Alright! I'm back today with another chapter! The reviews for the last chapter were quite interesting, I had a laugh with the "guest" dude being salty about me not shipping Kieran with Raphtalia. Well, it's alright to not like that decision, but the wording was quite funny to read. I have future plans for Raphtalia, I think most of you will actually like what i have in store.
As for the shadow, just to clarify. That's the same Shadow that is Mirellia's body double, but I incorporated some stuff from the anime that I liked, such as the "I daresay", instead of "Gozaru". Sounds better that way.
Anyway, it's Zombie dragon chapter. Fasten your seatbelts peeps, things are gonna get quite intense.
Roll post!
The Shield hero's party were currently making their way towards Mirso village to deal with the dragon corpse Ren left behind. They were in their usual formation, with Mina pulling the carriage, Raphtalia at the front, and Kieran was currently working on some things at the back, usually their travels were filled with talks and laughter, some teasing, and the occasional stories… But an uncomfortable silence was present this time.
The only thing that kept the atmosphere from complete silence were the sounds of the wheels of the carriage, and Kieran working out with leather and some metallic pieces on the back. None spoke to the other, Kieran didn't want to bother Raphtalia, and Raphtalia had no idea what to say herself.
Mina was affected by their own silence, and found herself in the middle of all of it. She wasn't sure how to stir up a conversation that was going to break the silence between the group, but she had to try something.
"Uhh… What'cha working on today, daddy?" The Filolial girl asked, hoping that could maybe make the rift between her sister and their father a bit smaller.
"Gas masks… My Chime Viper shield gives me some poison resistance, so i don't have to worry about that. But, you two don't have that luxury. So I'm currently making a pair of masks for you both." He said while turning around, the girls looked back, seeing pieces of cloth, leather and other materials piled on the small working table Mina had actually made for him.
The table wasn't too perfect, and could use some extra work, but he still used it because of how proud he was of his Filolial daughter. The masks had really different sizes and shapes, it was clear the smaller one was meant for Raphtalia, and the bigger one for Mina in her queen form.
"That makes sense…" Was the only thing Raphtalia spoke, going back to look at the road ahead. They had been at it for a bit since they had left the hot springs town earlier that morning.
"I don't want to see either of you getting sick…" He said while going back to work, he remembered how Raphtalia felt a bit bothered that he was working on Mina's accessory first… So he decided to try to compensate by finishing up her mask first.
"Thank you daddy." The Filolial girl said, now turning the attention towards Raphtalia. "Uhh… Isn't it nice sis? Daddy is working hard to give us comfort and keep us safe from poison stuff."
"I guess…" Was all she said, sounding a bit too distracted. Both of their faces still looked quite bad, but they didn't look as bad as they were looking the day before. At least they got a better night of sleep before they got on the road.
Mina tried to speak more, but she ran out of ideas. So she just turned her head forward and focused on getting them to their destiny. More time was spent like this, with small talks between long times of silence. Usually it was Raphtalia asking if he still had motion sickness medicine. He always gave her a flask whenever she asked, but not more than one.
Kieran was trying to get her to talk more, but they were both afraid of speaking to each other and messing the situation up even more, so they just stood awkwardly in their positions for all that time. Some time later, Kieran gave Raphtalia her mask to try on.
"Hmmm… Fits really nicely. You still remember my measurements?" She asked him casually, taking off her mask to not waste her filter unnecessarily.
"Yes, well… I got them in a little notebook. I have every measurement I need to make armor and stuff for you… My memory is good, but I can't trust myself with these kinds of numerical information. I got plenty for Mina as well, as it seems that she might grow like a normal human." He replied, happy that the mask worked, he then began assembling Mina's mask, it was bigger, so it needed more work, and more materials.
"I see… These things really keep the poison out?" She asked before leaving her mask hanging on her neck by the strap.
"Only if they aren't too thick. So, don't think you can take a poison cloud head on… Be careful. Normally I could make something better, but I'm missing some ingredients that I'm not sure if they exist in this world, and with the materials I got on hand, that's the best I can make." He said with sincerity, mixing in a couple things to make a black powder that he was using to make the filters. "They should suffice for the most part, but if you feel the mask is making it difficult for any of you two to breathe, take them off. That means the filter stopped working and it will make you not only breathe in the polluted air, but you'll also be breathing the Carbon dioxide and the excess Nitrogen from your breathing."
Both girls looked at him like he had spoken some strange language of the gods, he looked at them with a sweat drop. Right, they were both young and lived in a world that probably didn't have the same findings… And even if the elements were the same, maybe they were actually named something else?
"You inhale some gasses, and when you exhale, your breathing has some gasses that are bad for you. So, once again. If it gets hard to breathe, take off your mask. Okay? Just keep this in mind." He warned them, going back on assembling a giant gas mask, for his giant chicken-owl daughter.
They took a quick break on the side of the road to have a quick meal before they arrived at the city. Kieran made them some sandwiches with stuff he had on his inventory to not waste much time cooking. He had to finish Mina's mask as soon as possible, before they got into the town, so he devoured his meal in a few bites and went back to the carriage to keep working.
Mina took her sandwiches quite fast too, but instead of doing anything, she took out her grimoire to study. She understood that they could face a extra stinky, super mean dragon-thingie, and she hoped she could learn an extra spell to help them against that fight, she couldn't keep all the details however, all she knew was that it involved a stinking dragon, and it was all that she needed to know.
Raphtalia just couldn't engage into a proper conversation with him, anytime she tried to open her mouth, her mood would sour and she would remember the feeling of being rejected, only to clench her teeth and stay silent. She looked from under the shades of that tree the man she loved working his ass off, not allowing himself a break, only to make sure she and Mina would be alright against that potential deadly disease.
