Is This The End? Pt. 3: Return to Us, Dragonborn!

Yong sat in a chair right near the bed in the infirmary. Lying on the bed and recovering was Kanjomizu. After feeding her the Dragon Lotus Extract, her condition had become stable and the drug was completely neutralized. Now, she only needs to rest and regain back the energy she had lost. Yong had been watching over the Naga princess all this time. “She’s such a stupid girl,” said Yong, shaking her head disappointedly.

“We brought you a new towel!” announced one of Yong’s new servants.

“Place it on her forehead,” ordered Yong.

“Yes ma’am!” said the new servant. He walked up to Kanjomizu and quickly placed it on her forehead. “Sasasasasa! How did we do, Heavenly Master?”

“You did good, Saru,” praised Yong with a smile and a wave of her hand.

“We’re here,” announced another one of her servants lazily.

“You guys are late!” admonished the first servant.

“Sorry,” apologized the second servant. “While we were out looking, I kinda got hungry and so we went out to look for some food. We came back here after eating because I forgot what we were supposed to be looking for.”

“Why you w—!” began the first servant.

“That’s fine,” announced Yong. “We got everything we need. Now, be quiet and allow her to recover in peace.”

“Yes ma’am!” obeyed her servants.

‘Meeting these three goofs has actually been beneficial,’ thought Yong to herself. ‘Without them, I would have never found this place.’

Prior to current events, Yong had just helped Ryujin and Sunaji take down a bunch of scourges. Agents of the United Front had been rolling in by then and were quickly tending to the scourges with Dragon Lotus Extract. “I guess I’ll go play somewhere else,” she told Ryujin. Yong left the duo and walked through the empty festival street. She saw agents from the UF fighting and saving scourges left and right. She was tempted to just leave and let the mortals do their job. But there was one thing here that changed her mind: the Dragonborn. ‘I can’t just leave in the middle of something interesting,’ she decided with a mischievous grin.

Like a real-life middle-school girl, Yong skipped along the path without a care in the world. The sound of peculiar voices caught her ear and she skipped towards them. She came upon three people in the middle of an argument. They seem to be an interesting bunch, so Yong decided to eavesdrop on them by hiding beside a nearby stall.

“Quit wasting time already!” said the first person—he was a short and skinny guy with light blonde hair and a pair of dark black mirrored sunglasses (Miryu).

“I can’t help it,” replied the second person with three fried squid skewers in his hand—he was a tall and lean guy with neon yellow hair with black streaks, shocking electric yellow eyes, and a pair of large, yellow and blue headphones with dragon images on the back of each ear cup (Kiryu).

The third person was a guy with long silver-blue hair that reached down to his waist, dull grey eyes, and he wore a silver mask with a dragon image. He was the tallest member of the group and simply stood next to the leader, saying and doing nothing (Iwaryu).

“Your eating is going to cost us our promotion, dammit!” complained Miryu. “We must seize our moment right now if we want a chance to achieve our dreams! It has been said that if we act now, it will be our lucky day! Wait until tomorrow, and luck will never come our way!”

“I’m almost done,” said Kiryu, stuffing all three of the squids in his mouth and chewing them effortlessly. He swallowed with a big gulp and said, “Okay, I’m done.”

“Alright then, let’s go!” announced Miryu enthusiastically.

“Yay!” said Kiryu in his usual lethargic tone. Iwaryu agreed with with a fist pump and a nod of his head.

The Sanryu continued onwards and then quickly found themselves in another predicament. They haven’t taken more than three steps when Kiryu spotted a tray of yakisoba on the stand next to him and quickly indulged in it. “Delicious!” he said with a satisfied smile after slurping down more than half of the tray in one bite.

“Argh, you idiot!” yelled a frustrated Miryu. He grabbed Kiryu by the collar of his shirt and dragged him away from the tray. “Do you ever think of something other than food?!” he yelled at his teammate.

“Not really,” answered Kiryu bluntly.

“We need to hurry and complete our mission,” signed Iwaryu.

“Exactly!” agreed Miryu. “We need to hurry up and take down anyone who dares to try to oppose our plan to exterminate all of the humans!” he announced carelessly.

“Can I just finish that last bite?” asked Kiryu hungrily.

“Just shut up your stomach already!” answered Miryu furiously.

