another one seems to be shaken, but he still put up a brave face despite what could happen.

"Right, well I'm a man of my word, so I'll do my best to take it like one."

"Good, because two of these are considered to be physically debilitating."

"Of course they are..."

"I hoped you prepared yourself because this might not be pretty."

The man gave a deep breath before giving me the go ahead to curse him again. The next curse in line is a curse of uncontrolled strength. The poor man was confused when I hit him with this curse as he didn't notice the effects at first. I had to explain to him that it gave him super human strength, but he couldn't control it no matter how hard he tried. He of course tried this out and quickly found out that every step he took had much more force than he intended and caused him to leave large indents in the ground. His strength also caused him to destroy his clothes a bit as now his movements aren't restrained by his outfit.

I removed this curse and moved onto the next one in line; Curse of Weakness. This one is straight forward in its effect and he felt it almost immediately. The man nearly fell over as he no struggled to hold up his own weight. However, this was fruitless as he did fell over back first, he still tried to get up. This curse is useful in debilitating a single enemy, but is less effective against a target that is resistant to magic, so this is a very situational tool at my disposal. Still when it works it works and it was amusing to see someone struggle against their own weight.

I removed this curse as well, and moved onto the last one I can remember. In the meantime, I'm also becoming familiar again with how to make new curses. I won't try my new ideas here, because the Carvaneer has suffered enough. The last curse I have in memory was basically a prank I developed back in the old days; the bug magnet curse. This one was fun to watch as the Carvaneer did not know what happened until suddenly a large number of insects, and spiders came out of hiding and started crawling towards him. I made sure to back out of the way as the man stood there and let the creepy crawlies crawl all over him. Unlike the previous two curses, he was taking this very well.

"Decided to go easy on me huh?"

"I'm surprised you're taking this very well."

"Aye, this may work on most people, but after so many adventures and running into the vespoids I say I'm used to these critters. Besides, they aren't biting, or digging into my skin so there is no reason to panic here."

"Yeah...this curse was more of a prank than something actually harmful. I think I made it when I was ten years old."

"Really now? That's amazing, but uh...can you please remove the curse now? All I can see now are beetles minding their own business."

"Sure, hold still!"

I removed the curse and almost immediately the bugs stopped moving momentarily before crawling off the old man. It was almost amusing to watch the creepy crawlies return to their hiding places like nothing happened. As for the Carvaneer, his appearance was far messier now thanks to this practice session.

"Thank you for putting up with these curses. It's all coming back to me now, I already have ideas on how to make some of these curses effective in battle not mention how to make new ones."

"Happy to help...sort of."

"I'm guessing you had your fill of being cursed for one life time?"

"Y-Yeah...now I know the big deal is with curses now. I appreciate the experience despite what happened to me."

"Trust me, there are far worse curses that could be placed upon you. I think there was one called mummy rot back in the ancient world, but I'm not sure if it was true or not."

"Yikes, sounds bad. Good thing I don't hunt for ancient treasures anymore or else I might have stumbled upon that myself."

"Indeed, anyway I should be able to handle further training on my own from now on."

"That's great to hear! Now if you excuse me, I'm going to change into some new clothes."

I shook my head with amusement as he left. It felt good flexing that magical muscle again and for the time I decided it was time to take a break. Thankfully the Street Cook was willing to provide me with a light meal for me eat so I can recharge. During my meal, Ferno showed up and started conversation with me.

"Hey Ankha, have you seen Ohkan? I wanted to do some sparring with him, but I have no idea where he is."

"Oh, he's in the research building teaching Isabelle how to use Beast Trigger. Actually, now that you mention it, he was supposed to return with her ten minutes ago."

"How much do you bet that something went wrong?"

"I don't doubt it, Isabelle was stepping into new territory and was using Gore armor as her first base of transformation."

"Even after being told that the stronger the monster the harder it is to control?"

"Yeah, I told Nacho to be careful, but there wasn't a guarantee that something wouldn't go wrong. I'm going to check up on them after I'm done eating."

"Good, as for me. I heard some of the local black smiths, not just our own are thinking of making a new line of anti-frenzy suits in order to allow hunters to enter areas covered by the frenzy clouds. I decided to volunteer along some other to wear and test the armor."

"That's great to hear! If it works maybe you can join us for the final fight."

"That's hoping if it does work. Still knowing that we have a bunch of brains working on this gear I have no reason to doubt we may have a working prototype; not like you need it."

