Chapter 14: Dragon

After an hour, the group came back together huddling up to share the information they had collected.

Welt spoke up first. "So, from what I gathered, they say the dragon is further into the mountain to the west."

Shirou nodded at that. It was the information he had gotten as well, and judging by the rest of the group's nodding, it was what they had got as well.

But just to make sure, Shirou spoke up. "Did any of you get any other information?" The group shook their heads at what Shirou said.

"Alright. I suppose we should head further into the mountain then. Did any of you figure out how long it took to get to where the dragon is located?"

Tersia would speak up at that.

"They said it's about an hour or two of walking to get there,but I would say for us it would probably take a bit longer. We want to at least take out a few of the monsters around, right?"

Shirou agreed with that. More materials would be good for both his sword and the group for the funds.

"Alright then. Like I said before, if we think it's too strong for us to handle, we are going to leave immediately, ok?" Shirou spoke again, making sure his group knew that it was okay to run away if it was needed.

"Yes, we understand. You've said it plenty of times already Shirou." Farrie said, stretching her arms. "We will be fine anyways! We have those health potion's Naofumi gave us. We didn't need them in the last wave, so if we do get into danger, we are fine!"

The rest of the group seemed to share the sentiment, if their nodding heads were anything to go by.

"Fine, I won't say anymore about it then. Just know that I don't want anyone here to die, got it? Even if it means a couple of other people get hurt or die, I want you to save yourselves first, got it?"

The group was silent, Welt being the only one to speak up.

"We understand Shirou. We aren't being this confident because of our own abilities. We are this confident because you're here. Even if we have classed up, we know this would still be a difficult fight. Regardless. So let's go show this dragon who's boss, yeah?" He spoke the last bit louder, getting a cheer from the rest of the group.

Shirou had a smile on his face.by the end of Welts speech. He was glad they trusted him. He knew he could rely on them in battle, but it still didn't mean he had to like it. Deep within himself, he promised to himself that he would protect all of them.

Nodding his head, Shirou spoke up. "Yeah, let's go do this."

It wasn't long after the declaration that the group found themselves fighting some lizards. Farrie was moving around their swipes with ease, a smile on her face as she punched the lizard again. Whilst it didn't outright kill it, it did severely damage it, if the heavy breathing was anything to go by.

"Wow! I know my stats are higher, but I didn't think it would make this much of a difference." Farrie spoke, dodging between each of its swipes.

Welt could only grunt as he swung his axe towards a lizard, easily chopping it in half. "We may be stronger, but don't get overconfident. Still need to keep an eye out for any surprises."

Farrie hummed. She opened her mouth to speak, only to be surprised as the lizard opened its mouth.

"Hey, what's going-"

She was interrupted by a small stream of flames escaping the lizard's mouth. None of the flames hit her directly, but it did hit the edge of her robes, a shout of surprise escaped her. Just as quickly, she punched the lizard again, sending it flying towards Shirou, who slashed at it quickly, the two pieces falling to the floor.

Farrie quickly patted out the fire on her robes, pouting the entire time whilst welt laughed. "What did I say Farrie?"

Farrie could only groan. "I know, I know. But you would think they'd start off with breathing fire! What even are these things anyway?"

Welt shrugged, turning towards Shirou, who picked up one half of the lizard. Moving it closer to the gem on his sword, it was absorbed.

New sword unlocked!

Draconic lizard sword!

Flame resistance(small)

Switching to the sword, Shirou spoke. "The sword says it's a draconic lizard."

Welt nodded.

"I see. But how long has the dragon been here to start having other creatures with dragon features appear?"

Bakta answered quickly.

"Well, from what I have read, dragons tend to… breed with a lot of things in the areas they claim. It would make sense for them to have some draconic features."

Shirou would nod at what Bakta said, tensing up as the bushes beside him rustled. More of the draconic lizards would rush out from the bush and they'd get back to fighting.

The group would sigh as they sat at the outskirts of the circular platform they had found.

Shirou was going through his weapons, trying to decide which would be best to use against the dragon if talking wasn't an option.

He had a couple of choices. He could either go with his Dragon Chimera sword, one of his strongest swords as of now. The only downside he could see to it was the lack of mastery it currently had, as well as rarity.

