Bahamut looks behind the carriage to see if Paul was alright. He was just calmly sleeping in his bedroll with a hand over his wound.
“You seem to love that human man very much.”
She wanted to reply but stopped midway, with her mouth open and revealing her four fangs. Two on the upper jaw, and another two on the bottom jaw.
“What? It’s not like it’ll be anything bad.”
“Sir Zergel, if you wanna get-” She’s then interrupted by him.
“Look, I can see it all over your face. You look like a worried wife.”
Still not as used to a human body, she unknowingly blushes.
“Heh.”
Annoyed, she scares the small pig man with her eyes and hands. Looming over Zergel like a shadow from the clouds engulfing the ground.
“May I remind you that I can cut open a Dragon or even a Giant with my bare hands.”
“OKAY! OKAY! SORRY!”
She then goes back to her original straight up position. Zergel couldn’t help but look at her with lustful eyes, her beauty was that of a Goddess. Beyond comprehension and even far away, you could tell that this person isn’t fully human. Holding so much beauty, as if she was coated with the best desires of humanity and turned it into flesh and bones.
“I was once a married man… She was the prettiest Brown pig I’ve met…”
Bahamut ignores Zergel. She just looks forward and continues to watch their surroundings.
“Oh, was she a good time, from day to night.”
Still, the Dragon woman ignores him.
“And she baked the best pie in the entire town.”
Bahamut just looks the other way, not planning on interacting with him.
“Look, what I’m trying to say… is that you better make a move. He doesn’t look much, but I can see potential within that man's soul.”
“I’m not interested in such things. I just want to adventure with him.”
“Heh, so you're that type huh? What? Got competition?”
The beautiful lady then started playing with her silky long black hair, ringing her long side bangs that reached her knees.
“No. And even if there was, that’s of no concern. My objective is to make sure he returns home… and have fun along the way.” In her head, the woman can’t help but imagine the rare shiny things that she has found so far and those that she’s still to uncover.
“A pretty lady like you could snare any human man like nothing. Don’t be afraid, I’m sure he won’t say no. He looks like he hasn't had that much experience anyways. You’ll have his heart on a platter. Just tell him what you feel.”
“How long are you gonna speak nonsense?”
“Depends… Though you're getting comfortable. I thought you were gonna speak to me in old Dragonian the entire time.”
“Tsk.”
“What’s holding you back? C’mon.”
“Thou needs to shut up.”
“It's gonna take months for us to arrive at the Vampire Kingdom. Might as well know each other. It's very important for the synergy of the team.”
“You silver tongued pig. I might as well just cook you and have you for dinner.”
“Oh please do. It’d be an honor for such a pretty lady to eat me.”
“Grrrrr…”
“I can keep going. So might as well just drop those walls. Never knew the first Dragon God I’d met had the air of an innocent lady.”
Defeated, Bahamut pouts and makes a deep sigh.
“It’s… two Vampires… One with long black hair like me but more wavy, and another one with blonde hair… Though I’m taller than those two, they’ve been more proactive than I have.”
“Ohhhh…”
“Yes… and they’re all Nobles. The blonde one… if the stories are correct, had centuries of experience… I only ever used this human form back in my Masters world. Thousands of years ago… The Dragonkin was changing, dropping their scales for the easier and lighter human form, I crafted a body like this to represent myself amongst my kin.”
“I never knew Dragons had a humanoid form in the first place.”
“We do, Dragons are a natural when it comes to all magics. It's merely due to the environment that influences the type we use the most. Though this body I use is a borrowed one, the bones came from a dead Goddess Mors Letum.”
She opens both of her palms, creating a fireball on the right and an iceball on the left.
“Hence why there’s all sorts of Dragons. Those who use Aquatic magic, and those like me with a mixture of Dark and Fire magic. But we are never restricted to one, and having age for thousands of years, learning a new type is just a means of quelling one's boredom. Maybe not for a human, for their mortals and limited by time but for us, we may take our time with leisure.”
“The humans are pretty resilient aren’t they?”
“Hm?”
“I mean, you see them always waging war and hating on one another, causing pain and misery, but somehow, in the worst of times they show how powerful their love is. I never believed my parents when they told me humans could move mountains with their souls. But after meeting many, I can say, they can.”
