The moment Anaya breathed her acid on him, Basil summoned a shield of light to block the attack! Unfortunately, the shield didn't block everything, and he got splashed in a few places. Basil winced from the pain but fought through it! This was no time to be already using a healing spell. He needed to save and use them where he needed them the most. Anaya kept breathing acid upon him, and Basil struggled to keep up the shield!
Eventually, the dragon got tired of this and mixed the Alchemist Fire with her acid! The moment she began to swish it around, Basil did everything in his power to reinforce the shield with as much of his and Gossamer's magic as he could. Then the great Wyrm spat out the green fire, and the shield broke in one hit, sending the young man to stumble back and Gossamer to dig his hooves into the ground!
With the young man off his feet, Anaya blasted him with a jet of acid and smiled sadistically at hearing him screaming in pain! When the acid mist settled, a very intact and unharmed Basil stood firm and unharmed! Anaya was shocked to see this, knowing he didn't put up a shield and that she definitely got him. Oh well, she would just have to try again!
She changed it up this time and tried to bite him, but Basil erected a stone and caught her jaws on it. He ran off to the side as the dragon crushed it in her teeth. Once he was at her side, Basil threw a fireball at her, and the dragon took the blow before trying to blast him with more of her acid flame.
Basil was immersed in the fire once again but broke out of it like it was nothing and shot her directly in the face with a bolt of lightning! The lightning hit her hard, and the dragon reeled back in pain. After rubbing it away, she was now fully convinced that the young man was pulling off some kind of trick. Then she realized that a unicorn was accompanying him, and everything fell into place.
"Using the unicorn to recover from my acid flame instantly. Smart, but not practical. I have no time to waste until you run out of magic, so I'll just be done with you now, unicorn!"
With one mighty flap of her wings, Anaya not only blew Basil off his feet but also caused Gossamer to dig his hooves into the dirt to keep from flying away! Once he was off balance, Anaya ran up and tried to squash him with her hand. But she quickly regretted that decision as a great pain shot through her hand! She let out a great scream and pulled away to reveal a hole through her hand!
Gossamer stood defiantly and unharmed before the creature and proclaimed with blood staining his horn, "You'll have to try far harder than that, lizard!"
Anaya ground her fangs and yelled, "Petulant horse!"
She then tried to breathe her last shot of acid fire, but the unicorn jumped high into the air, well over the dragon's head, before landing hard on her back! Anaya winced from the pain and tried to boot the animal off, which worked until the unicorn grabbed her tail and swung the creature around and around until she was lifted off her feet. The unicorn then promptly slammed her into the ground several times, before throwing her into the air!
Mid-flight, Anaya took to her wings and circled the city before trying to spray him with acid, but the unicorn took command of the wind and caused the huge creature to fall to the earth! Anaya crashed through several houses before picking herself back up to face the unicorn. Who collected the fire around him into a ball and threw it at her?
The green flames engulfed the monster, almost like victory was obtained. But Anaya surprised the unicorn by casually walking from the fire with a wicked smile on her face.
She called darkly and said, "Did you think I was vulnerable to my own acid flames? You foolish little wannabe prince."
"You will pay for your slander, evil thing!", Gossamer roared angrily before charging at the dragon, his horn at the ready.
Only for Anaya to sneakily change positions, and once the unicorn jumped into the air to pierce her with his horn, she smacked him with her tail and sent him flying! Noting in satisfaction of herself, she looked back at the burning town to look for Basil. Luckily, she didn't have to look long after she heard his voice call out to him!
She saw him trapped under a roof beam and slowly came upon him with torture in her eyes. There, she boasted, "Without your wayward unicorn, you have no way of staving me off for a moment longer--a shame. I had hoped our battle would go on for longer. It's been so long since anyone gave me a challenge. Then again, I do want to know one thing from you.", she told him while lifting up her head. "How do you taste, baker!?"
