A Well Deserved Rest

[Location: Abandoned Iron Mine Depths - Kingdom of Tevell]

[A week and 6 days have passed]

My body had recovered its strength even if it was temporarily through this aura that surrounded me, I didn't know how to explain it but somehow this strange sensation was also familiar.

-Celes: It's the same as that time, no, it's different from that time, My Lord, take care.

Leah and I began to pressure the Disaster Beast who was already showing signs of a lot of fatigue from his attacks that were already slower and easier to predict.

-Zyrus: Leah, don't let your guard down, you never know how he will react.

-Leah: Yes, you too be careful Zyrus.

Despite his injuries, the beast continued to put up a fierce fight, Leah and I managed to keep it at bay and away from the others, we only waited for Celes.

-Celes: Good! I have enough power now, get ready.

-Aeryn: You can do it Celes, I give you all my remaining magical power.

After a long preparation and with Aeryn's help, Celes had finished accumulating all the magical power possible but at the moment she tried to aim at the beast's back her arm trembled, even holding it with the other made it difficult for her to aim well.

-Celes: Damn...my arm won't stop shaking, I didn't think I was so exhausted.

No matter how much she concentrated, her arm wouldn't stay still and she was afraid that attacking in this way would end up missing her goal, but out of nowhere someone put Celes' arm on her shoulder.

-Mei: (Gasping) You only...have one shot, so...you can't miss.

-Aeryn: (Gasping) M-Mei! you...shouldn't move in...your state!.

-Mei: (Gasping) No...I couldn't leave you guys...in the...m-most important part of...the b-battle.

With her arm resting on Mei's healthy shoulder, Celes looked at how committed Mei was to keep going despite her condition and nodded, now with her help Celes was able to aim better at her target while me and Leah kept him distracted and on his back to give you a better view of the target.

-Celes: Here I go! *Swirling lightning, gather together and strike my enemy with your fury!* [Lightning Bolt!]

When we heard Celes' voice we knew that the moment had come so Leah and I got as far away from the Disaster Beast as we could so as not to get caught in the middle of the attack. In that of Celes's hand, a large number of bolts began to accumulate in her right hand until they formed a sphere the size of a soccer ball, which she shot with great force that the momentum made them fall backwards. The huge sphere of lightning flew directly towards the back of the beast where the weapons embedded in its back were and without it noticing what was happening. The sphere of lightning impacted against the weapons causing a chain where all were affected by the attack and just as I expected the vibrations of the electric shocks in the weapons led the discharges into his body causing all his organs will begin to burn.

-Leah: It's working!

-Zyrus: It seems so.

In a few seconds the entire body of the beast was wrapped in lightning and a red glow appeared from its mouth, it could no longer move and only roared in pain and after a few moments the lightning disappeared and the glow inside it went out leaving only smoke coming out of his mouth and body while we all waited for the outcome of the plan.

-Aeryn: We...did we make it?

-Celes: (Gasping) I-I don't know.

The Disaster Beast didn't move and none of us knew what to think until at last the beast's colossal body fell sideways to the ground giving a loud rumble throughout the cavern. Despite that, we all held our breath waiting to see if he would move again.

-Leah: Ah! look!

Suddenly its body began to emanate black smoke and its body began to become softer until it gave a sensation of becoming liquid, it began to bubble and a large black stain began to form under the fallen body of the Disaster Beast. It was just as Celes mentioned before, his flesh began to decompose until after a few moments only a black slime came down from him and his body was only a skeleton, dropping all the weapons he had stuck from the previous Hunters who tried to defeat to this beast

-Zyrus: We...we did it.

-Leah: We beat him...

-Mei: It seems unreal...

Leah and I reunited with the others but just when I got there I felt how my body lost all its strength, the aura that surrounded me had vanished and I fell face down to the ground.

-Celes: M-My Lord!

-Leah: Zyrus!

-Zyrus: I-I'm fine....I just....I ran out of energy...but...my head is spinning.

They were relieved to see that I was okay and we were finally able to relax, Leah sat with the rest as she asked her to turn me around to face up, Celes helped Mei to put her shoulder in her place.

-Celes: This will hurt a bit, so hold it.

-Mei: I've been through...a lot, this isn't-

Before Mei finished speaking, Celes put her knee on Mei's back and with her hand applied force to reposition her shoulder in the correct place which was very painful for Mei who let out a loud cry, fell to the side while rubbing her shoulder. still in pain

-Aeryn: Forgive me, I ran out of magic power so I can't ease your pain Mei.

-Celes: I believe in my lord's bag there are still potions.

