Turning Point

Ataru wasn’t sure who to keep his eyes on, Claire, or Rune. “Hey, Hero! Can you hear me!?” He called out to them, but he was met with silence.

“Ugh, could you shut up, why don’t you play with your precious Hero?” Claire waved her finger once more, and Rune’s body lurched forward, brandishing a longsword. He blocked an overhead swing with his bat. This was certainly Rune’s body, but the technique was worse than his was.

“Claire, what are you doing!? Please, stop!” Rosalind cried out.

“Stop? Why should I stop? He’s just a human.” She said back, her tone cold and dripping with malice.

“He hasn’t done anything to us, please!” She took a step forward.

“But he will, how can you still trust them, after everything they did?”

“You know they aren’t all like that. Claire, I’m just glad to see you. I… I thought you were dead.” Rosalind took another step forward.

Claire let out another broken laugh. “I nearly was, but the humans didn’t let me die. I even got to meet the saintess!”

“The Saintess? She saved you?” Rosalind stepped forward again.

“She sure did, she even had the nerve to apologize. Annoying!” She took a deep breath to calm herself. “But listen, I got out, I escaped, I had a little help, but still. Rosa, come with me, we can live together again.” Rosalind was now directly in front of Claire. She placed her hands on her shoulders. Claire shook in response.

“What did they do to you?” She went to remove her hood, Claire pushed her hand away.

“You really like my horns, right Rosa? You said you envied how they swept back, almost like a tiara.”

“Yes, what are–” Realization hit her, she covered her mouth in shock. Claire removed her hood, revealing cracked stumps on the sides of her temples, right where her horns would be.

“Ah, you’re crying. I knew you’d cry. But it’s fine, really. At first I could still feel them there, but even that is starting to fade.

“Claire… I’m so sorry.” Rosalind said, barely able to form words between sobs. “I shouldn’t have left you–”

“Hey hey! None of that! I chose to stay behind. Now listen Rosa, you’re going to love this, you like learning stuff. So, so, you know how the mines of this mountain had to be shut down forever ago? Turns out, it was because a dragon corrupted by mana was sealed inside it. Interesting right?”

“Huh?”

“And hey, you know my pathway? My ability? I can control the mind of anything, as long as it’s asleep?”

“Claire, you wouldn’t.”

“You’re right, I wouldn’t. I already did!” She let out another laugh. The ground began to shake, it felt as if the entire mountain was going to crack open like a watermelon dropped from orbit.

Ataru meanwhile, was running out of steam. He could block and dodge the attacks from Rune’s possessed body, but he couldn’t do it forever. As the ground began to shake he made a mistake, he looked back to Rosalind to make sure she was safe. A kick landed right under his ribs, sending him flying across the ground. “Ataru!” He heard Rosalind call out his name. Rune moved to finish him off, but stopped as Rosalind stood in their way.

“Rosa, come on, he’s not even that cute.” She said, holding up a finger.

“Enough Claire, this isn’t you, I know it isn’t.” She held her arms up by her sides, protecting Ataru.

“Still taking their side? What do I have to do to–” The sound of metal piercing metal resounded through the forest. Rune’s body suddenly fell forward, an arrow crackling with black lightning stuck in their back.

Three men in gray platemail stepped forward. Above them a man in leather armor sat in a tree, bow drawn at the ready. “Wha, What is this!?” Claire screamed.

The man in the tree looked down at her. “You were meant to capture the princess of catastrophe, not abscond with her. You clearly used the drug on the Hero, but not her as well. Your intentions are clear.”

“What is he talking about?” Rosalind said, not sure where to keep her focus.

“Yeah Claire, what’s the deal?” Ataru said, half of his attention on Rune’s still form.

“None of your business, human. And you,” She said, pointing to the archer. “Did you really think I’d use that junk on Rosa? And then what, I'd bring her to you and you’d let us live together? Do you think I’m stupid? Of course I betrayed you, fucking idiot!” She raised a middle finger to the man.

“Fair enough.” The archer shot an arrow aimed straight for Claire’s heart. There was a loud clang as the arrow burst apart.

“Easiest bunt of my life!” Ataru stood in front of Claire, having use his bat to block the attack.

“What are you–” Claire started to say.

