Chapter 5

“What are you doing?” I gave him my most menacing angry glare. The thought of seeing someone innocent getting beat up rubbed me the wrong way. Even this world had a fair share of bad things, and this was one of them.

Orska stuttered, trying his best to compose himself. He finally spoke with an indifferent attitude towards me. “He is not worth your time.” He spat as his spit went flying towards Stryd’s face, dousing him completely in it. “I thought he would be of some use, but now he’s worthless.”

The word worthless made Stryd cringe. Even I grimaced when he said that word. I don’t like people talking down on me, but seeing another fanned my anger. Just because one couldn’t see one’s personal value didn’t mean they had the right to put them down!

“I have seen a half-orc human wield the Legendary Katar Asphalt, but for this child to fail.” Orska shook his head, disgusted that Stryd didn’t succeed. His right foot pulled back, he kicked Stryd hard, causing him to fall over cringing in pain. Then he straightened himself up, spat at Stryd again as Stryd groaned. “I must go out and search for another one. He had doomed our race. Completely useless!”

I snapped my right-hand strike forward, squashing him to the point where part of my weight was pushing down on him. Orska squirmed, unable to get out of my hold, I clamped down on him even harder to the point, he was taking shallow breaths. The sound of breaking bones could be heard as Orska yelled out in pain. Slowly, I lowered my head to his face. My lips opened, showing off a deadly pair of sharp fangs as drool dripped down onto his face.

“There is no such thing as useless, ORC.” I was furious. There was no way that he was going to get away from what he had done to Stryd. Even though I barely knew him, I wasn’t going to turn a blinds eye towards injustice. “You have pushed my last straw. I don’t care if your whole species is wiped out from here on out. For I won’t ever help you or your kind.”

“You don’t understand!” Orska cried out. He cringed even more. Yelping out in pain as I pushed down further, he cowered at my fuming anger. “This is the world that we are…..talking about!”

“Screw the world!” I roared, causing the building to shake violently. “If the world has to see such injustice because of being half, it can be damned!” I was so angry that words just unconsciously spilled out my mouth without a second thought. Seeing something like this boiled my temper. I wanted to kill him here and now.

“Please!” Orska cried out, his voice becoming a whisper as his windpipe was being squashed. “Please…..don’t…..kill...me.” He couldn’t breathe, and his eyes rolled backward.

What did it matter if one more bug was gone from this world? None, I wasn’t completely human anymore, to begin with. As my hand pushed down even harder, and the sound of breaking bones intensified, I felt a light touch on my arm. I snapped towards the direction and saw Phil's handsome face stare at me with a soft expression. He slowly shook his head.

“Berry.” Phil calmly spoke towards me with a very calm voice. Something about his voice made me feel unusually calming as if there was a wash of magic to quell my anger. “You should stop.”

I briefly stopped for a moment. “Why should I?” I started to be peeved by his words. Shouldn’t this be justice enough? Killing him right here? Right now, I think so, and I was damned that Orska was going to get away free for what he had done.

“Because you are scaring him.”

“Him?” I wasn’t sure who he was talking about. Scaring Orska was a good thing. Actually, it was great, and I hope he stayed scared his whole life. Then when I saw Phil motioned his head towards Styrd, I understood. Right now, I looked like a monster, and I knew it way too well. Stryd was shivering from fear as he quickly glanced towards me than towards Orska as he squeaked in fright when our eyes met. Scrambling backward, he put up his hands in front of him in the hopes I wouldn’t kill him.

When I saw fear in his eyes, I knew I pushed a bit too much. Killing wasn’t something I always resort to as a solution. Yes, it was a solution, but that wasn’t me. I felt ashamed of how barbaric I was, but the thought of destroying the life out of Orska and every Orc that bullied Styrd raged in my soul. Doing genocide wasn’t completely on my agenda; it was all anger talking, and I knew that I would regret stealing so many lives later on down my life.

“I know Orska is….quite a character,” Phil took a quick pitiable look at Orska, but his face quickly changed back to a stern expression, telling Orska that he deserved every bit of it. “But you shouldn’t kill him. He’s a Stargazer and the only one in this world.”

“So?” I stated. Stargazer, my ass, who cares! With an angry snap of my voice, I replied.

“Stargazer’s aren’t always to be trusted. The future is paved by our own hands, Phil. Not by the words of someone like him.”

