… I’m telling you! It’s all a conspiracy! The [King] is behind the [Demon Lord] and his cult! Why else would there be nobles with law reforms ready to go the very same night!

Wake up, people! Before he comes for your land and your home next!

Statement made by unknown conspiracy theorist the night of the [Demon Lord’s] reappearance

-----

Sam took my [Message] a lot better than I thought she would. There were no angry accusations, no decrying me for what I did, and no swearing of eternal vengeance. Though, she was the last person I should have expected those things from anyway.

Instead, she kept calm, promised to look after Sarah, and then gave me a quick rundown of the situation. Or, at least she tried to keep it quick, but there’s only so much you can do with 255 words an hour.

Anyway, as could be expected, Vir was in chaos. The jails were rapidly filling up, and beastborn were being dragged in by the watch for questioning. Garrett was also jailed for somehow regaining his adventurer class levels. He was going to be stuck until he became a [Retired Adventurer] again or until he paid a hefty fine.

Also, Sam confirmed the cat was out of the bag. Or, in this case, the silver-haired wolf.

Sarah might have gotten away with her healing spree if the [Arch Bishop] himself hadn’t been there that night to see how many people she’d saved. That, and the scepter that she definitely could never have afforded, were enough to take a closer look at her.

I imagine she caved pretty quickly once she was under scrutiny.

Once it was determined she was the new [Hero], she was under heavy guard for fear that the cult or the [Demon Lord] would attack her.

I didn’t think the cult would try to attack her, but I also didn’t think they would firebomb Jake’s funeral and then try to summon a demon when their attack failed. So, I mentally applauded the watch for their caution.

I continued my walk to the east, slowly regaining mana and wondering why I didn’t have any pursuit yet.

However, the end of Sam’s reply [Message] hit home.

Sam Newman: … So what’re you going to do now?

I stopped. I looked as far east as I could towards the Besti Deathlands that I accidentally created in my last life, the home of the [Necromancer].

Do I really want to do this? I asked myself. I sat down heavily and stared at the dirt. Don’t I owe it to her to try? I need to bring her back if I can. Even if that means partnering with someone like the [Necromancer].

I flopped backward onto my back. “Yeah, because partnering with an obviously evil guy worked out so well for me last time.” I groaned. Even if he could bring her back… I thought about everything that had changed. It’s been 50 years. The party is a bunch of old geezers… the ones who are left anyway. And could I even trust that she would come back normal?

I wrestled with my desire to see Megan again and my unbelief that it was possible. I struggled with the fact that I could always determine the [Necormancer’s] capabilities first and the realization that it would likely start me down another dark path. I fought with my desire to try to right the wrong I did to Megan at any cost… and my worries about what Sam and Sarah would think of me.

Eventually, I decided.

“[Message] Sam Newman. I… don’t know,” I finally said. “I don’t know where I go from here.”

I stood up as I waited for her reply and turned my gaze north.

I guess the least I could do is go visit her.

Sam Newman: Well, that’s rough. Offtopic, you have 1000 gold lying around? Kidding

Is that the fine? Good gravy, being a [Berserker] is as bad as murder? I shook my head. Well, I was responsible for getting him into that mess… “[Message] Sam Newman. Sure. Need to meet outside town, though.”

Sam Newman: What!? You just keep that much on

I chuckled. “Looks like she forgot to count the words.” I prepared my next cast. “[Message] Sam Newman. Where and when-” I almost left it at that but figured that wouldn’t be enough for her reply. “-do you want to meet?”

It took her about half a minute to reply, but she did eventually give me one.

Sam Newman: Vir Woods. Tomorrow. 7. Have something for you

“[Message] Sam Newman. I don’t need repayment. I got him in trouble. GTG mana,” I replied. Huh. Didn’t realize it would take text-speak as a single word.

Sam Newman: You’ll want this. It’s fine. See you tomorrow. Stay safe.

I guess sticking around for a day wouldn’t hurt…

------

Sam did not have the luxury of going on a nice walk as she sent reply [Messages]. She was busy filling out paperwork.

I miss the old days, she sighed to herself. She was busy filling out forms, in triplicate, that would, supposedly, get her husband out of the slammer as he would then be a licensed [Berserker].

