-Land of Mountains, Four Fortress-
The Intoner Four was in her stronghold, a large gray and brown stone fortification built into the tallest mountain in the Land of Mountains. Inside a room, the Intoner received reports from her knights, reporting the results of the defense against the invaders and Zero's advance through the mountains.
"The skies are being cleared of gargoyles and the mysterious beings known as invaders have been successfully repelled. Any of them who attempt to return are eliminated efficiently and quickly, Miss Four." A knight kneeling on one knee reported.
"Perfect! You people did a good job! The casualties we had were a tragedy, but at acceptable levels. The bravery of our companions will not be forgotten." Four said with a gentle smile as she read some papers on her desk.
"We are not worthy of such words, Miss Four!" Another kneeling knight responded, with a hand over his heart and voice trembling with emotion.
"Your humility only proves how much you deserve these words. However, continuing the report. My sister, Zero? What is her situation?" Four asked in a tone worthy of a ruler, but if one looked closely, they would see a twitch at the corner of her mouth and eyes.
"Unfortunately, our men were not able to stop the advance of the traitorous Intoner, as if being accompanied by a dragon were not enough, the pink-eyed witch is accompanied by Miss Five's disciple and the knight who was present in the attack on the Cathedral City, who also has a dragon at his side. But on the other hand, Intoner Zero was seriously injured by the Cerberus, I believe this will give us enough time to regroup and prepare." The first knight spoke.
Four maintained a calm face, but people that are more attentive would see the series of emotions passing through her eyes.
"This is worrisome, but we cannot despair. I believe Zero is forcing Five's disciple to accompany her on her path of destruction, gather our forces, tend to the wounded, and prepare our defenses. We will end Zero's reign of terror here and now! But before you go, do you have any news about my sister Five?" Four asked with concern, but there seemed to be a tone of happiness behind it.
"No, Miss Four. The last time Miss Five was seen was by some of her men as she was taken away by the gargoyles, we can only confirm that she was taken in the general direction of the Land of Forests." The second knight responded.
Four made a thoughtful face as she clasped her hands on top of her desk, then with a sad look she said, "I understand, I am grateful for your efforts in discovering the whereabouts of my dear sister. I'm just worried, you know? Who knows what kind of horrendous things my sister is being subjected to?"
As if by divine intervention, a breeze came through Four's office window, blowing her hair, simultaneously, sun rays crossed the gray clouds of the Land of Mountains, illuminating Four's face and making her eyes shine, highlighting her face of sadness.
Such a sight caused the knights present to feel their hearts sink, making them sigh as they took a step forward.
"Miss Four, we swear we will find your sister's whereabouts, even if it kills us!" The first knight spoke.
"Yes! We also swear that we will put an end to Zero, even if it costs us our lives!" The second knight responded.
"Thank you very much! You cannot imagine how happy I am to have such dedicated men serving me." Four responded, clasping both hands over her heart and giving the knights her best smile.
Both knights were paralyzed and amazed at such a sight, but were brought out of their stupor by a cough from Four.
"As much as I enjoy talking to you, my loyal knights; I believe we all have work to do." Four said, with a fist over her mouth.
"Y-yes, Miss Four!" Both knights responded before retreating from Four's office, closing the large wooden door with a loud thud.
Four remained in her place for a few seconds, after seeing that no one else would enter her office, Four's face contorted into a grimace that contradicted the humor she had shown previously.
"AAAHHH!" Four shouted, covering her face with both hands.
After a few seconds of screaming, Four raised her right hand and closing it into a fist, struck the table in front of her, breaking it in two with a crack that echoed throughout her office.
CRASH!
"Seriously?!? How useless can you people be?!? Miss Four this! Miss Four that! If you used half the time you waste praising me doing something useful, we wouldn't be in so much trouble! Two stinking dragons, a traitorous disciple, a freakishly strong knight, and my Sister Zero. Not to mention, of course, the damn war that's going on right now! Sister One is counting on me, I can't let her down! Two is missing! Moreover, Five, that useless bitch, was captured and her land was taken, at least I won't have to listen to her annoying voice! GGGRRR! None of that would have happened if it weren't for Three, that weirdo! I don't know how you got those gargoyles and those invaders, but I'm sure this is your entire fault somehow and..."
