Hey everyone! Sorry I've been gone for so long. I've been trying to adjust more to college and lost my passion for writing. Rest assured, I plan on continuing this series, but I'm taking a break from it for now. It grew stale to me and a chore to write. I'm now finishing up another story and then I'll go back to this one. I also want to finish the whole series before I start uploading new chapters. I may have finished Book 2, but I just want rough drafts of everything done before I can continue. Thank you so much for your support and patience.

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B2V1Ch6 Yamato-no-Orochi

Azura? Are you there? What happened?! Is everything alright?

No response.

I'll try again!

"Corrin, stop trying," Nyx suggests. I can tell she is in pain too.

Why should I, Nyx?! And how are you able to contact me through my cognition without Lilith?

"Because if Azura has not responded by your now 5th call, she may be either busy or worse, and my dark magic, respectively. Still to think a stomach bug would cause this much issue for me…"

It's a stomach bug?! Eww! I don't like bugs! Anyways, is that the cause of this?"

"Yes. Silas offered himself up for surgical experimentation and found that there was a venom made from a material belonging to an unknown species of insects. When inside the stomach, they hatch and form one big insect, like a tapeworm, that acts as a parasite. It causes incredible stomach pain, rapid stamina drain, and weakening the muscles in the body. However, it is not lethal, but if not having access to specific potions, the only cure is to undergo surgery."

I'm both relieved and disturbed at the same time. I guess that means that this invasion was planned heavily in advance: the Vallites poisoned the food supply so the village would be sick at the time of the attack.

"You are not the only one who dislikes insects, Corrin. Also, did Azura, Kaze, Hinoka, and her two retainers eat any of the food?"

Actually, they didn't.

"Then you shouldn't be worried as much. Silas is putting his armor on and will be ready in a few minutes. He rushed off as soon as the operation was over."

I figured he would do something like that. Bet he tanked the operation awake."

"He did, but I was too busy locating Azura. There aren't any potions that are mages with spells, so we'll all have to go through the surgery awake. It's Jakob's turn now."

Ok, so I need to buy time until Silas gets here and then run to the Flame Tribe Village?

"I believe you want to save Azura and the others first."

Yeah.

"As do I. Azura sent us a message a few minutes ago. It was encrypted, but I just finished translating it."

What does it say?

"In short, it says she is injured but all right. No casualties. They successfully escaped into what they call the Scorching Labyrinth: the maze-like desert canyon that connects the Wind and Flame Tribe. But then they were mysteriously cut off."

"How do I track them down then?! They may be in danger!"

"I have two theories: either have that boy with the injured legs divine her location for you once you get deep enough into the canyon, or use your Dragon forms."

Why should I turn back into that thing again?!

"Because it appears to know where Azura is by scent. I have to go, and my power is waning. I must conserve as much as possible to help Silas and his horse make the jump."

Alright, thanks.

I zone back into reality. It's been a few minutes since I was in the moment, focusing.

Fuga is fighting off Forneus and is pushing the cobra fiend back. However, Forneus is not looking nearly as tired. It wasn't a fair fight, to begin with, but he is at least holding up.

Orochi is scared and clutching her head like she's in pain. She does not deny any of what Forneus said. Escape first, and I'll ask her later.

There is a barrier of violet flames surrounding all the doors and windows. The flames grow stronger when someone is near, and they become even stronger than they already are. I'll have to break through it to escape.

However, I'll probably have a small army outside waiting for me to face alone.

Lastly, Hayato is stuck in the line of fire with Forneus and Fuga. With his legs paralyzed, he can't move. He could die at any second.

Suddenly, I hear a voice breeze through my head like the wind, "Please look after Hayato for me."

It's Fuga!

"As much as I hate to admit it, these fiends bested me in a battle of wits, and now I can tell my entire village is now in their clutches. I, too, am losing strength, and I'm not sure if I can even survive this foe. He may be my match. However! Hayato is prodigy chosen by Lord Sheng-Wung himself! He has skills with divination, potion-creation, strategy, and combat that surpasses most of the experienced tribe members. He also bears the soul of the tribe-it's legacy. As long as he lives, so shall the tribe. I have no doubt he will be of use to you. Now, please take him and go! The Wind Tribe must live on!"

"I understand, Chief Fuga."

Everyone, including Fuga, looks at me weirdly. Did he not send that message?

Questions for later.

Calling the belt, I rip off the handle and form my staff.

I point it towards Hayato. I hope I can pull this off with my low-magic level.

"Rescue!"

Hayato is swallowed in Green Light and then warps next to me.

