– Era of the Wastes, Cycle 215, Season of the Setting Sun, Day 32 –

“How far away?” asked Terry.

“Around four hundred Terrys,” replied Devon. “Almost there.”

“How come we haven’t encountered anything on our way here?”

Yeah, I was so looking forward to meeting possessed terror grizzlies and elemental armies. You know, the real authentic Wastes experience. NO, I was not. Why are you complaining, dimwit?

“Oh? Did you want to? The Captain always tells me to try and avoid delays if possible, but I have gained some time thanks to the dungeon fairy. So we can take a detour if you want.”

Wastes no.

“No. I was just wondering,” mumbled Terry. “I expected that some creatures could not be avoided.”

“Hm? Oh you only need to keep your distance. You just need to be aware of their location. Some creatures also stay far away from me.”

Ask about the abnormal mana? Perhaps you should stay away from him, too? You know, if you had any sense left. So maybe not. Up to you, really.

“Mana signatures,” exclaimed Terry absentmindedly.

You should really stop talking to yourself when others are around.

“Oh really?” asked Devon. “You can sense that from here? Good. So there are mana users there. Doesn’t really help me determine if they’re bandits, but good to know. Sometimes, I miss my own mana sense.”

What?

“However, life sense and death sense are unexpectedly useful.”

One of these is not like the other. Ask about the abnormal mana?

”Without them, I would not be able to help the Captain and Lizzy, or find my way back to them. That would be sad.”

Terry furrowed his brow. He was replaying some of Devon’s recent and earlier statements back in his mind. Something was off there somewhere.

“Alright, we have arrived. I’ll quickly check if they’re bandits. You can wait here.”

Devon walked into the cave entrance.

Terry blinked.

Did you hear Devon talk about a plan at any point in time? No? Because he’s simply waltzing in there.

“Greetings!” shouted Devon. “I’m supposed to figure out if you’re bandits.”

Terry’s mouth slowly fell open and his mind blanked. He heard a quiet whistling sound. “Devon! Dodge!”

“Hm?” Devon turned his head back to Terry. He made no attempt to dodge whatsoever.

*Thwip* An arrow hit Devon in the chest.

Devon turned away from Terry and looked down at the arrow. “How rude! I believe you really are bandits.”

“D-Devon what are you doing? Move out of their line of sight!”

“Hm? What was that?” Devon turned his whole body around.

“Why did you announce yourself?!”

“I’m supposed to determine if there are bandits here. This is my plan.”

Ano arrow hit Devon in the back. Devon did not even flinch.

“This is a plan?!”

Devon shrugged. “It worked before. I tried other plans, but they did not work as well. The Captain said it’s because my social skills are—” He scratched his forehead. “What was it?” Devon tried to recall the term while another arrow hit his back. “Nonexistent. That was it.”

“You… you…” Terry pointed at the arrow lodged into Devon’s chest. “Doesn’t that hurt?”

“Meh. You get used to it.”

See? That’s how you sound to others when you say things like that!

“Okay, I’m pretty sure they’re bandits. What do you think, Terry?”

Terry nodded absentmindedly.

“Alright, the Captain said that bandits are bad people and Lizzy said I’m allowed to defend myself when attacked. I’ll be right back.”

Devon stormed into the cavern.

Terry stood dumbfounded.

Don’t you want to help? Although the scary man probably doesn’t need help from the likes of you… Don’t you want to watch? Ask about the abnormal mana?

Still in a daze, Terry walked into the cave.

Screams echoed from the walls.

“What in the Wastes are you?!” demanded one of the bandits. His sword was planted into Devon’s stomach.

“Didn’t you hear me before? I’m Devon.”

Terry recognized the flicker of a spell structure. However, the casting was way too quick for him to compare it with his memory.

Devon punched out with his palm at the bandit’s face. Shortly before the palm impacted, a giant bright red flame erupted from Devon’s hand. The bandit’s head disappeared.

Scary. Run?

“RUN!” shouted one of the bandits.

