Chapter 3: How to Protect the World
Daphne determined the robbers were no threat for the time being and let them go so they could nurse their wounds. Bringing them in would be too difficult. She did confiscate their weapons, at least.
As she continued her journey east, Daphne slipped the sack off her belt and checked the contents. Uncorking a couple of small containers, she smelled alcohol wafting into the air. “Ah.” The old merchant had given her his personal alcohol stash or something like that. She didn’t have much interest in it, but she could at least sell or trade it later.
Her journey continued for a while without anything notable happening, but that all changed when she was about two-thirds of the way to the Twin Cities.
“Where are you off to?” a voice struck Daphne from right behind her. She spun, spotting a sinister-looking dwarf. She recognized the dwarf from the Twin Cities, named Thaw or something like that.
“Woah! Uh, the Twin Cities?”
“Where are you coming from?”
“What’s with the interrogation?” Daphne protested.
“Relax. I aint accusing you of anything. I just keep an eye on which adventurer parties are where so we know if we have enough to go around.”
“Oh, all right. I’m returning from my home, EarthGlen.”
The dwarf’s eyes went wide. “EarthGlen?”
“Is that strange?”
“You sure move around quick, don’t ya?” Apparently the dwarf did find it strange.
Thinking back, Daphne’s movements would be suspicious to someone who was paying attention. Grummanonth had lifted her suddenly from the Lower Gordu Dungeon and brought her to EarthGlen at a pace normally thought impossible for an adventurer. If Thaw really was keeping tabs on her party, then she had every right to be suspicious. Still, Daphne didn’t feel like she had any obligation to explain her movements so long as she wasn’t working against the Guild, which of course she was not.
“I guess? Anyway, my friends are waiting for me. If you don’t mind…”
“Oh, not at all. I’m returning to Ereacht myself. Safe travels.”
The pair walked in opposite directions, resuming their journeys. Daphne looked over her shoulder and saw the dwarf wave her hand once without looking back.
“Grr, I bet that dwarf thinks she’s so cool…” Daphne took a deep breath and decided to cast the dwarf out of her mind.
A few minutes later, she had another encounter.
“It’s Daphne!”
The elf spotted five girls walking toward her, each sporting a different set of animal ears.
“Oh, it’s you all…” Daphne was familiar with them.
Katherine, the party leader, white mage, and cat-kin took a step closer than the rest. “We’re actually here to deliver you a message, although we don’t understand it ourselves…”
“A message? From who?” Daphne thought maybe her party members were trying to contact her, but they probably would have just set out themselves. On second thought, maybe they were worried they would miss Daphne if they departed the Twin Cities so they hired people to look around in their stead? Well, either way, she’d learn soon.
“The dungeon master of the Upper Gordu Dungeon,” Kat answered.
“The Upper Gordu?” Daphne wasn’t sure who that was. “You don’t mean the Lower Gordu?”
“No. My party’s met both of them. The dungeon master of the Upper Gordu is a dragon.”
“Oh!” Things suddenly clicked for Daphne. “Now I know who you mean. Wait, why would he have a message for me?” They hadn’t parted all that long ago so it was a bit strange.
“We dunno. He told us to deliver a message to you since we were nearby.”
Strange as this all was, Daphne had no reason to waste these girls’ time so she urged Katherine to deliver the message.
Kat looked all around before speaking, verifying they were alone. “He said that, due to uh, unexpected circumstances, your physical contact with him gave you an ability.”
“An ability?” Daphne thought back to the last few days but couldn’t think of any evidence that she had a new ability. Actually, hadn’t she noticed something strange in her battle with the two robbers? When she was attacked, it seemed like a separate will within her was urging her to take action, likely out of self-preservation. “Hm…”
“That’s not all,” Kat continued. “He told us the ability lets you summon a new dragon.”
“What!?” Daphne wasn’t shocked to hear she might be able to summon whatever the source of that second will was, but she obviously wasn’t expecting to hear that she could summon a dragon, of all things.