"Hoho! Are you trying to escape? Did you forget about the barrier?" Forneus asks while holding back Fuga's strength. I can tell he's more interested in what I'll do than fighting the Wind Tribe Chief.

Well, you can go to hell! I had to fight him without handicaps!

"Hey, Ms. Corrin! What are you doing?"

"Rescuing you, of course! I need someone a talented diviner to help track down my sisters who were here earlier. And I could use a mature diviner in my party in general. But if you aren't up to that task I can-"

"Fine! I'll help out you guys in need of my abilities! But before you break out, let me tie myself to you. Serpent! Bison!"

"Huh?"

The bison spirit turns sideways: acting as a wall while the serpent spirit complexly wraps Hayato to my upper-back like a chair.

"This way you can continue carrying me even if you transform into that big dragon thing."

This kid figured out my plan like that?! He must be good.

Granted, I didn't want to transform again. If I turn into just a Full-Dragon within about 72 minutes of becoming a Tenkai, the Tenkai will break loose, and I'll go berserk. It's a good thing we all did tests on the Tenkai form on the way here.

I have a few minutes until the 72 minutes are up. Then I can become Full-Dragon for longer.

Silas should be ready about that time too.

It's time for a hellish couple of minutes.

Without warning, I charge at the flames, timing my transformation as I touch the barrier. With my tail forming, I grab Orochi.

The energy explosion from my transformation collides with the barrier, blowing a massive hole in it as I barrel through.

As I go through, I hear something shatter behind me.

Once outside I see a few legions of Risenless and Vallite Invaders. Leading them is this dark mage floating in the air wearing a Brown and purple robe over a white blouse, white stockings, and brown boots covered with unfamiliar gold ornaments that sort of look like eyes. Her figure is petite and modestly curvy (I'm still the superior in terms of sexy) is clear, but her hood covers her head, and I can't see her face. I can see creepy, glowing red markings irises.

She lets out a crazed laugh and asks, "So, you must be Princess Corrin, I couldn't tell because of your dragon form since you rarely use your gift given from the gods."

"Um, excuse me? Who are you? And what have you done with my sister?!"

The young sorceress removes the black glove on her right hand, revealing a malefic symbol of eight eyes divided into two lines the curve in and intertwine at the bottom on the back of her hand. She then replies, "Pardon me, where are my manners. My name is Morgana Grimleal. I am a princess of the house of Grimleal, as well as the commander and strategist of the invasion. It's my first one with no casualties on either side."

She's got some pride and talent to back it up. She's also radiating with magical power.

"Corrin, you have to ignore her and go!" Hayato whispers. "We don't know if she's stalling to let her other forces kill your sisters and their party in another location."

Hayato is right. I need to get out of here.

My head pulses with pain. The dragon is clawing at the cage, banging against it so hard, the hinges are shaking off their hinges!

"As for the sisters you speak of, they went into the Scorched Labyrinth a few minutes ago. We're just wrapping up our victory here. You can go by the way."

"What?"

"You heard me right," Princess Morgan says. "You are free to go. As I said, we're done here, and Dr. Forneus says he wants you alive, so save your allies. You look like you're about to become a Tenkai too, and neither of us wants that, riiight?"

I never thought I'd hear a foe say that. I guess Valla is rather chill when it comes to their commanders.

"Buuut, you have to leave the one in your tail with us. If you don't, you'll have to die. No hard feelings!"

"Never! Orochi is my friend!"

"Are you sure? You might want to check what you've got in your tail first."

Suddenly, a massive burst of energy and mass obliterates my tail. Roaring, I take to the skies.

A giant multi-headed snake appears where Orochi was. It's gigantic, at least twice the size of my dragon form!

The snakeheads speak, "Free, free, yesss, free at lassst… After thousssandsss of yearsss I'm free of thisss ssseal! And… I have you and your friend in that houssse back there for destroying that sssealing comb!"

Each head took turns speaking, finishing each other's sentences, but they clearly have a single mind between them. But that explains what that shattering sound was. It was the comb.

"This is bad! The Yamato-no-Orochi is powerful enough to fight on par with the First Dragons. It looks sluggish from just escaping the seal, but I can sense so much spiritual energy that my weaker spirits are too scared to come out. Thankfully it isn't as interested in us, so we should escape now before that changes!"

"No! She's my friend Hayato! I can't leave her!"

"And put your sisters you love in jeopardy?! We don't have time to save her. It hurts, but it's like one of those times in Shogi, you have to sacrifice a piece to move forward."

Hayato is right. He isn't trying to hurt me. He's just telling the truth. I need to find Azura and Hinoka! I'm so sorry, Orochi.

