Credits
Cleaned color illustrations by Arturo Songor (@artson593)
Chapter 5: Elsia's Castle
Originally published in the October
1990 issue of Monthly Dragon Magazine.
BOOM!
The white castle by the lake
disappeared in a cloud of fire and rubble, my Dragon Slave taking the evil
sorcerer and his entire undead army along with it.
Heh. Another job well done.
“And that’s that,” I declared,
turning back with a victorious smirk.
Duke Elsia and his knights stood
frozen in place, mouths hanging open. His already ill-fitting crown teetered
dangerously on his head.
I struck a pose and flashed a
V-sign. “Hehehe! With a genius sorceress like me, Lina Inverse, this kind of
thing is a piece of cake! Another happy ending!”
A heavy boot slammed into my back.
“What is there to be happy about?!”
Duke Elsia roared.
“Ahh! The injustice of it all!” I
slammed my mug onto the table, scowling. “I did my job, didn’t I!?”
“This world and its absurdities!”
The woman sitting across from me did the same.
I was drinking juice. She, on the
other hand, was downing strong beer at twice my pace without even blinking.
“Absurd?”
“Yeah. You deaf?”
“I dunno, coming from someone
dressed like that, it’s a little hard to take seriously.” I eyed her ridiculous
excuse for an outfit.
She grinned. “Them’s fightin’ words,
little girl.”
“That’s something only someone with
more chest than brains would say.”
“Oh? Maybe it’s not that mine are
big, but that yours are just really small?”
Oh, now I’m mad. “You wanna say that
again?”
“Ooooohohohohohoho!”
“…Hehehehe.”
Our eyes met. The air between us
crackled with tension.
A restaurant patron took one look at
the atmosphere and promptly fled. The owner sighed and rubbed his temples.
Unfortunately, this woman and I are
stuck working together.
She’s, of course, Naga the Serpent.
She’s my rival, or so she claims.
Honestly? The only person I’d ever
consider a rival is my older sister, and I’m pretty sure she doesn’t even see
me that way.
That said, Naga and I have fought
several times before. And once… well, technically… I lost.
Anyway, as for why we’re together
now—
About a month ago, an old sorcerer
led a horde of undead and seized Lantus Castle, a small but beautiful
stronghold owned by Duke Elsia.
Stuff like this happens more often
than you’d think.
Duke Elsia, unable to fight back
with his tiny garrison of knights, was desperate to reclaim his home. He could
have asked the king for help, but that would make him look bad. A noble who
can’t handle his own problems risks losing his title.
So instead, he hired two traveling
sorceresses, Naga and me.
The job? Simple: Defeat the undead
army and the sorcerer inside.
And yet—
“You destroyed the entire castle!”
“And all the undead inside it!” I
huffed, puffing out my cheeks. “At no point did he ever say not to blow it up!”
“Anyone with half a brain would know
not to do that! It’s common sense!” Naga shouted, slamming her hands on the
table. “Thanks to that, he’s demanding we either pay him back or find him
another castle!”
“He told me he had a good sorceress
for me to team up with! If I knew it was you, I never would’ve accepted!”
“If I knew you were the other
sorceress, I wouldn’t have accepted either!”
Another tense silence.
I exhaled, rubbing my temples. “…Complaining
won’t get us anywhere. The problem is we can’t pay him back… So we have no
choice but to find him another castle. Either one that’s abandoned, or steal
one—”
“Steal one?”
“From bad people, obviously! It’s
not a crime if they’re criminals! As the law clearly states, evil people don’t
have human rights.”
“I’ve never heard of such law.”
“I’m pretty sure I read it
somewhere.”
Naga folded her arms. “Well, I do
know of one castle. Though, it’s not used by bandits, but by a sorcerer.”
“...here?”
Duke Elsia’s voice dripped with
disbelief. His crown wobbled precariously as he surveyed the moss-covered ruins
before him. His knights looked equally unimpressed.
Honestly, so was I.
Naga had led us deep into the
mountains, to an abandoned fortress straight out of a villain’s lair.
According to her, a rogue
sorcerer, one infamous for questionable human experiments, was holed up inside.
I had no idea how she knew this.
Apparently, she has access to some kind of information network that I don’t
Duke Elsia muttered something under
his breath, adjusting his crown again. “For a noble entrusted with land by the
King himself to live in a place like this…”
“Well, it’s the only castle
available in your territory,” I pointed out.
I wanted to say, “just build a new
one”, but I had a feeling that wouldn’t go over well.
He sighed, glancing at his knights.
They all wore expressions of sheer disappointment. “If it’s our only choice… I
suppose we could renovate it…”
And just like that, he convinced
himself.