I chuckled a bit, "Of course, thanks to Nacho I'm immune to the effects of the virus. I hope everything goes well."

"You and me both."

Ferno left afterwards and I quickly finished off my meal. As I said to the small feline, I made my way to the research building. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit anxious as the number of researchers and repairman running around did not fill me with much hope. I asked one of the staff members where Nacho and Isabelle are and they quickly informed me what happened. It was just as I feared, Isabelle lost control and nearly covered this entire faculty in frenzy. I am glad Nacho was able to stop her before things got really bad. It was also good that the researchers got a lot of information out of fiasco.

Anyway, they directed me towards the room they had Isabelle resting in. I saw Sophia on the way looking distressed. She didn't even notice me until I spoke to her.

"Are you alright Sophia?"

"N-No...it was all my fault! I'm the one who came up with the idea to use the Gore armor and now look what happened! Doodle probably hates me now."

"Actually, if you ask me I think he is more angry with himself than you, but still what done is done. I'm sure Nacho has cooled off by now. Let's check on both of them okay?"

"O-Okay..."

Opening the door, we were greeted with the sleeping forms of Isabelle and Nacho. The latter though was only barely asleep as he woke up after we entered the room.

"Huh what?"

"Wakey wakey sleepy head. How was your nap?" I asked him as he was getting up.

"It was nice, what about you? How was things when we were gone?" I explained to him in full what happened in my magic training and how the Carvaneer was willing to help me out. Nacho shuddered at the thought of curses being used on him, "Now I even have more of a reason not to make you angry."

"Oh relax Little N...I'll never use curses on you. Well at least the lethal ones anyway," I saw him visibly gulp which made me snicker a bit, "I kid I kid."

"Please don't joke about stuff like that."

"I'll try, anyway look is also here," I moved out of the way so Nacho can have a clear view of Sophia, who was hiding behind me.

"Uh hi doodle."

"Hey Sophia," Nacho had a visibly concerned look which contrasted to what Sophia thought his mood might be, "Look, I told Isabelle this, but this is not one person's fault. We all decided to go along knowing the risks and well...let's just be glad we managed to stop things from becoming worse."

"R-Really? You're not angry?"

"At you? Sophia, you may frustrate me for the countless dangerous situations you put me through, but this I cannot be angry at you for. As a matter of fact, I'm angrier at myself for not listening to my gut when I had the chance."

"Told you Sophia."

"Oh thank goodness...that's a relief."

"If you don't mind, let's move this conversation outside. We should let Isabelle rest."

"Right, let's go."

We all left the room and continued the conversation in the hall. Nacho filled me in on what went down in the chamber and was glad to know that he was able to use the Gore's form without losing control at all. This meant he now had another powerful form at his disposal. Sophia also told me what the researchers discovered from the training and found out Isabelle's beast trigger form is different than Nacho's. Taking only half of the monster's features while also sporting enhanced abilities, such as her frenzy cloud production. I was frankly shocked that her transformation focused on her abilities alone and not her physical capabilities.

"That's interesting, I didn't think the best trigger would be different for her. I thought she'll end up like you," I said as I continue to ponder the virus's powers inside of us.

"You're telling me. I wasn't expecting it myself, but on the bright side Isabelle should have an easier time controlling it the next time she uses it."

"That's good to hear, it could be really helpful in the upcoming battle."

"For sure, but before that I need your help with one thing Ankha."

"Oh sure, what is it?"

"There is one more transformation I want to try before the day ends. I know it's a bit early to do something dangerous again, but I plan on beast triggering...into an elder dragon."

I nearly gasped and so did Sophia, "Doodle, are you sure you want to try that? Elder Dragons are as powerful as monsters come. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I agree with her, so far you manage to gain control of the other transformations but this could be really dangerous."

"I know, that's why I thought long and hard and decided to use the Kirin as my monster of choice."

I had my reservations about this, but Sophia's tune quickly changed when he told us the monster's name, "A Kirin? Oh...good choice Doodle!"

"Pray tell why is this monster a good choice? I haven't heard of this monster before," I said while crossing my arms.

"A Kirin is an elder dragon that is elusive in nature. It has control over lightning and can disappear in flash! Best of all, they are quite peaceful and passive until provoked. Which means if Nacho loses control, he won't attack straight away!"