On the other hand, There was Kanshou and Bakuya. Whilst they were a bit weaker than the Dragon Chimera sword, he was more used to handling them, as well as the fact that the rarity was higher for now.

Thinking for a moment, he selected Kanshou and Bakuya before standing back up. It just didn't feel right if he didn't use them.

"Is everyone ready?"

The rest of the group nodded and Shirou smiled.

"Let's go then."

They quickly walked down the small slope, examining the area for a moment. There were plenty of stone spikes sticking out of the ground, which gave them plenty of options to hide behind something if needed, but they weren't sure how long they might last against a dragon's onslaught if it came to that.

As they moved closer towards the center, a low rumbling could be heard filling the air. Shirou looked around, trying to figure out where it was coming from.

It wasn't until Tersia tapped his shoulder and pointed towards the cave that Shirou saw the glowing eyes further back in the cave.

"Adventurers…" The voice spoke deeply. "I had thought sparing the last set of men you sent after her would be enough to dissuade you. It seems like I was a fool to do so."

Shirou began to speak up after that. "Just wait a moment! We just want to talk!"

It seemed to let out a deep chuckle as it moved forwards. "That is what they also said, yet the second I lowered my guard, they attacked me. They are lucky that I let them off with only a few burns. But I will stand it no longer!"

The dragon revealed itself at last, and the group paled as they saw the sheer size.

The dragon's scales, a light blue, glimmered as the light shone off of them, sparkling like gemstones. Its wings unfurled as it spoke again, anger clear in its voice.

"Although I may be the weakest of the dragon emperor's, it will still be enough to defeat you. I will protect her, no matter the cost to the kingdom!"

Shirou cursed to himself. He hadn't even been able to try and talk to the dragon! Just how many people had been sent here before them?

Regardless, Shirou prepared himself to fight, shifting Kanshou and Bakuya slightly.

Bakta already knew he wouldn't be able to do much against the dragon. His spells would most likely be nothing more than an annoyance to it, yet he still kept firing off spell after spell.

"First wind shot!"

Over and over, he fired his magic at the dragon.

"Zweite wind shot!"

As he expected, his spells were doing nothing, only getting him minor looks of annoyance from the dragon as he clashed with Shirou.

Bakta looked over to Welt and Farrie, who had been attacking the dragon from the side.

Ferrari was bouncing around the place, landing the occasional punch into its forelegs, even if they didn't do much damage to it. It was still causing minor annoyances, which would help Shirou.

Welt however, wasn't having as much luck. He wasn't as fast as Shirou or Farrie, so he couldn't get in closer without the risk of the dragon lashing out at him. Maybe he would have to talk to Shirou about getting Welt some sort of ranged equipment at a later point.

Whilst he couldn't see Tersia, the knives scattered around the battlefield showed that he was attempting to do stuff, even if it was ineffective.

He shook his head, going back to casting his spells.

"First wind shot!"

He really hoped Shirou would end this as quick as he could.

Shirou, despite being smaller and much, much more frail than the dragon, was dodging around each of its strikes easily. Shirou knew that one good hit, maybe two if he could rely upon his reinforcement, would most likely take him out from the battle. He knew he had to keep dodging, but he wasn't sure if the dragon was in a blind rage, or whether it would notice a pattern to his dodges. Either way, he was prepared to get hit.

Despite everything he had put into his sword, he still hadn't unlocked a single sword that gave him a bonus to health, or any sort of regeneration. He'd just have to make do with what he had.

Dodging another slash from the dragon, Shirou took the opportunity to move in closer for his own attack. He slashed the twin blades across the dragon's leg, Drawing blood easily.

The dragon let out a roar of anger at the wound, lashing out again at Shirou. Shirou saw he had no way to dodge, so he did the one thing he could. He positioned his blades in front of him, and prepared for the incoming strike.

Welt shouted before the dragon could strike him.

"Earth guard!"

The dragon still hit Shirou, sending him sliding back, but taking a quick look at his health, Shirou saw it had only gone down by about roughly a third. He nodded towards Welt before running in to slash at the dragon again.

"Air strike bash!" Kanshou and Bakuya would glow for a moment, two small shockwaves coming out as they made contact with the dragons front leg.

The dragon's leg trembled slightly at that, causing it to move black slightly. Shirou took the chance to use another of his skills.