There were chances that Orska had just used his foresight to gain for his own benefit, and I was sure of it. I don’t know what he would achieve, but it would definitely be a worldwide recognition for himself.

“But, that’s not how the world sees it. His words could move the whole world, Berry. If he dies, we will have the world against you.”

“Then, so be it.” I started to push down.

“Berry, think about this. I don’t want to see you die.” Phil quickly spoke, “Are you going to turn into the seventh legendary creature that damned this whole world? I don’t see you as someone like that. I know you. What you said was purely out of anger.”

His words reaffirmed my thoughts, the small angelic voice that continued to ring in my head, telling me to stop. That this wasn’t the way to go.

“You don’t completely know me, Phil. We only knew each other for a short amount of time, and already during the five years, you have changed more than I.” I snorted, blowing smoke out of my nose. The devil in me was slowly winning, but somehow the angelic side was keeping it at bay. “You, a being that is considered a demon lord, have compassion? I don’t believe that is in your dictionary.”

“What do you mean, Demon Lord?” Phil started confused. “I never said I was one.”

“It doesn’t matter.” I knew I messed up, but I didn’t care anymore. My draconic self was still simmering with anger and wanted justice here and now. I could feel the well of power coursing in me, getting stronger and stronger.

Orska started to wake back up; he groaned in pain, but couldn’t move. My eyes glowed gold; turning towards Orska, I lowered my head close to his face. I was an inch away from tearing off his head, but I held myself back. Something in me was pushing me forward to speak.

“Stargazer, for your arrogance to manipulate time. I shall take your gift from you.” My voices boomed outwards, my mind was becoming numb as if something was possessing my body. I felt a swell of power erupted outwards, washing everything in the vicinity.

A bright sheen of power erupted outwards, smashing into Orska as his body spazzed uncontrollably. Blood-curdling screams erupted out of his lips, while his eyes rolled back once again. A wisp of power started to trail out of Orska’s mouth. Eventually, the auric power started to stream out like a broken dam and into my body as if I was sucking out his soul. For a moment there, I thought I had gone to the dark side in stealing his soul, but that wasn’t it.

The energy inside Orska was eventually depleted, leaving him looking like an empty husk. He flinched a couple of times, so I knew that he was still alive. His whole appearance had slightly changed. The lean but well-toned looking Orc was gone, and now he was just a skinny Orc made out of bones with gray hair. Even his fingers and skin were all wrinkly like a real old Orc.

I, on the other hand, felt the Legendary Katar Asphalt flying towards me. It stopped and floated in front of me. Suddenly, the swirl of magical energy that I sucked away was somehow crept its way over towards the weapon and into the weapon itself as if it was part of it.

Right after, information spilled into my mind like a torrent of waves.

Legendary Katar Asphalt

A legendary weapon imbued with the power of Earth. It has the power to create and destroy mountains. Its monstrous strength gives the owner one hundred times their normal strength. It has a natural nullifying ability to counter the Titan’s horrible smell. Hero Bo was the holder of this weapon. The weapon chooses the master to wield its great power. Only the chosen Orc Species will be able to pull out all of its power.

***** Future Sight- special ability is given to the wielder of the weapon to be able to see small glimpses into the future, depending on one’s own skill. *****

I was shocked by what I had just read; the Stargazer’s ability was inside the Legendary Katar Asphalt as if it was its own unique skill. This was indeed a blessing and a curse. Now the wielder could see the future, but at the same time, cursed with seeing it. A double edge gift and I wasn’t too sure how I liked it.

When I looked back at the Orska, I didn’t feel a sense of guilt at all. Instead, I was quite pleased that he lost his ability. Even if he didn’t die, he now couldn’t do anything.

The Legendary weapon glowed bright, and suddenly it disappeared in a blink of an eye back inside me.

“W-w-what have you done?” Orska groaned in pain, he tried to get up, but he couldn’t. Pain shot through his very core, making it difficult for him to even move. “W-w-why?” He gasped. “I have done so much to help this world.”

I snorted at his words. His helping this world was complete bull. I felt like he was only using people from the beginning. The way he lured Phil, then me to get to the Legendary weapon, and now was going to use Styrd as well when he becomes a Hero. It all made sense. He probably would’ve swayed the whole Orc tribe to his own bidding if he continued to have his way.

Though I had to wonder why he didn’t see all this coming, he was a seer. The thought of him seeing his future was a high possibility, but it seemed it wasn’t the case.