"What she said, plus we need the firepower. The Shagaru Magala is an elder dragon in itself, and considering it has magic backing it up we need the power of an elder dragon ourselves. However, all other choices are far too dangerous to try and test out. The Kirin may be the weakest of all the choices but it should be enough for the battle. However, if I'm going to do this, I need your help Ankha. You being there should help me control the form."

"It's true! Isabelle did the same thing and it worked! Er...more or less."

I gave the idea some thought, while the dangers are very prominent, Nacho already gave the idea some deep thought. After a few seconds I decided to my faith in their knowledge, "Alright Nacho, anything to prevent you from going on a rampage."

"Thanks, I'll go get ready then."

"And I'll inform the staff!"

I smirked and shook my head as the two left to accomplish their chosen task. I'm a bit anxious at the risk Nacho is willing to put up with, but I have faith in him.

/

Some time has passed and after some persuasion, Nacho and I are now in a test chamber together with him wearing the armor. He wasted no time activating beast trigger which by this point is second nature to him, and in a flash of light the human man was gone and, in his place, a tall somewhat muscular horse man stood in front of me. Sophia has shown me a drawing of the monster and it came pretty close to what Nacho has become. The fur on his body was distributed in a way where it looked like he was still wearing some of the armor on his body. Other than that, scales cover his body, his hands and feet changed, he has a mane and tail, and he has a single horn coming from the top of his head.

Static build in the air as he let a ferocious neigh. I can see why now that this monster is an elder dragon. Not just for its power but majesty as well. Nacho looked around the room curiously before laying his eyes on me and walking towards me. He had an intimidating aura around him, but I felt no hostility coming from him. Once he was a few steps away from me, he leaned in and sniffed at me, most likely to get my scent.

"Nacho? Can you hear me?"

The transformed Nacho cocked his head at me. It was confused at the name I called him at first, but when called him again he responded. He recognizes the word as his name.

"Nacho, if you hear me. Move in a circle."

He did what I asked, but I wasn't sure if it was the animal or the man responding to me. I tried again with a few other commands and he again responded to all of them without hesitation. It was certainly strange leading him around like this, but it was clear that he isn't in control yet. However, the animal side was acting like a house broken pet. I needed to bring out the man, but I didn't know how. So I decided to ask him some questions.

"Nacho, do you remember Isabelle?"

He cocked his head to the right before nodding, all without me telling him he needed to do that.

"Do you remember the name of your job?"

He nodded, but this answer wasn't enough for me.

"Can you tell me the name of your job?"

This was a bit of a struggle for the transformed man, but he tried to voice his answer as best as he can, "M-m-m...a...or..."

"Come on you can do it. Try again."

"M-ma...yor."

"Good, last question. Do you remember my name?"

"A-a-a...ka."

"No, try again."

"A-anka."

"Almost there, come on you can do it!"

"A-ankha!"

"There you go!"

I smiled as the man began to repeat my name over and over again. I can tell that saying my name was the last thing that finally got his brain to reconnect with the world. His voice became less hoarse over time and the aura he once emitted faded. He shook his head a couple of times and smiled at me.

"W-We did it! Woo hoo!" Nacho finally has control over the form, well at least partial control. He still needs to fight the monster in his dreams to gain the full power of the form, but for now we reveled in the victory. Of course, after his excitement died down, we tested out the powers of the form. Like the monster, he has control over lightning and was able to fire off bolts and cover himself in electricity. Another interesting move is a lightening teleport which happens in a flash while making an er...flash of light.

Another thing of note to the form, is that Nacho is surprisingly agile. He was practically bouncing off the wall and dancing around me. I might actually have some competition in the speed and agility department. After some racing around the room, Nacho canceled out the form and flashed me a smile.

"Ankha...I think I'm ready."

"Good, because there are still some things I need to get done before we confront the monster."

/

Isabelle P.O.V.

*Roooaaaaarrr!*

"Ahhhh!"

When I fell asleep, I was expecting to have some nice dreams about the Mayor, but instead I find myself being chased by a Gore Magala in a rocky mountain! I had no idea how long I was avoiding it, but I had a few close calls. Yet no matter how far I run, it always seemed to be just behind me!

*Roooaaaarrr!*

Eventually, the chase had me cornered at a mountain cliff. Nowhere to run, and two ways to meet my maker. Well not really, but I rather not be torn apart or fall to my not real death, and wake up screaming. I had to fight...but can I really? It is a dream after all, so maybe I can dream up my weapons?