"AAAHHH~~~"
Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on how you interpret it, Four's exclamations were interrupted by someone's moans.
Looking down with a furious glare, Four stared at her "seat", in other words, her disciple, Decadus, who was on his hands and knees serving as Four's seat.
"AAAHHH ~~~ If Miss Four wishes, I could serve as a target to relieve you of your frustrations." Decadus groaned, breathing heavily.
From his point of view, the disciple didn't see the furious look that Four was giving him, but Decadus didn't have to wait long, because in one fluid movement, Four stood up and kicked Decadus away, throwing the disciple against the wall.
This resulted in Decadus making an ecstatic face and letting out a loud moan.
Four raised her fist as she growled in anger, but stopping for a moment and thinking better about what she was doing, the Intoner took a deep breath, calming herself down.
"Decadus, come with me, we have more important things to do." Four said seriously, as she walked towards her office door.
"Y-yes, Miss Four." Decadus said between groans, as he dusted off his clothes and adjusted his glasses.
Leaving her office, accompanied by her disciple, Four's face immediately changed, going from her previous displeasure to the one of a calm and capable leader.
Greeting the servants on their way, Four and Decatus exited the halls of the fortress and arrived at a section full of tall stone towers, climbing the circular stairs and passing through the windows that gave views of the snowy mountains, Four and Five reached the top of the towers.
The location was made up of a series of large stone platforms and on these platforms; there were the correct places for Four's airships to stop. Right now, there was an airships sitting in the air, tied to the platform.
"Miss Four, if I may ask, what are we doing here?" Decadus asked his Intoner.
"We are here to receive the reinforcements I requested from my sister." Four replied, watching a wooden ramp being placed out of the airship and onto the platform.
"Reinforcements? When did Miss Four called for reinforcements?"
"If you had paid more attention to your work instead of your weird fetishes, you would know." Four spoke, scolding her disciple.
"AAAHHH~~~ To be insulted with such seriousness, I would like Miss Four to insult me more."
"Not now, Decadus." Four grunted, pinching the bridge of her nose.
Four didn't have to wait for long, as in a synchronous march, hundreds of knights wearing silver armor walked out of the airship and stopped in front of Four, forming perfect lines.
Each of the knights wore full, sparsely adorned armor, unusual for Cathedral City forces. They also carried swords and shields, and their helmets only revealed their empty eyes.
Four smiled at this display of discipline, giving a small jump and opening her arms, the Intoner greeted the knights.
"As ruler of the Land of Mountains, I would like to welcome you!"
However, to Four's confusion, none of the knights spoke, they just stared at Four.
"I think you must be tired from the trip, I hope everything went well." Four said; disconcerted by the seriousness of the knights, but even so they did not respond.
"Perhaps Miss Four should order them to do something." Decadus whispered into his Intoner's ear.
With a positive nod, Four did as her disciple suggested.
"Very good. All of you! Follow me!" Four ordered as she returned inside the tower.
In addition, like a Golem coming to life, the knights' heads snapped up as they marched in perfect synchrony.
"Ha! Finally someone who does what I say without wasting time, unlike a certain someone." Four said as she stared at her disciple, not being discreet at all.
Decadus, on the other hand, just groaned, knowing very well whom his Intoner was referring to.
-In a cave in the mountains-
"Well, here is the firewood you asked for." Dito said, throwing a series of sticks into the bonfire inside the cave.
"Hm... You have my thanks." Edric muttered as he examined Zero.
The Intoner in question was still unconscious, lying inside the cave on a makeshift bed made of fabrics, her head on a pillow and a blanket protecting her naked body from the cold of the mountains.
"Hey, where did you get those things?" Dito asked Edric as he looked at Zero in confusion.
Edric responded by patting his bottomless bag.
"Heh! I imagined. Do you mind…" However, before Dito finished speaking, a flame throw passed in front of his face, making him jump in surprise, and hit the firewood, igniting it.
Looking to the side, Dito saw Edric with his catalyst pointed at the fire, but without taking his eyes off Zero.
Calming down and shrugging, Dito sat down by the fire, blowing on his hands, rubbing them and stretching them out next to the fire.
"BBBRRR! This place is getting colder and colder, but it's still better than the salty air of the Land of the Seas, don't you think?" Dito asked Edric, trying to start a conversation, but was disappointed when the knight responded with a grumble.
