Armory of the Forgotten Hero

by Masked Spider

The legend goes that there are four cardinal heroes. But fact and fable are often twisted in the land of Melromarc, while others are left out completely. One such fact is that there is actually another hero, the Armory hero, who doesn't wield a primary weapon. But the world will soon remember as Darius Saxon is called to remind the people that there aren't four heroes, but five.

12. Unleash the Curses Upon the Land

Unleash the Curses Upon the Land

The Northern Country of Koteraan

Dragons are loners by nature. It's not so surprising when you consider that the power of a full-grown pure breed dragon is capable of reeking immense havoc on an ecosystem, and their love of hoarding treasure only adds to that. The subspecies known as flying dragons share that trait to a degree, it's part of what makes them so difficult to train and why those who do manage it get the title of dragon knight. With all that in mind one would think a dragon would be unable to feel loneliness, at least to the extent that it would bother them. And yet, loneliness was exactly what Johann was feeling now as he walked along the bank of a large river in his dragon form, his eyes scanning for any sign of his party.

'I wonder if they're okay,' he mused to himself, 'I know the boss will put up a fight and weasel girl's no slouch. Heck even that thick merc lady is more than capable of holding her own when it comes down to it, but the monster they're fighting was supposed to be super strong too.' He flexed his wing experimentally for a moment, cringing as he felt pain shoot through it. The dragon boy was more annoyed than anything, though, as he recalled how he managed to get into this predicament.

Primary Mercenary Camp #4: One Day Earlier

"They're trying to reform their firing line," Darius said aloud as he circled around in the sky on top of Johann. He was still in his green disguise that denoted him as the Bow Hero, as opposed to the Armory Hero, and it had been doing quite a job during these raids to scatter the mercs. With word spreading, some of the camps would lose half their fighters just out of fear before they even engaged, leaving only the bravest for them to contend with.

"Then let's rain some more fire down on them, no wait, let's do lightning this time!" Cheered the flying dragon as they swooped down for another pass at the assembling mercenaries. "Breath of thunder!" A large bolt of lightning shot out of the dragon's mouth, something he'd picked up from the thunderbird, and tore into the line of archers who'd been attempting to return fire.

"Lightning Arrow!" Yelled the disguised Darius as he fired off three arrows at once from a blue bow with white markings that Figneria had given him. It was shaped fittingly enough like a lightning bolt on each side and the fired arrows carried a charge that sent out a wave of electricity several feet from the impact points on the ground. The luckiest ones were stunned by the electrical waves while the less fortunate, typically the already injured, succumbed to the pain and died from the attack.

"Fall back to the trees!" Ordered the leader before a black-cloaked figure suddenly leapt down from one of said trees and slashed him across the throat before jamming her other dagger into the folds between his armor. 'How did she get so close,' thought the leader as the life left his eyes and he collapsed to the ground in a heap. The other mercenaries quickly overcame their shock, however, and attempted to rush their leader's killer.

"As source of thy power I order thee!" proclaimed another voice as a weasel girl with a mace stepped out of the shadows of the trees, "turn the ground to a sand trap for my foes!" She slammed her weapon on the ground then as a yellow glow radiated from her weapon and caused a large portion of the ground in front of her to turn to quick sand, sinking several of the mercenaries up to their armpits before the ground hardened and trapped them.

"For those of you who still remain," declared the cloaked woman, "either flee or face death at the hands of the Bow Hero and his comrades!" The remaining mercenaries didn't need any encouragement as they all turned and fled, especially when Johann and Darius landed right behind them. Though that didn't stop the sky dragon from shooting off a fireball or two to speed them up a bit.

"From what we could see, this camp is in full retreat," said the disguised Cardinal Hero as he dismounted and approached the mercenaries trapped in the ground. "Now the big question is, what to do with the rest of you?"

"Please spare us Sir Hero!" yelled one of the mercenaries, a surprisingly young one with blond hair, "We were only-."

