Chapter 61: The Rise of Primp Town's Heroes
Dave's POV
I and Hohow Bird watched as Satan and Ex fought Vyle.. "I just noticed… one of those guys has armor similar to yours. What's up with that?" Hohow Bird wondered. "Well, the thing is… we both took in something that allowed us to have these armors. Although, I started off with a weaker set that didn't cover my entire body. This something is called a dragon stone… You take it, insert power or whatever of your choosing in it, then bring it close to your body. It'll automatically sink in there and boom! You get yourself some armor to start with. The problem with these stones is that they're rare, Hohow Bird. Because of that, it seems as though they are only gifted to those who have the power to change the world for the better. I may be the Demonic Dragon Warrior, but I'm clearly not evil. Ex over there, with that gold armor is the Dimensional Dragon Warrior. That guy has dimensional power from a prior job that he has done in the past. I know that you may not entirely understand this, but that's how it is." I explained to him. "Like… of pure heart? Huh… ... Dave... you're changing me, even as we stand here. I can't possibly fathom how much pure good flows through you." He told me. "No… that's not entirely true. I'm going to have to kill Vyle with my own hands. Then again, he's not anything even close to human. He is the definition of pure evil… My hands might become dirty, but I'm willing to bear responsibility for it. No one like Vyle deserves to live, you have no idea how terrible he is. I think it's only fitting that execution would be his downf-" I stopped
I heard a scream of pain as I looked to see where it came from. "Gyaaaaah!" It was Ex. "...! Ex!" I noticed. He crashed to the ground, where his armor was beaten up. "W-what?! This is bad!" Hohow Bird saw the damage. "Ex, speak to me!" I shook him. "D-Dave… get me out of here, quick...!" He pleaded. I looked at Hohow Bird, then he placed a wing on my shoulder. "Go and get him to safety, Dave." He said, with a serious tone. "... Yeah, I will." I nodded, then left with Ex. I came to Arle where she made a sudden gasp upon the sight. "Wh-what happened to Ex?!" She came to me after I put him down. "He got seriously hurt, and now it's only Satan who's fighting the count currently." I said. "M-Mr. Ex! Speak to us, please! *sob*" Lidelle embraced him, beginning to cry. "*cough cough* Lidelle… please don't cry. I know… how painful it must be to look at- Agh-! … -me right now but... I will survive. … I'm saying this for the rest of you kids as well. Amitie… Raffina… Klug… Tarutaru… Ringo… and yes, especially you, Yui… I will live beyond this day and enjoy life with you all." He said before passing out. His armor faded as his body rested on the ground. "... Ex…" I quietly spoke. "... Dave, take me with ya. I wanna fight that douchebag o' a vampire lord. An' before ya say anythin', I won't drag ya down, man." Lemres pleaded for me to bring him over. "L-Lemres, you'll die from the likes of him, you idiot! What are you thinking?!" Feli tried to stop him. "Feli, I know you're concerned for me an' all, but I feel like I need to do this. I'm Dave's powerful best friend, as a comet warlock; I should be there for him when times are this tough. Ya know that, right? It's better for me to go than somebody like ya…" He petted her head. "Lemres… are you sure that you can handle this? After all, even Satan is having a difficult time holding his own." I turned to face him. "Dave, for some reason… I feel this new power surgin' through me a little. I dunno what it is, but it has to be good." He said to me. "Then hop on my armor, we're defeating the count together." I waited for him.
He climbed aboard and I flew us back to where Hohow Bird was. "I've brought back up, how's the situation looking like?" I turned to the bird. "It's looking bad, Dave. That other guy is having trouble doing major damage to him." He said. "... Lemres, back us up, we're going to help Satan fight off this bastard!" I told him before flying away. "If you can do anythin' to slow him down for me, I'll try an' aim!" I heard Lemres say. "Hiiiiiya!" Hohow Bird launched himself with a kick, right at Vyle. "Geh-! … You have recovered already, bird? *sigh* What a bother…" Vyle became more annoyed. "Primp Town has some good healers, and I would be a fool to neglect them! CAW!" The bird showed his tenacity. "Thun… der… Cannon!" I fired at the count. "Hm? …! Hrrrgh-! This is still weak... Demonic Dragon...! … Haa!" He shrugged off my attack. "N-no way… that's my second most powerful attack right now, and it still didn't do much." I felt helpless. "Dave, what the hell are you doing back here?! Keep your distance if you don't want to die!" Satan yelled at me. "Well, what the hell am I supposed to do?! Even if my risk of death is prolonged, I would only be delaying things with the vampire lord a little! We have to do something here, right now! Honestly, what good would it do just to have only yourself fight Vyle when ALL of us are in danger?!" I yelled back. "... That… … Yes, that is a valid point, Dave. We must fight together and quickly kill this bastard." He conceded.
