Chapter 1 – Business Day
一Year after year passed him by——and he kept walking——
——Thud, thud, thud!——
“Get up, asshole! If you don’t I’ll beat you to death with a wooden stick! Hey, hurry up!”
He heard the violent knock on the door, Orphen visibly irritated rolled over in his bed. Although this budget hotel mattress is thin, it was comfortable enough for him to sleep on.
“I told you a long time ago! Today is business day! Are you trying to ruin my plan? If you don’t come out now, I’ll kill you, you hear me?!”
Half asleep he tried to wake himself up, he slowly opened his slightly swollen eyelids, and stared at the stained ceiling. Then he uncomfortably averted his gaze towards the window, sunlight shines through the window and from it’s angle, it should be about noon. The banging on the door intensified.
“Asshole! Are you actually refusing to come out? Do you want to die? Fine then, if you won’t come out then I’ll have to send you to hell!”
(So……who’s gonna die?)
Orphen half asleep, began to think to himself.
(Me, killed by that little loudmouth Volcano Vulcan? Yeah, right!)
He pulled off the bedsheets, sat up and shouted.
“You loudmouth!”
Orphen’s shouting reached the other side of the door, and then proceeded to scratch his own chest. The noise outside the door disappeared and hit spat onto the floor, he violently grabbed the vest which lay beside the bed and put it on. And lastly, he picked up the hanging necklace, it was a delicate thing with a dragon wrapped around a sword, it was like a coat of arms. It was made of silver and shined with a dazzling light, Orphen put the silver dragon necklace into his hand and softly whispered to it.
“He said he was going to kill me”
He made a wry smile as he put the necklace around his neck, and then a violent knock on the door rang out throughout the room.
“Listen here asshole, do you think I wanted to come to this slimy place!”
Orphen ignored his cries and got out of bed, and looked at the mirror hanging in the corner of the room. He looked about twenty years old, and had a grumpy face with black hair. Since he just woke up, he squinted at the mirror and thought to himself for a moment as he caught the reflection of his eyes. They had the sense of irony, outside the cries become more intense.
“You bastard, do that again and I’ll run you over with a road roller! Come out now!”
Orphen looked impatiently at the door, then he extended his right hand and began chanting.
Sword of Light, whom I do release!
A pure white flash instantly filled the entire room. Orphen’s hands were the instrument that released the bright light and a torrent of white light hit the sturdy wooden door, creating a deafening sound. The door bursted open and shattered into a million pieces, scattering it around the room. And out leapt Orphen, from the get go you could tell that he led a busy life as he had scruffy black hair that seemed to go unwashed for days. Orphen squinted his eyes to the dwarf and asked him.
“I came out, what do you want?”
Covered in dust, the boy whispered.
“That’s good, though in future remember to respect your elders, alright?”
Orphen, with a look of satisfaction observed the him —— A stocky teenager who seems to be about eighteen years old. His is about 1.3 meters tall which is the standard height for a dwarf. He wears traditional clothing and a fur cape, and he carries a heavy sword in his scabbard. Volcan still taking in the view turned around to see burnt wooden debris behind him.
“Uhm, Orphen……I’ve taken the liberty to set up our next bussiness opportunity”
“I’ll be grabbing a bite to eat before I head out, wait outside the bar for me”
“Sure”
Vulcan whispered, he had a wide eyed expression on his face and then ran down the hallway in a panic. Listening in, Orphen could hear him stumbling down the stairs and yelling abuse back at him. He then lazily stretched himself from top to bottom.
“It’s business day, but before that ——”
Orphen stretched out his right hand to the destroyed door ——
Heal that which is mine, Spirit of Healing Light!
After he finished his chant the debris of the door began to shake, and just as if time was being rewinded, all the pieces of the door flew threw the air and began to take it’s original shape. It looked good as new. Orphen lazily walked a few steps towards the newly reformed door and tapped his finger against it, then he muttered softly to himself.