"Only following orders, you were paid to do it, you had no idea the Bow Hero would disagree with this, it wasn't your idea, yada yada yada," said Darius dismissively, "the last few camps we torched had the same sob story and it wasn't all that convincing then either." He kneeled down in front of the mercenary to get a better look at him, and to show he wasn't playing around. "Listen prick, I don't care that you fight for money and I don't care if it's what you were ordered to do. The fact of the matter is that you're helping to prolong the rule of a tyrant by slaughtering innocent people with valid disagreements for the way things are being run and that is not something that I can stand by and simply allow, especially not after the work I put in to oust the last king."

"W-we can make a deal then," said another mercenary, a man with a brown beard and a leather helmet, "You can have whatever you like from the camp. Our coin, weapons, supplies, you name it and we'll give it to ya in exchange for letting us live." Darius made a show of looking like he was thinking about it.

"And what'll you do once you get back to the current king?" Questioned the weasel girl, "Just rearm yourselves and continue doing what you were before we got here?"

"We'll leave the country," said a third, bald mercenary, "we can learn to farm or be blacksmiths, maybe open up a shop. I mean if one of the cardinal heroes is telling us this is wrong then it's definitely a sign that we need to think about doing something else." The rest of the mercenaries murmured in agreement.

"If you wish to be spared, I suggest you try making yourselves useful," said the cloaked woman.

"What can we do," said the first mercenary, "we'll do anything just please let us go." Darius took this moment to step in. He'd rehearsed this part a few times now and he'd pretty much gotten the lines down.

"Well for starters, we're taking your stuff," said Darius, "consider it giving back to the people. As for you guys, spread the word. The Bow Hero is on his way and if the rulers of this country want to avoid a bloodbath, they'll surrender and accept our demands. After that you disband, where you go I don't care but you'd best not hang around this country." The trapped soldiers-for-hire were more than eager to agree as the disguised hero gave a nod to the weasel girl who raised the mercenaries back above the ground.

The next couple of hours after that involved the mercenary bandits organizing their supplies and belongings. The group allowed them to keep only enough essentials for a couple days of travel while everything else, including their weapons and money was left for Darius's group before they departed to spread the word of what happened. "So that went well," said Johann as he shifted back to his child form, "with all those arrows flying I thought you fell off at one point boss."

"You pulled crazier maneuvers when you were first learning to fly," said Darius as he pulled the mask and hood down for a moment, "though an arrow did glance off the side of my chest plating."

"You should count yourself lucky that you're able to remain on the back of a flying dragon in the first place," Figneria pointed out, "I still find it curious you were able to tame one so quickly. Ordinarily such a feat would take years, though I suppose that's one of the advantages of being a cardinal hero."

"He gets to be my boss because he feeds me, and I get to take on monsters," said Johann with his hands behind his head, "While I'm certain I could survive on my own, it's just a lot more convenient hanging with you guys."

"So you do care about us," teased Rifana as she ruffled the winged boy's hair.

"Yeah yeah, look It'd just be annoying if you guys all died on me, I don't know how to cook beyond roasting something," said Johann.

"Speaking of food," said Darius as he glanced at the supplies, "We'd best send word to the villagers. I can carry a fair bit of this but not all of it, plus some of them are going stir crazy hanging out in a cave with an open ceiling all day so they'll jump at the chance to have something to do."

"We can probably go ahead and have them return to their homes at this point," said Rifana, "we've hit several of the main camps and word is most of the other small camps have begun retreating back towards the castle in preparation for 'the assault of the Bow Hero.'"

"We can expand the temporary camp we've set up, but I would advise against a full move back into all of the villages just yet," said Figneria, "There are a number of corrupt noblemen we need to target next on our way to the castle to insure they don't send any support to the king. We also need to inform the honest ones of our intentions and start deciding on who should be ruling the country next."

"That's gonna be a tough one," said Darius, "sure we can clean up all the bandits and mercenaries, but picking a good leader who won't turn on his own people after we leave, I'm not even sure where to begin."

"I've gathered a good bit of information about several of the noblemen," said Figneria, "even in these trying times there are some who wish to do right by the people. We will not let this country fall a third time to tyranny. But for now, we should head back and recuperate while the villagers move in to take the supplies."

