Arma: “Master. I have failed you. I have failed all of you”

There was one grave before him, the last resting place of the demon Akara of Velen clan.

Or at least, what was left of her.

Her body was completely destroyed, turned to ash by Black Dragon Lord’s flames. Only her head managed to remain intact in Arma’s embrace.

Akara was the only one he could make a grave for. The other ones had a far worse fate.

Magna, the elf he grew to see as a kind older brother figure, was transformed into a low-class wood dragon.

Same fate awaited Burmongo, turned into a mid-class wind dragon.

Sid, the wolf demi-human’s fate was arguably worse. He exploded like a balloon; there was nothing there left to bury.

But worst of all, Arma now knew that all the dragons they have fought up till now were once people just like them. The blood of the dragons corrupted their bodies, turning them into monsters.

Arma: ‘Every dragon I have killed up till now was once a person, a living human or demi-human or non-human….’

He tightly clenched his fists.

They were robbed of their lives and forced to become mindless monsters.

The only thing left to do now was to put them out of their misery.

That was the least he could do.

Arma: “The only true dragons are the high-class dragons. They are the ones to blame for what happened to my friends. No matter what, I will hunt them down, every last one”

Magna used to say that talking to yourself is a sign of insanity, but now that he lost all his comrades, Arma started to do so again.

Rene: “Hunt who down?”

Arma: “Aaah!”

Rene: “You scaredy cat, it’s just me”

Arma: “Rene….”

Rene: “Arma-kun?”

Arma: “I am grateful to you for saving my life, but my goal…my mission, I must complete it. I must hunt down the dragons….”

Rene: “Not in that shape, you are not”

Arma: “I must avenge….”

Rene: “I said no!”

Rene delivered a sharp punch on Arma’s gut, causing him to fall over, coughing up blood.

Rene: “You managed to stand up just couple of days ago. Your injuries are far from healed. Heck, I am surprised you are not dead from all those burns! If a punch from a petite girl like me makes you fall over like that, then you cannot fight much less hunt dragons!”

Arma: “I must….”

Rene: “I said no! Get it through your thick skull, you dimwit! Once you die, it’s all over!”

Arma: “I am not going to die until I get my revenge”

Rene: “That is what they all say”

Arma: “I must keep…*cough* going”

Rene: “Then rest and heal up before you try anything else!”

There was no arguing with her.

Reluctantly, Arma was forced to sit down.

Even if she has a strong temper, Rene was right. Arma was barely able to stand, much less walk. His body was no longer in a dire condition, but he was far from healed. All of is movements were sluggishly slow and strained.

It took him so long to dig up a shallow grave for Akara’s body.

What would have taken him a few minutes at most, ended up taking him hours due to sheer pain of moving his body.

Rene: “Believe me, I understand where you are coming from, but obsessing over it is not going to help you”

Arma: “How could you possibly understand what I am going through?!”

Rene: “Because I have been where you are”

She gestured at her four motionless companions.

Rene: “They were not always like this, you know? Each one had a life of their own. Lord Reven and Lady Shaela were lovers. After the quest, they wanted to get married and settle down, have some kids of their own and spend rest of their lives together. Arthur, more than anything, wanted to reunite with his wife and children. And Mevin, my master, wanted to become a man who would be remembered as a legend.”

Rene: “But look at them now, all the spark of life is gone out of their bodies. All the ambition, hope, or dreams they have ever had was shattered into pieces….no, more like turned into nothing.”

Arma: “…”

Rene: “I used to be just a street urchin, just another orphan with no dreams or desires, just a hungry stomach. But Master Mevin, the white mage, took pity on me and took me on as his disciple. Because of my master, I ended up becoming a member of a party led by a hero on a quest to slay a certain fiend, the Demon Dragon Nefarus who terrorized their homeland with his hordes of monsters”

Rene: “Battle after battle, we grew stronger and stronger. We truly thought that we could emerge victorious”

Rene: “But alas, when we finally confronted him, the foe was too powerful. We never stood a chance. One after another, he killed them, right before my eyes. I only managed to survive because my master used a spell to hide me from Nefarus’s eyes”

Arma: “I did not know”

Rene: “I just want to return them to their homeland, to their families, loved ones, and friends”

After hearing her story, Arma felt a little ashamed of his own thoughts. Before this, he thought of Rene as crazy and scary person, but now he understood, she was the same as him.

They were the last survivors of their respective groups.

Rene: “Do whatever you want, but you are not dying. Not on my watch”

She was essentially telling him that she was going to protect him. Realizing this, she ended up a little embarrassed.

Rene: “That is all! Now rest!”

Arma: ‘Akara sensei once mentioned a name for people like her…tsundere?’