“Focus on protecting your friend.” Ataru said. “I’ve got bullseye here, can you handle these three, Rosa?” He said.

“Yes!” Rosalind said, her staff lighting up with magic.

“Hey, only I get to call her that, human!” Claire screamed as Ataru dashed after the archer. The three men in armor brandished greatswords and moved to intercept him. The ground beneath them suddenly became muddy, causing them to trip forward.

“Not quite the same as the jelly from the exam, but close enough!” Rosalind exclaimed.

“She really is a genius.” Ataru said to himself as he chased after the archer. An arrow intended for his skull was blocked by his bat. “Come on, I’m not even sweating here!” He wasn’t lying, compared to training with Rune the arrows flying at him were like playing junior league.

“Who the hell are you? Someone this strong wasn’t in the report!” The archer shouted as he fired a volley of arrows. Ataru swiftly deflected them as he closed the distance. He suddenly remembered Rune’s words from a session of training.

“So how do I deal with someone shooting stuff at me from far away?” He’d asked.

“That’s simple.” Rune said. “Either close the distance, or fire something back.”

“That sounds a little too simple, Rune.”

“Is it? The two of us are trained to do just that. Trust your body, trust your muscles, Ataru.”

Ataru focused on his legs, he could feel the mana in his body circulating through his flesh. It was a euphoric feeling, as if he’d been moving through mud his entire life and was only now free. “What!?” the archer shouted as Ataru leapt onto the side of a tree, only to then leap to another, and another as he raced upwards. He notched another arrow, this one shrouded with the same black lightning that had struck Rune. He fired the arrow, it whistled through the air as it broke the sound barrier. The arrow was dead on, and Ataru was soaring straight towards it. He couldn’t move out of the way. He gripped the bat with both hands, and swung. The arrow exploded into a shower of sparks as Ataru spun through the momentum. “Hold on!” The archer screamed as the bat smashed into his chest. He crashed through the tree behind him, and the one behind that, and the one behind that, before finally landing with a crash into the side of the mountain.

“Whoa, now there’s a homerun if I’ve ever seen one” He jumped down from the tree and ran back to Rosalind as fast as he could. He ignored the searing pain in his shoulder, he even ignored that it was worse than usual. As he got back to the flagpole he let out a breath of relief to see Rosalind tying up the armored attackers.

“Pricks!” Claire kicked one of them in the head.

“C-Claire, they’re unconscious!”

“And?”

“Well to be honest I get it. But you know, the principle of the ma– Ataru!” She said, noticing him returning. “What happened to the archer?” She asked.

“Oh, uhh. To be honest, I didn’t really check to see if he was even alive.” He said, before running over to Rune. “Hey, you have a nice nap?” He asked, nudging them. Rune let out a groan, before sitting up.

“Horrible, actually. Would you mind getting this?” They pointed to the arrow in their back. Ataru yanked it out, noticing that just the very tip was stained with blood.

“Jeez, you didn’t even flinch.”

“I’ve had worse. If I was actually awake it wouldn’t even have broken skin.” Rune said, standing up.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m glad you’re alright.” Ataru patted them on the back.

“Um.” Rosalind looked between the two of them. “Since when did you two get along so well?”

“It’s a long story.” Ataru said,

“I’ve been training him. Sorry.” Rune said, looking away from Rosalind.

“Or short I guess. But we can talk about that later maybe? What’s this about a dragon in the mountain?” He looked over to Claire, who had been glaring at him.

“Yes, Claire, is the dragon fully awake?” Rosalind asked. Claire let out an annoyed huff, still glaring at Ataru.

“Think you’re such hot shit, I’ll kick your a–”

“Claire!”

“I can’t stop it alright? It’s already awake. I can’t control it anymore.” She glanced at Ataru, then to Rosalind. She took a deep breath and rubbed her temples, feeling the edges of her broken horns. “Not all of them are bad, I get it. It should still be weak, it’s been sealed for hundreds of years after all. We’ll just have to kill it. Well, you all will. I’m not a dragon slayer.”

The shaking escalated, nearly knocking them all to their feet, before a loud crash was heard from the base of the mountain. A loud roar reverberated across the entire mountain. “And there it is, right on cue.”