My hand lifted off Orska's broken body, I turned and gazed around. All the other maids and butler type Orcs scattered away, hiding from my anger. They didn’t want to end up like Orska, so they didn’t stay a second longer.

The only remaining was Styrd, who couldn’t get up, Phil, Cathy, Moca, and Tart. They were all motionless and quiet, unsure what to do or say.

It wasn’t until Moca spoke up, clapping his hand in respect towards me. “Young mistress, you did a fabulous job.” Moca came over, bowed at me gracefully. “Truly, I have learned another aspect of how torture could be used.”

I flinched. The thought of teaching Moca another torture method wasn’t something that I wanted, in which I kind of had a sick feeling that he was going to use such a method later on.

“Young mistress, we should leave and go back home.”

“Yea….” The words barely escaped my lips. He had a point; there was no point in staying here any longer. Plus, it seemed to stay here any longer would leave a bad aftertaste in my mouth, so I listened.

“Please….” Orska coughed, gulping for air. “Why? Why have you taken it away?” Orska gazed at me lifelessly,

“Because of your arrogance.” I stated with emphasis, “Styrd, come along..” And with that, I left.

The moment I stepped out, they were thousands of Orcs waiting outside for something important to happen. My guess was that Orska had planned to come out with the hero and cheer them up with the news, but when they saw me coming out, they stood in place silently.

I didn’t say anything, and instead, the Orcs split ways for me to pass. Styrd quickly walked behind me, scared that I might do something to him, so he didn’t fall behind. Moca and Tart were walking right next to me, proudly as if nothing was wrong. Phil and Cathy were walking behind; Cathy was so engrossed with her weapon that she barely noticed her surroundings.

We walked towards the edge of the city to spread out my wings and leave this wretched place. Just being here a bit longer made me want to smash the city like Godzilla. My tail flicked back and forth from irritation, staring out into the distance, I got ready for the others to board.

“Um…” Styrd eventually spoke, his voice was low, but I still caught it.

“Yes?” I swung my large head towards him, causing him to jerk backward.

“Why do you want me to follow?”

My cheek twitches at his answer, staring at him dumbfoundedly. Everyone was silent in his question.

“Are you stupid?” Tart started with a haughty tone of his voice. He was the first one to speak in annoyance. “I thought you understood the whole situation by now.” He folded his arm in front of him.

“That is?”

“This Orc is an idiot!” Tart threw up his hand, annoyed at how slow Stryd was. “How did you not understand what just happened? Young mistress was kind enough to stand up for you!” He was getting angry that Stryd wasn’t getting it quickly.

Stryd was still confused, making me wonder if all Orc’s were a bit slow in the head. Some of the Orcs didn’t seem muscle driven, but that didn’t mean they weren’t.

“Look, it’s simple. You’re not going to be welcomed here anytime soon, after what that blind Orc just pulled off.” Tart replied without censoring anything back. He did have a way with words, and it stung. “You’re an outcast now.”

When Tart stated the word outcast, Styrd’s shoulder slumped, becoming smaller in size than usual.

“I knew….that….they didn’t like me.” Styrd words were a whisper. “I was just hoping that they would accept me for who I was.”

“Young Orc,” Moca came up from behind Styrd, startling him. “You must understand this. Being accepted into a group that doesn’t like you is difficult. You don’t have to prove to them anything, nor attempt to make them like you. They will take advantage of your kindness and stomp all over it like dirt.”

Even I was listening in on their conversation, nodding my head in agreement. There was no point in trying to make someone like you, especially trying to prove that you are useful. It just was a waste of time, and I could already see that it took too much effort to change one person's mind.

“Then what must I do?”

“Move away from such a negative environment and start anew, but this time fortify your self-confidence and the way you think.” Moca sternly stated, but his words had a fatherly tone to it. He raised up his hand and tapped his finger on the side of his head. “It all starts in mind. The change isn’t simple, but the more positive your thoughts are, the better and happier you become.”

Tart was silent. He, too, was listening to Moca's words as if it was his own. There was something special in how Moca spoke that made anybody want to listen to what he had to say.

What was a bit strange, though, was hearing all this from Moca. He was a high-level monster that could shapeshift into humans and knew many ways to torture his opponent. It made me wonder how in the world his mind worked. Such thoughts just didn’t seem to fit at all. Maybe it was just me, but monsters this day and age seemed more human than humans themselves.