“All’s well that ends well”
Although the door was more or less returned to it’s original state, small scorch marks could still be seen. But he just shrugged them off and proceeded to gently turn to doorknob. Orphen never once thought he’d be staying in as a guest in a peaceful inn called “Bag up’s Inn”.
The business is located deep inside the cities complex road system on the “back streets”, although the building looks quite old, the hotel itself is in good shape. He left his room on the second floor and went downstairs, standing at the bar of the inn was the owner Bagup, who was grinning while cleaning a glass. And his son Majic was cleaning the floor with a mop, Majic is his own son even though the two are nothing alike.
If you live in a coastal city you are generally mistaken for a pirate, if you use this as a comparison for father and son, Majic is then an elegant beautiful boy. He has blond hair and beautiful docile eyes, and is a neatly dressed young man. Orphen went towards the bar and Majic looked over and said hello.
“Ah, sir Orphen, you’ve woken up.”
Orphen has stayed at this hotel for the past two years and has become acquainted with Majic, Bagup unceremoniously waved as Orphen approached.
“Unfortunately I was woken up by that loudmouth idiot”
“But I heard another loud noise”
“That was me destroying the door, but don’t worry, I’ve fixed it”
Orphen said, as he sat on a seat beside the bar. He then told the bearded Bagup to make him breakfast.
“Did something go wrong with your business plan?”
Bagup said as he flipped the switch of the used the recently installed gas stove, he then filled a pot with porridge over the fire, giving himself a sense of accomplishment. Even though he has been on the rough seas you couldn’t help but notice his appearance, but his voice was gentle and he sounded like a nice guy.
Orphen putting his arms against the bar, replied with a sign.
“Yes. Volcan said he found a way to make big money. I didn’t ask for the details”
Bag Up smiled.
“Sounds like you’re not looking forward to it”
“Sort of. Everytime he has some sort of plan he always makes a mess of it”
“And you’re alright with this?”
Bagup enquired.
Orphen curled his lip and jokingly replied.
“You know what? That guy borrowed some money and he’s in debt to me. And I’m broke so he came with a plan to pay back the money”
“So, you’re broke, eh?”
There was much irony in the words that Bagup said, as he poured the porridge and put out the tableware on the bar. Orphen took the porridge and suddenly looked at Majic.
“Hey Majic, I’ll teach you some magic later if you want me to, but it’ll cost you”
“Really?”
The mop rattled and Majic’s face began to shine.
“Don’t be tempted by such strange things my boy”
Bagup said, warning his son. Orphen lifted the necklace from around his neck, as he demonstrated one of his most valuable possessions.
“Only black sorcerers from the Tower of Fangs have this dragon pendant, this is an opportunity he can’t afford to miss”
“I don’t think Majic needs to learn Magic”
Bagup stroked his beard and spoked again.
“And don’t forget that you are broke, I can’t take you seriously”
“Don’t look at me like that, didn’t you know that I was a candidate for Court sorcerer?”
“Yeah, and you were eliminated on the basis of cheating, am I right?
“Not at all. Besides Majic is talented —— he’s a genius just like myself……I know he can do it——”
“Really?”
“Hey, don’t take him seriously, Majic.”
Bagup stroked his beard longer this time, then he started cleaning the dishes and glasses.
“How could a guy like you possibly be one of the thirteen candidates for Court sorcerer? If you were such a powerful sorcerer then how did you end up being a money lender!? And don’t give me your usual lip service.”
Bagup finished his speech and took his son to the corner of the bar, then he stressed the fact again to Orphen.
“Stop playing around with my son, he’s a very gullible boy but he won’t believe you anymore.”
“Calm down, I’m obviously not lying.”
Orphen was at odds over the tone of the conversation, he then picked up the spoon and began to stir the porridge.
“Magic has the talent, he just turned fourteen this year, didn’t he? All he does in this Inn is mop the floors, you should at least let him go to a decent school.”
“He did go to school. He went to an elementary school where he learned theology, basic math and reading and writing.”