"Yes please," said Johann, "I need a freakin' nap after all of this flying over the last couple of days." The rest of the group was in agreement as they headed back out of the mercenary camp. Unbeknownst to them, a figure in grey robes with his hood pulled up was watching them before checking his map. A smirk tugged at the stranger's mouth as he realized what awaited them at their next location, or rather what he could unleash.

The Next Day

The night had been relatively restful for all of them after landing at the large camp they'd set up some time ago. The majority of the villagers the group had directed to the cave were still there, but a small group had volunteered to travel with them to help gather the left over supplies from the abandoned mercenary camps. Something of a system had been established where one group would tend to the camp while the other group would go out, grab the supplies and carry them back to the camp or the cave. Those who went to the cave would then send out a new group of villagers to insure there were plenty of hands for the work.

The camp had also been convenient for sending out the gathered supplies to other villages and towns who were in need of a little currency, food, etc. As the assault on the mercenary camps and roaming parties went on, it became something of a routine to break down the camp and move it a few miles closer to what would be their final destination. Though there were some awkward moments, such as the four of them all sharing a large tent every now and then, which meant that Darius got the occasional luck of having cleavage in his face at one point or the other. Now Rifana would get embarrassed when it was hers but Figneria hardly seemed to care when she was the one doing it. If anything the female guard seemed to think the Armory Hero should become a little more familiar with the feel of a woman's body.

It also made for some occasionally uncomfortable flights such as the one they were having now with Darius at the front of the saddle while Rifana sat behind him and Figneria behind her. The weasel girl had been pouting for a good bit of the flight now after the most recent incident of her waking up to Figneria rolled over on top of Darius with her bosom on his head. "You don't need to be cross with me," said Figneria, "seeking warmth while one is sleeping is natural."

"Then why have you never bothered shoving Johann between your boobs?!" Rifana shot back without turning to look at the woman behind her.

"My dear, Johann thrashes in his sleep sometimes and he's only a small boy, not nearly as good a source of warmth." Figneria pointed out.

"Hey, I've got a naturally high core temperature," said Johann, "I could be as warm as a bonfire if I wanted to be! As for the thrashing, same answer I'm a dragon and dragons kick in their sleep sometimes."

"I'm just glad you got over shifting into dragon form while sleeping," said Darius, "None of us would've gotten any rest at all otherwise."

"You see, there is a reason for our sleeping arrangements," said Figneria, "and I'm certain our hero doesn't mind sleeping between two beautiful women each night."

"But why does that require you using him as a human pillow every so often," questioned Rifana, "Darius and I were able to sleep in the same tent before without that happening."

"It sounds to me like you're more angry that it didn't happen with the two of you then you are at me," Figneria noted.

"W-well that's because I-," Rifana stammered before being interrupted by Darius.

"The camp's coming up," he said as Johann lowered himself, "But something's not right." The two party members behind him turned their attention to see what he was talking about. Indeed the camp was there, but no signs of activity were present. The group had arrived just before sunrise to catch them off-guard so at least a couple of fires should've been going but none were. "Johann, let's circle a bit and see what the deal is. If nothing happens, we land at a safe distance."

The flying dragon grunted in agreement as they descended in a circular pattern. But the closer they got, the more obvious it was that no one was present. No arrows were fired at them, no shouts about an approaching dragon were heard, and no one came running out of the tents to see what was happening. The group landed next to the large river just outside of the camp which was characterized by a fair-sized waterfall as the party dismounted. "We'd best not rush in," said Figneria, "I'll scout the camp and see if there are any signs of a trap."

The former mercenary then cast a spell over herself similar to Raphtalia's illusion attack and proceeded towards the camp. The rest of the group waited nervously with their weapons drawn and their ears strained to hear even the slightest sound of something out of place. A few minutes later, Figneria returned without incident with some strange news.

"The camp is deserted," said Figneria, "all that's left are the tents and a number of tracks which are almost a day old."

"I mean it wasn't a complete secret that we were gonna hit here sooner or later," said Rifana, "Maybe the whole spread fear and confusion strategy is working better than we thought."