She couldn't look away, she loved how much he cared. Her mind always went back to the kind gestures he always gave to her, the headats, the small gifts, the carefully prepared snacks… Her equipment was also proof of love. She unsheathed Lightbane to look at the seemingly infinite darkness that made the blade, no light could reflect from the surface, making it a guarantee that she could strike an opponent without her blade revealing her attack.
She looked up at him again, seeing him carefully assembling the filter.
She wished she didn't love him romantically. She really wished she could love him the way Mina did. But anytime she tried her chest felt tight. Maybe… Maybe she should go away after this is over? Maybe it would be better for both of them?
Her mind was taken over by anxiety, her heartbeat increasing the more she kept thinking about it. She was on the verge of a panic attack when she was taken out of her trance by a voice.
"...We're going to continue. Raphtalia? Raphtalia!" It was the exact person she was thinking about, gently shaking her shoulder.
"Huh? What? Where?" The raccoon girl asked, looking around in a battle position, clutching her blade ready to fight, only to notice the short man standing in front of her. "...Yes?"
"We're leaving, sorry for disturbing you, but i've been talking to you for about a minute and you weren't replying, almost thought you fell asleep with your eyes open." Kieran said, his shoulders were down, and he was now wearing his armor set instead of his blacksmithing clothes. She also noticed the sword on the back of his hips.
"...Right." She said, shaking her head and walking past him, climbing into the carriage.
Kieran sighed, they were going to need to sit down after this all over to work things out. But his worries about the possibility of a zombie dragon attack were too great, he just hoped that they could arrive in time before things got too dire. He climbed on the front seat, and then they resumed their journey towards their destination.
Kieran was glad he made these gas masks. The situation looked even worse than he expected. With his Chime Viper shield safely secured on his back, and his Demonic visage on, Kieran was handling the poison quite fine, but the air was still quite heavy. He actually wished he had managed to make a mask for himself, but since they had already arrived, there was no point in trying to make another one.
People that saw him riding in began to walk back to their homes, mostly the ones that looked sick, they probably thought he was the grim reaper of something. If the situation wasn't so serious, maybe he could've considered bringing a scythe instead of Stephen's sword as his display weapon. He could feel Raphtalia's glare from behind as she had a read on his dirty thoughts.
Finally, after some time, he was guided towards someone he could talk to regarding giving some help about dealing with the dragon corpse. They arrived into a building that seemed to be quarantined, some sort of improvised hospital with dozens of people inside. He was soon received by a well groomed man, with rather fine looking clothes.
Kieran knew immediately that those clothes were new. How you may ask? The way the fabric looked. Kieran knew that those types of clothing were very fine, and degraded quite fast. And considering the conditions things were in…
Something was wrong.
"Thank you for finally coming, Savior of the heavenly fowl… I instantly recognized you by the Filolial that pulls your carriage, it's just like the stories were saying! We could use your miraculous medicine so much!" The man spoke, showering Kieran in praises while he smiled. "Even if you look rather creepy…"
"...I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't have miraculous medicine. I came here only to deal with the dragon corpse…" Kieran replied, crossing his arms. He took that information and began to think. So, it seemed like there was someone selling medicine, who had a Filolial queen pulling their carriage. But who could they be? He had a suspect in mind.
"Oh god… Y-you don't have medicine? Are you sure?!" The man asked with worry, even some frustration, cursing on his mind. But, if that man was there to at least get rid of that cursed dragon corpse. "That is a shame… But, getting rid of that cursed dragon would be heavily appreciated…"
"First, I would like some information, if you could?" Kieran asked, looking through his skull mask straight into the man's eyes. Those purple pinpricks almost seemed to look straight into his soul, the noble gulped. "You say that the Sword hero killed the dragon, right?"
"Y-yes… That is correct. The sword hero answered our plea, and killed the dragon that was threatening us…" The man replied, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
"So you made a request… I see. So, he was successful… And he left the dragon corpse behind?" Kieran pushed in further, he saw the man squirming a bit before giving his answer. "He's hiding something…"
"Y-yes, he decided to leave it behind!" He replied hastily, shaking his head and doing his best to remain calm and collected, but wasn't being too successful.
"And instead of getting rid of it, I heard you were advertising it as some sort of attraction? Instead of getting rid of the corpse before it rotted? I mean, you know basic biology right?" The Shield hero asked, opposite to the man in front of him, Kieran stood calm, without worrying about anything.
"W-we… Needed the money to repair the village! That seemed to be a good decision at the time… But I admit I was only thinking about short-term gain…" He bowed, angry that he was trying to keep digging so deeply. "I didn't know a corpse would cause something so vile…"
Raphtalia stood quietly behind the Shield hero, but she was also picking up that something was up. Nonetheless, she didn't say a word.
"Oh my friend… You're lucky that so far you're only dealing with this…" Kieran said with an amused tone, the noble looked at him with anger, eyes widening in surprise.
"How can you say that?! So many people have died because of…"
"Because of your stupidity and greed. Remember that, I'm telling you that you're lucky because in the worst case scenario, everyone here could've been dead by now, maybe they might still die. That thing might be on its way here while we speak." Kieran was completely serious now, while those amethyst eyes seemed to shine with rage.
"W-what thing?" The man asked, hearing the danger on those words as a shiver ran up his spine.
"Oh, now you're worried? You didn't even consider that as an option, because of course you didn't…" Kieran said, visibly annoyed while he rolled his eyes. "That dragon you asked the sword hero to kill of course, maybe it's already reaching the outskirts of the village as we speak…"
"W-what do you mean? The dragon is dead! I saw it with my own eyes! Are you trying to paint me for a fool?!" The noble asked, slamming his fist down at the table.