With that, she tried to snatch up the man in her jaws, only for Basil to activate a spell from one of his skills--a spell known as Foggy Terrain. In a moment, the entire area around them was covered in a thick fog that obscured her vision, leading the dragon only to snap up the wood beam in her teeth instead of the man! Spitting out the wood from her mouth, she looked around for the young man, using her eyes to detect his body heat.
But suddenly, she was hit in the back of the head, hit a boulder, and turned around the spot, but saw nothing. Then she was hit in the body with a fireball and tried slamming her hand in that area, but got nothing! Then a bolt of lightning struck her face, and she breathed acid, only to once again get nothing!
Now Anaya was in a furious panic as she scoured the area in angry desperation to find the man, only to be repeatedly hit by several spells of different kinds from all angles, including magically summoned kitchenware! After getting pelted with spell after spell, she finally roared angrily and flapped her wings to disperse the fog! Once his cover was blown, Basil created a huge flash of light to blind the dragon! Once she reeled away to rub her eyes, Basil caused a storm of magic knives to rain onto her back, which actually pierced her tougher than iron top scales. He then caused a giant whisk to shoot up from the ground and hit her stomach!
Anaya nearly barfed but held it in long enough for one of her eyes to recover! There, she saw the young man with a magic knife in hand run towards her and put a gash so deep within her hand that it caused her to screech in pain! Only for Basil to get a nasty surprise when the blood squirted alongside acid! Basil covered his eyes in time to protect them, but the rest of his face, hands, and body received burns! He fell back from the pain and quickly tried to wipe it away, but only aggravating further. This gave the dragon time to recover and gloat before the man.
"Surprised are we? We Black Dragons have a unique form of protection that uses our own acid just for little fools like you who think you can cut within our flesh! By coating ourselves in our own acid and allowing it to dry, not only do we make our own armor, but the layers under it turn back to a liquid state where, when broken, release the acid from underneath. Not very fun, is it!?"
But Basil said nothing and tried to blind her with another flash of light magic. However, Anaya was prepared this time; she covered her eye with a second lid cap that blocked the flash. When the flash ended, she slapped a huge pile of rubble in Basil's direction, and the young man was too slow to dodge it!
Cackling maliciously at the young man, she held him down with one finger as he struggled to free himself and boasted, "I must say monkey. I said I wanted a fight, and you gave me one. Color me surprised. But now you've gone and hurt me like I haven't been in the last century. And that….pisses me the hell off!", she growled at him in an angry tone. "So instead of killing you outright, I'll break your body to the point you can't move, and then I'll allow you to hear the dying screams of those worthless monsters and humans you love so much! And your final serenade into the afterlife will be the bloody scream of that golden-haired bitch you seem to admire! Aren't I just so kind!?"
Basil didn't reply. He only got angrier and angrier until his anger took hold, and he ripped one hand free to shoot a flaming web ball into the dragon's nose! Anaya snorted out the flaming web and narrowed her eyes at him.
"Be that way! Instead of them serenading you with their final screams, I'll just use yours on them to break their spirits!", she yelled before pulling back her hand and breathing her acid directly on him.
The last thing heard from Basil before the torrent consumed him was a drowning scream! The scream died as fast as it came and Anaya almost looked depressed by this. She hadn't wanted to kill him, oh no, just make him wish he was dead. And now she couldn't lord his half-melted body over the survivors. Oh well, we may as well make the best of things.
But just before she left, a ball of light struck her horn, cracking it and making her look back to the melted remains of the man. Only to see him again, not melted, looking in one piece.
With a shocked expression, she exclaimed, "You're still alive!?", narrowing her eyes as she approached, she said, "Yet again, you surprise me, but how?"
She honed in on the man with her magic eyes and noticed he wasn't unscathed. He still has some burns that were healing at a rapid pace. Growling at this, she observed, "I should've known you had your own healing spells. Nevertheless, you can't keep spamming them forever. At least not before I melt you to the point of no return!"
Anaya then threw her head back and spewed her acid upon him, once again dousing him in her power! Only to once again hear him scream, fall to his knees, and then get back up with his injuries healing. Anaya loves the sound of his screaming, even if only briefly. It was like music to her, and she wanted to hear more!