“Also, you should avoid summoning it unless absolutely necessary, like as a matter of life and death.”
“O–Of course I’m not going to summon a dragon!”
Kat nodded. “Grummanonth said this is only temporary? You won’t have this problem for long, I think.”
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Daphne breathed a sigh of relief. “If it goes away, then that’s good. If your message is accurate, this ability is only going to cause me trouble…”
Bandit spoke up while peering into the southern skies. “I think you’re right.”
The other five girls spun to see a familiar form approaching through the air.
“That’s… not Grummanonth,” Daphne whispered.
“It’s Dracokovochich,” Lupy said.
“You mean Dracokonovich,” Shiba corrected.
“The Incinerator,” Vulp added.
“Why are you all so calm!?” Daphne wondered aloud.
“These things happen…” Kat explained, bracing for what came next.
Daphne hoped the dragon would bypass them, considering them inconsequential insects. Unfortunately, the lumbering dragon slammed into the ground not far from them, causing a momentary earthquake that made it difficult to stand.
“You.” Dracokonovich pointed with his right hand using surprisingly dexterous finger motions for such a large creature. “Step forward.”
Daphne looked left and right but there was no doubt. The dragon was singling her out. She wasn’t sure if she’d survive this encounter, but there was no reason to drag the other girls into this. As far as she could tell, they were just innocent messengers. They were even younger than her; they deserved a chance to at least survive the day.
“Okay…” Daphne strode forward ten paces, stopping about halfway between the girls and Dracokonovich. Of course, she made no attempt to draw her bow.
“Arrogant elf, I will crush you myself.” The dragon did not wait for a response before taking a step forward, but he paused before taking the second. “Oh, what do the spirits tell you?”
Daphne didn’t immediately reply.
“Girl, I asked you a question.” Dracokonovich lowered his head closer to the ground, awaiting a response.
“You won’t like it,” Daphne spat out.
“Try me.”
Daphne closed her eyes and tilted her face up toward the afternoon sky, noticing the gentle breeze for the first time. “Very well.” She made eye contact with Dracokonvich again. “They say I’m not arrogant; however, they’re not the ones you should be concerning yourself with.”
“What!?”
Daphne extended her hands in front of her and braced. “Here goes nothing!”
A cloud of smoke erupted between Daphne and Dracokonovich, obscuring everyone’s vision and causing him to leap back a dozen meters. “You…”
Daphne fell down to a sitting position, suddenly winded. “Did it… work?”
The breeze soon cleared away the smoke, revealing a second dragon. Its complexion was pale, but it was about the same size as Dracokonovich.
Dracokonovich narrowed his eyes, but since he blinked horizontally rather than vertically, it was a creepy display. “Nameless brother.”
“Dracokonvich the Incinerator,” the new dragon replied.
“Now that you’re here, time is against us. I believe we have some days between when that elf dies and when we must affix you to a dungeon console.”
“Indeed,” was the nameless dragon’s only response.
“Step aside. I won’t expect you to crush the one that summoned you.”
The dragon turned to look at Daphne. It too narrowed the slits of its eyes, as though zooming in on her face or some other features. Then, the dragon which should have been her defender turned and walked several paces off to the side.
Dracokonovich spoke while closing the distance to Daphne. “No mortal may command a dragon. Know your place, girl.”
Daphne climbed to her feet again but didn’t bother trying to run away.
“Perhaps you’re not arrogant, girl.” Dracokonovich stopped close enough that he could reach out and grab Daphne at any time. “Perhaps you’re a victim of circumstance. Whatever the case, I will end you here.” He drew in air for a powerful breath, obviously to release a firestorm. During that short moment when he stopped inhaling and prepared to exhale, he took a huge blow from the side.