"Crimson blade!"

He slashed into the dragon again, getting yet another roar of pain, but the dragon didn't respond with another swipe, simply moving back as it looked at him.

Shirou moved back to his group, watching as the dragon breathed in.

"Careful, he's doing something!" Bakta shouted.

Shirou looked at the dragon, noticing the dragon begin to breathe in deeply, a flicker of a flame beginning to appear in its maw.

Shirou began to move forwards slightly. He quickly switched weapons to one he had copied from Erhard's store. He shoved the blade into the floor, shouting the name of the skill as he did.

"Barrier blade!"

Almost immediately, sword blades sprouted from the ground, forming a barrier between the group and the dragon. The flames would lash out against the temporary barrier.

A few seconds later, the flames died down, with the barrier of swords seeming to melt back into the floor, as if nothing had been there at all.

The dragon seemed to eye up Shirou for a moment, with Shirou taking the chance to speak up.

"Dragon emperor!" Shirou shouted, referring to the title he had used. "Surely you know who I am now. My use of skills, the gemstone embedded in my weapons. I'm the sword hero! I don't want to fight you if I have to. I just want to talk, please!"

The dragon let out a deep laugh, pulling its head back slightly.

"So it seems you are the sword hero. Tell me hero, why have you come here? Who has sent you here for us to fight?"

Before Shirou could answer, a figure dashed between him and the dragon. Upon a closer inspection, he saw that it was a young girl with dog ears on her head. A dog demi-human? Was this the person who was supposedly kidnapped?

"Don't hurt him anymore!" The young girl cried out. "It's me that you want, right? Just let him live and I'll go with you!"

Shirou lowered his blades at that, with the rest of his party either dropping their guard or looking at the situation from a different perspective.

"what do you mean by take you? They said you were kidnapped!" Welt shouted, earning a glare from the girl and the dragon. He chose to not say anything else..

"They said I was kidnapped? What a kind way of saying I was saved from slavery.."

Shirou looked at her for a moment before speaking. "Look, can you please tell us your side of the story? It looks like we've been operating on the wrong information."

The girl seemed to pause for a moment and Shirou continued to speak.

"If you tell us your side of the story, we can try to sort things out. We won't have to fight. Can you tell us your side of things?"

The girl seemed to let out a sigh, before beginning to tell her side of things.

The woman was breathing heavily, the girl in her arms looking at the mother worriedly.

In the distance, torches could be seen, approaching slowly, but the woman knew if they kept going, they would catch up, no matter what.

Gently placing the girl down, the woman spoke softly.

"Wyndia, I hope you know that no matter what happens… I love you. Alright?"

The young girl looked up at her mother, tears in her eyes.

"Now run. Ill try to lead them away from you, but I need you to run. Try to find somewhere safe, somewhere you can be accepted."

The young girl looked up at her mother, tears in her eyes, but she was moved away with a gentle push.

That gentle push gave her what she needed. She turned and began to run. She knew that if she looked back, she wouldn't be able to leave her.

The woman stood up straighter, beginning to move away from the young girl. This would be her last act of love for her. She would try her best to lead them away from her. She just hoped it would be enough…

Wyndia had run for as long as her body would allow her. By the time her finally body stopped, the sun was rising overhead. Even as she looked towards the sky, she let tears run down her face.

Even as she felt something move beside her, she didn't care. She had nothing left for her.

"Young one. What has happened for you to turn up in my territory?" A deep voice spoke.

She looked up,seeing the head of a dragon. Even as she looked at him, she grew mesmerised by his scales, each one reflecting light differently, seeming to form a rainbow on his scales.

"Young one, will you not answer my question?"

Wyndia squeaked. "I-im sorry. I don't know where I am. I was just running…" She nearly burst out into tears again, but stopped herself.

"Come little one. We can talk back in my cave. This is no place for a young person such as you to remain."

"Since that day, Gaelion been looking after me. He's treated me like his own child, and I'm grateful for it. I just don't want you to kill him!"

Gaelion could only shake his head at that.

"Wyndia, I have told you before. If I am to fall, I would prefer for it to be in battle. Atleast then, I would know I died to a worthy opponent."

Wyndia would nod. "I know, but I'm not ready to lose you yet…"

Gaelion would shake his head again, even as Shirou and his group looked at the duo.