"But Figneria said this camp was one of the main ones in the way of us getting to the nobles," said Darius, "We even had a couple of strategies planned because it was supposed to be reinforced."

"But it also doesn't make sense that they'd spring a trap here," said Figneria, "the camp's protection is from the trees and the river, which are still too low to launch any kind of dragon net. Not only that, our sight is clear from the air so the only chance they would've had is a distance assault from the forest and none of the tracks I found lead in that direction. So they either really have evacuated or-someone's here!" Rifana sensed the intruder as well as the group turned to a nearby collection of bushes. A figure wearing grey robes that denoted them as a kind of magic user stepped out then.

"Ah, just as suspected," said the stranger, "you are indeed an imposter. No one here is part of the real Bow Hero's party and that is not the true legendary bow."

"And those are some wild accusations," said Darius as he aimed the replica bow at the newcomer, "mind telling us who you are and what your evidence is?" The guy was clearly not from Koteraan, that much was obvious, but where exactly he hailed from the Armory Hero wasn't sure.

"Why merely a servant of the Three Heroes Church of Melromarc, you may call me Aulder," the man said in introduction, "And I know because I witnessed your power myself, false hero, when you pointed that same bow at our beloved King."

"Now who's stretching the truth," said Rifana, "anyone paying attention can tell that the ruler of Melromarc isn't doing as much proper ruling as he should be, I would know."

"So of course you seek nothing less than the total downfall of our kingdom," said Aulder, "it is to be expected when you serve the right hand of the Shield."

"For a man claiming to have witnessed stuff, you sure are blind to what's going on," said Darius, "We're working on overthrowing this country's tyrannical ruler, something your great king tried and failed to do properly when he sent someone who didn't see the whole job through. By the way, you still haven't told us what it is you want?"

"Why to reveal you for the demon that you are," exclaimed Aulder as he held his hands up like, well, a preacher, "And to punish you for the sins of aiding the Shield and impersonating a Cardinal Hero!"

"You realize if the King had been doing his job and granted me and Naofumi the same authority as the other three heroes, I wouldn't even need to do this impersonation," Darius pointed out.

"That shall be the last lie that escapes your lips!" proclaimed Aulder as he held up the rosary with the symbol of the Three Heroes Church, "For I shall prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that you are a false hero, observe!" A red glow emitted from the jewel then as a massive surge of mana erupted behind them. Looking at the lake, the three noticed a red seal several meters wide on the surface of the water.

"He wouldn't," said Figneria as she realized the mage's intentions.

"What's happening," asked Johann. He didn't know why, but his instincts were telling him that something terrible was in that seal.

"He's unleashing a monster that was sealed long ago in this country by a previous hero's party," explained Figneria, "The nightmare creature that once made living by the river impossible!" As she said this, numerous water spouts shot out of the ground behind them and along the river bank. But this water was murky and tainted, and soon the whole section of the river began to take on a similar appearance. A ghastly smell wafted into the air as a massive limb shot out of the seal, characterized by gnarled claws and rancid fur covered with lake weeds dangling from it.

The second limb was much the same as the first as it emerged and grabbed onto the bank before the beast's head emerged, rising slowly to reveal a somewhat long muzzle with rows of teeth hidden beneath a mass of lake vegetation that covered the rest of its face save for its glowing red eyes and two massive, antler-like horns protruding from the sides of its head. Its presence was fowl and made the entire party's hair, or scales in Johann's case, stand on end as the building-sized monster pulled itself up to tower over all of them. "The Cursed Leshen of the Dark Swamp," muttered Figneria as Darius's Stat screen told him the same thing. The creature let out a roar then, sounding like a demonic elk that seemed to make the surrounding area tremble.

"Now be revealed for the fraud that you are!" Declared Aulder, "For only a cardinal hero could possibly hope to halt this beast!" 'And if we don't you've basically fucked this kingdom beyond repair,' Darius thought bitterly as he readied an attack with the legendary replica bow. The angry beast directed its gaze towards the group, likely recognizing the scent of a hero and lifted its arm to strike.