We had to work together if we wanted to kill Vyle, and that's exactly what we did. "Dave! Combine your Thunder Cannon with my Hoho Beam! We might be able to do something to him if we do!" Hohow Bird began to charge up his attack. "... It's worth a try…" I did so too. "My attack'll come in too, guys… JUS' SICK 'EM!" Lemres prepared his. "Right! Time to fire, Hohow Bird! ... Thunder Cannon!" I initiated my part of this assault on Vyle. "Hoho Beam!" The bird joined in. "Get a taste of this, MOTHERSUCKA!" Lemres backed us up. "... Cataclysm!" Satan made one last push for us to strike down the count with everything we had at that moment. "...! Ooooough!" Vyle was knocked to the ground. "D-did we get him…?" I looked at the damage. "..." The others kept watch. For a minute, the count didn't move. And so, we thought that we somehow killed him with that. Oh, how wrong were we… I should've known at that point, Vyle was almost immortal. "... That hit me rather hard… … But, as you can see… I have withstood your assault. Now what will you do?" The vampire lord stood up. "Impossible... that was our last shot to end him… It's all over for us… If we weren't able to kill him with all of that, we're doomed. There's nothing else we can do to stop him..." My knees dropped to the ground.
The count chuckled from our failure to kill him. "You finally see how futile it is to resist me… Now, I will kill somebody who I wanted to kill for years now… you, Satan. You're the reason why Rulue defeated me back then. I can never live through the fact that I was humiliated by her. And besides that, you have been my biggest enemy at your strongest. There's also you, Demonic Dragon… You have been my most recent enemy, and it shows. You only defeated me that one time because of a fluke with that dragon form of yours." Vyle spoke. "Yo! It wasn't a fluke, dude! Dave's jus' that strong! An', you're a pathetic, weak, loser of a vampire lord!" Lemres yelled at him. "Hm? What was that…?!" He became enraged by what Lemres said, then proceeded to beat him up. "*gasp*" Me, Hohow Bird, and Satan went. "Hey, leave him alone! He didn't do anything to you!" I demanded. "Do you think you are in ANY position to make demands here? No. No, you don't. I had a problem with what your friend said, so I am shutting him up… permanently! Take that!" Vyle continued, before slamming Lemres to the ground. "Oof-!" Lemres reacted to hitting the ground. "Lemres!" I called out to him. "D-Dave… run now… before it's too late, dude…!" He told me. "No! I am NOT leaving behind a friend! I can't just leave you out for death!" I told him. "I'll get him out of here, Dave!" Hohow Bird began to rush to Lemres' side, but then Vyle stopped the bird by attacking his legs. "CAW-! OW!" His face collided with the ground. "H-Hohow Bird! … No… My friends are being dealt with, one after another…" I began to lose faith.
It's truly over for us all… We can't kill somebody like Vyle, no matter how hard we try. Damn it! "... DAMN IIIIIT! *sob*" I lost myself and began tearing up. "This is what you get for crossing me, Dave. Your friends get the suffering first… And now… You. Are. Next...!" Vyle grabbed the neck of my armor and I was being choked. "Hrgh-! …" I tried breaking free, but it was no use. His grip was just too strong for me to escape. "Daaaaave!" Satan tried to help me, but was stopped. "You stay right there, Ruler of the Puyo Underworld! If you get any closer, I will snap his neck on the spot." The count threatened to kill me. "A-ah-!" I felt so scared. "Argh! Damn you, Vyle! … … ... *sigh* You win, just don't hurt the boy anymore. He's been through enough pain… he doesn't deserve any more. Kill me instead." Satan gave in. "... Good. I am glad to see that you have come to your senses." The vampire lord released me. "*cough cough* *hack* *gasp*" I went. "..." Satan left himself wide open. "Now... how should I kill you, Satan? I suppose the most satisfactory way is to do so in a slow method… Kehehe… I am FINALLY getting my revenge, after all these years. Oh, it feels so good! I must savor it as much as possible… Eat the pent up frustration I had for all this time, Satan!" Vyle began to make Satan his bitch by beating the shit out of him. "...!" I watched in horror.