"You're right, Hayato. Can you use some divination spell with me to help find them?"

"No problem. Give me a minute!"

As Hayato concentrates, Silas calls out from within, "Corrin! Kane and I are ready to deploy!"

Great. Now I need a plan of action.

The enemies are mostly ground-soldiers and monsters controlled by mages. There are a significant number of flying enemies, but the narrowness and deepness of the canyon can provide cover.

If Princess Morgan were to attack, she would wait till we cross the border and then flood the passage with troops.

So, I need to make a deep and long trench. And I know just how to do that!

As I focus back on reality a colossal snakehead from the Yamato-no-Orochi blitzes at me.

"Hold on tight!"

"Woooah!"

I roll out of the way of the first head's vicious bite.

But several followed suit.

I nervously flap my wings and turn my dragon body to avoid the assault.

But I never practiced maneuvering like this as a Full-Dragon.

Sharp pain pierces my body as one head biting my wing.

Various chomping sounds later and my limbs are pinned by the heads of the 13th Spirit slowly dragged downwards towards it.

If only I could change into Tenkai Anankos. It would at least be able to avoid this monster's powerful attacks with its humanoid size. But I don't know if it will just attack Orochi. I don't think I'm strong enough, even as a Tenkai, to take on something like that.

Humanoid size… that's it!

"You thought of a plan?"

"It's risky, though." While it is painfully biting my long neck, my metal scales protected the flesh from damage. Still, it ripped holes in my wings, but with this plan, it isn't much of an issue. I need a point-blank water breath shot to stun it. "Your Serpent Spirit can adjust to my size automatically, right?"

"I see then. The old man said a risky plan is better than nothing. Distract that thing until I can divine your sisters' location. I'm using all my spirits together, and they probably haven't gone far, so it will only take me 30 seconds."

"Alright."

"Also, I know this thing was your friend, but we can't save her right now."

"I know! But… thanks for saying that. It shows you care!"

"… Whatever. I'm beginning the divination now."

Cute.

I fake a struggle against the restricting serpent heads to buy as much extra time as possible, but with its strength, it only gave me 10 seconds. It looks a little tired too. Well, it hasn't been long since it was unsealed. That frenzy assault must have used up its stamina.

"I have you now, my pretty runaway princessss…" one head says.

"Without your wingsss…" Another head speaks.

"You cannot essscape me!" A third head finishes.

We'll see about that!

Come on! Just a little more!

"Corrin, Kane and I are ready to deploy!" Silas reports from within my castle.

Understood! Silas. Start doing laps with Kane right now! We need you both warmed up and already moving before your deployment You'll be riding off my momentum!

"Understood Corrin! Come on, Kane!"

"Neigh!"

I can see the ground. Now I need to start

charging mana slowly. Come on, Hayato!

I painfully watch as I grow closer and closer to the mythical monster. It's, even more terrifying up close!

I can hear the snakeheads taking turns hissing insults to break my spirit. But thanks to all that mediation training with Ryoma, I can tune them out as I gather the mana.

I inch closer and closer.

Slowly.

This is torture, and the monster knows it.

I might miss the optimal range if he doesn't find them now!

"I have her location! Now!" Hayato shouts.

Here we go!

I fire the water breath directly at the creatures' faces. Not enough to cause damage, but enough to stun it.

I swiftly revert to human form, falling out of the clutches of the giant heads.

I then change back into a dragon, the blast wave blowing it away enough.

"Hang on!"

"Woooah!"

I slam my claws down, cracking the ground, and launch myself high into the air with a mighty leap.

I twist, revealing the energy I was storing in my mouth.

A magical blast launches at me, but a Bird Spirit takes the blow for me. Thanks, Hayato.

I let out a huge torrent of water at Yamata-no-Orochi. Turning my head, I use the flood like a sword and cleave a huge trench right before the entrance.

Then I tilt my body, so I fall down and forwards as I revert to human form.

"Silas!"

Silas appears from a small blue light from my body already riding Kane.

He carefully watches as I return to human form, Hayato's Serpent Spirit Seat rearranging to fit my human body (it's awe-inspiring for something so creepy).

Thanks to Silas, I land safely behind him on Kane's back. I grab his waist tight.

"That was the most dangerous strategy I ever witnessed," Hayato remarks while dizzy.

"Who's the kid, Lady Corrin?"

"Hey, I'm NOT a kid!"

A few enemy wyvern riders are flying behind us. They throw cursed axes at us.

Silas narrowly dodges each of them while moving forward.

"A new friend. Hayato! Which way to the others, and any way to shake off these guys?"