“All right, Naga, let’s go.”
“Yeah.”
Duke Elsia and his knights followed
closely behind as we approached the castle gates.
The strong scent of moss and damp
stone filled the air.
And standing at the entrance—
Skeleton warriors. Five of them.
Plus three ghouls.
“Ugh…” Duke Elsia shuddered. “I hate
undead. Zombies smell awful, ghouls are filthy, and skeletons are just
unnerving to look at…”
Naga and I exchanged glances.
Not that I disagreed with him, but
his constant muttering was getting on my nerves.
For the record, using undead guards
is pretty common for sorcerers. They’re cheap, require no food or pay, and
corpses are easy to come by. Basic necromancy lets you stick a low-level spirit
or a parasite in a body and voilà , instant zombie!
The only downside? They don’t last
long. Rot too much, and they’re done for.
Skeletons are a better investment.
Once the flesh is gone, you can keep using them. Real bargain.
Of course, all undead share the same
major flaw: they only follow the most basic commands. Anything too complex?
Forget it.
There’s a fairly known story about a
sorcerer who once commanded an army of a hundred or so skeleton warriors to
siege a castle. He ordered them to ‘kill anything that moves.’
The moment they entered the castle?
They started fighting each other.
Not a single castle resident was
harmed.
Pathetic.
(Not me, by the way. I’m smarter
than that.)
Anyway—
“These guys are a real pain,” I
muttered. “The skeletons will fight us head-on, while the ghouls call for
reinforcements. What do we do?”
“We have a united front, there’s
only one thing we can do.”
Naga and I glanced at each other and
nodded.
“The only thing we can do is—”
“Brute force our way through!”
The ghouls tensed, raising their
spears. The skeleton warriors slowly lifted their rusted swords.
From their perspective, we were just
two girls strolling toward them, chatting away.
But—
“Fireball!”
“Freeze Brid!”
We fired our spells at the same
time.
Huh?
The fireball and ice blast veered
off course, repelling each other at the last second. The magic dissipated in a
harmless flash.
Naga and I froze.
Oh.
Right. Fire and ice spells do that
sometimes.
“…This is your fault,” Naga hissed.
“That’s what I should be saying! An
ice spell would’ve suited the summer heat better! Why the hell would you use
Fireball?!”
“Shut up, you idiots!”
Duke Elsia’s voice rang out behind
us, along with another well-placed kick. Naga and I both crashed to the ground,
face-first.
“Ack! What was that for?!”
“Stop wasting time! After them!”
We scrambled to our feet. The ghouls
had already retreated into the castle, leaving behind a squad of skeletal
warriors charging straight at us.
No time to argue. Naga and I stepped
forward to meet them head-on.
“It’s your fault for being so loud,”
she muttered.
“You complained louder”, I was about
to say, but held my tongue.
“…Focus. I don’t want him to kick me
again.”
“…Me neither.”
We both began chanting.
“Dam Brass!”
This time, our spells synchronized
perfectly. Two skeleton warriors exploded into shards of bone, but the rest
didn’t even flinch. Not that they can feel fear, anyway.
“Leave this to us!” A group of
knights rushed ahead, forming a defensive line.
“Hey! Stand back! Swords don’t work
well on them!”
Too late. The knights were already
swinging away. One of them knocked a skeleton’s head clean off with his
broadsword. The skull twisted at an unnatural angle, then snapped right back
into place, as if nothing happened.
“Our swords are useless!”
“That’s what I just said!”
Seriously, these guys are so dumb.
I was starting to see how the other
castle got taken over so easily. But this is bad, if we use spells now, we’ll
risk hitting the knights.
“I’ll handle it!” Naga began
chanting.
…Is it just me, or does she not care
about them?
“Megido Flare!”
Huh?
A surge of white-hot flames engulfed
both the skeletons and the knights. The skeletons crumbled instantly. The
knights, on the other hand, screamed in terror—
—Then paused.
“Huh? This… isn’t burning?”
Megido Flare, a white magic spell
favored by high-ranking priests. It soothes malice and hostility, making it
perfect for repelling low-level spirits. Naturally, it wouldn’t harm the
knights. If anything, it probably left them feeling refreshed, all their bloodlust
conveniently wiped away.
…How does someone who looks like an
evil sorceress know that spell?
“Great work, Naga.”
“Hmm—!” She grinned, gave a
thumbs-up, and winked.
“DON’T SCARE ME LIKE THAT, YOU
IDIOT!”
Duke Elsia stomped forward and
kicked Naga again.
That man has such a short temper.
His knights must have a hard time dealing with him.