So she continued to breathe her acid upon him and listen with glee at his dying screams, only to repeat when his healing magic saved him at the last moment of death! But unbeknownst to her, Anaya was actively helping Basil in this fight. What she didn't know was that the first time she sprayed him with her acid, not only did he activate his healing magic faster than any spell before, but he gained a new skill after the burns had cleared up and his clothing barely mended by the magic.
A skill known simply as Acid Resistant. There, he realized he still could defeat the dragon; he just had to play his cards right. That thing loved to cause pain, and so long as he screamed and used his healing magic, he could gain enough resistance to subtract one significant element of the fight.
So after he got a window notification of his new skill, he got back on his feet and goated the dragon to attack. He knew this would hurt, but he had to do anything and everything to kill this monster! With every time he was doused in acid, his resistance would increase to one level. After five showers, he found that the acid no longer melted him to the bone; instead, it only burned his skin and no longer hurt as much. But he has to keep making this look good, so he screamed even when it didn't hurt.
Unfortunately, the dragon stopped to recharge, and as she did, she took a moment to look down upon him, only to see Basil with only minor burns, even after getting drenched! After using her appraisal on him, she found that he had gained the Acid Resistant skill, which was already at level eight! She had been tricked! At this point, she would've just bit him in half or stomped him under her foot, but she knew that would only make her vulnerable to some counter he had in place. She was going to end this fight now!
Feeling her breath recharge, she opened her Magic Pocket and dumped a mouth full of Alchemist Fire into her maw. After swishing it around, she readied herself to take the man down! Basil had realized that Anaya saw through his ruse and had readied his own countermeasure. Seeing her dump the Alchemist Fire into her mouth, he knew he had to give it all he had! He had already been charging his light magic for one last hurrah. He knew that no shield could block it, so he would just have to overpower it.
Once the dragon leaned her head down, neck straight, and feet dug into the dirt, she released her acid flames on him! Basil also jumped to his feet, planted them in the slick, hot dirt, and released a powerful beam of light magic in retaliation! The two blasts hit head to head in a bold stalemate from both sides! Neither one gives up on the other! Both man and monster staring one another down from the opposite side of the bright light! This was no longer a test of power but will, and only one would be victorious!
They both pushed back with equal enthusiasm, and Basil broke under the strain momentarily. And Anaya was able to push her blast far enough almost to engulf him! Basil was almost about to break at the end, but then he thought about his friends and what this monster would do if she had the chance. He also imagined Marigold melting in her acid, and that made him see red! He dug his feet in, pushed towards the dragon, step after step, and with a loud war cry, he pushed his magic to the limit and made his light beam cut through the fire until it struck Anaya right in his shocked face!
The blast was so powerful that not only did it daze that dragon and make her fall to the ground, but one of her horns cracked! Basil fell to his knees, exhausted and sweating like a pro athlete after releasing such a forceful blast of magical energy. He gripped the dirt around him with renewed might, threw his head back, and roared into the dark sky!
Suddenly, a window notification popped up and told him something he hadn't expected and really needed.
Light Magic, Root of Dawn, has reached Level 10. Level cap obtained.
Light Magic, Root of Dawn, has upgraded into Holy Magic Level 1.
Hand of God has been added to the list of spells.
Just then, as Anaya was getting back up from getting blasted in the face, something began to form in the air and out of her sight. Just before she could breathe the second of the three shots of Acid Fire she had left, a huge arterial hand made of light punched her in the face and broke her cracked horn! After stomping backward from the massive blow, she looked back to see another ethereal hand manifest, with both floating over Basil's head.
The young man had one hand extended out in a punch, and it didn't seem he realized what he had done or what was happening. Or maybe he did since he roared again and started wildly throwing punch after punch at the dragon with the giant spiritual fists! Blow after blow connected with the dragon's massive body, and every hit damaged the creature's armored scales! Bruises spread all over her flawless, emaciated-looking body, scales came off in chunks, and blood flowed freely from her now open sores!
