"....Jormungand? Y-you mean the mythical beast Jormungand? The World Serpent?!" said Dipha, surprised.
Jormungand. The World Serpent. The mythical beast who was famous for his knowledge. The legend says whoever form a contract with Jormungand will be the ruler of the five continents. Though, in the novel, he was heavily wounded after he fought with Denallie. When I thought about it again, Denallie really is amazing.
"Yeah yeah, you're right. Here, the message" said Anastacia, handing me a scroll tied by a magic rope.
*(Shine)
"...I see. Dipha, I want you to gather something for me" I said.
"Your orders, My Lady"
"Go to my usual herbalist, and buy a herb called Dusk's Tears"
*(Bow)
"I will be back soon, My Lady!"
*(Vanish)
"Hoho~ So you use it on them, huh.."
Well, that was the only reason I wanted that.
"Come. Why don't you come have a breakfast with the others?" I asked.
*(Tilt)
"Me? Are you sure?" said her, tilting her head.
"Of course. Ah, are you on another mission?"
"No no, it's okay. But, I'll join you after I check the nearby dungeon first" said her.
I see. Well, that's her hobby after all.
"I'll wait"
"Ciao!!!"
*(Dissappear)
I swear, she's really like a ghost every time she does that.
...
Rania, Zitta, and the others are already waiting for me.
"Good morning everyone" I saud.
"Good morning, Llie. What took you so long?" asked Dinesh.
*(Sit)
"Sorry, I need to take care of some urgent business"
"Ah, I see"
After that, the maids brought in the foods and served it to us. It really is great to have a breakfast with this much people. Although, I'm always accompanied by my maids.
...
After finished our breakfast, I told them to wait until Anastacia arrived. Not long after, Anastacia arrived after finished her hobby.
"Em..who is that person, Llie?" asked Dinesh.
*(Stand)
"Let me introduce to you all, The Third Messenger of Jormungand, Anastacia Nilihaya de Andromea"
"What's up!" said her, cheerfully.
*(Silent)
What's with this silence?
*(Sigh)
"At this point, I'll probably stop being surprised about anything related to you" said Dinesh, after regained her composure.
"That's true. Then...how did you get a chance to encounter the Jormungand?" asked Zitta.
"That-"
*(Appear)
Suddenly, Dipha interrupted me.
"Here is what...you ordered..!!! I'm so sorry everyone!!"
Dipha bowed deeply to everyone in the room.
"No no, it's okay. Let's go to my office. Oh, I'll tell you the story later everyone!" I said, grabbing Dipha's shoulder.
*(Vanish)
"So, do you want to hear it from me or her?" asked Anastacia, looking at everyone.
.
.
.
"Please" said Zitta.
"Well, I hope you can believe this"
...
Two years ago...
I decided to went into a dungeon. It's not a dangerous one so everyone allowed me. Level by level I cleared every monsters, until I accidentally broke a wall when I'm inside a safe zone.
.
.
.
*(Rumble)
"Who's there!?" said a man.
*(Step step)
"Phew, I never know that such a place exists. Sorry, I accidentally broke your wall, sir" I said.
*(Unsheathe)
The man, unsheathed his sword without any hesitation and pointed it towards me.
"LET HER BE"
Suddenly, a deep, loud voice stopped him.
"Yes, Master"
*(Shaking)
I don't know what being his master is, but it's movement is shaking the ground.
*(Appear)
A giant snake, with his silver scale, appeared in front of me.
"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME, YOUNG LADY?" he asked.
Judging by his appearance, he's definitely the Jormungand. While I'm at it, why don't I asked something from him?.
"Well, there is something I want. But, I don't think I have the rights to do so. Isn't that right?" I said.
"HU...HUHAHAHAHAHA!!!! YOU'RE REALLY INTERESTING, YOUNG LADY! WHAT'S YOUR NAME?"
"Denallie Nayanika Isvara. You can call me Llie" I said, confidently.
"LLIE HUH...WHY DON'T YOU SPAR WITH HIM, LLIE? JUDGING BY YOUR PERFORMANCE, MAYBE I CAN GIVE YOU WHAT YOU WANT" he said.
The man he mentioned, is Eric Delleroes. The First Messenger of Jormungand. He is the strongest among the messengers. It was said in the legend that his normal swing can split even a mountain. Though, I don't know if it's true or not. Nevertheless, I'm convinced that he is the strongest looking by his aura.
"Sure. I also want to test the limits of my abilities. But, just to be sure, the fight can be stopped only by you, right?"
"THAT'S RIGHT. ERIC, PREPARE YOURSELF. DO NOT HOLD BACK"
*(Bow)
After bowed to his master, he looked at me and took a deep breath, preparing himself. Of course, I'll do it too.
.
.
.
"I hope you're ready" he said.
"BEGIN!"
"Sure"
*(Vanish)
(?!)-Eric.
*(Clank)
The sound of the two swords clashing each other is ringing through the place.
"Wow! Your reflexes is great!"
"Nice try. But, I hope you're taking this more seriously"
...
"I...I don't know what to say about that" said Dinesh.
"Right? But, I bet you the next one will be the most unbelievable thing you've ever heard" she said.