See? The bandits get it.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you do that,” said Devon and another spell structure flickered. A large sheet of black ice appeared on the floor.

What’s black ice?

Two bandits slipped and fell on the ice. Then, they started aging at a visible pace. In the blink of an eye, they had breathed their last breath.

Nevermind.

A mana user attacked Devon with a naginata whose blade was on fire – an aspected weapon. Devon dodged.

First time I’ve seen him do that.

“The children laugh at me when I don’t have eyebrows.” Devon grumbled to himself. He struck out his hand and a giant bright red fireburst appeared. The bandit died in an instant. Even the aspected weapon was pulverized.

“Hold!” demanded a bandit that held a knife towards the neck of a woman in leather armor. “Or you’ll have her blood on your hands!”

Devon tilted his head. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

The scene irritated Terry a great deal. His blood started to boil. Without thinking, he activated the imprints in his boots and walked up towards the ceiling – out of sight.

“So what now?” asked Devon. He looked expectantly at the bandit.

“You tie yourself up. Then, I will escape with the hostage. Once I feel safe, I will let her go.”

Devon raised an eyebrow. “What’s the point in me tying myself up? I’m not good with knots. Even if I was, I could just burn off the rope.”

“You…”

“Do you have a rope that is resistant against hellfire?”

“H-hellfire?” The bandit seemed close to crying. He glanced at the black ice that blocked his escape route. “N-n-netherfrost?”

I know you’re busy right now, but did you hear that? Two more aspects from the lower system. Just saying. One extremely hot and also burns through mana, life, and death. One extremely cold and absorbs mana and life. Scary, don’t you think? Just saying. If I remember right, these can’t even be extinguished or melted through normal means. They’re both eternal unless the caster stops channeling mana. Just saying. Run?

The bandit gulped. “P-please just let me go. I’ll release the woman once I’m outside.”

Devon frowned. “Are you a bandit?”

“Yes, but—”

“I’m not supposed to let bandits go.”

“If you don’t move aside, this woman will die. You hear me?!”

“The Captain said it’s not always possible to save everybody.”

“Y-you—” The bandit’s eyes opened wide. His knife was pulled away from him. His eyes followed the knife. The last thing the bandit saw before he died was a bright flash. A spear penetrated his head.

“NOOO!” screamed the hostage. She went on her knees and hugged the corpse.

Not the reaction I expected.

The woman looked up and glared at Terry with red eyes. She drew a sword from the scabbard of the dead bandit and swung at Terry in a frenzy. It was not difficult for Terry to dodge.

Bandit hideout. Armor. Look, she even has a dagger at her hip! No injuries. No restraints. Grieving for a bandit. Yup. Probably a bandit. You could have noticed that before if you had paid more attention instead of getting flashbacks to Siling’s bloody eyes. Then again, I figure the end result would have been the same.

Devon was walking up to the bandit that frenziedly attempted to slice up Terry.

“I’m allowed to defend people,” said Devon. Another bright red flame later, the last bandit was dead. Only Terry and Devon were left in the cave.

Devon looked up at Terry. “I didn’t know you could fly.”

“I can’t.” Terry deactivated the imprints and did a half turn in the air to land on his feet.

“You a mage?”

Half-mage. Although ‘half’ may be an overly generous estimation. Ouch ouch ouch. Stop biting the inside of your cheek to get rid of me. Meanie.

“Somewhat. I can only cast a single spell, though.”

“Which one?”

“Immovable Object.”

“Never heard of it.”

Make a sulking face! That would be funny. Come on, start to pout! Siling would have done it. Embrace the nonsense! Why can’t I be Siling’s inner voice? Maybe then I could even pet the soul spirits in her soul spots? Although, the last time you saw Siling, her soul spirits weren’t that pet-worthy. Maybe she got another Furball? Ouch ouch ouch. Stop that!

“It’s the one I used to stay in the air.”

“Seems fun. Pity I can’t learn it.” Devon walked towards the black ice and somehow dispelled it. Then, he used hellfire to incinerate the remains of the bandits. “The Captain says I have to clean up if we want to avoid more undead running around.”