Eventually, the Wyrm managed to get her bearings and grab one of the giant fists in her mouth before crunching down on it hard! She looked back to see Basil's pain-stricken face, only to see him angrily trying to break free and not in pain. So these things were connected to him; he couldn't feel anything through them. Still, she could break the connection if she destroyed them.
But the hand fought against her until the other punched her off of it. Once both were free, Anaya attempted to breathe her second shot of Acid Fire on him and yelled, "Die pig monkey!"
Only for one hand to block while the other grabbed her other horn and twisted her neck upwards, causing the fire to shoot into the air! Anaya whipped the hand off her remaining horn and took it to the sky to try to bomb-rush him from above! But Basil wouldn't allow this as he used his huge hands to grab the dragon's tail and pull her down to earth!
He lifted her into the air and slammed her around before spinning her in a circle and throwing her skyward! Just as the dragon's roars died off into the cloudy sky, they returned just as fast as the dragon uncontrollably fell to the earth with a tremendous crash! The crash landing and explosion were so powerful that Basil got knocked clean off his feet, making him lose concentration on his Hand of God spell.
After the dust and debris settled, Basil carefully approached the unmoving monster's body and hoped that she was dead. But even so, he kept his vigilance. Once he made it around to her head and saw one unmoving eye nearly rolled back into her head, he gave a slight sigh of relief, only for the beast's eye to straighten itself and stare at him with a hateful glare! Basil saw his reflection and the murderous intent inside that eye and felt a great magic overtake him that caused his whole body to freeze up!
Anaya rose from the dirt, never taking her glare off him, always making eye contact. Once she had him in her clutches, she readied her last Acid Fire, and this time, she wouldn't miss. But Basil stood there with his mind and body frozen by the dragon's magic, and a window notification popped up, telling him something he needed to see.
Holy Magic has increased to level 2.
New spells have been unlocked.
As he saw this, one of the Spells activated automatically, and in his mind, the name Angelic Ward was revealed as it was used. Basil's eyes began to glow with a bright light. As Anaya looked into those eyes, she felt a surge of fear like no other--a fear that only comes from being in the presence of a being far greater than her--a feeling she only got when looking into her father's eyes.
Basil broke free of the spell in her frightened state and quickly shot a spider web at her mouth, causing the dragon to haunt her attack and focus on pulling the web off. Once she freed her jaws, she prepared to blast him with her last shot of Acid Fire, only for Basil to re-manifest his Hands of God while she was busy and hold her jaws closed just before she breathed her attack!
Then, just before acting, he brazenly says to her, "Now swallow." He punches the engorged acid sack with the other hand, forcing the dragon to swallow the acid fire forcefully.
All at once, Anaya ripped herself away from the vast ethereal hands just to scream out in horrific pain while she rolled on the ground and threw up a mixture of blood and acid, while her acid-mixed blood leaked from her ear holes, eyes, nose, and much more! As the dragon continued her pain-fueled agony and bloody screams, Basil dropped to his knees in exhaustion and breathed heavily, trying to catch his breath amongst the fire and cold wind.
Once he got some air into his lungs, he demoralized the dragon by saying, "How'd you like your own medicine?! Pretty bitter, isn't it?"
"Fuck you!", Anaya screamed in reply before charging at him.
Once the dragon was just in range of a bite attack, Basil, who still had Hands of God activated, punched the dragon square in her bony nose! The impact from the two opposing forces was so great that not only did it shatter the ethereal hand, but it also broke the dragon's nose and caused her head and neck to collapse on one another like a car crash where the rest of her forward momentum caused her body to flip in the air before crashing to the ground! Anaya slowly returned to her feet in a daze, ready to die in this fight or take Basil with her. As she turned to try and bite him once more, several vines and roots emerged from the ground and grabbed one of her wings, pulling against it so hard that it snapped the joint out of the socket!