"Scatter!" ordered Darius as he fired off a wind arrow at the monster's face, causing it to recoil very slightly and pause its attack. Instead, it released a jet of murky water from its mouth which the Armory Hero narrowly dodged, noting how it carved up the ground. Johann and Rifana came in with a combination attack using both stone barrage and dragon's breath, assaulting the monster with flaming stones. The creature roared in more anger than pain as it turned its attention to the two party members and swiped at them with its massive arm.

Johann avoided the attack by taking flight while the weasel girl sprinted out of the way just in time. Figneria used the opening to jump and run up the Leshen's arm towards its head with her daggers bared. Noticing this, the monster brought its other hand up in an attempt to swipe at her, but was stopped when Darius dissolved his replica bow and used Phantom Chain Binding to stop the arm.

"Crimson Chains!" called the Armory Hero as the binds ignited, burning the trapped arm and allowing Figneria to leap in with an attack of her own.

"Ice Dagger!" called Figneria as a freezing coating appeared on her blades that she used to slash at the creature's eye, freezing it shut. It seemed to have some effect, but it also further angered the monster which managed to yank its arm free of Darius's chains and shake its head to throw off Figneria, who managed land on her feet before rolling out of the way of another swipe by the monster.

"As source of thy power I order thee," Chanted the Armory Hero as he opened a large portal, "decipher the laws of nature and grant my weapons a flaming edge! Arrow Firestorm!" A barrage of flaming arrows emerged from the portal then, all of which impacted with explosive force against the Leshen, causing it to recoil in anguish. "Fire and Ice seem to mess with this thing the most, so hit it with one of those!"

The party understood as they all regrouped. Johann struck first with a massive blast of blue flame. Rifana and Figneria each cloaked their weapons in fire and slashed at the creature's wrists when it caught itself from falling against the dragon's attack. Finally, Darius summoned Ren's sword and his Imitator mask as he unleashed the flaming slash known as Crimson Blade. The combined attacks staggered the monster as it fell back into the lake a short distance, howling in pain. But the moment was short-lived as the beast let out another massive roar, this one so loud that the group had to hold their ears.

'He's trying to use an intimidate ability,' Darius realized as he read the Stats screen. Fortunately it wasn't strong enough to actually cause the status effect, but it did give the creature an opening as it struck back with a vaporous blast of noxious breath. It was made all the worse because it was accompanied by some kind of summoned crows that leapt out of the stream when it hit the ground, increasing the damage radius of the attack and scattering the party once again. Johann swooped in with another blast of fire breath, but it was countered as the monster directed its own attack into the air.

The sky dragon hovered as it tried to hold off the powerful stream with his flames. But another problem occurred when the beast slammed its hands into the water, causing several waterspouts to shoot up into the air. One of these spouts happened to be right beneath Johann, knocking him out of the sky and into the river. "Johann!" called Darius as he dissolved the replica sword to generate some chains, grabbing onto his companion to keep him from falling over the waterfall. This left him open for an attack as the massive creature's hand descended towards him.

"MOVE!" yelled Figneria as she barreled into him, shoving him aside. But it left her to receive the brunt of the attack as the hand slammed down onto her body.

"TEACHER!" cried Rifana before charging and slamming a flaming mace into the Leshen's midsection. The monster snorted but didn't remove his hand until a whirling ring of flame burst from beneath it, forcing him to let go. Figneria staggered to her feet with her blades flaming. She was hurt and her hair was messed up, but otherwise she was still able to fight. The Leshen snarled again as it raised its head in the air as if taking a deep breath. All of the filth from the murky water began to rise into the air and gather at the end of its snout, quickly forming a sickly looking brownish black orb.

"Shit everyone behind me!" Ordered Darius as he conjured a replica of Naofumi's viper shield. The two party members did as instructed, managing to make it just before the creature released the orb. It flew with surprising speed and slammed into the barrier created by the shield, threatening to push the Armory Hero back, and it would have if not for his companions holding him steady with their arms on his back and shoulders. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" he raged as it became a battle of will, holding out for as long as he could against the attack.