"Just because you kill something, doesn't mean it will stay dead." He replied, some anger in his voice as well, the man suddendly stopped, his face turned to one of pure terror. "You understand now, right? You just needed someone to throw it in your face! You don't leave a fucking dragon corpse to rot like that, unless you want to deal with a fucking Zombie dragon ravaging your village!"
"O-oh god… B-but… No, that can't be possible! The corpse hasn't moved an inch! It created all sorts of poisonous monsters of course… But that thing is dead!" He said, placing both hands on his table.
"I sure hope it is, because if it isn't then the situation gets a lot more dire. Nothing holds a grudge like a dragon does, even worse than humans! I'm here to help you dispose of that, but I'll need some pay for my services. Good pay, because that is a dangerous job." The shield hero asked, cooling off for a second.
"W-we'll pay… If you really get rid of that corpse, then we'll pay you, but we don't have a lot! I have spent…" He tried to argue, maybe try to appeal to his humane side and lower the price?
"Those clothes of yours beg to differ." Was all he said before he got a map, and asked for directions on the location of the corpse.
Kieran received those directions, and could pinpoint a general direction where it was located. After getting that information, he left, followed by his companions, failing to notice the presence of a woman who had listened to the entire conversation, and knew who that voice actually belonged to.
Valiana smirked, she got information from that noble man about the dragon that the righteous Sword hero had killed. Apparently, he was not only a beast, but he also housed one of those damned demis… A dog girl from what he had told them, that they always failed to capture. Maybe this could be used in their favor, maybe they could get rid of the Shield hero for good this time.
And if what he said was true… That Dragons hold a grudge more than anything else, then she actually knew what she would have to do. She whispered something into a dark corner, and something moved from there. The Inquisitor had a large grin on her face, her eyes closed, hiding the darkness behind them.
She probably was going to have to sacrifice the village to accomplish this, but it was a necessary sacrifice to get rid of the Shield demon for good. After waiting for some time, she left the small improvised hospital and began to make her way outside the village, where it was safe.
Just in case there really was an attack by a reanimated corpse.
Back with the Shield hero party, once they had left the building, Raphtalia felt compelled to ask.
"How do you know so much about zombie dragons?" The raccoon asked, but Mina also shared the interest.
"Yeah daddy! Like, it seems to be a subject that matters a lot to you…" The Filolial said, tilting her feathery head to the side, she saw how heated up he had gotten, and that worried her a bit.
The man sighed, the story that he was about to tell wasn't the most pleasing one. But they deserved to know, it would also teach them about the importance of not messing with dragons if you can.
"Back in my world… A long time ago, when I had settled into my village for just a couple years, and became a blacksmith there… Some wannabe heroes actually found out what I was. It was my mistake, I was a bit too careless… So, they basically dragged me into saving the world with them…" He said, sighing in annoyance, there wasn't anyone outside by now to listen to them anyways.
"You speak like it was an annoyance…" Raphtalia pointed out.
"It was, I mean, they could take care of it by themselves… But anyways, the world-ending threat didn't matter. Not that it was that world ending anyway… So, basically we were called to deal with a zombie dragon that was destroying a city… But what matters actually is the backstory behind that situation…" The man sighed and kept walking. "So, a bunch of poachers decided that they wanted to earn big bucks by stealing and selling Wyvern eggs… A Wyvern is a sub-species of dragon in my world by the way. So, the two bastards actually invaded a nest, stole as many eggs as they could carry… And smashed the others that they couldn't carry… That was their worst mistake…"
"...Mina doesn't like stinking dragons. But even Mina thinks that was a bit too much…" The Filolial said. They were stinking dragon eggs… But, they weren't even born yet to truly be stupid dragons.
"Well… The mother would later on get to her nest, and find the smashed eggs… They were crushed to bits, mind you. So she thought all of them were gone, so rightfully… She went on a rampage, and attacked the village… She was eventually slain, after they used her remaining eggs as bait, and then killed her with an ambush." He was resuming the story as much as he could, and he also didn't know some details. "Well, they decided to keep her corpse around while they partied, kids used her wings as slides, people took her teeth, and other parts of her body as trophies…"
"...But she didn't stay dead." Raphtalia knew where this story was heading.
"No, she didn't. The next morning, while most people were hungover and tired, she raised back from the dead and slaughtered most of them. Her body rotted, but her wrath only got stronger. I arrived there about a week later, and we put her out of her misery…" He said, his voice filled with sorrow.
"How did you find all of this out?" Raphtalia curiously asked, while also feeling sorrow and sympathy towards the mother dragon.
"One of the surviving villagers told me… He lost his entire family because of that incident, and he wanted us to know the real reason why she had attacked… I took her corpse, I didn't let anyone treat her to a trophy… Sadly her remaining eggs were destroyed in the attack… But the good thing is that the poachers also perished as well. She had her revenge…" He said with a sad smile. "And this is the reason why Zombie dragons should be feared. And the most fearsome of the bunch, are dragons trying to avenge their children. Thankfully, no one mentioned eggs or anything… If this dragon was a mother, then things would be much, much worse…"
Kieran would soon enough curse the people from that forsaken village once he found out more about their actions.
The way to the location of the dragon Corpse was filled with various poisonous monsters, Poison Trees, Poison Frogs, Poison bees and Poison flies. They were pretty much what you'd expect, mutated versions of the things they were named after with poison attacks, Kieran made sure to quickly absorb parts from these monsters, but only got one shield for each of them, and two from the Poison Bee. . As they moved deeper however, the number of monsters seemed to get smaller, letting them arrive at a large plain, with a cave on the back. There they could see it, the fallen dragon.
