Destruction Preventer: Lunar Salvation

Destruction Preventer: Lunar Salvation
Chapter 2 – The Mist Incident

"You remember where to go, right?"

"Of course. Don't expect me to get lost in Baron territory, Kain."

The dragoon grinned. "I wasn't. How long do you expect this trek to take?"

Cecil stopped in his tracks, and mentally calculated the distance and their speed. "About five or six hours before we reach the cave, if all goes well. I don't think we'll be facing too many beasts on our way. We can take a breather once we get at the cave's entrance."

"Talk about a ways to go. I'd suspect the King would have at least let you use an airship-"

Cecil glared at him. "If only I hadn't been dismissed from the Red Wings."

"Right. Do you know anything about this beast, or whatever we're going to face?" Kain didn't even need to slow down for the younger man to catch up.

"Rumors indeed say it's a dragon, as you know already... Your company is going to be even more welcome if it is. You're the dragon expert."

Kain stopped as well, his blue-gray eyes scanned the area. He had felt something disturbing, unusual. However, everything on the ground seemed normal. "Wait here," he instructed Cecil before jumping high in the morning sky.

The knight looked up in Kain's direction. Soon, he couldn't even see the man. Then he heard his voice.

"FUCK!"

Kain landed some four or five feet away from him. "Vultures. Doubt you want to become bird fodder."

"... Or a cactus for that matter." Cecil pointed at a giant porcupine-like mammal, whose raised spikes gave his intentions away.

"Say no more, Cecil. Let me take care of the birdie up here." Birdie. Cecil shook his head, his attention focused on the giant porcupine – nicknamed Sword Rat for a thousand spiky reasons. He waited until the animal charged, before jumping out of its way. His sword slashed through the beast's thick, leathery skin. Red blood oozed from the rat as it fell to the ground with a final, bone-chilling screech.

Up in the sky, Kain didn't even take as long. His spear went through the large bird's body like a toothpick in jelly. Impaled on the weapon, the vulture writhed and whimpered, stretching its neck to try and attack the dragoon. Kain had to shake the mangled body off his spear. The bird landed below him, neck breaking as it hit the ground.

"And here I thought the hunting season hadn't begun yet."

~

The animal attacks had slowed Cecil and Kain down, but hadn't exhausted them too much. The pair came to halt by the cave's mouth; time to clean their armors and weapons a little.

"We saw the same behavior on the airship... those monsters don't usually attack unless threatened," Cecil noted. He leaned on the tree, his helmet by his side. He took a large bite out of his sandwich. "I've seen floateyes attack airships, but only during mating seasons... Right now it's summer, it's well over by now."

Kain shrugged. "I don't know. I keep hearing about that too. I told you about the men who came back wounded from an expedition by the river? Their bites go through armor, Cecil."

Cecil recalled the story – about three weeks ago, five men had been sent to look for a woman, who had reported as missing a few days before the search. Several days after they were dispatched, they found half of her body near a large river; the bottom half. No sign of the upper half had been seen, and the soldiers were ordered back. On their way to the castle, they had been attacked by unknown monsters, which were later revealed to be stray alligators.

"If only it was an isolated case."

Two soldiers on guard duty had been impaled to death by human-sized bees, and another killed by wild cats. Cats.

"I wonder what's causing all of this." Cecil took two more bites of his sandwich. "I'll try to get His Majesty's approval for more research on these matters, once I have my position back. If I ever get it back."

Kain got up to stretch his slender body, taking his own helmet off. The heat got to him. "He won't last long without you to manage things at that level. Even Baigan couldn't handle the Red Wings and the Royal Guards before you got promoted." He sat beside Cecil and reached for his water-filled canteen, taking a huge sip out of it.

"We'd best go soon. Who knows what's inside that cave by daylight – think about nightfall." Cecil shot a glance at the cave's mouth, brows furrowed. It looked like an ordinary cave from the outside. What could possibly hide into it?

After resting their legs for a few minutes, the two men got up, ready to take on whatever was awaiting inside.

~

Dry. So dry.

Mist usually implied water droplets – this one, however, was completely dry.

And so thick they could have sliced it with their weapons. Kain had to rely on his hearing to keep up with his friend.

"Cecil, wait up. This wouldn't be a good time to get lost." The clinging noise stopped, and Kain bumped into the knight.

"Oops. Sorry."

Kain closed his eyes. "Stop saying you're sorry already."

"Sor-..." Cecil fell quiet, and resumed his walk.

"Good."

Cecil shuddered as another bat flew off the walls, using sonars to locate the duo.

"Make them stop..." Through clenched teeth, the dragoon pleaded. "When they say 'batshit insane', I might have an idea why now."

