King Llyod Aftburn Astera was furious.

Not only had the false Heroes escaped, but he couldn’t even execute the Demon Lord and her spy, because they had already killed themselves, leaving no bodies behind.

“And you are sure of this? Not a trace?” he growled at the Arch Mage, the man just shaking his head.

“No, your grace,” he said, “The entire Warded room they were in was greatly damaged by whatever occurred during the slaying of the living Curse that had repossessed the girl.”

“But you saw none of this?” the king snarled, “You fled for your life instead of ensuring that that thing was dead?”

“If I had not, I would not be able to tell you anything, your grace,” the Arch Mage replied flatly, “I can only surmise that the resulting release of energy from the living Curse’s destruction was enough to eradicate everything inside the Warded room.”

“Surmise? So, you are not even sure?!” the king shouted, “Should I have you executed for treason, then? Either find proof of their deaths, or you will find yourself on the chopping block, Cornelius!”

“You are angry, your grace,” Cornelius said softly, “And understandably so, but I have the best Mages in the Academy investigating the destroyed room as we speak. If anyone can find evidence of the death of the former Demon Lord and her spy, they shall.”

“They had better, for your sake,” the king huffed, “And what of the false Heroes? Have you found them yet?”

“No,” Cornelius shook his head, “They seem to have escaped through one of the royal passages, and so had their presences erased by the enchantments placed upon it.”

“Dammit all! Dammit all to the hells and back!” the king roared, “Without them all dead, we cannot summon more Heroes! They must be found and killed immediately!”

“Of course, your grace,” Cornelius said as he bowed, more to hide the scowl on his face than as a sign of respect, “We shall continue to search for them.”

“Then get on it!” the man snorted from his throne, “You are dismissed. And do not even think of returning to my side until such a time as you can confirm all of their deaths!”

“Of course, your grace,” the Arch Mage nodded, turning away, and walking out of the room silently, making his way back to the Mage’s Academy.

------

“Actually, I’ve been meaning to ask.”

“Yes?” Grisha said as she watched Brian put up the tent in seconds.

“Why do you answer my questions so…thoroughly?”

“Because I am compelled to answer all of your questions truthfully by the Soul Contract,” the girl replied.

“Oh, right,” Brian muttered as he opened the door to the tent, “That. I kind of forgot about that. I’ll need to be careful in the future then, I don’t want to ask you anything that would upset you.”

“You may ask me anything and I shall answer, Master,” Grisha replied, blushing slightly as Brian gave her a tired look.

“I already told you not to call me that,” he sighed, shaking his head, “Anyway, we’ve eaten, so it’s time to sleep. There are four cots inside the tent which are pretty comfortable, so you can pick whichever one you like.”

“Which one will you be choosing, Master?” Grisha asked, looking at Brian expectantly.

“Depends on the one you choose,” Brian just shrugged back, “Why?”

“Because I would like to sleep beside you,” the girl replied immediately, her cheeks turning dark as she hid her face in her hands.

“Ah, okay,” Brian sighed, “No, that is not happening. I’ll sleep on one side, and you can sleep on the other, then.”

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“But…” Grisha said as she looked up at Brian, her face still flushed.

“No,” the man repeated, “Not happening, you’re like twelve, there’s no way anything like that could work out between us.”

“I’m actually fourteen,” the girl responded, scowling slightly at the man, “And I do not know what you are talking about.”

“That doesn’t help your case, Grisha,” he muttered as he entered the tent, the Demon following close behind him as he pointed to the cots, “And I’m sure you don’t. Anyway, you take the one on the far right, I’ll be in the one on the far left. And don’t try to sneak closer during the night.”

“I would never!” the girl huffed, “It is already improper enough for a young lady of my standing to be sharing a roof with a commoner, even if he did save my life!”

“And there’s the Tsun-tsun,” Brian muttered, “Should have expected that.”

“What are you talking about? What is this Tsun-tsun you speak of?” Grisha demanded.

“It’s a thing from my world, comes from a word, Tsundere, I think. Or the word comes from the combination of two other words, I don’t remember exactly,” Brian replied as he started to pull off his robe, making the girl blush heavily, “Tsundere means something like a person who acts mean, but is actually very affectionate. That’s how you’re acting right now.”

