With Druca behind us and a new party in tow, the four of us were getting closer to Arkano, the site of my mission. Our newest recruit, Esther, helped us defend Druca from a seemingly endless assault of monsters. Esther seemed excited to see what was outside her hometown.
"Hey, Esther?" I ask her. "You've never been out of Druca, right?"
"Oh, yeah," She affirms me. "My parents are super overprotective. Good thing I was able to help you stop those monsters without them noticing."
"Esther?" Sapphy repeats.
"Right, you've never been introduced to her, Sapphy. This is Esther. Esther, this is Sapphy. Rosie's her slime companion."
"Hope we get along," Esther smiles. "You and your little slime friend."
"By the way, David," Sapphy says, "You've asked us about our hometowns, but you never told us where you came from. So, why don'tcha spill the beans?"
"Okay," I say. "I'm from Legitopia. The thing is, the reason I'm going to Arkano is because my king, King Archard, gave me a mission to go there. Supposedly there have been several disappearances there, and I've been sent to investigate."
"Are there any other reasons why you're doing this?"
"Well... There's Cory. He's been my... friend for quite some time." I couldn't remember if he was a brother, cousin, or if he wasn't even family. "I became a knight by beating him in the Knight's Exam, which was a tournament where the winner became a knight, which was me. But he got pretty upset, and he took things into his own hands in order to become a knight as well."
"You're trying to find him?"
"Yeah... I wonder how he's doing? Hopefully he hasn't gotten himself killed..."
After that, it was silence between us, save for a few easy battles. We navigated Druca Plateau's dense forests, and managed to get to lower land. After taking the path to Arkano Field, we finally arrived at Arkano.
When His Majesty said "disappearances," I was thinking Arkano would just be a ghost town. But I was wrong. Not only was everyone gone, the entire town was demolished. All the shops, the inn, the houses... The only thing that wasn't reduced to rubble was a castle, plain to see.
"What in the world happened here?!" Rosie said, distraught. "Everything's been splatted!"
"Perhaps some sorta evil came along and trashed the place," Esther suggested.
"We gotta find whoever did this," I say. "If they're hiding somewhere, I bet they're in the castle."
Since there was no way whatsoever to prepare for an inevitable fight, we just had to suck it up and charged straight towards the fortress. I was pretty surprised that there were no guards- You'd think whoever managed to pull off this takeover would do better to boost the security level a bit.
But I wished I'd had something to fight to slow me down, because I finally saw something I never wanted to see...
Cory. Right there, in the throne room, smirking maliciously.
"Well, well, well," He sarcastically said. "I thought I'd never see you again."
"Who's that?" Sapphy asked.
"A gooman?" Rosie says. "No, that can't be right...!"
"Hey, D-David?" Esther stammers. "Isn't th-that...?"
"Cory," I finally say. "Did you do all this?!"
"Haha, sure did," He chuckled. "After losing to you in the Knight's Exam, I just so happened to come across Arkano... all in one night, at that."
"But why?! Knights don't destroy what they have to protect!"
"I don't think I need to listen to you anymore. I'm tired of being second to you. You've always beaten me every time. That changes today. What you see in the once-proud town of Arkano is undeniable proof of my superiority!"
"NO! YOU'RE WRONG! You wanted to be a knight like me, right?! You could have just asked to come along with me!"
Cory sighed, agitated. "Well, you're just as stubborn as you always were. I guess that means the time to talk's over. Let's settle this, once and for all!"
Cory rose and grabbed two arrows from his quiver, like how he fought me back in Legitopia. I grew hesitant. I had no idea who he was, or how he was related to me, but even so, I didn't have the heart to actually fight him!
"Don't falter now," Esther says. "And don't worry. I don't think that's the real him. It's more like someone's controlling him. If we defeat him, whoever's controlling him will be forced to release him. I'm sure he'll be fine."
And with that, Esther makes the first strike with her whip. After she put that into my head, I decided worrying wouldn't get me anywhere, and fighting was my only option. Yeah... I'm sure she's right. He'll be alright! I follow up Esther's attack with my own. But Cory smirks as his hand radiates with dark energy.
"That was weak. But this won't be! ZAMMLE!"
Cory launches an orb of darkness at me, which explodes upon contact. I get launched and slam against the wall. Why must I have an affinity for Dark-type moves?! And that's his main kind of magic, to boot!
"David!" Sapphy screams. "Are you alright?!"
"I... need healing!" I yell. "I'm weak to that!"