Even with the viper shield's poison protection, he could feel blight creeping into him as his Stats flashed a warning on his HUD. What was worse, some of it was also getting to Figneria and Rifana, the former of which was having a hard time due to her injuries. Darius could feel his own strength waning as well, so he planted his feet even more firmly and pushed back with all of his might. After what seemed like hours, but was only about a minute, the attack finally dissipated. The Armory Hero collapsed to his hands and knees then, coughing as he felt some of the blight within him.

Figneria was in a similar condition as she collapsed to one knee. The only one who remained standing was Rifana, who quickly moved in front of both of them. "Repulse!" she cried as the Leshen's large hand impacted with her mace. The ability was designed to deflect physical attacks by reflecting the force back against the enemy, but against something as large and powerful as this beast it was all she could do to keep them from getting crushed. 'This thing's gonna kill us,' thought Darius as he ran through options in his head, 'we can't die here, not now.'

It was then that he noticed Johann's form going over the waterfall. The Armory Hero had been forced to retract his chains to use the replica legendary sword, and now he was in so much pain from the blight status inflicted on him that he could barely raise his hand. 'So is this really it, in the end I was just as powerless to help a nation as I was back home. And now some monster is going to take everything from us.' Another realization hit him as he was thinking, however. This wasn't the monster's fault, it only intended to take their lives because it recognized them as enemies.

No, the one responsible was that Aulder prick from the Church of Three Heroes. He freed the monster, it was his intention to take their lives and the lives of so many others just to prove that Darius wasn't the Bow Hero. The thought of it made the cardinal hero angry, angrier than he'd ever been even in comparison to Idol Rabier, especially when he considered that this was just some underling from the church. His anger built even more as he counted all of the things he and Naofumi had accomplished and how they'd all simply be dismissed because some bastard of a king hated their guts while lifting up morons who didn't even know what they were doing.

'I can't die here, no, we can't die here,' he thought in rage as he struggled to his feet, 'I will not let them take away everything we've worked for!' His HUD lit up then as the menu changed completely, revealing a red symbol he didn't recognize. 'Requirements met: Curse Series unlocked.' Two new skill trees appeared then with the titles 'Greed Series' and 'Sloth Series.' He didn't know what any of it meant, but he'd take it and he knew just who to test it on.

Back in reality, Rifana was starting to collapse under the pressure of the monster's hand. 'I can't collapse, or everyone will-huh.' A strange feeling had come over here, as if she was regressing, no, leveling down. 'What's going on, why am I losing power?' It wasn't just here but Figneria as well and even the monster seemed to feel that something was amiss as all eyes turned to the slowly rising Armory Hero, whose Imitator mask had appeared and changed drastically.

It now had the symbol of a crow on it, as well as a turtle shell on the lower part. The mask itself had grown and expanded over his head and now seemed more like an iron helmet. Shifting his now ominous gaze upward, Rifana could almost feel the smile on his face as he conjured the ax they'd found in the alchemist's temple and spoke in a distorted voice. "Sloth series: Level theft, I'm actually high enough to use this ax now," said Darius, "why don't we give it a test run!"

He swung upward then, unleashing a blizzard-like wind which knocked the Leshen's hand away, leaving it coated in a thin layer of ice. "Now Greed Series: Gold Cauldron!" A portal appeared above the monster's head in response with a massive cauldron that poured what appeared to be molten gold onto it. The creature howled in absolute agony as it tried to fling the substance off of it, forcing Rifana and Figneria to dive out of the way as some of it nearly hit them. Aulder, who'd been watching excitedly up to this point, was less lucky as he suffered a hit to the back running away. The river also boiled with the temperature of the liquid as Darius advanced and raised the ax. "Let's finish this, reveal your true name to me, great ax Raisetsu!"

As he swung the weapon, a blizzard engulfed the Leshen, cooling the molten material, but there was an added element, that of lightning which was amplified thanks to the gold substance. The monster let out one last long howl as it became an electrified statue. Just as quickly as it began, the lightning blizzard ended, leaving nothing but a dead husk behind. "That'll teach you to steal from me," said the Armory Hero as he returned the ax to his inventory and dispelled the Imitator mask. As soon as he did this, though, he collapsed in a heap.