If she and Garrett hadn’t been such high level, there was a chance that they wouldn’t have gotten to her at all that day. The justice system of Vir was… a bit busy.

If the paperwork wasn’t annoying enough, she also had to deal with Titus’ [Messages] coming in at random whenever he felt like he had enough mana.

Titus: I… don’t know. I don’t know where I go from here.

She didn’t know how to reply to that. What do you say to a man who has managed to make himself the enemy of the entire known world two lifetimes in a row?

“Well, that’s rough,” she started. Then she flipped the page and grimaced. “Offtopic, you have 1000 gold lying around?” She shook her head. “Kidding.”

Adventuring was lucrative, but it wasn’t that lucrative. Sam was mentally calculating how many mobs she would have to kill or how many jobs she would have to pick up at the guild when she got a reply.

Titus: Sure. Need to meet outside town, though

Sam stood up in shock and jostled the table. “What!? You just keep that much on you as you walk around!? Are you insane!?”

That drew a raised eyebrow from the [Clerk] who was watching her fill out the forms.

She quickly sat back down. “I meant-“ she coughed. “You expect me to just keep a thousand gold on me all the time? Who do you think I am?”

“Someone who needs to finish reading the paperwork,” the [Clerk] remarked dryly.

The very next line stated that the fee could be paid in installments or at a later date. However, the license would be withheld until it was completed.

Sam coughed again. “Right. Of course.”

From there, she made plans to meet up with Titus.

She looked at the item in her inventory one more time.

I’m glad I was the one who got this from Jake’s estate. He’ll be happy to have this back, she thought. She might have stared at it for a bit too long because this time, the [Clerk] coughed. He gestured at the paperwork, and Sam groaned.

If I ever make it out of here.

-----

Despite her initial worries, Sam managed to complete the paperwork.

She also had a much easier time getting out of the city than she expected.

“[Halt]!” the [Watch Officer] called as she approached the gate. “No one in or out while the [Demon Lord] is on the loose.”

Sam snorted. “You really think the [Demon Lord’s] still in the city? He could be halfway to the border by now.”

“Oh? And how would you know?”

“Because I fought him before,” Sam said with a shrug. “You seriously think that locking down those flimsy gates would keep him in?”

She watched as the officers got put into a bit of a stir and decided it might be time to pull her trump card.

I’m glad Rich had these made.

“Sam Newman, adamantanium ranked adventurer!” she shouted. She pulled out her jet-black guild badge and tossed it to the befuddled guard, who barely caught it. “I’m going out of the city to search for the [Demon Lord].”

“Adamantanium?” the officer asked. He looked down at the badge, then back up at Sam. “Please wait right here.”

She could practically see the calculations in his head as he looked at the lone adventurer before them.

Levels 1 to 4. A single copper-ranked adventurer. Not much trouble, even for a single officer. 5 to 9, iron. Sam looked around at the [Watch Officers] who patrolled the area and stood watch on the gates. There were dozens. That’s a lot of ‘em. They could take an iron ranker easy. She went to the next step. 10 to 14. Silver-rank. She imagined that for a few moments. A silver rank would do a number on ‘em but still lose. Gold rank is where I’d stop betting. Probably better for the watch to not take that fight. She grinned. And then there’s me. 20 to 25. Adamantanium. Sam was pretty sure that the watch manual for handling adamantanium ranked adventurers was just the word “don’t.” Probably underlined, bolded, and all caps.

Anything up to silver wasn’t that special. In fact, for the past several years, Sam had mostly made her living running people through the Faroff dungeon to get them there.

However, to get in the 15 to 19 range, you had to fight some serious stuff. For level 20 and up, you pretty much had to slay a dragon.

Or a [Demon Lord]. Sam shook her head. I wonder if Titus knows how much XP he was worth?

Either way, her trip out of town went from impossible to reality in the length of time it took an officer to fetch a truth stone and verify her story.

She made sure to tell nothing but the truth.

“I am Sam Newman, adamantanium ranked adventurer.” Truth.

“I’m leaving the city to look for the [Demon Lord].” Also, the truth. Though, she wouldn’t have to look very hard, seeing as Sarah had invited her to a party that had the [Demon Lord] in it.