They kept moving, Kieran walking in front of them with his shield ready in front of them. The previous mass of rotten flesh and bone was starting to become more detailed, some parts of the corpse were indeed missing, and there were holes exposing some internal parts of the corpse. The smell was absolutely putrid, a layer of black ooze covering the stone around the corpse.
It didn't move, Kieran relaxed a bit, but kept his guard up. He began to look around, and he could see some destruction that had happened there previously, signs of fight, craters from magic and skills… The deep gashes and slashes in the ground really confirmed that this was Ren's doing. Kieran was about to start picking up some tools to chop the corpse into smaller pieces, when he felt the air getting heavier.
The corpse began to twitch, the previously empty sockets flaring up to life, filled with unnatural light as it slowly rose up from his slumber, the wounds started to regenerate, the black ooze was starting to get sucked back into its body. Kieran watched in horror as his fear was becoming a reality. The corpse was reanimated, becoming a Zombie dragon.
As soon as his regeneration process was done, it roared, and looked straight into them, his body moving in an unnatural way as a large cloud of poison gas was breathed at them. Kieran raised his Shield, using Shield prison to block the attack, but even with the skill around them, he could feel the poison seeping in through the cracks.
Thankfully the gas masks were keeping up for now, but this was only the beginning, as they were soon thrown back as the dragon tackled his body against the ball of Shields, throwing the trio back and making them fall against the ground when the skill disappeared. Kieran didn't even have time to speak to the girls, as he saw the Dragon attempting to bite them with his fangs. He proceeded to use Ensnaring chains to shut his mouth forcefully, and he tackled the impact with his shield, giving the other two the time to run to its sides, attacking them with everything they had, catching his attention, especially Mina.
He jumped on her, trying to get her with his claws, but the Filolial was fast, evading his swipes and using Star strike to counter-attack, while she did that, Raphtalia was trying to disrupt its movements by slashing at his ankles with her sword, but his leather was quite resilient, and didn't want to give up. Both of them had to jump back when the dragon did a spin, trying to swipe them with what remained of its tail.
"Mina hates stinking dragons!" The Filolial said, once again jumping into the action, kicking and using her speed to her advantage, while their enemy was trying to bite her, and grab her with its claws. Mina was careless one moment, and she was nearly bitten, but thankfully Kieran reacted fast, using Air strike shield to keep the beast's mouth open, letting Mina jump back unwarmed.
"Careful! Don't let your hate for dragons blind you!" He scolded her, seeing her land to his side, he looked to expect Raphtalia to stand right next to him too, but instead, he found her dashing between the zombie's legs, using her Zweite Shadow Slash to open a really nice gash on one of his legs, but Kieran had to pull her using Hook because she almost got hit by a Poison breath. "Don't go attacking it without me close to give you cover!"
"I can take care of myself, alright?" The ninja said in annoyance, they turned back towards the dragon that was looking straight at them again, ready to release another poison breath of similar attack, but instead, they heard a laugh. A human laugh.
"Hahahaha! Look at the Shield hero… Struggling like a cockroach, as a demon like you should be." A shadow was standing on top of a nearby cliff, carrying a corpse under his arm, that he carelessly threw down, making it reach the floor with a sickening crunch, everyone heard that.
Including the Dragon zombie.
"Fuck… Three heroes church? Even here?!" He shouted, looking at the man, who didn't seem bothered by the atmosphere of unholy destruction. His attention shifted from his previous enemy, and he didn't notice the reanimated corpse looking at the small body that had been thrown into the ground. In his insane undead brain, it tried to comprehend what that was, and why that human had thrown it so close to him.
"We can't let this opportunity pass! Hey beast!" He called out to the dragon, spreading his arm. "Guess what happened to that kid you were taking care of?~"
The zombie monster's eyes flashed with recognition… It couldn't recognize the corpse… But the broken memories it had did remember that a kid was in his life… Then it struck him, the only thing he would never forget.
If anyone else there knew Wyndia, they could totally point out that this was a corpse from a completely unrelated demi-human. But no one could point that fact out, not even Gaelion's remains could. But it believed it, those humans… Those disgraced humans… Gaelion roared with all the anger that a father could muster, releasing a shockwave of dark energy that hit everyone, but especially Kieran. He felt a sharp migraine that made him place his hand on his head, hissing like someone had just poked his brain with a burning needle.
"̴̡̢̖̺̗͚̗̼̟̿̂͋͊̒̒̔͌̚W̴̢̡̢̛̪̹͔͚̩͚͖͍͓̤̑͊̓̐̓̆͂̂̈́̾͐̽͑͝͠y̵̢̥͈͍͓̻̼̪̫̻̟̯͚̤̝̖̟͑͆͗̆̐͊͑̔̒̕͝ṇ̴̢̛̲̙͖͒́̈́̀̓̐̈̌̑̄̄͐̒͊́̿́̿̆ḑ̵̧̢̢͉͇̲̼̬̦͔̳̤̱̰͎͎͚͉͕͓͇͎͂̄̎͛i̵̝͒́̾͊̓̎̓͠ä̷̧̻͍̖̹͕̻́̽̾́̓̄͗̈̏̾̃͝͝͝͝͝.̷̥͒̂̊̑̈́́̀̎͑̚͘͝.̴̡̧̱̗͉̺͓̺̹͖͕͇̮͋̾̈́͗͑̀͊̓̾̉̂̄́̉̚.̵̧̩̰̯̭̻̥̝͗͛͋̔͛͊̈́̈́̍̓̐͑͌̿̚͘̕͝͝͝"̵̢̯̭̪̱̔̇̉̅̀͊̄̽̀̒̾̑
Kieran's eyes widened, one of his eyes closed as something filled his head… An unworldly voice that wasn't his own, and neither one that he recognized. He couldn't make out what it was saying, but whatever it was, it filled him with melancholy.