Before she could try and break these plants and hope to fix her wing, several huge pointy rocks shot out from the ground and impaled her other wing, shredding it to bits! Then, four giant magic furnaces appeared from under her feet and slammed shut on them, crushing and burning her limbs! Next, several huge cutting boards rained from the sky and pinned her back into the dirt like giant staples! Finally, his last remaining hand of god summoned a Magical Farming Tool, a pitchfork that pierced and ripped apart her acid sack!
Anaya had wanted to cry out in pain several times but couldn't manage to do it, let alone move to retaliate! The breaking point was when her acid sack was shredded, and through this pain, it brought out her inner anger, which made her catch her second wind! She used a spell to dismiss the magic around her and roared a terrible cry into the air that struck an unnerving fear into Basil! With crazed determination in her bloody and mangled face, Anaya scooped up the man in her mangled hand and slammed him repeatedly on the ground before throwing him into and throwing several burning buildings!
Basil flew through the building until he finally crashed into one! Covered in injuries and now almost set on fire by the green flames around him, Basil shot out from the burning house in pain while screaming and running around! Before he was completely engulfed, he summoned a rainstorm to shower himself and the town! Within seconds, Ash End was slowly being put out by freezing rain, and Basil was saved from going up in flames. As he breathed heavily and rapidly, he felt as though he couldn't muster the strength to heal himself, and yet he still had the dragon to fight.
Speaking of which, as Basil stands in the burnt remains of the town, he looks out to see a heavily injured and pissed-off Ancient Black Dragon staring him down and slowly approaching him while getting faster and faster until she is in a full sprint and charging through buildings in a vain attempt to kill him finally! There was no thought or intelligence behind those old eyes, only pure animal instinct--the drive to kill and nothing else.
Basil knew this was the final stance and had to end it here and now. So he summoned a magic knife and did something he had no clue how to work. He started to siphon his newly found Holy Magic into the blade, imbuing it with potent force. He stood there, Anaya charged, and continued to pump as much Holiness into the blade as he could, but he couldn't anymore! Then he struck up his nerves, grit his teeth, and ran towards the crazed dragon with Fast Retreat. The two were charged unblinking at one another until they were only half a football field from one another. The dragon jumped off her crippled legs and opened her mouth, ready to bite into him, while Basil lept off some rubble as he held his glowing knife above his head! Bail roared, Anaya roared, and the two beings finally clashed in a horrifying display of pure might and willpower! A flash emitted from where they met, and the whole area was bathed in a strange light that not only brought a sense of comfort but fear.
xXx
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the town, the survivors and monsters had made it far enough away to the point that they were safe, with nothing but the city burning in green flames far in the distance. Suddenly, the dark sky turned from a raging snowstorm into freezing rain. Confused, the people tried to protect themselves from getting drenched and freezing to death while the monsters looked around for the source of this sudden weather change. Then, a bright light emanated from the town and engulfed it in a colossal sphere! The villagers and monsters watched this sight in awe, noting how the rain stopped after the light died.
Just then, Marigold got a strange look on her face, and without warning, she jumped upon her horse and rode off back towards the town with Burr calling out to her, "Lady scrunk! Wait a moe!"
But it was too late, as she was already outside shouting distance. She was single-mindedly focused on the town and her friend! The only thing she could do now was pray to any god that was listening for Basil to be okay. Once she got into town, she jumped off her horse and ran in on foot while calling out his name through the smoldering remains of the civilization. With so much open ground, it should've been easy to find him, but it wasn't.
Smoke from the building coated not only the line of sight but also burned lungs, with each inhale from the evaporating acid and each green flame once held. The ground had been torn unevenly and jagged, making spriting hard from both the explosion holes and giant footprints. Not only that but the sheer uncertainty of a potential failure from Basil's fight with the dragon. Marigold hopes it isn't so.
"Basil?! Basil! Basil, where are you!", she called out over the ruins, trying not to gag from the chemical smoke. After turning a corner that led straight to the center of the town, she called out once more but found her own voice caught in her throat. "Ba-!"
