402. Heroess, 2

(Myls)

The kind of flat-faced dragon lied there where I shot its head repeatedly.

It still didn’t move. It was still bleeding.

I kept walking away, keeping an eye on it nonetheless.

I then heard Zeslinry behind me. She handed me a rifle to replace my handguns, given the distance between us and it now.

Z - The sky is opening. Completely.

Even I could begin to see the real light of the sky piercing through the clouds. They began vanishing and scattering as soon as this thing was down.

It could just be a coincidence, but it now feels like this thing carried the storm on its back wherever it went, as long as it was awake.

I don’t look back to check the sky though. I notice there’s more ambient light but I’m not looking away until the last second.

I trust Zeslinry. If she thinks it will be clear skies enough for us to sail away with Rose’s ship, then we will.

With Zeslinry, we exchange our roles for a short while, the time for me to reach a good spot in a sturdy building. Then she heads to our camp while I keep an eye on the fallen beast.

~

How long will it take for her to get everything ready, for us to leave?

Maybe one hour at best. Most likely more.

And how long before that thing reawakens?

I can’t guess.

I use my scope and its thermal vision. That thing is still boiling warm. Even the head is still warm. I can see some veins pulsating.

It’s definitely alive. I only knocked it out unconscious for a short while.

My bullets ripped its face apart and broke the skull. Some pieces went into the brain and chunks of it all flew out.

Any other animal would be dead.

That thing is what they call a daiûa.

Unlike us, their body is not all there is to it. They can exist with half a brain, and heal it later.

I don’t know where is the limit unfortunately. If I cut his head would it die? Or would it regrow a head? Or would the head regrow a body?

Or, scarier thought, both?

I don’t know for this one. There’s no obvious rules for things like that.

Some would just become ghosts, some would transform into something else with what’s left of the body, repurposing the flesh.

I think this one is healing its wounds. Surely faster than I would.

If I’m lucky, it won’t wake up before it’s full brain is repaired. If I’m unlucky, it could happen any second, bleeding or not, missing pieces of its head or not.

I can’t know, so I’m cautious.

~

Time goes awfully slowly. I’m nervous.

I see the chunks of flesh pulsating and moving around.

It’s healing.

At least the sun is shining nicely now above us.

I hope Zeslinry is done soon.

The beast is moving.

I shoot. The bullet pierces the head and brain still on the ground, making a large splatter behind. The noise will be a clear signal for Zes to hurry the hell up.

I see the beast slowly working on standing up as if it was waking up, as if nothing happened.

I shoot its back shoulders as I can, to hopefully incapacitate its wings for a while.

If it can’t fly, we have more chances to escape.

My shots all count. All of them pierce the flesh and crocodile skin, in dark dots, leaving large splatters behind.

But it reacted to none.

I can actually feel its hateful gaze onto me as if it was already above me. I have a second of animal panic. I’m beginning to tremble.

I am scared. It’s standing up now.

I could try to run away. The dragon looks more like a demon actually now. As it stands it has legs and arms, torso, neck, all looking quite in the homo genre.

But dark, scaly, with heavy scales with heavy scars everywhere, and giant wings behind, attached to that pair of muscular arms as well. It’s less scaly, more raw and wounded now.

A demon, nonetheless, now looking at me, or in my general direction at least.

I’m hidden, trying to control my trembling hands. I blew both its eyes out before I think. I didn’t see eyes grow back.

I very carefully realign my scope and rifle to this mass of madness and hatred.

I see the eyes beginning to reappear over that face.

I can’t be that accurate to shoot them from here, but I try. Another bullet hits the head. It groans, and then it roars.

It roars strongly enough to deafen me. I realise my mistake too late.

It felt it, the bullet. It was waiting for that shot, focused on its nerves, on its flesh, to find out where I was.

That bullet straight to the head gave it a clear line and direction for where I was.

It didn’t wait. I didn’t have time to swear. It had not finished roaring that it was jumping straight at me, as if to follow a reversed vector to the one of the bullet.

A colossal jump, with a flap of wings maybe painful but so strong, I even felt the depression of air pulling me ahead.

I mostly saw the dark thing about to crash on me.

I barely had the time to jump aside. My leg and hip were scratched by the broken wall. I bled.

The floor was collapsing by the time I could stand up.

I jumped through the window to reach another part of the building.

I kept running ahead while I heard the roars of that demon in the collapsing building.

~

I quickly covered my graze with a piece of cloth.

It’s hunting me down.

I was a few steps ahead but I wouldn’t escape for ever.

I thought of the river. Maybe if I could get it to fall in it, it could help.

I was heading the wrong direction, so it would be hard.

No choice... I’m not sure shooting its brain further would really affect it. I’ll have to try despite the unlikely result.

I turn back. My heart skips a beat, as I can see the flying ship in the sky in the distance.

Zeslinry lifted it, she’s on her way.

But if that thing here reaches the ship, it will smash it like a toy... If I go toward the river now, I’m exposing Zeslinry. Fuck!

I have now my two guns in hands. I’m trying to control my breath and heart-beat as I hear the commotion a few floors below.

If I can incapacitate it again, even for but two minutes, I can make it...

I hope my bullets can still work... I hope what’s left of its brain can still be hurt...

The floor explodes and the demon appears.

It’s fleshy face looks at me. I dodge its claws and shoot.

I hit and it yells. I don’t have time to shoot more as it falls back below, and everything else around me will follow.

I run further away, toward another building. I jump down. It’s still behind me.

I will have only one chance. It could work... I don’t want to die here!

I’m beginning to seriously lose it to panic.

Just a little more... I can be a hero...

Behind doors, along a corridor. It’s running at me. I can’t aim. I step aside. Instead of running to the end of the corridor, it jumps through it.

It’s reaching me. I’m raising my two handguns toward it again, maybe a second before I’m tackled.

I’m about to shoot. It stops suddenly its movement, but not because of me.

It’s looking at the side, toward the field.

I’m holding both my guns up to its face, doubting. It’s not looking at me anymore... Why did it stop?

P - Rose Blume...

My eyes widen.

It’s about to move toward her.

Time to be a hero.

I shoot everything I have at its head again.

~