"Hey, what's the matter? I'm trying to be nice here, you should be grateful for that!" Dito complained, throwing his arms up, but Edric paid no attention.
Analyzing the situation better, Dito noticed that Edric was looking intensely at Zero.
"Meh! She's not so bad when she keeps her mouth shut, is she? There is a pretty girl behind that serious face, insults and constant death threats, not that I don't care, of course. Zero is still more tolerable than Five, that bitch, although she can be rough when we spend the night alone."
Nevertheless, Edric continued to ignore Dito, the knight took out the talisman from his bag and conjured some healing miracles on the unconscious Intoner.
"So... Are you going to have fun with Zero until she wakes up? I will not judge; After all, the people who attract me are those who went to sleep and never woke up. I just wanted to say I'm surprised, it seems our knight in shining armor isn't as righteous as he claimed to be." Dito spoke with an arrogant and disturbing smile as he approached Edric.
After making sure that the Intoner was not injured, Edric took his catalyst and touched its tip to Zero's forehead.
"Well, what happens after she wakes up is none of my business, I'll leave it all to you when she comes running in trying to kill us, that is if she can run after you are done with her. Just save some for me when you're done…ARGH!"
Dito never finished his speech, because in one quick movement, Edric threw an armored punch directly at the disciple's chin, with a metallic click, Dito was sent flying, hitting his head on the ceiling of the cave and falling unconscious on the floor.
Edric let out a relieved sigh after the disciple shut up and returned to what he was doing. With the catalyst on Zero's forehead, the knight cast a spell.
"Let's see what you're hiding. Soulsucker."
A bright light illuminated the cave as Edric let out a grunt of effort; he slowly pulled his arm back, as if he was removing something from inside Zero.
Suddenly, from that bright light, a series of roots covered in thorns came out of Zero's forehead and wrapped around Edric's arm, the knight grunted in pain as the roots squeezed his arm, making the armor creak, but not enough for the thorns to pierce the metal.
Edric pulled his catalyst harder, the light intensified, making the knight protect his eyes with his other hand and more roots came out of Zero's body, wrapping around the knight's shoulder, neck and head, with a blink of an eye, Edric found himself in a different place.
-???-
I covered my face to protect my eyes from the light, but suddenly the light disappeared and when I lowered my hand, I was confused about where I was.
I was inside a wooden building, the floor, wall and ceiling were all made of polished brown wood, luxurious carpets covered the floor and expensive curtains covered the glass windows where I could see the outline of people walking outside.
On my right, there was a wooden counter with stools in front and behind the counter was a shelf full of liquor bottles and beer kegs stacked to the side on the floor.
Music echoed around the room, but I didn't see anyone playing, a strong smell of perfume filled the air and lanterns illuminated the place, filling it with shadows.
I drew my sword and prepared my shield, looking around, I realized that there was no entrance or exit door, just a corridor that stretched in front of me, the moment I took a step forward, a shadowy figure appeared in front of me.
I quickly struck its neck, but my sword went through its body harmlessly, I tried to hit the thing again, but there was no result, suddenly the environment was filled with conversations and laughter.
Observing the surroundings, I realized that I was surrounded by these figures, but they ignored me, some were talking to each other, drinking near the counter, or going in and out of the corridor.
Without much of a choice, I approached the counter, where a shadowy figure was cleaning the glasses.
"So what will it be?" The figure asked.
"What place is this?" I asked, ignoring the figure's question.
"Ha! Are you drunk? What kind of person comes to a brothel without knowing?" The figure sneered.
Hm... If I remember correctly, some of Boletaria's soldiers frequented places like this, knights too, but in smaller numbers. I remember being called once, but I declined the invitation, going to a brothel would cause serious problems for my family's reputation, when you are noble, you have an image to maintain.
"Listen, if you're not going to ask for anything, then how about having some fun with one of the girls? Just go down the hallway and you'll find the rooms." The figure said, pointing to the hallway with its thumb.
With a wave, I walked towards the only path I had, past more shadowy figures, and into a long wooden hallway filled with doors on both sides.
As I walked, the sound of laughter and moans echoed off the walls as light shone beneath each door. Out of curiosity, I opened a door next to me, only to see a room with a single bed against the wall.