“What were those spells?”

“Burning Hands and Slick Ice.”

“No, they weren’t.” Terry blurted out. “Uhh, sorry. I mean I’ve seen these spells before. They did not look like that. I get that they’re aspect variants, but even variants—”

“Oh, I’ve empowered them.”

Cast that quickly. Empowered to that degree. What?

Terry’s inner Academy student raised his head. “Wouldn’t it be more efficient to use a different spell structure then? Isn’t mana expenditure for such a strong empowerment ridiculous?”

“Yeah, but I don’t really need to worry about that.” Devon shrugged. “Also, I don’t have much choice. I lost access to most of my spells when I lost my mana sense. Now, I can only cast the spells I know by heart. Those that I have cast a million times.”

That’s hyperbole, right? A MILLION times? He must be exaggerating. Wait, should you be worried about losing your mana sense, too? Great. Now you have another worry to keep you up at night. You’re welcome.

Devon finished burning the last corpse. He paused and looked down at himself – arrows sticking out, holes in the robes, blood everywhere. “Perhaps I should have updated my wardrobe before burning the bodies.”

Devon glanced at Terry. “Were you very fond of the robes? I don’t think I will be returning them in a good state.”

No shit.

“N-no. It’s fine.”

“Anyway, now that we are finished here, we can join up with Lizzy and the Captain.”

“Don’t you need to look around first? In case there’s anything useful here?”

Your dungeon neurosis is showing, Terry.

Devon shrugged. “Normally, I just leave everything to the scavengers. If there was anything important they expected me to recover, then the Captain would have told me. I don’t really need anything and I tend to lose my equipment regularly anyway. We are still making good time. So you can look around if you want.”

Oh look, there’s rope! One can never have too much rope! Thank mana for storage items!

***

Alright, THAT’S IT. When will you ask about taking a break? You know how you get when you haven’t slept or eaten in a day. Was it a day? When was the last time you slept or ate in the dungeon? I don’t re— Wait, that’s not the point! I don’t think you will outlast the scary man when it comes to stamina. Ask him. Ask him. Do it. Do it now!

“D-Devon?” muttered Terry.

“Yup.”

“When do you want to take a break?”

“I always forget to do that when the Captain and Lizzy are not around.” Devon kept walking unperturbed.

The voice in Terry’s head started sobbing.

“Don’t you need sleep?” asked Terry.

“Not really,” muttered Devon. “Mana and life energies work as a substitute. I don’t like to sleep. When I sleep, the voices get louder.”

Devon has voices? Are they pretty? Introduce me! No wait, don’t. His voices are probably all deep and growly and instructing him to crush the puny mortals. Hey, maybe the Captain and Lizzy are voices, too? Perhaps Lizzy is telling him to sacrifice his camping buddies to the lower realms. You know what? I’ve changed my mind. Who needs sleep anyway? Bah. Let’s just collapse later on the road. That’ll do.

“I’m aware that mana can substitute for rest somewhat, but doesn’t the consumption get worse and worse the longer you do it?”

“Yup.”

How about food? You should still have that dried jerky. You know, the one you nibbled on for a few days before you got out of the dungeon. It’s the one with your slobber on it. Also, the only one left. It should be easy to find.

“Do you eat?”

Good idea. Don’t retrieve the precious jerky if he wants a bite. There is little enough left as it is. You could tell him that it’s all slobbery, but I am not convinced that would stop him.

“Sometimes. Poppy tells me to taste the food when we visit the children.”

That guy has children?! Or are the children the food? How sure are you that Devon is really part of the Deathguard as opposed to the thing the Deathguard protects people from?

“Children?”

“There is an orphanage in the Chara Settlement.”

Still ambiguous. Keep going.

“You visit the orphanage?”

“To play with Fluffy and the kids.”

Still ambiguous.

“Poppy is shy around the kids, but she accompanies me often and then packs some food as a gift. Poppy and Elvis grew up in an orphanage, too.”