“So, if I go with Berry. I can start anew?” Styrd asked. He was slowly brightening up at the thought of starting anew, but at the same time, very worried about the sudden change. It wasn’t simply just to up and leave everything behind. “Nobody will make fun of me for who I am?” He asked, hopefully.

I could tell that was something that has been bothering him for a very long time. “Yes,” I replied, catching their attention. “And it's better that way that we leave this horrible place.” Squatting down, I allowed for all of them to get on.

Tart, Moca, and Phil were the first three to hop on without any trouble. They scaled on my back as if it was nothing. Cathy wasn’t quite sure if she wanted to get on or not. She had that look that stated that she didn’t like the thought of flying. Eventually, she climbed up, sitting next to Phil, not complaining a single bit. I had to hand it to her, she wasn’t the bitchy princess type, or it would’ve been worse.

Stryd, on the other hand, was hesitating from getting on. This was a big decision in his life, and it was something that no one can make for him. Even if I ordered him to get on, he would’ve been reluctant. It didn’t take long for Styrd to make a decision. He breathed in deeply and let it all out. Then straightening his back, he held up his head as high as he could.

It was pleasing to see the decision that he had made. I could tell it all from his body language, and when he took that first step, his eyes were filled with dedication. His hand reached out and grabbed onto the side of my leg to climb onto my back. He scaled upwards and sat down.

All of a sudden, I felt a wash of power erupted around my body from his contact. A blast of energy and wind went outwards, knocking every Orc who was watching backward. Waves upon waves of powerful magical energy shot forward and into Styrd’s hand. He flinched as his eyes became wide. He panicked, unable to comprehend what was going on.

A bright light appeared in front of him. Stryd covered his eyes, trying to not get blinded. The light shifted and contorted, pulling magical energy from my very core. My muscle tensed, and my belly glowed with fire.

The Legendary Katar Asphalt appeared and formed. The light dimmed down, allowing everyone to see. When they looked towards us, everyone was surprised that the Legendary weapon appeared in front of Stryd. Even Stryd wasn’t sure what to do with the legendary weapon floating in front of him.

All the power that I had used to summon the Legendary weapon made me tired, but I still had enough energy to fly. What was confusing about everything was that I didn’t want the legendary weapon to suddenly appear; it just happened on its own.

Once again, I sighed at my inability to control my magic the way I wanted. This was getting old fast, and I was getting tired of being surprised by myself.

“W-w-what?” Stryd asked, unsure what to do with the weapon in front of him. He wanted to reach out and touch it but was afraid that it would reject him like last time.

Words flowed out of my mouth without realizing it. “You have been chosen.” My voice spoke powerfully that everyone could hear. It had the strange omnipresent voice that didn’t seem anything like mine at all. It almost sounded like it was someone else.

“Chosen? Me?” Stryd squeaked. “I was rejected the first t-t-time.”

“You were not ready to wield it.” Getting up, I opened up my wings, ready to take flight. “But, your resolution to change was the step you needed for Asphalt to accept you.” With a pump of my wings, a flurry of wind pushed out.

The Orcs who were half on the ground from the magical wave were tumbling around, even more, making it difficult for them to get up.

“Really?” Stryd asked. He pinched himself, making sure he wasn’t dreaming.”

“Yes,” I lifted up off the ground, hovering a good height up above the ground. I felt the power start to leave me, bringing me back to my old self. It was strange having a strange presence wash over me, but I shook it off. The beat of my wings took us higher and higher until we were a good two stories high. Then I saw Orska, stumbling out of the temple with the help of the maids. “Orska!” I shouted.

Orska flinched, and then he shivered. Knowing full well that I wasn’t pleased to see him outside.

“The Hero you are looking for is born!” I shouted, “But, for your crimes, Orska, and your people shall be left fending for yourself against the Titan!”

The Orcs that heard my words gasped, others panicked, some even desperately cried out in plea, trying to get up at the same time, but failing. I knew what I did was spiteful, but it wasn’t my choice in what Stryd would do from here on out. Honestly, I didn’t give two cents about the Orcs. If they died from the Titan’s attack, then so be it.

With a heavy thump of my wings, I shot into the air. There was no time for Styrd to retort back or say anything. He fell forward, grabbing onto Asphalt and hugging close to my scales, so he didn't fall off.

