The two novice mages hurried along the deep passage to where they heard the cry. They came upon a dead end.
“What now?” a worried Dai spoke.
Vivi promptly scanned the walls for any sort of opening. The right wall, of course, had the door that Kitsune disappeared into.
“Here. This is the only route left to take.”
The two carefully looked below into the darkness.
“I feel that Sune-ne has been here. But a pit...? Maybe she fell down,” the mage boy thought. He gulped. “I hope this isn’t bottomless.”
Just then, they heard a thunderous roar echo from within. They both sensed a commotion.
“Oh no... This doesn’t sound good at all. Master Vivi, I think we have no choice but to delve in deeper.”
He agreed. “Yeah. Alright, hold on to my arm, and we’ll jump in together.”
Dai listened to his command and held on to him tightly. Together they leaped into the dark.
“AAAHH!” On and on, they fell through the abyss.
Finally, they landed onto a new ground.
“... Master Vivi?” Dai said. He didn’t seem to be anywhere.
“Mrrph!-“
“... Oh! I’m sorry!”
Dai sat aside, as she was sitting on Vivi’s head.
“Ouch...” Vivi assembled himself up and shook his head. Once he felt better, he got up alongside Dai.
“-Help me!”
Both of them responded to the plea.
“It’s Kitsune!” Vivi called out.
Together they ran towards her voice but immediately they froze. They were horrified by the sight.
The tail of the giant Hydra continued to strangle Kitsune. She barely managed to make some space and called out once more.
“Vivi! Daiken! Hurry and help me!” She gasped. “Free me from its grasp, and I’ll tell you what to do next! Urgh...”
Kitsune saw their eyes widened. She sensed their fear but she could not afford to have them standing around.
“Please, I can’t hold on for much longer! I know I can count on you two! We... Aaah!”
Kitsune’s eyes clenched as she tried to endure the pain.
“Dai... D-Don’t be afraid. We can do this. Stay behind me and back me up if necessary.”
Dai was trembling, but she nodded willingly. Vivi dashed ahead as the Hydra changed its view towards the two mages. The serpent snarled and lashed out at them.
Swiftly, they dodged it and began their retaliation.
“Noperusei cante pyrosu... Burn to ashes, incinerate my foes! Fire Blades!”
Vivi pointed and commanded the fire magic towards the midsection of the Hydra’s tail. Flashing flares sliced through it, and Kitsune was released, though not very pleasantly. She flew outwards, still wrapped by the end of the tail. While the Hydra was occupied with painful anguish, Vivi and Dai hurried to Kitsune’s side.
“Sune-ne! Are you okay? How could you let that happen?!” Vivi yelled at her.
Kitsune released herself from the tail and tossed it aside. She looked at her bloody arm.
“Don’t yell at me just yet. Save it for later. Dai... Could you heal this?”
Dai scuttled forward and kneeled. She peeked at her hand. “Oh my... This is pretty deep, and the grasp squeezed a lot out of it... But if you can handle it, I can too.” She held her own hand to the injured one.
“Repelis moneirte curia- Mend the broken with the light of mourning... Heal!”
As it was in the words, a light forged from Dai’s hand and applied itself into Kitsune’s. Immediately the wound sealed up, leaving a scar.
“Ah, excellent work, Little-Dai.” Kitsune pat her on the head.
Vivi got up and spoke to them. “It’s not over yet... Look!”
All three turned towards the Hydra. Its tail had grown back, and it became exceptionally furious.
Kitsune focused on the left head, and then gave directions. “Dai, fall back in case one of us gets injured. Vivi, follow me, and we must aim for the left head’s neck.”
Vivi looked confused. “Why the heck do you have such a weird plan? Can’t you just whip out your staff and summon Fenrir and Cascade, maybe even Mjollnir, to blast this thing to smithereens? Or turn into your true form and whoop its a** that way?”
Kitsune stood up and bopped his head.
”Ow!”
“Don’t talk to me like that! If I could do anything you just said, we wouldn’t have this lizard problem, would we? But apparently, I can’t at this moment. In order for me to do that, you need to listen to me. Understand? Now let us go. I’ve got a job to finish up.”
“Whatever...”
Together, Kitsune and Vivi began their assault. Dai stayed behind and watched.
“Wind Crush!”
Kitsune took the first attack to the left head. It shook off the slash from the airy magic, and Vivi prepared the second. “Icebreak!”
Ice shards shot towards its neck, and the beast cried.
Kitsune yelled to Vivi. “Look out for the other head!”
It reared and was about to strike them, but then it impeded.
“Bind!” Dai appeared at the side, holding the right head down with radiant magic. “Now! Sune-ne must use this chance.”
“Wonderful work, you two. Leave this to me... I’ve a score to settle.”
