Just a few hours have passed since Monika and I left Ringol, and we are now on our way to Pezowa. The fortune teller, who convinced us to undertake this journey back in Aldère, said that we would find my murderer there, but... On second thought, shouldn't we have already bumped into him? If he was using the same route as us, unless we had already passed him without realizing it.
If I had been able to recognize his face back then, we might have made some progress, but unfortunately it was unrecognizable through his cloak and the darkness of the night. The strange tattoo he had on his back is still a mystery to me today. Is it a simple tattoo whose motif he had chosen himself or is it a particular symbol that identifies a particular group? These questions stay unsolved for a long time.
We still have a long way to go to Pezowa, the southern kingdom, and if we continue at this pace, we will reach the kingdom after another six to seven months. The only thing I wonder is, where exactly in Pezowa is our target, since the kingdom is not quite small, the culprit we are looking for could be anywhere...
Currently, we were heading to the next village or town, whichever comes first, crossing a dirt path surrounded by forests on both sides, left and right.
While I was tied up inside myself, booming questions without answers, the girl walked silently beside me with her shortswords at her hip.
The soft muffled rustling, from our footsteps on the gentle dirt path, were the only sounds to be heard currently. A mixture of soft grainy noises accompanied by the sound of grains of sand rubbing against each other and shifting under the weight of the foot is overwhelmed by another unexpected sound.
The sound, with a soft rustling and cracking, and moving leaves and branches, came from the bushes to our left. Suddenly the sound became louder and more frantic, like someone was trying to break through thicker branches and twigs.
The rustling and cracking increased to an intense, almost thudding sound, which was followed by a loud, shrill scream from a woman that cut through the air.
“HELP!!!”
The scream was high-pitched and full of panic, a sudden and urgent vocalization that amplified the eerie grunts and snorts of the giant boar that first appeared through the bushes and chased the woman. The scream echoed through the surrounding area, reinforcing the urgency and danger of the situation and making the heartbeat faster.
“We gotta help her!” I suddenly shouted to Monika, shortly after returning from my deep mental state.
“I got it, stay back.” she said with a sigh and pulled her shortswords out of their brown leather sheaths.
She held the shortswords, the edges pointing downwards, her arms outstretched crosswise and went into a simple attack pose, which consisted of putting her left leg forward and twisting her body like she was going to charge forcefully.
A thick cloud of dust suddenly appeared, as I saw the girl with the dark red vest disappear in a flash, right before my eyes. Unfortunately, I couldn't see what was happening through the cloud of dust, but I suddenly heard a high-pitched squeak that must have come from the giant boar.
When the dust cloud cleared, the sand of the path was stained blood red, and the lifeless body of a medium-sized monster lay headless in front of me. The mere sight of the corpse made my body bathe in a cold sweat, the fresh blood flowing from it reminding me of my own body lying on the soft bed with its once white sheets.
More bloody stains shaped like streaks appeared on the floor as the fighter swung her shortswords around before sliding them back into their leather sheaths.
I had known Monika for a whole month now, and I never cease to be amazed by her fighting Skills. The way she swings her swords seems like a dance to me.
The frightened woman, who fled in fear, stopped when she realized that the giant boar was no longer chasing her and fell to her knees.
I walked towards her and tried to help her get up.
“Is everything alri-...”
Suddenly I held my breath and couldn't make a sound from my mouth. I froze and became a statue, like I had been turned to stone by Medusa.
This woman...
“Y-Yes. Thank you so much, you saved me from that beast.” she thanked me and looked at me tenderly.
“I killed that thing.” Monika muttered grumpily to herself.
Me instead, blushing like a tomato, I hadn't been able to pull myself together for a while now. She's what I've been waiting for since I came into this world.
She has red hair and a yellow-orange eye color that resembled a fire. She wore a dark red robe with a black collar with an orange veil hanging around it, she also wore matching black colored shoes.
However, these are not the things I had been looking at... She has pointed molars, her pupils are narrow and oval-shaped, and she has a long, red-scaled reptilian tail that had just moved. She is...a Demi-Girl!
Today is my lucky day, I thought. But then the young woman sitting on the floor in front of me approached me and touched my chest, whispering in my ear:
“You are truly... my hero.”
I felt her breath on my left ear, which spiked right up, and my face turned bright red again. The current situation was too much for my brain and, like it was a computer, it couldn't process all the data. I suddenly blacked out, like an emergency stop button had been pressed in my brain and fell to the ground unconscious.
After a quarter of an hour, I saw a light that made my pupils smaller. The sunlight shining on my surroundings was dimmed by some small clouds, improving my visibility.