The nameless dragon had tackled him with all his strength, causing the two of them to tumble along the ground. Further, Dracokonovich vomited up some fiery mixture of blood and a napalm-like substance, charring a bit of the countryside.
Both dragons returned to their feet.
“You!” Dracokonovich bellowed through a cough. “Why do you defend the pipsqueak!?”
“Why indeed.”
“You stand no chance against me,” Dracokonovich explained. “That surprise attack will hardly make the difference. Why are you acting so foolish?”
“I need not defeat you to win the day.”
“Win the day? By rescuing this elf?”
The nameless dragon snorted. “I doubt you can understand. You’ve forgotten part of what it means to be a dragon.”
Dracokonovich fumed. “Very well. She will watch me crush you. Then I’ll eliminate her. How does that sound?”
“Things won’t go as you expect.” The nameless dragon flapped his wings and lifted into the air.
Dracokonovich pursued. The two entered an insane aerial battle. The older dragon had Daphne’s protector at a clear disadvantage, though.
The nameless dragon drew in for a breath, flipping his body around in midair to aim at Dracokonovich.
“No!” Dracokonovich struggled to maneuver, attempting to evade the incoming breath attack, which glowed a pale gold. He avoided the brunt of it, but still took an impact to his scales just as he exited the cone of the attack’s influence. “What?”
The two dragons hovered, facing each other for a moment of ceased hostilities. Dracokonovich eventually broke the silence.
“What was that?”
“Not all dragonfire takes. Some gives.”
“You mean… your breath heals?”
“Perhaps.”
Dracokonovich tilted his head in thought. “Why would you heal me during battle? That just assures my victory. I won’t stop attacking just because of this.”
“Why indeed.”
Dracokonovich was clearly getting tired of that response. “Well, it doesn’t matter. You did a surprisingly good job of sealing my breath attack for today, but there’s no path to victory for you. Let’s finish this.” Dracokonovich’s head snapped to face north. “This is… That’s it! You’re just buying time!”
“In your old age, you’ve become difficult to defeat, and easy to manipulate.”
“Damn you!” Dracokonovich lunged at his opponent, who switched to evasive maneuvers. The battle continued, but after a few more rounds of narrow escapes and glancing blows, Dracokonovich managed to impact the nameless dragon square, forcing him to the ground. “I just don’t see why you’d go to such lengths for a pitiful creature.” Dracokonovic stepped on the nameless dragon, pinning him down.
“You’ve… forgotten why we exist.”
“Hm?” Dracokonovich paused the execution to think on those words. “We watch over the world. That is why we are born with capabilities unlike any other creature.”
The dragon below him spat, releasing some type of golden phlegm which turned the grass below it a brighter green. “The world doesn’t need us to watch over it.”
“Are you truly so young and foolish?”
“Nay, Dracokonovich the Incinerator.” He twisted and extended an arm, finger pointed toward Daphne, who had been watching the entire battle, eyes wide. “We ensure that they can prosper.”
“Ones like that elf?” Dracokonovich shook his head. “As I thought, foolish. Their prosperity does not depend on the survival of just one. You would need to see the bigger picture.”
“I see you killing an innocent child because it’s convenient. Indeed, you deserve to call yourself a protector of nothing.”
“You talk big, nameless dragon. But I too say things will not go as you expect. You are newly born and don’t understand the nature of the terror that approaches. Nobody is saved today.”
“You shall see.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Dracokonovich brought down his claw, smashing it into the nameless dragon’s head. Having already been weakened during an extremely disadvantageous battle, the dragon’s HP was depleted and he collapsed, dead.
Daphne fell to her knees, overcome by emotion.
Kat’s party had been watching the whole time, too. Kat, Vulp, and Bandit all stood slack-jawed. Shiba held a hand to her chin. Lupy was sitting on the grass and tossing nuts and dried berries into her mouth.
Dracokonovich took two steps back and turned to face north again, just in time to spot a new dragon circling to land.
“What have we here?” the feminine voice echoed.