The Return (II)

It was different from the one he gave her, but it was enough to make his lips tingle. The warmth spread to his face and tingled down his body, making him jittery. Finally, a crack of smile erupted on his lips as his sharp white teeth were shown.

Agnis quickly pulled back, blushing from what she had done. She coughed a couple of times, looking away embarrassed. For a moment, Zero thought it was cute to see her blush away, embarrassed.

Victory Elven Maiden's Blessing has been given for slaying a powerful enemy. Therefore, all stats will be increased by 3% for three days.

Zero was awed at the sudden blessing that he was given. At first, he thought it was just a custom, but now it was a different story. Getting a stat bonus from a kiss was a big plus. Now he understood why the Elves saw this as a tradition; the status buffs were no joke that would help him when he went out hunting.

A draconic grin spread out on his lips, making Agnis uncomfortable.

"What?" Agnis squeaked; she was giving him the what's-with-that-look face stating that it was a bit unnerving to her.

"I got a blessing," Zero replied chirpily.

"Isn't that a given? They said it was a custom victory k-k-k…." Agnis was having trouble saying the word until she forced it completely out. "Kiss."

"It's not only that; I got status buffs."

"Are you serious?"

"Yea, a 3% increase in stats for three days."

"No way, you jest."

"I'm serious." Zero gave her a serious expression that stated that he wasn't lying. "I got a message stating that Victory Elven Maiden's Blessing was given for slaying a powerful enemy. Therefore, all stats will be increased by 3% for three days."

Agnis was speechless, unable to say anything else. She turned towards General Liam, hoping he would have the answer to the miraculous message.

General Liam coughed once; he cleared his throat and looked all important. "It's true." He replied. "The Elven Maiden's blessing has always had a….magical power to it. I have been blessed with two in my life." His eyes started to get dreamy, and a small smile erupted on his lips. The usual stern expression was gone, bringing a whole different expression.

"Two?" Agnis replied, not sure exactly what he was thinking about. "How?"

Snapping back to reality, General Liam spoke, "My wife is an elven maiden or was; her charm still works just as well. It has been known that those who received an Elven maiden's kiss have always ended up together, though…" he looked up and down Zero, not exactly sure what to say. "A dragon and an elf is a unique combination."

Zero coughed, a bit embarrassed. "I have another form as well, a human."

"Oh?" General Liam was interested. "Can you change right now?"

"No, my wings are growing, and it's best not to change until it's fully grown."

"I see then; that's good news."

"It is?" Agnis squeaked, a bit taken aback by General Liam's words.

"Yes," General Liam coughed, turning towards the people. "The maiden had blessed our hero!"

Agnis blushed scarlet, unable to say a word. She wasn't sure that what she had done was a good or bad thing anymore; even though she wanted to complain, she couldn't. It just wasn't the right time too.

People screamed in excitement, staring at Agnis as if she was a goddess descended from heaven. Honesty, Zero would've thought by now they would worship her for her battle skills and her looks; she looks especially. Unfortunately, she had quite several suitors always chasing after her, making Zero's work a bit harder.

General Liam raised his hand to quiet down the chaotic voices; he breathed in and let out a booming voice. "Our mission is only half complete!" He stressed the words half complete. "We must return to our homeland and deliver our mantle towards the queen! Get ready to harvest whatever we can from the Behemoth and move out!"

The players and the army started to move, slugging their tired bodies toward the Behemoth. Even Zero knew that the skin, bones, meat, and other parts of the Behemoth would become powerful items that could help him make his armor. He needed more powerful armor and reinforced his sword, Kamori, a growth-type weapon.

They greedily tore through the Behemoth's skin, peeling away as if it was precious material. Even Zero was working his way, pulling away the pieces he wanted. He noticed that the skin of the Behemoth was a lot stronger around the chest area, so he went to pull a good amount of it. At a glance, he could tell that the hardened skin from the Behemoth would make superb armor, given that harming the Behemoth was a lot harder than any other kind of monster.

Even though there was a lot of broken skin, burnt scraps, and chunks of flesh gone, there was still plenty left for everybody. The tendons were snipped off to use for the bow, bones were broken and stored away, and even the teeth and claws were taken. One thing that Zero noticed was that the meat of the Behemoth was quite nasty. He couldn't tear into to eat. Instead, he was washed with a wave of intense nausea the moment he.

The Behemoth's body was dismantled for a third of the day, leaving a good half of it untouched. Everyone knew that it was impossible to take everything, especially with something as gigantic as this. General Liam marked the location of the Behemoth for future scavenging if there were any more left.

The sun was finally setting when Zero reached the heart of the Behemoth's body. He had pushed past and dug out tons of meat to gain something special, and he was right. The Behemoth's heart was crystallizing about the size of Zero's whole body, making it huge, possibly even bigger.

Zero wondered how he would take something so precious before realizing that he could just put it away in his storage space, which he had been doing in the past hour. He didn't expect that the amount of space that these bones, tendons, and skin were taking was a lot more than normal, quickly filling up a third of his storage space, and that meant a lot.

Also, he noticed that the crystal heart glowed an eerie green. The power he felt from the crystal was hauntingly enchanting but very dangerous. It was like he was in the presence of the Behemoth, still alive, right there and then, making him shiver. He unconsciously took a step back, a bit intimidated.

The eerie green glow faded away, lessening the overpowering feeling. Zero snorted, shaking his head for being over-imaginative, thinking the Behemoth might return. He was still determining if he should take the crystal now, but he knew treasure like this was hard to come by. Raising his claws to forcefully drag the crystal heart out, he touched the heart, and a blast of green energy shot outwards.

Zero was suddenly swallowed up by the memory that invaded his mind and appeared before him.

He was in a desolate land where fire and ash were constant. Volcanoes blew up, showering the land with gray. It wasn't like the place where Zero was now, every direction that he looked, all he saw was red. It was fascinating that strange, burnt-up, black trees were twisted and deformed into human shapes, each with a black fruit that littered all over its branches.

Behemoth was slugging his giant body toward the center of the area, where Zero saw a boiling lake of lava spewing fire. In the middle of the boiling lake was the fallen angel Belial, floating in midair as he lazily cast his gaze around him.