W-What happened, I asked myself.
“Are you awake, my hero?”
Unexpectedly, a female voice spoke to me, although different from the girl with chestnut hair. This voice, was unfamiliar to me, as well as this soft comfortable feeling my head was resting on, right now.
It couldn't have been a pillow, but it's similar. My eyes were sending images of the current situation and my brain was analyzing and studying them. The end result of the analysis is, that the female voice belongs to the young woman who is looking at me right now, above my head, with her hands on my cheeks. Besides, my body is on the sandy ground, but my head, which is lying on something soft, is absorbing the body heat from this woman's thighs.
This caused my face to blush again.
“Are you alright?” the reptilian woman asked me, leaning forward.
While bending her upper body, a strand of hair fell in front of her eyes, which she put behind her ear with her left hand, and I noticed how her bust, the size of a honeydew melon, moved right to my eyes, like she was trying to seduce me in some way.
That's what I thought, anyway, I'm pretty sure I heard a boing, but maybe it was just my imagination, or maybe my fantasies are going crazy again.
Normally I would have to look away, only my eyes weren't listening to me and were looking at this view, until...
“Get a grip!”
...Monika angrily kicked me between my legs with her right foot and I suffered from the pain. Monika put her foot back down, put both hands on her waist and asked angrily and suspiciously:
“Now speak, who are you?”
The woman did not hesitate, but answered immediately:
“I am the second-born princess of the Salamanders, Anna Streligen, my name.”
“Second-born Salamander princess?” Monika didn't quite know if she could trust these words, her right eyebrow raised and she looked dubious.
A princess? A real princess? I'd never met a princess before, I'd only seen one on TV or on the internet.
Compared to my old world, princesses, or royal families in general, are more common. In my home country there is an imperial family, but in other countries there are usually only presidents who rule over their country.
I stood back on my feet, unable to comprehend that this beautiful creature was actually of royal origin. The scales of her tail shimmered in the faint light as she proudly introduced herself.
“What's a princess doing in the forest without a lifeguard?”
Monika's question could not be ignored. It is unthinkable for a member of the royal family to walk around freely outside their property without a lifeguard. Possibilities such as getting lost in the woods or being unexpectedly separated from their lifeguard are of course also possible. Monster attacks are very common in forests, including the attack by the giant wild boar. This might be related. They were attacked by a horde of monsters, the princess was supposed to flee but was chased, and then we arrived.
The mentioned options sounded plausible to me, or so I thought.
“You were kicked out of the palace???” Monika and I shouted in surprise.
“But you're the princess. Can they just kick you out?” I asked Anna.
“My sister, the queen of our folk, has the power to banish anyone she wants from her territory.” the princess told us sorrowfully, and suddenly grabbed my hands and begged me, her eyes sparkling with watery tears.
“I'm begging you, my hero. Please allow me to join your brave group and accompany you on your journey.”
After her request, I stared at her, completely surprised. For a moment I couldn't say anything, but then I cleared my throat and tried to regain my cool.
“Eh, su-...”
“Sorry, we're afraid that you'll just be a drag and get in the way during our mission,” the shortsword wielder with chestnut hair interrupted me with her monotone, almost indifferent statement.
“HUH??? What do you mean, a drag?! Look, I'm a level 4 mage, so you better watch your mouth, human!”
The Salamander Princess's character changed, like someone pressing a switch button to change between multiple personalities.
Anna became stubborn, her once reserved formal voice, turned into an informal Yankee voice, like she was part of a motorcycle gang from my former world.
The air of the Atmosphere became stuffier, an evil aura dispelled the oxygen of my surroundings, and imaginary dark veils came out of Monika, her eyes glowing cruelly red, like a monster, and pulsing bloody veins, made Monika lose her temper.
Cursing, she looked at Anna, who was also looking at Monika like she wanted to burn her with her eyes.
I wasn't fully aware of the situation, nor did I know how to stop them from killing each other in their minds.
Nevertheless, I took a risk.
“Hey, hey, calm down a bit.”
...
As expected, this didn't help, doubts of being noticed in the first place are not small either.
Staring holes in the air and pretending to be interested in this argument, the girl, who is about 1.70m tall and wearing a beige-colored shirt, and the young woman, who is possibly 2-3 years older and taller than me, continued their meaningless argument.
“Then show me your magic of that oh so great level 4!” demanded Monika, the Salamander woman.
Her wrinkled, angry face changed to a sad, sulky expression, another click on the character switch button. Anna brought her hands closer to her torso, fingers touching fingertips to fingertips.
