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I can't believe I'm going.

"Make sure you remember. Make SURE. Repeat it to me."

The mayor's asking me to recite that horrid creature's name and species. Why is he doing this?

"Pure Evil, dragon."

"Should we go over it again?"

I stare at him, stunned. He's sitting intently on the coach bench next to me.

"No disrespect sir, but that's the thirty-third time."

I've kept track. Something I always did to pass hours while guarding the wall. I did my job today, no doubt about it. Even more incredibly, I survived. So why am I going?

"You counted?"

"Absolutely, sir. I'm a stickler for detail."

Okay, maybe I'm tooting my own horn, but it's not entirely untrue. I never fell asleep like... My eyes water up.

Korel was a dumbass, but I liked him nonetheless. The mayor puts his hand on my armored shoulder.

*tik*

"Ah, I'm sorry for making you relive your experience. I can't imagine what it was like facing Pure Evil in combat."

Combat. Was that combat?

"Sir, I relayed my report. That wasn't combat."

His head tilts a little.

"And yet, you'll be receiving a medal of distinguished combat. I didn't decide this; the military panel did."

I shake my head.

"I'm not part of our military, either. I'm a guard."

The mayor retracts his hand, then twists to fully face me, still sitting in the coach bench.

"Listen, Barnet. Rules are meant to reward the deserving and punish the rest. At least, that's how I run my city. I want to continue using that style to protect Haitos and its people. Such sentiment is more important now than ever. Do you know what Pure Evil told me during our chat?"

He talked with that THING?! How?!

"No, sir. I don't."

"First, just in case you didn't know. Achiton has the largest military and, more importantly, by far the largest and most well-equipped guard of any Shridenian city. It easily outstrips the capital."

True, and I was aware. They need superior guards to blockade the western badlands. There's nothing there except inhospitable plains, rocky hills, and deserts. Naturally, monsters breed like rabbits. I've contemplated moving to Achiton if only for a little more money and a lot more excitement. But, Haitos is my home.

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The mayor leans back and sighs.

"Haaah. Achiton's entire ruling structure, down to every last guard and soldier, was eradicated by an insurrection it claims to have 'instigated.' That is, except for the one person it picked to live. Yet, it also claims nearly all of the common citizenry survived this horrific massacre. What's your opinion?"

What. WHAT?!

"S-sir, I don't—"

"You're a brave man, Barnet. You stood where thousands of others would've fallen. You have the Will to stay strong. State your opinion."

The entire... That could've been me!

Agh, answer his question. Was the guard somehow distracted by Pure Evil? Why wouldn't they give up? Pure Evil can't be fought with slightly better spears. Did it hide somewhere, so they couldn't see it? But that doesn't explain how the entire guard was eradicated. They could take off their armor and blend with the civilians. DID they give up and then get slaughtered? No, because the dragon didn't do that here. I could barely stand against its roar, never mind fight back.

If it wanted to kill us? Nobody could stop Pure Evil.

Hmm, perhaps...

"Did Pure Evil pick the guard captain?"

The mayor looks at me with surprise.

"I'm sorry, I don't know. We agreed to discuss it later. However, is that relevant? Or is it because you're a guard?"

"It's crucial, mayor. Pure Evil shouldn't be fought. I knew the moment I laid eyes upon it. There was zero chance of my survival if I attacked that dragon. I only stood because my pride as a guard wouldn't allow me to fall."

I examine his expression. The mayor seems intrigued, so I continue.

"Based on my experience with dragons, and the fact none of the guards survived, I must assume the Achiton guard tried to surround it. But they likely only used this standard anti-dragon tactic because it was hiding. They would've known it was hopeless otherwise. Can you imagine Pure Evil hiding? Why would it? Where would it even hide its huge body?"

"Then, you're saying..."

"It nodded at me. A dragon... Nodded at me. Just a little gesture, but beasts don't make gestures. It has intellect. From what you've said; you had a discussion? Meaning, it can talk. Thus, it can presumably reason."

I'd always wanted to be a teacher. Shame I enjoy being a guard far too much.

I gaze out the coach's window.

"The Achiton guard are— were, the elite of the elite. If a mere tenth of their number guarded the city's leadership, some should've escaped the insurrection. Yet, not even a GUARD survived. If we take Pure Evil at its word, that it 'instigated' this insurrection, this means there's a mole in the guard itself. Likely, the captain. Moreover, it strongly suggests this dragon was bored enough to involve itself in an insurrection instead of personally killing."

I look back at the mayor. His face is pale, his mouth open. Oh, no. Did I go too far? I spoke my thoughts because he—

The mayor closes his mouth.

He pauses, then speaks.

"Did you say, 'bored?'"

Whew. But why is he fixated on one word?

"Yes. What other reason would you propose for a horrid thing like that to involve itself in politics?"

The mayor turns away from me, slumping over in the coach. I've never before seen a man of such power and prestige exude so little presence. What exactly did they talk about?

The mayor finally speaks, head still down.

"Barnet, I'm glad you're smart, because we're up against a dragon possessing an obscene intellect. I need both you and my mages, because I can't engage it in wordplay alone. The things it says are unfathomable and yet they always resonate."

Huh? I'm not clear, mayor. Please explain so I don't need to ask. As a guard, I'll feel out of line.

The mayor takes a deep breath.

"Haaaaah."

He sits back in his coach, head lolling over like an unhealed drug addict.

We heal addicts as a matter of policy. This renews their vigor for drugs, which lets us follow them back to the drug lord. It works every time. Our king himself decreed this as our national drug policy; I have no idea how he came up with it.

I want to heal the mayor, but Pure Evil isn't a drug lord. I can't do a damn thing to such an insurmountable monster.

Just when I think the mayor has gone completely silent, he finally continues.

"I remember its every word. It said, 'last time I got bored' and 'I may have instigated things.' When I asked what it meant by 'systematically eradicated' it replied with 'I allowed a little revolt.'"

The hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. No wonder he hesitated; that's incredibly hard to believe.

So... Why do I believe him?

The mayor drones on, still without energy.

"It made an implicit claim of far more than mere trickery. Its words suggested deep and long-term involvement. If it indeed protected the guard captain—"

I feel compelled to finish his thought.

"It'd mean, Pure Evil planned everything."