Chapter 20: The Holy Maiden of Water

The mercenaries’ overconfidence made them weak. That confidence may have come from having foreknowledge of who would be attacking them. Vito still wondered how the mercenaries knew they were outcasts. The Silver Oak Guild wasn’t known outside of a few circles, and they never once worked with mercenaries.

“Bound Blade!” Vito and Delwyn cloaked their swords in magic, blunting their strikes. They picked apart their enemies one by one in perfect sync. They were stunned and pushed close together on two sides by Vito, Delwyn, Greye, and Galien. The guard tower itself was behind them, and Iris and Parsifal were in front of them.

“Soul of Undine!” Iris raised her staff and conjured a woman born of water three times her own height, dressed in a flowing gown.

The dragon roared and formed a flaming lance in its claws. “Inferno Lance! Reduce that wench and her feeble spirit to nothing!” the mage commanded. The dragon threw the lance at Undine and Iris.

“Purifying River,” Iris spoke softly as Undine held her hands out and released a mighty stream of water. The Purifying River carried the Inferno Lance back towards its wielder and quickly wrapped around the flaming dragon. Steam erupted around the creature and spread throughout the courtyard.

Vito and the others used this to their advantage and quickly defeated most of their opponents. One or two posed a real challenge, but Delwyn and Greye quickly overwhelmed them. Greye engaged a swordsman wielding a large broadsword. He was a large and imposing man decked in gleaming silver and gold armor. Despite his gaudy appearance, he was level 57 with the strength to match. “You’d need an army of outcasts to even have a chance of defeating my Crimson Blades.”

“It’s strange that you know we’re outcasts,” Greye commented as his blade sparked against the mercenary’s.

“Heh. Don’t concern yourself with such things. You’ll die soon anyway,” the mercenary spat. Magic sparked off his sword. “Lightning Blade!” He pushed against Greye’s sword and forced his lightning through his foe’s body. To his shock and horror, Greye merely smirked and pushed him back ten feet.

Vito appeared from behind and leaped up to strike the mercenary leader down. The mercenary spun around and grabbed Vito’s neck. His neck cracked, and he quickly ran out of air. Vito dropped his sword and drew his knife to stab the mercenary's wrist. The enemy shouted in pain and dropped Vito.

He retrieved his sword and stood ready. “Fury Blade!” Vito and Delwyn unleashed twin magic blades. The mercenary blocked their attacks with one mighty swing of his sword. Vito and Delwyn clashed with the mercenary, empowering their jagged magic blades with a constant supply of magic.

“Bound Final Blade!” Greye and Galien struck from above. A crater was gouged into the rough ground as their blades struck the mercenary. Vito and Delwyn moved back to avoid the shockwave and rubble that flew out in all directions.

A second large impact alarmed Vito. He looked off to the side and saw Iris’s Undine lifting her fist out of the ground and revealing the mage in a similar crater. “There, now we can find the second elder dragon, or…what’s left of it,” Iris spoke.

“You chose the right priestess, Vito,” Delwyn commented in awe.

“Yeah,” he agreed, his jaw hanging open. Iris smiled sweetly and released Undine.

Parsifal bound the mercenaries in their own ropes and chains and applied a seal on their magic. Vito had been ignoring the notifications, but he was pleased to see that he had finally reached level 32 and gained the “Mercenary’s Bane” title.

Vito walked with Delwyn and Iris to investigate the guard tower’s inner areas. They quickly discovered the remains of the second elder dragon. Bones, hides, and various preserved organs were carefully organized in crates.

Iris buried her face in Vito’s chest and quietly sobbed. He embraced her and rubbed her back to comfort her. A quiet fury burned inside him. Delwyn was just as disgusted. “There was no honor in their battle. They used magic and tools to tie it up and gut it,” she observed.

Delwyn’s eyes widened in shock when she opened another crate. “An egg?!”

Iris quickly pulled away from Vito and ran toward the crate. “A dragon egg…” She slowly lifted the egg and held it close to her. It was as large as her torso, and just as heavy, given how Iris handled it.

“Is it still alive?” Vito inquired.

Iris happily nodded, a tear trailing down her cheek. “Yes. Its parent may have died, but this little one is still alive.” She handed the egg to Vito so she could open her satchel. “We must care for it. It’ll be safe in here until we can prepare a nest for it.”

“We would need a special license to care for a dragon,” Delwyn reminded her.

“The Holy Church is exempt from such things,” Iris explained as she and Vito carefully stored the egg in her treasure bag.

Galien joined them and looked over the crates. “I guess that’s the second elder dragon,” he surmised. “We didn’t find any useful documents. They must have destroyed their orders.”

“Smart. Frustrating, but smart,” Vito commented.

Greye joined them and examined the dragon materials. “Let’s get this packed up. I know exactly what we’ll do with all of this.”

“What about the mercenaries?” Vito asked.

“We’ll pack them up, too. Orinis has a prison system that was used during the old battles. It’ll hold them well enough until the capital guards come to detain them.”

“The capital guards?” Galien was confused.

“Orinis doesn’t have the resources or manpower to keep the mercenaries detained for long,” Greye began. “The elder can judge and sentence them, but Orinis won’t be able to carry it out. In these instances, the capital will escort dangerous criminals to a separate prison.” He nodded to a guard, who departed to make preparations. “We’ll be able to interrogate them in the meantime. We need to find out who hired them and where they attacked the elder dragons.”

Vito cracked his knuckles. “Let’s take our time and ask our questions as carefully as we can. Really make them understand our position.”

Greye chuckled and shook his head. “We’ll use our words before we use our fists.”

“But we will make sure they answer our questions,” Delwyn added with a smirk, cracking her knuckles.