Chapter 09 – A Zombie Dragon?!
Mountains, Mirso Village, Melromarc, Raphtalia's World
36 Zinat, Springtime
As Naofumi, Raphtalia and Filo walked up the mountain path towards the peak where it was said the dragon Rin had slain laid, Nafoumi silently bemoaned his lack of sleep. In Japan, Nafumi used to routinely stay up until four in the mourning and get an average of four hours of sleep a night. Now, getting that little was excruciating. 'Likely because I am more active here,' he thought as he stepped over a fallen tree. Raphtalia followed him over it while Filo nimbly jumped over it in her bird form.
They had brought the carriage as close as they could before abandoning it and continuing on foot. They had been walking for twenty minutes and the thin, dark-purple-black miasma they had encountered upon entering Mirso Village had steadily thickened as they left town and headed to the mountains close by. Now, the miasma was so thick visibility was starting to become limited. He could still see the path, rocks, and trees around them, but they were steadily disappearing from view behind a curtain of the foul-smelling haze.
Naofumi coughed and reached up to adjust his mask. "Why am I cleaning up after that moron?" he asked as he avoided a low-hanging branch with an occupied spider web. "Seriously, what a mess he made. Did you see the number of sick people back there? If I had not arrived today, at least three of them would have passed before nightfall."
"I saw, Master Iwatani," Raphtalia answered, her tone of voice patient as she listened to Naofumi repeat the same complaint for the third time since leaving Mirso Village. "You saved all of them. You were amazing."
The complement was lost on Naofumi as he ignored it in place of focusing on the rest of Raphtalia's statement. "They would not have gotten sick and I would not have had to save them if that moron had done his job properly and disposed of the dragon corpse in the first place. He may still only be in high school but that is no excuse for being an idiot." Naofumi said with a scowl.
Neither Raphtalia nor Filo responded and five minutes later they rounded a bend in the forest path and a clearing suddenly came into view. Naofumi's attention was immediately arrested by the sight of an immense dragon corpse. It was laid out upon a large section of rock and stone, in the center of the clearing, roughly thirty-five meters away. His steps faltered as he gazed in shock at the massive, decomposing carcass. His eyes raked over the form and his shock was quickly replaced by confusion.
The dragon had been slain a week ago. Yet the carcass had already passed the bloated stage and was well into the rotting phase. The flesh had burst open and insects and scavengers had been feasting upon the remains. Bones and organs were distinctly visible through rotting sections, holes, and tears. The purple-black miasma was radiating outward from the carcass in thick, foul-smelling waves.
Naofumi reached his hand up to cover his mask in a futile attempt to add another barrier against the smell. "How has the dragon reached this state already?" he asked. "That dragon is rotting faster than it should." He gagged as the effort of talking caused the foul smell in the air to drift across his taste buds.
Naofumi used to collect useless facts for fun. Such as ticks are arachnids, not insects. Rainbows are completely round and can be viewed as such when seen from above. The colour seen by the eyes in a pitch-black room is called "eigengrau". Sloths can hold their breath four times longer than dolphins. To sleep through the summer is called "estivation". A group of boys is called a "blush", a group of girls a "giggle", a group of cats a "clowder", and a group of butterflies a "kaleidoscope".
Most importantly, however: Depending on size, weather, and other conditions, a carcass takes six months to sixteen years to decompose.
The dragon's size was immense. It may not take sixteen years to decompose like a whale did (as it was out of water), but it would certainly take at least eight months to reach the stage it was at now. What was causing it to decompose so quickly?
Naofumi stepped closer into the clearing and he, Filo, and Raphtalia reluctantly approached the dragon's corpse. The sight of it was terrible to behold and the smell incredibly revolting. Naofumi's stomach turned and bile rose in his throat as he fought to keep from vomiting.
"Oh, that sight is vile," Naofumi said as he swallowed.
"How are we going to get rid of it?" Raphtalia asked, her voice weak as she too struggled to keep from retching.
"If we had earth magic we could create trenches and easily bury the remains that way. As it is now, it is too big for my shield to absorb," Naofumi responded as he studied the massive carcass. "We'll need to break it up into smaller pieces for my shield to absorb. Or bury it somehow."
"Filo can eat it!" Filo suggested.
