The journey north took about three whole days. Three whole days of Psyche droning on and on about whatever arbitrary thought popped into his head. And when he wasn't doing that, he was trying to convince Levi to let the dragon take control so he could fight it.
Aldrich let out a large sigh of relief when the town came into view. Behind it, the ocean shimmered brightly in the sun, a stunning shade of green.
"I've never seen the sea before," Levi announced, his voice filled with awe. "Is this a good time to mention that I can't swim?"
"A bit late for that," Aldrich answered.
"Do you know how to swim?" Levi asked Abaddon in a quieter voice.
[I had wings, I didn't need to swim. Abaddon scoffed.]
"So you don't."
Abaddon didn't bother with a retort.
Sigovia was a quiet little fishing town. The salty smell of the sea lingered in the air as they rode through the streets.
There was a concerning lack of people on the streets. Aldrich hoped this wasn't another ghost town. He had seen enough yūrei for one lifetime.
They were met by a young woman with dark blue hair and a wary look. She greeted them warmly enough but kept one hand on the sword sheathed at her side.
The woman, Syd, was the one who had sent for their help. She beckoned them to leave their horses and follow her. They would talk somewhere more private, in case the cult was listening in.
"The people, what's left of us at least, are inside their homes," Syd explained. "They fear for their lives. I tried to rally up some men to take the fight to them, but they are too scared."
She stopped walking and turned to face them. "I have heard your 'Royal Knights' and your 'virtues' are as strong as at least a hundred men."
"Try a thousand," Psyche interjected. Then added, pointing at Aldrich, "But this guy doesn't have a virtue."
Syd didn't seem too happy to hear that. "So one of you is without virtue, and the other..."
Her voice trailed off as she turned her sights to Levi. She appraised him cautiously. "I've felt this kind of presence before. The same kind the sea serpent gives off. What exactly is he?"
Psyche stepped in between the woman and Levi. "He is here to help you, and that's all that really matters, isn't it? Now, point us in the direction of this giant sea snake, would you? I've been itching for a fight."
Syd took one more look at the three of them before sighing and continuing to walk. "I have to admit I'm not exactly sure how to draw the beast out.
As you already know, the serpent has been around for a while. Since I was a little girl. The people of the town saw it as some kind of... god, they revered it. But some, some became obsessed with it.
Formed a cult and began to sacrifice people to it. For years I've tried to convince the townspeople that it was no god, and it needed to die. But the cult would not hear of it. And the rest were too scared to fight.
So I finally decided to take matters into my own hands. And sent word to the capital for help."
A heavy silence hanged in the air after Syd finished talking. She had a melancholic look on her face, and wished she had called for help sooner.
[Just get me close. I'll bring him out.]
Levi relayed the information to his companions. Once again Syd looked suspicious but decided to not inquire further. She led them towards the dock and stood back as Levi moved forward.
"Please don't do anything to embarrass me." Levi whispered. He took a deep breath, about to make the switch.
[Yes, yes. Now, let me out. Abaddon replied impatiently.]
Levi let go and felt his consciousness slip to the back of his mind. The white in his hair spread until all the brown was consumed. His other eye turned a reptilian green as well, and a large unhinged grin grew on his face.
"Finally!" Abaddon bellowed. He stretched quickly. "It's been far too long."
Behind him, Syd had drawn her sword. She kept her eyes glued to the boy, a bead of sweat dropping down her face. The evil presence had gotten even stronger now, nearly unbearable. She didn't know exactly what had happened to the boy, but whatever this was, it was not human.
Abaddon glared at her out of the corner of his eye, and she felt her sword drop from her shaking hand. It clattered on the wooden dock.
"Relax," he told her, still smiling. "If I wanted to kill you, you wouldn't be able to stop me anyway."
His words didn't seem to comfort Syd much, if that was what he was intending.
Meanwhile, Psyche had a hugely excited look on his face. He had never found an opponent with such an imposing presence. The only other who came close was Sir Kazuki. He wanted to duel so badly... but now wasn't the time.