Thinking fast and quickly I was able to imagine my hunter knife and shield, but the moment I try to fight the monster it quickly knocked out the weapon and shield out of my hands. I was nearly knocked over the cliff myself, but I held onto the edge as the monster towered over me. I was scared, but I won't lose! Or else all that training with Nacho would have gone to waste!

"I won't lose to you!" I shouted at the top of my lungs as I felt my body transform once again. I have activated beast trigger and I took on my own version of the monster. However, instead of losing control, my mind was clear and with it a surge of ferocity I never knew I had in me. Because of that surge, not only did I lift myself up, but I launched myself at the monster.

I rammed into it with a savage head butt, nearly knocking it over. Taking advantage of the monster's surprise I instinctually held my hands out and fired out multiple frenzy blasts. Never mind how I did it, but the force of the blasts themselves was enough to hurt the monster as it roared in pain.

"I'm not a defenseless pup anymore! It's thanks to Nacho and Ankha that I can hold my own!"

*Rooooaaaar!*

"Oh zip it!"

Using my wings to stay in the air, I continue to throw a volley of frenzy blasts at the monster. Each attack enraging the monster even further before finally taking to the air itself and roared as the sky turned black. It was enraged, but that wasn't enough to scare me. It and I are now one and the same and what it can do I can do better. I let out a roar of my own as the scales of my wings began to fly into the air as well and fought with the Gore's own frenzy cloud trying to engulf the area. Its black scales was contrasted by the pinkish glow of my own and for a while it would seem that we were dead even, but thinking about the two important people in my life gave me enough strength to push forward and over power the monster's cloud.

This is my territory now, and the monster knew this as it began to desperately swipe at me. However, as my spores descended upon it, slowly its rage began to subside. Its once fierce movements are slowed before finally stopping and falling asleep. The effects of my spores doing the opposite of the virus originally does in nature, by instead calming them to the point of sleep instead of sending them into a rampage. I won, the monster is defeated and with it more control over my form.

I landed in front of the monster and gave it a little pet before it was consumed in light and the light flowed into me. I gave a smile as I pumped my arm in the air, "Look at me brother! Look at me sisters! I'm not weak anymore!"

With that said the dream faded and I woke up in the recovery bed. I blinked a couple of times to shake off whatever sleep I had left in me. Feeling rejuvenated I hopped off the bed and started to do some light stretching exercises. I can't wait to show Nacho and the others what I'm capable of doing.

/

Normal P.O.V.

"Accursed dragon! Why don't you attack again?"

Aten was furious that the elder dragon he resurrected is no longer going about and taking over more land. Which instead decided to resign itself to the top of the mountain, also known as Heaven's Mount. Winds bellowed in the dark sky as the monster ignored the man's yelling. It was a peculiar sight to see the monster who would threaten the world just sitting there waiting.

"I brought you back to serve me! Have you forgotten our deal?!"

"I...did not."

"Then why do you sit there?"

"Because...a worthy challenge awaits."

Aten was about to explode until his guardian Adofo stopped him by placing a hand on his shoulder, "Master, hold your wrath. I've seen this look before, the look of a warrior anticipating their last greatest battle."

"So? What do I care?"

"Master think, it's waiting for that one hunter who has Ankha with him. The one I heard whose name is Ohkan."

"Don't remind me of that name. It disgusts me that the name still exists after all these years."

"Regardless, this presents an opportunity master."

"Really? How so Adofo?"

"When growing up, I was told by my mother that when two predators fight it's best to let them fight it out and tire themselves out before taking the prize for yourself. There is no need to waste energy in a pointless battle."

Aten listened to his guardian's words and smiled, "Yes...yes, you are right. If they are tired then they cannot stop me from taking back what is mine, Ankha. Oh, how you eluded my grasp for so long. Soon...soon I'll make you understand that you are mine and mine alone. And... I'll make sure you can never run from me again."

The jackal man burst out into maniacal laughter to which Adofo looked away from him in disgust. This is isn't the master he swore to serve, but he must continue to play along with his madness until he can figure out what changed in him. Should they do succeed in capturing Ankha, he will do everything in his power to protect her from his master's advances and deluded mind.

"Master, I swear I will find out what is making you this way. Even if I must disobey and stop you myself."

Adofo looked up to the darken sky with silent hope. That things won't go as his master's planned and this monster is stopped. He can only hope.