Kitsune whispered. “Fenrir... I don’t have all my strength to materialize you... But cooperate with me and we’ll get it back. Aid me in this attack.”
She leaped for the left neck. “Eclipse Fang!”
Kitsune’s arm clawed out and slashed the scaly throat of the Hydra with the Nightwolf’s power. Fenrir’s soul clenched its neck, releasing a tremendous amount of blood. In one of the spurts, a shining object shot out with it. Kitsune directed her attention to it, and jumped to catch it.
It was a strange, small, and clear crystal. Kitsune held it upwards towards the light and smirked.
Then she jammed it into the hand that just finished healing up. Vivi and Dai stared in bewilderment.
“What in the world...?” Dai gasped.
“Even I don’t know what she did that for...” Vivi replied in astonishment.
Amazingly, her hand was not wounded again. At once, Kitsune held it upwards.
“Ha!”
The summoner called forth her Tenshi staff, which appeared in a brilliant flush of light.
Following that, she thrust it in front of her and began an incantation. She pointed the staff towards the Hydra.
“Oh, bird of flames, bring forth your true shine. Blaze the trail to triumph, and reduce my foes to cinders... Phoenix’s Inferno, crash down!”
A glorious blast of fiery feathers shot forth from the staff in the form of a firebird.
It soared through the air with a direct hit to the serpent, slicing one the two heads in burning half. The remainder of the spell collided into the other wall below the opening in the ceiling. Part of it crumbled from the explosion.
The right head remained in tact, crying much more gravely. As it was collapsing, the three adventurers split up to avoid it as it fell to its demise.
The Hydra finally toppled over and plummeted onto the Lilitrophs. A thousand flurries of sapphire petals danced through the air as if in celebration. They sparkled solemnly as the fox-woman sighed, passing away the stress inside. The other two admired the grace of this battle.
“It’s over now... I suppose.” Kitsune stepped forward once again towards the sacred garden. The hydra’s corpse began to fade away into the iridescent light of the sanctuary.
As Kitsune kneeled in the field of blossoms, collecting and forming a bouquet of the Lilitrophs, the spiritual voice of the Hydra spoke. The other children looked up and saw an apparition; an old sage whose face was covered in a hood. Perhaps he was the spirit that took the form of the two-headed creature.
”Such strength from a mortal... It is unlike any other I have seen. But I sense a great deal of justice and morality within you. A good soul... Perhaps you are not the evil force.”
Kitsune looked up after preparing a delightful flower arrangement. She placed it in her bag, stood, and responded humbly.
“Ah... I’m ever so sorry if I have done any acute damage. But one must defend their life in the line of danger. As I said before, I am only here to help someone.”
The old sage seemed to drift in despair.
”I should warn you that something is yet to come. As the guardian of this sanctuary, it is part of my duty to protect the ruins of this region, and so it is the same for the other guardians. Please... There is, indeed, trouble brewing among this land. Someone evil is aspiring to reawaken that which lies deep within the recesses of these valleys. I beg of you... Do not tell of the sanctuaries. No longer covet the sacred treasures that they hold, lest a greater evil beckon upon this world...”
Kitsune, Vivi, and Daiken glanced at each other, puzzled with his plea.
Daiken wished to clear up the uncertainty.
“Whatever do you mean by this great evil?”
Fading away once again, it left a resounding note.
”There is so much that remains arcane... But I urge you to keep this warning close to your heart. Conceivably, you may be the last traces of forgotten hope...”
“Wait, don’t leave yet! Tell us more,” Vivi yelled. Kitsune pulled him back by his flyaways.
“Don’t bother. Specters and spirits like that almost never stick around to tell of their wisdom. It’s like a rule in the ‘Book of Clichéd Adventuring.’”
“Aww, you are so full of it, Sune-ne,” he pouted. Daiken giggled.
When the sage vanished, an odd shimmer glistened in a patch of Lilitrophs.
“Oh? What’s that?” Kitsune, one who could never resist the sight of shiny objects, walked over to it. She knelt down and pushed away the flowers, uncovering it.
It was a large, glass orb that rested upon an ornate stand. Inside, there was a mysterious, glowing force. Kitsune plucked it off and held it in her hands.
“What could this be?” Daiken asked as she observed it. “Such a weird feeling emanates from it.”
“It looks like a crystal ball that gypsies use for telling fortunes,” Vivi suggested.
Kitsune observed it for a bit more, but then she jumped. “Oh my! I nearly forgot. Here, I’ll put this away for now to study it later. We need to get back to Evermonte as soon as possible.”
She turned her head up towards the ceiling. “Ugh... Must I summon Skye and fly us out of here?”
Vivi grinned. “Nah. Lookie here!”