After a while and exhausting the rest of our supplies and medicines we rested on the ground to assimilate everything that had happened.

-Celes: I must admit, all of you performed wonderfully in this battle.

-Mei: It was thanks to your guidance that we managed to survive.

-Leah: It's true, Aeryn, Mei, I'm very sorry to leave you alone.

-Aeryn: You don't have to apologize, we are friends after all.

-Mei: It's true, if one can't fight, the others cover it, that's how it works Leah.

-Leah: You guys....., thank you.

As we rested and regained our strength, Celes seemed somewhat disturbed by something.

-Celes: How did that beast get here?

-Zyrus: What do you mean?

-Celes: It is assumed that this kind of beasts only inhabit the territory of the Demon King, how did one get to the depths of that mine without anyone noticing?

-Leah: It's true, something like that doesn't go unnoticed so easily.

She was right about that, a beast like that couldn't get to this place on its own, it was almost as if someone had deliberately brought it here to cause mischief in the mine.

-Mei: Well, what does it matter, what matters is that we beat him, right?

-Celes: It's true, but if it hadn't been for the fact that the other Hunters who faced him before hadn't weakened him before and for leaving their weapons stuck in his back we wouldn't have survived.

-Aeryn: That reminds me, if you allow me, I would like to pray for the souls of the previous Hunters who gave their lives, in this way to thank them and give them the peace they deserve.

After that, Aeryn got up and went to pray near the corpses of the other hunters who had died in their fight, it was true that we should be grateful to them, in this way their deaths were not in vain.

-Mei: Well, while Aeryn does that I'm going to explore inside the beast's burrow, maybe I'll find some treasure that makes our reward better

-Celes: Just be careful not to wake another, okay?

-Leah: Hehe, I guess we should prepare ourselves too, we have a long way to go back to the entrance of the mine.

At that Celes and Leah got up but I wasn't able to, both girls looked at me confused when they saw that I didn't move.

-Zyrus: I have a problem, I can't move a muscle.

-Leah: A-Are you okay?

-Celes: It must have been that he used the power of his blessing when his body was exhausted, right?

-Leah: The power of the Blessing?

As Celes and Leah helped me up, celes told Leah about my blessing, certainly omitting how I got it, I leaned on Celes's shoulder and even so it was difficult for me to walk, still everything was spinning and I almost felt like walking. to vomit

-Leah: I see, that explains how Zyrus is so strong.

-Celes: That's right, but he still has a long way to go and a lot of training if he wants to get the most out of the Blessing

After Aeryn finished praying he met us and almost ready to return we heard Mei calling us from inside the beast's burrow.

-Mei: Guys, come you have to see this.

We all went inside the burrow to see what Mei wanted to show us, inside the place stank and was full of blood and broken weapons, in the background Mei was crouched looking at something on the ground.

-Leah: What did you find, Mei?

-Mei: Look at this, it's a kind of magic circle.

Mei illuminated the place with the lamp and indeed there was a large magic circle at the bottom of the burrow, jugar by its size it was a little bigger than the Disaster Beast.

-Aeryn: This is a teleportation circle.

-Celes: So that would explain how they brought that beast here.

-Zyrus: Let's see where it takes us.

They all looked at me in surprise at my suggestion that apparently no one had thought of the same thing.

-Aeryn: B-But we don't know where it will lead, maybe even to the Demon King's territory.

-Celes: She's right, it's very dangerous to use a teleportation circle without knowing where it will take us.

-Zyrus: It may be but if it takes us outside it would be good, just think about it, after all those other tremors that beast caused here, who assures us that the return route is not blocked?

They all stared at each other reflecting on what I mentioned, there was no doubt that using the circle could be dangerous but if we tried to go back and we found any blocked roads or fallen bridges we would get stuck down here.

-Celes: You are right about that, My Lord.

-Leah: If you say it that way it makes sense.

-Mei: So....we will use the teleportation circle?

-Celes: I suppose that would be the best, anyway we must be careful about what we will run into.

We all nodded and after getting ready and gathering our things we positioned ourselves on the teleportation circle which will take us to an unknown destination.

-Celes: Aeryn, if you could.

-Aeryn: Yes, leave it to me.

Aeryn placed her hand on the circle and let the magical power she had recovered flow out and little by little the circle began to glow until her light surrounded us completely blocking the outside of the cavern. its light blinded us for a moment but after a few seconds the light slowly disappeared until we finally managed to see where we had arrived.

-Leah: Wh-Where are we?

When we realized it, we were outside, on a small rocky surface and some mountains could be seen in the distance.

-Celes. It seems that we are on a mountain or something like that.