“I’m not talking about an ordinary school, let him go to a certain famous place to learn magic.”
“Are you trying to say that he should study at the Tower of Fangs?”
“Not at all……I’m just saying that he should learn from a certain someone.”
Orphen muttered while munching on his porridge, as he was kinda embarrassed to say out aloud. He let go of the spoon and started touching the necklace once again —— on his necklace was the coat of arms of the Tower of Fangs, black sorcerers receive this as to prove their identity.
However, Bagup was observing his son and he looked unhappy as he mopped the floor. Orphen noticed no change in his expression, Bagup then spoke unemotionally.
“Anyway, do you think Majic has what it takes?”
Orphen then shifted his tone of voice.
“But do you think he can become a powerful sorcerer?”
“God knows. But let me remind you that this kid’s mother ——”
Orphen interrupted his words.
“Pure and sincere enthusiasm. That’s the path to become a powerful sorcerer.”
Upon instantly hearing these words, Bagup laughed out loud. Though he put the glass he had in hand into the dishwashing area, as to prevent himself from dropping it.
“If that’s the case, then you can’t possibly be a powerful sorcerer!”
Orphen didn’t say anything, he just grunted, and continued to eat his porridge.
***
“Are you kidding, that nasty guy!
Volcano Vulcan said in front of Bagup’s Inn as he paced back and forth, under a heavy and fierce breath.
“What a showoff, he’s such an asshole!”
At the same time, there was a another guy sitting on the ground with an empty bucket next to the entrance of the Inn, idly dangling his feet. But he was just like Vulcan, a little on the short side and seemed to be around the same age. He wore a big pair of thick glasses of all things, and a leather backpack beside the bucket. Although he wasn’t like Vulcan, he did has a small sword hanging by his waist. Though if you took one look at his backpack you’d instantly know that he doesn’t pack light. It may seem like a lot for a man of his stature, but he can handle it.
Vulcan suddenly turned to the guy wearing glasses, looking for a response.
“Well, aren’t I right?”
“……Hey!”
It was clear that he wasn’t listening to Vulcan’s speech, and started back blankly.
The expression on Vulcan’s face was beyond friendly.
“I’m talking about that black sorcerer, don’t you think he’s got an arrogant attitude?”
The guy put more effort into listening to his words, but still looked confused.
“Hey, and didn’t you borrow money from him too?”
It seems both of them are brothers.
“But that was…”
Vulcan just regarded this as his consent, and continued aggressively.
“And that guy’s so full of himself. You know what, I think that stupid human is just wasting our time. He isn’t good for anything, he’s just scum.”
(Business people aren’t usually his thing…) And that’s the unspoken truth.
Having said that, he’s dragged his brother into this business opportunity. However, because of this, he’s been very uneasy since this morning —— he’s had to listen to Vulcan say countless times that today they can make big money. Everytime he asked his brother for details, he would remain tight lipped and stop talking entirely. This definitely isn’t a good sign.
Vulcan continued grumbling.
“That’s good, though in future remember to respect your elders, alright?”
Vulcan said, mimicking Orphen.
“Oh please, he’s only two or three years older than me, and he had the nerve to act so superior than me!”
At this point, he just sounds like an annoying child.
He then felt the springs winds blowing through the alleyway, and looked up into the sky.
In the skies overlooking Totokanta, a few sparse clouds could be seen overhead, and it looks like they could fall at any moment.
***
Tick, tock, tick, tock……
A statue of a goddess which doubles as a clock, ticked with anticipation as the pendulum swung while both parties sat opposite of one another.