“This... Unfortunately, this is not possible. Without my staff, I can only use beginner class techniques. My staff is still in the palace, ruled by my elder sister.”
A few salty tears dripped down her cheeks, like a child missing its toy.
At this sight, Monika sighed and slumped her shoulders, her voice returning to normal and asking me unexpectedly:
“What do we do now, Kaito? I suggest we leave her here.” with her left thumb she pointed to the crying Anna.
Anna heard the talk of leaving her behind, she briskly grabbed Monika's leg and clung on as she began to cry pathetically like a baby.
“Ngh. Get off my leg! Kaito do something before I turn her into salamander meatballs!”
I wasn't paying attention to Monika's threat, but rather to the fact how we were moving on now. Of course, leaving Anna here is not and never will be an option, since it would be disrespectful to a woman. However, our destination is not the palace of the Salamanders to get her staff, but the kingdom of Pezowa, where the person I'm looking for is most likely to be found. Taking a detour now is not acceptable.
Words echoed inside my head. They were the words I had heard from an old lady.
Can it be? I asked myself.
In this case, we'll leave 'brave' aside, but a new companion for our current group of two wouldn't hurt at all. If I heard correctly from this brief argument, Anna mentioned that she was a so-called level 4 mage. Personally, I have no idea about magic and its categories, not to mention its levels, but if we get her staff back, I'll easily find it out. It would also be useful for us if we need support in future battles.
I hope the palace isn't too far away.
“Say, Anna, where is this Salamander palace?” I asked the Salamander woman.
“Don't tell me-” Monika was about to stop me, but I interrupted her before she could say anything rude.
“When she gets her staff back, we'll at least have a mage in our group. Anna will surely heal us with her magic if we're badly wounded, won't she?” I looked directly at Anna, who was still clinging to Monika's leg and nodded her head several times.
Shortly afterwards, she detached herself from Monika and jumped towards me, blubbering.
“Thank you very much,” she thanked me, her nose running with snot.
“So, where is the palace?” I asked again.
Anna's emotions came back into balance, then she raised her left hand and pointed with her index finger to a mountain, about twenty kilometers from our current position.
“It's over there, we just need to get to the mountains.”
The mountains, huh.
According to our route, we will cross it anyway, but I can't see a palace or houses from here, I can't imagine there's anything in a dense forest.
“We better go and quickly finish this thing.”
“Thank you very much, my hero.” Anna let go of my body and clung to my arm instead, where I could literally feel her body heat, a soft warm padding to my arm as well, of her bust.
She smiled at me.
The bluish sky began to disappear behind the emerging yellow-reddish light, the three of us finishing the sandy and stony path. There we are, like lost wanderers in a storybook, in front of the mountains, which were bigger than I thought, possibly half the size of Mount Fuji. The wind carried a cold breeze over to us, which brushed the surface of my skin and made the atmosphere seem mystical. My eyes wandered upwards automatically, along the vertical cliffs that disappeared in a seemingly endless ascent.
Here we are, I thought while taking a step forward.
“We're here, but what now? I don't see a palace anywhere,” I said
“There's just a monstrous gate here.” Monika mentioned.
Facing us, a colossal graphite-colored iron gate built into the rock wall like a monument to the past. It looked like it was guarding ancient secrets, stories of times long ago, just waiting to be revealed.
Or so I thought.
“The palace is inside,” said Anna.
“Inside???” I was amazed.
“How do we get in there?” Monika wondered.
“Maybe we just have to knock.” I approached the shimmering iron gate and knocked.
A dull thud echoed through the air like my hand hitting the cold, metal gate. The sound was deep and resonant, like I had woken a hidden giant from its long sleep. The knocking vibrated through the metal and spread across the surface of the gate in waves, an echo that was lost in the silent surroundings and then returned to me.
The sound was heavy and powerful, a haunting resonance that burned itself into the memory. It was reminiscent of distant thunder echoing deep in the mountains, or the dull thuds of a mighty hammer striking an anvil. Each blow seemed to stop time briefly, the mountain itself holding its breath and waiting for an answer.
The metal trembled beneath my knuckles, and a gentle, metallic echo resonated in the air after each blow. It was a sound that possessed a certain grandeur, telling stories of times that had passed, of the many hands that had perhaps knocked on this gate before me.
In the cold, clear air of the mountain, the sound mingled with the whisper of the wind whistling through the crevices. The gate did not answer, remaining silent and unmoving, a stoic guardian carefully keeping the secrets behind it.
“You don't really think this will...”