“Miss sorceress, look!” One of the
knights pointed ahead.
A dozen more skeleton warriors and
zombies were pouring out of the castle.
Ahhhhh! They’re so annoying!
I spread my arms wide and began
chanting. “Dis Fang!”
My shadow stretched unnaturally.
Then, from its depths, a dragon-shaped silhouette emerged, black as ink, with
gaping jaws. It slithered across the ground at lightning speed, sinking its
fangs into the shadows of the undead.
One by one, the monsters
collapsed, bite marks gouged into their bodies, their shadows vanishing. The
sickening sound of chewing filled the air.
“Stand back, shadow dragon,” I
commanded. My shadow shrank back to normal.
“You’re good! No wonder you call
yourself my rival.”
…I know I sound like a broken
record, but, we’re NOT rivals!
With the undead taken care of, we
finally entered the castle.
The enemy commander must have
realized by now that he wasn’t going to win like this. He wasn’t even trying to
stop us anymore.
Not that it mattered. He stands no
chance against Lina Inverse. If it comes down to it, I wouldn’t mind leveling
this whole castle.
The great hall stretched out before
us. At the far end, a staircase led to the upper floors. As soon as we entered,
a door at the top of the stairs creaked open.
A stream of zombies poured out.
Naga stepped forward, hands on her
hips, and declared, “Oooooohohohoho! Do you really think this is enough to
defeat Naga the Serpent?! It doesn’t matter if there are five or ten zombies—”
More zombies emerged.
“—or twenty—”
Still coming.
“—or thirty or forty—”
A full-on horde flooded the
staircase.
“…Hmph.” She laughed weakly, then
tapped me on the shoulder. “You got this, Lina.”
Hey. What happened to all that
confidence!
Even though they’re just zombies, I
can’t use powerful attacks indoors so carelessly. If they rush me mid-chant, we’ll
be in trouble.
“Hmph… Guess there’s only one way to
deal with this.” I chanted and thrust my right hand upward. “Dam Brass!”
Part of the ceiling collapsed,
sending chunks of debris raining down onto the zombies. Then, before the dust
could settle, I grabbed Naga and cast Levitation, lifting us into the air.
“We’ll handle the upper floors,” I
called out to Duke Elsia.
His face turned white. “W-wait a
second! You’re not planning on abandoning us, are you?!”
Ignoring his protests, Naga and I
floated through the hole in the ceiling, heading for the upper floors.
After fighting our way up, we
finally reached the master bedroom.
It wasn’t easy. I underestimated the
number of zombies, thinking most were on the first floor, but they just kept
coming.
We didn’t fight our way up, though.
We blasted through. Walls, ceilings, anything that got in our way.
And at last, we arrive at the
master’s room.
Naga and I kicked the door open.
The room was vast, completely dark.
At its center stood four massive figures.
No hesitation. We immediately fired
spells, Flare Arrow and Ice Arrow, aimed at different targets.
The moment the flames struck, their
forms were revealed.
Golems.
Naturally, our spells did nothing.
But beyond them, I caught a glimpse
of something else.
A figure sitting on a throne.
The sorcerer.
…Though, honestly, I have no
intention of fighting him. Even if I do, that wouldn’t stop the undead. First,
we needed him to rescind his commands, then we can deal with him.
That’s fine, right? Of course it is.
I’m sure Naga thinks the same.
“Lina! Let’s get the golems’
attention!” Naga started chanting.
I fired a Dam Brass at an
approaching golem. It wasn’t enough to seriously damage it, but it slowed it
down.
Meanwhile, Naga’s chant was getting
more intense.
Thick beads of sweat formed on her
forehead as she pressed her fingers together, shifting them through a series of
complex hand signs.
“Gu Ru Dooga!”
A deafening roar shook the room and a
Dimos Dragon appeared!
A legendary black dragon, said to be
native to the Kataart Mountains, where the Demon King of the North resides. Its
very breath reeks of destruction. Not even a Golden Dragon could stand against
it.
This is Naga’s trump card?!
I mean, sure, it’d definitely force
the enemy to surrender, but—
WHY WOULD YOU SUMMON A GIGANTIC
DRAGON INDOORS?!
Its massive body got wedged between
the floor and ceiling, completely immobilized. The only thing it could move was
its tail.
So much for an overwhelming
presence.
“Are you incapable of thinking
things through?!”
“Shut up! You do something, then!”
“My pleasure.”
I refocused. The sorcerer still
hadn’t moved. Was he just that confident? Or… had he died of fright?
Well, whatever. No time to waste.
