Arc 1 - Ch 12: "Taste your blood"

CHAPTER 12 - "Taste your blood"

This web novel is a draft of the story. Please expect frequent changes and updates as I see fit. Enjoy! -Cloki

※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

~~IN THE TENT WITH SOH~~

Siegfried: "Soh, Soh look. Azure is waking up. Bring her here, and go protect Koh! It looks like he's losing out there!

Soh: "Yes sir, Siegfried-sama. Please give this weapon to Azure-sama when she enters the tent. I believe it will be suitable enough to defeat Gurix."

Siegfried: "Thank you, Soh. I will tell her everything."

-Soh presented Siegfried with a dagger and then snuck over to where Azure was laying and guided her half-asleep body toward Siegfried. When she arrived at the tent, Siegfried grabbed another pink potion and poured it down her throat. She coughed and glared at Siegfried.

Azure: *ACK, COUGH* "SIEG-!"

-Siegfried put his hand over Azure's mouth, and she struggled. She bit Siegfried's hand and glared at him once more.

Siegfried: "SHHH-OUCH! Azure, shh, please, allow me to explain. You can't yell right now!"

Azure: "What the hell are you doing, Siegfried? What's going on??"

-Siegfried proceeded to explain the situation to Azure. How the mushroom knights were on their side, and how the masked assailant had entered the camp and was hunting Siegfried.

Azure: "So in the time between me tackling their chief, and waking up, an assassin snuck into the camp and is now trying to kill us!?"

Siegfried: "Yes, Azure-san. That is why I need you to be quiet. If the assassin knows you're awake, he's going to try and kill both of us! Here is what I need you to do, Azure-san."

-Siegfried had explained his plan to Azure. Meanwhile, Soh had left the tent, armed with a gun of some sort. No, it wasn't a gun, it was a magical gun! This gun used mana and formed them into sharp crystals to be fired at your enemies, piercing their skin and ripping holes into them!

Soh: "I haven't had to use this in a while. Let's hope it still works..." [Soh expells some of his mana into the gun, and cocks it]

Soh: "Here goes nothing... KOH, WATCH OUT FOR DEBRIS!"

-Koh glanced over and noticed Soh, aiming his gun at Gurix. He came to his feet, but was quickly beaten back down by Gurix."

Koh: "ACK!- Ahhh, there you are, Soh. Thank the goddess... *cough's blood*"

-Gurix looked at Koh, confused-

Gurix: "Did you say something, Koh? I thought I heard you trying to speak. Tired of living yet perhaps?"

Koh: "No, I didn't speak.... but he did."

-Gurix turned around and noticed Soh, aiming his gun at him. Soh then fired a few shots toward Gurix. All three of them hit him.

*BANG BANG BANG*

Gurix: "-- --tch!"

Gurix: "OW! WHAT THE HECK IS THAT THING? I'm actually taking damage, I'm going to need to be more careful..."

-Gurix was a relatively new addition to the dark mages cult, so he had never seen such a device before. However, Soh didn't explain and continued to fire shots at Gurix, as Gurix began to bleed from his bullet wounds.

Gurix to himself: "Yikes, his attacks are fast. I can barely see what he's launching at me! Guess I'll just have to maneuver around them as best as I can."

-Gurix was hit three more times in the torso and continued to bleed.

Soh: "Come and get some, you bastard!"

-Soh fired a hail of bullets toward Gurix, and Gurix began to lunge toward Soh, blade in hand, slicing the air numerous times in preparation to gut Soh.

~~IN THE TENT~~

Siegfried: "Okay, Azure? Do you think you can do that? This is your most important mission yet, and it could save all of us."

Azure: "Understood, Seigfried-kun. Now, where is this dagger?"

Siegfried: "It's right here. I need you to take this, and kill Gurix. When the timing is right, run up behind him and drive this through his back. If you can, try to pierce his heart. We need him dead, not injured."

-Azure nodded to Siegfried and took the dagger from his hands. She analyzed it. It was a silver dagger that shined brilliantly. She gave a few slashes to the air, and it made a crisp sound. She then exited the tent.