I was high and far enough from the Orc city that I leveled out and just lazily glided in the sky. There was no way I was going back to that place or see any other Orcs for a while.

“Young mistress,” Tart stated excitedly, “that was awesome!” He threw up his hand in the air.

“I’m sorry, what?” I was confused in Tart’s sudden burst of words.

“You showed them who's boss!” He chuckled at the thought of seeing so many Orcs struck with lost hope. “You seriously slapped Orska in the face with what you just said, and I believe that was the right thing to do.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Phil stated he wasn’t too pleased with Tart’s words, “They’re not all bad, you know.”

“That’s a matter of opinion.” I retorted back. Right now, I was a bit hard-headed. So far, every Orc that I had seen had been very rude and mean towards Stryd. My mind was filled with negative thoughts in what the Orcs had probably done to Styrd, making me annoyed.

Kathy squealed in fear when I took a sudden left. She grabbed onto Phil, pushing her large chest onto his arm. For some reason that ticked me off, I swiveled some more just to get her off, but she tightened her hold. I suddenly realized what I was doing and felt stupid.

“They were some of them that didn’t dislike Stryd, you know. Though, why are you flying strangely?” Phil asked, looking at me worriedly that I might pull a loop on all of them. “Is something the matter?”

“No.” I unconsciously sharply replied. Phil was good. He somehow always tends to read my emotions like a book.

“Well, then, please fly straight. It’s making my stomach a bit queasy.”

With a sigh, I paid attention back to flying.

“Don’t worry, young mistress,” Moca stated. “We don’t have to worry about the Titan anymore. You have done the right thing. It is Stryd’s decision now.”

Stryd was unsure about the whole thing, but I could tell that he was thinking about everything we said.

“I don’t know what to do…” Styrd said, unsure of himself. “I don’t feel like a hero to go against the Titan in the first place.”

“Then you don’t have to,” Moca replied. “There is nothing wrong with running away, but…” He slowed down his speech, pulling out his white napkin from his pocket, he wiped his sweat. “Fate will always pull you towards the direction that you are destined for.”

“What if I don’t want to be a Hero.”

“That is something that you can’t say no for forever.”

“But-”

“You don’t have to do it now,” I replied. Stryd was having a difficult time deciding if he should help or not. Honestly, I hope he didn’t help the Orcs for ten or more years, but it wasn’t in my hand anymore. The Legendary weapons all had the mind of their own. Until I figure out how to control my powers, most of my magical energy would be powering each weapon by itself, and I couldn’t stop Stryd from doing what he was destined to do: fight the Titan.

“You can wait ten years or twenty if you want,” I stated, hoping that he got the gist of what I was asking. Ten years of damnation against the Titan was like condemning half their race to death.

Alarmed at how long I stated, he furrowed his brow, unsure what to say and do. There were a couple of thoughts running through his head, telling me that he did think of condemning them. I saw a slip of smile leave his face but quickly was squashed away.

“Honestly, I would appreciate it if you did, but that’s not completely my decision. You have Asphalt, and how you use it is up to you.”

I was way too considerate. I should’ve told him not to use it for the Orcs for ten years. Where is the terrifying dragon in me? Seriously, I need to work on it a bit more, but I didn’t want to be a tyrant. Helping out the Orcs right now wasn’t on my agenda, and I was going to make sure that I didn’t help for another ten years if I have too.

“Thank you,” Stryd stated in a low voice. Tears started to well up as he held Asphalt close to his body.

Seeing a full-grown half Orc cry made me uncomfortable that I had to look away. The others did the same, giving him space to think about everything that had happened. I headed towards the direction of home, knowing full well that I was leaving the Orcs to defend by themselves against the Titan. It didn’t matter to me right now, and I just kept flying.

The day quickly turned into night, flying through the endless sand dunes. I was getting tired from flying nonstop. Dealing with all that problem with the Orc was tiring, and adding that flying made it worse.

I landed near a high dunes, using the height for covers when the morning sunrises. The thought of getting blinded by the sun was something that I didn’t want to wake up to. It just hurt way too much, bringing in unnecessary pain in the morning. With my legs being dragged underneath me, I made my way over towards a level ground.

The others quickly got off and started to make camp, mainly because it was getting cold fast. Even I began to slightly feel uncomfortable with the change of weather, and that said a lot. I was part lizard, so the temperature in my body didn’t always stay constant. I already knew I wasn’t a winter dragon. I don’t know how people can stay sane and warm in the cold. Even though I could spit out Ice, I wasn’t completely immune to the cold.

