“I can’t have Tiana worrying about me! I gotta push myself harder!” he said.
“Please, don’t push yourself so hard! Oh, I have to be there for him!” she said.
What an imbroglio!
✦ ✦ ✦
The inner zone was vast. It had a great number of cities, villages, lakes, and even mountains.
With how vast it was, one would have thought that more of the people who lived in the outer zone would be allowed in, but no. If people were simply allowed in and went on to have many children, it could easily lead to a shortage of land. Keeping entry difficult was the only logical decision.
In any case, according to the mission papers, the dragon in question had made its stronghold in the Luna Mountains. Accordingly, we’d made our way to the foot of the mountain range.
A grisly sight awaited us there.
“What the...” Tiana, my traveling companion, muttered in astonishment.
Before the two of us lay the remains of a completely ravaged village.
“Tiana, is this place...?”
“Yeah,” she cut in. “People in the inner zone have a lot of free time, see. There are quite a few who enjoy mountain climbing as a hobby. A village had been established at the base of the mountains for such people, but...”
That village was now entirely gone.
Every building had been burned to ashes. Numerous massive claw marks were etched into the ground. Not a single villager remained.
Tiana’s hand balled tightly into a fist as she looked over the desolate scenery.
“What the hell? The dragon’s already obliterated this place! What point is there in sending Crow in now, alone, if not to use the dragon as a means to kill him?! Are they stupid?!” she shouted angrily, cursing the royal family and the prime minister.
Tiana had called herself worthless and sulked over being weak, but she still wanted to be a knight.
I was pretty damn furious too. “This is ridiculous,” I agreed.
Looking at the stone buildings, melted beyond recognition, and the giant claw marks several meters wide, I thought, What the actual fuck?! How big and strong is this thing?!
How the hell was I supposed to kill something like this?!
Wait wait wait wait wait, I knew that dragons were the strongest of aetherborn, but I mean, I’ve managed to survive so much carnage! Under Muramasa’s control, I’m pretty strong! I thought I’d be fine!
I knew I was extremely powerful when I went into murder mode. Yes, my muscles would scream and my bones would nearly fracture, which kind of put a damper on it, but still! I’d won every battle so far!
So I’d been like, you know, “Eh, maybe I can actually win against a dragon too,” but—
Th-This is insane! I’m definitely toast this time!
Prime minister? More like prime sinister! What the hell had he gotten me into?!
Oh man, what do I do now? I wondered, realizing I’d essentially been given a death sentence.
My hands were shaking. Honestly, I just wanted to run away.
But Tiana told me that refusing a request from the royal family can be punishable by death!
I was stuck between a rock and a hard place! No way out!
Damn it! Do I just resign myself to becoming a wanted man and bolt?!
I mean, that sounded safer than going kamikaze on a giant-ass dragon.
Welp, that’s it. Feels bad to do it after coming so far, but whatever. I’m outta here.
Or I would’ve been, if Tiana hadn’t tightly clasped my trembling hand.
“Crow... You’re angry too, aren’t you? At the royal family’s cruelty. At the dragon’s tyranny.”
“I am.” Wait, what?
No, no, hold up a second! Yeah, I was mad at the royal family and the prime minister and everything, but I didn’t give a shit about the dragon!
And my hands were shaking from fear, not anger!
Sure, it was pretty sad to think about all the villagers who’d been attacked, but I was from the outer zone! People got eaten by monsters all the time! I was pretty damn used to it!
Also, I was no saint, so I had no intention of getting angry and risking my life to kill a dragon on the behalf of a bunch of people I’d never met.
“It’s just like you to maintain your composure even after seeing all this terrible destruction. We haven’t known each other for long, I realize, but I know you, Crow. You’re the kind of man who would throw his own life away for the sake of peace.”
Uh. No? I like my life where it is, thank you! I had zero inclination to do that! I was a lowly peasant who’d much rather have enjoyed the comfy benefits of peace than risked my hide for it!
I guess I don’t come across that way when I’m in Condemner mode, but I don’t think I’ve ever acted self-sacrificing in front of Tiana. Have I?
I’d probably just put on a cool face and said something punchy. I couldn’t remember, really.
“At any rate, Crow, it’s quite late today already. You must be tired from the battle on the way here too. You should rest up for tomorrow,” Tiana added, gripping my sleeve tightly.
Rest up for tomorrow? Was I gonna have to fight the thing tomorrow?!
Wait, no! I don’t wanna fight! I wanna run!
That was it. I couldn’t afford to keep up appearances anymore! Enough with the cool act! I was about ready to pathetically yell at Tiana to please let me escape, but—
“It’s not like you can escape, either way. If you abandon this mission, surely the royal family will fault your mentor, Iris, for it.”
They will?!
No, no, that was bad! Really bad! I didn’t want Iris to get in trouble because of me!
Which...meant I couldn’t really turn tail, didn’t it? I had to fight it.
“You’re right, Tiana. I think I’ll rest.”
And that’s the story of how I had no choice but to fight a dragon to the death next morning. Great. Just great.