“Why are you going after the [Demon Lord] alone?” the officer asked.

Sam scowled. “He attacked my husband, and I need the money.” Also true. If they happened to interpret that as the reward money, then Sam wasn’t willing to correct that mistake.

All her answers checked out, so she was let through.

Now, off to hunt a [Demon Lord].

Her walk was uneventful until the party told her that she was right near Titus.

Where is he? she asked herself.

She didn’t have much time to ponder that, though. She heard a noise above her, and the rest was entirely reflex.

She leaped backward from the spot as far as she could, whipped out her fire wand, and activated two skills at once.

“[Fire Bolt]!”

“[Fire Bolt]!”

Her [Dual Cast] and [Quick Cast] flew true, and she pegged Titus in the face right as he shouted, “Boo!”

Titus sputtered and coughed as Sam slowly put her wand away.

“Got it,” he said. “Don’t try to scare Sam.”

“Nope, especially not like that,” she replied. “I’m a bit paranoid about attacks from above… Which is also your fault, by the way.”

“Oh, the daves?” he asked. Sam nodded. “Yeah, that’s fair. My bad.”

Sam stood there with Titus in awkward silence for a few moments.

“So, uhh… you and Garrett. Congrats,” he finally said.

Sam laughed. “You’re a few decades late but better late than never, I guess.” There was another small lull before Sam asked. “So… Where were you all that time?”

“I… don’t know,” Titus said. He shivered slightly right after that, so Sam decided that maybe it was best to not pry.

She was about to just get the trade over with and leave when she heard the howls of the most common monster in Placeholder.

“Not more of them!” Titus groaned.

Sam pulled her wand back out. “Need some help?”

“Nah,” Titus said as he waved her off. “They’re easy enough to take down. Besides, wouldn’t want you getting in trouble with Vir.”

Then the wolves arrived.

As the first blue-furred wolf leaped at him, he surprised her by continuing the conversation.

“By the way, why does it seem like every frickin’ zone is claimed by Vir these days?” he asked as he punted another wolf away from him.

“It’s mostly the ones that are near towns and on trade routes,” she replied. “It turns out that having monsters protect your people on their travels instead of attacking them is pretty nice.”

“Make sense,” he replied as he dodged a leaping wolf. “But, why not claim all of them?”

“The adventurer’s guild would throw a fit,” Sam replied. “We need places to farm mobs to earn money, so zones that aren’t on the routes between towns mostly get left alone. Besides, if we didn’t, then no one would be putting new gold into circulation.”

He turned and stared at her for a moment. “Wait. You’re telling me that there isn’t a coin mint or anything? The economy is literally based around killing monsters?”

Sam shrugged. “I guess so?”

She barely caught his muttering as he spun and punched the next leaping wolf. “Frickin’ game world. Basing the entire economy around a stupid RPG trope? What’s next?”

He punched and looted another wolf, then asked. “Random question. Why don’t I get wolf pelts like I used to 50 years ago?”

Sam raised an eyebrow. “You have to loot them with a skinning knife to get pelts, remember? Otherwise, you just get the gold.”

For the next bit of muttering, she thought she heard the word patch, but she couldn’t be sure.

Either way, Titus’ grumbling was put on hold as an alpha showed up. He plopped a dave onto it and then continued. “Speaking of gold from monsters. Inflation. If new gold is constantly entering circulation, why is it still worth anything?”

Huh. That’s a good question. I never thought about that. “Well,” Sam replied thoughtfully. “For one, the System decides the base prices for most stuff, so inflation and deflation don’t happen as easily. Second, I think that towns might have an upkeep cost as a gold sink?”

He paused like he was about to say something and then accidentally let a wolf latch onto his arm. He glared down at it and batted it off before continuing. “Okay, I’ll give the System that one. I guess that would probably work as long as it scales up with the number of people or something.”

They heard more howls, and Titus groaned. “I should’ve picked a lower spawn rate meeting spot. My bad.”

“That’s fine,” Sam replied. “Should we move somewhere else?”

He shook his head. “Nah, I got this.” He turned to the next wave of monsters. “[Hell Blaze].”

