False Memories!?

Kanie coughed and looked up at Kimora.

“Hey, what gives?” he shouted. “That hurt like hell, you know!”

“Hmph!” she exclaimed. There was a clear sense of hatred in her voice.

“I take it back! No date for you. Let’s go, Mylo~.”

She placed a finger under her left eye and stuck her tongue out at the heroes, after which she turned tail and started to float away. Mylo followed her, footsteps shaking the ground as he did.

Kanie turned to face Eric.

“… Dude, what was that all about?” he asked. “Did I come on too strong? Was I bragging too much? I heard girls aren’t into that.”

“No, I don’t think that’s it,” Eric said. Smoke rose off of his charred, crispy body.

“Her whole mood seemed to change the moment you mentioned that we were Jandariu’s heroes…”

“Soo, what exactly do we do here?”

“Isn’t it obvious? We give chase.”

Eric pointed toward Kimora.

“If we let her get away now, we might not get another chance to see her for a long time,” he said. “Remember—the clock’s ticking.”

Kanie sighed.

Really? We have to chase down the hot PMS-ing dragon lady and her pet dog? he thought.

“Fine,” he said. He turned to Aurora and her party, who were still sitting on the ground.

“You guys return back to the guild!” he told them. “We’re going after her!”

“Huh? B-but—!” Aurora stammered. “We’re almost two hundred miles away from Narvec. Are you sure it’s fine to leave you out here all alone?”

“I think they’ll be fine,” said Enzo, wiping a smudge from his glasses. “You saw what they’re capable of.”

“We’ll figure something out,” Eric assured. “Besides, as Kanie said—romancing the dragon queens is our entire purpose for being here.”

“Kanie, let’s go,” he said.

He and Kanie broke into a run. Aurora called out to them.

“Thank you for saving us!” she shouted. “We won’t forget what you did for us today!”

Without turning around, Kanie flashed her and the others a thumbs-up. He and Eric raced through the forest, cutting through shrubs and piles of fallen leaves. Before long, they caught up to Kimora and Mylo, who, luckily for them, still hadn’t gotten too far away.

Mylo whined to Kimora, who gave him a pat on the head.

“Are you hungry, my little sweetie~?” she said. “I was worried sick when I found out you’d escaped the castle yesterday!”

“Found you!” Kanie shouted.

“…!”

A surprised look washed over Kimora’s face. That look quickly became one of annoyance upon seeing the heroes’ faces. She scrunched her eyebrows together and opened her mouth, showing two beautiful upper canine teeth. Her magenta-colored eyes began to glow. Steam leaked from her mouth—she was about to attack any moment.

“Wait! Kimora!” Kanie said, putting his hands up in defense. “We have no ill intentions toward you—at all!”

She closed her mouth. The steam that was leaking from it fizzled out. She directed her eyes, which had returned to normal, toward the swordsman.

“—Really now?” she said, skeptical of his claim. “Then why did you destroy most of the planet and seal me away a century ago?”

Kanie and Eric exchanged glances.

“… Huh?” they said.

Wait—but that’s not how it went at all! Kanie thought.

We heard directly from this world’s creator what really happened! Why does she think we destroyed this place? —And not for nothing, but we aren’t even the same heroes from a hundred years ago!

“You already destroyed my homeland and imprisoned me in my kingdom—Impes Lux—for a hundred years!” Kimora said. “What else do you plan to take away from me!?”

“… What? No!” Kanie protested. “You’re getting it all wrong! It wasn’t the heroes who wrecked Jandariu, it was Zarcothida!”

“—Zarcothida, Zarcothida… Ugh, I’m so tired of hearing that name!” she said.

“Since I re-awoke last century, my subordinates have all told me the same thing—that I, along with the other four dragons that govern this world, lost control and combined to form a monster—who the humans named ‘Zarcothida, the Dragon of the End’—and that this monster is what destroyed most of Jandariu.”

That tracks perfectly with the info we were given, Eric thought.

Kimora continued.

“… But that’s impossible! My only duty is to protect this world and its balance—I’d never destroy it!” she said. “Also—”

“I clearly remember something totally different happening!!! The heroes must have brainwashed them to rewrite the narrative!”

Kanie looked at Eric.

“… Dude, are you thinking what I’m thinking?” he whispered.

Eric nodded.

“The version of history her subordinates fed her lines up with what we heard from Nyle, and he made this world—so it has to be true. Which means—” he said. “She must be suffering from false memories. There’s no other explanation.”

“That’s what I figured, too,” Kanie said, sighing. He shook his head.

“… Great. Just when we thought this might go smoothly, of course there has to be a setback,” he moaned. “How do we even proceed from here?”

Eric thought for a moment before responding.

“For starters, let’s try talking it out,” he said. “She seemed super friendly at first, so maybe we might be able to find some opening—something we can latch onto.”

“Kimora,” Kanie said, looking up at her. “Is there anything we can do to make you believe us?”

“Nope!” Kimora said. Her reply was instantaneous and unrelentingly blunt. “No room for discussion~.”

… Well, there goes that option, Eric thought. Still, the truth always comes out, as they say. If we can just find out what she believes happened, maybe we can disprove it logically.

He followed Kanie’s question with one of his own.

“Can you at least tell us what you remember?” he asked Kimora.

“Sorry,” she said. “But I’m ki~nd of in the middle of something here.”

“Going on a stroll with your puppy?” Kanie asked.

Kimora blushed.

“N-no!” she said. “Mylo escaped from my castle yesterday! I tracked him down here in Vorax Thicket—where I met you guys. I’m taking him back right now. … Er, wait, why am I even telling you this!? Begone, cursed heroes~! You’ll get no information out of me!”

She shooed her hands at him and Eric. She was about to leave when something caught her attention. It was the red jewel that sat on a golden ornament resting atop her collarbone. The jewel was flashing, as if to notify her.

“… Shoot! Mt. Arctos is about to erupt,” groaned Kimora. “Of all the rotten luck! This seriously had to happen now!?”

“If I try to bring Mylo back now, I won’t make it in time before the volcano blows its top,” she murmured. “… Oh, what to do, what to do~?”

She turned to the heroes. There was a begrudged look on her face that looked like she had bitten into something sour.

“… Kanie Misawa. And Erika Chandler, right? I have a proposition.”

“What is it?” they asked.

“I have my hands full at the moment. Lead Mylo—my beloved hellhound—back to Impes Lux, and I’ll tell you what I remember about the calamity.”

“But wait,” Eric said. “I thought you didn’t trust us. Why would you leave your pet in our hands?”

Kimora smirked.

“He’s immune to all forms of brainwashing magic. If you succeed in bringing him back to the gates of my kingdom, I’ll consider giving you an audience.”

Kanie shot Eric a glance.

“… Are we doing this?”

“We have to,” Eric said, pointing to the locket in Kanie’s hand. “No choice.”