A soft crunching sound interrupted Monika, like old gears coming back to life. Like the mountain itself was letting out a deep, tired sigh. The sound was reminiscent of the soft groaning of an old wooden ship gliding over calm waves, or the drawn-out groan of a mighty giant slowly rising from its centuries-old slumber. Not that I know how a giant moans or if they even exist in this world.
“Are you kidding me?!"
“As expected from my hero!”
Hehe, I felt flattered by her praise and scratched the back of my head. However, this feeling didn't last long. Loud rapid footsteps suddenly sounded, about eight armed figures with fiery red scales and reptile-like heads appeared from the dark inside. They surrounded us in a circle and took up an attack position, pointing their long spears at us. Suddenly, one of the reptiles opened its mouth and spoke: “Second-born Princess Anna Streligen, you and your attendants shall be thrown into the cell, by the order of our Queen!”
“Huh?!”
Not again.
...
Monika, Anna and I were tied up with a sturdy brown rope around our arms by the reptiles, who turned out to be something like the Salamander Palace guards and were forced to follow them. The first steps behind the entrance gate were unimpressive, like a cave there were gray stony walls and watery ceilings. I imagined something different from a palace, I thought. But I was too hasty, after ten minutes a bright light caught my eye. Walking along the path, I felt like I landed in another world again.
A mountain with a hollow core, in this core a civilization completely spread out over the entire area. Strings of lights in the form of lanterns, whose energy source consisted of pure flames, hung on silver chains attached to long wooden beams and made everything light up. Nostalgically, I remembered the nights of my hometown, just like here, the town in front of us shone like broad daylight, its inhabitants full of energy, walking along the streets.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Many houses-built side by side and on top of each other with typical red roof tiles and blankets hanging over their windows, I saw behind all this, the population of demi-humans of the salamander species. Most of them looked more like salamanders, like the guards who were currently taking us away, although I also saw people who looked more like humans, like Anna.
Monika and I were standing there stunned by the scene we were seeing together for the first time.
“Hey, don't stop!” said the deep voice of the salamander.
We continued to follow them and said nothing, as Anna hung her head from the entrance gate and stared at the ground.
The cell we were forced into was similar to the one in Ringol where I spent an afternoon, although here was no window with bars or a bed, instead there was a pile of straw, which was supposed to be the bed.
They removed the rope that tied us together, a salamander locked the cell bars with a key and left us alone.
“This is all your fault, Kaito! All because you wanted to get the staff of that slut!” Monika's loud angry voice interrupted the brief silence we were given.
“Don't talk to him like that! How could my hero have known that we would get arrested!” Anna energetically tried to defend me, which I was glad about, but she hugged me so tightly that I could hardly breathe.
“Stop calling him like that! I killed that thing earlier!”
“That's irrelevant now! Stop making my hero look bad!”
Does this argument never end?
Being arrested twice within 48 hours is bad enough! So arguing is not going to get us anywhere. I should think of a way to get out of here, even if I can't concentrate one hundred percent, because of the loud noises.
I think... I'll do what I did in the cell in Ringol and use my Skill called
But before I put my plan into action, I did something about the yelling next to me.
“Shut up!!! Instead of arguing, let's break out of this cell, get Anna's staff and get the hell out of here!”
My shouting made Anna's and Monika's bodies flinch, and they stopped making a sound. I detached myself from Anna, who was still holding me by my arm, and stood up smoothly. Since I was planning to use a Skill, I walked a bit away from the girls and approached the bars I wanted to destroy.
As in Ringol, I assumed my starting pose, which consisted of putting my left leg forward, leaning my body slightly forward while stretching my arm back and spreading my fingers out like I was trying to scratch something with my nails, or in my case, claws. My fingers began to glow yellow green, which was an indication that my Skill was activating, but I hadn't trained this Skill well enough, so it takes time to become fully operational.
I closed my eyes to concentrate, I wanted to see if I could influence the strength of the Skill just by using my imagination, since we want to break out of a prison, we have to be quiet, therefore I need less destructive power.
I felt the power coursing through my right arm to my fingers, weaker this time compared to then. I thought that my attempt to manipulate Skills through my imagination had worked and now I wanted to test it in reality.
But the moment I swung out with my arm, I opened my eyes again and was ready to attack, but suddenly a Salamander Guardian was standing in front of me, on the other side of the metal bars. Startled, I stopped for a moment, but then quickly let my right hand disappear behind my back and held it with my left hand to prevent the Skill from suddenly releasing automatically. While I was actively trying to hold back my Skill, the salamander, who had a high-pitched voice, asked me:
“What are you doing?”
“Erm, nothing.” I replied, looking to the side and whistling like nothing suspicious happened.