"Take the next left. It's too narrow for flying mounts to go through. Make sure the turn is steep."

"Alright. Hold on!" Silas steeply drips left into the dark and narrow passageway.

"Cockrel!"

Hayato summons a swarm of spiritual bugs that fly into the wyvern riders' eyes. I turn and watch the enemy fliers slam fatally

into the canyon wall. While

Two manage to make the turn but can't breakthrough.

I didn't see another enemy for another 10 minutes.

To be continued…

Paralouge#3 Chapter 4: After the Invasion (Selena)

"It's so fucking hot here!" I yell at the two Grimleal guards outside my makeshift den.

Overseeing this, my ass! I'm stuck here acting like a manager instead of watching what Morgan and that sick bastard Forneus are up to!

I can look outside to see the village, and it's not TOO far away, but considering this sand-shack has only one opening (the entrance) I bet they're up to something fishy.

Then again, Morgan was the one who made this little hut for me out of the sand with a Dragon Vein. Lady Camilla has used them several times to terraform the area to her advantage, but I guess you needed dragon's blood.

All the living soldiers are in the other commander's brigade. It's all Faceless, Risen, and a few Vallite soldiers, King Anankos supposedly lent us. I want to yell at those guards again, but they're probably puppets in human bodies, so why bother. They least bring me food and water when I want.

Finished with all the paperwork, I hand it to one of the guards who takes it and leaves, and I lie uncomfortably across the table seated for three: Me, sister, and Forneus. Everything in this room made of hardened sand-like stone. Even the floor is stone! The stone was then cooled by Vallite Mages' Water Magic before, but the desert heat dried that up. It gives plenty of shade, though.

I look at my left arm. Beneath this new armor, I got that looks like a stylish mix between my vintage gear and Nohrian clothes, with just a bit of Grimleal hidden in there. Morgan said she designed this for me, and I have to admit that her fashion sense has grown a lot.

I glance at the Draco-Symbol that was fused to my right wrist after I woke up from surgery a few days ago. It's pretty handy. It's got a watch, a compass, it can communicate with other Draco-Symbols or Crystal Balls, and even a small magical pocket-dimension to store things in! The gem on mine is crimson, just like my hair.

If I were to pull the switch behind the gemstone backward, it would unlock my draconic powers in my blood. Despite how cool it sounds, I was advised NOT to do that by Father himself. I can hardly believe it that Grima helped me twice now. It feels wrong to be indebted to that demon.

But that makes the question why I'm still alive even more confusing if Father It really is Grima.

When I glance at my left, I see all the bandages covering my arm. They even go over my left breast beneath my clothes.

When I touched the dagger, Naga gave me; it caused some kind of adverse reaction with my blood that causes my arm and heart to nearly explode. I am part-dragon now, but that shouldn't be enough to cause me to feel the anti-dragon effects. Even that creep Forneus said there was something odd about the knife when he heard about it.

Now I have to wear my shoulder-guard on my left arm. I know it's just switching sides, but it feels SO wrong!

A sudden flash of light blinds me. As it fades, Morgan collapses into the small building.

"Morgan!" I fling myself off the table and catch her. She's really beat up. She has cuts and burn marks all over. I can also feel a few broken bones. And she's losing consciousness, fast!

Thankfully, a Grimleal Witch comes by seconds later.

"You're just in time! She needs medical attention stat!"

"Understood, Princess Severa! Please help me lie, Princess Morgan, on the table!"

I carefully placed my sister's injured body on the table for the medic to do her work. Another two witches quickly warp in, one transporting a case of cold water and cups suspended in her magic.

I feel water magic spraying outside. They must be re-cooling the sandstone.

After a few minutes of watching my sister go through a small surgery,the witches leave.

I wonder how that witch spoke? I thought only Le-Fay could talk.

"Morgan, are you alright? Here, drink this!"

She drinks the cup of water set for her on the table. A witch must have done it as I was helping Morgan to her feet.

"I'm okay."

I help move Morgan to the seat opposite of me.

"Thanks, big sister. I knew I could count on you to finish all that paperwork!" Morgan says, followed by a giggle.

"Why you…"

Even after successfully invading a village, the childish part of her is still intact. It gives me relief, but I worry: she has that brand too, and she doesn't mind.

I'm thinking right now might be an excellent time to test if my sister is indeed the

enemy. Mother would die of heart attack if she saw her lost daughter committing heinous acts!

"By the gods, your hair is in a total mess. I guess you can't take care of yourself without me. Would you like me to do your hair? Like old times?" I offer.