Naofumi looked over at her in alarm to see her beak drooling and her eyes looking hungrily at the corpse. "How can you still be hungry?" he asked. "You ate almost the entire swine by yourself!"
"That was hours ago!" Filo exclaimed.
"Can't you see it's rotten?" Raphtalia protested. "There is no way you could find that edible."
"You're wrong, Big Sister. It looks delicious!" Filo chirped.
"Don't even think about it," Naofumi firmly ordered Filo. "It might make you sick. We're going to –" he shuddered and had to fight another urge to hurl at the idea of what he was thinking of attempting. "We are going to break the remains up and have my shield absorb them. I believe that is the safest option."
"Yes, Master," the two girls replied with Raphtalia looking queasy at the idea.
As they moved closer to the dragon, the buzzing of insects crawling over the putrid, rotting flesh grew louder and the stench grew more pungent. Naofumi gagged again and heard Raphtalia do the same. "What about fire?" Naofumi asked, trying to speak while using the least amount of oxygen possible to keep from breathing in the stench. "I can try burning it with Fire Shield."
"Yes, Master, please try that first," Raphtalia answered. She sounded as if she too was doing her best not to breathe in the air. "I don't want to touch that thing to break it up."
"Filo doesn't mind!" Filo said. "Ohh! I wonder what it tastes like."
"Don't eat it!" Naofumi and Raphtalia both ordered her at the same time.
Filo huffed and pouted. Then, the massive, rotting corpse began to shudder. The three of them stopped in their tracks and Naofumi looked on in horror as the remains of the dragon gathered together and the large beast rose until the dragon was once again whole and standing on solid legs. It turned its large scaly head towards them and when it silently roared, the dragon's jaws opened wide, its long fangs on clear display. Holes and rips littered its body and wings. It shifted to face the three of them more fully and pieces of its rotting flesh dripped to the ground below and were reabsorbed into its body.
"A zombie dragon?!" Naofumi exclaimed in horror. "You have got to be kidding me!"
"Master, what do we do?" Raphtalia asked as she drew her sword and moved into a fighting stance at the ready.
"Why now?" Naofumi asked as he raised his shield in readiness. "Did we activate it somehow?"
"Let's kill it!" Filo exclaimed and before Naofumi could stop her, she dashed forwards towards the undead beast.
"No!" Naofumi yelled at her swiftly charging form. "Come back here, Filo!"
Filo leaped, her clawed feet leaving the ground as her large white wings stretched out to help propel her forwards. "Die!" she screeched as she lashed out with one leg, landing a solid blow with her claws to the side of the dragon's long neck.
The zombie dragon roared silently – its vocal cords still not working – and reared up to lash at Filo with its claws. As Filo nimbly dodged out of the way, Naofumi threw up an Air Strike Shield to deflect the dragon's tail that lashed out for Filo next.
"Raphtalia! Head in to support Filo. I'm going to keep its attention on me," Naofumi ordered.
"Yes, Master!" Raphtalia responded and launched into a sprint towards the dragon.
Naofumi tightened his hold on his shield and, his voice commanding and firm, yelled out, "Draw Ire!"
Across the field, the zombie dragon paused in its attack on Filo and swung its head around to fix its sightless gaze upon Naofumi. It roared silently and stepped off the stone it had been standing on and began to stalk across the field towards him. Where it stepped, the grass withered and died.
Draw Ire was currently Naofumi's strongest threat skill against a single target and had the furthest range. However, there was a chance he could lose that threat if the beast was dealt enough damage before Naofumi could damage it. 'So far so good,' Naofumi thought as he firmed his stance in preparation for the dragon's arrival. 'Just a little closer…' The dragon took another menacing step, still completely ignoring Raphtalia and Filo who had stopped long enough to let the dragon reach Naofumi. Naofumi's eyes darted to look at Filo who was partially vibrating as she fought to keep herself from launching herself back at the dragon.
The dragon took another five menacing steps and Naofumi switched his shield to flame. When the dragon was seven meters away Naofumi shouted, "Oppressive Ire!"
Like any reputable tank class, Naofumi had several threat-generating skills. Oppressive Ire was effective for up to twenty enemies at once. It had a smaller range but made up for that with its impressive threat generation. He smirked as he looked up into the black voids where the dragon's eyes should have been. He could practically feel the beast's hate. It was unlikely that he would lose its attention now.