The bed was surrounded by semi-transparent silk curtains, due to the repetitive movements of the two outlines behind the curtains; it wasn't difficult to tell what they were doing.
I slowly closed the door without making a sound and continued on my way, opening door after door and peeking inside, I saw the same view as before, so leaving the rooms aside, I continued walking until I reached the end of the corridor.
Strangely, there was no noise coming from behind this door, that wasn't the only strange thing, the plank floor ended just before the door, giving way to dirt with small white flowers growing.
I slowly reached my hand towards the doorknob, preparing myself for what was on the other side, but before I could, a voice interrupted me.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" A young voice spoke.
Turning quickly, with my sword in hand, I prepared for combat, but stopped as soon as I saw the source of the voice.
A little girl with white hair and pink eyes, she wore a revealing white dress and was sitting on the floor, using her hands to protect herself.
I sheathed my sword, as I felt horrible for pointing a weapon at a child. Seeing that the blow never arrived; the girl lowered her hands and looked at me.
A look of admiration crossed her face, then surprise, then confusion.
"Tin head?" The girl asked.
"You know me?" I asked confused, helping the girl to her feet.
"Hm... Or would it be virgin knight?!?" The girl responded with a teasing smile as she pointed at me.
"Zero?"
"Rose! Call me Rose! Zero is that grumpy old woman's name!" The girl now identified as Rose responded, still smiling and with her hands behind her head.
"Listen, this is too confusing for me. Could you explain to me what is happening?"
"You explain it to me! After all, you were the one who tried to take the flower from me and ended up here instead."
"The flower? Yes, I remember that. What can you say about it?"
Rose let out a sigh as she looked away, she sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall, then she patted the floor next to her.
I sat next to her and waited for the explanation.
"Let's just say life was a bitch to me, for as long as I can remember, the world was against me, everyone wanted to fuck me or trick me in some way and because of that, I ended up becoming a really bad person, not that I changed; after all, you have been traveling with me for some time. But going to the point, I killed a lot of people, hundreds, but due to a plague I was captured and taken to my execution, but not before being made an example for all those who had any funny ideas about committing crimes, the Lords made a point of that."
"The Lords? The people who ruled Midgard before the Intoners?" I asked.
"That's right. A bunch of cruel motherfuckers, if there's one thing my sisters did right, it was killing those bastards. Continuing, when I was about to die due to my injuries, the flower appeared in front of me, it was the most beautiful thing I had seen in my entire life, I was ready to accept my death, but when everything went dark, I woke up in the Cathedral City in ruins and people running in panic."
"Do you know what happened?"
"According to rumors, an explosion followed by a flower-shaped cloud destroyed part of the city, but I knew what it was, the flower merging with my body. However, I didn't stay in the city to find out what happened, I fled amidst the chaos, happy that I was no longer sick and all my injuries were healed. I spent a few days of peace, discovering what happened to me, I was stronger, faster, more resilient, my senses were better and I could use magic, The Power of Song."
"Not to mention, of course, your libido."
"Hehehe! And this continues to be a problem to this day, I admit it is irritating, I want to focus on something, but there is that itch between my legs bothering me." Rose responded with a laugh.
"A kid like you shouldn't talk about that kind of thing."
"Meh! To hell with it; my life is shit, I do what I want! Listen, why don't you accept one of Zero's invitations? Depending on your performance, maybe she will respect you a little, if not, at least you will make her shut up for a while, now how you shut her up is your choice." Rose replied, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.
"Strange, despite looking like Zero, you don't seem to like her that much."
"Oh! I hate her! She gets on my nerves! Shut up this! Sex that! Stop wasting my time! Zero acts like she has a pebble in her shoe hurting her foot all the time."
"I believe it is much more than that. But we're getting off topic, aren't we?"
"Oh! Well, after discovering my new abilities and magic, I lived hiding from the authorities, but as time went by, I felt something strange, it was as if something was infiltrating my mind, messing with my thoughts and trying to control me. "
"The flower."
"Exactly, I don't know where the flower came from and I don't care, but for some reason it was trying to control me, and I wouldn't allow it. Then one day, I picked up a knife and decided to end it all." Rose spoke in an irritated tone but with a sad smile on her face.
"That simple?"
Rose brought her knees to her chest and hugged them as she looked at the ground. "Why should I care? I had a horrible life and I had nothing to lose, in the end, death would be a relief."