Yong had heard everything. ‘So they’re members of Ouroboros too, eh?’ she thought amusingly to herself. Yong stepped away from her hiding spot and approached the trio nonchalantly. “A river of nothing created everything. The essence of everything began with nothing. When everything is made, nothing disappears. And if everything is right, then nothing is true,” she sang along the way while skipping. Her magical voice caught the trio’s attention—they immediately found themselves enraptured by her heavenly angelic voice. She stopped in front of them and asked with a tilt of her head, “Say mister, did I hear what you said correctly?”

“W-What are you talking about?” asked Miryu. He was a little put off by the girl’s sudden presence and her fearlessness in approaching them nonchalantly.

“Do you plan on killing off the human race? Isn’t that what you said?” asked Yong with an innocent smile.

Carelessly and pridefully, as well as stupidly, Miryu smiled and happily announced, “You heard it right, little girl! We will exterminate the entire human race! For the glory of Ouroboros!”

“Ah, so I was right,” said Yong, dropping her façade.

“Why do you ask?” asked Miryu suspiciously.

“You said that you’re going to take down anyone who opposes this mission, correct?” asked Yong.

“Of course!” happily answered Miryu with a nod.

“Well then, what if I were to tell you than I’m one of those people right now?” asked Yong. To be honest, she didn’t really care that much about the affairs of the lower world—it was all a pain in the butt in her opinion; however, she couldn’t resist the call to meddle in them for fun and personal enjoyment.

Her words immediately made the Sanryu get into battle positions. “Then we’ll just have to take you down!” announced Miryu.

“I’d like to see you try,” taunted Yong subtly.

“This should be a cinch,” said Miryu. He opened his palms and revealed two large eye tattoos. The eyes glowed a bright and magical yellow color. Suddenly, giant projections of the eyes launched out of his palms and grew to the size of footballs and became suspended in midair.

Yong took one look at the eyes and quickly became frozen in place and her body was quickly turning into stone. “Sasasasasa! We’re unstoppable!” announced Miryu triumphantly.

“Well, well, well,” said Yong’s voice from behind Miryu, “so you are a Blessed Child.” Miryu turned around and was surprised to see Yong standing before him untouched and safe from harm. He did a double take and quickly looked back at the stone body, only to find it nonexistent.

“W-W-What,” he stammered fearfully.

Yong wasn’t the least bit fazed by Miryu’s power. Her status as a Celestial Dragon clearly outclassed his powers as a Blessed Child. ‘Looks like I need to put these impudent children in their places,’ she decided with a mischievous smile. She held out one of her hands right in front of Miryu’s body and flicked his chest. The impact from that one flick, packed with her strength and might as a god, sent Miryu flying backwards. He crashed into a food stand more than five meters away and was knocked out.

Kiryu opened his mouth and produced his characteristic buzzing static noise. Yong anticipated this just by looking at how he was opening his mouth and taking in a deep breath. Unfazed and unharmed by the attack, she inserted two fingers into his mouth and reached deep into his throat, choking the Druk and forcing him to fall to his knees and succumb to a fit of coughs and gags. “That should stop you for now,” said Yong with a smile. “Can you believe that I just disrupted an ability literally called ‘Sonic Disruptor’? Ironic, isn’t it?” she added mockingly.

Iwaryu jumped up to her and used his blessed power. “Sleep!” he told her mentally. Yong simply turned her head to him, surprising the Bakunawa greatly and catching him off guard. “How about you sleep?” she suggested. Iwaryu quickly found his body growing weaker and he suddenly fell to the ground; his eyes grew heavy and he immediately fell into a deep sleep.

Yong single-handedly defeated the Sanryu, despite their blessed powers, and knocked them down a few pegs. And then a great idea came to her. ‘I think they’ll do for mortal servants,’ she thought with a smile. She snapped her fingers and the three dragons immediately rose back up on their feet. “Front and center!” she ordered them like a military sergeant.

The Sanryu ran up to her and formed a neat line shoulder-to-shoulder. They stood very still and wore fearful expressions filled with terror and respect for their new conqueror. They had never seen someone with powers like hers before. It was obvious that they could never stand a chance against her, whether individually or as a team. Of course, the Sanryu didn’t like to lose but they were more afraid of death than any other thing in the entire universe.