"Alright, then! One Midheal, comin' right up!"
Sapphy focuses her divine power and sends it straight into me, healing my wounds... even better than before! I don't know where she was able to learn this spell, but let's not focus on that right now. Cory sends another Zammle my way, but I'm able to avoid the blast. We respond with a magic combo consisting of Frizzle, Swoosh, and Crackle. Cory screams in pain.
"You're... stronger," He observes. "Not to mention you brought some friends with you, too... But I won't lose to numbers. Oh, mighty master of darkness! Hear your servant's cries!"
Darkness flows into him. Had he really surrendered his soul to the night?! ...No! He's just being controlled by an evil spirit! All his wounds are healed, not to mention he recharges all his magic and takes on a demonic form.
"HUMANS," The monster bellows. "ME CRUSH YOU. FOR MASTER OF DARKNESS!"
"What the heck?!" Esther shrieks. "This guy's outta his mind!"
"You're wrong," I counter. "I can feel it. Cory's spirit is struggling to take back control of its body. I know it! There's just something in there, overpowering it... And we'll just wipe it out!"
I run at the beast as quickly as my legs could carry me and Falcon Slash him in the face. But before I completely rebound, he manages to get a swipe on my chest. Esther and Sapphy cast Sparkle and Swoosh on him, dealing more elemental damage.
The monster fights back by spewing a cloud of Inferno. I barely take any damage, but Sapphy and Esther suffer a whole lot more. The monster laughs at the sight of their pain.
"DO YOU NOT SEE THAT YOU CANNOT WIN?" It mocks us. "GIVE UP WHILE YOU CAN, HUMANS."
"NO!" I scream. "I won't abandon my friend when he needs me!"
Furious, I rush at the monster and unleash a combo consisting of a Falcon Slash and a Frizzle. The monster screams and collapses, almost knocking me down when I land. But I stand strong.
"Get him now, David!" Esther cheered. "You can do it!"
"Do it, gooman!" Rosie cried. "I'm leaving this in your hands!"
"Make us all proud!" Sapphy raved. "Okay, David?!"
"Yeah! OH, YGGDRASIL!" I beckon. "GIVE ME STRENGTH!"
I don't even know what's happening anymore! My body and mouth are just moving on their own! Fueled by my friends' cheers and support, I pointed my sword skyward, calling upon a holy power. My blade crackles with holy electricity! I charge one last time at the beast Cory has become and scream the spell's name as I swing my sword.
"ZAP!"
As I swing, a thunderbolt emerges from my blade and jolts the enemy. It writhes in pain and screams as it begins to die off.
"IMPOSSIBLE...!" It shrieked. "HOW CAN PUNY HUMANS DEFEAT MIGHTY DEMON...?!"
It disintegrates into purple fog as it turns back into Cory. He lifelessly stumbles onto the floor. Startled, I quickly run over to him and try to shake him awake. Was he... dead?! No, that can't be!
"Cory!" I yell. "Get up! Don't die on me now!"
For a while, there's no response. Suddenly, a mass of purple energy flies out of Cory's body, then out of the castle and into the distance. My fear quickly turns to relief as he slowly opens his eyes.
"Ngh..." He gasps. "Where... am I? Huh?! David?!"
"Cory! You're alive!"
"What do you know, it's David... The guy who's always better than me..."
"Oh, come on!" Sapphy pouts. "Don't tell me you're still possessed!"
"Haha, I'm just joking. Hey, David? I... I'm sorry. When that thing possessed me... it knew my inner feelings, and I could only watch as you learned the truth... I guess you know who I really am, huh? A monster..."
"What are you talking about?" I say. "Don't say such things. I'd never abandon you, no matter what."
"Yeah... I knew you'd come to save me. I shouldn't have left Legitopia alone... I should've asked to come with you. You were right back there."
"He needs to rest," Esther says. "He's still recovering from having that thing inside him. We should go back to Legitopia. After all, our mission's accomplished, right?"
"Yeah. You're right."
We stepped outside of the castle to avoid banging our heads on the ceiling, then I cast Zoom to take us all to Legitopia. But on our way... I could feel my... consciousness slipping... away...
The one in which David and his crew accomplishes their mission, and they save Cory! But it seems David's been booted from the memory world again...
I forgot to clarify this in a few chapters, but I am well aware that some spell lines don't exist in the OG Dragon Quest universe, like Spark or Crash. However, just know that anything can happen in a fanfic.
