[x] Suwako

Flandre turned to the side as I watched. She had a small smile on her peaceful sleeping face. Was she having a nice dream? If so, I was sure that it had something to do with sweets, like swimming in a pool of chocolate pudding or climbing a mountain of jelly. When she woke up, she would probably spend a good part of the afternoon telling me all about it. Even now, that part of her hadn't changed. I felt tempted to go back inside to stroke her hair for a bit, but now wasn't the time.

"She reminds me a bit of Sanae," said Suwako. "When the girl was younger, of course."

"..."

After glancing at the vampire girl one last time, I closed the door with a heavy sigh. More than a month had passed since the incident. But I still remember it clearly.

The flames had already consumed the mansion and most of the grounds. It even spread to part of the woods. I barely reached the main path as I carried Flandre on my back. And just when I was about to pass out from exhaustion, Keine, Reimu and several others arrived to help. From what I heard afterward, they managed to put out the flames. But it was already too late. Several bodies were found, but they were too badly burnt to identify. And when they searched the area for other survivors, they found none. As I feared, only Flandre and I escaped that cruel fate. And we didn't walk away unharmed, either.

Flandre had lost her memories and suffered from some sort of amnesia. Or at least, that was what I first thought. I only learned of the real damage at Eientei. Dr. Yagokoro, the famous lunarian genius, explained that even she couldn't do anything for her. She told me that the very concept of her past memories had been destroyed when the vampire girl used her ability on herself. There was nothing left to recover. The most she could do was implant new memories into her mind. I refused, of course.

Not long after, I heard that Reimu called a major meeting at the Hakurei Shrine. Several influential groups sent their representatives, including the Saigyouji, Komeiji, and Yakumo groups. It was there that Suwako herself offered to take us in. I didn't understand why, but it turned into quite an argument. Several others also wanted us to stay with them. Keine said that the meeting almost became violent for that reason alone.

Up to now, I had no idea how the mountain goddess convinced them. But in the end, it was the Moriya family that took us in.

"Still thinking about the past?"

I gave Suwako a polite nod. She gave me a small smile.

"Let's take a walk," she said.

The two of us left the shrine grounds and started walking down the mountain path. For the first few minutes, neither of us said anything. A cool breeze blew as we passed. The trees swayed gently above. Despite its reputation, Youkai Mountain was quite peaceful nowadays. At least around the Moriya Shrine, anyway.

"It's a nice day today," said Suwako. "Don't you love days like this?"

"..."

"I like peaceful days like this. It almost feels like nothing could go wrong with the world."

"..."

"But you and I both know how dangerous it is to think that way. Even now, another incident is about to hit this very place."

".. another incident?"

I stopped in my tracks and turned to her. The mountain goddess sighed sadly.

"The Moriya Shrine is going to be attacked," she said.

"..when?"

"I'm sorry for getting you involved in another mess."

A large iron ring materialized in her hand. Before I could react, she threw it towards me. I blinked in surprise as it got closer. Then suddenly..

"CRACK!"

She.. missed? No, I definitely heard something crack. But it wasn't my skull. Something behind me? I turned around, and sure enough, a great earthen golem was falling backward. The ground rumbled as it crashed. It seemed like Suwako aimed for the control seal. I see. She had probably -

"Oh damn.."

I didn't have time to warn her. Instead, I muttered a few spell commands. A strangely shaped metal wand materialized in my hand. Without hesitation, I raised it toward her direction and aimed carefully.

"Forbidden Sign, 「No Haven」"

Several bright red lances of fire shot out and impaled the control seal on the second golem's chest. It fell back and shattered into several pieces. Suwako didn't even turn around to check. Instead, she just stared at me quietly. She knew what I was, of course. In fact, she probably knew even before I did.

"Are you certain that you want to do this?"

"I told you that I could handle it," I said.

The goddess shook her head.

"I know you can use it," she said. "But that power comes with a great price for humans. Are you sure of this?"

"I am the new bearer of the Laevateinn," I said. "I wield this weapon now. And in Flandre's place, I will burn away the darkness and everything else that threatens my friends."

"Even if the whole world burns with it?"

I gave her a bitter smile.

"Even if the whole world burns with it."



DRAGON PRINCESS: END



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[ ] Fury
[ ] Rage
[ ] Wrath