“Hmph. Yes, indeed. My Master is one of those. I’ve been adventuring with him for years now. Though he had cried, wailed in pain and met with impossible odds, he overcame them all. He keeps saying that it's nothing much, but for a human that summoned me, showing his worthiness by killing the same amount of Dragons as I had. I can say, I chose him for his soul. The sheer determination to keep moving forward, no matter what… and I guess he doesn’t look as bad as he thinks he is.”
“But… the Goddess Mors Letum… we of the Demon Race worship her you know? How did you take over her body?”
“She has been long dead, within the casm of the Kingdom of Vitas, where she was struck, I found her bones in pristine condition. My original human form has been destroyed by the humans, so I used her structure to rebuild this form of mine.”
“By the Gods… so can you bring great unmaking? Destruction?”
“I can sense that power and undoing in these bones… it synergizes with mine. As a Dragon of the Void, I am also within the veins of unmaking. Hence how I was able to easily use her bones for my human form.”
“I hope there doesn’t come a time where you have to unleash that…”
“We shall see, I eagerly await the hordes of Hell. Finally, I might meet an enemy that is worthy of my powers.”
She looks up into the bright skies of Schon. Smiling widely as she recalls memories and adventures with Paul.
“I remember this one time we were raiding an old cursed Castle, every turn, he’d scream like a woman and even ran away to the exit multiple times and catching his breath just to try again while trembling as he tried to swing his sword at ghosts. Hahahahaha…”
Zergel couldn’t help but blush at her cute laugh, it was not only a laugh of a woman who’d been through so much, but also one who has been having fun.
“And seeing him like this, in great pain sends shivers down my spine… Holy Curses like the one inflicted upon him is not something one can remove easily. It's meant to be used against Gods. Preventing them to heal themselves with Mana and forced to use the rarest of Herbs… something we don’t have at hand.”
“I see, hence why you're rushing to the Vampire Kingdom?”
“Yes, and I’m sure those two are going crazy knowing their human is missing…”
“The Vampires right?”
“Hm. Countess Alana and one whom I shall only name as Carmilla.”
“Wow, they must be very powerful. Countesses are not to be messed around like the other Vampires who hold titles like that. In the stories, they could wipe out entire Regiments without a sweat.”
“Indeed… one is extremely dangerous… though I don’t know how Master Paul did it, but he tamed that woman… for now…”
“And they’re very active in showing their love to him?”
“Hm. Though I do not know if they love him in the context of romantic love… or just out of respect. My Master fought both of them and won after sheer attrition.”
“Knowing Vampires, they’re very, how do I say this… proud of themselves. Their kind only sends out those blood red Legions to towns that have gotten a large human population. Kidnapping everyone and sending them to a region where they’re harvested for blood… I hope these are just rumors but the recent actions of the Kingdom against us have been proving it to be quite true.”
“Is that so? Are the Vampires that hated?”
“Yes, they're hated and feared at the same time. Though their country is landlocked, that doesn’t stop them from going to the other continents and causing havoc from within. Many of the towns here were once prosperous and peaceful… rising from the destruction brought about by our Kings.” Recalling an age old story, he slouches and relaxes his seating position.
“But a few hundred years ago Queen Elizabeth attacked, my ancestors, who were originally from here, haven't even recovered yet from the previous Demon King. Though thank the Gods she died and got defeated like the Demon Lords and Kings before her, the damage was worse this time. All history books account for her as a cunning and scheming woman, using not only her inhuman beauty to snare Kings and Queens, but also her powers to take out entire armies and poison rivers while drinking the blood of endless innocents in the luxury of her massive castle.”
Bahamut then looks back at Elizabeth, though she knows her cunning and immense intelligence. She never did feel any form of such Evil in her.
“Do not be fooled alright? I’ve seen their troops and Nobles rip apart people just for being dirty or having horse heads… pig heads too like me.”
“But those two were… not really as bad as you say. They’re more like teenage human women who have some angst. The older one seems to be unable to move on from her past and is trying hard to move on. I sense that she’ll be replacing her old mate with my Master… which I feel somewhat annoyed by.”
A few hundred miles away, Queen Elizabeth is riding a UN UH-1H Huey, with its passenger doors open, she uses her vampiric powers to scan the forest for any signs of Paul or Bahamut.