Aww. See? I told you Devon is best people. How dare you have those mean thoughts about him. Shame on you! Okay, he can have some slobbery jerky but don’t bring it up on your own! No need to go that far. Start eating and see if he reacts.

***

“Hey Lizzy!” shouted Devon.

Stabbity stab stab.

Terry moved behind Devon.

“Back already?” a human woman in plate armor walked out from behind the trees. She did not seem to be encumbered by her armor nor did the armor make any sound.

Terry could sense an active mana layer over the armor, but he did not discover any imprints. The woman herself radiated two mana aspects: life and metal.

Probably a metal aspect spell. More silent stab stab.

“Who is this— Devon, why does he look afraid of me?!” Lizzy glared at Devon.

“Because you’re scary,” replied Devon in a deadpan manner.

“Did you tell people I would stab them again?”

“You do that sometimes.”

“NO. I. DON’T.” Lizzy pointed her finger at him angrily with each word.

“You stabbed me when we first met.”

“You— How often do I need to explain that to you!” Lizzy stomped her feet. “How was I supposed to know that you wanted to escape from there! The cultists were performing this weird ritual—”

“Binding the incarnation of the Devonian Devastation from the Second Abyss,” added Devon helpfully. “The looneys in the tower never shut up about how honored I should feel to serve as the vessel.” Devon rolled his eyes.

“YES! Do you have any idea how that sounds?! When we entered the room, you instantly grabbed that glowing stone. How was I supposed to know that you were forcefully interrupting the ritual? I thought you were trying to hasten the apocalypse. Do you have any idea how scary the intel made this ancient cult sound?”

“The Captain didn’t stab me.”

“The Captain was already an experienced Deathguard! It was my first mission to bring down a deathcult. Nearly two decades ago! I DON’T STAB PEOPLE!”

“You stabbed me later, too.”

“That was SPARRING. You stopped dodging for no reason!”

“The Captain never stabs me during spars.”

“Because the Captain reacts faster than I do! Stop spreading rumors about me stabbing people!”

“You stabbed me,” insisted Devon unperturbed.

Lizzy was about to pop a vein, but she stopped herself from continuing the squabble. She looked at Terry.

“Sorry about that. Don’t listen to Devon. I don’t stab people. I’m Lizzy.”

“Her real name is Elizabeth the Third of Castellan,” interjected Devon. “But she doesn’t like it when I point that out.”

Lizzy’s eye twitched and she held out her hands to choke an imaginary neck.

Wow. I think the vein on her forehead is getting its own vein on its forehead.

“Just Lizzy, please. How may I address you?”

“I’m Terry.”

“I met him at a dungeon,” said Devon. “He wants to see the Captain.”

“Did you wake up in a dungeon again, Devon?” asked Lizzy.

“Yeah, but this time it was actually helpful. It was closer to the bandits and it was easy to get out.”

Did you hear that, Terry? It was easy to get out of that dungeon. E-A-S-Y!

“How often do you wake up in a dungeon?” asked Terry.

Are you sure that you want to know?

“Maybe every other week or month or so,” replied Devon.

See? Did that make you feel any better? No, of course, it did not! It certainly did not improve my lingering anxiety regarding our dungeon visit. Is this going to be a regular thing? You will need more rope.

“Frequently enough to be a problem,” added Lizzy. “Although, he always finds his way back. Like a dog. Devon’s theory is that the dungeon fairies became infuriated when he kept finding their hiding spots.”

“I also stepped on one of them by accident,” interjected Devon with a shrug. “The little things were zipping around everywhere.”

“My alternate theory is that Devon’s an idiot.”

Devon narrowed his eyes at Lizzy. Then, he turned to Terry.

“Don’t listen to the mean old lady.”

Old? She does not look old. In fact, now that you mention it, she looks very pretty. Huh, Devon looks handsome, too. HAHAha. You’re the ugly one here, Terry! Haha hm… Aww, now I made myself sad… You should have invited one of the Alricks to tag along. Then, you would not have to be the ghoul of the group.

“I told you not to call me that!” screeched Lizzy.

Devon held her gaze and asked with a blank expression. “Call you what?”