While we were trying to figure out where we were, Mei ran to the cliff and looked down.

-Mei: Hey, look there below.

We approached her and saw something in her direction that we did not expect to find.

-Aeryn: Is that... the mine we were in?

-Celes: Yes, there is also the mine guard and our wagon.

We observed from above the mine through which we entered, we did not expect that this magic circle would take us exactly to the outskirts of the mine, but this raised more questions than answers.

-Celes: Let's go down, we must report what we found to the guard.

After a few detours up the mountain we managed to reach the base and return to the entrance of the mine where the guard was surprised to see us return from outside.

-Mine Guard: B-But where did all of you come from!? I thought you were inside the mine?

-Mei: Well, yes, but we found a magic circle that teleported us to the surface and it turns out that we also defeated the monster that was inside.

-Mine Guard: D-Did they beat him!? Oh really!?

The girls told the guard what we found at the bottom of the mine, about our intense battle, about the Disaste Beast that lived in the depths, and about the fate of the other Hunters.

-Mine Guard: A...Disaster Beast? That explains why no one came back out after going in, but you guys did it!.

-Celes: It was thanks to the fact that the other Hunters had weakened it enough that we were successful, if it weren't for them we would have met the same fate.

-Mine Guard: I understand, at least their deaths weren't in vain but still this is bad news, if someone managed to bring a monster from the Demon King's territory, then this is something that should be reported.

The guard approached Celes and handed her a sealed letter with a seal.

-Mine Guard: Once the mine was cleared, they ordered me to send what they did to the City of Andacia and deliver this letter to the Guard Station, they will give you their rewards but from what you found there is no doubt that this should be reported as well, although they will need a sample to prove that they faced a Disaster Beast.

-Mei: Oh, Oh, I have something that proves it.

From her pocket, Mei took out some teeth of the beast, everyone including the guard was shocked to see that Mei had that with her.

-Leah: When did you collect those?

-Mei: Well, I imagined that we would need proof that we fought against that monster and those of the skeleton were already all rotten, fortunately I found these inside its burrow.

-Aeryn: Mei, how smart you are!

-Mine Guard: Yes, there is no doubt that this will help, take those plus the letter to my captain in Andacia. It will be enough proof for them to give them an extra reward in addition to alerting the entire guard in case more demon activity is found in the area.

Leah's group was happy to hear about the extra reward and that now we will have to make a trip to the next city ahead of schedule.

-Celes: Well, let's go back to the wagon and get ready to travel, My Lord, how do you feel.

-Zyrus: Why... are there three guards?

[The Story continues with "Celes"]

With that answer I could realize that My Lord was very exhausted, using his Blessing in a state of exhaustion had left him worse than he thought but at least he was aware and that was already a demonstration of how much he had progressed since then. day.

-Mine Guard: Is he okay?

-Celes: Yes, only he went beyond his limit more than he should.

We said goodbye to the guard and returned to the cart, the girls helped me put My Lord in the back of the cart and accommodate him.

-Leah: will he be okay?

-Celes: Don't worry, I just forced his body more than it should.

-Leah: And he did it to help me... I feel responsible.

-Mei: And why don't you take care of him then Leah? hehe

-Leah: (Blushing) Huh!? b-but what are you saying, you fool!

Once we prepare to leave, take the reins of the wagon and we begin our journey to the City of Andacia.

"Andacia is the next stop on the map, once there we will only be one more town before reaching the border with Drolum"

While we traveled to the next city, both My Lord and the others had fallen asleep, it was not surprising after all that we went through a rest would not do everyone good, it was getting dark so I looked for a safe place on the map to rest and spend the night.

-Celes: This is a good place, I think I'll also go to sleep early.

The next morning we made a fire and prepared breakfast, My Lord had also woken up but did not seem to be in the best condition.

-Celes: How do you feel today, My Lord.

-Zyrus: A little better, although my head still gives me a little spinning.

-Leah: Maybe you should take things easy for today, come, let me help you with breakfast.

-Zyrus: Oh...thank you Leah.

Seeing how Leah helped My Lord to eat his breakfast made me feel a bit strange but I didn't want to give it any importance, what mattered was getting to the next city and delivering the letter.

-Mei: Ooohh! look at that, there's a lake on the other side of these trees, why don't we take a bath while we're here, it's been a long time since I've had one and I want to get rid of that stench that the mine left me.

-Aeryn: Yes, I also think that would be a good idea.

-Leah: Ah...but what about Zyrus?

-Mei: What with him? he is a boy, so he must wait, besides I don't think he is in condition to enter the lake.

-Zyrus: It's okay Leah, she's right, I'll just stretch out on the grass to rest my head.