"Darius," exclaimed Rifana as she dropped to his side and checked him. He was alive, but his mana was all drained and his level had returned to what it had originally been. 'I don't know what just happened, but I need to get them both back to the camp,' thought the weasel girl as she forced herself to stay calm. The situation was made even more serious when she noticed Figneria had also fainted, likely from the combined stress of her injuries, the blight and having her level drained. 'This is going to be a fun walk back to camp.'

Regardless she managed to pick up and carry Darius on one shoulder while Figneria was balanced on the other before starting the trek away from the carnage. But one last bit of business remained before she left the area completely, and it was laying on the ground groaning in pain. "Oh great, you're still alive," said Rifana in annoyance as she walked over to the cringing form of Aulder whose robe had been destroyed by the molten gold, revealing him to be a bald man with a stupid-looking blond goatee. "No wonder you took a job requiring you to wear a hood."

"W-what demonic p-power was that," he managed to say between ragged breaths, "an imposter s-shouldn't have been-." He could barely finish a sentence due to the pain.

"Gosh it's unbelievable how dense some people can be," said Rifana, "You just saw the truth before your very eyes. Darius Saxon is a cardinal hero, the Armory Hero to be precise, and given that he managed to best that monster you released, I think he's more than proven his status. You've also proven something, that your blasted church doesn't give a damn about the people."

"W-we show the p-people t-the pa-th to-," Aulder struggled to say before Rifana cut in.

"Yeah I'm gonna stop you right there," said Rifana, "I very much doubt God would approve of you releasing a monster onto the world and endangering a whole kingdom. But tell you what, why don't you ask him in person." Aulder was about to ask what she meant by that until she raised her foot over his head. His last yell of 'NO' was stamped out along with his head as the warrior girl crushed his skull with her foot. "If you're still here when we find Johann, I'll be sure to let him roast what's left," she said as she headed off into the woods with her comrades on her shoulders.

Further Along the River: About the Same Time

'I don't know what that was, but it was scary,' thought Johann as he approached the waterfall where he'd fallen off. For whatever reason another ominous presence had filled the area before the swamp monster, Lecher or whatever, started roaring in pain. Then it just disappeared right after the other monster's presence vanished. What wasn't clear, was whether or not his party still remained.

'Well I won't know unless I look,' thought the dragon boy as he morphed into his child form and grabbed onto the cliff side before ascending rather slowly due to his size. He never liked climbing or swimming, the sky was his territory, and while he'd be able to do this in his dragon form under normal circumstances, his injured wing prevented him from doing it this time around. 'I wonder if there's anything left up there, I mean they'd coming looking for me if they won right?' His thoughts were interrupted as a rock came loose under his foot, causing him to swear as he struggled to find another foothold.

'Then again, maybe they didn't win and it's down to just me,' thought the dragon boy as he resumed his climb. 'No big deal, I'm a top predator, I can find and cook my own food, and I can finally ditch that saddle on my back.' He actually smiled a bit as he continued this train of thought. 'Why not, all the boss and Rifana have ever done is hound me about having good manners and forced me to play nice with a Filolial of all things. Add on to that the fact that I'm basically one step above a beast of burden and I'm probably better off without them.'

A flash of a few memories through his head, however, caused him to lose his smile. 'I mean sure, they've fed me, gave me magic clothes, never forced me to carry them if I didn't want to, let me sleep in a bed instead of outside, I wouldn't have gotten as strong as I am now, admittedly, if I hadn't stuck with them. And yeah, they always complimented me when I did an exceptionally good job. But I'm a dragon, I can handle being alone, that's something we're supposed to be good at, right?'

It was a strange feeling for Johann when he realized that unlike most wild dragons, he'd never really been alone since his birth. Not only that, despite his occasional disagreements with them, he didn't hate them by any means. This doubt in his heart finally started to bring tears to the boy's eyes when he also realized, that he might actually miss the group. 'I could probably handle being alone, but I don't want to be alone!' He finally admitted as he increased the speed of his climb. When he reached the top, he found only the remains of the monster and the mage, and the scent of his friends with only one pair of foot prints.