“Head South!”
“Ma’am! We have a METAR report of heavy winds and snow, going there might be cutting it close!”
“I said South! Even just for a minute!”
“Roger that…”
Having no options. The Pilot follows the Queen's order. Pushing to stick forward and sending the aircraft to fly South. The Huey’s crew manning the door gunners look at the weather as it slowly changes from bright Sunny to a scenic snowy rain.
“Joachim, we’re really going to be cutting it close.”
“I know Johan. But the pretty lady here says we should.”
“Okay! But if snow starts falling and it immediately changes to heavy, we’ll return!”
“Roger!”
A few miles away, Alana is with her Legionnaires, aborned in their classic Crimson Red Knight armor, the UN Humvees and UAZs with them rush pass by, scouting ahead of their horses and Rangers. A M35A1 2 and a half ton truck stops next to her war horse with the UN soldier holding a Radio Mic screaming.
“Heavy snow! I repeat! Heavy snowfall and winds! We’re being requested to retreat as our trucks might get stuck!”
“Then go! I’ll continue!”
“No ma’am! It’s not recommended!”
Humvees pass them by, returning to the makeshift FoB.
“How far away are we from the crash site?”
“Still a good four hundred miles away, the search party there said there was nothing but flattened trees and burnt soil and we've so far only found one of the three crews of the Hercules!”
“Curses! Okay, Men! Retreat back to the camp!”
Her lead Officer bows his head and gestures for the Legion to retreat.
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
“What about Carmilla?”
“She ordered the Pilots to head further down South!”
“Hand me the device!”
Confused, the soldier had to take out the radio and carry it with both hands, it jiggled violently as he exited the open top M35 and lifted it up for her hands to take the Mic.
“Carmilla! Do you read me?”
“Yes Alana, I do.”
“Go home now. We’ve done enough. We can’t abuse the machines and the humans need to rest.”
“Grrrrrr... Okay.”
In their mobile camp, the UN soldiers huddle around the campfire as Snowflakes drop from the darkened skies.
“Hon hon hon! Here are some well and exquisite… CHEF BOYARDEE!”
The soldiers scream and jump in happiness, knowing their Lunch for the day is Ravioli.
“Per favore, per favore. Mantieni la calma. Lo Chef è arrivato!”
They clap and immediately start heating the Can as the temperature drops below the single digits. On the other side, the Russians are placing blow torches on the main axles of their trucks. Behind the man is a Vampire Knight in his formal uniform. The Blue and Red Officers trousers had a bandolier full of medals and he proudly stood with his pomade styled blonde hair. In his hands are two tanks for the blowtorches.
“Good good, now drop the tanks there comrade.
“Yes, now would you stop disturbing my peace?”
“Чертовски привилегированный ребенок... Nyet, you came from this land and I need to know what will happen so that I can prepare the vehicles! You stay!”
“Then disturb the grunts. They're lower Vampires but they’ve also lived here for a long time.”
“No, they seem very busy. Can’t disturb busy men.”
“And who do you think I am?”
Confused, the Russian soldier slides out underneath the Deuce and a Half.
“Don’t know, but all you’ve been doing when in base is loiter around. You know? Back in Petersburg, if you go around like that, Vadim would’ve already stolen your medals and your horse. Hahaha! Heck, your horse would’ve been sold already to the local butcher!”
He goes back underneath and starts taping a blowtorch on two stacks of wood where it's perfectly situated to heat up the Differentials. Meanwhile, the Rangers they’ve sent out arrive back at the camp. Landing and immediately folding their bat-like wings as Alana gives them a debrief of the situation as the UN soldiers stack their M16A4s and AKMs on each other. Forming small Pyramids made out of guns on the small patch of forest as they enjoyed a meal under the snow.
One of the Colonels in charge goes out of his tent holding out a small Christmas tree, complete with the ornamental garlands and tinsels. He goes to the middle and stands on top of a crate of guns.
“MEN! PARADE!”
They all immediately put their plates and food down. The Legion Knights and the Guardsman Grunts of the Kingdom were unaware of what’s happening and all just stood in confusion as snowflakes landed on the Colonel’s blue UN beret.