"Raphtalia! Filo! Attack!" he shouted. He did not hear them burst into motion as he kept his attention on the terrible dragon. "Flame Spiral!"
Flames shot forth from his shield in long whips of fire and arched towards the dragon to swirl around it in bright strings of red, orange, and the hottest blue. The beast silently roared once more as the flames bit into his sides and wings. It reared back on its hind legs and struck out at Naofumi with its long, thick tail.
"Flame Barrier!" Naofumi cried out. A thick bubble of fire burst into existence around him and when the dragon's tail stuck, the beast instantly recoiled as the flames disintegrated a large section of its tail.
Raphtalia was still sprinting towards them on the dragon's right. Her form was close to the ground and had almost reached them when Filo suddenly came in from the left. She barreled through the air and her claws tore into the beast's side when she struck it. She quickly darted away to avoid the still active Flame Spiral and leaped in again for another strike. The dragon ignored her as it arched its neck back and opened its jaw wide to spit out thick clouds of purple mist at Naofumi.
Naofumi swiftly changed his shield to earth and used it to call forth a tall wall of stone between him and the dragon. The mist struck it and flowed harmlessly around the wall for several long seconds. When the mist stopped, Naofumi banished the wall just in time to see the dragon turn towards Filo and snatch her out of the air with its large jaw and teeth.
"No!" Naofumi shouted in mounting despair as he could do nothing but watch as the dragon quickly swallowed, its long neck bulging outwards around Filo's fluffy bird form as it swallowed her down.
Raphtalia's anguished cry was drowned out by the blood pounding in Naofumi's ears. He could feel his anger and hate taking over the despair and his vision turned red. 'Why?' he inwardly raged. 'Have I not suffered enough in this world?' The anger continued to rise and his fists clenched tightly at his side. With it, the despair rose but he barely noticed. All he felt was anger and hate. Anger at the country he was in. Hate at the people in it.
The hate and anger were a seething miasma inside his mind and as the feelings grew in strength he began to feel… cold? Why was he cold? Eyes he had not realized he had closed flew open in horror.
His ever-present soulbond was fading and taking its warmth, joy, and comforting feelings of admiration, awe, pride, and love with it.
"No," he whispered aloud, the sound a broken-sounding plea. He could not lose his soulbond. Not after the comfort it had brought him every day and night for weeks. Not after finally finding his soulmate. His young, wonderful soulmate who believed and trusted in him. He had to let the churning miasma of anger, hate, and despair go.
As if sensing his resolve to choose his soulbond over all else, words came to mind, their red letters written in a spiky, creepy script. 'Do you want power? Do you hate everything in this world?'
Naofumi shook his head and closed his eyes. Sure, there were people in this country whom he hated and he did want power but… He wanted power to protect the people he cared about. Tears escaped his eyes and ran down his cheeks in salty tracks. All the people whom he had worked so hard to save. His blacksmith friend, Erhard. The knight commander, Sazama. Raphtalia and Filo whom he was starting to think of as his daughters. Eiku, wonderful and sweet Eiku with his honey-blond hair and caring brown eyes. Eiku – his soulmate whom he had had to travel to another world to find. His beautiful soulmate who lived in this world and called it home.
Naofumi wanted power. However, he wanted power to protect the people he cared about and the world those people cared about. He wanted the power to do better. To be better. To have the power to protect others so he did not lose anyone else. A power that came at the cost of his values and his soulbond was not worth it.
'No,' he answered the creepy script. 'I don't want anything to with you. The power you offer is not for me!'
There was an angry hiss and then a bright, blue light flooded his vision, even with his eyes closed. He opened them to see that his skin was emanating blue light. More words came to mind, their letters written in a blue, lovely, flowing script. 'You who have rejected temptation: Do you desire power to protect others?'
'Yes,' he mentally answered as he closed his eyes once more. He thought of Filo and swallowed. She had been only thirteen days old. More tears escaped his closed eyelids to make their way down his cheeks. 'I don't want to lose anyone else.'