He pulled out from beneath his cloak, a scroll wrapped with a red thread. “This is a return scroll. It’ll send us right back to the middle of Evermonte.”
Kitsune’s face lightened. “Wonderful! Let’s activate it right now.”
Vivi opened it up and held it high. “Return to Evermonte City.”
The scroll lit up and engulfed them in a light green aura. A sparkling flash, and they disappeared without a trace.
The petals settled onto the ground, and the sanctuary lay quiet again. The sage sighed in gloom.
“Did they not heed my warning...? Heavens... What is in store for us?”
---
On the other side town... There was a booming explosion, and the forest birds fluttered away in alarm.
“Ack... That wasn’t supposed to happen... Maybe I fused the wrong spell into the paper...” Vivi rubbed his throbbing head. Kitsune and Dai stumbled upwards as well.
“Aww! What the hell, Vivi?! We’re on the other side of town...! We’re supposed to be well in the center of it!”
She angrily dusted herself off. “I don’t know about you guys, or if you’re going to catch up. But this is urgent, and I can’t delay any longer!”
Kitsune began sprinting to her destination, and the other two dallied behind.
“Wait for us!”
She did stop her sprinting for a very subtle moment. Vivi and Dai caught up after a second or two.
“Why are you in such a darned rush?! I’m sure you have time to explain-“ Before Vivi could finish, he was interrupted by a strange intensity.
Kitsune had changed into her true, spirit fox form. Immediately afterwards, she dashed off even faster than before. Like a bullet, she was gone in a blink. Kitsune was jumping from building to building at breakneck speeds.
“Master Vivi, maybe we should see what she’s up to. It looked like she was worried about something,” Dai pointed out.
He nodded in agreement. Vivi lead the way, as he could sense her, and they ran off towards the bustling streets.
Past many pedestrians, they had stumbled into quite a number of villagers.
“Hey!”
“Watch it, you two!”
“Sorry!”
“Excuse us, sir!”
The two mages desperately chased after their elder. At last, they turned a corner, and saw Kitsune just turning back into a humanoid form. She entered a villager’s house, and Vivi quickly turned around.
“Shh...” He signaled to Daiken to stay down. They tiptoed over and peered in through the doorway. The two watched, often glancing to each other in wonder.
“What could she be doing?”
Inside the dusty home there was, what appeared to be, a young girl of twelve years lying under a blanket. Kitsune kneeled down next to her. Three other people surrounded them: a man, his wife, and what seemed like one of the village elders.
Kitsune was holding the bundle of Lilitroph blossoms. “Elder Gusto...Will she be okay...?”
She looked as if she was about to burst into tears.
The elder shook his head. “Only time will tell now. She has eaten a blossom, so now she must rest for as long as possible. All we can do now is pray.”
The woman cried into the father’s arms. He had a miserable face as well.
Kitsune stood up. “Forgive me for my delay... But there was-“
The elder interrupted, and put his ancient hand upon her cheek.
“Fox... Do not fret. You had the courage to take up this burden and have her life rest on you. You were the only one who dared to accept this task. You have done much more than enough. She... ... God bless you for all that you have done. You may leave now.”
The fox-woman bowed silently and left the house. As she exited, she turned towards another direction and walked on, not giving notice towards her friends. They followed by her, but were not sure if they should give question. The next action startled them.
Kitsune fell to the ground, and let herself weep tremendously. She held her face in her hands, crying.
Vivi asked first. “Kitsune... I didn’t know you left this morning without a word because you wanted to save their daughter... But why didn’t you say anything? Dai and I were so worried, that we followed you...”
They both put their arms around her and knelt beside her. They rested along a resident’s wall.
Kitsune took a deep breath, then uttered. “... She’s going to die...”
She looked at the dirt on the earth, and sobbed again. “When I walked into the room, I realized the girl’s life energy was horribly low... I felt her soul already escaping her body...”
In all despair, she cried into Vivi’s chest. He held her as Dai hugged both of them, too.
“Why does this have to happen...? I saw it in his eyes, that even the elder knew that she didn’t have a chance... But why... Why did they present this job to me?!” She held him tighter.
Vivi didn’t like it at all, but he didn’t dare to say anything at this time. The two mages only tried to ease her pain, as they were still in shock by the fox’s attempt.
”It’s okay, Sune-ne... Like Elder Gusto said, you gave it your all. There’s always going to be a tomorrow to redeem yourself for the errors of today. This was bound to happen, I’m sure. Her death isn’t your fault at all. You didn’t know...”
Though Daiken knew her words may not relieve her, she had to say something. But Kitsune showed her appreciation by releasing Vivi and patting them on their heads.
She sighed, with a little tremble as it faded. Resting her back against the wall, she looked up into the skies.