“Are you okay?” Phil asked. He jumped off my back, stretching.

“No,” I replied, the cold was seeping into my very muscles, making me a bit sluggish. Still, I was able to move around without too much trouble. All I wanted to do was hibernate for days if I was given a choice. “I’m tired.”

“I could see that.”

“Well, then why ask?” I said grumpily. Getting tired made me grumpy, especially if I didn’t have enough to sleep.

“Calm down, you're ready to bite off my head.” Phil wasn’t sure if he should continue talking to me or stay away, but he braced himself to speak.

“Sorry.” I sighed, flopping down onto the ground. It wasn’t easy, trying to get comfortable. Honestly, it was quite hard. I missed the soft luxurious bed at home. The thought of jumping into it and sleeping on it made me want it even more. This journey was seriously testing my resolve of never ever wanting to leave comfort again, but at the same time, I was relearning the appreciation in what I had.

“No, it’s alright. I was rude of me to not ask if you were alright this whole time.” Phil stated, he came closer and dropped down next to me. Suddenly, he put his back against my side, getting unusually comfortable as if it was a normal everyday thing. On the other hand, I gave him a strange look that made me wonder what he was trying to pull. “So, are you alright from that whole flight?”

“Yea, the flying wasn’t too much of a problem.”

“Then it must’ve been the Orcs, right?”

I was quite taken aback by how quickly he nailed it. Dealing with drama wasn’t easy, especially from crazies like Orska, who was bent on chasing after the future. Not only that, all the other Orcs were a bunch of rude bastards that I didn’t want to deal with. It made the so-called Titan look like nothing compared to them.

When I didn’t reply, Phil continued. “You did what you had to do. There is no question about that.”

“I know.”

“Good. Don’t let it get to you too much. You did more good for Stryd than anyone of those Orcs could.”

“I know.”

“Plus, if you weren’t there. He probably would’ve never made it out.”

I turned my head towards him. “What do you mean, he would’ve never made it out? Were they going to kill him?” God, I hope not. That would’ve been horrible. These Orcs were seriously crazy. It was like the old Sparta training or something.

“Yes.”

“Are you serious?” I gasped. “That’s barbaric.”

“That’s their culture. The Orcs kill their weak and bring up the strong. It’s not only done by the Orcs. The Divine does the same.”

“That’s a bit too much.”

“Well, not really. It’s their way of life.” Phil looked over towards Stryd, who was struggling to start a fire. He clumsily dropped the stick and even hurt his foot against an icebox that Tart had conjured up. “Orcs that are seen as weak are killed on the spot. It’s to ensure that their species continue to thrive. In this world, Berry, we need to get stronger. There are monsters out there that are stronger than anyone of us….well.” He tilted his head, turning towards me. “I’m not sure if there are other beings stronger than you now, after what I learned about you.”

“I’m not strong.”

“That’s not how Orska had put it.”

“I can barely even control my magic.”

“That’s just an excuse.” Phil snorted at my words, shaking his head at what I said. “Even though I don’t have full control of my magic, I'm just starting to get a fraction of my power. You and I have thousands of years to get better. There is no rush to get stronger.”

“Well,” I dropped my head onto my arm and got as comfortable as I could. “It seems like the world needs me to hurry it up. I seem to run into quite a bit of unnecessary trouble. From the Black Gryphon, his children, and now problems with the Titan. What’s next?”

“You are the dragon maiden,” Phil stated. “Especially because your life is tied with the legendary weapons.”

“I know.” I let out a sigh, a gust of smoke left my mouth and nose. “I didn’t ask for it, you know.”

“Nobody asked for it. It just comes to them in full force.”

“Yea.” Closing my eyes, I relaxed.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if another Legendary creature popped out sooner or later.” Phil half-heartedly chuckled at his jokes.

“Please, no.” I snapped awake, hoping that was a joke. The thought of having another legendary creature running around in this world sounds horrible. Already one was causing a massive devastation, especially the Black Gryphon, who had taken over a couple of Beast-kin cities is what I heard from Moca. “I’m not looking forward to hearing or seeing the Titan.”

“Me neither.” Phil replied, “He’s going to be one smelly monster.”

“That bad?”