This lasted for what felt like an eternity. Then, Satan eventually dropped like a fly. I saw his body fall to the ground as he didn't say anything. … Isn't there anything we can do? ... With the way things are looking… no. It's completely hopeless… We are all gonna die here today. If things are coming to an end, then I don't want to suffer anymore... "*sob* I can't believe that this is how it ends…" I was at my breaking point. "Well... that is how it will be, Dave. Here I come, to have my revenge for defeating me!" Vyle went over to beat me up. I suffered blow after blow, coughing out blood. I couldn't even use my minor healing magic in this instance. I was completely helpless on my own. Soon enough, my armor gave in and it was just my body. "D-damn… it… ... What a shitty way to go down in life... *hack* If you're gonna kill me… do it now. I can't fight back anymore, Vyle..." I said. "How sad for you to die like this, Demonic Dragon... Oh well, it can't be helped. Die." He charged up one final attack to obliterate me.
... Looks like this is the end for me... Ringo... Feli... Draco... don't you girls go and forget me. Lemres… if you're gonna be alright, don't die on me. Hohow Bird... Primp Town still needs a hero worthy of protecting it from threats like this. Ex... don't die on me either; you still have something that you need to work towards, finding your wife. Amitie... everyone needs you as a ball of sunshine to guide them in life. Rulue… please be alright. Klug... I hope your days can improve without me... Ms. Accord... continue to teach the other students in your class with passion, I know you can do it. Tarutaru… be happy with those around you. Raffina... learn all you can from Rulue and be strong. Yui... love Ex as his adopted daughter. Oshare Bones... It was nice hearing from you as a commentator for the tournament. Make sure you provide the best styles to be in your shop, for me. Schezo... you may not like me, but I want you to get stronger… and maybe change for the better. Arle... you helped me so much during these past few days and I thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Tee... you have no idea what's going on right now, but I want you to succeed as the assistant captain of the SS Tetra. This goes for the rest of the crew too... Ai, O, Jay, Elle, and Ess... You all help Ex as much as you can. Risukuma... your science won't go to waste, just live the rest of your life for the good of scientific advancement. Make medicine and such for the better of the people. Witch... make potions that will produce similar results and make people happy as well. Sig... may you find enjoyment in the life that you live. Satan… we may be going down today… but we're leaving everybody together. … I'm at least glad to leave life with a friend… …! I feel my vision fading... Is death nearly upon me? If so... take me to a happy place…
Death was right there, almost getting to me. I shed one last tear before I faced what would be my death. But... as if my mind secretly wished, a miracle seemed to manifest. The next thing I knew, I was being carried away in the arms of someone. What...? Who is...? I looked up with the little energy that I had left and I was left in shock. R-Rulue…?! "Dave, I'm here for you. Don't go dying on us all, okay?" She looked at me for a brief second. "... R-Ru-" I was stopped. "No. Don't say anything, you'll only make things worse for yourself. I'm taking you to Arle as we speak." She told me. "..." I began to tear up some more. "Dammit, Rulue! Why must you interfere with me now of all times?! No matter, I shall take care of you before you can get him away from me!" Vyle began to chase Rulue. She ran away from him for a bit before reaching the others. "Tarutaru, catch him and run to Arle over there!" Rulue tossed my body over to him. "Got it!" He managed to catch me and ran to Arle. "Quickly, set him down!" She told him. Tarutaru placed me down on the ground next to the mage as she started to heal me. "G-guys...!" I went, wincing in pain. "Dave, we're getting the other three. Don't you worry, none of us are dying today." Ex flew off, somewhat healed.
