Chapter 48 – Caution, precaution! (1)

"Leo!" I hear Dad's voice, and my blur fades as I zap into reality. "Dad, help me lift these."

They lift away the rocks in no time, Grandpa more than Dad. Dad… why did he even still have to… he didn't have to. But I couldn't tell him that.

"Are you alright, Leo? How many-" Grandpa asks.

"-four fingers," I interrupt. "As usual."

"Double confirmation. Good," Grandpa says and looks at me. "I expected… how do you have so many scars? We should get you back to the cabin."

This way they both let me lean on their shoulders, and we walk. But Grandpa comes to a sudden halt, as my stomach twists.

"What happened?" Dad asks.

"It is quite sad that you are so clueless," Grandpa sighs. "Do you hear it, Leo?"

"Feel it, yes. What do you hear?"

"The wind sounds quite… different. As if a dragon is controlling it. Care explain what else we are going to fight?"

"Not much about it, just one of them. Possibly the one called Gust."

The wind whistles in a weird way, and Grandpa sways his neck in a wave-like motion.

"There goes MY cover," we hear, and something appears at a distance from us… a dragon which was as blue as the night sky. "You must be that one kid."

"You must," Dad says, and swings out his sword while letting me go. "Not have come."

"You must stay your level," we hear a grumbling voice and a dark-maroon beast of a dragon-man stands in front of us.

"You aren't Drego," Dad says.

"You have someone like me with you?" this person asks in their real voice… something which couldn't be told apart as male or female. "Maybe I'll go to that one after you. I'm sure I can take seven of you."

As this person breaths out fire, I see Grandpa do the same while having turned into his dragon-form.

I jump from his lifted head and throw out an arc which I form from my hand. Something similar breaks mine, and fades alongside it.

"Heh, pity that I can't just end you because of my condition," I see Trinity appear from the side of this other person, who must be Rainbow. She was in a worse state than me, limping on her perfectly fine body. "This'll hurt more."

But slowly her grinning face turns to just staring at me with confusion. I stay levitated in the air, as my body moves like that of a dragon… before I myself knew it I slap my tail onto her face.

"I'll cut you out in bits and eat you tonight," Trinity hisses.

I feel my head get heavier as if some kind of weights were dragging me from my head's sides... must be her power.

A blast… it wasn't Trinity or Rainbow, no, something moves in between us… causing a blast. I move my head towards where this whatever-projectile came from. Something rustles away from that spot.

"This is our chances to get the hell out," Grandpa says.

I grab the two and simply rush away while both running and flying through the forest. The smoke threatens us to clear out in any moment, or reveal a screaming version of either or both of those two.

Leo, I say.

Not now. I'm busy. Don't you see?

Go over that tree, and keep right. About two 'o clock from there.

And where does that lead?

Away.

***

"What did this to you?" Hailo asks me. "And her… and even… Leo?"

"We… wanted to… we set-up a fight between the two. Air cleared out in between us, yes. But some things led to another and… Leo and Drego needed to spar."

"Even Leo would never harm her…" Skyto says, and his face turns into instant shock. "Who did she become, Wyrom? Sh-she… neither of you are that thoughtless to…"

"I'm sorry," I sigh, apologetically – but his face still was possessed with shock. "We will never let it hap-"

"-it's not that, Wyrom. It is… it is Trinity. She was the one who made the blast?"

"Yes, the fight and ao-"

"-no," Skyto cuts me off again. "No."

This way Skyto just runs into the hall, but neither Hailo or Spythun follow him. They just exchange glances. Drego whimpers in her sleep.

"You both also don't know what he… said?" I ask.

Spythun lifts his head suddenly. "It's gone."

"Spy-" I try to say, but Spythun strictly holds out his hand towards my face.

Spythun was not one to put on a serious face, unless his prank required it… or if it was actually serious. I didn't want to make a wrong guess and fuck up.

Hailo gets up ever so slowly, and tip-toes to one side of the room.

After some waiting I hear a creek, and in a flash somebody appears and jumps towards Spythun, and Hailo does the same… sending the two crashing into each other.

"Take Drego!" Hailo shouts at me.

Spythun gets ready with his makeshift daggers as I obey and grab Drego while getting up in a single movement.

I couldn't just leave them. Would they even be fine? What even… but I couldn't just ruin their plan. They must… surely have something on their minds.

Skyto was nowhere in the hall. Of course, or whatever came towards the room… but where could I even find Skyto right now? Either way… I had to get Drego to somewhere safer.

Kicking down the closed door… wait, neither Skyto or the person who came in-

I grip onto Drego – tightly – as I fall, but rather than my face hitting the floor, my feet stand on some kind of different floor. I surely had done a ninety degree of a fall… what in the world is happening?

