Chapter 275
Felling a Dragon (II)
A grand mountain valley spread out in front of the party, the scale well beyond comprehension. A good chunk of it was fogged and misted, adding a level of mystique to the place. At the far end, stretching into the clouds above, was a twilight-leafed tree, its canopy top like a valley’s decadent roof.
Gentle winds blew throughout and silence permeated the world. Though colorful, the view was woefully desaturated, largely due to the overcast clouds and the whipping winds that seemed to loop them in circles. Nary a ray of the star pierced through, most of the illumination reflective.
Everybody stayed still for nearly a whole minute before being startled by a silhouette emerging in front of them, draped out from the shadows. The figure was gigantic, well over eight feet tall, but was also extremely slim and slender, lean beyond what looked to be healthy.
Eyes behind the masked face looked down on the group, scrutinizing everyone until they landed on Cain upon which they widened, the head tilting to the side slightly, inquisitive. An almost indescribable hum cried out momentarily, like someone blowing air through their nose in slow-motion. A second later, the figure waved a limb forward whereupon thick, layered, ink-like lines appeared mid-air, three triangles arranged strangely.
Cain immediately understood it-- without realizing how. Rather than letters or words or even images, the triangles were... concepts. Entire streams of thoughts condensed within a singular form. And the three triangles in front of him told him of the figure’s situation as well as the trial’s general points.
When he read it, his eyes widened and he had to consciously stop himself from shaking.
“What’s wrong?” Emma immediately noticed something was off and asked him.
“... what?” Cain quizzed back. “You guys can’t understand it?”
“Understand what?”
“Uh, the triangles?”
“What triangles?” Cain’s gaze shifted over onto the figure who waved its limb once again, shooting more ink-like substance into the air, forming another three triangles, though these ones were oriented and sized differently. Just like before, Cain immediately understood it... yet didn’t. It was too vague, too broad, too much for his mind to compute. In reality, he grasped the essence of what was being spoken but missed mostly all of the nuance.
“Let’s follow ‘im,” Cain said, sighing. “We can inspect the situation first before deciding to take the trial or not.”
The rest of the group followed without saying a word, realizing that this trial was a bit different than the ones before it. Cain, similarly, dug himself deeper into his thoughts; the initial ‘concept’ didn’t say much past the ‘your party is fairly weak and small in numbers’, but one thing that the figure did mention struck Cain like thunder: the trial orbited fighting a Dragon.
The only reason Cain didn’t already turn back and run is because he suspected he misinterpreted the figure’s intention. It was likely that they’d either be fighting Drakes or Wyverns. Even then, however, it was fairly early for those kinds of battles, especially if they were adult Drakes and Wyverns. As for the Dragons... that was impossible. The earliest the Dragon was ever spotted was actually 58th Floor, and the earliest the Dragon was defeated... was never.
What made them so spectacular, however, was that they were somewhat similar to the countless myths while eclipsing them greatly. Their size varied, but of the dozen or so that were eventually ‘discovered’, the smallest was roughly sixty feet long, while the largest was a grand mile, its wingspan itself large enough to shade the sun.
So, the very notion that they might need to fight a Dragon on the mere Ninth Floor was preposterous, to say the least. As such, Cain wasn’t terribly worried but mostly curious.
The group made it past the misted hilltop and toward the downward slope through tall and bushy trees, emerging through into a horrifying sight; where once a magnificent city lay were now ruins, embers and ashes spread about in the midst of the still-raging inferno. Corpses lay strewn about like decorations, most charred beyond recognition. Some were tall, even taller than the figure who led them here, and some were tiny, so small they were like human children.
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Singed scent permeated the world, and even the hefty winds were unable to remove the stench of death that was everywhere. Ruins were evident from a glance, but the deeper inspection was even more painful. The rate of the decay was visible, as it began from the distant tree-- the first buildings to fall were likely there and it led to a domino effect... until the entire city was nothing but hollow rubble.
“Jesus...” Jamal mumbled, sucking in a cold breath. Others were hardly better, with Ethan recoiling and keeling over, vomiting his innards.
“What’s the trial?” Senna asked through gritted teeth. Cain glanced at her for a moment before focusing back onto the figure. His heart thumped loudly like a drum, like a warning, almost, that he should turn around. He was suddenly pulled out of his reality, the world around him warped and distorted until he was within the world of white, facing the tall figure.
The figure disrobed, revealing a slender, almost impossibly flexible body that was entirely transparent, organs glistening beneath the faintly shimmering skin. Beyond that initial shock, however, Cain only felt pain; wounds were everywhere, singed marks, cuts, bruises, puncture wounds, stab wounds... if there was a way to inflict pain, he’d felt it.