Sitting in an elegant and luxurious decorated living room, Orphen basically sat in despair. The fireplace wasn’t on and with summer slowly approaching, the weather would only get warmer, but this fireplace just seemed out of place. Pure white tablecloth with fine embroidery patterns were irately sitting at eye level in front of them. In a corner of the room there laid two sets of armour and swords, with the weapons intersecting one another. A thick scarlet carpet was sprawled across the room and you wouldn’t be surprised if people tripped over it. Right now, the couch that Orphen was sitting on had fine tree like patterns, it was probably worth more than a small pile of gems. Crystal lights were hanging from the ceiling, and this room was one of the biggest living rooms that Orphen had ever seen. Facing such a situation, Orphen was confused, as he didn’t know what he got himself into. Now, he just wanted to leave this place, and escape from this tense situation.
In fact, Orphen was dressed in formal wear. Feeling a little stuffy, took this opportunity to remove his necklace and place it into the pocket of his tuxedo. Sitting beside him were Vulcan and his brother Dortin, both of which were dressed in formal wear too. Vulcan just sat there, grinning the entire time. Though from his perspective he couldn’t see Orphen’s face, but from feeling him shivering in anticipation, he could tell that he wasn’t in top form.
“You say you are an entrepreneur, but you’re so young.”
The middle aged woman sitting opposite of Vulcan said. A shiver ran up Orphen’s back, mainly because he didn’t know how to respond, but luckily Vulcan interjected.
“Yes, but are from a company in a distant land.”
“A company? Then why don’t you tell us its name.”
“Well, uhm…you probably wouldn’t know it anyway, since it’s based so far away.”
Orphen gently put his hand to his head to restrain his headache.
“I see… Anyway, Mr. Orphen —— “
It took him a while to realize it was his name that they called.
“Ah, yes. What is it ladies?”
His head snapped up, as he spoke in a tone consistent of people from high society.
The women happily smiled.
“You seem nice enough. However, most people don’t get married after they’ve just met ——”
The woman finished talking, then she gently motioned to the girl sitting beside her. Remembering the introductions from the star of the meeting, Orphen remembered that the young womans name was Mariabelle —— Mariabelle Everlasting. Sitting beside her was her mother, and her name was Tishtiny.
Orphen set his sights upon Mariabelle, and she smiled back. Even though she hasn’t uttered a work yet. She looked like a wholesome girl and had long golden hair, yet Orphen could tell that she was older than him. She looked around 22-23 years old, and was quite the beautiful lady. Though Orphen was concerned about her mannerisms, for she looked kinda…not smart.
Orphen took that in consideration.
(I can’t believe I’m using this stupid method to make money, I should have stuck with teaching Majic. This is all Vulcan’s fault ——)
Orphen’s face didn’t show the raging firestorm inside of him, instead he just sat there leisurely drinking a cup of tea with Vulcan.
(In short, they were simply planning a marriage fraud!)
Blind dates are really uncommon in Totokanta, especially for noble families. They had checked out many other rich families in the area, but choose the Everlasting family as their victim. Orphen has no idea how Vulcan managed to even set this up in the first place, but he had a bad feeling about it.
“Having said that ——”
Tishtiny couldn’t think of anything else to say. She had been waiting for her daughter to speak to him, and she looked at her and urged her daughter to talk to him. But in the end, she gave up and started with the hard questions.
“Mr. Orphen, what kind of work do you do?”
“Huh?”
Orphen was taken aback by the question, and Vulcan rose to the challenge and interjected.
“Well, our company plants, cultivates and makes sleeping medicine!”
(That idiot ——)
Orphen didn’t have time to prepare, and Tishtiny continued the topic of conversation and asked the next question.
“Ah, sleeping medicine……then what kind?”
“Well, the experts can tell you that ——”
Orphen interrupted Vulcan, and smoothly gave an answer.
“The medicine is sold on the open market and is mostly cultivated in the highlands, the herbs are grinded into powder and are sold in multiple varieties. They are little pills that are easily swallowed, it’s generally called the sleeping forever medicine.
“Sleeping forever medicine?”
“It sounds like poison.”
“Ah……”
Tishtiny put her hand over her mouth, and didn’t say anything. Vulcan’s voice filled the void.
“Of course not, we don’t sell that sort of thing.”
Orphen didn’t expect this, he just sat there motionless.