Standing in the eastern corner of the destroyed settlement, cloaked in smoke and disbelief, Marigold almost choked on her own words when she saw the unnerving and unbelievable sight before her! At first, it appeared to be Anaya lying on the ground and staring her down, causing the girl to nearly freak out and ready herself for a fight. Only to quickly realize that the dragons weren't moving and had a shocked expression on…both halves of her face.
Once the smoke dissipated enough to see, there in the dirt, muck, and snow was the Ancient Black Dragon slain with her head split in half down the center. And within her spit cranium was a familiar figure standing with their back turned to her and staring into the open head. The figure was heavily wounded and barely clothed, with just as much of his own blood as the dragons covered his shaking body. A knife dropped from his hands, and he stood there and stared into the dragon.
Marigold instantly recognized this man and said in a small voice, "Basil?"
Basil finally turned to acknowledge her. The stress, fear, and pain of this grueling battle were evident on his face, which was filled with mixed emotions and ready to burst. After taking many short and shaky breaths, the man asked her, "Is it over?"
Marigold, with tears in her eyes, replied, "Yeah, it is. You did it. You slayed the dragon."
Hearing this, a relieved smile spread across the man's face. His shaky legs finally gave out, knees buckling as he started to fall. Marigold ran over and quickly caught him before falling, gingerly holding him to rest. As Basil finally rested from his long battle, the townsfolk, and monster all arrived and looked on in awe of the sight before them. When Basil saw them staring at him, he quickly realized they weren't staring at him directly but at something above him.
Looking up, he saw what looked like an orange ethereal dragon floating above and connected to his body via its long, winding tail. Suddenly, the spectral dragon roared before launching into the man's body, causing him to glow with a strange light! Then, the information window popped open and informed him of something new.
Congratulations, a new Title has been acquired.
Dragon Slayer; has been added to the list of titles.
Immunity to Magic and Resistance to Dragon Breath has been gained.
As the window vanished, he heard the many gasps and chattering of the people off to the side and got back to his feet, with the air of Marigold, to face them. He just hoped he could come up with a believable excuse. The last thing he needed was for them to realize he was some sort of latent pseudo-god.
But the mayor of Ash End pushed to the front and said in a gasp, "The title of True Dragon Slayer…has been earned by Basil. But that could only mean…"
Then one of the townsfolk broke the tension and yelled, "He's a Chosen Touched! He's our savior! Our hero!"
The people began to explode in a flurry of surprised talking, questions, and excitement, something that Basil was already dreading! Before he knew it, the people started to get on their hands and knees, bowing before him like gods. This nearly sent the already unstable man into a spiral of emotions! Even Marigold was trying to calm the people down before they got out of control, but to no avail.
So with what little control he still had left, he spoke and tried to demand a small voice, "Stop that."
"What?", the mayor asked him, appearing to be the only one who heard.
"I said stop that!", Basil yelled at full volume, causing a slight crowd scream to reverberate across the town and making the people jump. After Basil caught his breath, holding his face in one hand, he thrust his head towards them, expressing desperation mixed with anger and sadness as he begged them in a yell, "Stop falling to your knees! Stop worshiping me! Stop having these thoughts! Stop seeing me as some kind of chosen savior! I don't want that, you hear me?! I don't want that!"
Basil then fell to his knees and covered his face in his hands as he sobbed in a weak tone, "I don't want it."
"But…why? You are a Chosen Touched, ordained by a force greater than the gods themselves. Why don't you want us to treat you as such?", the mayor carefully inquired.
"Don't you think if I wanted that, I would've told you all that? Don't you!?", he yelled at him, hands still in his face.
"Then…what do you want?", the mayor asked him again.
As Marigold comforted Basil, the rest of the town kept silent as he calmed down and collected himself enough to speak. After wiping the tears from his face once more, he told the crowd, "I just want to be a person, a neighbor, a friend, and part of a family. I don't want the limelight or any sort of praise. I just want to be treated like everyone else. Is that too much to ask!?", the people looked ashamed at his words and felt the sting of guilt hit them in waves. "I just want to live a normal, happy life. So please, I beg you all. DON'T TREAT ME ANY DIFFERENTLY! TREAT ME LIKE YOU DID BEFORE!...please.", he begged, with the last part being spoken in the tiniest voice he ever produced.