“Oh, yea.” Phil nodded. “The reports that I have found on the Titan described in so many details on how horrendous its body odor was even a hundred miles away. Even the amount of monsters, wildlife, and plants that died from being near him died instantly. That says a lot.”

I cringed. The thought of smelling body odor made me not want to ever meet him.

“The only species that could go against a Titan was always the Orcs. Their sense of smell is worse than ours, making it more favorable for them to attack. Not only that,” he stopped for a moment, looking a bit unsure of himself. “There is a report that states that the female Orcs find the smell attractive.”

“What?!” Attractive was a matter of opinion. It made me wonder what was wrong with the female Orc’s nose. I had to wonder if they were broken in the first place. Then again, it did make sense on how animals and even humans find their mates through pheromones. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Titan was giving off that same smell to the female Orcs.

“It’s true. There has been written history of the Titan having over ten hundred thousand female Orcs as his own personal slaves and twice as many offsprings. If I remember correctly, the last one made his own army with his children.”

“What kind of messed up world is this?!” I gaped at Phil as if he said the most vilest and strangest thing. How the heck did he even have the stamina for all that? Wait, that wasn’t the question I should be even asking. The better question was, why does he even need so many.

“It’s not as bad as you think,” said Phil. “It’s a normal thing in this world. Having multiple wives isn’t something frowned upon, you know.”

Having multiple wives it made me wonder if Phil was the type who had the same thought. I had more of a modern approach where one man and one woman, not one man and ten thousand wives and concubines. That was just totally outrageous.

“The current human king has a wife and three concubines. There have been many cases of such things in the human and Orc world. Even the normal household has multiple wives in both species. Honestly, they’re quite similar in nature if you ask me. Worn torn, battle hunger, and even enslaving and hating their own kind.”

“So, do you believe in having multiple wives?” I asked, wondering what he would say.

“Honestly, I had thought about it, but I believe one is enough. Yes, if you have the financial backings to support for more than one, then go for it. But for me, the thought of jealousy and headaches that females tend to bring with them is already a lot. I only have enough in my heart to love one, sharing for two sounds too difficult to do.”

I was silent in what he had to say. The thought of sharing one’s love to another person would make any woman jealous, and I knew I was the jealous type. There was time I wouldn’t show it, but that didn’t mean I didn’t mind. Being the romantic type of one love forever had always stuck with me since childhood, and it still upheld my own belief.

The thought of Phil believing in having one person made me feel a little bit relieved, but then just as quickly, I was wondering who he was interested in. Seriously, I hated myself for even starting to like him. When did this all happen? Where did I go wrong? I felt stupid for liking someone. First, it was just a agonize trap that would slowly grate at you until it made you go mad, and I really hope I didn’t end up like that.

“Do you have anyone in mind?” I blurted out, then I realized what I said and cursed myself for being so stupid. How could I just ask so casually? There was a chance that he would say yes and not tell me.

“Yes.” Phil snuggled even closer, closing his eyes to get comfortable.

See! I was right. He wasn’t going to tell me at all. I felt stupid for even asking, now I was sure I would think about this all night wondering who he liked.

“She’s a strange one.” Phil continued.

“She is?” I squeaked, listening in on him even more.

“Yes, the moment I met her, I thought she was rude.”

“Then why did you even talk with her?” I asked, looking at him funny. Personally, I would’ve left and parted ways there and then.

Phil chuckled. “Because I couldn’t. She stepped into my life like an annoying leech, sucking away at my blood, but...she wasn’t bad. She just didn’t know much.”

I couldn’t help but think he’s a sadist. How could he think that wasn’t bad? Leeches are awful.

“Then she grew on me, it took some time, but I enjoyed watching her act like an idiot. Sometimes she’s a bit clueless; other times, she can be intelligent.” Phil chuckled.

“So, do you like her?”

Phil stopped for a moment. I thought I heard him turn around a few times. I turned my head towards him, wondering what he was doing. Our eyes met, his face was unusually close, catching me completely off guard.

“W-w-what?” I stuttered, quite unnerved at how intensely he was making me squirm.

He raised up his hand, touching my nose. Slowly, he patted it and sighed. “You’re an idiot.”

“What?!” I barked, completely off guard in what he said. “I am not! I resent that.”

Phil shrugged his shoulders and gave me that I-don’t-know-what-you-mean shrug that pissed me off. He was so infuriating!

“If you say so.” Phil plopped down, leaned back, and turned around, giving me his back as if he was depressed over something. “Good night.”