(Why sleeping pills!)
He whispered to Vulcan, as he painfully looked for an answer.
(For women of high society, sleeping pills are a necessity!)
Orphen didn’t bother to ask anymore questions, and with a devilish grin he put his poker face back on. A faint smile appeared on Mariabelle’s face, but he didn’t want to take advantage of her as a black sorcerer, but as Mr. Orphen. Tishtiny harboured many doubts about this blind date, especially since she couldn’t expose the true identity of Orphen.
Although the Everlasting family wasn’t nobility, in the eyes of Orphen, they were simply a wealthy noble family living in the commercial district. Even though the family’s wealth was gained by previous generations, Tishtiny was in charge of it. And if she found out about Vulcan’s little scheme, suffice to say, she wouldn’t be happy.
Orphen stared blankly at Mariabelle’s face, she had a sweet smile. He wondered that if she married Vulcan, would he even get any of the money? A smile appeared on Orphen’s face.
“You’re such a terrible sorcerer, and your performance was terrible too!”
Tishtiny and Mariabelle went elsewhere in their mansion, leaving the three of them alone in the living room. Vulcan suddenly led out a loud roar, mostly due to the excessive tension and rested himself against the couch. Like a prisoner going to the gallows, he hung his head.
“My performance was terrible?!”
Orphen fiercely responded.
“First of all, let’s get this straight. You make me wear this stupid rental suit, and without explanation you drag me to this big mansion. How do you expect me to act?”
“Hurph”
Vulcan pondered quietly.
“I was acting like you were a big hot shot in our company. If you just played along, then you would happily be on the road to marriage.”
“Hey, asshole…don’t so casually determine my future.”
Orphen said as he grabbed Vulcan by the neck, though he made sure not to dirty his outfit. And both of them were staring hatefully into each other’s eyes. Then Dortin suddenly rose up and exclaimed ——
“Guys, stop fighting, even I didn’t know about the marriage fraud”
“Really?”
Orphen stressed his point once again, but Vulcan wasn’t listening.
“Come on! Could you have thought of a better plan?”
“You’ve gone too far!’”
Orphen stood up from his side of the couch, speaking as if he was some preacher at the end of days.
“First of all, you’re barking woke me up. Then you drag me all the way out here to do this marriage fraud!”
Listening to his rant, Vulcan lifted up his face.
“You don’t know the first thing about marriage fraud!”
“And don’t forget who started this whole affair!”
“Don’t say such stupid things”
Vulcan said nonchalantly.
“But marriage fraud is such a stupid way to make money”
Orphen said, wanting to know why he choose it.
“What’s wrong with you? Do you want your money back or not?”
Dortin had a worried look on his face, and Vulcan patted his chest.
“This is my master plan. And when it’s complete, we’ll be rich. Once we’ve sealed the deal, we’ll be able to get at their accounting books and use it as we please.”
Vulcan just wouldn’t shut up, so Orphen took one of the chairs and kicked it at him.
“You bastard!”
As soon as Orphen started to roll up his sleeves, the door opened.
Orphen immediately turned around, and Vulcan hurried back into his seat. The three of them focused their attention at the living room door, where a seventeen year old girl was standing.
“Who are ——”
Before Orphen could explain the situation, the girl spoke before him.
“Ah, sorry.”
The girl banged the door shut, and a second later a knocking sound was heard.
“Please, come in —— no, wait a minute!”
Orphen grumbled while he tried to regain his composure.
“Come in.”
The door opened again, and the girl looked over.
“I’m sorry, I forgot to knock on the door. However, Please don’t think I don’t know etiquette.”
The girl looked like Mariabelle, but more lively. Orphen could instantly tell that she was Mariabelle’s sister. She was wearing a beautiful dress white dress, looked very fit and had a petite body.
She didn’t seem to hear their previous conversation, but Orphen wanted to be sure.
“Well, since you don’t understand etiquette, could you please tell us who you are?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. My name is Cleo.”
