A Plea From The Bottom Of One’s Heart

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Gear slid off Extreok and moved towards the twitching corpse. Reaching into his bag he pulled out a small vial and let a few droplets fall onto the corpse. As soon as the droplets hit the Chimera the body twitched violently and fell silent.

Jarvis looked at the process with interest, "What did you do?"

"Remember when I said that the Chimera's duplicate? It happens when their regeneration begins to fail, the parts would manifest into a new Chimera, usually weaker. If they're allowed to roam for long enough the new duplicated Chimera's will become stronger."

Lifting the vial for them to see Gear continued, "This counteracts the duplication, one of the few ways to properly kill the Chimeras. This was granted to me by Granny Rey."

"I might have to speak to this Granny Rey, seems like a useful tool.", Kiro commented.

"It works only on the Chimeras."

"It still would serve me of some use."

Jarvis shook his head, "Get back on, if we linger too long we might attract more of them."

"This is true, let's get heading back. I have something I want to talk to you about when we're safe anyway."

. . .

As Gear rode upon the back of Extreok he submerged himself deep in thought. Originally he had no idea how he was going to rid the place of the Chimera problem. His strength only allowed him to hunt ones of lower strength, and even then it was difficult to find one by itself.

He felt the only way was to continue this inefficient way of hunting until he became strong enough to handle more. Essentially snow balling his progress until they were all dead. However with their duplication it only made it more difficult for him.

Now that he witnessed the power Jarvis and the wolf had, a light turned on and revealed a new path. With assistance from someone with this much strength the task didn't seem as endless. In fact it looked like it was entirely possible!

Gear had read stories of people capable of wiping away forests with a swing of their hand, but since he never actually saw it he chalked it up to fairytale. Now that he witnessed someone of a greater strength the stories seemed a tad more likely.

While what Jarvis did wasn't forest leveling, it was a showcase of true strength. If he had more creatures with that level of power there was a greater chance of clearing the forest.

Gear was troubled though, he wasn't entirely sure how he could convince Jarvis to assist. He had nothing of worth to offer in exchange, the side quest rewards weren't appealing to Jarvis. Also Gear didn't have that great of a grasp on Jarvis' character. So he wasn't sure if they would assist out of kindness.

As he tossed these thoughts about in his head Extreok arrived at the blacksmith's home. Dismounting the wolf Jarvis had Extreok enter the book again and the three entered the home.

Lemon looked at them in surprise, "Someone new! I'm sorry I don't have any leftover food to offer. . ."

Kiro laughed, "No worries! I already ate."

"I'm sorry I can't provide anything!", Lemon apologized.

"A safe place is all I need."

"Feel free to stay all night in that case!"

As Kiro cheerfully chatted with Lemon, Gear caught Jarvis' attention, "Can we chat for a moment?"

"Sure! What's up?"

"I'm not sure how to put this so I'll be blunt. I want your help. The Chimeras have been a plague to this place for a while and I don't have the strength to help them. After I saw what you were capable of I truly realized how much I lack in strength."

Gear lowered his head slightly, "So please, lend me that strength of yours."

Jarvis examined Gear, he could sense the genuine plea in his voice. Someone who fully realizes their weakness and embraces it is already quite strong in his opinion.

So Jarvis replied, "Let me get one thing straight. This isn't my strength. It's my companions who hold the strength, I merely bonded with them."

"I-"

"Additionally the Sages seem to be against these Chimeras and claim they're an enemy of the world they're sworn to protect. So don't worry, we'll lend a hand."

Gear felt relieved, he was prepared to beg if needed. The village had helped him in more ways than one, if need be he was going to sacrifice all he could to help them.

From the bottom his heart he thanked, "You have my thanks, I don't know what I would have to do on my own."

"Don't sweat it. When day comes we have some investigating to do. Extreok states that someone had to have dabbled in heresy for the Chimeras to have come to be. Meaning there is an origin point."

"I'll assist in any way I can!"

. . .

Sunlight peaked through the gaps in the leaves. A calm and warm sensation spread across the skin of those who lie in its path. Such warmth would pierce even bone.