"AHAHAHA! Now if you excuse me… I need to…" He turned around, only for his body to be consumed in dark flames. He screamed with everything he got, his entire body melting while he tried to put off the flames. This was supposed to be a holy mission! Valiana had given him her blessing! Then… Why did it fail?
Those were his last thoughts as he collapsed into a pile of burnt flesh and ash.
The corpse had been angered, it lost the thing he had most valued in life… Taken away by that human scum. He was going to kill them, he was going to kill every last one of them. His roar released another shockwave of energy that damaged the trio of heroes that watched the scene in horror.
"We need to leave. We can't stop that thing…" Kieran said in anger, gritting his teeth while he tried to make them run, climbing on top of Mina.
"We can! We're strong!" Raphtalia insisted, she had trained so much… She wasn't a weakling now. It wasn't a shambling corpse that was going to stop her!
"Mina can kick that stinking dragon butt like we were going to!" Mina insisted too, drived by her natural hate for dragons.
"No we can't! That dragon… That dragon is just like that mother Wyvern… It won't stop until everything turns to ash!" Kieran said, normally he wouldn't be too scared, but he wasn't at full power like he was that time. He couldn't cause damage, he couldn't transform… All he could do was defend, but he could feel the absolute hatred emanating from that thing. He pulled Raphtalia to himself, and ordered Mina to bolt from where they were.
The zombie dragon was changing, his body was becoming more blackened. The empty sockets that previously had small dots, were now totally consumed by the pool of hellfire that now filled them. All of his holes were now pumping blackened fumes and smoke. That dragon was more akin to a demon now as every little bit of sanity was replaced by an unstoppable craving for destruction and vengeance.
Soon it began to run towards them, a large glob of flaming ooze was shot at them, exploding upon impact and hurting them even after they had managed to evade. The dragon was relentless in its pursuit, even with Mina's high speed, the dragon almost catched up to them. The first strike knocked him off Mina, making him fall to the ground. Kieran did his best to defend, but any time he blocked a physical strike from the zombie his arms hurt, it was like being hit by a carriage filled with stone bricks.
Raphtalia dismounted and joined him on the fighting, giving him assistance and using her spells to try to causa as much damage as she could, the same could apply to Mina, that was now using her Fast Bolt to shock the dragon on his head, making it back away for long enough so the other two could disengage, and then re-engage in a more favorable position.
But it wasn't an easy task, Kieran was using his skills as soon as they were out of cooldown, seeing his SP bar dropping quite fast. But he needed to do it, saving his Shield Prison to protect himself and Raphtalia from a Poison breath. Their efforts were causing some damage, but not nearly enough to win.
Raphtalia and Mina kept attacking, alternating and trying to create openings for one another, but it was difficult, especially for Raphtalia, she had managed to slash a large gash on the creature's side, but she ended up hit by his tail, making her fall on her side. She felt the air being forced out of her lungs, and she ended up taking too long on the ground.
Enough for her to become an easy target, even with the Filolial queen trying to stop him, The dragon didn't stop trying to go for Raphtalia. She watched as time slowed to her, the large maw open and coming to bite on her. She tried to force her body to move, but she was unable to. Fear paralyzed her… So, it seemed like she was going to die like this. Rejected, without going back to Rifana… And with things unresolved between her and Kieran.
That was probably fitting. At least she didn't die slowly from sickness… Or inside that dark cell. She wished she could have gone on better terms… But maybe this could push the other two to win this fight. Maybe it was better this way…
Except, that she felt something shoving her body aside…
She looked to her side in surprise, Kieran had his Chime Goat shield equipped. He launched her far away from the danger using his Battering ram. She could only see the surface of his shield. And then his entire body was engulfed by the dragon's maw.
When she impacted the ground, time began to run as it should have been.
"DADDY! NOOOOOOOOOO!" Mina's piercing scream awoke Raphtalia from the paralysis, making her watch in horror as the dragon swallowed her savior down his greasy putrid throat, followed by the hardest beatdown ever given by the Filolial, that was disappearing and reappearing in purple flashes, trying to make the monster spit him out. "GIVE MINA'S DADDY BACK! HE'S EVERYTHING MINA HAS! STINKING DRAGON NO EAT DADDY! DADDY! DADDY!"
"KIERAN!" Raphtalia screamed out of the top of her lungs, tears running down her face as she saw him being completely swallowed despite the beatdown the Filolial girl was giving him.
Darkness…
Pure darkness, and yet… It only seemed to grow darker.
Kieran's body felt weird… Was he dead? He couldn't tell, he had never died, or experienced something like this. He could only remember Raphtalia's body… Wait? Didn't he push her? His mind was hazy, he couldn't tell what had happened… But he remembered a small corpse rolling down to his feet. Was it Mina?
He grabbed his head, it began to hurt a lot. He grunted in pain, his memories were confused. But he felt like he had failed… He had failed her. Yes, he totally had failed her… Wyndia… Who was Wyndia? He was pretty sure he didn't have a daughter with that name… But… He couldn't remember her face… He couldn't remember her voice… But, he knew he had a daughter… He had more than one. Were they three? Or four? He knew Alicia.. But…
He had failed… Someone he cared deeply had just died. Died because he was weak. Stricken down by sword… Or was it fangs? His memories were so blurry… The headache began to grow more intense.