She said her name, and put out her hand, then she shook hands with Orphen. But frowned.
“That’s a strong handshake you’ve got there.”
“Well, that’s because where I come from both men and women have to serve a couple of years in the military. After the second year, the skin on your hand begins to thicken.”
“Okay, I’ll take your word for it.”
(Great, she didn’t seem to hear their previous conversation.)
However, just as Orphen started smirking, Cleo began to smile.
“Anyway, I don’t think your marriage fraud plan is gonna work.”
Orphen thought that she didn’t hear, but it seems he was proved wrong. However, Cleo’s smiling continued.
“Hey, I know you plan to deceive my sister, but to what extent?”
“How did you………”
Orphen’s face begun to spasm. He looked over and saw Vulcan and Dortin shivering beside each other. It looks like his plan has come to an end, Cleo didn’t waste any moment trying to find out Orphen’s true identity.
“Oh, I overheard your conversation from outside the door.”
“How much did you hear?”
“The entire thing.”
(This won’t end well…)
Orphen couldn’t help but buckle under the pressure, and Cleo was aware of his reaction. She grabbed his hand and repeated the question again.
“I know you plan to deceive my sister, but to what extent?”
“You’ve got it wrong.”
Orphen couldn’t find a proper excuse to escape from this dilemma.
“But I heard you talking about ——”
But in the middle of all this, Vulcan started shouting.
“It wasn’t me! It was his plan!”
Orphen simply ignored him.
“It’s true, this guy here is a bona fide con artist!”
“Don’t believe a word this troll says, he’s the one behind everything.”
“How cruel, first you drag me and my brother here and then you insult us”
“That’s a lie! You were the one who came up with this plan, remember?”
“Don’t believe him, he’s an evil black sorcerer! He’ll try and brainwash you like he did me and my brother ——”
“Enough!”
Orpheum shouted with all his might. And a wave of light hit the brother’s feet, resulting in a loud explosion that shook the entire house. The explosion sent Vulcan and Dortin flying threw the air to a corner of the room. There was a big hole with burn marks in the expensive carpet, and the smoke that filled the room began to dissipate. The building was well built so damage to it’s foundation was nil.
“Well, that shut him up!”
Vulcan and Dortin lay in the corner, both of them knocked out. Orphen still had an angry face on him but a crackle of laughter erupted from behind him. It was Cleo, she seemed to be totally different from the other members of her family.
“Wow, that was quite the show. I knew it would get out of hand but I didn’t expect this.”
Orphen again, didn’t know how to respond.
“By the way, isn’t it fifteen years in prison for fraud?”
Cleo said with a smile, and immediately Vulcan began to cry while holding his head.
“But I was tricked!”
“You are very strange, Missy.”
Orphen said, as he walked towards her and kicked Vulcan aside as if he was a piece of rubbish.
“You can call me Cleo.”
“Okay Cleo, so do you intend to call the authorities?”
“Hmm”
The girl pondered, as she shook her long blond hair.
“So what are you gonna do?”
“I won’t do anything. I don’t want to get my mother involved with the police.”
“That guy over there planned it all —— though, we have still deceived your sister and mother.”
“Well, that depends on you. You don’t seem like a bad guy but do you still plan to marry my sister?”
“Well ——”
Orphen said while frowning, he couldn’t think of any other way out of this situation, so he decided to come clean.
“Listen, Cleo. You’re sister think’s I’m a wealthy businessman, but this isn’t true.”
“I think she would have found out sooner or later, especially after the wedding.”
At this moment, a huge explosion shook the whole house.
Boom!
At the same time, they could hear windows being broken. And the walls were giving out creaking sounds, they didn’t know the origin of the explosion. Due to the explosion, they were all to the ground. Orphen could only think of everyone’s safety—— they seemed to be alright. The explosion must have occurred somewhere in the house, but very far from the room which they were in. As for the cause of the explosion, one could only guess.