“Dam Brass!” My spell shattered one
of the golem’s legs. It used its arms to support itself, but moving freely was
no longer an option. The collapsing golem blocked my view of the sorcerer.
“Naga!” I pointed at the golem. “I
need you to fire a Dam Brass at the same time as me! I’ll give you the
signal, be precise!”
“No prob!” she said with a grin.
I nodded and rushed forward. “And
don’t hit me either!”
“We’ll see about that!” she laughed,
already beginning her chant.
That reply made me uneasy.
The golem let out a deep, grinding
roar like the earth itself was groaning. Its massive body loomed before me, its
one remaining leg struggling to hold its weight.
“Now!” I swung my right hand in a
wide arc to signal Naga.
The golem lashed out at me with its
right arm, an impact that would’ve turned me into a smear on the ground if it
weren’t so predictable. I easily dodged and dashed straight for its chest. Just
as Naga’s Dam Brass slammed into the golem, I released my spell.
“Mega Brand!”
Normally, this spell is used to
launch stones into the air. But I had a different idea.
Naga’s blast blew the golem to
pieces, and I used my spell to control the debris, sending it flying straight
toward the throne.
Not taking any chances, I kicked off
the ground and sprinted toward the throne myself. If that wasn’t enough to take
him out, I’d finish the job up close. No matter the opponent, in a situation
like this, it’s nearly impossible to track my movements. Just one solid hit on
the chin would knock him out cold.
As I closed the distance, I noticed
something odd.
The figure on the throne wasn’t
moving.
Was he unable to? Or just unwilling?
“Got you!” I lunged, then skidded to
a halt. “Huh!? What the hell!?”
Something was very, very wrong.
“Cheers!”
Naga and I clinked our mugs together
in a lively tavern, celebrating our well-earned reward from Duke Elsia.
Naturally, I was drinking juice.
We both downed our drinks in one
gulp and signaled for refills at the same time.
As we dug into the feast laid out
before us, I muttered, “That was a weird job.”
“Yeah,” Naga nodded, tearing into a
piece of chicken.
“What the hell were we even fighting
against…?” I asked absently, biting into some lamb.
Because the figure sitting on the
throne—
Was already dead.
Maybe he’d gotten sick or something?
I mean, he lived surrounded by rotting corpses. That couldn’t have been good
for his health. Maybe he caught some disease from one of the zombies he
created?
Unable to move due to illness, he
wouldn’t have been able to order his minions to fetch medicine for him. Not
that they would’ve been smart enough to do it anyway.
What a miserable way to go.
Hey, evil sorcerers! Maybe don’t
fill your hideout with undead minions? Clearly a bad idea. Sure, hiring living
people might be a bit expensive, but it’s worth it.
Of course, the undead didn’t realize
their master kicked the bucket. They just kept following his old orders.
So after our not-battle with the
boss, Naga and I spent the next few days wiping out the remaining golems and
clearing the castle of undead.
Today, Duke Elsia finally moved into
his shiny new castle, and we finally got paid.
“But you seemed happy for him,” I
pointed out.
Naga nodded. “Yeah. He might be a
cranky old man, but seeing him happy doesn’t exactly ruin my day.”
“I wonder what he’s up to—”
The tavern door burst open with a
bang.
Naga and I instinctively turned
toward the entrance.
And, speak of the devil, there stood
Duke Elsia.
His eyes were bloodshot, his
breathing was heavy, and his crown was this close to falling off again, but this
time, he wasn’t even trying to fix it.
“…Hey, Duke.” I blinked, thrown off
by the terrifying aura around him. “So, how’s the new castle?” I asked,
attempting to lighten the mood.
“Oh, it was very comfortable,” he
said with a smile.
“Yeah?” I relaxed a little.
“Until it collapsed!”
“Whaaaaat!?” Naga and I shouted in
unison.
“It… It was in very poor shape,” he
seethed.
“C’mon, it couldn’t have been that
bad—”
“Oh, it was that bad! And someone
just had to go poking holes in the structure with magic…” He trailed off,
glaring daggers at us.
Naga and I exchanged glances.
Then, as one, we bolted from our
seats.
“Let’s get out of here!”
“DON’T YOU DARE RUN AWAY!”
Duke Elsia’s boot came flying toward
us once again.
Contents
Chapter 1: The Prince of Saillune
Chapter 2: Revenge!
Chapter 3: The Robbers’ Killer
Chapter 4: Naga's Challenge
Chapter 5: Elsia's Castle
Chapter 6: Slayers Excellent — Villain Fight!
Afterword, Color ilustrations and Download Links
If you liked what you've read here and would like to help to make more feel free to support on Patreon or Kofi!
Comments
Post a Comment