Gear would occasionally spend his time in this warmth, during the small meal breaks the village would have at the peak of sunlight. It was one of the methods that comforted him, a tool that helped him move forward.

As the sun reached the highest point Gear wasn't enjoying the warm light. Rather he was paying full attention to Jarvis as he flipped through the pages in his book.

Loni sat on top of his head, looking down on the book. The small fairy was elegant in the light, a beautiful sight none were beholding.

"Bo and To would be of limited use here, nothing can be seen underneath the trees. However I can't quite eliminate the possibility of something floating in the sky."

Gear wasn't sure what exactly Jarvis was murmuring. Although he was positive it was something to help them. So far the only creatures Gear was aware of was the wolf and two tailed fox. Now the fairy made a grand total of three.

He noted that Jarvis didn't flip through many pages of the book he held, instead he carefully read a select number of pages. If anything it looked more like someone reading a text message than a book. As if he was communicating with whatever was on the pages.

Jarvis then lowered the book and nodded, "Alright, that works."

Color flew from the pages and revealed four new creatures. An alligator with dark brown scales, but it seemed like magma rested beneath them making the gaps between the scales glow faintly. A large white tiger, who peered at Gear with an intrigued gaze. And two birds which rested on either side of Jarvis' shoulders.

The alligator snorted, "I can feel the foul mana lingering in the earth. What a horrid thing."

Gear looked at such beautiful creatures in amazement, "What. . . What exactly is this?"

Jarvis closed the book and looked towards Gear, "These are my companions. Guarton, the Sage of Earth and Fire, Whitelash, the Sage of Strength, and Bo and To, two birds forever conjoined."

Whitelash flicked his tail, "The heresy in this place is strong. To think it wasn't dealt with, I intend to figure out why."

Gear lowered his head, "Thank you all for this!"

"It is our duty as the Sages.", Guarton stated bluntly.

Jarvis was quick to action, "Guarton, does anything prevent you from analyzing the ground?"

"The foul mana will slow my search, but it does not prevent it."

"Alright, I want you to investigate if something remains underneath us. Bo and To will take to the skies and search up there. As for you and me.", Jarvis paused to pat Whitelash, "We're gonna search the forest."

Gear stepped forward, "What of me?"

"You'll be joining me if you wish to help. You're the one here with the most experience in handling Chimeras."

Guarton thrashed his tail against the dirt, "Let us not dwindle further. I will inform you of anything I find suspicious."

"Right! Hop on Gear, I still have some questions to ask!"

Bo and To flapped their wings and lifted into the sky. They spun in a circle together before passing through a gap in the leaves. Jarvis helped Gear onto Whitelash and the two took off.

While Whitelash didn't have the speed like Extreok, he surpassed her in stamina and raw strength. Jarvis chose him specifically for the extra muscle in case they came across something. Mostly because he desired to pin a Chimera to the ground for a closer look.

As Whitelash dashed through the trees Jarvis began to ask, "They're mostly active at night, any particular reason for that?"

Gear shook his head, "I'm not sure about that one. All I know is that the day is our only safe time."

Whitelash growled faintly, "I do, the world's method of removing heresy is the Sun. It's piercing light meant to burn away those it rejects. The only safe place for those who dabble in heresy is the dark."

Jarvis placed a hand over his eye, "I had a feeling that was the case, the sky is proving to be the most empty."

Gear asked, "So our highest chance is something underground away from the light?"

"Seems like it."

Crossing his arms Gear pondered, "Then there might be something. I found an old broken church a distance away from the village a long time ago. Although I searched it up and down for anything there's a chance that it isn't empty. I never considered to look under the church due to their not being a way down."

Whitelash slid to a stop, "Provide the directions, it may very well be a starting point."

"It's roughly in that direction.", Gear said while pointing eastward.

Whitelash's muscles rippled while he leapt forward, dashing through the trees once again. Jarvis said, "I'll have Bo and To do a bit of scouting around. Is there any other broken buildings?"

"Not that I've seen. Which is why I thought the church was special. But I haven't seen anything in it."

"We'll keep an eye out just in case. For now let's continue."