Chapter 61.2 – Fighting the Dragons – part 3

Hinotsume had a slight frown on his massive forehead when he asked, “That means you don’t want to fly with me? Well, it seems it is just your friends, then.”

“Hey! I didn’t say that! I just… Holy moly, put your mouth away, man! I am about to throw up! What the heck did you eat? Go eat some fruits or vegetables!”

“Stop talking about my breath, will you? I ate one Drake this morning that was attacking a village to the north of here! It’s not my fault that Drake’s meat has a weird smell! You should thank me for eating that Drake, you know? I helped a bunch of meat sacs like you that live in that village!”

Nozomu crossed his arms over his chest and spoke, “Again with the meat sac? You lack manners, lizard. Maybe I should pull out some of your spikes next.”

“Don’t touch my spikes! It was already enough to lose my teeth! Damn you, Nozomu Shinchaku! You are so annoying! It is not my fault if your kind is so small and pitiful! You barely have meat over your bones to feed a baby Drake!”

Nozomu answered while kicking one tooth that was on the floor next to him. “A pitiful Human that took all these things from you. I wonder if I could sell them.”

“I know that Humans and Beast-kind like Dragon’s teeth to make Magical Items or weapons, and they pay a lot of money for one tooth. There was once a civilization that used to make Magical Items because teeth are strong and can focus the Magic of the World. You have there… You took out ten of my teeth? Damn you! At least the knowledge of using Dragon’s teeth to make powerful Magical Items was lost a long time ago. My kind took care of killing every being that knew how to do it, so that Humans and Beast-kind didn’t go after Dragons, but teeth are still useful for making the weak versions of the Magical Items that most beings now use. Or weapons. A sword or a dagger from a tooth is virtually indestructible. Our scales can also serve as shields, but Drake’s scales can also be used. Dragon scales are stronger, though. You said you killed two Drakes. You took the scales?”

“We brought with us a few of the big ones, and tomorrow morning we want to go there to get the rest of the scales.

Mizukonta, the blue Water Dragon, approached and said, “I heard you saying your group poisoned the Drakes. Their meat can’t be used by Humans, but depending on the Poison you used, maybe we can eat them and separate the scales for you.”

Chujitsuna raised her right hand and said, with a big smile, “I used a Ten Second Poison! Maybe tomorrow the meat of those Drakes is not that poisonous, but I am not sure!”

Mizukonta nodded her massive head, “I know that Poison. It is extremely powerful and deadly, but it loses strength after some hours. I guess we have our meal for tomorrow if our small friends tell us where the Drakes are.”

Chujitsuna waved both arms with a big smile and said, “I can show you if you take me for a ride in the sky! I want to fly like you!”

Mizukonta answered, and her eyes seemed sad. “I think… that can be arranged. It has been many, many years since the last time I had a being on my back. The last one was… my friend… a strange Human that could also do some strange things, like Nozomu Shinchaku… His death was an enormous loss to the World. When he died, so did his civilization. If he had survived, things might have been different now.”

Hinotsume interrupted her with his thundering voice, “And you almost died when he did! I don’t miss him that much! He was darn annoying, almost as much as Nozomu Shinchaku here!”

“Yes… And he was also the last being to defeat you. I liked him; he was kind and funny. It was because of him and the memories he left with us that you made an absurd promise that anyone able to defeat one of us would be our Master. Remember? Guess what, we were both defeated today, moron!”

Nozomu looked at both Dragons and said, “You are talking about some strange things… I am not sure if I can ask about it, but for now, what about if we went to the sky?”

Hinotsume lowered his head and body and said, “You first, then. Considering your size, I can take one more. Mizukonta can also take two with her.”

Nozomu signalled for Taisetsuna to join him, while Chujitsuna and Tresuria went to the blue Dragon.
While the Principal, the Teachers, and the students were looking at them, both Dragons ran onto the field with their wings spread and took off.

The Lion-kind boy snorted, “Lucky bastards…”

That remark earned him a punch on the head from a frowning Dwarf Teacher, who warned him, “Shut up, dumbass! They did the impossible, and instead of congratulating them for what they did, you are jealous? You are a piece of work, no doubt about it! I am so going to like to punch you during class! Moron! Be prepared for some well-deserved punishment! I always liked Lion-kind. They are good punching bags!”

Hinen and Robert were looking up, watching the Dragons flying towards the mountains, and Hinen asked in a low voice, “Nozomu is taking them to the mountain where we left the Drakes? They are really going to do the hard work for us?”

“They seem to like it. Man, that was absurdly dangerous. I have no idea how Nozomu fooled them. If they went to the sky, they would easily kill us all.”

“I am not that sure. I could still hit them from down here with a Water Spear, but I would need to be lucky enough to hit a soft spot. Those scales on them are thick!”

Robert nodded in silence, still wondering if his Fire Magic would be enough to deal with, at least, the Water Dragon.
Up in the sky, Nozomu had Taisetsuna behind him, grabbing one scale with one hand and the other around his waist.