“Hmph.” Lizzy turned away and walked ahead.

Devon turned to Terry. “I have found that she insults you less if you push her buttons quickly. However, I have not figured out yet why age is one of the buttons. Lizzy may be slightly older than the Captain, but she is way younger than me.”

“EVERYONE is younger than you!” shouted Lizzy in exasperation.

“That can’t be right.” Devon furrowed his brow and looked at Terry again. “Can it?”

I got nothing.

Lizzy stopped walking and addressed Terry. “How many people do you know that have been alive at the beginning of the LAST era? Maybe even the one before?”

Devon’s eyes waited expectantly for Terry to answer.

Is that a trick question?

“None?”

“Huh,” uttered Devon. “I thought there must be some. Lizzy, didn’t you tell me about these powerful mages somewhere or the bony mages somewhere else?”

“The magic sovereigns in Arcana and the Lich Kings,” corrected Lizzy. “Yeah, granted. Not everyone is younger than you.”

“I knew it,” exclaimed Devon in triumph.

Wait wait wait. HOLD UP!

“Magic sovereigns?” blurted Terry.

“Hm? Yeah the highest position in the Arcana Empire,” explained Lizzy.

Devon stared absentmindedly into the distance.

“Y-you h-have heard of Arcana?” stammered Terry. His breathing became erratic. His heart palpitated. His vision turned blurry.

“Yes?” Lizzy looked at him in confusion. “Everyone has heard of Arcana. They’re the biggest remaining empire and synonymous with advanced magic. Why? Are you okay? You seem—”

They’re onto you. Quick! Hide the knives!

“Hi Captain,” shouted Devon.

“Who is our guest?” asked the Captain and stepped into their path.

Terry turned towards the high-pitched voice and saw only air. His upbringing kicked in and he lowered his gaze.

Dwa— DON’T SAY THAT OUT LOUD! No sideburns! Pay attention! No sideburns! Actually, no hair on the head at all. What is that about? Nevermind. Not a dwarf. Different facial structure. Barely taller than Bjorln but not a dwarf. Human. Human woman. Little human woman. Little bald lady. Holy mana that’s a lot of knives! She looks tough. I wonder who would win in a fight – Ma Isille or the little bald lady?

Oh look, her expression is changin— CRAP she’s talking to you. What did she say? I don’t know. Why are you asking me? Quick, say something to smooth things over!

“P-pardon?”

Smooth.

The Captain stepped closer and moved her finger in front of Terry’s eyes.

Little calloused finger.

“When was the last time you slept?”

Good question.

“Devon, did you take any breaks when you came here?” asked Lizzy.

“No, why?”

“Oh boy, I’ll do first aid.” Lizzy cast Banish Fatigue.

Ahhh that feels nice. I like Lizzy. Nice Lizzy.

“Only a temporary mitigation and it does not alleviate the mental exhaustion,” said the Captain. “He needs proper rest.”

“I-I’m Terry.”

“Greetings, Terry. I’m Megumi.”

“I met Terry at the dungeon,” said Devon. “He has a Guardian card. He wants to go to a Guardian outpost.”

“Dungeon?” Megumi turned from Devon to Terry. “What were you doing in a dungeon?”

Don’t tell them that you were too blind to find the exit! That would be too embarrassing. Tell them you had to fight your way through some terror grizzlies! On the other hand, if we meet terror grizzlies on the way, then they may expect you to fight them, too. Tell them you were busy cuddling puppies!

The worry in Megumi’s eyes increased when Terry did not respond for a while. “Nevermind, how long were you in the dungeon?”

“D-don’t know.” Terry pondered with a distant gaze. “Not sure.”

“What is the last date you remember before the dungeon?”

“R-rising S— No, first day Setting Sun.”

“Yikes,” exclaimed Lizzy.

“The village we are supposed to investigate is nearby. It may be a bit macabre, but there you can find a proper bed. We will need to spend some time there to investigate anyway. You will be able to sleep peacefully. Can you hold on for another hour?”

No.

“Yes.”

***