"Man, to think we almost tore them apart…" Welt spoke.

Farrie would nod. "I know! I feel so bad! I want to know what I can do to help!"

Shirou would nod. He agreed with that, pausing only as Gaelion turned to him.

"Sword hero. Have you made your decision? Will you slay me, or do you believe her? If you choose to still fight, know that I will fight with all my strength. Even if you are a hero that will protect the world, I will fight to protect myself and my land."

Shirou could only nod at that. "I understand, but you do not need to worry. I believe Wyndia is telling the truth. I will need to speak with the King and report to him about the church."

Gaelion relaxed at that.

"I see. Thank you, young hero."

"Is there anything else I can do to help?" Shirou asked.

Gaelion paused for a moment.

"That does depend. How long is it until the next wave? Unlike the heroes, I cannot tell when the next wave is."

Shirou nodded, speaking calmly. "43 days."

"I see. Then if possible, I would like for you and your group to stay here for a week. There is a few things I would like to impart to you."

Shirou nodded at that. They had nothing else planned, so it was better than doing nothing. "I have no issues with that."

He turned to his party. "Do any of you?" They shook their heads, and Shirou let out a small smile.

"Then come. You will be allowed to sleep in my cave. Although it may not have any of the luxuries you are used to, there is plenty of room for your sleeping equipment."

With that, Gaelion turned, heading further into his cave.

The group looked around the cave in awe. ignoring the veritable pile of gold, which they had all unanimously decided to ignore for the sake of their own lives, there was still plenty of things. Weapons scattered around the room, Books, which despite the covers being slightly burnt, were still perfectly readable with a few exceptions and precious gems.

"In here, you will not be bothered by my children. Although if you do wish to go out and level up, you are free to fight them. They have already been taught the nature of the world, and will happily fight."

Shirou grimaced at that. He didn't exactly want to kill Gaelions children, yet they couldn't exactly do nothing and get no experience.

Having finished looking around, Bakta would speak up first. "Gaelion?"

"Yes mage?"

"What exactly did you mean by dragon emperor? And why did you mention dragon emperor's?"

Gaelion seemed to pause before speaking.

"Dragon emperor's… are a result of things known as dragon emperor fragments."

Everyone except wyndia turned to face Gaelion as he was speaking.

"As of this moment, I currently possess one dragon emperor fragment. I am content with the core I have, but I have had to fight off other dragons who have sought to take the core from me."

The group nodded, with Shirou speaking up.

"What is so important about these fragments?"

"These fragments contain memories, aswell as strength. The more fragments a dragon has, the stronger they are. Most dragons are stopped if they absorb more than a few dragon cores due to the threat they represent."

"Who kills them?"

Gaelion shook his head. "That is information I cannot give out to you. The only thing you need to know is that they watch over the heroes."

They'd nod, all turning to look at Shirou, who felt an invisible weight on his shoulder.

There was someone who watched over the heroes? Was it someone he had met before? Or did they prefer to stay out of sight?

Shirou spoke up. "What does watching over us heroes entail?"

Gaelion spoke slowly.

"They watch over the heroes, ensuring they do not step out of line. Any hero who refuses to fight the waves will have them looking over them. I believe that the last time we spoke, they had killed the heroes for not cooperating."

Shirou and his group turned pale at that.

"I trust this set of heroes are getting along?"

"W-well… about that…" Welt spoke nervously.

Gaelion only gave them a curious look.

"You see, the kingdom has accused the shield hero of a crime he didn't commit." Shirou spoke plainly. "As far as I'm aware, both the spear and bow heroes believe he is still guilty, unless they have changed their minds in the last two days."

"And what are your thoughts on the shield hero? Do you believe him guilty?" Gaelion asked, staring at Shirou.

"I believe… no, I know that Naofumi did nothing wrong. Even if it puts me on the opposite side of the two heroes, I will still help him."

Gaelion nodded at that. "Then there is still a chance for the heroes to be united. That is good. I am not sure if this world could survive if they had to resummon the heroes. The waves would only grow stronger."

Shirou let out a sigh, even as Gaelion continued to speak.

"That is why I am happy that you accepted my request to stay here for a week. It will allow your group to learn more magic and techniques.