Abaddon shut his eyes and began to search for the sea serpent's aura. After a few seconds, he locked in on a fairly large amount of energy resting on the ocean floor.
He took a deep breath and then shouted, "Get your slimy ass out here, Belphegor!"
For a few minutes, there was silence, and then the serpent's head broke through the water's surface. Its wet blue scales glinted in the sun.
Aldrich took out his holy relic. What weapon would be best for fighting a giant sea serpent? He felt like he should have given it more thought earlier. He decided to use a regular sword for now.
"That's a cool weapon you got there," Psyche commented. "It can imitate any weapon?"
"Yes, but now is really not the time for questions, is it?!" Aldrich replied, raising his voice so he could be heard over the sound of the waves. Psyche shrugged and then drew his own sword.
Abaddon leapt at the serpent. The sheer force of his jump caused the part of the dock he was standing on to break down. He flew through the air, arm forward, aiming at the serpent's head, ready to sever it from the rest of its body.
And then he was met mid-air by the serpent's scaly tail. The resounding strike sent him flying hundreds of miles away, until he was completely out of sight.
The three still on the dock watched until he had completely disappeared. Syd cleared her throat. "Was that how that was supposed to go?"
"No. No, it was not," Aldrich admitted. "He was probably just caught off guard. He'll be back."
Psyche laughed, his excitement palpable. "It must be strong to send the mighty fell dragon flying. This is going to be fun."
×
Levi crashed into the ground and bounced for a few more meters before skidding to a stop. The force of the hit had knocked him back into control. He stood up slowly and cracked his shoulder back into place.
[Not a word, Abaddon said.]
"I haven't even said anything yet."
[Not. A. Word.]
Levi scoffed, shaking his head. He began to observe his surroundings. The serpent had knocked him quite a distance away. He could barely see the sea anymore. There was a cliff in front of them; he could climb it to get a better view.
As he walked, he noticed that the air was much hotter here—almost unbearably so, and getting hotter with each step. It almost felt like...
Then he saw him, in the distance—a dazzling figure with flowing white hair and armor just as bright, standing at the edge of the cliff. The Knight of Brilliance—what would he be doing here?
[Him again, Abaddon snarled.]
"Calm down. Do you really want to pick another fight after what just happened?"
[Shut up. I was caught off gaurd. That's all.]
Levi called out, but the man didn't seem to hear him. Instead, he took a step forward and plunged right off the cliff. Alarmed, Levi ran back down the cliff and over to where the man had fallen.
He wasn't injured, though, just sitting on the ground with a dejected look on his face. He looked up as Levi approached. Levi stopped a few hundred meters away; he could already feel the hairs on his body begin to singe.
"You." His soft voice sounded exhausted. "What a coincidence, meeting you here."
"What—what was that about?" Levi asked gingerly, raising his voice so he could be heard from that distance.
Kazuki raised his eyebrows for a second, as if unsure what Levi was referring to. "Oh, you mean jumping off the cliff." He sighed deeply. "It doesn't work anyway."
Levi was not sure exactly what he meant. He swallowed because his throat had completely dried up. He placed his hand on himself and began to heal his cells as they burned up.
Sir Kazuki seemed surprised. "Could you do that before?"
Levi assumed 'before' meant when Abaddon had tried to kill him. He shook his head. "Abaddon can't use my virtue when he takes over."
[Tch. Maybe not. But once I get the rest of my soul back it won't matter]
Sir Kazuki seemed suddenly interested in him. "That means you can come closer."
Levi thought about it. He could probably take a few more steps before the heat outdamaged his healing and killed him. He stepped forward.
Sir Kazuki's eyes lit up; he almost seemed excited. Levi stopped moving forward. "I—I can't come any closer."
"If your ability were to become stronger, would you be able to?" Sir Kazuki asked, getting off the ground.
"Possibly," Levi hadn't thought of that, but he guessed he would.
A small smile broke out over the knight's face; he was definitely excited. "That means...that you can do it. Finally..."
Levi was thoroughly confused now. "I can do what exactly?"
"You can kill me."