Unfortunately I don't share the sentiment, death is non-existent for me, but I can't say what will happen to me if I die, since I'm not tied to the Nexus.
"But that didn't work, did it? After all, Zero is still here."
"You're right. The flower revived me, just like you saw in the mountains, and as if that wasn't enough, the flower created my sisters. I wasted no time and tried to kill them too, but because I was weak due to being brought back to life, they ran away and wandered around Midgard and the rest you already know, my sisters dethroned the lords and took control of everything. "
"But what's the point of all this? Of the flower and your sisters? What does this flower-shaped demon want?"
"Hump! There you go with that talk of demons, but you're not far from getting it right. The flower wants to destroy the world, that is its goal, slowly my sisters and I are corrupted, the flower trying to control us to destroy the world, when the flower blooms, it will be the end. This is why I seek to kill my sisters, to right the wrong I made."
After this explanation, we remained silent for a few minutes, the only sound being the moans and laughter echoing through the hallway.
"You know, I believe I judged you too quickly. You deserve an apology."
"Thank you, but I'm not the one you should apologize to. And I don't think it's a good idea to apologize to Zero, it will only inflate her ego."
"No need to remind me, Zero acts like she can do whatever she wants thanks to her power."
"A bit hypocritical, don't you think? After all, you have your own demons inside of you." Rose responded, staring at me intensely as she pointed toward my helmet, but slowly lowered her hand toward my chest.
"So you know?"
"I knew the moment you set foot here. Now how the hell you keep that crowd under control I have no idea."
"Hm… Who are you and what is this place?"
"It's about time you asked. You could say that this is Zero's inner world, the place that contains her memories, experiences, feelings, traumas and much more, I think this place could be called the soul, Zero's soul, as for me, well... I am the part of Zero she wants to forget."
"Care to explain?"
"We all have a part that we hide from the world, the real us. I am the part of Zero that reminds her of how horrible she is, how low she has fallen, but I also remind her that she could be someone better, that it doesn't have to be this way. I am Zero's true feelings, the part she wants to let out, but that will never happen, she is too stubborn for that."
"I... I honestly didn't expect that... Zero is so..."
"Come on, say it! Tell me how horrible I am, because in the end, you will be right." Rose responded, burying her face in her knees.
Damn it! How do I solve this situation? Has killing demons become easier than comforting someone? Apparently, yes.
"Listen, I can't say I understand what you've been through; Honestly, I led a life with few difficulties until certain recent events. My worldview has completely changed, it was like a slap in the face, and now I have my own set of problems, so I'm not the best judge of character, but from what I've seen so far, you're not a lost cause."
"What do you mean?"
"You're part of Zero, aren't you? You recognize that you are not a good person and that you can change. This is already a start. How many people commit atrocities with the excuse that they are right about something? That they are more pure and fair, or that they know what is best for the world?"
Rose just stared at me, waiting for me to continue.
"What I'm trying to say is that there's still goodness inside you, all you need is someone to set you on the right path."
"Someone like you?"
"No, I'm not the best for this. Someone who has experience as a mentor would be better."
"Well, good luck finding one, Zero would either fuck him or kill him, probably both."
"The only thing I worry about is in what order she would do it."
Rose and I stared at each other for a few seconds before laughing.
"Hahaha! Who would say? The virgin knight knows how to make jokes!"
"Hahaha! Here on Midgard there are fewer things trying to kill me, so I guess I've had time to develop my sense of humor."
"Haha! I haven't had this much fun in a while, but I have something to ask you. Why are you here?"
"I came after the flower. From the information I got from the black dragon and you, the flower is worse than I thought. After seeing you being revived, I realized that the flower is much more than a parasite, it is not something that can be ripped off with brute force, as it is linked to your body beyond the physical."
"I'm impressed, you figured this out with very little but what do you intend to do now?"
"I will try to remove the flower from Zero's body, that is, if I find out where it is."
"Are you serious? You can do it?" Rose asked me hopefully.
"I can't promise anything, but I won't find out if I don't try."
"Okay, I'll take you to the flower." Rose said as she stood up and brushed the dust off her dress.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course, it's nothing too difficult."
"Then lead the way." I said as I got up.