~~OUTSIDE~~

-Gurix lunged at Soh, maneuvering around his hail of mana bullets. He eventually reached Soh and held his blade to the air. He kissed the blood-stained blade and slashed at Soh, but Soh blocked it with the mana-gun. The gun shattered.

Gurix: "mmmmm, you blocked my blade with your weapon? Hah, what are you going to do now without it? It's time for me to take you out. Number 3 on the docket! What an exciting day, I'm going to eat well tonight. Mushroom stew? Or perhaps a nice mushroom salad with your blood as dressing. Regardless, prepare to be gutted Soh!"

-He lifted his blade and pointed it sideways toward Soh. He slashed the air a few times and then licked some of the blood off of his blade, cutting his tongue in the process. Soh braced himself.

-Gurix unleashed a fury of swipes toward Soh, and Soh quickly pulled a metal Spear from out of the ground behind him and used it to block the barrage of attacks. The blade easily put nicks and cracks into the metal, yet could not cut through it. All you heard was *TING, TING, SLICE*... This duel continued for about another minute or so before Gurix ceased his attacks.

Gurix: "You're so incredibly skilled with the spear, Soh. It seems you're the only knight so far to be of any trouble to me. However, that spear of yours is on the verge of shattering! It would be a shame if something were to-"

-Gurix then slashed the spear once more, shattering it

Gurix: "...happen to it, wouldn't it? mhehe."

-Gurix bit further into his lips, tasting his own blood and proceeded to glare at the now defenseless Soh. His eyes began to glow red as he drew his blade. He slowly approached Soh and pointed his blade at him.

Soh: "I am the sworn protector of this forest, I will not allow you to come any closer."

Gurix: "Oh shut your trap. It's about time I gut you already."

-Gurix spun his blade in the air a few times and then proceeded to point it back at Soh.

Gurix: "mmmhehe AHAHAHAHA, I CAN'T WAIT TO TASTE YOUR BLO-!"

* S L A S H *

Gurix: "-- --"

Gurix: "-- --"

-Gurix began to bleed tremendously.

Gurix to himself: "What is this sudden warm sensation I am feeling? It almost feels as if I have been doused with a nice warm bucket of water... yet... it hurts... a lot... such wonderful pain. Is this what it feels like to be...stabbed? It's....delightful..."

-Gurix dropped his blade and looked behind him. To his surprise, there was Azure, with the eyes of a lion, equipped with a dagger of her own. She had driven the dagger through Gurix's back and pierced his heart.

Azure: "Forget about someone, baka?"

Gurix: "b-b-baka? Who are you calling...calling...eugh."

-Gurix fell to the ground and began to bleed out. Suddenly, the aura of the campsite was cleared. The malice had left the area, and the campsite was flooded with a feeling of relief and tranquility. Siegfried shouted-

Siegfried: "AZURE-SAN!"

-Siegfried ran over to Azure, to confirm that Gurix had been killed Azure removed the blade from Gurix's back.

Siegfried: "Is he...you know...kaput?"

Azure: "I believe so. I pierced his heart, there should be no way of him surviving... But what a mess you two made of this place! There's blood everywhere!"

-Siegfried, hearing these words, suddenly remembered that Roh, Koh, and Moh had been sliced open, and were still bleeding out!

Siegfried: "Azure-san, follow me, quickly. Three of the four mushroom warriors have been gravely injured. I need you to heal Koh, he is the eldest of the four. He's over there. Soh, I need you to take care of Roh. I'll take care of Moh."

Soh: "Yes sir, Siegfried-sama. Here, take this applied healing potion. Pour it all over Moh's body, and quickly. He's on the brink of death."

-Siegfried took the potion and ran over to where Moh was laying. He seemed lifeless, yet he was still breathing. Siegfried poured the potion onto him. Moh smiled and nodded his head to Siegfried. Siegfried picked up Moh's body and wrapped it in a blanket to preserve his body heat. He laid Moh down near the fire and proceeded to pour another potion on him.

Soh: "Roh... are you alive? Please tell me you haven't met the angels."