"If only… I had… More…"
"̶͙̩̱̗̮͖̓̈́̅̿͌̀́̽͊̌͗̒͝ͅĎ̴͍̜͓̣̰̦̣̜̒̈́͒̈́̅͝ọ̴̧̫̝̯͈̤̗̲̜͓̝̰̬͂͂̆̈́͐͘̚͝ ̶̢̢̠̫̬̬̤͎̠̲̔̒y̷͔͔̾͂̓̓͝͝ơ̷̢̧̼̩̙͔̜͖̭͉͎̰̰̗̏͊̆̇͋̒̓̋̄̚̕͠ų̴̰̞͇̲͕͈͕̟͍̗̭̆̀̉̈̾͆̈́̂̈́̊̂͆̚ ̸̟̔͋͌͋̒͆̉́̕̕͠c̸̞̘͎͎̺͖̄̑̆̎̕͜͝ŗ̶͚̳̝̞̠́͋͊͑̾̀̓̇͘͠a̸̢̧͕̺̬̻̼͉̰̤̱͈̼͇̅̆͜v̶͔̝̘̒̐̀̿̈́̄̋̆͘͝é̵̢͇̮̘̩̮͍͉͍̰̰̞̥̘̰̽̾ ̴̩͗̌̿́̀̑͛̈́p̶̨̬̺̼̟̳̣͕̜͑̈̾̆̌̽͘̕̚ò̴̼̘̭͗̌̏͛̿̈́͝w̴͍͍̭̗͛̏̀̾̈́̌̒̕͘e̵̡̡̤̘̗͈̥̻͕̲̟̻̓͊̋͋͛̆̒̈́̌̃͌̄̚͠͝r̸̖͍͕͎̠̜̹̬͐̃͊̎̉̃̐̍̔͑͗͐͒̚͠?̷͉̦̖͖̘̘̗̠̎̽̑̇̍͊̄̒͘͠"̷̯̥̜͕̞͉͉̩͙͕̦͇͋̑͆͆̑͝
"More… Power? Yes… If I only had more power… If only I could get rid of anyone in my way… I could have saved her. I could have saved them…" The whitehead replied, looking down at the bloodied body of all his children, his face souring as a large shadow stood in front of him. The shadow kept shifting, unable to tell if it belonged to a human wielding a sword, or to a dragon…
Whatever it was, it had power. Power he desperately craved. He hungered for it, he had to make it his. Just as he had done so many times before. The strength of his fallen enemies always became his. He lunged forward, ripping the shadow with his darkned claws and pearly fangs, he began to laugh, laugh and chew. He could feel it… He could feel himself growing more and more strong. It was working!
"YES! I CAN FEEL IT! I CAN FEEL HIS POWER BECOMING MINE!"
"̸͉͐̀̍̄̊͒̀̔͂̈́Ḑ̷͍͍̺̦̲͓̺͍̣̤͓̝͈̈́̉e̸̦̊̑͆̎̉͛̃̎̂v̸̗̖̞̓͑̇̏̐́ͅo̵͙̣͌͑͠ͅu̸̡͖̤̘͆͌̆͒̊̓̋͘ȑ̵̢͇̭̼͉͓̹͙̤͎̗̥̟͛ͅͅ ̸͈̣̜͊̕ė̴̼̞̭͔̙̬͚̼̥̟̭̎́͗̈́̅́̉̿̾͘̕v̶̨̡̛͕̦̩̭̼̫̰͇̭̂͐̓̈̀̒́̎͋̂̉̋̈͜ē̵̡̛̞͈̬͇̎̆̓͆̿̐͜͠ͅr̵͓̖̱̞̙̦̟̫̫͚̳̰̈͌͑͂̔̈́̈͊͑̍̌̕͜͠ỵ̵̋̀͑t̷̢͚̤̹͇̭̭͙̳̯͇̩͂h̴̬̳̳̥̞͙̾͊͗̊͊̏͋į̷̻͕̜̪̊̔̌̅̋͘ͅń̴̝̜̲̭̞̎̆́̆͂͝g̴͙̱̫̮̰͂̅͛̾̐̍̽̊̆̑͘͜ ̸̟̜̹͔̫̹̝̖̆͐̃̀̔͑͗̅͛͝ỉ̴̧̡̨͕̟̣̯̃̊͛ň̸̛̟̠̗̯̭̩̩̝̥̳̟̀̽̀̍͋̈́̏͗́̂̓͛͝ͅ ̷̛̩̰̝͔̠̻ͅy̶̧̡̧̘̼̦̫̠̒͊̎̕o̷̱̩͖̿̑̓ŭ̷͎̱̟̤̣͇͔̪̀̔̈́͂̏r̷̢̠̜̣̳̞͎̮͇̖̗͉̗̜̃͊͝ͅ ̵͕͎̳̼̳̺̼͒̔̐̂̀̔̎̓̑̓͊̆̇͛̚p̶̧̢̨͕͎̘͍͓̲͓̯̗̘̀̇̄̈́͂̎̊̇̐̕a̷̻̩͙͎͚̦̟̟̝̮̖͙̔͆̋̈́̀̈́̉͂̋̆̚͘͝t̸͍͎̑̈́̈́͊͌̂͐̈́͂̍̔̈̑͛̕h̵̨̧̬̦͚̩̰͚͎͎̪̫̥̪͚̒͗̄̀̇͛͝.̵̤̦̩̹̼̥̘̯̘̗̥̲̜̖̈́̈̈́̃̋̆̎̏̇̾̄̊̚.̸̯͍̹͍͕͙͇̥̥̟̝͎̀̃͊͗́̅͐̒̀͑̕͝.̶̪͈̆͌ ̸͉̓̀̋͆̂̋͊̐͊̕͘͠D̵̝̜̭̗̫̱̋̔̒̋̄̆̉͊͝ͅe̴̢̫͎̮̪̰̯̹̗̥͐͋̉͐̉͋͊̕͜v̸̢̧̥̖͍͔̫̘͈͓̺̣̂̅̇̂̏́̿̍̉̓̚͜͝ǫ̶̡̺͚̤̯̯̟̀̾̊̈́̒̔͐̾̌͋͆͒̓̃ǔ̵̢̠̮͙̙͈̓͛̏̍̿̉́̚ṙ̸͕̖̭̥̍͗͆̽̒̂͆̕͝ ̵͙̦̓̂̎̈́͆͂̈́͠a̵̟̯̗͙̽͒̆̆̕n̶͖͈̰̥̗̈̂̍́̍̒͆͗͝͝ý̶̨̡̨̦̩̪͈͙͙̾̊́͊͒͛̈́̚̚͝͝o̶̧̧̡̯̭̪̳̹̮͓̺̦̰̓̽̔͜n̸̺̻̔̍͌́̿e̷̡̱̝̤̙̞̎́̓̍͋̍ ̵̛̜͙̖̜̓͊̅̍̐̉̄̔̅̏̎͘͘͝w̸̘̍h̶̤̙̽̄õ̷͎̟̼̭̺̳̼̞͛́͐͂̊͊̓͂ͅ ̵̧̧̗̖͈̞̳̯̭̦̔̑́̔̐̆̕̚͜s̶̼̺̲͍̬͈̦̳͕͈̀̉̏̚t̴̛͓̏̀a̶̡̛̘̫͖̙̹͉̩͒̓̿̓̆̋̈̾̂͝n̴̢̢̯̗̝͕̫̍͆̄͂͗͑̍͌̃͘͘d̵̨̡̛̙̗̹͖̹͌̈̋̄͐̋͌͂̀̂͛s̴̨̛̤̪̗͙͆́̊͌̇͛̕ ̵̻̞̦̯̳̥̫͍̄̏͂͒͐͌̀̒̀͝i̷̬̟̙̞̰͖͕̣̯͇͐̆̆͠n̶̡̼͉͙̱͈͎̝̻̙͇̽͛̂ͅ ̸̛̗̣̭͈̩͉̖̩̾́̏̓̀̈̓̃͑ͅͅy̷̞̠̘͚̑̂͝ơ̷̧̝̳̳̟͔̖̩̹̞͊͐̓͗̈́̈́̃͠ṵ̷͈̙̹̻̔̎̋̄̈́̆ř̴̡̪̳̤̘̩͉̤͐̀͜ ̸̧͕̮͎̠̹͒̑̇w̷̡̧̲͚̲̪̟̲̼̏̐̉͌̇͑͠͝ą̷͖̜̬͔̠̱̙̝̬̫̩͆́͋̈́̂̈́́͒̂̽́̅̋̚̚͜ỹ̷̢̨̛̙̹̹̘̮͉͚̙͈̦͘͜͜͜.̶̜̤͊͛̔̂́̂"̸͔̣͒̂
By this point, Raphtalia and Mina were giving everything they had to try to bring the beast down. But it wasn't enough, it began to regenerate. They couldn't hurt the dragon quick enough to try to open a passage so they could pull the Shield hero out, it was futile. And yet, they'd rather die, than to give up. But then, the dragon suddenly stopped. His body began to jerk and twitch in unnatural ways.