Judging by the look on the salamander's face, he certainly didn't trust me. Well, who can trust a prisoner anyway, I thought.
Unexpectedly, the scaly guard took out a key and inserted it into the keyhole of the cell bars, the lock of which made a metallic cracking sound when he opened it. Atfirst,t I thought he was letting us go, but I was wrong. Two other Salamanders, who were standing behind him, entered the cell and tied us up again, using the ropes around our upper bodies.
“Her Highness is asking for you, you will follow with us now!” said the salamander guard with a high voice.
Anna's older sister wants to see us, huh. Let's see what will happen to us, on one hand I like to be surprised, but on the other hand I'm very curious...
What does the queen look like? I wonder if she looks like Anna, since she's her sister. Maybe she's even prettier, and maybe she has such a big chest.
I don't really know why, but somehow I couldn't pull myself together and had to think of something dirty. Is it the typical male genes inside me? But even so, when I'm saying or thinking these words, my heart doesn't start racing or overheating my head as it did when I first met Monika.
When I met Anna, the first time I saw her I also had this feeling of affection and confusion in my mind, but it didn't last long before I became disinterested again.
You might think it's like a curse to only have special feelings for one particular girl.
We walked through a path that seemed connected to the basement of the palace, several steps had to be climbed to reach the first floor. The entrance hall is characterized by a mystical atmosphere. The walls are made of smooth, shimmering basalt, which gives the feeling of entering a different world. Crystals hang on the walls, reflecting the light from the large golden chandelier. The furniture is made of weathered wood and decorated with precious stones. A large mosaic telling the story of the Salamanders covers the floor and attracts my attention.
The main staircase, which we are climbing to reach the upper levels, rises majestically, like a part of a natural rocky outcrop. The smooth stone shimmers in different colors.
On the upper levels, we walked past rooms such as a library and a gallery until we finally reached our destination, the throne room. Two armed salamanders were standing in front of an iron gate that was similar to the mountain's entrance gate. Together they opened the gate for us and we entered.
The throne room, a place of power and beauty. The ceiling is vaulted and adorned with sparkling gemstones. The walls are adorned with bas-reliefs depicting the former kings of the Salamanders in their full splendor. The throne that stands on the other side of the room is made of polished obsidian with engraved patterns representing the symbols of the Salamanders. It stands on a platform of shimmering moonstone surrounded by bioluminescent plants.
On the throne, a figure with tied and braided red hair that resembles Anna's hair. Her legs crossed and supporting her head with her right arm, the tanned, red-scaled salamander queen was sitting in front of us. Her eyes are yellow, and her cheeks are partially covered in red scales, as well as a small crown on her head, whose tips created small flames, and a matching red and black robe that is slightly exposing.
“I present to you, Her Highness Emma Streligen, first-born daughter of the former ruler Anastasia Streligen, Queen of the Salamanders! Now bow!”
The guards pushed us to the ground so we could kneel, while I saw the corner of the queen's mouth forming into a smile.
“Well, well, if this isn't my sweet little sister. It's hard to believe that you dare to appear under my eyes again. I guess you haven't learned anything from your mistake, right? ... Who are these side figures? Pff, I don't have time for such trivialities. ... Oh, I'm bored. Come here, my sweeties.”
After Emma clapped her hands twice, the metal doors creaked open behind us and a group of five men entered the throne room. Up until now, I had marveled at the queen's beauty, but my eyes quickly drifted away from her when I learned about her so-called fetish. Tanned, muscular half-salamanders, trained like bodybuilders and wearing nothing but tight black underpants, circled Emma, who sat drooling on the throne, showcasing their muscles.
Disgusted, I heard Emma's heavy breathing and moaning like she was fully in her element. Monika and I looked to the side together and suddenly saw watery drops hitting the floor.
I didn't quite understand what I was feeling at the time, like when I saw Anna's blushing wet eyes. All I knew was, to refuse on watching this nonsense any longer. Even if I don't know the reason why she was kicked out, but I will not allow her to be treated like this by her sister or anyone else!
Should I attack Emma with my Skill
Between us the distance is, like, ten meters, I need a ranged attack Skill or whatever for that. Too bad I don't have any other Skills apart from Super Claw and the slow-motion Skill... Wait, that's not true. The night before we left Ringol, I had checked my Items and also looked for newly obtained Skills. Strangely enough, since my reincarnation, I no longer receive any system notifications for Items or Skills I have obtained.
At first I was surprised that I suddenly had two new Skills in my Skill list that night.