“What the specter said... Something bad really may happen. They don’t even know how she caught that sickness... The reason why I accepted their task,” she sniffled, “was probably because the girl smiled at me and told me I could save her. I really thought she had the chance too... But maybe I shouldn’t have gotten ahead of myself.”
Kitsune clenched her eyes in hopelessness.
“Aww, don’t say that. You’re a well known adventurer here. You HAVE saved lives before. Like... uh. Mine... and many others too,” Vivi said bashfully. “You’ve protected this village many times in the past months from the monster attacks.”
Kitsune formed a fist and knuckled his forehead in a playful manner. “You know I’m not the only one around here who does stuff like that. It’s all just a part of living here. Heck, genius kids like you and Dai carry things out like that too.”
All three stood up and began walking towards the outskirts.
”Yes, but of course, we don’t always succeed. That’s when you come in and help. Without you, one of us would be dead!” Dai smiled, and danced around the other two. They continued through the busy streets.
“I think Sune-ne would’ve been screwed today if we didn’t follow her,” Vivi remarked. “Heh heh.”
Dai answered back, as Kitsune watched them chatter. She was embarrassed over needing to have them save her.
“Yes! But... You were the one that was all ‘Like, oh my gosh, come with me, like, Sune-ne is gone, help me find her, like, oh my gosh!’ I just came along because you asked me to.”
Vivi retorted. “Hey! You’re the one who came over and asked first! You gladly followed me like you do every single day. ... By the way... What was up with that crystal thing you jabbed into your hand? Why did you need it so badly?”
They eventually exited the city and entered the outskirts. Kitsune and Vivi’s house was nearby.
“Well. Here, I’ll show you.” Kitsune opened her right hand and pressed its palm. The jewel suddenly popped right out.
“Ew! What the heck?!”
She laughed. Strangely, but sure, she had already cheered up and put her problem aside.
“This is a crystal that I have great command over. I store a huge amount of energy in it; mostly that of my summon spirits’ souls, and my staff. I can store other things in it if I felt so, too. Although, it does have a limit. It’s like a portable storage room-sized universe in my hand, if you may.” She pushed it back into her hand, and it seemed to vanish.
“The only way it will come out is if I make it do so, or if you can injure my hand and pull it out yourself.”
“That’s disgusting... So did the Hydra-guy swallow it or something? How the hell did you manage that?”
Kitsune bopped his head, as they arrived at their front yard. It was rather small, being surrounded by the mountain’s forest. Their humble home was just ahead.
“Ow!”
“Stop badmouthing to me, damn it. Yes, it did... The Hydra wasn’t visible at first, so it sort of snuck up and bit my hand.”
“Master Sune-ne, where did you find such a treasure?” Daiken wondered.
“I’ve had it for as long as I could remember. Actually... I don’t think I even know anymore, but that’s okay. As long as it’s with me, I’m good to go.”
Vivi and Daiken sat outside on the bench by their miniature garden. Kitsune removed the remaining bunch of Lilitrophs and handed her bag to Vivi to put away. He got up and scuttled over inside their home.
“They’re very beautiful flowers,” Kitsune admired, as she sniffed them. They had a relaxing, mellow scent similar to jasmine, or cherry blossoms. Her bouquet had only six flowers left, so she began to plant five of them into an empty spot in the garden. She placed the last one aside.
Dai observed her as Vivi came back and sat on the bench. He had a bottle of soda with him, and he took sips. The bright orange fluid inside reflected the daylight of this afternoon.
“They’re pretty. But what will you do with the last one?”
Kitsune arose after cleaning off her hands of soil, then picked the solitary blossom up.
“I will have it pressed in a book, and preserve it as a treasure,” She smiled.
“What of the glass ball from earlier, Sune-ne?”
“So many questions today... I’m gonna do some research later on, since many things have been bothering me lately. As for you, Dai... Won’t you return to the mayor’s residence?”
The little one dressed in majestic purple gave her friend a look of surprise. Then she laughed. “You finally found out! Yes, yes! I am the mayor’s daughter.”
Vivi spewed his drink out like a fountain. “WHAT? No way! No wonder you have such a quality outfit! You should be doing all that busy high-and-mighty-mayor’s-daughter-stuff a lot more then, instead of following me around every single day!”
Dai took pleasure in looking at the garden Kitsune had. She spoke softly as to imitate the late summer breezes.
“Well... I used to always have many things to do, and I had so much fun. I used to like having this title. But...”
A petal from the Lilitroph that Kitsune was holding set itself free from the bud. It glided through their home, and then disappeared quietly into the woods without a trace. The clouds were clear this day, and the two children sat quietly on the bench. The fox stood in the midst of the flower patch.
“That was only when mother was around.”
<Chapter Two – End>
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It's really interesting so far. whee