Both Raphtalia and Mina stopped, their hopes began to rise.
"Please… Please don't be dead." Raphtalia begged, seeing the dragon roaring in pain, his head jerking backwards as something was hitting his ribcage. "Yes! Yes! He's fighting back!"
"Daddy! DADDY! Mina is coming to save you! DADDY!" The Filolial screamed, running towards the dragon and using her Star strike where she had seen the beating happening, it seemed to work, they managed to open a hole big enough for something to jump out of it.
But something was wrong. The air grew twice as heavier as it was previously. The man that climbed out of that dragon corpse wasn't the man they knew, his body twitched in rather odd ways when he got up. No… It was a presence much more sinister… Wielding a dark shield, with yellow details, and a gemstone of the same color.
The shield had details that looked like that of a Vulture. Wings, talons, and a skeletal-looking head with the gemstone for a third eye. All fitted around what looked like to be some sort of metallic rib cage that almost looked like a pair of jaws, the malevolent aura coming out of that thing made both girls freeze in shock.
Kieran looked at his enemy with his piercing yellow eyes, and ran towards it. Gaelion responded to that by trying to hit him with his arm, but Kieran hit it with a punch, and it broke the limb, the sound of bone being crushed filling the place as the beast reeled back and roared in pain, only to hit him with a Poison breath, but it didn't seem to affect him, as the Shield hero jumped and slammed both of his fists on top of his head making it fall down to the ground.
The fact Kieran was wearing his Demonic visage only made him look even more threatening. They could only watch in shock as he began to deliver a beatdown to the dragon, he was causing damage! His punches were tearing holes, his bashes sent the dragon back… It wasn't only that Kieran was getting stronger, Gaelion was also growing weaker!
"Your strength is mine! " The Shield hero shouted, his voice filled with desire. He could see in real time all of his stats increasing… Including his attack stat, that made him smile widely. He was finally able to attack! He could kill his enemies! He could kill the killer that took his daughter from him! "I'm going to feast on every bastard that gets in my way! Starting with you!"
All of his stats were being sucked by the cursed aura the shield was giving, and any time the dragon came into contact with the shield, the drain was even stronger. Despite that basically spelling victory to them… Raphtalia couldn't help but get worried. That… That wasn't how he would act. True, he could lash out at times, but he was attacking mindlessly, like a… Beast.
She climbed down from Mina's back, and began running towards him. Mina tried to hold her, but she wasn't fast enough. She tried to follow, but she had to jump back when an attack led astray by the Shield hero nearly hitted her.