Yong inspected each of the Sanryu with a critical eye. “So we have a Long with ‘Hollow Light’, a Druk with ‘Sonic Disruptor’, and a Bakunawa with ‘Inner Voice,’” recounted Yong with a nod. “Even with your blessed powers, you three still couldn’t defeat me.” Those words stung the Sanryu’s pride, no matter how true they were. “To be honest, I can easily destroy each and every one of you here and now,” she told them with a very unsettling smile. The Sanryu believed her words and their bodies shivered with fear. “However,” said Yong, “I am willing to have mercy on you three on one condition.” The Sanryu quickly nodded their heads yes to show their immediate compliance. “You three have be my eternal servants until I release you,” said Yong. “The only other option I can give you is death,” she added happily with a smile.

“We’ll take it!” they all said in unison (Iwaryu signed with his hands).

Yong nodded and stood in front of them with her hands behind her back. “Now, I’ll rechristen you with new servant names of which only I can call you,” said Yong with a satisfying smile. Yong looked Miryu over and said, “You’re short and skinny but you have a lot of energy. You’re also the leader of the group, I presume. Perhaps I’ll call rechristen you as Saru (Monkey).”

“S-Saru?” asked Miryu confusedly.

“That is your name,” said Yong sternly.

“Yes ma’am!” obeyed Miryu.

Yong moved on to Kiryu next and looked him over. “You’re skinny and tall but you like to eat. Despite your hyper appetite, I assume you’re very unmotivated and lazy unless if there is food involved. You’re name will now be Inoshi (Boar).”

“Pork sounds so good right now,” said Kiryu, spacing out and getting lost in a sea of pork dishes.

Lastly, Yong stepped over to Iwaryu and gave him the look over too. “Tall and quiet, but I can also tell that you have a lot of potential. But even with all of that potential, I assume you’re nothing but a follower who only does what he’s told and contributes only what’s needed instead of taking the initiative yourself. I think I’ll call you Suigyu (Water Buffalo).” She then took a step back and asked, “Now that I have given you all nicknames and made you all my servants, are there any questions?”

“Yes, I have one!” announced Miryu, raising his hand like a child in class.

“What is it?” asked Yong.

“Yes, how should we address you?” wondered Miryu.

“Call me…Heavenly Master!” answered Yong arrogantly.

“Yes ma’am, Heavenly Master!” said Miryu and Kiryu in unison with salutes (Iwaryu simply nodded and saluted alongside them).

Flash forward a few moments later, Yong sensed trouble ahead and came to Tatsuya’s aid by helping to incapacitate Kanjomizu when she became a scourge. After having helped saved her from an untimely demise by feeding her Dragon Lotus Extract, Yong transported the Naga princess with herself to a safe point near the school building. It was there that she met up with her new servants, the Sanryu, and commissioned their help to find a suitable place for the Naga princess to rest. After searching through the school for a short while, they finally found the infirmary, which brings them to now.

Yong looked over at Kanjomizu and noticed that the princess’ breathing had become normalized and her overall health is in good shape. It won’t be long before she regains her consciousness. Seeing the Naga princess sleeping calmly in recuperation made Yong wonder what could have driven her to take the drug in the first place. ‘I’m guessing it was a self-esteem thing,’ she thought to herself. “Nagas are a real handful,” she said with a shake of her head.

There was another thing that was on the Celestial Dragon’s mind. A few minutes ago, a very shocking announcement rang out through the air that made her do a mental double-take. She doesn’t know how true that announcement was, but she could no doubt see it both ways. Although it very much came as a surprise, Yong wasn’t the least bit shocked by it. In fact, she admits that she kind of saw it coming. “The hazards of being a hero,” she said to herself. “Still, the same old stereotypes and tropes tend to make things stale, don’t you agree, universe?” she said to no one in particular.

The infirmary door burst open and Ryujin appeared with Tatsuya on his back. His face was grim and serious. Tatsuya leaned on Ryujin’s back in a lifeless state—his breathing was very ragged that it was almost inaudible and he was unconscious and it doesn’t look like he will be waking up any time soon.

“My sire!” said Yong, getting up from her seat.

“Is there a place I can put him down?” asked Ryujin. Yong nodded and helped him to the the bed next to Kanjomizu’s. Ryujin placed Tatsuya down and stepped to the side.

Yong frowned upon seeing the terrible state Tatsuya was in. “The work of a madman, I’ll say,” she commented.

“I warned him before,” said Ryujin. “I knew that he will have to face that madman soon, but I hadn’t expect it to be this soon.” He sighed and turned to look at Yong. “Anyway, let’s just let him rest.” Yong nodded. “If worst comes to worst,” continued Ryujin, “I’ll take the madman down myself.”