Base Camp of the 'Bow Hero': Some Time Later

To say Darius Saxon was sore was an understatement. Just the act of his eyes fluttering open seemed to cause pain as he groaned and tried to sit up. "I'd recommend staying still," said Figneria, who was sitting on her own sleeping mat with a few bandages adorning her arms and torso while also missing her trademark cloak, "We're still not sure if there are any residual effects."

"I guess you're referring to whatever berserker or power state I went into before blacking out," said Darius, "To be honest I'm not even sure what happened. But we're all alive, right?"

"Rifana carried the both of us back," said Figneria, "she only rested long enough to get her wounds treated. She's in the process of organizing a search party for Johann."

"Well then we need-ow," the cardinal hero attempted to get back up only for pain to lance through his body and force him to lay back down.

"You're in no condition to be going anywhere," said Figneria, "neither of us are. My wounds are currently being treated for some of the blight inflicted upon me, so my fighting prowess is limited at the moment. Rifana was luckier given that she had no open wounds, so what little she was exposed to will clear up very soon. As for you, whatever blight there was in your body disappeared once you accessed that ominous power, though your mana recovery has been a bit slow because of it."

"I have a vague recollection of using that ax too," said the Armory Hero as he rubbed his head, "It's powerful but it eats up mana like there's no tomorrow whenever you use the ultimate attack."

"Well with luck you'll have leveled up enough to use it without the assistance of that cursed power next time," said Figneria before her attention was drawn to the entrance of the tent.

"Oh thank goodness you're awake," said Rifana as she entered the tent before rushing to Darius to embrace him.

"Ow, easy," said the injured hero as he felt more pain from his sore muscles, "my everything kinda hurts right now, so gentle hugs please."

"I'm sorry," said Rifana as she pulled away, revealing that her eyes had tears of joy in them, "I just, was so worried I might lose someone else important to me today."

"It's not been the best of times today has it," Darius tried to laugh but cringed instead, "Any luck with Johann?"

"The search party is ready, we just need to-," she was interrupted when a frantic woman from the camp poked her head in.

"Adventurer Rifana, you need to come quickly," she said as she beckoned her to follow. The demi-girl looked unsure for a moment, but hurried on after a nod from Darius and Figneria. The woman led her to the edge of the camp were something was spotted coming out of the bushes. Rifana pulled her mace out as well when the bushes caught fire and were blasted apart, allowing the intruder to stumble in. But as soon as the smoke cleared, the weasel girl dropped her mace.

"JOHANN!" she cried as she ran forward and hugged the dragon boy, "We were so worried, are you alright?"

"Why'd we put the camp in the middle of a bunch of thorn bushes," complained Johann, "I hate walking through those things in human form. And also," he hugged his companion back, "please tell me everyone's alright."

"Darius and Figneria are recovering, but they'll be alright," said Rifana, "I had to see to their injuries otherwise I would've come looking for you right away."

"I know," said Johann as he held onto her tighter, "I know you'd never intentionally leave me behind without a reason, I just-please don't leave me! I may be a dragon, but I don't want to be lonely! A cave full of treasure could never replace my friends!"

"It's alright," soothed Rifana as she stroked his hair lovingly, "we're not leaving you that easily. Come on, let's go see the others." Johann nodded as he let his friend lead him to the hero's tent. Needless to say, they were a bit speechless at first when the two walked in.

"Hey Boss," he said, "Since I fell down a waterfall today, can I skip the bath."

"Heh, only if you don't make a fuss about the next one," replied Darius with a laugh. Johann nodded happily before running to hug his owner and friend. That night, the four of them slept comfortably cuddled up with one another.

The Curse Series and the power of Raisetsu has been unveiled! Is it OP, is it not enough, or is it right on the line?! You decide, in the usual fashion with a comment or review. Also, feel free to let me know what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Oh, and one minor issue to address, I cannot message back reviews by guests, so I was wondering if I should start posting answers to some of these questions at the beginning of chapters from this point onward? I've seen other writers do it but I could never decide if I should, so let me know what you all think. Be sure to stop in next time as our heroes convene with old and new allies! 'Til then.