Roh: "I'm alive, Soh. I had an extra healing potion in my pocket, so I applied it to myself and played dead until the battle had ended to keep myself alive. I am severely wounded, however. I will be unable to battle for quite a while...

Soh: "That's completely okay, Roh. You fought well. We killed Gurix, you needn't worry any longer. Come with me, we need to take you to a tent and heal you some more..."

-Soh and Roh went together to a tent and zipped it shut. Soh began to Heal Roh some more and keep him alive. meanwhile, Azure met up with Koh.

Azure: "Koh... first of all, I'm sorry for tackling you earlier. Please, accept this healing spell. I hope I can make it up to you."

Koh: "Don't worry, Azure-sama. No hard feelings."

-Azure began to heal Koh, and his face lit up. He was unfamiliar with healing magic, having used potions his whole life to get by.

Koh: "What is this? It feels very nice. It doesn't sting like the potions I usually use on myself, heh heh!"

Azure: "It's a healing spell. I'm a water mage after all! Try not to move too much, I want to make sure all of this healing water is absorbed into your skin."

Koh: "Do what you must, Azure-sama."

-While the healing was taking place, Siegfried walked over to Gurix's body and sat down next to him. He examined his body, as well as his stab wound. He began to notice something strange, however. Black steam began to emit itself from Gurix's body.

Siegfried: "What..? There's black steam emitting from his stab wound? There's black steam emitting from his bullet wounds too! What's going on?"

-Siegfried then heard Gurix as he began to speak in a soft voice.

Gurix: "...fools."

Siegfried: "OI?"

Gurix: "...your blood was...so tasty...I'll be back...heh..eh*cough*"

-Gurix then moved his hand to his pocket, drew his wand, and spoke to himself-

Gurix: "...ol..blink!"

-Gurix then suddenly teleported his body away, leaving nothing but his blood on the ground where his body was.

Siegfried: "-- --"

Azure: "Siegfried!? What was that noise!?"

-Siegfried turned around to Azure, and with a look of utter horror, said-

Siegfried: "Gurix wasn't dead! He teleported himself away!!"

Azure: "HE WHAT?" [Azure runs to Siegfried]

Siegfried: "HE WASN'T FULLY DEAD. HE GOT AWAY. WE WASTED SO MUCH TIME AND EFFORT TRYING TO KILL HIM AND HE WAS STILL ALIVE..."

-Koh came to his feet, walked over to Siegfried and Azure, and gave his input-

Koh: "You two needn't worry about this predicament... I somewhat expected Gurix to be alive, as it is in the nature of a Dark Mage to survive seemingly unsurvivable misfortunes. However, he is incredibly weak, too weak to battle, in fact. I can guarantee he will not be returning...

Azure: "You have got to be kidding me. We wasted all that time, and Siegfried's curse clock is still ticking!"

Siegfried: "Shit, you're right. Koh, what time is it??"

-Koh went over to his sundial. There were no clocks in this camp, so the mushroom knights relied on a sundial to tell the time."

Koh: "It's about 7:00 PM."

Siegfried: "That means I have about 13 hours left on my curse clock. Azure, things are looking grim. There's no way we will be able to make it to Oakheart and catch up with Rigel at this rate! The sun is going to set soon..."

Koh: "Well, I wouldn't call yourself dead just yet, Siegfried-sama."

Siegfried and Azure: "huh?"

-Koh pointed to his left, where a carriage lay.

Koh: "You can use that carriage over there to get to Oakheart much quicker than if you were to go on foot. I'll let you borrow one of our animals, and they will be able to guide it for you. We have a wide selection of Vilstra that you can use.

Siegfried: "Vilstra? What's a vilstra?

Koh: "A Vilstra is a large two-legged bird that can run incredibly quickly. They are primarily used to draw carriages throughout the Durma Province. They are native to the Vilona woods, and can be trained very easily!"

[[-Vilstra closely resembled Ostriches back on Earth.]]

Siegfried: "Azure-san, how is your mana vat?"

Azure: "It's about a quarter full by now... I think taking the Vilstra and traveling through the night is our best option."