“You would meddle in the affairs of the lower world?” asked Yong with a raised eyebrow.

“Of course not,” said Ryujin with a laugh. “However, I still need to pay him back for what he did to my son. Otherwise, I can’t call myself his father.”

The door opened once more and Arashi came in with Shurai clinging to her back. She was immediately shown to the third bed in the room and placed the Druk princess there. Considering Shurai’s condition, Yong instructed her servants to go find food for the princess. They immediately left the room and scattered outside to find food.

“Say, those three guys look really familiar,” said Arashi.

“Really?” said Yong with a tilt of her head. “Hmm, I wonder why,” she added mysteriously with a sly smile.

Torahime rushed through the school building’s entrance at full speed. ‘Is it true?’ she asked herself. The words she had heard a moment ago still shook her. She couldn’t believe it and refuses to accept it. ‘What did he mean by ‘surrendered’?’ she wondered furiously, ‘How could this have happened?’

Prior to current events, Torahime found herself thrust into a war against rampaging dragons. The sky had blackened and the screams and cries of the people forced her into her action in her role as a dragon slayer. Armed with her mystical katana, Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi, she entered battle.

Torahime took down many dragons left and right. Each one she had taken down, Torahime failed to slay them completely. Her duty as a dragon slayer dictates that she must slay all dragons for the greater good and should leave no dragons alive, and she had trained all of her life to put this doctrine into practice and make it a part of herself. However, now each time she finds herself defeating them though incapacitation, she unconsciously decides to leave them be. For example, upon defeating the very first dragon by incapacitating it with her katana, Torahime was ready to complete the job when a little voice inside of her stopped her from continuing further. She had her katana poised to slay the dragon but her hands stopped and she suddenly felt that her job was done and that there no need to “do it”. This uncharacteristic behavior of hers made her question her own sanity. ‘What am I doing?’ she had asked herself upon leaving the dragon alone and moving on.

She ultimately decided that it was just a fluke and concluded that it might be a result of her not having slayed any dragons for a while now. However, her next few victories proved otherwise. One after another, she defeated them handedly and incapacitated them with spells and physical skill, but she still refused to outright slay them. Each time she found herself ready to do it, the same voice inside her head would tell her no. It wasn’t until the fifth dragon she had taken down that she finally realized who the voice had belonged too. It was a familiar voice that was kind and warm and calm; she found it hard not to listen to it and obey. The voice wasn’t her own nor anyone she had close connections to such as friends or family; it belonged to another person who is just as important to her as her family and friends, albeit not in a friendly or familiar way, though. It was Tatsuya’s. She realized that ever since she failed to slay those two dragons from last time due to Tatsuya’s interference, his words that day had been rubbing off on her. ‘But why?’ she asked herself. ‘He’s not here right now, so I can slay these dragons no problem,’ she declared. Yet, despite this bold statement, she couldn’t find it in herself to disregard his words.

Suddenly, the cry of a kid caught her attention. She snapped out of her meditation and looked up to see an ice dragon (Okami) quickly descending down on a young boy. Torahime gripped her katana and quickly put herself in between the dragon and the kid, deflecting its ice blast with her blade. When the ice blast disappeared, she quickly pulled out a talisman from her top and said, “Dragon Slaying Ninja Art: Inferno Spiral!” The talisman quickly burned to ashes and a large spiral of fire shot out as a huge beam at the Okami. The ice dragon, afraid of the incoming flames, quickly flapped its wings to reach higher into the sky to dodge the attack.

With the dragon out of the way, Torahime quickly turned to the boy and grabbed his hand. “I’ll help you get out of here. Hold on and don’t let go of my hand,” she told him.

The boy was surprised to find a strange lady dressed in a magical girl getup helping him to escape from this nightmare. And the way she took down that weird monster with real magic was like something from an anime! He simply nodded and allowed himself to be taken away by this magical girl onee-san.

All along the way, as she led the boy away to safety, Torahime brought out talisman upon talisman to fight against the dragons that dare to claim her or the boy as their prey. She reached the corner of the festival and turned. She ran on for about another minute or two when a person dressed in a black suit with a brown leather bag slung across her shoulders approached her. On her uniform were the letters “UF” and a symbol of a dragon claw. One look at the person and Torahime knew that she was a dragon.

“Excuse me, but I need you to evacuate with your little brother quickly,” said United Front agent. “Follow me,” she told them, “I can lead you to the evacuation point.”