After a long and uncomfortable silence from both sides, the mayor finally spoke out and said, "If that is what you truly desire, then that's what we'll give you. From here on, no one in Ash End will speak of your secret. It will be like it never happened."
Basil looked on with shock and confusion at his statement and asked, "Really?"
The older man nodded while standing to his feet, motioning for all else to follow as he told the young man, "We are all indebted to you. Consider this the least that we can do in return."
As he said this, the rest of the town slowly began to chime in until a mixed bag of agreeing voices circled around him, thanking him and promising his secret. This made Basil smile, and tears welled up in his eyes. Unfortunately, this lovely scene had to end as Marigold got to the most significant issue at hand.
"That's all fine and dandy, but putting Basil's status as a Chosen Touched aside, which makes a lot of sense in hindsight, what are all of you going to do now? Ash End is just….well, ash. And how is anyone supposed to explain the now dead Ancient Dragon?", she asked the people, getting an unsurprising silence from everyone, alongside the returning feeling of dread and hopelessness.
Forchantly, Hagson piped up, back in human form, and offered a solution to the second problem, which he said, "Why not just let that useless knight from the Duck Kingdom take the credit? It was his job to slay her."
"Dauntless.", Marigold corrected him.
"Whatever.", the male hag rolled his eyes.
"Goblin city-dell have much room for mans.", Burr offered aloud and proudly for their first issue at hand.
This was a well-meaning thought but not one reciprocated by the townsfolk, who looked less than pleased to be rooming with goblins.
"What about just rebuilding Ash End?", the mayor asked, hoping a secondary solution would be made despite knowing full well they had no resources, will, or enthusiasm to start rebuilding in the dead of winter.
One of the Lizard Men offered, "We can fix it. Weaves became very good at building thanks to our Lord's great powers."
"And food? All of our supplies have been destroyed, and what livestock we still have left is out in the fields.", one of the farmers pointed out, holding onto the last cow in town.
"We can try to grow some cold weather crops. And we can share our autumn haul until more food is made or until spring.", the elder Halfling offered to them.
"That will run out eventually or take a long time. What then?", Marigold prompted.
"I can set up a gathering and hunting excursion in the woods for wild game.", Bow told the town alongside the Small Torah, who jumped and bleated in agreement.
"But how do we prepare dishes and food that will last? We've grown so accustomed to regular crops and ranch-breed meats.", one of the townswomen asked, feeling a bit ashamed at the thought.
"I know a thing or two when it comes to creating foods with unusual ingredients.", Hagson said in a somewhat eerie and creepy voice.
Pretty soon, the area was filled with the agreeing sounds of the monsters, all willing to pitch in one way or another, much to the shock and gratitude of the townsfolk.
"You all would help us? Why?", the mayor asked them, knowing full well that monsters would normally never consider helping humans out.
Then Hopkins spoke up, telling the old mayor, "Because Basil helped all of us not too long ago. I think I can speak for everyone here when I say it's high time we truly repay him."
As this sentiment was shared, Hagson noticed something amiss and brought up his concern, asking, "But before we continue, has anyone seen Gossamer?"
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the area between Basil and the mayor, and the huge pink unicorn himself appeared. His body was thinly veiled in electricity, from his mane and tail to his horn and featherings, making him look even more menacing than he already did! If animals could show emotion in their faces, then Gossamer was definitely pure hatred!
With the lightning cloaking his body, he boldly announced, "Alright, Anaya, the game ends here! Now it's time you face the full might of a wrathful-where is the dragon.", he fell off his own hype train when he saw the mass of villagers all looking at him and not appearing to be in any sort of peril.
"Uh…everywhere.", Basil told him from behind.
"What do you mean by-oh.", the unicorn began to ask, turning around to face him, only to see the split face of Anaya standing behind him. Looking at the young man, he asked, "Did-Did you do this."