“My peoples called themselves Unnai,” the figure suddenly spoke in a perfect English, surprising him. The voice was fairly feminine and melodic, almost choral. “And we were many.”
“...”
“That... was the last of us,” the figure said, the ‘face’ opening up as a pair of shimmering-blue eyes, spinning like galaxies, appeared. “And I am the last of them. The last of the Unnai. The last of my peoples, Conqueror.”
“... I wasn’t wrong, was I?” Cain mumbled, closing his eyes. “It was a Dragon, no?”
“Yes.”
“...”
“I understand,” the figure said. “I understand if you wish to leave. All others have. Time and again. But I... I cannot quench my anger and die in peace, Conqueror. I cannot join my peoples without at least trying to avenge them. But I have naught. I have little to offer to the Champions and Guardians and Heroes... so I hoped, I hoped that here, in the little cosmic corner, I may find someone.”
“...”
“You have a scent of a Dragon on you,” the figure continued. “And the scent of a Thief.”
“... I... I can’t kill a Dragon,” Cain replied, his gaze pained. “Thief or no Thief. How many figures far bigger than me died in pursuit to cull their numbers? Hundreds?”
“Millions,” the figure’s words shook Cain. “I understand it’s a selfish-- no, incomprehensibly selfish request. But... I have nothing else. Please... at least try. If it looks like you are unable... I shall rescue you and your peoples. I may be wounded and on my last breath, but Unnai are strong, Conqueror. We are a Holy. I can use the last of my Soul to rescue you. After all, if the Thief is unable... then nobody would be.”
“...” Cain grappled with the decision. A part of him sympathized and deeply desired to help; the other part of him coldly realized that... there was no point. Unnai, whoever they may be, will die out regardless. The only thing that could happen is that they accompany the figure. Promises are, after all, light and callous.
“Do it.” Aw, goddammit... a familiar voice startled the figure in front of him while Cain merely sighed in annoyance. “C’mon, dude. You promised me a show!”
“W-who is you?! Answer me!”
“A show? Oh, so you consider me getting my ass scorched a ‘show’?”
“Yes, a very funny one at that, ha ha ha,” the voice continued. “But, y’know, every hero’s gotta have a tale of fighting the Dragon. Besides, it’s an infant. This will likely be your only chance to hoard the glory. Even I can’t defeat an adult Dragon.”
“You never mentioned just how strict terms and conditions of your assistance would be,” Cain sighed, rubbing his temples in frustration, having already made a decision. “A man must ask-- is it even worth it?”
“I’ve eight Cores on you, my man,” the voice said before slowly vanishing. “If you die, I’ll revive you just so I can kill you myself. Now, go and slay that Dragon.”
“...” Cain sighed, looking into the ether beyond. Ever since catching the glimpse of the last Ring, one that he couldn’t even begin to describe, he was able to see... things. Places. Ideas. Likely why he was able to understand the Unnai’s language unlike the others.
“W-who was that?” the figure asked fearfully.
“A... friend? I guess,” Cain sighed yet again, something he did frequently whenever near that voice. “Describe him to me.”
“You... you will try?”
“Yeah,” Cain nodded. “Come hell or high waters, it’s true-- every man’s got dreams of killing a Dragon. May as well shoot for the stars. So, tell me about ‘im.”
“As... as that strange voice said,” the figure replied. “It is an infant, less than ten thousand years old, we estimated. Its primary element is organic Fire though he is well-versed in Earth as well, especially defensively. That was why we were unable to cope with him-- we were simply unable to penetrate its defenses.”
“...”
“It is around thirty meters long,” the figure continued. “And two-tailed, indicating cross-breeding. Since it is not a purebreed, its flames are somewhat weak, relatively speaking. However, even your strongest tank, as it stands, would immediately be melted if touched by them.”
“Yeah, figured,” Cain nodded.
“Another dangerous point is... that it’s not alone.”
“Hm?”
“It has managed to enslave my world’s entire Wyvern population, some forty in total.” Fuckin’ hell... “I--I’m sorry...”
“Don’t worry,” Cain said. “I said I’ll try, so I’ll try. Looks like I can’t escape my role of a lifetime: a bait.”
Cain grumbled inwardly, having already concocted likely the best plan for the fight-- while he distracts the Dragons, others will have to go on a murdering spree and clean up all the Wyverns before routing back to help him. I just made a plan in which I’ll fight a fucking Dragon mano’e’mano... god, if I wasn’t a narcissist before today, I immediately made a leap all the way to the god-complex...