“Wait, you didn’t answer my question!”

Phil didn’t say anything. He just closed his eyes and ignored me. I squirmed a little, trying to wake him up, but realized I was causing a bit of noise and bringing attention to myself. Instead, I gave up. There was no point in asking him if he didn’t want to answer. It was just better not to just leave it alone.

I went back to resting my head, closing my eyes as I tried to sleep. It wasn’t easy because of the question I had in my mind. Phil just left me hanging without answering, which made me annoyed. Eventually, I fell asleep as the calm, cool night softly buzzed with wind.

#####

“Where is she!” A ten feet tall heavy set brown Orc Titan was sitting on top of a bone chair. His brown curly hair was tightly tied to the back with a few sharp fangs sticking out of his lips.

Beady brown eyes stared out into the surroundings as he growled in anger, causing the Orcs in his surrounding to shiver in fear. He wasn’t pleased at how slow everyone was. The Orcs that were under his control were running around as if they were headless chickens, clashing against each other and tripping.

“I asked where the female I have asked for!” He stormed, pissed off that things weren’t going his way. He asked for one thing, and that was the female that he had captured early in the afternoon, near the southeastern borders of the Dragon kingdom near the Beast-kin Gryphon Kingdom.

Hundreds of female Orcs rushed over towards the Orc, trying to please him with their own bodies.

“My king! Please, take me! I can serve you so much better than that creature!” One of the female Orc threw herself at the Orc King, trying desperately to show off her strong muscles and cleavage.

The Titan snarled, pushing her aside with his rough hands. She flew across the room, hitting herself against the wall and slid down as her head was broken open. Blood pooled around her, the other female Orcs screeched in terror, knowing full well that if they angered him anymore, they would end up like the dead Orc before them.

“I said, where is she!” The Titan’s fist pounded into his chair, causing it to break apart into pieces.

Suddenly, just as screams continued nonstop, it all of a sudden stopped. Stepping out gracefully with her head held up high, Coco stepped out in her best maid posture. With a roll of disgust on her eyes, she proudly came forward. The other Orcs pushed away, they gave her daggers of hatred, and some growled and snarled at her.

Coco stopped in front of the Titan. She didn’t blink in fear or bow out of respect. Instead, she stood tall like a king. “You called?” Her voice was calm, but there was a hint of disgust at the Titan in front of her.

“So, you’re finally here.” The Titan folded his arm in front of him, annoyed that she took a long time to get here. “Why didn’t you come sooner?”

“You are not my master,” said Coco in indifference. “Why would I answer you?”

The Orcs let in a sharp gasp of breath when they heard what she said, and some even shivered at what was to come. They knew the temper of the Titan was no joke, and anyone who even angered him a little bit was quickly killed on sight. Coco was pushing that boundary quickly, and they knew she was going to die.

The Titan started chuckling then burst out laughing, causing all the Orcs to freeze. Confusion riddled their faces, and they glanced back and forth from Coco to the Titan, unable to comprehend what was going on.

Eventually, the Titan’s voice subsided. He searched Coco’s gaze as a smirk erupted on his lips. “It’s fine.” He waved his hand in front of him, causing everyone to hold in their breath. “I just wanted to tell you why you are here.”

Coco snorted at the Titan’s words. “I already know why I am here.”

“You do?” The Titan leaned forward, a bit surprised in what she said.

“You know why I am here, when you attempted to slaughter everyone except me, I knew that there was something else going on.”

“Then please do tell me, why are you here?”

“You’re after a young mistress,” Coco replied, looking down at the Titan as if he was a minor bug that crawled on the ground. “I know what these people call you--The Fire Titan Orzac. To hear that you have finally crawled out of your crib and attempted to gather your army. How typical.”

“Do you really think so?” Titan raised up his brow, his hands were brought before him as he clasped them together.

“Yes,” Coco replied coldly. “Now, if you’ll excuse me.” She turned on Orzac, not caring if she was disrespectful towards him.

Orzac, out of anger, right arm grew to a colossal size, slamming into the ground in front of her as it blocked her path. A foul stench of smell permuted in the air, making Coco nose crinkle, but she didn’t show any sign of discomfort, while the female Orcs all swooned as if they were in heat.

“You will not leave until I said so.” Orzac started with a growl; he glared at her for her disrespect.

Coco took one annoyed look at Orzac, straightened herself up, went around his hand, and left.