8 Aftermath of Destruction

The morning sun rose. Akai awoke on top of Jezeboyah's deceased body. The blade still stuck on the neck. Akai wiped his tears and blood off of his face. Then, he took his sword out of the red dragon's neck. He got off the dragon and dropped to the ground on his feet. He sheathed the bloody blade and started to walk away.

He noticed the boy still there. He wasn't dead. Akai could hear the boy's snoring. Without showing any emotion, Akai kneeled down to the child and checked for any injuries. He seemed to have some cuts, bruises, and burns along his legs. The child wasn't sick, but was terribly exhausted. He may have feinted before he could get any further away. Akai opened his pouch and took out some bandages and medicinal herbs. He took the herbs and mushed them into pieces. Then, he applied it to the wounds. Akai hoped that it would be enough. Then, he wrapped the boy's wounds with bandages. It was nothing serious compared to everybody else. Akai didn't know if anybody else had made it.

Akai grabbed the sleeping kid and held him.

As Akai began to walk away from Jezeboyah's corpse, a group of dragonslayers arrived. They held their swords and crossbows at me.

Akai didn't want to fight any more. One of the dragonslayers came up and said "Who are you? Were you the one who killed that dragon?"

Akai realized that they didn't see what happened. They must have just arrived, he thought.

Akai replied without any emotion "Yes. I'm a monster hunter and I slayed this dragon."

The other dragonslayers looked at each other and eventually they put their blades away.

One of the dragonslayers came forward with his blade sheathed. He had red hair and was strong-built.

"I'm Captain Halido. I command these dragonslayers. I can give you payment for slaying this beast, but not here. If you find yourself in King's City, I can give you a sufficient payment."

Akai paused for a moment without a care for reward, but nodded his head.

Halido thought that Akai was tired, but he still had questions.

"I actually came here because I heard a dragon had destroyed a camp. Our leader, Lord Vesuvius, was stationed nearby, personally. Do you know where he might be?"

Akai replied "I don't know."

"That's a shame. Well, I can take you and that kid over to the campsite. We have set up some new tents and brought along a doctor."

"I would be most grateful" Akai replied still without emotion.

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As Akai and the dragonslayers entered the ruins of the campsite, Akai took the sleeping boy to the medical tent, and washed his face, hands, and blade. As Akai left the medical tent, he was met with Captain Halido standing in wait.

"You sure you don't need any bandages? That dragon was a big one. A far bigger dragon than any I have seen. I wouldn't be surprised if you got some wounds. " Halido said with a smile.

Akai didn't sense that the captain knew what had happened, but he reassured him that he was fine.

"I'm alright. I just need to walk it off." Akai said as he walked away from the captain.

Tents were still being set up. Wagons arrived to pick up the dead and wounded. Akai looked back and saw the captain send some wagons towards the town. Captain Halido seems to be a good man, Akai thought. As he walked, he heard some slight breathing in the rubble on his right. None of the other dragonslayers were near him. Akai leaned down and pushed some of the rubble away.

It was Lord Vesuvius. He tried making sounds, but they were only soft feints. Akai was about to call over the dragonslayers, but stopped himself. He remembered that Lord Vesuvius sent him and other villagers to their deaths. The man was rotten to the core, and Akai felt like he didn't deserve to live after all that's happened.

Akai didn't see anybody watching him. He looked back at the injured lord trying to make a sound. Akai's eyes became yellow for an instant, and he picked up a small rock. Nobody was watching them. Akai flung the rock at the lord's head. The rock penetrated his eye. Vesuvius was dead in an instant.

Then, Akai shouted "Hey! We got somebody over here!"

Captain Halido looked and sent two dragonslayers to Akai's location. The dragonslayers saw the face and realized who it was. "Captain, it's Lord Vesuvius." Hearing this, Halido ran over while one of them checked his pulse. "He's dead, sir."

The dragonslayers including Captain Halido started digging through the rubble trying to get him out. Akai watched them pick off the rubble and moved on.

"I have to travel to find more work. I hope we meet again." Akai said to Captain Halido, but the captain was too busy trying to bring back his leader from the grave.

Akai left the campsite and walked into the woods.

He needed to get far enough to transform into a dragon, and tell the remaining ancient dragons what he has discovered. He couldn't let Jezeboyah's death mean nothing.

Akai stopped and took on last look at the burning town. The smoke could still be seen for miles. Akai closed his eyes to stop himself from crying. He wiped his eyes and walked away with new determination.