Sam got to examine the spell as a bystander for once and was a bit surprised at it.

A bit less than half his mana… Maybe 100? That’s pretty spendy. Buuuut, I guess it’s bigger than a [Fire Ball] and catches them on fire. She idly wondered if there was a way for her to learn it before dismissing that thought.

Either way, that cleared the monsters out. Well, except for 2. 2 alpha wolves survived, and they surrounded Titus.

Sam wondered if she should finally help, but Titus seemed unconcerned. The reason for that was revealed when one of the alphas suddenly cowered, and Titus beat the other to death with 2 quick flaming strikes.

“That was your aura, right?” she asked. “Why does it make them afraid?”

“Oh, you mean the fear aura?” he replied. He [Flash Stepped] to the final remaining enemy and beat it down too. “I don’t know why I have it. Had it last life too.” Then, he jogged over and started looting all of the wolves he’d killed with his flame spell. “The wrath aura made sense for wrath form, and I have a madness aura for madness form… Which I really don’t want to use.” He shook his head. “But I also have that same fear aura for both lives and no idea why.”

“Hmmm,” was all Sam said as she thought. Meanwhile, Titus finished up and walked back over to her. “And you’re sure that it’s a fear aura?”

He raised an eyebrow. “What else could it be?”

“I don’t know…” Then Sam had an idea. “Ooo! Use it on me! Maybe I can figure it out!”

He chuckled. “You sure?”

“Yup! Hit me!”

“Alright. Here goes.”

The aura hit her. Initially, fear seemed like a good approximation. However, as she examined it, there was something more to it. She felt a mild case of dread, but there were also hints of being looked down on. Also, she felt afraid, but also a bit… excited?

That last part was the one that let her figure it out.

“It’s the final boss aura!” she exclaimed.

The aura evaporated as Titus gave her a blank look. “Huh?” he asked.

“Your aura! It’s basically saying-“ Sam adopted a gruff voice, “-I’m the big scary final boss! Bow down before me!”

“Alright, then why don’t you seem affected?”

“Because I’m higher level than you, probably. That and you proclaim yourself as the final boss in front of a high-level adventurer, and they’ll probably be more pumped than afraid,” Sam replied with a laugh.

“Oh,” Titus replied after a moment. “I guess that makes sense. It would also explain why I’ve had a fear aura both lives.”

“Final boss aura,” Sam corrected.

“I am not calling it that.” Titus shook his head. “Fear aura’s close enough.”

“But it’s not. It’s your final boss aura.”

“That just sounds stupid, though!” Titus complained. He cocked his head for a moment and then looked back at her. “[Demon Lord] aura?”

Sam paused before grudgingly agreeing. “Alright, that sounds cooler. You can go with that.”

He gave her a mock bow. “I thank you for your magnanimity towards a lowly [Demon Lord] such as myself.”

“Your flattery means nothing to me!” Sam said haughtily. Belatedly, she added, “But that’s mostly because I don’t actually know what that word means.”

Titus laughed, and she laughed along with him.

After that, Sam and Titus just talked for about an hour… in between monster attacks, of course.

Sam got to learn about how Titus ended up sane again, while Titus got to hear a bit about what happened with the rest of the party.

She talked about her and Garrett first, how Garrett retired and became a [Lumberjack], and how she stayed an adventurer. Then, she accidentally mentioned Jake, and both of them winced.

Oops. Not a good subject.

Meanwhile, Titus wouldn’t look her in the eye.

“I… I’m sorry,” he finally said. “I wasn’t in my right mind, but it was still my fault. I… I killed Jake.”

There were many things that Sam could have said. She could have told him that Jake only had about a year left anyway and that he would’ve wanted to go down swinging. She could have tried to convince him that it wasn’t his fault, that he wasn’t in his right mind. Instead, she reached up and put a hand on his shoulder, and told him the words he really needed.

“I forgive you,” she said simply. That opened the floodgates. Sam wrapped him in a hug and patted him softly on the back as he cried.

They stayed like that for a while. [Demon Lord] and a high-level adventurer. Threat to the world and someone from the party that brought him to his end.

However, in that moment, they got to be what Sam wished they could have just been all along. Friends.