Torahime held out her katana in front of the agent and said, “And how can I trust you?” She had never trusted a dragon in her life and she will not start now. She squinted her eyes in an expression of suspicion and held her katana firm in her hand. “You’re a dragon too, aren’t you? Tell me, how can I trust you? Your own kind is wreaking havoc right now and destroying the human realm. If you think that I’ll just blindly follow you, then you are sorely mistaken.”

“Of course, I understand your suspicion,” said the agent, “but this is no time to fight. I don’t have any proof that you can trust me, but I can assure you with my word that I am truly trying to help you. You can choose to believe me or not, but it is imperative for the little boy to evacuate to safety quickly.”

“Do you really think that I’ll just hand over this kid to you?” challenged Torahime.

“He must get to safety!” announced the agent stubbornly.

Torahime was about to say something when she noticed a lot of the same people dressed in the same uniform as the agent in front of her helping humans evacuate to safety and even protecting them by fighting their own kind. She admits that she’s surprised by this display of altruism by the very race that she was raised to despise. That’s when something Nekoyashi had said to her long ago echoed in her mind: “I don’t think all dragons are bad.” ‘Could this be true?’ she asked herself.

“Excuse me, ma’am?” asked the agent.

Torahime snapped back to reality and shook her head. She reluctantly handed over the boy to her and said, “Take him far away from here.”

“Of course,” said the agent with a nod. “How about you, ma’am? Aren’t you going to evacuate too?” she asked.

“And why would I run away from all of this?” asked Torahime with smug smile. “Just promise me that you’ll take him away to safety,” she told the agent.

The agent nodded and quickly took the boy by the hand to the evacuation zone. The boy turned back and waved to Torahime, thanking her for her help. “Thank you, magical girl onee-san!”

“M-Magical girl?” wondered Torahime perplexedly. She hadn’t realized at all that she was still wearing her cosplay costume and had forgotten to transform into her dragon slayer outfit when she entered battle. She quickly turned her attention back to the scourges and went to work. After taking down three more, Torahime turned her attention back towards the school. She wondered about the kid’s safety and hoped that her judgement wasn’t false. That’s when the most tragic of announcements reached her ears: “Owatatsumi Tatsuya has surrendered! The Dragonborn is no more!” Torahime couldn’t believe it at all. 'This must be a lie,' she told herself. The battles she had had with and against the Dragonborn showed her that he was more than a capable opponent. So then how did Owatatsumi Tatsuya lose?

Since that announcement, Torahime wanted to confirm its validity. The announcement sounded like it came from somewhere near the school, so she rushed over to the school’s main building. Presently, she had reached the stairs and climbed up to the second-floor.

Upon arriving at the second-floor, she came upon Nekoyashi and Tatsuya’s friends. They were gathered together and it appeared that they had gone through some tough battles too. Torahime was actually glad to see familiar faces in this moment of crisis.

“Koneko!” called Torahime.

“Himeko!” called back Nekoyashi. “Did you hear that announcement earlier?” she asked anxiously.

Torahime nodded her head. “But I don’t believe a single word of it,” she admitted with a grimace. “Do you know where Owatatsumi Tetsuya is right now?” she asked the group expectantly.

“Actually, it’s Tatsuya,” corrected Manami with a small chuckle.

Torahime simply glared at him, causing Manami to quickly shut up and shrink back behind the others. “Do you know where he is?” she repeated to the group.

“We don’t know,” answered Sasuke grimly.

“I know where he is!” came a voice from behind them. Sunaji quickly rushed up to the group to join them. “Let’s try checking the infirmary,” she told them. “His father told me that he will be taking Tatsuya there.” The sudden memory of Ryujin telling her that quickly came back to her. After Yong had left the battle since the United Front had arrived to clean up the mess, Sunaji and Ryujin worked together to take out whatever scourges were left before clearing their area. A few moments later, the most shocking and horrendous announcement in the world caught their attention. Ryujin quickly left to go help his son and told Sunaji exactly where he will be. Sunaji got the impression that the Celestial Dragon somehow knew this was going to happen. It didn’t take long before the entire area was cleared, all thanks to the many United Front agents there, and Sunaji quickly took off on her own for the school.

The group walked together to the infirmary and entered it. What waited for them was one of the most heartbreaking scenes they had ever witnessed. Tatsuya was lying on a bed battered and bruised, bloodied and scarred, afflicted with labored breathing and slipping consciousness. Sunaji and Torahime quickly rushed to his side.