Comparing the explosion to Orphen’s magic, it small compared to the explosion, which sounded like a giant hit flew out of the sky and impacted the house. The only thing Orphen could think of was to get everyone out of here.
“Get out of here!”
Orphen shouted to Vulcan and the others. However, Vulcan and his brother Dortin flew into a panic and started screaming like a crazy person. It was like watching two dogs running after each other’s tails.
“Didn’t you hear me?!”
Orphen thought to himself for a second, he wondered what would happen to Vulcan and his brother if they were arrested here. Though he knew they would break under interrogation and reveal everything, so he quickly put it out of mind.
“Hey, wait a minute. Mr ——”
Cleo shouted as she grabbed his arm. Though when he turned around, she had quite the relaxed expression on her face.
“It’s not Mr ——Just call me Orphen!”
“What kind of name is Orphan?”
(Note: In the English Language an Orphan is a child whose parents are dead or have abandoned them permanently. Orphen’s name is Orphan except the “a” is replaced with and “e”. A symbolic name he gave to himself after leaving the Tower of Fang.
“It’s a long story.”
Orphen wanted to tell her all about himself, but this wasn’t the time for that. He then got Vulcan and Dortin together, and rolled them up inside the expensive carpet. He intended to throw them out the nearest open window he could find, and he didn’t care if it was a soft landing or not.
But someone screamed far away, it was a woman’s scream.
“That’s my sister’s voice!”
“Darn——”
Orphen said to himself, but he needed to get away from this place. He doesn’t want to go to prison, however he couldn’t ignore the screams of Mariabelle. She could be trapped under rubble or hurt, he needed to find if she and her mother was safe.
“Where is her room?”
Orphen asked Cleo, he intended on rescuing them.
“Follow me”
Another scream followed and Cleo ran faster, with Orphen following her into the hallway. The entire house seemed deserted, everywhere there was luxurious furnishings and everywhere looked like the aftermath of a riot. There was no trace of any servants, and another explosion rocked the building, knocking vases over and smashing them.
“Hey, don’t you think about escaping, black sorcerer!”
Orphen could hear Vulcan’s voice from behind. He seemed to have regained his sanity, and began following them. Orphen didn’t even bother looking back, he just continued onward. He found running in his rental suit kinda onward, but that didn’t stop him from chasing after Cleo.
“This is it.”
Cleo’s face wore a tense expression —— for she didn’t know what was on the other side of that door. The walls were painted white to match the oak doors that were made out of wood, there were sophisticated and delicate carving patterns all over the door. It reminded Orphen of a forest, as if beyond these doors lay a beautiful maiden awaiting to be rescued from beneath the rubble.
Cleo grabbed the doorknob and tried to open the door, it wouldn’t move at all, it was if the door itself was locked from the inside.
“What now…”
Cleo casted her eyes upon Orphen, wondering if he could help.
“Leave it to me.”
Orphen said, as he nodded and closed his eyes. He then started to focus and took a deep breath. To start a magical spell —— you generally need to say an incantation, using sound as a medium to convey magic. To prevent the incantation from losing it’s effectiveness, one must say it as quick as possible.
Humans have two different types of magic. Orphen is a black sorcerer, and they are adept as energy based magic such as light and heat, and they are able to cast healing magic. The other type is white magic, they can manipulate time and spirits. Though you need to be highly skilled to be able to use white magic, as most people can’t handle it.
After Orphen focused, he opened his eyes, then touched the doorknob and whispered.
「看我踏入，禁入之門！」
我招かれる踏まれざる門
Bewitching gate beckoning me!
After a moment, a clicking sound was heard from the door, Orphen approached the door and slowly pushed it open. Behind him Cleo softly murmured.
“I expected more.”
She was referring to that light wave that hit Vulcan in the living room, Cleo thought he would have blown the door open with magic. Orphen ignored Cleo’s reaction and entered the room —— he was speechless.
Sneaking behind him, Vulcan muttered.
“What is it?”
He saw what was in the room.
“It’s —— it’s a monster!”
“…… Shut up.”