He eventually disengaged and wiped the tears from his eyes.

“Sorry about that,” he said.

“It’s okay,” Sam replied.

There was a comfortable lull, and then Titus asked. “So, what about Lindsey? What’s she been up to?”

Sam winced but tried to keep up a brave front as she explained Lindsey going off on her own. How they stayed in touch via the Mage’s Guild’s [Message] network. Then, how the [Messages] slowed and eventually stopped.

“I don’t even know if she’s still alive,” Sam confessed. “And trying to find someone who knows [Message] and has seen her is next to… impossible.” She trailed off as Titus gave her a knowing look. “Could you? Please?”

Titus nodded, then muttered to himself. “This won’t be awkward at all.” Then, after clearing his throat, he said, “[Message] Lindsey Noble. Hey, uhh… this is Titus, back from the dead. Anyway, Sam misses you and wonders where you are.”

Sam didn’t miss the slight wince after he finished the [Message]. Oh no. “Tell me she isn’t.”

Titus took a deep breath and then looked her in the eye. “The [Message] failed to send. I’m so sorry.”

Sam couldn’t help the first tear that trickled down her face. “I always knew there was a chance, but I guess I just hoped-” She couldn’t finish her sentence as she battled back the tears.

This time, it was Titus’ turn to give her a comforting hug as she bawled.

When Sam finally dried her eyes, she gave a soft chuckle. “Well, I hope this surprise doesn’t make you cry too, or things are going to be really awkward.”

Titus gave her a questioning look. “What kind of surprise are you giving me that could make me cry?”

“Open a trade window with the 1000 gold, and then close your eyes,” Sam said.

“This sounds really sketchy,” Titus murmured. However, he did what she asked.

Sam put the item into the trade and accepted it.

“Alright, now accept the trade,” she said.

He did, and it went through. He paused as he seemed to be looking through his inventory.

“What did you give me?” he asked. “I don’t see-“

He pulled it out of his inventory and held it in his hand as Sam gave a bittersweet smile.

“I thought it was lost when Jake [Sundered] me,” Titus finally replied, his voice near to tears again. He looped the simple emerald necklace around his neck and then clutched it back in his fist. “It was the only thing I had to remember her by… Thank you.”

Sam gave him a few moments and then nodded. “Great! Now that that’s taken care of, it’s time for you to kick my butt.”

She drafted a quick duel request and then shot it over to Titus. The fight was to KO. If she won, he had to turn himself in. If he won, she wouldn’t go after him for the rest of her life.

He looked it over and frowned.

“Why are we having an actual duel?” he asked.

“For my cover story!” she replied. “If anyone asks me if I saw the [Demon Lord] under a truth stone, I have to be able to say I fought him too!”

“And why the conditions?”

“I figured they would be about equal, and I want an excuse to not have to chase you just in case,” Sam replied. Then after a moment, she chuckled. “I would’ve made it rock-paper-scissors, but it turns out that’s not allowed anymore.”

Titus’ eyes widened. “You remember that we used to be able to do rock-paper-scissors duels?”

Sam’s head started hurting a bit, but she shook her head to clear it. “Yeah. How else would we have both gotten [Duelist] while traveling? Especially since there was no way I could have won an actual fight with you.”

When he didn’t reply immediately, Sam prodded him. “What’s the matter? Catgirl got your tongue?”

“I’m just amazed you remember before the patch, is all,” he replied. Then he looked like he desperately wanted to shove his foot in his mouth.

“Ah,” Sam replied. “Patches. This game world’s a bit gamier than I thought, isn’t it?” she asked. “So, how often do the patches run? Do [Demon Lord’s] get any heads up about what’s in them?”

“No,” Titus shook his head warily.

“Well, that’s too bad. It’d be nice to know when things are gonna be nerfed or bugfixed.”

“You’re… taking this awful well,” Titus replied.

Sam laughed. “Titus, I’ve been alive for 73 long years. 21 back on Earth and the rest in this beautifully messed up game world. I’ve fought a [Demon Lord], helped slay a dragon, and gave birth to a wonderful son. I don’t think there’s a thing left that can phase me.” She gave him a knowing look. “So, patches. I take it things that give me a headache to think about have been patched?”