“I NOW ANNOUNCE THAT IT'S NOVEMBER! LET THE FESTIVITIES BEGIN! HIGH COMMAND HAS ISSUED AN ORDER TO DECORATE YOUR VEHICLES AND TENTS ALL YOU WANT! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO US ALL! AND AS THEY SAY IN MY COUNTRY! MALIGAYANG PASKO FROM THE THIRD INFANTRY BATTALION!”
They all cheer in return. The company Chef removes his hat and puts it in front of his heart as Christmas is announced.
“Épousez Noël!”
And the Mechanics who were busy preparing the vehicles for the heavy snow gets up and goes into the back of a Ural 375 and brings out an old army crate labeled “Русский стандарт”. They open it and inside are stacks of Russian Standard Vodkas. They quickly pop them open and put their arms on each other's shoulders and start singing Russian Christmas Carols. One of them walks up to Elizabeth who was still wearing her Masquerade Mask, handing her a bottle of Vodka with a big smile.
“Счастливого Рождества!”
After that, the man returns to his squad and they all laugh and tease him as he blush. The Colonel in charge just smiles at the sight. Though his men were wearing different uniforms, the unifying symbol of the blue helmet with the UN logo and symbol put them all under one banner. The Pilots on the other hand start putting Garlands on the passenger doors and Christmas lights on the empennage. The Snow was getting heavy and everyone started packing their things and putting it on the trucks to prevent it from getting buried but everyone’s spirit is still high and people are humming and singing Carols.
Confused, Alana goes to the Colonel. The brown skinned and small man proudly stood on the snow. His combat boots are already buried as he helps around in moving equipment.
“Colonel Jose, may I ask what the celebrations are about?”
“Oh! I guess you people don’t celebrate Christmas. It's a special day in December where the Son of God is born. We celebrate it months before, getting the spirits up and preparing gifts.”
“And what does it entail?”
“As you can see…” the Colonel opens his arms, showing the decor around the mobile camp and starts walking around to show the delightful aura it's creating. “We put up Tinsels, Garlands, Christmas Balls, Lighting and of course the obligatory Merry Christmas on the hoods and sides of our armored vehicles.”
“Fascinating.” She touched the decorations and could see the care the players put in them.
“It's officially November or Novenix as you call it, and the good ole’ preparation for the big day on the Twenty Fifth of December when we exchange gifts and happiness with one another.”
Her eyes lights up at the concept and smiles at the thought of everyone in the usually reserved Vampire Kingdom in celebrating such a day with humans. “Could this be implemented with us Vampires? May we celebrate it with you?”
“Is that even a question?” The Colonel takes a Garland that he’s been holding and puts it over her shoulders. “Merry Christmas Lady Alana. May we find your man and get him home before the Eve.” the man walks away, telling the soldiers to start picking up their guns and rest in their tents.
Hundreds of miles away, Paul looking outside the carriage sees that snow is slowly falling. He unlocks the latches, letting the tailgate fall and reaches out his hand to feel the flakes. “I really… want to go back home…” he looks to the front and sees Bahamut in her human form, still baffled that she had one to begin with. She then feels a gaze from behind and looks back and two eyes meet. She blushes a bit while the wounded man starts feeling his body, and breathes a sigh of relief. “Merry Christmas. Heh.”
“Merry Christmas? Is it already that time?”
“What’s that?”
Zergel also looks back, curious about what he just said.
“It's a greeting for a big celebration. You were there weren't you Bahamut? Back when Eldwood celebrated its second Christmas?”
“Hm. But I never did get its concept, but I do like the beef you offer me.”
“It's a celebration for the Son of God being born in our world. We celebrate it on the Twenty Fifth of December but since it's such a big day, months before, the celebrations have already started and decorations are put up. On my end, it usually begins when snow starts falling, and here it is… this place is very beautiful. Sad that it's dangerous.”
“Oh, those colorful and sparkly things you put on your house Master? I oddly remember helping put the star on top of a tree.”
“Yep, wait. Let me get something.” He stands up, still visibly in pain and starts rummaging through some boxes and some spare clothes and uniforms, he finds it. A Santa Hat that he’s been using in Dark World VR in celebration of Christmas. He throws it to Zergel, smiling at the pig man's small stature.
“Take it. Merry Christmas. Man, I wonder what my house looks like. Thinking about it now, I never did visit it after getting caught up in all this mess. Urgh, I hope my armory is still intact.”