After I went through some healing, I sat up and looked at the state things were in now. By then, Lemres, Hohow Bird, and Satan were all recovering as well. Arle tried her best to heal us all completely, but then became drained. "*pant* I'm sorry guys… I can't heal you all for the rest of the day." She apologized. "That's fine, Arly… It's a miracle that we're all still alive after the beating we just went through." Satan shook his head. "But, what can we do? That guy seems unstoppable..." Hohow Bird pondered. "I dun- huh…?" Lemres said before noticing a change. "Hey, you're glowing yellow… is that normal, man?" I noticed. "I… I feel a power inside me that's so great… even the count can't stop it. This could save our asses…! Hrgh-!" The comet warlock stood up. "*gasp* No, you shouldn't stand up right-" Arle couldn't stop him. "No, I'm fine. I need to do this, so don't worry for me, 'kay? I'm gonna give Vyle what's comin' to him… YO, VYLE! C'MERE IF YOU WANNA KILL US!" He helped himself along with his cane, then taunted the vampire lord. "Y-you dare…?! DIE!" The count charged right at us. "AAAAAAAH!" The rest of us screamed in terror. "I'm not gonna let you harm us anymore! Candy Laser Blast! Yyyaaaaaaaah!" Lemres fired at him. "...! Wh-what's happening to my body?!" Vyle noticed. "You're turnin' into candy, that's what! Oh wait, you dunno what that is, do ya?! … It doesn't matter, time to become hard candy!" The comet warlock continued his surprise power. "Rrrrrgh-aaaaaagh! You will PAY for this!" The vampire lord screamed. "Shuddup. … Time for ya to lose all sense of life… HAAAAAAAA! … *pant pant* … Everybody, whoever can throw out a punch… finish 'em!" He turned to us for a second. "Ugh… … Let's do this, guys! Most of us may not be in the best condition, but we can now grind Vyle into sugary dust! Haaaaaaaa!" I stood up out of determination and charged in.
Hohow Bird, Ex, Rulue, Tarutaru, and Raffina all followed my charge and smashed the candified Vyle up as much as we could. "HAAAAAAA!" Six of us roared with rage. After we had gone through with that dismantlement show, we were panting like no one's business. "Jesus… I don't know how… but we have TRIUMPHED!" I threw out my voice before falling back on to the ground. "Yes, we most certainly have… It wasn't easy, but we all survived. … AH- HAHAHA! Evil has once again been vanquished! *pant* ... But, I couldn't have done it without you guys..." Hohow Bird helped me up. "... Likewise, Hohow Bird… You have helped stall the count out long enough." I smiled after panting a bit. "Still though, I want to know what's going on here. It seems as though there's more to this than just that guy…" He wanted to know about our situation. "How about you come with us to my private estate, Mr. Hohow Bird? That is where we will all be at." Accord offered him. "I would like that…" He smiled. "H-hey, can I go with you all too?" There's something I need to say." Oshare wanted to come along. "Sure, I don't see the harm in it." Accord nodded to the skeleton. "Th-thank you…" He said. "Daaaave! I came back to yoooou! Thank fucking God you're okay! *smooch*" Draco came to me, crying a whole river. "Th-thank God that you're okay too, Draco… and we're finally together again." I embraced her. "... Don't I smell, Dave? I haven't been bathed for a few days…" She pointed out. "... You do, but we can fix that easily with Ms. Accord's private estate." I told her. "R-really?!" Her eyes widened. "Really." I smiled.
Ringo, Feli, and Amitie came to my side as well. They smiled as I remained happy that Vyle was finally gone. Satan removed any physical traces of the candied body with his power. "Hohow Bird, we thank you for getting rid of that unexpected threat." I heard a voice that I didn't recognize. "...! Mr. Mayor?!" Hohow Bird recognized. I guess this is Primp Town's mayor… "Why do you sound so surprised? Is it because I'm around what was such a dangerous area? Ahahaha… Come now, I can afford to take risks to see what threats my town faces. I care about the safety of the citizens, above all else." The mayor said. "Well, uh... Mr. Mayor, I wasn't able to really do this on my own." The bird admitted. "Now, now, now… I realize that. This wasn't something that anyone could just suppress alone. Yes, I saw most of what happened, thanks to how widespread the tournament's notoriety became. I am saddened that it was just set up by the very threat that has disappeared… He didn't have any cash prize prepared, or a supposed wish. I don't really understand why he did it, but I suppose it's because of a couple of the competitors who fought. Bah… it matters not. What matters is that the town is safe, thanks to you and that group of people. Well, I'll be sure to tell the good news for the media to spread. And, I'll make a speech with a select few of you tomorrow evening. Brave boy, man in the gold armor, young man with the green outfit, man with horns, and of course, you as well, Hohow Bird." The mayor told him as he turned to face us. "R-really?" I asked for confirmation. "Of course! You all did a lot to protect the citizens. It's only appropriate that you should be shown off and be praised. Anyway, I must be going now. After all, I have things to prepare…" He left us.