“Yup,” he nodded.

“Why aren’t you affected?”

“[Memory Protection] perk.”

“And that was 50 perk points? Drat. Couldn’t have gotten that one even if I saved up,” Sam replied.

Titus shook his head. “You wouldn’t want it. Being the only one in the world who doesn’t immediately know the changes is a bit annoying.”

“So, is that why you asked about pelts?” Sam asked. “Did they not used to take a skinning knife?” She reflexively clutched at her head as a shooting pain assaulted it.

“I… think we shouldn’t talk about it,” Titus said.

Sam shook her head. “Ow. Yeah. Let’s not.”

“And… you’re just okay leaving it at that? Even knowing that if things are that gamelike… that we might not really exist?” he asked.

Sam laughed. “I exist just as much as my darling husband and cute cat-eared son. I exist as much as the people I see on the street and the brats that I ran through the dungeon to get them to level 10.” She locked eyes with Titus. “And I exist as much as you. My friend who was there for me and helped me overcome my underconfidence.” She gave a soft smile. “So, even if we’re all just NPCs in some game, I exist in all the ways that matter.”

Titus was left speechless.

However, that wouldn’t do, so Sam drew her air amplification wand. “So, are we going to do this duel or what? I don’t got all night.”

Titus shook his head. “Right, of course… Though, your win condition should probably be putting me at 25% HP instead. I don’t want to turn into… that thing… again.”

She agreed to the terms, and the two squared off.

“I’m going to give it my all, so come at me with everything you got!” she shouted as the timer wound down.

“You sure?” he asked.

“Do it!” she shouted.

----

Sam groaned as she woke up on the forest floor.

Geez. I know what I said, but couldn’t you have held back just a little?

Right as the duel had started, Titus [Flash Stepped] right in front of her. From there, it was over. She tried to cast an [Air Cutter], but a quick [Disrupt] stopped that in its tracks as he laid into her with [Earth Strikes].

She landed only a single [Air Bolt] before he KOed her.

Well, I did stack the fight in his favor… Starting the fight when they were close together was a severe handicap for someone who had only ranged attacks. She just didn’t think it would be that much of a disadvantage.

She sat up and took stock of her situation. She’d regained about 10 HP while she was out, and Titus was no longer in the party.

There was also a 1000-gold coin sitting on the forest floor.

Titus: The coin’s to pay for a health potion if you need one. Sorry for going overboard, and thank you for everything.

He thinks he’s so clever. Sam stifled a laugh.

“Thank you, Titus. I will put this coin I ‘found in the forest’ to good use,” she replied. Then she looked up into the tree where he had been watching over her and said, “And you’re quite welcome. Stay safe and try not to get into trouble, okay?”

He [Flash Stepped] away, as Sam chuckled. You [Messaged] me right as I woke up, and you expected me to believe that you already left?

Sam shook her head as she slowly made her way back.

She gave one final look behind her at the retreating form. Thanks for watching over me, Titus. Safe travels.

-----

As my attempt to leave things off in a cool and mysterious manner utterly backfired, I left the scene with my face burning.

I guess I didn’t think that through.

After I got most of the cringe out of my system, I slowed to a walking pace. I wasn’t in a rush as Megan’s grave wasn’t going anywhere, and part of me wanted to avoid going there in the first place.

However, I knew that I needed to. I needed to actually face her and what I’d done.

So, altogether too soon, I found myself at the sealed cave that led to the dragonlands.

They’d beefed up the seal since the last time I saw it. Where it had just been partially caved in, now it had actual walls blocking the entrance.

“How’d they get them that smoothly into the cave?” I asked myself as I looked it over. There was no seam, and it looked almost like the wall had always been there.

“A [Wizard] did it,” I mumbled as I tried to think of a way in. I eventually got in by [Earth Strike] kicking my way through the ceiling.

“Did the portals get patched too?” I asked as I saw the ominous purple field between the two arches. Either way, they worked the same, and I found myself in the dragonlands soon enough.

Everything was just as I left it. The daves were still on guard at their stations, and Megan’s mausoleum was undisturbed.

I walked up to the words I’d carved above her resting place and wiped the dust from them.