"Hello?" I ask, and my voice echoes into the eternally long tunnel of darkness… not much room was on my sides surely, I could tell with the echo.

"If I were God," I hear a rough voice… something very hoarse. "Would you kneel?"

"If we are going to do this," I say, bending down and putting Drego seated towards the wall. "I'd be forced to make you."

"Well then," I hear that voice again, and fire on a stick appears to my right – in a distance, then at my left – just past that… and so on. "Let's decide on who makes what."

After what feels like eternal amount of time passing by with torches lightning up… at quite a distance a huge man stands in between the open forest. I could say he was no ordinary dragon or a person… that body must be through effort. A lot of effort. I had my own amount to compare with though.

Passing this makeshift cave of his, into the real forest... I stand at a distance from him, in no time.

"Where's my friend?" I ask.

"Ah… that can wait. I don't need to get to know your friend's whereabouts. Tell me a little about yourself. What's you name?" he asks, scanning my size. "And what do you fear?"

"Wyrom. I don't fear nothing."

"Good. Fear is a mere trap," he says and chuckles. "Couldn't help myself, pardon me. I… am Trapzedrun. I have enough traps for you to go by."

"Unnecessary," I say, and he looks at me while stretching the arm he is holding a huge sword with. "Let's shut the trap and begin."

"Very well," Trapzedrun smiles while looking at me.

We both start the instant we see the other move. Trapzedrun uses his free hand to smack towards my face, but I push his own arm towards him – shaking him up. He smirks but ignores his huge sword. As I punch towards him, he grabs my arm and throws me behind him.

"Alright. I agree. I thought less of you," Trapzedrun angles his sword to the ground, while getting ready to use it.

As I go towards him again, he moves the side of his sword towards me, and I punch to it, at the flat surface. The sword vibrates with the punch, as if it were a mere sheet of metal, in front of my punch.

"Nice. Good luck."

As I hear the noise caused by it… I see Skyto jump this way, and get injected by the sword – to his chest.

"No!" I say and grab Trapzedrun. His eyes boil as I lift him up.

Something hits at his sword and makes him lose grip of his sword. I see Drego keeping steady, right behind him.

Skyto was nowhere here.

I hear whispers, and let go of the vines building up in my head. They wrap around his neck, and make him choke. I bop my body up and push him down to the ground.

"Oye," I hear a voice and look forward. "Who the fuck are you?"

I stumble backwards after looking at him… someone… something.

"Wyrom," Drego says and picks up Trapzedrun's sword… barely.

"Hmm," Trapzedrun says, trying to stop coughing – while sitting up. "Kind of cheating when two fight one. What's your name?"

"My name is get-the-hell-out-of-here. Last name goes something like or-we-will-kill-you."

Trapzedrun laughs.

"Besides," I say, and he looks at me. "W-we both are hurt. So it is an unfair fight."

"Hmm," Trapzedrun says and gets up. I help Drego hold the sword, and he stares at the two of us for a while. "Normally… that's how fights work. But no hunter loves advantages of wounds they didn't cause. Let's call a truce," he holds out his hand.

Drego and I exchange instant glances, and then look at him. We lend him back his sword, and support each other while walking away and looking back to make sure that it wasn't a trap… unlikely of a trap.

"Who the fuck just lets go?" Drego asks, in a frustrated tone.

+

The guy sniffs around, while extending his neck upwards.

"You both are fucking weak. Why did you let big guy and pink girl go? Are they that important?" Razor asks.

"Are you for real?" I ask, and even Hailo seems confused.

He had just come here without warning and wasn't even interested in us, but went around the room – as if it was his.

"I have other interests. I have no… oh, I'd be lying. Gore is my type… but I have my terms with it. Fights are boring. Torture on the other hand is…"

"What do you even want?" Hailo asks.

"A little silence, so get out," he says.

I grab Hailo and start leaving instantly, but he appears in front of us.

"I expected the kid here but… well, there are other points of interest. Not you. Not today. I'll be coming back for you, son of Rahambose. Take my word on it. It'll be fun on my terms."

But he just… lets us go.

+

"Nobody. But will the others be alright? Maybe we should-"

"-they'll be fine," Drego says, and doesn't look at me when I look at her. "I saw it."

"Saw what? Earlier with Trapzedrun?"

"That too. But I also saw… some things which Trinity saw. And I know… where to go."

I just go with it, even with no conscious understanding of it.

"You were good, by the way. That's… what I wanted from you. The fight. You did ok."

"I tried-"

I pause as Drego moves in front of me and just hugs me. I just feel flustered and my arms question whether to hug her back or not.

"Hey!" I hear a familiar voice, and turn to find Spythun. Drego immediately lets go of me.

Hailo seems to shove her elbow into Spythun's gut, and waves at us.