“What sanguinary madman can cause this much suffering?” said Sunaji in a small voice filled with disbelief. (“Sanguinary” = bloodshed/bloodthirsty). She then gripped her fists into tight balls and her body shook. “Must I suffer ruth over this despicable scene before me?” she asked with a shaky voice. (“Ruth” = pity/grief). Tears slowly streamed down her eyes as she spoke. And then, as if possessed by some spirit, she gripped Tatsuya’s left arm and shook it while screaming, “Wake up already, you malapert mooncalf! How long are going to make me suffer? You’re the Dragonborn, aren’t you?! How can you be easily defeated by a repulsive madman?”

Aika and Arashi, who had been here the entire time, didn’t do anything to stop the Python princess. In fact, they felt the same way. Aika had her face turned away and lightly brushed away the tears that were forming around her eyes. Arashi couldn’t bear to looked at Tatsuya like this and had her eyes covered.

Sasuke, Daiki, and Manami looked at their half-dead friend with lamenting and apologetic eyes. There was nothing that they could do right now, which greatly pained them so and made them question their worth as his friend. Sasuke desperately hated himself for not possessing the power to help his friend while he is on Death’s doorstep, barely hanging on due to the Mark of Marduk preventing him from crossing over completely. Manami simply looked down at the floor; he was immensely ashamed at himself for being nothing more than a powerless bystander while his friend was on the brink of complete demise. Daiki, despite the serious face he wore, felt the most pain out of the three—he would trade anything for the complete recovery of his friend, even if it is his own life. All three of them hated the fact that they were too late to do anything. What’s done is done.

Torahime looked at Tatsuya’s unconscious face and felt anger rising up inside of her. Without thinking, she pulled her hand up and slapped Tatsuya’s face with all of the anger inside of her. The sound reverberated through the room and caught everyone’s attention. And then, there was silence. “Owatatsumi Tetsuya,” she said in a quiet voice through gritted teeth. She then exploded and yelled at the top of her lungs, “How dare you let yourself be defeated?! The Dragonborn I know wouldn’t let himself be defeated like this! You surrendered? Hah! If I knew that you were this weak I would’ve slayed you a long time ago! But….” Her voice became quiet and her body shook a bit as she continued. “But those battles we had together, they showed me that you are indeed a worthy opponent.” Tears welled up in the corner of her eyes and started to flow down her cheeks like slithering streams. “You cannot be defeated!” she yelled defiantly. “I’m the one who is supposed to defeat you!” she announced at the top of her lungs, “I’m the one who will end you and take your life! It’s my duty to slay you, Owatatsumi Tetsuya, the Dragonborn! I promised that I will slay you the next time we meet, so don’t you dare break that promise! Do you hear me, Owatatsumi Tatsuya?!” Torahime couldn’t handle it anymore and she covered her eyes as she sobbed to herself.

Nekoyashi, who was also on the verge of tears upon seeing Tatsuya in this condition, had never seen Torahime cry like this in a long time, not since their childhood days. “Himeko,” she whispered in a sad voice. She wiped a tear away from her eye and turned away from the scene.

Ryujin stood up and placed a hand on Torahime’s shoulder. “Tatsuya is not dying,” he announced to the room grimly. Everyone turned their attention to him as he said those words, their eyes were full of hope that those words he spoke were the truth. “In fact, he can’t die. The Mark of Marduk that he carries with him prevents him from crossing over to other side. However, that does not detract from the seriousness of his condition. He is hurt and injured beyond repair. If he didn’t have the Mark of Marduk on him, I would guess he’d only have another half-hour to live. The injuries he sustained is fatal to any normal human and he could’ve been killed right on the spot if not for the mark and my dragon blood.”

Torahime and Sunaji were somewhat pacified by Ryujin’s statement. However, they were still on edge over Tatsuya’s current state of health. The two girls slowly walked away from the Dragonborn and stood to the side.

Suddenly, the infirmary door burst open and the Sanryu entered with their arms full of different foods that they managed to scavenge from the empty food stalls outside. “We’re back, Heavenly Master!” announced Miryu loudly. The Sanryu were completely unaware of the heavy atmosphere that permeated through the room.

“You’re too loud!” snapped Yong. Miryu flinched and quickly apologized with a bowed head. Yong told them to feed Shurai the food and to do it carefully and quietly. “I have faith that you can at least handle that much, Saru,” said Yong. Miryu and his friends nodded and quickly attended to Shurai, who laid down on the bed closest to the door.