He slips back to his position near the tailgate and continues enjoying the view as the carriage leaves a trail on the snowy road. Taking in the sight, he thinks back to himself “What a journey this has been. Never in my life did I think of going through such challenges with hotties. And soon, we’ll be rolling through these forests with tanks. To buy time and save those we can before heading home. I really hope that the portal they spoke off will work.” he clenches his fist, angry as he tries to think of things to do. Immense bloodlust and rage filled his mind, remembering the attack on him and Bahamut.
The carriage then suddenly stops, he looks to the front and could see that Bahamut had held the reins, pulling it and stopping his horse from continuing.
“Wait, Zergel. That’s a trap.”
The pigman looks up and smells blood.
“Are these?”
A wolf’s cry then echoes from the forest and a large pack starts charging at their carriage. Seeing this, Bahamut then tugs the reins, sending the horse to run. It dashes through the snowy ground. Throwing snow everywhere as the carriage rattles from the badly maintained path. Seeing that the Wolves were faster, the beautiful dragon lady materializes her sword.
“Let’s see if I still got it.” A Wolf prepares to lunge at her after catching up. With great speed, the woman in a dark gown wounds it badly. But another came and Zergel had to throw his knife at it, sending it away wailing and in retreat. Bahamut then looks back and could see Paul with his revolver, trying to snipe those following them from behind. She then opened her palm and started shooting sharp arrow shaped bolts of fire, her first few shots were yellow and slowly turned to blue as it got hotter.
The Wolves were unrelenting, attacking them even as the snowfall got worse and started bogging down the carriage’s speed. They arrived at the ruins of an Aqueduct, the Wolves hopped on top of the concrete pillars and dilapidated concrete railings to get ahead of them. There were so many that she had to start punching and kicking them, using the opportunity to acclimate herself to a human body again. Slowly, she feels in control of her combat senses and even started doing a bit of martial arts. Remembering her years of training alone in a human form to best another Dragon God that has challenged her long ago. Soon, the attacks die down and the weather gets worse as a mist arrives, making it impossible to see even two feet in front of them. Bahamut had to pull the reins a bit harder as she dodged some fallen pillars and buried blocks of concrete in the path that blocked some parts of the roads.
“What’re these for?”
“Old ruins from before the first Demon King, believe it or not Dragon girl, but we were all once humans. Normal humans.”
“What a crazy world you live in!”
Going as far as they could, the group stops on an opening and goes into the carriage. Closing the flaps while Paul’s undead horse buries itself on the snow. Covering itself and preparing for the worse. Inside, Bahamut uses fire magic and heat begins to fill the enclosed tarp. It was hot enough to control the temperature inside while they could hear the wails of the strong winds and the heavy snowflakes hitting the tarp. Zergel was busy looking for ways to tie it down even more.
“Don’t worry Zergel. This carriage is the best carriage a man could buy. That tarp there survived Dragons, Wyverns, Giants, Demons, Drakes, and even Bahamut herself! Wahahah!” Paul didn’t look any better. He was visibly getting more and more tired. Having to continually drink Health Potions that was slowly getting limited. Though he knows he’ll respawn, he’s afraid where he’d appear or what’d happen to Bahamut.
“Zergel… does the Continent of Schon have any Churches?”
“Churches? Like the pretty white and gold ones the Holy See builds in every town? Or the small house like ones the Diocese of the Twelve Gods make?”
“Yes…”
“None. Sadly. Schon doesn’t have a good history with Religion that praises the oldest Hero or the Gods that went after the ones that made this continent. After the defeat of the Demon King, it was up to the people of the land to defend it from the invaders… My Ancestors actually left Schon before it all sparked. We lived in a small town in Geraldia, where we had a quiet life till slavers came. From that, Schon has a very strict belief that its Gods are the ones that created things many consider taboo and unjust.”
“Ah I see, well… I’m sure you’ve heard of the rumors that people from the other world come back to life after dying right?”
“Never believed it and seeing how you are right now, I guess those were just that. Rumors since if it's news, it would take months or years to reach us here.”
“Nah, believe me, we can. It’s just that Missy won't react nicely if she sees me kicking the bucket and I don’t know where I’ll be.”
“Kicking the bucket?”
“It’s… nevermind.”