SKILLS
30 sec. slow-motion
Super Claw > Lv.1
Cleaning > Lv.1
Dark Ball > Lv.1
The new Skill I will use, will be
Dark Ball is a powerful long-range Skill similar to Fire Ball, but with a dark twist. It consists of an ominous mixture of dark matter and hellfire that forms a purple-black ball of fire. Once the user reaches the next Skill Level, the radius and explosion rate will increase.
I opened my right hand and imagined I was holding something round. Suddenly, small dark shadows began to swirl around my hand, forming a small ball, like a baseball, of pulsating Dark Matter. Flashes of purple energy hissed softly across my palm as I aimed the ball in the direction of the group dancing, in front of the Salamander Queen. Since my arms were bound, I couldn't make a proper throw, instead I imagined the ball, made of dark energy, flying and landing fast as the flash of lightning on the ground where my targets stood.
I threw the ball, which trailed a tail of dark smoke and purple sparks as it launched. Faster than I expected, the ball flew towards the targets with high speed, the ball then acting unstable and flickering menacingly as it unleashed its destructive power.
Upon impact with the ground, the attack unleashed in a powerful explosion of dark energy. A shockwave of shadows spread out, accompanied by purple lightning and flames. The explosion left a small black, charred crater at the point of impact, and the men were turned to ashes.
Silence filled the room at that moment, everyone's eyes were wide open, and their jaws were hanging down. Sure, everyone was speechless from this quickly happening scenario, while I was thinking to myself: this was stronger than I thought. I should probably stop using this Skill against people.
“M-my sweeties...” Emma sobbed.
“How dare you, you filthy dog!!! You'll regret this!!!” she added viciously.
I regret nothing. I wanted to say it out loud but didn't.
I was curious to see what she was going to do with us now. I doubt that she only called us here because of a little dance performance by her men, who have now turned to ashes. The fact that Monika and I were also dragged into this could have been avoided in many ways. All because I wanted to be nice and not leave Anna in the forest. Monika was right, I'm an idiot, I'll apologize to her later.
However, we are now here, tied up by salamanders, in a palace and deeply hated by their queen. It could have been worse.
“You have no idea what chaos will occur once my anger is unleashed!!! Bring me my darling!!!” she ordered, laughing hammily.
“Your Highness are you sure?” one of the guards asked anxiously.
“Silence! This is an order!” Emma shouted and laughed again.
Darling? What's she planning now? I'm beginning to think that it's not Anna who should be thrown out of the palace, but her. She's crazy!! But it doesn't matter what happens now, I'll handle it. Thanks to the flame from the Dark Ball Skill earlier, the rope I'm tied with has been burned in little places. If I try hard, I could free myself immediately, but I'll wait for the right moment.
“You should be careful, my hero. You have no idea what's coming.” Anna warned me anxiously.
“Don't worry. I'll be fine. When I'm done here, we'll get your staff, so please wait a little longer.”
When she heard these words, she felt a warm shiver of relief. Her tense shoulders slowly slumped as a soft smile appeared on her lips. The tension she had felt for hours eased and she felt the worry inside her gradually dissolve.
Her eyes became slightly moist with emotion, because she had really felt heard and accepted at that moment. She took a deep breath and nodded gratefully to him, feeling a sense of confidence spread through her chest.
“Thank you.” she whispered softly, her voice barely more than a breath. The confidence in my words and the softness of my tone made her realize that she was not alone and that she could trust me. She was willing to leave this last stage to me while she waited patiently, knowing that everything would be okay. But then... a huge fiery, red-scaled salamander with yellow orange burning eyes appeared in front of us. The 'huge' was not an exaggeration, in front of me stood a huge monster, about four meters high, staring at us like little insects.
“Now watch, you filthy dog, I'm going to make you fight my darling, and if you lose, you and your brown-haired friend will become my subordinates.”
You want me to fight this monstrous thing? No no never, if I lose, I'm dead!
“What if he wins?” Monika suddenly asked. I looked at her in surprise, because until recently she had remained silent.
“If the dog wins, which shouldn't be the case, I'll give you your freedom.”
“I have one more condition.” I took this chance and shouted.
“You little brat, you're giving me, the queen, a condition? All right, let's hear what you have to bark.”
“If I win, you'll not only let us free, but you'll also give us Anna's staff.”
“Anna's staff, you say. That's fine by me. I have no use for it anyway. But first you have to prove yourself in this fight.”
Her smile was a scary sight. The corners of her mouth were twisted in a way that seemed almost unnatural, like she was feeling a hidden joy at something only she understood. Her eyes glinted coldly and calculatingly, without a hint of genuine warmth. It was like her intense gaze could see right through me and see through my every intention. When she smiled, her sharp, perfectly white teeth flashed, and I couldn't help but think of the grin of a raptor. Her features remained tense, giving that smile something diabolical, enhanced by the fine lines around her eyes and mouth. It was a smile that sent a shiver down my spine.