-Mei: Perfect, you're coming too, right Celes?

-Celes: Huh? I...but...I...

-Zyrus: Go, you should also relax a bit too.

I nodded a bit worried but if he said it was fine then I had to trust what he said so we got up and went to the lake that Mei mentioned which was not far from the camp, once there we undressed and entered the lake.

-Mei: Aaaahhh...I really miss this, it's very relaxing.

-Aeryn: Right, we spent so much time in that mine that I was beginning to believe that this was my natural scent.

-Mei: Zyrus! You better not be spying on us!

-Zyrus: (From afar) I'm not interested in the body of a little girl!

-Mei: What!? I'm not a-

-Celes: Leave it Mei, My Lord is not that kind of person.

We laughed a little at Mei's second failed attempt to provoke My Lord while she hid her face in the water.

-Leah: Well, you're the youngest so-

-Mei: Don't say it Leah, it's frustrating that you have more developed bodies.

-Aeryn: You don't have to feel bad, one day the time will come.

-Mei: You can say that, just look at the size of your breasts Aeryn, they don't match your personality!

-Aeryn: (Blushing) Huh!? ah!? no... I don't think they are... uuhhh..

I was amused to see how well they got along despite everything, it's been a long time since I had a moment to share with friends like this.

-Mei: Changing the subject, Leah, I noticed that you are very attached to Zyrus, did something happen while you two were alone in the mine?

Mei looked at Leah with a teasing smile as she got flustered and blushed when she heard her friend's question.

-Leah: (Blushing) What...something? no...like something?...nothing happened.

Nervous Leah tried to look away from her trying to avoid the question, she was also somewhat curious about what the two of them had done on their journey through the mine.

-Mei: Don't lie Leah, just look how red you are, did they do something perverted? Tell us, we are your friends.

-Leah: (Blushing) I-I told you...we didn't do anything...we just talked.

-Mei: But you can't deny that you have feelings for him, right?

-Celes: Huh!?

-Leah: (Blushing) Bu-Well... he's kind of cool... and also handsome and strong... but I don't think he feels anything.

It was clear that Leah had feelings for him but knowing that My Lord intended to avoid any kind of romantic relationship, I didn't know if it was correct of me to tell her that, maybe I should tell My Lord or maybe not say anything, it was a complicated situation for her. my.

-Mei: Celes, you who know him better, which is what Zyrus likes, would you like that to help Leah to win her attention.

-Celes: Huh!? oh.... I-I'm sorry, I really don't know him well enough to determine his tastes, we've only been together for a little over a week.

-Mei: I see...well, in that case I'll take care of gathering that information for our friend Leah.

-Leah: (Blushing) What!? Mei, don't do that, it's too embarrassing..!

-Aeryn: You have nothing to be ashamed of Leah, we are your friends and we want to see you happy.

-Leah: (Blushing) Y-You too Aeryn? oohhh...do what you want...

After another half hour in the water we got out and dried ourselves and then returned to the camp where My Lord was still resting.

-Zyrus: How about the shower?

-Mei: It was great, we really needed some.

After packing our things and loading them into the wagon, we continued with our trip to the city, according to the indications on the map it would take us 3 days to reach the city, the rest of the trip was quite relaxing and we only stopped to rest, eat and train. I was happy to see how everyone's skills had improved so much since our foray into the iron mine and both Leah and Mei were no longer the same naive Hunters we met at the beginning, now their senses were more sharpened and their fighting style had improved incredibly.

"It seems that both the challenge and the fight with the Disaster Beast made them more intelligent and skilled fighters, I can't be left behind either"

My Lord, on the other hand, it took him 2 more days to recover from the state in which using the power of his blessing left him during the battle, but when he joined the training it was as I expected, his skills and power had increased even more. I had no doubt that he would one day become extremely strong with proper training and guidance.

-Mei: How did you become even stronger than before!?

-Zyrus: What can I say? I have a natural talent.

After traveling the 3 days we finally reached the City of Andacia, a beautiful place, very different from the other two towns in which we were, since an air of nobility was felt in the air that was because this city is the home of a Count. We left the wagon in the stable and headed towards the Guard Station but as we walked through the streets a bunch of guards appeared in front of us.

-Andacia Guard: Stop, nobody move.

-Mei: Wh-what does all this mean!?

-Andacia Guard: You are Masato Ryugo, right? you are under arrest!

-Zyrus: Huh!?

We were all shocked to see how the guards pointed their spears at My Lord saying that they were going to arrest him, none of us knew what was happening, but the fact that they used his real name was only a possibility.