Orphen said with a trembling voice. He stared motionless at that thing, his body seemed paralyzed, unable to move ……
Most of the room was destroyed. It looked like a giant meteorite flew down from the sky and created a big hole in the wall. Through the hole, he could see large parts of Totokanta. The windows were just big holes, and big gusts of wind were blowing through. Most of the furniture were in tatters, and a single stool stood upside down. Leaning against one was the windows was part of a bed frame, and the monster just sat there, menacingly.
Mariabelle was standing in front of Orphen, her body was trembling all over. Tishtiny stood beside her, but she tugged at her daughter’s arms as if to shield her. Both of them started screaming. Orphen was stuck in a daze, and it took a whack from Cleo to bring him to his senses.
“It’s a giant monster!”
Mariabelle said, as the monster sat before them.
“What the hell’s wrong with you?! Do something about that dragon you rotten bastard!
“Shut the hell up!”
Orphen raised his leg as if he was going to attack the monster, but he spun around and kicked Vulcan instead.
“What was that for?!”
Vulcan shouted, but it seems Orphen was more concerned with staring at the dragon rather than listen to Vulcan’s whining. Which is what he was actually doing. The monster’s body was plastered with sticky mucus, and it’s scales were covered with bristles. The creature was about three metres in length, and probably weighed near a ton. It was very easy to tell where it’s head and body connected, it looked like a big oval object with arms and legs sticking out and a head glued on top. But in actuality it looked like it had six feet, though it was hard to tell whether they were actually arms or legs. The hands at it’s front looked liked it had crooked fingers, and on the monsters back lay a pair of giant wings, which shadowed over the entire room as it rose up.
The longer he stared, the longer they all would be at risk. But Orphen could see there was something special about this wild beast, it had a personality. Though he could see that it was a conflicted personality. He could see that it had green eyes, but they looked kinda burnt and it’s eyelids covered the pupil. Orphen couldn’t help but think he’s seeing things repeat. It’s almost melted eyelid covered not only the pupil, but it even down to it’s chin, where blood-like liquid was dropping out.
This dragon was smart —— anytime it appeared it never chose heavily populated cities. Orphen doubted if he could even reason with the creature —— or rather, is it even rational. And if it is rational, then it should respond to his call.
“Azalie!”
Orphen shouted. Then the monster started to slowly turn it’s head, but he couldn’t tell if it was just moving or responding to him. So he shouted again.
“Azalie! I’ve been looking for you!”
Orphen stretch his arms out, and stepped forward. Behind him, Vulcan hurried over and grabbed him.
“Hello, do you want to die?!”
“Shut up!”
Orphen knocked Vulcan out of the way, and once again stepped forward to the monster. Vulcan yelled to him again.
“Hey! I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you can’t take that monster home with you! Haven’t you figured that out?!”
“It’s not a monster!”
“What did you say? Have you gone crazy, go near that thing and it’ll kill you!”
“It’s ——”
As soon as Orphen opened his mouth, the monster looked up towards the ceiling and let out a loud roar. It sounded like a dog howling, the sound filled the entire room and even kindled the fireplace.
“Ahhhhhh”
A wave of sorrow went over Orphen, but before he knew it a large wave of magic was casted around the room. Flames soon surrounded the beast, and a wall of fire separated everyone from the monster. Even though Orphen couldn’t see the monster clearly, he still shouted.
“Azalie!”
“Hurry up and do something bird brain!”
Vulcan shouted, as the wall of fire started to diminish.
“Azalie! Don’t run away! Please!”
Orphen shouted as loud as he could, he then raised his hands and started to chant a mantra.
I withdraw thee, shrew’s dance
And suddenly the wall of fire disappeared without a trace, and the monster was gone. The room was filled with smoldering ruins, leaving everyone except Orphen looking in wonder. Orphen dashed over to the window, or what was left of it, and looked up into the sky. He looked for the monster but could not see it, it’s seems to have disappeared.
Chillock Scans 