Bored already, Bahamut starts looking around the carriage for things she could play with.
“What’re you doing?”
“Master, where did you keep that red ruby again?”
“Hey, hey, hey. Don’t touch those.” She was about to reach into his crate full of powder for bullet making. Stopping the woman, he does some quick thinking and starts showing her some of his items. First with a spare Sword, getting no reaction, he moves to empty bottles of Potions, no dice. Thinking more, he did remember that during her Boss Fight, she slept on top of a giant pile of Gold and Jewelry. Rummaging further through his boxes, he finds an Uncommon Ruby used for upgrading armor. Its shine completely takes the woman's attention. Making her get close to him, wanting to touch it.
Her long black hair waved like a calm stream of water, flowing nicely through the air as she grabbed it from his hand. Staring at it with gleaming eyes and an opened mouth. Completely in love with it.
“Play with that, just not with the ruby. I am saving that for repairs.”
“Hm Hm Hm.” she removes her long black silk gloves, revealing her long slender fingers. Caressing the rare item with great arousal. “Ohhhh, human hands are surely something else… hm… hm…”
Looking at her contended face as she rubs it on her cheeks underneath the veil of her crown, he calls it a day and smiles. Slowly resting his back again on the wall of the carriage and after making sure he doesn’t start bleeding again. Looking down, he notices that when Bahamut bandaged him, she tied the end with a little bowtie. Zergel on the other hand is staring at his scabbard and how ornate it is with red lines. Its intimidating and scary aura makes him wanna touch it and try to swing it.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you, my little friend. That sword instantly drains Mana when you touch it. Needing it to power itself. You can instead try the spare swords I have, like the Divine ones. Easy to use and doesn’t need anything fancy but a good karma.”
“Though that sword, what did you do to have one? I don’t even think anyone in the Vampire or Demon Kingdom has such a weapon.”
“Oh, you better sit down and prepare for a long story.”
“Seeing those eyes of yours, I wouldn’t question that you were also a soldier once.”
“Heh… a soldier… you know Zergel… about my world?”
“No, tell me.”
“I came from a region of the planet called SEA or Southeast Asia, it was the twenty-thirties and it was just right after a violent shift in Geopolitics. Population crash in the West created a vacuum of power and economics, and so… countries that made up almost three billion people. All humans.”
“THREE BILLION HUMANS?!”
“Yeah, we were pretty far in the future and it was no joke when all of Asia united and created the United Asian Alliance Treaty, forty nations united under one banner. Except for a few like Japan and South Korea who kept their hands with the West… yea.”
“And how did you know all of this information? Were you high up in the hierarchy?”
“Me? No. I’m just a businessman.”
“But the look in your eyes.”
“It might be because I am here, fighting for my life. But no, we have this magnificent thing called the Internet and it's a bit of a curse. Well, it's actually a curse. A pretty bad one, like the news. As much as we tout ourselves as living in the peak of human civilization, on the edge of majestic innovation, barbaric things like Might Makes Right is still true and holds meaning.”
“That’s the thing with you humans, look at us Piglings. Small, not handsome or appealing, never will be. But we’re happy, and I am happy even after going through so many things. You all gotta understand that sometimes, maybe living slow is enough.”
“Just how old are you?”
“Haven’t really counted.”
“You don’t celebrate birthdays?”
“Birthdays?”
“You know, that time of day when you were born?”
“My parents didn’t even know the year. We only kept track of the Month and Day.”
“What? But don’t you celebrate the date of your birth at all?”
“I think the Holy See has something like that, but it's mostly up to the family and the humans in the village I was in would do something like that but only in five years and when their child would join the academy.”
“Academy?”
“Oh, you aren’t from here right? Humans, Elves and Dragonkins have these great Universities and Colleges.”
“Ah, higher education.”
“Higher education?”
“I mean, don’t you have elementary?”
“No, just College and Universities.”
”Then how can you get into these schools?”
“Be great or be rich. Or both preferably.”
“Well shit… I barely passed my College entrance exam, what more with this?”
“And that story about your sword?”
The pig man looks around, hearing that the Snow isn’t slowing down and instead grabs some bread he found at the carriage and a flask of water, he sits down and all ears.
“It all started a few years ago, when I finished the rank of Master and attained the title of Grandmaster…”