At the same time, a deep roar came out of the giant salamander's throat, so deep that I could feel it more in my bones than in my ears. It sounded like the earth itself was shaking. I could feel the resonance of the vibrations through my feet, reminding me of the menacing thunder of an oncoming storm. But the roaring didn't stop there. A hoarse hiss followed, almost like the monster was letting steam out of its insides. It was an unnatural sound, reminiscent of the hissing of boiling water, only much louder and more dangerous. I imagined hot acid hitting cold metal, a loud hissing echo in an endless canyon.
Then a terrible crunching sound came, like rocks being crushed under immense pressure. The sound of crunching jaws rubbing against each other made me grit my teeth. It was like the monster was going to smash its teeth into me at any moment, a promise of pain and crushing.
In that moment, I realized that this creature was only a physical threat. Its sounds invaded my mind, making my instincts scream. I felt the wolf inside me awaken, ready to fight, ready to survive. As our eyes met, there was still a deep, throaty roar, almost like a grim laugh. It promised a challenge, a promise that this fight would be anything but easy. But despite the threat, I could feel the urge to rise to the challenge, the fierce determination of a wolf in my blood. I took a deep breath, let the sounds of the monster wash over me and prepared to throw all my courage and strength into the battle. This would be my first fight that would challenge me to the limit, but I was ready.
The salamander didn't waste a single moment and charged at me with its massive paw. The ground shook under its weight, but I felt the instinct in me fire up, the wolf in my blood awakens. I jumped to the side, just in time before his claws shattered on the ground, where I was standing a second ago. A cloud of dust rose up, but I was undeterred and tore myself free from the rope that had bound me. Now it was my turn.
“How ya like that!” I shouted with a snarling smile as I sharpened my claws and put all my strength into the next attack. My Skill
My claws tore through the air, but the beast only roared, its scales flashing in the dim light, and my claws bounced off, like I had struck solid metal.
“Damn it!” I growled between clenched teeth. The salamander let out a booming roar, like it was amused by my attempt. The pain of the failed attack burned inside me, but I couldn't give up.
Let's try this one! Black energy gathered in my hand, dark and menacing, and I threw it at the monster with all my strength. It flew towards the monster as fast as lightning and hit it, but even this powerful attack fizzled out ineffectively on its scales, which didn't even show a scratch.
“How is that possible?” I whispered, bewilderment spreading through me. Not even a scratch... The impossible became a bitter reality. My heart raced, while the laughter of this crazy psychopath rang in my ears.
That fucking bitch!
The salamander attacked again, bringing its claws down on me, but I was quicker, dodging again and again, my movements instinctive and fluid. But then, in a moment of carelessness, I felt the wind at my back as its huge tail rushed towards me. I turned, but it was too late. The hit was unavoidable. The monster's tail hit me with unbridled force and hurled me against the wall.
“Argh!” Pain shot through my body like fire, like I collided against the cold, hard surface. I felt the air being squeezed out of my lungs and then I began to sink downwards, consciousness threatening to fade.
“Kaito!!!” Monika's voice snapped me out of the dazing fog of pain.
“No!” Anna's despair cut into my heart.
“That's the end, I guess.” I heard Emma murmur. But was that true? Was that the end?
A chime, like a bell, pierced the paralyzing pain and made me open my eyes. A transparent blue square hovered in front of me, familiar and yet unreal. A display. My vision cleared, when I read the words on it.
Without hesitation, I activated my Skill <30 sec. slow motion>. The world around me slowed down, every drop of sweat, every movement of the salamander, everything moved slowly. I felt how time became as viscous as honey and landed safely on the ground while my body stabilized again. The Skill ended.
Monika stood there with tears in her eyes. “Kaito.” she whispered, her voice full of relief.
“My hero, you're so cool!” Anna's voice reached me, and for a moment I felt the touch of a smile on my lips.
But the salamander didn't give up. Slowly, like he had time itself in his grasp, he set off on another attack. But I was quicker. I activated the slow motion again, and in the slow flow of time, I wrapped the rope, that tied the three of us together, around its legs. The monster was now unable to move, but its mouth opened, hot flames seething inside, ready to burn me to ashes.
But I was ready. All my strength, all my will was focused on the Skill
A dazzling blue light filled the room, blinding me for a moment. I felt the energy of the Skill take hold of the monster and cast a spell over it. And then, with the light disappearing, the room was silent. No more roaring, no more rumbling, no more giant salamander.