"Kieran! Stop! Snap out of it!" Raphtalia screamed, but he didn't listen. A shockwave of power after a very hard clash of attacks nearly made her fall, but she recovered, jumping into his back. "No more! Please! You're scaring me!"
Despite her begging, he didn't listen, he couldn't listen. All that he could hear was screams. He could hear their voices… Begging to be saved, constantly being killed nonstop in a loop. Raphtalia was starting to feel weak herself, but she didn't let go. With some effort, she removed the helmet, and she tried to turn his face towards her.
"Please! N-no more… This is not you… P-please… I can't stand to see you… Like this…" She begged, with tears in her eyes.
Kieran was trapped in that pit of darkness, every painful memory, all the people he had lost were playing into his head. Alicia… Stephen… Mina… Raphtalia… Wyndia… Elhart… They were all dead, because he was too weak to save them. He couldn't stop crying, he just wanted peace. He just wanted to hold his loved ones in his arms and live a happy life… Then, why was destiny so cruel to him? Why was he chosen to be a hero?
Then, he began to feel some warmth. He looked down to see a small Raphtalia crying in his chest.
His eyes widened. He hugged her tightly, crying tears of happiness. His little Wyndia wasn't dead… He hugged her even more tightly… And then opened his eyes. He was back into the real world, hugging a very weakened, adult Raphtalia. He looked where the dragon once was, only to see someone he didn't expect to see.
"Ren?" The shield hero asked, seeing the young high schooler in front of the angry zombified dragon that was still reeling in for a fight, and soon pounced with renowned wrath at his killer.
"Sorry I'm late…" The Sword hero replied, his voice sounded like he was exhausted, Kieran looked at his hand to see a sword that was emanating a very similar aura to his shield, only that the feel it gave was a bit different. The blade was all spiky, with a ball of spikes where the hand guard was supposed to be, was that a Sea urchin? Everything around that sword was either spiky or serrated. Even the handle had small spikes that were piercing his hand and making it bleed.
Ren wasn't expecting to see the corpse reanimated, but he couldn't blame him for being unable to rest. In his hubris, he took everything away from him. He took his peace, he took his life… He made his daughter cry. All of his sins were piling up on his shoulders, and the only reason he was still moving was because it was his responsibility to grant that poor father a proper burial, and it was his responsibility now to make him rest.
His party came running from the forest not too long after, but they had to back away after being almost hit by a Poison breath dished out by the reanimated corpse. They didn't get hurt, but that prevented them from keeping Ren from fighting with the enemy alone.
"Daddy!" Mina came running toward him, pulling him into a hug. He gave Raphtalia to her, then he broke the hug, running away from them. "Daddy? What are you doing?!"
"Get away! This shield… It's weakening everything coming too close to me! I'm sorry sweety… Daddy needs to finish this fight." He told her in response, turning away to find Ren trading attacks with the zombie dragon, anytime his sword made contact with the enemy, a gash would appear on his own body, before quickly closing. "Take care of your sister for me! I'm sorry I worried you, but daddy is fine now!"
-Sword of guilt-
Unique skill: Sacrificial slash (Normal attacks deal double the damage of the user's attack stat, but he's hit with half the damage he causes in every single attack.)
Unique skill: Regeneration up (HP regeneration scales with the user's attack stat.)
Kieran felt more sane now, but he could still feel the lingering hunger for power he had previously. He looked at his stats to see them greatly increased. He looked back at Ren, being engulfed in blackened flames, coming out very hurt, but healing at a very scary pace. He was also fighting defensively, almost if he didn't want to be aggressive, or something was weighing down on him. He was taking hits and dishing some of his own.
Kieran joined him soon, feeling his stats increasing. He wanted to pull that thing out, it was getting harder and harder to keep his mind straight the more his stats increased. But he had to defeat that monster, he had to save his daughters.
He had to use that shield
Ren's current pain was totally justified in his opinion, he deserved to feel even worse in fact. There was also the fact that he had no idea Kieran was also dragged into his mess. It only made him feel worse. He had to finish this quickly, his mind sinking deeper into the darkness that was eating him alive, he saw something popping up on his hud.
Unique skill unlocked: Guillotine.
He was about to select that. But then, a loud voice filled their years.
"STOP, FIGHTING, NOW!" From atop a hill, a certain dog demi-human screamed from the top of her lungs, and everyone turned their eyes to her. The three men that recognized her voice stopped fighting immediately, including the reanimated corpse, that just stood there without believing that what he was seeing was true.
Kieran had no idea why, but tears of happiness began to run down his eyes. This was the first time he had seen her, but it was like he had known her for a long time.
"Wyndia… You're Wyndia!"
Yep, we not only got one cursed series being shown. But TWO instead. Hehehehehehe. Yep, Ren's sword is that type of weapon that is high-risk and high reward, and it not only looks painful to wield, it IS painful to wield. It's like grasping a hair brush lightly, only much worse than that.
Kieran's Shield is a huge double-edged sword, because the curse not only affects enemies, but anyone around him. And that can be pretty dangerous because he might drain the defense stat from others, making them more likely to get killed. So it's even more dangerous than Naofumi's wrath shield to party members, but it's not permanent however.
Also, their series are related to Sloth and Gluttony. Ren feels that there is nothing he can do to make up for his mistakes, so he basically just gave up. Kieran craves more power, and his cursed shield reflects that on his ability to keep growing more and more powerful by weakening others.
So, just to clarify. Gaelion's memories kinda mixed up with Kieran's. That's why he recognizes who Wyndia is and why his vision was shifting so much, their memories were getting all tangled up.
Well, I hope this was a nice chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it!
Signing off!