“I don’t act mean!” Grisha gasped, “I have been nothing but respectful to you until this point, Master!”

“Stop calling me that,” Brian sighed, “And if that’s so, then answer this question; do you have a crush on me?”

“Yes,” the girl replied immediately, her eyes going wide as she burst into a deep blush, “That’s unfair! And mean! You can’t force a girl to admit something like that!”

“Well, I just did,” Brian yawned, shaking his head as he lay down on his cot, “And I’m telling you right now, nothing is ever going to come of it, so it’s best you get over your crush as soon as possible.”

“Ass!” the girl shouted as she stomped over to her own cot, grabbing the blanket that was at the foot of the bed and throwing it over herself.

Brian just sighed, listening to the sound of her breathing for a while, before it became measured and even, meaning she was probably asleep.

“Sorry,” he whispered, “But I have no intentions of becoming an anime harem protagonist.”

------

The shadows coalesced on the edge of the clearing, the figure looking at the dying fire and the large tent. It had taken them longer than they would have liked to track the man down, but they had finally found him. That meant only one thing.

It was time to kill.

------

“Son of a bitch!”

The loud siren woke Brian up instantly, Grisha sitting up in her own cot as she looked around in confusion.

“What is that?” she yawned, “It’s loud.”

“The tent’s emergency siren, something is trying to get in,” Brian said hurriedly as he grabbed his robes, throwing them on over his head as he pulled his staff from his bracer, checking how much charge it had.

It was only about a quarter full, but that should be more than enough for him to handle any monster that was trying to get into the tent. Stepping towards the door flap, he took a calming breath, ignoring the wailing siren, and threw the flap open. He blinked at what he saw, a massive dark claw trying to pierce the barrier around the tent, and succeeding, almost half of it already inside the orb.

“Come out, little mortal!” the deep grating voice said as he saw the pair of golden eyes reflecting in the moonlight, a shiver running up his spine, “Come and feed me your heart!”

“PARALYZE!” he shouted in panic, the claw pausing as he let out a breath, before he realised that whatever it was on the other end of the appendage was still very much alive, despite him having used the Ability at full strength, “Oh fuck.”

“What is that?!” Grisha screamed as she followed him out of the tent, staring up at the shadowy form looming above them, “A…a Dragon? Why is a Dragon here?!”

“I have half an idea,” Brian muttered as he stepped out of the bubble of protection, the golden eyes following him even as he held his Ability in place, “You stay inside the tent, I’ll take care of this!”

“No!” Grisha shouted, “If you die, then I’ll be vulnerable again!”

“I said stay in the tent!” Brian commanded as the girl tried to follow him out of the barrier, making her freeze, before she sniffed and nodded, backing up slightly as Brian looked back at the elephant sized Dragon in front of him, “Right, so I’m guessing you’re the one that killed all those people and broke into the Loftford Mage’s Guild, right?”

The Dragon just stared at him hatefully as he scowled back at it.

“So that probably means that the Umbral Draconic Spell Book was yours, right?” he continued, the look of hatred morphing into one of surprise, then mirth, “Right. But why did you want it back so badly?”

“Because,” Grisha suddenly said, “That is how Dragons get their Abilities. They do not have trees or Skill Points, but rather must learn their Abilities from their Ancestors through special rituals. They can also steal another person’s Abilities by eating their heart.”

“Ah, I see,” Brian sighed, looking back at the Dragon as he felt his mana start to deplete, refilling it quickly from his staff, “So, why do you want me dead? Is it because I read the Spell Book?”

The look in the Dragon’s eye shifted from mirth to anger and annoyance, glaring at him as he spoke.

“Probably, then,” Brian sighed, “Can we not talk this out, somehow?”

“You would wish to parlay with a Dragon?” Grisha gasped, “But…they are known for being cruel and ruthless murderers! They see no reason other than death and destruction for their own benefit!”

The Dragon’s gaze shifted onto the girl, making her squeak as she shot back into the tent, peaking out from behind the door flap in fear as the monster glared at her.

“Then why not prove her wrong?” Brian asked, the Dragon looking back at him, “Talk to me, and maybe we can figure something out? It would prove your more than just a destructive beast.”