Nozomu was grabbing the scales with both hands, and he asked, “Hinotsume, you said that you are alive for millennia. Did you survive the last cleansing from God Raluth? And what was that about Mizukonta’s friend that died?”

“You are asking too many hard questions, Nozomu Shinchaku. Are you sure you are ready for the answers? You might not like it!”

“I want to know, Hinotsume. I found it hard to believe blindly that a God is sleeping inside the World that every three thousand years wakes up, kills everyone, and then creates new beings. Do you know the truth or not?”

“Raluth exists, but only your kind and Beast-kind call him a God. He is part of the World, and he can very well be the World itself. He feeds on the Magic that the World creates, and only comes to the surface when there are far too many beings able to use Magic. When he surfaces, strange things happen. He controls every Magical Being and Monster, and they serve as his underlings. He destroys everything and eats every living being he can. A few are left alive so that they can breed again, and new civilizations can be created, and the cycle repeats.”

“That… that is horrible! Why are there no records of what happened for all these millennia?”

“Because before going to the inside of the World again, he uses a strange Magic and erases what happened from the memories of the survivors. Dragons are not immune to his control, and the worse is that we remember the horrors we experienced when he was commanding us. Mizukonta and I are one of the few Dragon couples he didn’t eat the last time he surfaced, but maybe we will also be eaten when he wakes up once again, and we will join our brothers and sisters and share their fate. The only thing we can do is to leave behind enough fertilised eggs so that there will be a new generation of Dragons after we are gone. One ancient civilization found a few of Raluth’s scales, still full of Magic, and they were the ones that created the Magical Circles that your kind still use. As you can see, Raluth cleanses the world, but at the same time, leaves behind his absurd Magic when he sheds his scales, and new civilizations prosper because of him. You can think of it as part of this World’s growth process. Raluth eats, sheds old scales, new scales grow, and another civilization uses the Magic in the scales to flourish.”

Taisetsuna stuttered, unable to accept such a thing, “I-it’s n-not possible… God Raluth brings life, and… and he only cleanses the unworthy beings…”

“He cleanses, all right, by eating them. See why Dragons don’t tell what Raluth really is? No one can accept the truth. You two are now the only living beings besides Dragons who know. This is what it means to be friends with Dragons. You share our happiness, and also our horrors.”

Nozomu gulped and said, “Thank you for trusting us with this knowledge. It is probably better if you don’t tell the others. I am not sure if they can handle it. Heck, I am not sure if I will be able to! I just… When was the last time that God… I mean, Raluth, surfaced and ate everything?”

“Almost three thousand years ago. The next time that he will appear will probably be after you both are long dead. Your descendants won’t be that lucky. Or maybe they will be amongst the few survivors, who knows?”

“Why… never once… I mean, no one ever tried to stop Raluth?”

Hinotsume went silent for a few seconds, and then he spoke, “Millennia ago, Dragons tried. It was our last stand against him. It was also the last time we dealt with Humans and Beast-kind and considered many of them our friends. We lost so many Dragons, so many good friends... You remind me of him. Mizukonta dearest friend, and mine. A weird Human like you. He was also immune to my Magic, and he could use a weird Magic that exploded. In the end, I couldn’t go against Raluth’s power. He controlled me, and I ate my friend. Mizukonta didn’t forgive me for centuries.”

Nozomu frowned and asked, “I read a book about myths of the World. In there, I read about a Mage that could cause explosions that looked like big mushrooms. Is he the one you are talking about?”

“Yes, he is. It seems his memory still lives, even if only in books, as a myth. He was not only immune to Magic, but he could also absorb Magic from others and change it to make powerful explosions. The more Magic he absorbed, the bigger the explosion was.”

“Weird… I can also do that, you know? Strange coincidence, no?”

Hinotsume lost his concentration, and he dove for a few meters before recovering his glide again. Taisetsuna and Nozomu screamed during the fall, and Hinotsume apologised for it, and he then asked, with his head a bit turned back, to look at them, “You can make those explosions? Really? If you used those, I wouldn’t have a chance, even if I was flying! What are the odds… Finding another like him… Amazing… You better keep that ability of yours secret, Nozomu Shinchaku. My friend had to live with the Dragons to escape because there was always some country trying to use his power to conquer other countries. Human and Beast-kind are stupid. They only care about Magic, wealth, and land. Nothing of that matters when Raluth surfaces. In the end, they are all eaten, no matter how much Magic, wealth, or land they have. To Raluth, everything is food.”

Nozomu slowly nodded and spoke. “You can call me Nozomu, Hino. There is no need to use my full name.”

“You know that Hinotsume in the old language means ‘Fire Claws’? Hino only means ‘Fire’. It is kind of weird calling me by the Magic I can use.”

“Okay, what about Tsume?”

“That means nail or claw. What about if you called me Hinotsume and I won’t call you idiot?”