With a wave, Rose walked to the door at the end of the hall, I stood next to her and with a nod of confirmation, Rose opened the door. A bright light blinded us, but as quickly as it appeared, the light disappeared.
Only for me to come face to face with a dragon on the other side of the door. The dragon's heavy breathing pushed me back a little as smoke escaped its nostrils. I was ready to fight, but I stopped as soon as Rose ran towards the dragon.
"Michael!" Rose shouted with a big smile as she hugged the dragon's head.
"Hello Rose." The dragon responded in a voice similar to that of an adult.
"I remember you. You are the dragon that was in Cathedral City." I said to the dragon.
"And you are the foolish knight who has put up with Zero and kept her company, and for that I am grateful. Don't get used to it, it's not every day that a wonderful dragon like me shows gratitude" Michael replied in an arrogant tone.
"Michael be nice!" Rose scolded the dragon.
"Yes, Rose." Michael responded with a tired sigh.
The dragon and the girl stepped aside, allowing me to pass, and what I found on the other side was completely different from the previous environment.
I was in a large clearing covered in white and pink flowers; they stretched as far as I could see, in an endless sea of petals.
A blue sky with few clouds was above me, with sunlight illuminating the place. However, what caught the most attention was the gigantic flower up front.
I slowly approached the flower, preparing for any sign of danger, but Michael stepped into my path.
"What do you intend to do?" The dragon asked.
"He will try to remove the flower from me." Rose responded, running over and stopping next to Michael.
"Can you really do this?" The dragon asked doubtfully.
"I'm not sure."
"That's not comforting." Michael replied.
"Michael, let him try. If it doesn't work, Zero can go back to the plan from before." Rose spoke.
With a wave, the dragon moved out of the way and I approached the flower. As I approached, the giant flower bloomed, revealing its interior. Moreover, what I saw was the Zero I knew, she was lying down, with her eyes closed and breathing lightly, she seemed to be sleeping.
Nevertheless, that wasn't the most worrying thing, but rather the large roots covered in thorns that wrapped around her body. I stopped for a minute to think more about the situation. How do I get her out of there? Should I use Soulsucker or try something less drastic?
Firstly, I tried to pull Zero away from the roots that wrapped around her, holding her by the shoulders, I tried to pull the Intoner out of there, but that wasn't a good idea, the roots wrapped around Zero's body tightly, sinking the thorns into her flesh and spilling blood.
I immediately released the Intoner as the flower field shook as if an earthquake was happening. Looking back, I saw Rose and Michael giving me nervous looks.
On my second attempt, I took a dagger out of my bag and tried to cut the roots, for a moment it seemed to work, as soon as they were cut, the roots crumbled into black mud, but soon they grew back, trapping Zero in place.
Then another earthquake occurred, stronger than the previous one.
I guess I have no choice; I put my catalyst on Zero's forehead and cast Soulsucker.
A bright light took over the flower field as the roots enveloped Zero even more, due to this, I intensified my spell, and slowly the roots crawled away from Zero.
Suddenly the sleeping Intoner's eyes opened and she let out a deafening scream.
"AAAHHH!"
I tried to resist the attack and continued using my spell, more roots crawled away, but this caused Zero to scream louder. It got to the point where the screaming was unbearable, I ended up losing my focus and interrupting the spell.
When that happened, the roots returned, surrounding Zero, then the petals of the large flower moved, my instincts screamed at me to get out of there and I did just that.
I rolled away before the petals closed around me, but now Zero was trapped inside the flower. An earthquake came soon after, this being the biggest of all.
"I knew this wasn't a good idea!" Michael shouted, allowing Rose to climb onto his head and taking off shortly afterwards.
"What is happening?" I asked the dragon.
"The flower! It is here!" Rose screamed.
The earth opened and the great flower rose, being supported by its large roots, more roots came out of the ground, emerging from those that the flower used to stay upright.
The earth around me rose, spiraling across the field of flowers, and with a fierce movement, the flower revealed a serpentine body made of thorn-covered roots.
It was a worm-like monster, when its entire form came out of the ground, the worm stared at me with its flower-shaped head, and letting out a deafening roar, the flower opened, revealing Zero mummified in roots.
I took a few steps back, thinking about how to handle the situation. However, I realized, I'm going to need a bigger weapon. The worm let out another roar before charging at me, I quickly reached into my bottomless bag and pulled out a weapon, any weapon, I just wanted something capable of killing this thing.