By this time, Kanjomizu was slowly waking up from her sleep. She slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times to clear away the blurriness. “Where…am I?” she asked aloud. She lightly moved her head and examined her surroundings. ‘Is this the school’s infirmary?’ she wondered. Voices could be heard coming from her right, so she slowly turned her face in that direction. A pink curtain separated her from what was going on on the other side. She reached out her hands for the curtain and could barely reach it with her fingers. She gripped the cloth between her fingers and pulled it to the side. What awaited her was something horrific and heart-wrenching—it was her worst nightmare come true. “M-My Love?” she squeaked. Beside her on the other bed, Tatsuya lied down bloodied and scarred and bruised and unconscious—he was hanging on a very thin rope inches away from the dark abyss that is death. Kanjomizu couldn’t believe that the first thing she saw upon regaining back consciousness was her own betrothed lying half-dead before her.

Kanjomizu scurried off her bed and fell down. Her fall caught everyone else’s attention. Many of the room inhabitants tried to come to her side and help her, but she ignored them and focused solely on her Love. She got up on her own and staggered to Tatsuya’s side, grabbing his left arm and stabilizing her balance by leaning close to him. “My Love!” she cried. Tears quickly streamed down her eyes like endless torrents. She wore her heart on her sleeve and unashamedly grieved Tatsuya’s not-quite-death, lamenting on her own shortcomings and how she should’ve been there for him. “My Love, I’m sorry for my selfishness! If only I didn’t give in to that temptation, I could’ve been there for you! It’s my fault that you’re like this!”

Ryujin placed a hand on the Naga princess’ shoulder and told her what he had told the others. “Now that you’re awake, Princess Kinara, there is something I have to ask of you,” said the Celestial Dragon. “I’m sorry to be asking you this since you have just recovered yourself, but this is the only way we can save him.”

“We can save Darling/Tatsuya/My Love/Owatatsumi Tetsuya?!” exclaimed the princesses and Torahime in unison.

Ryujin nodded his head yes. “Princess Kinara, do you know the Nine Gems of Naga?” asked Ryujin.

“Nine Gems of Naga?” whispered Manami to his friends with a frown. “Is he saying that we need some stones or something?”

“The Nine Gems of Naga is a very ancient and powerful healing technique created by the ancient god himself,” said Daiki. “I’ve heard that it is an esoteric art that is only passed down through the royal family. It works on the principle of the nine celestial bodies: Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus. Each of those planets is symbolic of an elements: the Sun is fire, the Moon is water, Mercury is air, Mars is earth, Venus is soul, Jupiter is space, Saturn is time, Neptune is mind, and Uranus is ether.”

“The actual practice requires nine people to act as a medium for each of those elements,” explained Kanjomizu. “However, each of the nine people must have certain requirements in order to act as a medium,” she added. “For example, it is impossible to do this if all nine of us are of the same tribe. This method was created with the intention of using the powers of the other tribes to formulate the most powerful form of healing by channeling the very energies of the primordial world.”

“Meaning?” asked Manami.

“Each of the nine people must be from different tribes or different species that possess some relation to the elements,” concluded Sasuke. “Think about it. The first element is fire, so anyone from the Draco tribe would work. Nagas are already water and air and earth are Quetzalcoatls and Pythons. That just leaves the other five elements.”

“Abzus would typically fill the role of time, and I believe Urs could take on the role of soul,” added Daiki. “However, we don’t have any of them here right now.”

“That’s alright,” said Kanjomizu. She turned to the group with a confident expression on her face. “It doesn’t have to be perfect. As long as we can fill the roles with those who possess some relationship to that element, it should be fine.” She then pointed a finger at Daiki and said, “Daiki-san, you take the role of mind. Magic and mind is connected through an intuitive bond established since time immemorial, so having a Bakunawa fill that role is perfect.” Daiki nodded his head in confirmation. “Sasuke-san, please take the role of ether. Ether is another word for the element of sound, because it represents the medium of which sound travels through. Druks are connected to lightning and thunder, so they’re connection to the element of sound is more than obvious. For this reason, I believe that you should be okay in that role.”

“Alright,” said Sasuke with a nod.