“I’m back. I…” the tears came unbidden to my eyes. “I failed you. I couldn’t avenge you. And I broke my promise again.”

I slid down the wall to the ground and just cried.

I had no one left that I could blame except myself, and honestly, if I didn’t know for a fact that I would just come back to life 50 years later, there’s a good chance I would’ve taken my own life at that point.

I don’t know how long I stayed there, wallowing in my regret. It could’ve been days. It could’ve been weeks.

I had no one left that I could blame for her death but myself. Well… at least until I was stirred out of my grief by a loud roar.

“You,” I croaked out as I stood up. “I blamed AltSys, but maybe that was wrong.” I shuffled towards the entrance. I didn’t even notice the aura leaking out as I continued, “Dragons. You’re the real culprits, aren’t you? You took her from me. You started the cult. IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT!“

Sarah’s [Restore] had worked miracles. Therapy had helped me face many of my demons. Time had helped heal me as well.

However, in the end, it wasn’t enough.

With an unhinged laugh, he was back.

----

If I had been sane enough to see it, it turns out that I could have actually been informed of the status condition that time.

System: You have gone mad

And what did insane Titus immediately decide to do?

Murder all of the dragons.

Yeah. That should have been about as effective as trying to murder all of the wolf monsters in the world, but unfortunately, I would come to find out it wasn’t quite the same.

The clues were all there.

They didn’t respawn. They had different brackets for age. And I even managed to stumble across one of them eating once.

I didn’t give that a second thought. Well, except for how I could use it in my hunting of their kind. To that end, I picked up the [Hunter] subclass to bait them with animals I hunted and then roasted with [Hell Blaze]. And yes, I had to lure them. I was no match for them in a fight out in the open, so I had to work around caves or other areas where I could prepare an army of daves.

As for travel, I went in [Sneak] near constantly as I quickly learned that dragons had far superior eyesight. That was a lesson that I lived through only because of [Reflect Attack], [Flash Step], and madness form activating after I got ragdolled by its tail twice.

… That fight was much closer than even the insane version of me was comfortable with.

Anyway, my quest took quite some time. The seasons came and went, but I barely noticed except for how it affected my search (specifically, snow made it much simpler to find traces of fire-breathing dragons).

However, to my shock, I also located other dragons. Yes, I had literally fought an ash dragon before, but I guess that slipped my mind since it seemed so similar to the fire ones.

In the swampy south, I met the first non-fire, non-ash dragon.

It was an earth dragon, and it looked like… well… a giant frickin’ turtle. Oh, wait. Tortoise. Yeah, it had feet, not flippers. Anyway, no wings, it was green and blended into the earth, and it was capable of tunneling at high speed.

That last bit was terrifying to find out.

Anyway, the next ones I found were the air dragons when I strayed too close to the central mountains…

Oh. Right. Did I already explain that the dragonlands had a carbon copy of regular Placeholder’s geography?... Well, it did. The only difference was no cities anywhere… Or monster spawns aside from dragons.

… Where was I? Right, air dragons.

Anyway, the air dragons were quite a sight. Think more along the lines of a Chinese dragon, you know, the ones with slender bodies, no wings, and a lot of feet…

They were bright yellow. And they could fly. How did they fly without wings? I dunno. It could’ve been through the power of fairy dust and happy thoughts for all I knew.

They weren’t the only dragons without wings either. Their aquatic cousins, the ice dragons, were sea serpents. So, similar, but no feet. They left trails of ice behind them as they swam along, and that was about all I saw of them. I had no desire to pick a fight. I guess even then, I had enough cognizance to realize that it would be dangerous, and they weren’t the enemies that I was looking for revenge against.

Either way, I killed… a lot of fire dragons. I baited them to caves, I ambushed them while they were sleeping, and where I couldn’t do either of those, I beat them through attrition. Not needing to sleep has its perks.

I fought several different age brackets during that too. There were young fire dragons, adolescent ones (which leveled me back up to 25), and even fledgling ones that were only level 15. I only started finding those ones farther east. That’s when I finally found their main nest.

The dragonland’s copy of the Eastern Volcanoes.

Nearly every one was a nest for a dragon, and I worked through them all one by one. It took quite some time, but I was… determined.