When I felt the handle of the weapon in my hand, I pulled it out of the bag and pointed it at the worm; the monster stopped its advance abruptly, and letting out a screech of what sounded like fear, retreated away from me.
Finding the situation strange, I paid attention to the weapon I had drawn. The Northern Regalia; I took a few steps towards the worm, making it let out another squeal and back away.
Suddenly an absurd pressure took over the place, and I heard a voice, a voice that I knew too well, and this series of sensations was coming from behind me.
Slowly the worm's head rose, to the point that it seemed to face something bigger than itself.
Turning my head and looking back, I saw what the worm was seeing. The monster in front of me met an even bigger monster, as the Old One was right behind me.
However, one thing I was sure of, this wasn't the real Old One, no, he was sealed deep bellow the Nexus. This manifestation was just a fragment of its power, the power contained in the sword in my hands, the sword that grew stronger with how pure or demonic the user's soul was.
The Old One stood up; its form surpassing that of the worm by hundreds of meters, then letting out a hungry roar, the Old One extended a series of tentacles made of wood towards the worm.
You didn't need to be a scholar to know how the Old One saw the flower. Food, nothing more, nothing less.
With a frightened roar, the worm sank into the earth before the Old One could reach it.
I was about to chase the worm, but I stopped as soon as I heard Rose scream.
"STOP! GET THAT THING AWAY FROM HERE!" Rose screamed; from Michael's back.
Unfortunately, her scream caused the Old One to turn towards her, but before its tentacles reached her, I stored the Northern Regalia in my bag, causing the Old One's appearance to disappear.
"That thing?!? What was that thing?!?" Rose asked, as she got off Michael's back after the dragon landed.
"That was…"
"Know what! I don't care! I'd rather not know! Whatever that thing was, the flower was scared to death! Moreover, that was incredible! Seeing that bastard scared was one of the best moments of my life, but..." Rose said, interrupting me.
"But…" I asked.
"But I felt like that thing didn't see me as anything more than food." Rose said, shuddering.
I stopped to think, and almost punched myself in the face with the stupid thing I just did. This place is Zero's soul and I summoned a being with an insatiable hunger for souls, looking now, I realized how stupid my actions were.
Northern Regalia is a powerful weapon; I should only use it in emergencies.
"Listen, I'm sorry for what I did. My reckless actions almost caused a disaster." I said as I bowed in front of Rose.
"Please, you don't have to do this, besides, you weren't lying, and you almost managed to free me from the flower, unfortunately the flower fought back. Thanks." Rose said with a sad smile.
"I can try again if you want."
Suddenly, the field of flowers shook and the world turned gray, everything around me lost its color and began to disappear.
"What is happening?"
"Zero is waking up. I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner, you better get going before she thinks you're trying something." Rose teased me.
"But you?"
"Don't worry about me; I have Michael to keep me company. Know what? Give up on this business of taking the flower away from me. It was silly to think there was another way to solve this."
"I..."
However, before I could do anything, the world disappeared, the last thing I saw was Rose smiling sadly as she waved me goodbye.
When my vision returned, I was in the cave, still using Soulsucker and with the roots wrapping around my body even more, I felt them trying to crush me.
I quickly stopped the spell, the roots retreated into Zero and the light disappeared.
I fell into a sitting position while breathing heavily, this experience wasn't a total disaster, I learned more about what I'm dealing with here, but still...
I looked at Zero, whose face was contorted in irritation, she was about to wake up. Still... I think we can't judge others just by what we see on the outside.
Zero's eyes opened, I quickly turned towards the fire and pretended to be warming myself.
"OUCH! What happened?" Zero asked.
"You were killed by the Cerberus, but that flower in your eye brought you back to life." I said without taking my eyes off the fire.
"Damn it! It must have been quite a show, right?" Zero asked with what I thought was amusement.
"If you want to put it that way, it's not every day that people come back to life."
"You say it like it's not that unusual."
"If I may ask, how many times have you died?" I asked as I turned towards Zero.
Zero looked up at the ceiling of the cave as she thought about the answer.
"About two or three times." Zero replied, as she stood up, not caring about the blanket sliding off her naked body.