Koh: "Ah, you two needed a mana potion, yes? Well, as it turns out. I actually have a few that I forgot I had made. Allow me to supply you with them."

Siegfried: "Thank you very much, Koh. I appreciate the kindness."

-Koh gave Siegfried and Azure five mana potions and guided them to the Vilstra-drawn carriage which they were going to use to get to Oakheart. This carriage could run about as fast as Azure with her wind spell, so they would definitely make it to Oakheart before morning.

Koh: "This is our fastest Vilstra. Her name is Theresia, please be careful with her."

Siegfried: "Hey Theresia!"

-Theresia pecked Siegfried on his head, however, it was in a playful manner.

Siegfried: "Ouch! Hey, that hurt!"

Koh: "Ah haha. Don't mind her, she's just gauging your aura is all. But please, do be careful with her. Now, it's about time you two leave, your curse clock is nearly halfway depleted!"

Koh: "Before you go, Siegfried, take some food and some water. We have a copious amount of supplies, and you two look famished! Eat up before you leave, and replenish yourselves. Who knows what kind of battle you two will have up ahead."

-Koh handed Siegfried a sack of food and a couple of jugs of water. Siegfried smiled at Koh and gave the supplies to Azure, who loaded them onto the carriage.

Siegfried: "Thank you, Koh-sama. Azure-san, let's go, we mustn't waste any more time here! Koh, thank you for everything. We will make sure to finish off Gurix for you and your fungi-knights. Please, make sure they are well."

Koh: "Will do, thank you, Siegfried-sama. Now get going!"

-Soh had emerged from the tent where Roh was, equipped with a few bottles of a clear liquid that resembled water, he secretly gave them to Azure-

Azure: "ooOOOooo, thank you Soh!"

Soh: "You're welcome Azure, it's the finest in the forest. Treat yourself nicely."

-Azure snuck the bottles down her shirt and returned to Siegfried.

-Siegfried and Azure climbed aboard the Vilstra-Drawn carriage, and Siegfried got behind the reigns.

Siegfried: "Let's go Theresia! HIYAH!"

-Theresia took off like a bolt of lightning, and the two departed for Oakheart!

Azure: "Wo-WO-WOOOOAHH, SIEGFRIED, SHE'S FAST!!! I'M GONNA FALL OFF! SLOW DOWNN!!!"

Siegfried: "Calm down, Azure-san! This is no faster than your wind spells! You'll be fine, trust me. I won't let you fall off!"

Azure: "-- --"

-Azure had a look of disagreement with Siegfried, yet sat quietly in the back of the carriage, and allowed Siegfried to take control of the reigns.

Koh: "Ah hah ha! Be careful you two!!!"

-Siegfried and Azure continued their travel through the night on the Aqua Trail, still in hot pursuit of the shaman, Rigel, who had cursed them the night before. Siegfried was ready to get his revenge...

※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※

~~IN AN UNDISCLOSED LOCATION~~

-Gurix teleported back to Rigel and brought with him the unfortunate news of his defeat. Rigel was, however, pleased with Gurix's efforts.

Gurix: "I would have had them, had that mage girl not woken up. It's all her fault that I lost, Rigel... I am so sorry. I failed you."

Rigel: "Gurix, you shouldn't worry about a petty defeat such as this. I was expecting you to only have to take on the two. You ended up with your hands full, considering there were four extra, unexpected allies there. You fought well. You bought us time...valuable time...

Rigel: "However, those two are definitely on their way now. If they weren't suspicious before, they definitely have a reason to come and find me now. Gurix, you are much too weak to battle. Leave those two up to me, I'll end them."

-Rigel was using advanced Shaman Magic to heal Gurix's wounds. His heart had been pierced. Had the blade gouged itself further into his heart, Gurix surely would have died for good.

Gurix: "-- --"

Rigel: "Hasher gave us these orders for a reason. There is something special about that boy, and Hasher seems to be very afraid of him. Next time I call upon you, do not underestimate them again."

Gurix: "Yes sir, Rigel, sir.

※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※　※