"Let's keep moving."

Kain shook his head in annoyance, keeping close to Cecil.

"Men of Baron, leave this place!"

Through the thick mist, they threw puzzled glances at each other. The voice was feminine, distorted. It bounced off the walls, surrounding them, as if it came from nowhere.

Spear withdrawn, Kain readied for a possible attack. "Who is this?!"

Nothing more was said.

Cecil tugged at Kain's arm, unsheathing his sword with his right hand. "Come. We've no time to waste."

~

The cave was more of a maze than anything else. A maze filled with bats, toads and alligators. At least, striking them down was not hard. It was, however, annoying.

The men kept their own voices down. They weren't alone; whether this entity could hear them or not, best was to leave it alone.

"With all those damned reptiles, there's enough leather here to gear an entire army..." Kain had joked in a whisper. Cecil's only reply was a stern glare.

"Return whence you came and no harm will befall you!"

Once again, Kain entered a defensive stance. "Show yourself!"

"Leave at once lest your wish is to perish!"

Cecil promptly ignored the warning, and moved on, Kain following. He was not about to backtrack because a voice told him to do so. He had learned long ago to act beyond his fears – and since he wasn't afraid, why go back?

~

They had stopped near a small stream in order to fill up their canteens. Cecil's blue eyes were riveted to a large fish going back and forth in the clear water, about two feet away from him. Hunger was not the reason he did – it was the strange electric flashes over its scales that caught his attention. He suspected there were more in these waters, and that they'd better get out of there soon.

Seated on a rock beside him, Kain had removed his helmet again. Blonde hair stuck to his sweaty face, but he wasn't tired. Adrenalin still pumped in his veins. Restless, he stood up, waving Cecil to follow him. "Let's go. The faster we slay the beast, the faster we'll be out of this damn place."

"Agreed."

A set of crude stairs waited for them, below another cavern. Both men carefully climbed, ready to strike should anything fall on them.

"You refuse to obey, knights?"

"We have a package to deliver to Mist!" Cecil rolled his eyes at the futility of his attempt – whatever was after their skins wouldn't give up so easily. "By order of the King of Baron!"

"Then you shall suffer for your deeds!"

The surrounding mist disappeared, only to gather in front of them.

An ethereal dragon faced the knights. It let a long, high-pitched wail and lashed its long neck at Cecil. The dark knight threw himself at the ground in order to dodge it. As he looked at his side to check on Kain's status, he was alone.

On the ground anyways.

Seconds later, Kain dropped onto the beast – through, rather – and hit the rocky floor. The man didn't relent, and jumped back up the moment he hit the floor.

Still lying on the ground, Cecil attempted to take aim at the dragon, successfully slashing at its belly. Had it been a normal dragon, it most likely would have kicked the knight away. But it missed legs, and simply floated a good foot above the ground.

He watched as Kain dropped to the floor again, spear striking through the thick mist. The dragon wailed again as Kain jumped back up. Instead of bracing itself for another hit, the beast dissipated its mist.

"Careful, Kain!"

The warning didn't help. Kain came crashing down, spear withdrawn. The exact moment he went through the mist, it released a strong gust of wind, knocking the dragoon onto a nearby wall. Dazed, Kain fell to the ground with a loud grunt. He managed to get back up. "Fuck..."

"Are you okay?" Cecil shouted as he watched his friend run towards him with a slight limp.

"Didn't kill me; I'd say I'm fine."

The mist cleared, revealing the dragon's form once again. Kain took his cue and jumped. Cecil pointed at the form with his sword, releasing a wave of dark energy in its direction. Startled, the creature roared  as Cecil's body recoiled with little damage – thus was the price for the dark path he had trained in.

Once more, Kain came crashing in the mist, landing smoothly on the floor beneath him. Weakened, the dragon whined as it dissolved again.

It did not reform.

The dragoon fetched a vial of potion from his satchel and drank every last drop, wincing at its horrible taste. He replied before Cecil could even ask anything. "I'm fine."

"Then let's move on. We must be close to Mist."

~

The village of Mist, nested between the kingdoms of Baron and Damcyan, appeared completely dead to the pair. Soft sounds of birds and domestic animals could be heard, but not a human soul was seen outside.

Curious, Cecil had retrieved the tiny velvet box. He tilted his head, catching a glimpse of the glowing ruby set atop. He could now feel... heat?

Heat. Through his metallic gloves.

Surprised, Cecil dropped the box to the grass. "Kain..."

The dragoon looked at Cecil, brows quirked under his helm. "What the hell..."

From the ring, large balls of fire – bombs – flew into the skies. Eerie laughter rose as the bombs spread around the village, burning everything in their path. The laughter was covered quickly by screams, shrieks and distressed cries.