Before anyone could speak up, Gaelion stared at them.

"I noticed that you were all attacking separately. Whilst they did annoy me…" he turned to Bakta as he said that. "They were little more than a nuisance. I was still able to fully focus on the sword hero."

Shirou accepted that easily. He understood that he ran in ahead of everyone else every time, but that was just his job as a hero. He had to be willing to lead, to take the hits for his team. It was only right, wasn't it?

He shook his head. He'd think more on it at a later point. As long as they still had space to improve, Shirou would take it every time he could.

"We would appreciate it if you could help us grow stronger Gaelion." Shirou spoke, accepting it for the whole group.

"Then go. Sword hero, I believe there should be a number of swords here for you, If you wish to take them. Mages, there is also books lying around. I do not know where exactly they are, but I am certain if you devote yourselves to it, then you will find them quickly." Shirou and Bakta would nod, quickly leaving Tersia, Farrie and Welt to face Gaelion.

"As for you three, i would like you for now to teach Wyndia how to fight properly for now."

Wyndia looked at Gaelion with shock, but stopped, deciding to stare at the three in question.

"We understand, but why us specifically?" Welt asked.

"You are the most varied. Whilst the sword hero and the mage are good fighters in their own respect, I do not believe a sword would be right for Wyndia. Of course, if she decides to go the path of the sword, then it is her choice.She is also quite competent in her own form of magic, so it is not required for the mage to stay. It is rare you see someone who uses martial arts to fight. You rarely ever see an axe, unless it is the seven star axe, and a dagger is always a good backup weapon."

The trio nodded, turning to Wyndia.

"Is there any specific thing you want to learn first?" Tersia asked.

Wyndia thought for a moment before speaking. "I'd like to learn how to use a dagger."

Gaelion only moved back, giving everyone room to do what they needed.

Shirou had copied the few swords that Gaelion held in his possession, and whilst most of them would just be small stat boosts, it was still appreciated.

The one unique thing Shirou did unlock was on a knights sword.

Captain's sword

Rarity power; C

Equip bonus: Hundred swords

Attack 3

Shirou had immediately swapped to it, intent on unlocking the equip bonus. All skills were helpful, though it did make him wonder if every other weapon had a variant of hundred swords.

Shirou could easily see hundreds of spears being thrown at an enemy, aswell had hundreds of arrows, but when it came to shields, he had no idea. What would it even give the shield?

Shirou shrugged. He'd figure it out eventually. If Naofumi was working hard, he'd surely unlock some powerful skills. He just hoped it was enough to help him.

Shirou did however take the chance to look for a few shields in Gaelions collection. Naofumi would certainly appreciate them.

He turned to look for Bakta, seeing him with his eyes glued to one of the books, reading it intently. Shirou decided to leave him to it for now.

He'd move back over to Gaelion watching Wyndia train with one of Tersia's daggers.

Shirou sighed as the group settled down for the night. Even as everyone talked amongst themselves, Shirou couldn't help but cast his thoughts towards the other heroes.

What were they up to? Shirou knew that Naofumi was likely in castle town still. Despite the tough exterior he put up, he knew that he was injured. He hoped he took better care of himself. It seemed he atleast trusted Raphtalia, which was good for him.

Motoyasu… Shirou was conflicted about him. Despite what Shirou had said to him, calling him a psychopath, he truly did believe Motoyasu wanted to do good. It's just the fact that he was being guided by the woman in his party. He believed whatever they told him. He simply wished that he would make his own mind up.

Shirou hadn't spoke to Itsuki since the ride back to the capital. He seemed to avoid him. Even if it wasn't what Itsuki wanted to hear, he needed to hear it. He needed to know he couldn't save everyone. There would always be suffering. Even if it was their duty as heroes to help people, they couldn't be everywhere at once.

Shifting himself slightly, Shirou shut his eyes, preparing himself for tommorow.

yay, I'm not dead. only a month between this chapter and the last.

sorry about the long update, I've been a bit busy with real life, so I apologize. hopefully the next few chapters should be coming sooner.

probably not the best chapter, not really confident in my ability to write fights and such, but I'll just have to learn I suppose.

if there's any spelling mistakes or errors, please feel free to shout at me in either my messages or in reviews.

have a good day/night!