"Yay! I love you, big sister!" Just like that, she hops onto my lap and gives a childish smile. This is a good sign. Now for the real test.

I take out my pocket-brush I kept in my Draco-Symbol. I'll use this opportunity to ask her about her strategy regarding the invasion of the Wind Tribe.

With her head facing forward, I begin brushing her hair. It's rich in color and has excellent quality. I wonder what kind of soap she uses. If it is expensive, she might be treated well. The cult members at least seem to.

Now it's time.

"Morgan, how did the battle against the Wind Tribe Village go?" I ask as I continue brushing.

"It went really well! I poisoned their crops used in their potions and food secretly beforehand so that they would be all weak when attacked!"

"That's… actually pretty clever! But how did you get so injured?"

"I had to fight Princess Azura. She, Princess Hinoka, and three retainers were there outside. They didn't eat any of the poisoned food. I had to fight her one-on-one. She was powerful. The last spell she cast with a song was really powerful. I had to use magic on myself to appear fine in front of the Grimleal soldiers and then later Corrin when she exited the Wind Tribe Chief's home. If I fought her, then, she would've killed me."

Those two are undoubtedly reliable. Especially Corrin with that new Tenkai form like Tiki has. But Azura must be packing serious power if she roughed up Morgan this bad by herself.

"But it all worked out in the end! Azura injured her foot, and she flew straight into my trap where Royal Commander Arete is waiting, and Corrin is heading there too, but she has to get through a maze first. Oh, I also encountered this dark mage named Iago interfering with my plans this morning at the Eternal Stairway with Grandpa Forneus. He was so pathetic I sent him flying with a single spell! Other than that, nobody died!

"You did what?!" She took out Garon's remaining retainer just like that. I never liked

that guy, so arrogant and ugly with both body and fashion that it made me want to gouge my eyes out. Especially when I caught him peeping on Lady Camilla several times. But why is he here? And is he actually dead? I'll ask Morgan and Forneus later.

"Uh-huh! I was worried because I don't really like killing..." her excitement drops after that last sentence. "I really don't like killing unless I have to. It makes me feel awful. I'm a tactician, and I don't want to be a killer."

So she isn't evil when surrounded by it for six years at such a young age. I'm glad. I feel the anxiety leave my lungs as I exhale. Maybe she is telling the truth.

"No problem, little sister. All done!"

I stop brushing, and I take out a hand-mirror and give it to Morgan.

"Amazing! I knew I could count on you to fix my hair. But..."

She gets up wobbly (she just finished light-surgery just now), turns around, and looks me in the eyes.

"I feel your anxiety. Are you worried about your arm? Father?"

I look to the side, unable to answer.

"Please, don't worry, big sister. I was just like you at first, too. It was scary at first, really scary, but now it's okay. You won't have survived our walk from Nohr to here through the Deeprealms if you aren't part-dragon. Besides, this mark, I see it as a sign of us as a family. That even though we were separated across time and space, we're still connected."

Despite her positivity, the truth is dark as the ruined skies of my destroyed future. The brand of my greatest enemy, the Fell Dragon Grima's brand, is now on my body.

As much as I want to believe in Morgan, I still can't bring myself to buy all this. Not after what Grima put me through!

I may be skeptical, but like Corrin, my family is everything to me. It's all I ever wanted since I was born, and it was just me and Mother in my destroyed timeline. And now that I think about it, I never would have had those incredible ten years where it was me, Morgan, Father, and especially Mother, all smiling together.

"Morgan, I've made up my mind."

My kid sister stands facing me. She looks like she's read my mind, I think.

"I've decided to help you revive Father, but then it relies on him to fully-convince me."

"So, you still don't trust us? Fine, I get it. You don't want to betray your friends."

"No! It's not like that! Something is going on between the new Grimleal and Naga. This conflict isn't fully related to the war in this realm. I want to find the truth. Then I'll decide who I'll fight for."

My mind keeps going back to that dagger. Why would Naga give me something that could've killed me? I think someone lied to me about that dagger and how it injured me.

Morgan leaps up and hugs me. Losing balance, I fall to the ground.

"Yay! It's a deal! Father will be so happy to hear it! I'll get the paperwork started as soon as possible so you can get a job that will let you visit/help us while also keeping your job as Princess Camilla's retainer!"

"You can do that?!"

"Yup! Just be wary not to talk about anything that happens regarding the Grimleal and our activities. Father created a hex that causes memory loss of whatever you were going to say to someone without a brand. Much better than King Anankos' curse!"

"Good to know."

My new mission has begun.

To be continued in Paralogues#1, Chapter 3...