But before Basil could answer, Hagson chimed in and announced, "Yes horse-face, we just established this."
Gossamer snorted in irritation but began to look around, piecing the scene together before asking Basil, "Did they find out about you being-."
"Yes.", Basil quickly answered.
He looked back at the crowd, switched his telepathy to Basil only, and asked, "Do you want me to kill them?"
"No!", Basil yelled.
"Erase their memories?", the unicorn counter offered.
"NO!!!", Basil yelled even louder, much to the people's confusion.
"It was just a suggestion.", Gossamer snorted in disappointment.
Just then, some of the green goblins scurried up to him and announced, "Man's man's! Wes caught one of the lil dragons."
Wondering what he meant, he decided to follow them. Marigold held him up to walk while also being followed by the town, who were just as curious as he was. Once they got to where the goblins were taking him, he saw a bunch of them with various weapons drawn and pointed threateningly at a single Kobold who was backed into a pile of rubble. The Kobold was trying to put up a brave front against them, but it was in vain as it had no weapons of its own, merely screaming in response to the violence.
"Stay back! Stay back! Back I say! Back!", screamed the kobold as it bared its teeth.
"Well well, it looks like one of the Kobolds is still alive.", Basil said with a surprised tone.
Hearing him, the Kobold desperately reached out to him and begged, "Please don't kill me! I'll be a good Kobold, I swears!"
Hearing the sound of the Kobolds' voice without him screaming, Basil instantly realized which one he was and exclaimed, "Hey, I know you. You're the Kobold that was spying on me for Anaya! You're the whole reason she found out about my ruse!"
Hearing this, the entire population all turned their ire to the small dragon-like lizard, which appeared like a flame to the small creature, seeing nothing but an ocean of hatred ready to suck him up. If he hadn't had such a strong will, the very feeling of this would've caused him to expire on the spot!
Hagson was the first to push aside the goblins and said, with a sadistic tone, "Is that so? Well, he shouldn't go unpunished. How about I turn him into a nice roast? Kobold meat is tough, but once you season it properly, it's just as tasty as beef."
But Gossamer softly pushed him aside and countered, "No, no, let me turn it into a living plant--always suffering but never dying."
Their interaction didn't seem jared or aggressive, more playful agreement…in torture.
"Or we could sell him to a monster researcher for money. Ash End is going to need every coin.", Marigold added.
Pretty soon, tons of people were chiming in with their own ideas and requests, making the black-colored Kobold turn pale white! So, with nothing left to lose, he ran towards Basil, dropped to his stomach at the man's feet, and prostrated, begging, "No! Please! Spare Wrinkles!"
"Your name is….Wrinkles?", was the only thing Basil got from this.
Wrinkles rapidly nods his head and explains, "Given to by the Mistress. But now Mistress is dead. Wrinkles was only acting on Mistress's command. Wrinkles is sorry. But since Mistress is dead, Wrinkles no longer has Mistress. So Wrinkles will be good, Kobold, and serve! Yes."
At first, he was angry, but seeing the little lizard's pathic sniveling face pulled at the man's heartstrings, so he said, "Well…I do feel kind of bad for him."
Marigold looked at him weirdly and scolded, "Seriously, Basil? You do realize this is primarily his fault for tattling."
"We did just slaughter his friends, and I'm not saying we should let him go. I just haven't decided what to do with him…yet.", Basil countered, but seeing as no one was fully convinced, he told them, "Let's just keep him locked up for now. And then I'll figure out what to do with him. He may be surprisingly more useful."
"Wrinkles will serve new master! Wrinkles promise!", Wrinkles begs in a cowering and hopeful tone, going towards the man's feet, only to be lifted into the air by the fairy triplets and thrown into a cage made by Hagson.
Once things had settled to a more mellow state, the mayor turned to his remaining people and announced, "Once Ash End has been rebuilt, let us hold a secret celebration for our savior!", to which everyone loudly cheered.