Chapter 3

I don’t know how long it’s been since the old man told me to leave as fast as I could. I’ve now long since said goodbye to the wasteland and am now in a desert, just how big are that bastards burial grounds anyway!? I’ve been using a long branch that I plucked off a tree to help me walk. The red sun is scorching, I don’t think my Damien skin helps much either. I ran out of water ages ago and am very thirsty.

The old dragon hasn’t said anything since I began trying to escape these lands, he said that he is focusing all of his concentration on trying to hide his demonic energy and overall presence so it’s harder for the other’s to find me. I haven’t gotten used to the time variance but I haven’t come across any vengeful familiars at all and it feels like it’s been hours, so I guess whatever he’s doing is working.

Just when I’m about to collapse I spot a cave, I’d heard that it’s lot easier to walk in the desert when the scorching sun isn’t over your head, so I decide to get some shelter till the temperature and UV dies down. I approach the cave and instantly sense that something isn’t right, I feel as if, when enter it, I might never be able to leave it. The heat of the sun is torture though, so I start making my way toward it.

“Waha-what are you doing foolish boy?”

“I need shelter old man...I’m not gonna last much longer in this heat…”

“Wahahahaha, I bet you miss that snow girl right about now.”

“...I don’t have the energy to go back and forth with you at the moment old man.”

“Wahahahahaha, well I only spoke to let you know to not go in there, if you want to ever make it back to that foolish prince.”

As I got closer and closer to the cave I began to get chills down my spine, despite the shade looking so inviting I begrudgingly decided to listen to the old man and limp on without stopping.

Time passed again, the sun began to set and was eventually replaced by a purple moon. My entire body was fatigued beyond recognition. I could barely move the stick I was using to walk. About the time I was going to collapse again, I saw something. I squinted my eyes and could just about make out an oasis a little ways away. Despite knowing that I was probably hallucinating, I mustered what little energy I had left and started making my way toward it.

I got closer and closer and my heart began to race because it felt less and less like an hallucination. I heard the sound of water and ran, I finally reached the water and it was the most clear, delicious looking water that I’d ever seen in my life. I threw the stick aside, got on my knees and began drinking. There was a sweetness to it, but it tasted so good, I drank hungrily and began to feel my energy returning. I splashed it on my face and gave my arms a good dip too. When I finally felt alive again I took a look around the site and my heart stopped.

I have no idea how I didn’t notice...I suppose it was probably because all my attention had been on the thought of water. I looked to my left and saw someone, she was wearing a towel to cover her body and it looked like she was in the middle of getting dressed after a very refreshing dip in the water. We made eye contact, she had olive skin and platinum blonde hair, that was in the style of a pixie cut, although I wasn't certain if that was the right thing to call it.

She stared at me with her clear hazel eyes. Despite my feelings of embarrassment for practically peeping on her while she was getting changed, she didn’t give me the same vibe as someone that had just met an accidental peeping tom. A few agonising moments passed and neither of us moved. She finally reacted, reached behind a rock and pulled out a sword made up of shiny navy blue steel and a golden gilded handle, just before she brandished it...

“I-Im sorry! I didn’t know that you were here, I’ve been traversing this desert for what feels like days, I’ve had nothing to drink for hours and I only realised that this wasn’t a hallucination when the water finally touched my chapped lips.”

She proceeded to put the sword away, walked behind a tree and returned fully dressed. I breathed a sigh of relief and sank to my knees, the energy that I had just regained disappeared again without a trace. She began refilling a canteen and it seems like she forgot that I was even there.

“I-I’m Ku…”

“I know who you are.”

“R-right, I guess you’re probably one of that bastard’s ex familiars, look, I know that you wanna kill me and everything but can’t you just like give me a few…”

“No I’m not.”

“O-oh! That’s great! For a second there…”

“I might still kill you though, you did see me half naked, without my knowledge or permission, albeit accidentally.”

Who the hell was this girl? The way she could just so casually talk about topics like seeing her half naked and killing me in cold blood was frightening. She began filling another canteen with water and pulled out a pan from her backpack and started building a fire. She then brought some meat from behind a rock and placed it in the pan. I hadn’t eaten in a while and although I had some dried rations, I could really go for a bite of whatever meat that she was going to cook.

“Feng-san, is it possible for you to breathe fire? I know your main abilities revolve around providing support type magic but you are still a Phoenix.”

“Kukuhkuh, absolutely mistress, your humble servant is more than capable of fulfilling that request.”

It seems she evoked a familiar and a fire started in the stack of wood she had prepared moments before, my mind was on other things though…

“J-just what the hell do you think you’re doing birdbrain!?”

“Kukuh, I didn’t think you’d make it this far, consider me impressed.”

Although I could no longer see the Fenghuang, I could see his shadow after this girl evoked him. The girl looked up at me again as if she realised that I was still here.

“Feng-san, is he an acquaintance of yours?”

“Kukuh, never has something been so far from the truth my lady, he is merely a friend of a friend, hardly an acquaintance.”

“I see.”

This whole situation was starting to make my blood boil. The strangest thing about this whole thing was that the old dragon hadn’t said one sarcastic or extremely annoying thing for a while. In fact, even when I happened on the girl, he didn’t respond in the manner that I would expect from him.

Just when I was going to call out for him, the girl evoked another familiar, no, I think it came out on it’s own. The whole Oasis, became bathed in bloodlust, it was like I couldn’t breathe, it was hitting me in waves and sending nothing but chills down my spine. When I finally regained some composure and started thinking about fleeing…

“Nii...Nii-san?”

“...Wahahahahaha...run foolish boy.”