The Lionesss

Sybille, I, and a handful of other adventurers fought through the tempest, struggling against the swaying of our boat. We were on Lake Heid on a quest to kill a wyrm-class dragon. The wyrm that had nested in the lake roared at us as it emerged out from the water, then dove back inside to emerge under us.

The dragon’s fangs met the resistance of runes carved into the hull.

“Steady… steady!” went Sybille, swinging her staff high to reinforce the barrier.

The dragon pulled back, then leapt to attack the voyagers directly.

“Got you!” I shouted.

Just as it came forward, I grabbed it with both my hands, grappling at its jaws and refusing it any moment.

“Now!” added Rocksplitter.

Rocksplitter and the other adventurers thrust their spears into the dragon’s neck. The beast bellowed its cry, struggling against the attacks, and in its movements it rocked the boat, knocking some of the adventurers off.

“Sybille!” I called.

“On it!” she replied.

She aimed her staff down, charged its crystal, and then...

“Wind Blade!” she cast forth.

Away went the dragon’s head, and its body, all reduced to a cloud of smoke.

***

After the incident with the Sacred Beast, Sybille and I decided to stay in Heiddston. We used the money we got from Count Victor to put a down payment on a small house, and advanced through the ranks of the Adventurer’s Guild to continue paying it. Rocksplitter joined the Guild as well, with special permission from Count Victor, and joined us on the adventures from time to time. He had his own party too, and on top of that, we sometimes cooperated from time to time. After six months in the Guild, we managed to advance from Bronze Rank to Silver Rank, and for that, we celebrated in the bar.

“Cheers!” we went, clamping our mugs together before drinking.

After our celebration for having reached Silver Rank, Rocksplitter’s party went on to a mission together, while Sybille and I stayed on the town. I wanted to accompany my orc friend, to be honest, but Sybille was passed-out drunk and I did not want to just leave her in the house without a word.

Still, that Rocksplitter was impressive. He had an elf girl, a catgirl, and a priestess in his party. I think I have a pretty good idea how he managed to draw them in, but I’d rather not speculate too much.

After I waited some hours for Sybille to wake up from her drunken nap, I escorted her back home.

“Bastion, I’m sorry…” she lamented on the way back. “I did it again.”

“It is not a problem,” I told her. “Just take it easy. You don’t want to damage your liver.”

Sybille drunk alcohol often enough, but usually not to the point of passing out. I don’t think I could call her an alcoholic. She did not drink every day, of course, but it was undeniable that she greatly enjoyed it. She especially preferred to drink on the weekends. Of course, I joined her, even if just for the taste. I could not get drunk. Yet.

“Stop right there!” someone shouted at us.

We were in the middle of the street taking us home when someone called at us from behind.

When we turned around, Sybille and I saw a scantily clad, athletic woman with blonde hair, feline ears, and lion tail. She was carrying this massive halberd against her shoulder, and her glare… affixed on me.

“I found you,” she said. “I found you… YOU BASTARD!”

The lioness charged towards me, leapt, and swung down the hammer-piece of her halberd down to my face.

“Calm yourself!” I said.

I barely just managed to block it with my arm.

“Bastion!” added Sybille.

The lioness kept flailing her weapon at me without end. It must have been painful for her. The strain of the rebound effect was clear on her face, but she did not stop.

“Come on… come on!” went Sybille.

She was pointing her staff at the lioness, but magic was refusing to hurl out from her staff. The rebound effect had a stronger grip on some over others. For someone like Sybille, even just restraining someone took tremendous effort.

“I will kill you!” shouted the lion girl. “Do you know how many people you’ve killed?! How many people lost their families?! You murderer, you killed my friends and don’t even are!”

What was she talking about?

Were there things I could not remember from that siege where the Master took over my mind?

“Hold on!” I said. “Calm down, we can talk this through!”

She kept on attacking, and I kept on blocking.

“Calm down?” she said. “Calm down after everything you’ve done? Everything you did!?”

Her next attack was coming strong.

I had to step back to dodge and let her tear a massive crater into the ground.

“Golden Binds!” said Sybille, casting her spell.

Chains of light hurled out from the ground and bound the lion girl from shoulder to toe.

“Got you!” added Sybille.

“You bitch!” said the lioness. “Get out of my way! I need to avenge them. I need to avenge every person killed by that murderous monster!”

She burst open the chains, picked up her halberd, and rushed to me with blinding speed.

“Bastion!” Sybille shouted.

The lioness thrust the spear-like tip of her halberd into my chest.

“Ah… ah…” she groaned.

It was nothing fatal for me. It was hardly even an injury. However, lightning was coursing through her body, nonetheless. The rebound effect… it was about to kill her.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered, “everyone.”

She fell to the ground limp with tears in her eyes.

“Bastion!” said Sybille. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah…” I said, and looked down at the lion girl.

Just what the hell was her deal? Is it because something I did while the old man was controlling me? Just how much damage did I actually do?

I could not remember everything from that day. The day that I helped destroy a town. Even if I was mind controlled that time, I had to do something about it.

I had to face what I had done.

***

The lion woman woke up on a makeshift mat, with her wrists chained to the wall. The moment she realized she was trapped, she yanked the chains, slamming herself against the wall and trying to break free from her binds.

“You’re finally awake,” I told her.

“Dammit, where are you keeping me?!” she said.

“Calm down. We only want to talk to you.”

Sybille turned away.

“You are lucky Bastion is not a killer,” she told her. “He could have easily killed you if he wanted.”

The warrior lady glared at Sybille.

“Then do it,” she said.

I sighed.

“You are in our house,” I told her.