'Then the power is yours!' All at once the feelings of anger, hate, and despair fully receded, leaving only bravery, calming strength, and conviction behind. His soulbond came flooding back in, filling him with renewed strength and warmth. The bond and the feelings it harboured somehow felt more vibrant than before.
He opened his eyes and smiled a bittersweet smile as he looked upon the undead dragon that was still savouring its meal. He reached up and placed a hand over his heart, relieved to feel the full power of his soulbond once more.
A notification popped up:Blessed Shield Upgraded to Blessed Fortitude Shield
Naofumi fixed the dragon with a calm look as he selected the Blessed Fortitude Shield and activated one of the new, unlocked abilities. 'I'm going to avenge you, Filo,' he silently promised as he held his shield out towards the dragon, his face serene beneath a glowing blue mantle. 'I'm going to defeat this foe and grow stronger so no one else can get hurt while I am there to protect them.'
He felt his soulbond pulse with warmth and the Blessed Fortitude Shield seemed to grow stronger as it responded to his conviction. "Cleansing Light," he stated calmly, his voice deep and absent of all the anger he had felt minutes before.
A sphere of holy, soft yellow-white light sprang into existence to surround the animated undead dragon. In most games he had played in the past, undead creatures had had a weakness to holy magic and healing. If the same held true here…
The dragon screamed. The sound was silent but the visual effect left nothing to the imagination. The dragon was in agony. It thrashed inside the sphere as the holy spell did its job. The beast's flesh did not just vaporize – it disintegrated. The light ate away the undead flesh of the dragon and in mere seconds went to work on the bones and organs of the creature. The light intensified until Naofumi had to look away. When he did, his eyes met Raphtalia's shocked, red-rimmed and misty, crimson orbs.
"Master, what is that?" she asked, her voice slightly watery from crying.
"A healing and curse removal spell," he answered. He still felt mostly only calm, as if almost all other feelings existed outside of his consciousness.
Raphtalia frowned. "A healing spell? How is it harming the dragon?"
"Undead creatures have a weakness to healing and holy magic," Naofumi answered. In his peripheral vision, the light suddenly flared even brighter before going out. He looked over and watched as the sphere of soft yellow-white light disappeared, leaving behind a confused-looking and unharmed Filo. The only thing left of the dragon was a large gem lying on the ground by her clawed feet.
"Filo!" Raphtalia called in happy relief. She ran forward and threw her arms as far around Filo's fluffy white form as she could. "We thought you were dead."
Filo cocked her head and looked down at Raphtalia and Naofumi. "No, Filo is fine. Dragon needs to learn to chew its food."
Naofumi closed down the Blessed Fortitude Shield and the blue glow disappeared from his body. Not only were Filo's feathers once again white without the blue tint overlaying his vision, but the rest of the world had returned to its normal colour. All his other feelings returned as well. As if there had been a lock keeping them at bay, allowing only calming strength, bravery, and conviction through. Now he could feel proper shock at seeing Filo standing before him, unharmed and making comments about the dragon's eating habits.
"You're really all right?" he asked in concern. "The dragon's stomach acids didn't try to dissolve you or something?"
"Filo is fine! There weren't any liquids in there," Filo chirped in reply.
'Of course,' Naofumi thought as his eyes drifted down and caught sight of the large gem on the ground and could see that without the blue haze overlaying his vision that it was dark purple in colour. 'It was undead. How would it produce any stomach acid?'
He walked forward and picked up the purple stone. It was almost briolette in shape and it felt hard and solid. Since it was the only thing left of the dragon, he moved it towards the green stone on his shield, intending to feed it to his shield. When the large stone got close to the shield, however, the Blessed Fortitude Shield activated just enough to erect a barrier over the shield and he could not press the stone inside. 'Huh?'
Notice: Use of dragon material restricted by Blessed Fortitude Shield
"Why?" he asked allowed. There was no answer and with a frown, he raised the stone to eye level to examine it further. There did not seem to be anything outwardly sinister about it. Not like with the Cursed Shield. 'Strange…' he thought as he tucked it away into a belt pouch. 'Maybe I can find out more or get answers about it later.'
"Master, what was that?" asked Raphtalia.