"Hump! These are rookie numbers, you need to pump those up!" I replied while looking away.
"You speak as if you have died several times." Zero replied, standing completely in front of me.
"You can't imagine, I don't even know where to begin the explanation without telling you centuries of history and magic." I replied, walking towards Zero's dress that was drying on a rock next to the fire.
Nevertheless, before I could reach for the dress, I felt a pair of arms wrap around my neck and someone pressing themselves into my back.
"Seriously? Are you still trying to sleep lie me?" I asked irritated.
"You are one of the few people who said no to me and lived to tell the tale. I like the challenge." Zero whispered in my ear.
Fortunately, before anything happened, Eupherbia entered the cave.
"Hey, is the girl awake yet? The crying dragon is panicking and I'm tired of hearing that giant baby's cries." Eupherbia asked, but stopped as soon as she saw us.
"That's not what you think!" I spoke quickly, trying to avoid any misunderstandings.
"Am I interrupting something?" Eupherbia asked.
"Yes." Zero spoke.
"No." I said.
"ZERO!"
As if waiting for the right moment, Mikhail decided to appear, the young dragon put its head inside the cave, trying to enter, but the rest of its body did not allow it.
"What; you idiot, can't you see I'm busy?!?" Zero shouted at the dragon.
"Ooohhh! I'm so glad you're okay!" Mikhail shouted; Zero's insult being confirmation that she was, in fact, okay.
Letting out a sigh, I pulled out of Zero's grip and handed her dress to her.
"Here. I made sure to wash off all the blood."
"Hm... Thanks. But where did you find water? We are in the middle of the mountains." Zero asked as she put on her dress.
I pointed my catalyst to the side and cast a spell.
"Water veil!" Then a jet of water came out of my catalyst.
"Cool. At least we won't die of thirst." Zero said with an amused smile.
"Please don't make me a walking canteen."
"Too late for that." Zero smiled as she walked past me and patted me on the shoulder.
Picking up her sword that was on the ground, Zero stood next to Dito who was still unconscious and woke him up with a kick to the ribs.
"Wake up you idiot! You've slept long enough!" Zero shouted at the disciple.
A smile appeared beneath my helmet, considering the disciple's previous attitude, the kick was deserved.
"Son of a…! Why did you do that!" Dito shouted, standing up as he grabbed the kicked area.
"You were being lazy." Zero said, smiling arrogantly.
"That's ironic coming from you." Dito muttered as he walked towards the exit of the cave, using the wall as support.
Mikhail emerged from the cave entrance, freeing our passage, but as soon as Zero, Dito, Eupherbia and I set foot outside, we shivered as the freezing wind passed through us.
"A blizzard is coming." I told everyone.
"Obviously." Dito said sarcastically, rubbing himself.
"Speak for yourself." Eupherbia said, using her magic to warm herself.
"Wow, you guys are such softies, it's not that cold! ACHOO!" Zero tried to look tough, but failed miserably.
"I see everyone here is feeling cold. Do you mind if I warm you all up?" The Black Dragon asked, opening its mouth as an orange glow formed in its chest.
We all drew our weapons and Eupherbia prepared her magic. Immediately the dragon stopped what it was doing.
"Hahaha! I was just kidding. Isn't that what you humans do from time to time?" The Black Dragon laughed.
"Coming from you, it's hard to say." I muttered.
"Hump! Whatever! Mikhail and I will go ahead!" The Black Dragon responded, taking flight soon after.
"See you later Zero!" Mikhail spoke, flying right behind the black dragon.
"Well and there they go. I can't say I'll miss them." Ditto shrugged.
"Whatever, let's move on, I have a sister to kill." Zero spoke, walking away immediately.
"I just hope you know where you're going." I replied as I followed my unwanted companions.
"Of course! When have I been wrong?" Zero asked.
"Do you want me to speak in alphabetical or chronological order?" I replied back.
"TISC! Whatever!" Zero muttered, walking faster.
I gave a small laugh as I sped up my run.
"Is it just me or does she seems to be in a good mood?" Eupherbia asked me.
"I don't know, maybe she just had a good dream." I said with a laugh.
Eupherbia looked at me confused, but shrugged. So with our little rest over, we continue our journey in search of Four, I just hope to find the Intoner before Zero cuts her head off.
END OF CHAPTER