Soon enough, only one colossal dragon was left in its nest in the center volcano. As an adult fire dragon, it was level 50 and was half again the size of any I’d seen. It also had a swarm of level 5 hatchlings wandering around it.

None of that mattered to me. I would end it just the same.

-------

The mother of all fire dragons did not have a name. Neither did any of her children.

It turned out they were unnecessary when she could communicate directly to their minds, and they were largely unable to communicate at all except with roars.

She was hoping that would change when they fully matured. She also hoped that she would no longer be the only one given the burden of egg-laying.

And what a burden it was. She had first felt the urge to lay many seasons ago and had been surprised when she had laid a clutch of two eggs. Just a few seasons later, she had laid a clutch of three more.

That had been an exhausting experience, but it was no match for the recent seasons.

It felt like she had been laying constantly. It was taking more and more out of her, and she was growing weaker. She had to stop hunting entirely and leave it to her children. They did their best to bring in food, but even with several of them contributing, they weren’t bringing in enough to feed both her and her brood of dozens of hatchlings.

She was slowly starving, and she knew it.

To make matters worse, her children were being hunted. She heard their roars of pain and terror in the night but was too weak to do anything. She could only listen as they were hunted down one by one, night after night.

On an even darker note, she finally understood her egg-laying instincts.

It was to replace her fallen children.

She laid three final clutches of eggs.

Then she counted.

She received the answer she dreaded. If she was right about her instincts, then all of her children had been slain. All that was left were the dozens of hatchlings and eggs that she was surrounded with.

She was too weak to hunt, and even if she wasn’t, she needed to stay there to protect the hatchlings. Both from the hunter and from falling into the lava. Their scales were not strong enough to protect them from its full heat yet.

And the hunter’s attack came. She expected some terrible beast. Maybe one of the ice dragons from the north had found a way onto land, or maybe one of their mortal enemies from the west had braved the trek out of their blight-filled home.

She was surprised to find dozens of smaller creatures assailing her instead. The small blobs burned her scales and wings, but that was a threat she could deal with.

She quickly shuffled her brood behind her. Their safety was still the priority.

Once she was sure they were not under attack, she prepared to take care of the enemy.

She took a deep breath. Her scales flared with heat, and one by one, the strange creatures vanished without a trace.

“Knew it was too easy,” a voice rang out in words she could somehow comprehend. “Couldn’t kill an adult. Not like that. Have to do it the hard way.”

A small form slid down into her lair.

She roared at it in warning. She was weak, but she would still fight for her brood!

“Go on then,” it replied with a laugh. “Try.”

Inhaling again, she blew the flame outward. It felt as if her desperation fanned it even hotter.

The monster shuffled forward and laughed. It completely ignored her flames and slowly approached.

In desperation, she tried connecting to its mind.

She regretted it almost instantly. The monster’s mind was repeating the same memories over and over again. It was also fixated on only one word. Vengeance.

She needed to keep it away from her brood!

Weakened though she was, she lashed out with her tail. It was an unsteady attack, but one that even her children would have done well to avoid.

Which is why it surprised her all the more when the monster met the attack with only a laugh.

There was a flash of red, and her tail was flung back the way it came. It hurt, but that was not the worst part.

She was knocked backward into the lava… along with her entire brood.

MY CHILDREN! She mentally screamed. She frantically tried to pull them out.

Children. Came the monster’s thoughts. Its chaotic thoughts calmed. Children. They quickly became frantic again. What have I done!?

She cut off the connection as the monster dove into the lava after them.

She couldn’t focus on anything but her dying children. However, it was too late.

She batted the monster with her wing to get it away from one of her remaining eggs… or at least, where her last remaining egg had perished in the lava.

“Please, let me help you!” came the gurgled cry of the monster.

It had already taken everything from her; she wouldn’t fall for whatever scheme it was planning. She also wouldn’t give it the satisfaction of killing her itself. She connected to its mind one last time and sent a derisive laugh.

You have gotten your vengeance. She sent. May you suffer in eternal flame for what you have done to my children, monster.

Then while still underneath the lava, she paused… and took a deep breath.

And that was the end of the mother of the fire dragons. The last of her kind.