Kanjomizu then went on to assign everyone their roles. Manami, being Lindworm, a dragon of luck, was given the role of being the medium for the element time. Since both luck and time are connected through their shared manipulation of destiny and fate, Manami’s placement as the medium for time should work. Arashi, Sunaji, and Aika received their respective roles as mediums for air, earth, and fire. Kanjomizu herself is the medium for water. The last elements they need is soul and space.

Both Yong and Ryujin have decided to not take part in any of this due to their status as Celestial Dragons, which will either benefit or harm the procedure. This was a chance that Ryujin was not willing to take and he made a point that having nine different people with actual connections to the elements is a better and safer way to approach this. “My powers as a Celestial Dragon is not something that can be taken lightly,” he told them seriously.

“Do we have to do this?” wondered Manami. “I mean, since you two are literally gods, can’t you just fix him up yourself?” he pointed out.

“If we can do that, then they’ll be no story,” said Yong with a shake of her head. Everyone was a little confused by that answer.

“Anyway,” said Ryujin, “our powers cannot save him perfectly. At most, our powers can only ease him of the pain and heal up to eighty percent of his injuries. However, we aren’t gods of healing, so we cannot assure that he will be healed up completely. The Nine Jewels of Naga is a flawless healing method that can heal even the most deadly of injuries and diseases. It is a power on par with that of the Celestial Dragons.” And then with a smile, he added lightheartedly, “Even Mizuchi, the goddess of healing, is envious of this method.”

“But how are we going to fill the last two roles?” wondered Sasuke.

“Soul can be filled with either an Ur or a Wyvern,” said Kanjomizu, “since they are both connected to the concept of life. And as for space, if I remember from what I’ve learned, an Amaru or a Long can fill that role, because both darkness and light are elements that fill space with their presence.”

“But where can we find any of those?” asked Manami. “It’s not like we have a Long or a Wyvern right here with us right now.”

“Heavenly Master! We’ve completed our mission!” came Miryu’s voice.

Yong smiled upon hearing his voice and said, “Saru! I need you to do something important for me! Come out and join us!”

“Yes ma’am!” said Miryu, joining the group. He looked at the group of people around him and, upon realizing who they were, jumped back in fear. He had never thought that he will meet these people again; he immediately recognized their faces and painful memories of the Sanryu’s embarrassing defeat not so long ago returned to him.

“Ah, it’s one of the Sanrio!” said Manami with a pointing finger.

“It’s Sanryu!” yelled Miryu.

“What are you doing here?” asked Daiki dangerously.

“Please, gentlemen, can we dispense with the violence?” asked Yong, walking up to Miryu. “He may be a bad guy, but he is currently serving under me as one of my servants. You can rest assured that he will not be doing anything bad soon as long as he is under my command.” She then turned back around and said, “Also, he is a Long. We need him in order to fully heal our hero, correct?”

“You’re right,” agreed Ryujin. The others in the room, despite their wariness of the idea, nodded their heads.

“So now we need an Ur or a Wyvern,” said Manami.

“Say, Mizu, does it have to be a dragon to make this method a success?” asked Nekoyashi.

“What do you mean?” asked Kanjomizu.

“What if we can replicate their powers, nyan?” offered Nekoyashi. “Say that we can imitate them and their connection to their element, is it possible for this method to proceed, nyan?” Kanjomizu and the other dragons didn’t really understand the point Nekoyashi was trying to make.

“Ah, I see,” understood Ryujin, “I think that should work.”

“What is she talking about?” asked Manami.

“Dragon slayers are able to use magic to harness the power of the elements,” revealed Nekoyashi.

“So if one of you use a spell related to either one of those elements, it could make you a substitute for the missing dragons,” concluded Daiki.

Nekoyashi nodded her head in confirmation. She then turned to Torahime and asked, “Would you like to do the honors, Himeko?”

“M-Me?” stuttered Torahime in surprise. “W-Why should I do something like that for the Dragonborn? I have no obligation to do so!”

“Himeko,” said Nekoyashi in a serious voice, “this is for Tatsuya.”

Torahime had only seen her friend act serious whenever the situation is grave. She knew it herself that the situation was grave and not to be taken lightly. She nodded her head.

Now, with all of the members in place for the Nine Jewels of Naga, Kanjomizu was ready to bring her Love back to her. This was the moment of truth. In all of their hearts, everyone prayed for Tatsuya to return to them. Torahime looked at Tatsuya and was determined to pull him away from the edge of the cliff before the abyss. ‘Return to us, Dragonborn!’