"What is it?" said Zitta.
"Well..."
...
The spar became even more tense, but I can't even scratch him. Rather, I was overwhelmed by his power. I can hold on but.....
*(Slash)
"Gh?!"
One mistake, and my left arm got cut off. Eric stopped his attack after that.
"This is it. It's o-"
"Wait a second, please. I need to stop the bleeding at least" I said, interrupted him.
"....okay"
~Restoration~
"Good. Now, shall we continue?"
*(Sraat)
(Huh?)-Eric.
"Let's lift this tension up!" I said, fastening my movement.
(Somehow, her attacks become even more stable. She should have a problem with her balance now that one of her arm is gone)-Eric
...
"...the fight was still going on and on and on. It became even more fierce!"
"But, I too wonder how is that possible" said Dinesh.
"That's possible if it's Llie" said Zitta, firmly.
Dinesh then looked at Zitta, confused by her words.
"Llie...if she was faced a new challenge like that, of course she can quickly adapted to it and improving herself even more than before. She even found it fun"
"That's really amazing..." said Dinesh with awe.
"No no. That's not even the greatest part yet! After that..."
...
(This is odd. I don't know how, but she can matched my pace)-Eric.
The fight was still going on. But, unlike before, I succeeded land a scratch on him. Not just once, but more and more scratch start appearing on his armor.
*(Slip)
Suddenly, my hand slipped. Letting the sword on my hand dropped.
"Shit!"
"Focus!"
*(Slash)
"?! GUHA?!!!! My eyes!"
Eric's sword managed to attack my eyes. Made me losing my sight.
(She managed to pull herself?!)-Eric.
Sigh, the blood is annoying me.
~Restoration~
.
.
.
*(Inhale)
"Fuuuuhhh....let's continue" I said, after took a deep breath.
(Hm? Her aura...becomes more deep. It's even slightly deeper than mine. What in the world is she?)-Eric.
...
"...she lost her sight?" said Dinesh, not believing Anastacia.
"Yet she just became more and more powerful. That's unbelievable, right!?" said Anastacia, excited.
"So, who's the winner?....wait, I bet she's the one who won?" said Zitta.
"Well...."
...
I don't know how long it's been, but the tension is just getting more tense. Until...
"HAAAAAAAAAA!!"
*(Loud)
"STOP!!" said Jormungand.
*(Boom)
.
.
.
"Phew...how is it? I pass?" I said.
"HAHAHAHA...OF COURSE! YOU'RE THE WINNER AFTER ALL!"
Me?
.
.
"What?" said Eric, confused.
*(Appeared)
Suddenly, two figures appeared behind Eric. I guess they were the other messengers. The Third Messenger, Anastacia. Also, the Second Messenger, Ruther Fellbarn.
"It's not him, Master?" Anastacia asked.
"HAD SHE BEEN SERIOUS TO FIGHT WITH HIM, ERIC WILL NOT BE ABLE TO BREATHE RIGHT NOW. SHE'S NOT EVEN USING HER REAL WEAPON. RIGHT, LLIE?"
.
.
.
"Pffft...ahahahahaha. You found out, huh? Well, it was just a spar so I don't need to be that serious" I said.
"INTERESTING, INDEED. OH? YOU'VE FULLY RESTORED YOUR BODY? I WAS ABOUT TO DO THAT TO YOU JUST NOW"
"It's okay. By the way, can I leave now?" I asked.
"HM? WHAT ABOUT YOUR REQUEST?" asked him.
*(Smile)
"How about becoming friends with me?" I said.
.
.
.
.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
Jormungand laughed. Well, it's a weird request after all.
"THAT WAS SOMETHING! I NEVER THOUGHT THAT WOULD BE YOUR REQUEST!" said him.
"So?"
.
.
.
"WELL THEN, I WILL GRANT IT. FEEL FREE TO COME IN HERE, LLIE"
Granted?
"Wow, that's nice. Likewise, you can come to my house every times you want"
"I WILL, LLIE"
Oops, I should go now.
"I guess I need to leave now" I said.
"I SEE. BE CAREFUL ON YOUR WAY BACK. THOUGH I THINK YOU DON'T NEED THAT HAHAHA"
"Ahahaha. Goodbye everyone~ Oh! Eriiic!! Let's spar again next time!"
*(Vanish)
"...an odd young lady"
...
Meanwhile....
"A-am I interrupting you just now, My Lady?" asked Dipha.
*(Sit)
"No. You came in the right time. I'm sure by now Anastacia is telling them a story of how I first met Jorm" I said.
"I....can see you are good friends with The World Serpent now.."
Well, I never thought that he would accept me calling him like that.
"The items?" I asked.
*(Put)
"As you ordered, My Lady" said Dipha.
I opened the pouch and casted some magic on it.
*(Shine)
"What did the herbalist say?"
"There's nothing suspicious. But, he said that he's investigating something that will potentially help us"
That's good. We need more cards to bring it down.
"Is there anything else?"
*(Bow)
"No, My Lady"
Hm, I should reward her.
"Right. How about you sit on my lap now, Dipha?" I said.
.
.
.
"Yes??"
*.*.*.*
To Be Continued...