“What?”

“You asked where you where, and that’s where you are. Now. What is your name?”

The lion girl scoffed.

“As if I would ever give my name to the likes of you,” she said.

“Very well. At least, however, please tell me about what I supposedly did. I ask you to be elaborate.”

“What, that you killed hundreds of soldiers and left villages in ruins? Or what about the civilians you massacred? Do I need to be elaborate on that?”

That did not sound familiar. I am sure that I would have remembered something like that, even if it were expunged from my conscious memory.

“When did this happen?” I asked. “Please, tell me.”

“When?” said the warrior. “Did all that warrant so little attention in your pebbles-for-brains that you do not even remember?”

Sybille glared at her.

“Hey!” she said.

I gestured for her to calm.

“Humor me,” I asked the woman.

She scoffed again.

“It has been around eight months that you first showed up,” she said. “Four since you started going deep into Ranolkian territory. Three since you burned a village near the border. Two since you killed a camp of civilians. Just days since you decided to come to Holy Brenna and attack her border towns, and killed my friends.”

That did not add up.

“I am sorry,” I said. “However, I came to this world a little over a year ago, approximately. I have been in Holy Brenna for about half a year. The Guild has good registry of that, as well as numerous witnesses of my presence here. How could I have done all that from here?”

“With those wings of yours, I bet you could go anywhere in minutes,” said the lion girl.

The what?

“Wait, wait, wait,” said Sybille. “Bastion can’t fly.”

“Sure he can,” insisted the woman.

“How do you even know you are having the right golem?” said Sybille. “This is just not adding up.”

“A golem as unique as this one is hard to miss,” said the warrior. “One that is not just able to travel anywhere, but also has the soul of an Otherworlder… the moment I heard about the attack on Greenvale, I chased after the rumors of a warrior of pure stone. Those rumors lead me here.”

Greenvale?

“Hey, that’s where Tiberius lives!” said Sybille. “Do you remember, Bastion? The man who helped us join the Guild!”

“I do,” I said. “We need to check on him.”

“Bastion… all this… you know what it could mean, right?”

I did.

“There may be another ReConstruct like me,” I said. “Master Croghan… he must have delivered. He really did make another one, and one with less restraint than I.”

The warrior’s eyes went wide.

“Wait, there are more of those things like you?” she said.

“It appears so, I’m afraid,” I told her. “We will need to talk with Tiberius to confirm the sighting.”

I knew how dangerous I can be. I was one of the few people in the world that could kill without the rebound effect striking me. Just what this warrior said is terrible enough…

“I have found a home in this Kingdom,” I told the warrior. “I will not let it be destroyed. Not when I can fight.”

If another otherworlder was merged into a ReConstruct… that meant only I could be capable of defeating them.

“Bastion…” said Sybille.

“Let her go,” I told her. “I am going to Greenvale to check on Tiberius. We do not need to keep her here.”

“Eh?” said Sybille. “Wait, Bastion! Are you sure?”

“I am. Let her go.”

It was not like she could really hurt us. The rebound effect had her just about bedridden by now.

“You…” said the warrior.

Sybille turned towards her with a glare.

“Don’t try anything funny,” she said.

“Yeah…” said the warrior.

She was strong. If she had not been held back by the rebound effect, there was a solid chance I would have died when she ambushed me. This woman… she would make a strong ally.

“Would you like to come with us?” I asked her.

Both Sybille and her turned to me incredulously.

“What?” they said in unison.

“No way!” said Sybille. “No way she’s joining us! She tried to kill you!”

“That’s right!” said the warrior. “I would never join some… some inhuman stone monster like you!”

...

“Understood,” I said, and left the room.

Sybille undid the warrior’s binds. The warrior stood up slowly, making distance from both of us, and walked herself out of the house.

She looked around the town. No doubt, she was now wondering what to do.

“Are you sure you want to let her go?” said Sybille, catching up to me.

“I’m not going to kill her,” I told her. “But, I am not going to keep her imprisoned either.”

“Right…”

Sybille locked the house, and the two of us went on our way to the main gate.

The news of Greenvale’s attack was already spreading in the town.

An attack dealt by the Akhronnan Kingdom meant war. Some townsfolk wanted revenge, others feared for their lives. Many mourned the loss of the village. Everyone knew that this was the beginning of something disastrous.

The time of peace was over.

Now, it was time of war.

“Hey!” someone shouted at us.

It was the lion warrior.

“What is it?” I asked her.

She walked up to us, with her head bowing down and tail between her legs.

“That offer,” she said. “The one about going with you. Is it standing?”

“Are you going to travel with an inhuman monster, after all?”

“I’m sorry. I should not have said that.”

Sybille pouted and fisted at her own hips.

“That’s right!” said Sybille. “You shouldn’t have!”

“I apologized, okay?” said the warrior woman. “Sorry if I was angry. I was not thinking.”

“Hmm. And what changed from sixty seconds ago?”

“You two,” said the warrior, “you are the only ones who can face that monster. If the rumors are true… we only have one shot. That thing is an unstoppable killing machine. For all those that lost their lives to it… I want to help defeating it. If you would have me, of course.”

“Hmm….”

Sybille squinted at her and crossed her arms as she kept pouting.

“Fine by me,” I said. “Try to keep up.”

The lion woman sighed with relief.

“Thank you,” she said, and caught up with us. “It is Leona by the way. My name.”

I did want to bonk her in the head for that insult… but her apology was earnest. I could tell she actually was feeling bad about it. So… I tried my best, did what I could to imitate a smile by raising my head high, and nodded.

“Welcome to the team, Leona,” I told her.