"Well, it's getting late… We should all come back to my estate for one final night." Accord suggested. "Yeah." I and everyone else nodded, except for Schezo. In all of this, he didn't say or do anything. As we walked back to the estate, I got into a talk with Hohow Bird. "I have to admit, boy… it was touching seeing you and that dragon girl reunite. I can see some real love there…" "Yeah. ... Draco may have quite the figure, but she's ironically more adorable than beautiful. That adorableness resonated with me and that's why I love her." "I didn't expect you to say something about her… figure. I'm curious, how much do you like it? C'mon, you're still a boy. Surely you must also yearn for her body." "Th-that…" "Pahaha! It's fine, Dave. That's typically how you should tend to things if you intend on reaching new heights in a relationship. I may not have experienced love for myself, but I have watched many romances on TV." "I-is that so?" "Yes." "... I see…" All of us made it to the estate in one piece. For us who had fought, we were all tired and many of us had been bruised and whatnot. Accord and Popoi did their best to heal us, but we still had bits of pain. Accord said that the rest of the internal injuries would need to heal naturally. So... we at that moment, would need to wait for a couple, to a few days before we would feel brand new. At the dining hall we ate as much as we desired.
In the middle of us eating, Accord got our attention. "Quiet everyone, I have things that must be spoken to you. The first of which is actually coming from Mr. Oshare Bones… you can speak now." She got all of us to look at him. "Uh… yes! *ahem* I must personally thank you all so much for what you did today. I had no idea that the tournament was being used as a means of revenge. I was just a commentator that was brought in to bring match coverage. Vyle must've really had a grudge against you if he planned it all out. Anyone that wishes to say something relevant to this may do so now." He said. "Yes. Vyle did have a major grudge against us. First off: Rulue humiliated him seven years ago when she was just seventeen. Secondly: I turned him into ash when we fought him a while back. I didn't kill him, all because of this thing called a Yog… and he essentially came back to life. He planned out his absolute revenge by scheduling a tournament from behind the scenes. Then, he threatened to kill Rulue if she didn't participate in it. He would have also killed her if she told anyone else that he specifically was threatening her. What he DIDN'T anticipate was my inclusion in the tournament. Thanks to Hohow Bird: I was provided a reason for joining it. And because I was provided with that reason… it made everyone else come with me. I saw that fulfilling this reason was more important at the time than trying to find some bizarre ore. Basically, Hohow Bird's actions threw a wrench into the count's plans… and that wrench was what ultimately decided Vyle's true fate. Death by turning into candy, then being crushed. In that case: I do believe that there's someone special among this group that deserves a round of applause. Lemres, thank you for turning that bastard into candy. Without you doing that, executing Vyle would have been impossible. Do you all agree?" I turned to face him, then looked at everybody else. "Yeah!" Everyone applauded, except for Schezo.
Tch. Of course Schezo wouldn't do so… "I was jus' helpin' out my best friend, guys. I'll always be at his side at times like these." Lemres smiled. "Now then, there is something else that I wish to mention. This pertains to my class of students, as well as Lemres and Feli. … As you have likely noticed at this point, the break will end in a few days. Here's the problem though: Suzuran High School is not in a good position to run properly. This is due to those no-good criminals who had caused trouble for the city. They used the school as a hideout before they were scared off." Accord received all of our attention again, particularly Hohow Bird's. "Huh? Criminals?" He looked worried. "Don't worry. I've heard that they were captured by authorities, so there's no need to worry." Feli told him. "Oh… Phew…" Hohow Bird relaxed. "... Anyway... this will affect all of the half-students, not just the normal students for that school. Also, there is no other alternative when it comes to academic learning for half-students, besides Primp Magic School. Although, yes… Primp Magic School is an institution for magic, first and foremost; that's not all that the school itself has. It does indeed have a small academic portion; it just has not been used in years. But given the situation that we have here… it will warrant the comeback of such a portion. We want to talk it out with the rest of the faculty... Isn't that correct, Ms. Rulue and Ms. Witch?" Accord continued before turning to face the two.