Everyone stared in disbelief at the spot where the monster had just been standing. But there was nothing there anymore. It had disappeared.
ruff
A soft noise reached my ear. I looked down and saw a small creature, but it was as big as my legs, looking at me with big, faithful eyes. The salamander had disappeared and this wolf with white and silver fur had taken its place.
“I... I did it.” I whispered, feeling the exhaustion overtake me. But deep down, I knew that this was just the beginning. I hadn't reached my goal yet, so I turned to Emma and said weakly:
“Now you must... keep... your promise."
Emma was not pleased at all. No, she was more than that, her eyes glittering with suppressed anger, and her lips twisted into a fierce, almost animalistic growl. “Nrghraaaw!!!” she shouted eventually, her voice echoing through the immense throne room like a furious echo.
“Bring him that darn staff and throw them out of my palace! Now!”
I could feel the hatred in her words, a dark, deep resentment in every word. Emma had lost control, and her guards, the Salamanders, who had initially intimidated us with their imposing appearance, hurried to carry out her order. While Emma raged, I looked at Monika and Anna. Monika was smiling, her cheers were infectious.
“We did it." she said, her voice calmed and full of joy.
“Yay!” Anna jumped up and down, her eyes sparkling with happiness, when she finally had her beloved staff back in her hands. The Salamander woman seemed to have completely forgotten her older sister's anger as she lost herself in her own little world of triumph. But I couldn't get the Salamander Queen's anger out of my mind. She had growled at us like an animal in a trap, and although we had won, I felt a slight unease.
The salamander guards grabbed us and, without a word, they dragged us out of the palace. Their claws dug into my skin, but I didn't let on. We won, after all, and it was better to get out of this place, before Emma could think of anything worse.
When we were finally outside, in the fresh air and away from Emma's threatening presence, I stretched extensively.
“That was quicker than I thought,” I mumbled as I felt the tension gradually fall away. The cool breeze that greeted us outside was a pleasant relief after the stuffy atmosphere of the palace.
But that's fine, as the longer we spend in the palace, the longer it will take us to arrive in Pezowa. At least that's what I thought.
“Was it really a good idea to leave the wolf in the palace?” Anna asks.
“That might be the least of your sister's problems,” I replied.
Honestly, this psycho needs to see a psychiatrist.
The image of Emma, almost losing her mind in her rage, stayed in my memory. She had kicked us out of her palace, but her problems were not solved at all.
As we made our way to the next town, my eyes wandered over the surrounding area. The wide fields and dense forests in front of us suddenly seemed peaceful compared to the chaos we had left behind us. But Monika, always curious and impatient, couldn't resist throwing her question into the room.
“Oh right, Anna. What was the reason you got kicked out?” she asked, looking at the salamander princess.
I sighed softly, remembering a story I once read in a book and trying to put it into words.
“I think it was like this: when their mother died, they fought over the throne and fought each other. They said: whoever wins gets the throne and whoever loses will be thrown out off the palace.” I had read the story so many times that I practically knew it from memorization, and yet it seemed more absurd each time.
“Wow!” said Monika in amazement, her eyes widening in genuine astonishment. The idea of two sisters fighting for power seemed strange and exciting at the same time.
But Anna just shook her head and something flashed in her eyes that I couldn't immediately interpret. “No, that was completely different,” she said quietly, almost guiltily.
It had been a cold, gray day that Anna remembered all too well. It was only the day before yesterday. She was standing in a huge, sumptuously furnished hall, its walls adorned with old decorations. The room was filled with an ominous silence, interrupted only by a soft cracking sound.
Almost in slow motion, a teacup fell from her hands, hit the floor and shattered into a thousand pieces. Her eyes widened in shock and tears welled up in her eyes.
“What have you done?!” Her sister's voice echoed through the hall, an evil, cold echo. Emma stared at the broken teacup, her eyes glittering with anger.
“I'm sorry!” Anna cried, tears running down her cheeks in thick drops as she desperately tried to pick up the pieces.
“I broke my sister's favorite teacup.” Anna finally whispered, like she became aware of the present again.
“She got angry and threw me out.”
A silence fell over us, and I could literally feel, how Monika and I tried to process what we had heard. The meaning of the words was harder to understand than it seemed at first. What kind of sister was Emma that she went so berserk over a broken teacup? And what kind of people were they, where such trifles could make the difference between life and death, between power and weakness?
I shook my head and sighed again. After her sister's fetish, nothing should surprise me anymore, I thought to myself. But that... that was a completely different story. What else would await us, while we tried to solve the mysteries of this strange world?