More screams followed the closer I got. Each sounding more desperate than the previous one.
A deafening roar came from the same direction. It sounded as if death spoke for the first time.
I grit my teeth.
I need to hurry.
I pump my legs more rapidly, running even faster than before with the wind slamming against my face, until a large figure starts to come into view.
Is that it?...
What... is that?
As I approach the creature, I'm met with a familiar scene. One that I vowed to prevent.
Blood soaked the grass, corpses that seemed as if they were chewed and spit out, with their flesh spilling out onto the ground, were scattered everywhere. The feeling of pure horror lingered. The surrounding trees that were once green were covered in death.
What... happened here...?
The same scream ruptured from above me.
My eyes venture up to discover the sight of a man in the mouth of a creature, his body was being devoured, and the sounds of crushing bones filled the air, only to be overpowered by the sheer shrills of his screams.
Taking a closer look at the beast that held him, my eyes widened.
It was a dragon. It didn't seem like it was fully grown; this one looked like a young adult.
What is a dragon doing here?!?
I glance back at the man in the dragon's mouth.
He looked familiar...
A sudden realization struck.
This was the same armored man from yesterday at the guild hall.
Then is this... his quest? No, it can't be. A dragon is much too difficult to be just a grade 3 quest.
The man starts to yell in desperation, using all the strength in his body, "YOU USELESS BITCH! DO SOMETHING!"
Who was he talking to?
My gaze turns back to the ground, where I am met with the scene of a lady with her back to the stone hill behind her, her entire body shaking as she watches her comrade being devoured by the monster in front of her. She couldn't so much as move from that place, even if she wished. She was paralyzed with fear.
Huh? She looks familiar as well.
The lady's pointy ears catch my attention, and I'm taken back to the sight of yesterday's incident at the guild hall.
This was the elven woman.
Then the corpses are...
There's no time to think, I have to save him.
I turn back to the man and try to reassure him, "HOLD ON, I'LL GET YOU DOW-"
*CHOMP*
The man's body splits in two and falls with a large thud on the ground, crushing his body even more. The dragon licks the blood from the front of its snout.
Dragons didn't require food for long periods of time. And they certainly didn't need to use their teeth to kill their opponent, they could simply use their breath of fire. This dragon... killed these people slowly for its own entertainment.
How sickening.
My body wouldn't move, I just stared at the horrifying creature that stood before me, as it enjoyed its meal.
It begins to move, using its talons to make its way towards the elven woman who is still paralyzed with fear.
'MOVE, GET OUT OF THERE!'
Wait... what? The words wouldn't leave my throat, much less move an inch.
I want to.
I need to.
I need to go.
The dragon's enormous body shook the ground as it grew closer to the elven woman. Finally facing her, it pulls its neck back, preparing an attack. A large lump formed on its neck as flickers of flame gathered in its closed mouth.
The elven woman's expression then began to change. She was no longer afraid. She wasn't shaking either. She just sat there completely still. Closing her eyes and looking up at the sky, as if surrendering herself.
Is she accepting her death?
Does she wish to die?
I don't know.
I don't know.
It's pointless to ask these questions.
But what I need to do in this moment...
is to help her.
My body is still frozen.
Please, move. Please. Please. Please. Please. Please.
FUCKING MOVE!
WHY FREEZE UP NOW? DO YOU NOT SEE THE PERSON WHO'S ABOUT TO DIE IN FRONT OF YOU? WHY AREN'T YOU FUCKING MOVING?
There was no response from my body.
The dragon finishes its preparations and slowly opens its gigantic mouth, revealing massive flames gathered in its throat. I could feel it. It felt like the sun had directly touched me. The dragon releases the bundle of flames.
*FWOOSH*
Large gusts of wind blew through the elven woman's hair, it felt surreal to her.
Was it a dream to her? Had she not just stared death in the eye? Is what she's feeling right now... Heaven?
She slowly opens her eyes and is met by my face, as I hold her in my arms, my legs rapidly pumping, running away at full speed from the dragon using Brontyx.
A large THUD appeared from behind.
I take a glance behind me. The dragon's eyes meet mine and spread its wings, destroying the blood-soaked trees around it as the sheer force of its flapping changed the landscape. It takes to the sky and right on our trail.
Shit, what does this thing still want?
Wait, hold on...
I stare at the dragon as it flies, getting closer and closer.
No way...
I'm running at full speed with Brontyx. How is it this fast?
Fuck, it's getting closer. I can't outrun it. I can't make this a contest of endurance either. I'm going to run out of breath before then. And more importantly, I can't let this thing anywhere near Briarhelm. It would be chaos.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice the elven woman still looking at my face. I met her gaze, to which she responded by closing her eyes, as if thinking that it would completely hide her. Perhaps she did it out of fear.
I need to reassure her. For her to accept death so quickly and readily, she must have only known a world that never showed her mercy.
Birds of a feather... huh?
However, I'm not really good with people. Every conversation I've had with someone was fake. It was just a charade for my own benefit.
But still... She can't give in here.
I need to try my best.
"It'll be fine."
Those were the only words that left my mouth, not knowing what else to say.
Fuck, I really am bad at this.
However, judging by the look on her face, she loosens up, as if my words set her mind at ease.
In the air, the dragon raises its snout, releasing enormous balls of fire in my direction, each sizing up to an adult elephant.
This doesn't pose much of a problem to me. With the speed that I'm going, those massive fireballs won't so much as graze me.
Until it catches me off guard...
**BOOM**
I'd been too arrogant. The dragon drastically increased the power of its flames with that last attack. I barely dodged it in time, but it caused me to lose my footing and tumble on the ground, dropping the elven woman in the process, and she fell violently to the ground, leaving her unable to move an inch.
I need to get up. I wasn't hurt too badly, it was just a mere fall.
More importantly, how was she doing?
I glance at the elven woman's body, still unmoving.
Is she okay?
I take another look at her and notice that she's just unconscious.
Thank God.
We need to keep moving, there's no time to stop.
I started to take steps toward her unconscious body, but was abruptly stopped by a sea of flames spewing from the mouth of the dragon, creating a barrier of fire between me and the elven woman.
Shit.
It won't even give me a second to recover.
I need to do something about this dragon.
I look back at the woman, checking if she truly is unconscious. She is. Nobody would just be lying there with the forest around them erupting into flames.
"Now then...
Let's put you to sleep, shall we?"