Naofumi turned to her and Filo. "Not sure exactly. Something leftover from the dragon that my shield rejected. I'll need to find out more." He looked both girls over. They seemed fine. Raphtalia had not been hit during the fight and whatever damage Filo had taken had been healed by his shield's Cleansing Light. Around them, the dark miasma had faded away. "The poisonous air has dispersed. Time to return to the village to give them the good news."
He turned and headed for the path they had taken to enter the clearing. The girls followed behind, their steps soft against the ground. As they walked, Naofumi poked at the soulbond. The bond's warmth reached out and the feelings it contained stroked his heart in welcome. The feelings resonated so strongly and brightly through his chest. The feelings being more intense were not his imagination. The feeling of love was still weaker than the other feelings but it was also stronger than he remembered feeling. Was the Blessed Shield responsible? Had it cleansed something from inside him? Had there been some residual anger and despair he had unconsciously been holding onto that the shield had fully gotten rid of?
The girls remained quiet as they walked and when they reentered the forest path Raphtalia spoke. "Master, what happened back there?" she asked. "After the dragon ate Filo, a dark red mist surrounded you. Then it disappeared and you were glowing blue instead."
Naofumi did not answer for several seconds, distracted by the bond and the intense feelings he could feel. Were the feelings Eiku felt for him really that strong? The thought was humbling. What had he done to be worthy of such admiration and pride?
"Master?" Filo prompted.
Naofumi startled and looked up at her. "Yes?"
"Big Sister asked you a question," Filo said.
Naofumi sighed wearily and did his best to switch mental tracks and drag his thoughts away from the bond. "What question?"
Raphtalia cocked her head to the side and studied him. "Master, are you all right?"
"That wasn't the question!" Filo protested. "Is Big Sister losing her memory already?"
Raphtalia's eye twitched. "I am not!"
Filo ignored her. "Big sister asked what happened during the fight. She said you were glowing red and blue."
"No, I said there was red mist surrounding him!" Raphtalia corrected.
"Children, don't squabble," Naofumi teased with a grin. He may be feeling tired and slightly distracted but he was also feeling lighter in spirit than he had in what felt like ages. Discovering his soulmate and spending time with him had been amazing but right now he felt free and unburdened. The sudden desire to see Eiku and share this moment with him was incredibly strong. He thought of Eiku almost daily and even though he had only spent a day with the young man, fourteen days apart already felt way too long. 'We are taking a trip to Melromarc after this business is dealt with,' he thought with firm resolution.
Filo giggled and Raphtalia gasped as if betrayed. "Master!"
Naofumi reached out with his shield arm and ruffled her brown hair. "Play nicely with your sister. You're older than her. You should be setting an example."
"What? Filo started it!" Raphtalia protested as she reached up to knock Naofumi's hand away.
"Master? Is that how you think of Filo?" Filo asked as she transformed into her naked, human self. She reached out and clung to Naofumi's other arm.
'I desperately need to figure out an appropriate clothing solution for her,' Naofumi thought even as he smiled and looked down at Filo's bright and happy face. She truly was adorable with her smooth, flawless skin, blue eyes and bright blonde hair. "Yes, you truly are like a daughter."
"Yay!" she exclaimed.
"Is that how you think of me?" Raphtalia asked, her voice strained.
Naofumi looked over at her and saw she was fighting not to pout. "Yes," he answered. "In lieu of your parents, I should raise you well. Certainly as a daughter."
She flushed bright pink. "What? Don't you think that's strange?" she exclaimed.
"What's strange about it? Sure, you were only a cub for a brief time but I took care of you. I'm still taking care of you."
She flushed even darker. "I don't want you to think of me as your daughter! And you don't need to take care of me!"
Naofumi grinned and reached out again to rub her head. "You're growing up so fast. Already reaching your teenage rebellious stage."
Raphtalia's tail bristled and fluffed out as she knocked his hand away again. "Stop that!"
Naofumi reached out with his other hand and patted Filo's head instead. "All right, I'll just pet Filo then."
"Yay! I'm Master's favourite!" Filo cheered with a laugh.
"No, you're not!" Raphtalia immediately protested.
As the two girls continued to bicker, Naofumi smiled lightly and looked up at the spots of blue sky visible through the foliage of the trees. For the first time since coming to this strange new world, he felt as if things truly were going to end up working out just fine.
~*~End of Chapter 09~*~