"What's going on, Kain?!"

Kain didn't reply, mesmerized by the fire dancing. Houses, crops, animals, men and women... everything was enveloped in fire.

"Kain!"

Cecil rushed forwards, but the dragoon dragged him backwards. "Don't you go in. We must have been sent to destroy them. This ring was never intended to be given to the elder."

The last time Kain had seen Cecil scared, had been years ago. One of their first training sessions had left the boy pinned to the ground by another, sword pressed to his throat. Now, the same pained blue eyes looked back at him. The knight faced him, hands on his shoulders, closing the distance between them.

"Tell me you're not serious, Kain!" Cecil inquired, shaking his friend's shoulders in the process. "Why..."

But Kain kept his calm. "Those people are said to control Eidolons – gods, if you could say so. The King must've thought they posed a threat."

"Threat?! They were the ones threatened by this ghost dragon..."

Around them, people fell to the ground, severely burned, dying. The fires still spread from house to house, but at a slower pace.

"WHY?!" Cecil fell to the ground in utter shock. "Why...?"

'Have I not done enough?! Murdered innocent folks in Mysidia, and now this?'

Through his armor, he could feel Kain's hand gently shaking his shoulder in reassurance.

Shocked turned into concern as he heard soft sobs. They were not his, and not Kain's either... "Someone's alive."

Kain perked up and scanned the area with wide eyes. "Over there." His arm was extended towards a little girl, crying over what probably was her mother's dead body.

"Oh dear..." Cecil got to his feet and slowly made his way to the girl, closely followed by Kain. He bent to the girl's level and held his hand out. "Come with us. This place isn't safe."

The child didn't move and hugged her mother's body harder. "Mother, you can't die just because your dragon died...!"

Her dragon? Cecil gulped hard. "Then the beast we killed must've been an Eidolon..."

"You killed her dragon?!" The girl's face went blank and her eyes dropped onto the body she held onto.

"Forgive us, child... we had no idea..."

Kain stepped forward and drew his spear. "We were sent to kill these people. We'll need to kill her too."

Upon those words, Cecil bolted up and grabbed Kain by the shoulders. "We can't do this, Kain! She's a child!"

"Child or not, you'd betray your king for her?"

Cecil's jaw dropped in disbelief. "You cannot be serious... the King would never order such a thing! But if he really did so, yes, I'm ready to stand against his orders."

A smirk drew across Kain's face. "I know you too well, Cecil. As much as I owe his Majesty for taking me after Father's death, I refuse to soil the Dragoons' name in his!"

Blue eyes glittered under the setting sun. "Then you're with me on this?"

"Of course," Kain replied with a shrug. "Fighting against the strongest army can't be done with only one man. We need to share all of this with others and gain them as allies. Rosa, for one."

"She will listen to us. Thank you, Kain."

Kain remained silent, blue-gray eyes set on Cecil. "I'm not doing this only for you."

"What do you mean...?"

The dragoon shrugged it off with a wave. "First, we need to get out of here. What about the girl?"

"We'll bring her with us." He turned to face the child and held is hand for a second time. "Come with us. We mean no harm. Just take my hand."

Eyebrows furrowed, anger clouded her small face. "No!"

Kain's grip tightened on his spear. "Use force if need be, Cecil."

The girl stood up and braced herself, ready to run. "Get away from me!" Then she bolted out of Cecil's range. Once she considered herself far enough, she looked at him square in the eye.

"I... Hate... You....!"

Both men's eyes widened as green energy spheres surrounded the child. Beside her, an enormous sand-colored golem made its apparition. With one swift move, the creature stomped on the ground, tearing the earth apart under its feet in a jagged line.

Before they realized, the fault line ran between Kain and Cecil, spreading them apart.

The world went black.

~

"Ugh..."

Cecil opened his eyes, but the world was still dark. A foul stench of burnt flesh and wood lingered in the air, making his stomach churn. On the verge of being sick, he turned to his side. His body ached and screamed for rest, but Cecil still got up.

"Kain?" He waited a few seconds, but didn't get any response. "Kain...?!"

Still nothing.

"KAIN!!"

With a groan, he tripped and hit the grass. His sight landed on a small frame; the young summoner lied immobile, meters away from him. Ignoring the pain, he forced himself up again and walked the few meters which separated him from the girl. She didn't move as he picked her up.

"I'm sorry, Kain. I need to get her somewhere safe."

He only had a few options: go back to Baron, or move on to Kaipo, in the middle of the Damcyan desert. Between an angry army who would most certainly consider him a traitor, and a deathly desert... the choice was obvious.

"Kaipo it is."

~ To be continued... ~