They both looked at each other before looking back at Accord. "What other choice do we have? These half-students need academics as much as magic." Witch said. "Y-yeah. I'm not expert with that section of learning, but I do know that it's extremely important." Rulue nodded. "I'm inclined to agree with that too. Lemres had terrible academic grades in the first bit of the school year, but things have really turned around for him. I really want those lessons to stick with students such as ourselves, just so we don't have many cases of former half-students being held back." I got myself into the topic. "Goodness, you must be passionate about getting academics to stick with Primp students, Dave." Accord was a little surprised. "Well, it's that kind of stuff that allows you to go through life properly. I thought that it would only be natural, striving to be more than just competent with schooling of all kinds. If you are going to commit to something, then you might as well have it be at a prestigious level. At least, that's what I believe. I'd even advocate for the math stuff to be learned, ignoring my dislike for the subject. It'll be good for the school if it's known to have a great education system in all areas." I said to her. "Wow… You REALLY sound like a teacher when saying all of that, Dave." Ex commented, sounding impressed. "I've always been an upstanding person, Ex. … Is there any other school in Primp that teaches strictly academics, Ms. Accord?" I noted before turning to Accord. "... There is an elementary school… but nothing more. I know, that sounds rather lackluster…" She answered, then frowned.
"Then, could this be the perfect chance to reintroduce academics to older students? Primp Town doesn't have a dedicated high school to its name. It could really use something like that!" I further solidified the idea. "That will definitely be a benefit to Primp, I agree." Ringo nodded. "... If I was like how I was before I met ya, Dave… I would've denied that. But, thanks to this year… I now want it to be a thing for the magic school, jus' as much as you do." Lemres said. "That sounds like a great idea, I could use more friends in an English class…" Feli smiled. "Well, I certainly approve the idea. It sounds like a benefit that shouldn't be passed up. Yui could use academics for herself..." Ex also smiled. "I-I want to learn some English and stuff…" Lidelle eyes sparkled. "It could make the town smarter in general. I don't want to deal with stupid people anymore." Raffina put it bluntly. "Of course, I approve of this too. It could be great having friends, outside of Ringo, to solve equations with me." Klug fixed up his glasses.
Accord was pleasantly surprised by what we were all saying. "... I did not expect this level of positive feedback from you all… Thank you, I will try my best to convince the rest of the staff to have academics classes available for the school. And in the meantime, we will resume the search for the special ore tomorrow." She thanked us and we all nodded to that. We ate the rest of our food, bathed in the respective bathhouses, and slipped into bed. During that time, I had some great discussions. Everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves thoroughly, as though all the bad stuff was truly over for the time being. Hohow Bird and Oshare Bones were both caught up with what had been truly happening. They learned about what Yogs were and couldn't believe it. Of course, Schezo was the sole exception when trying to be happy, but I wasn't about to lose sleep over that. After all the guys and I had said "goodnight!" to each other, we fell asleep for the night.
Author's Notes: Vyle continued to prove that he was a massive threat, almost killing off Dave, Ex, Satan, Lemres, Rulue, and Hohow Bird. But thanks to a new and sudden power surging from Lemres, he was able to turn the count into hard candy. The others went in to destroy the candy statue. This means that Vyle is finally dead for good, with Satan collecting any visible scraps and making them disappear. This was done to make sure that the Yog of Life couldn't bring Vyle back to life anymore. Back at the estate, hurt and exhausted, the large group ate. This led to a discussion regarding the future of half-students. It was unanimously decided that Primp Magic School should reintroduce academic courses to all of its students. Until that can go into place, everyone is set on continuing to look for the ore to smelt for Schezo's new sword. There are just a few days left until Dave goes back to Primp Magic School with Ringo and the others for the remainder of the first semester. So many small things are coming in quickly, such as Serilly possibly getting that device from Risukuma, and the speech. How will all of that unfold? Next chapter, Chapter 62: The Mayor's Speech.