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Chapter 6: Improvisation
Last Updated:
2023-11-16 20:47:40
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Dragon-kissed Chapter 7: Homusubi and the Eagle
Aki was woken up by strong winds blowing against her face. She opened her eyes groggily and saw the glare of the sun above her. She turned her face away and tried to turn over to her side. “Just a few more minutes,” she mumbled to her chambermaid. When she couldn’t turn or twist her body, she opened her eyes and looked down at… the ground two miles below! She screamed. “Whoa!” Temujin cried out from somewhere above her. He had to shout above the roaring winds. “You’re awake!” Aki couldn’t believe her eyes because Temujin appeared to be RIDING a giant eagle. Aki was sure it was a giant eagle because the monster actually twisted its neck to peer down at her even as it continued flapping its gargantuan wings, stirring up a hurricane around her. The eagle made a series of high-pitched whistles as though to say something to her, who was by deduction clutched in its huge claws. The grip wasn’t so tight as to squeeze the breath out of her but it was definitely not a comfortable spot to b
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It was Aki who spoke again first: “Fine. Do what you want. But aren’t you forgetting one very important thing?” “What’s that?” Temujin growled. “Even if you do find the Egg or the bad guys (and that’s a very big if all on your own), you still need a good word to the Emperor so you don’t get executed. Or did you think they were going to take the word of a Salamander like you?” Temujin kept quiet. Aki knew the point had hit home. She had also deliberately used the Vulcanus Clan’s old name to make Temujin even more uncomfortable. “And who else in the entire world can do that for you? Why, only me. None other than Princess Aki, granddaughter of the Emperor and heir to the throne.” Griffin clucked at Temujin as though in support of Aki. “And how are you gonna deflect all the arrows when they come flying at you? You may not have meant to take a white Slayer as a hostage but it was the smartest thing you ever did. Even if you hadn’t planned on it, you better let me do my job as your shi
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Aki was stunned. There had ever only been four elements in the known world. This sounded like a whole new set of challenges altogether. She was starting to feel she was in over her head. Like she was in the middle of something much larger than them, dealing with legends that were older than time itself. “Don’t worry,” Temujin reassured her. “You’ve got the best detective on this case. There’s another piece of information I haven’t mentioned to you yet and this is our next clue.” Aki leaned closer in anticipation. “How the thieves knew about the exact location of the Egg and the design of the security system could only have been through the chief architect of the Treasure Vault.” Aki felt her excitement rising. Her hunch was right! The human element in the security system was the chink in the armor, and the chief architect was where the bad guys had put pressure to get to the Vault. “All we need to do now,” Temujin proudly finished, thinking himself so clever for coming up with t
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Aki prepared to cast a Divination Spell (Uranai Majutsu). First, she knelt and made the kuji-in hand seal of Retsu. She held her left hand palm-forward in front of her chest with forefinger raised. Then, with her right hand she gripped the forefinger and pressed her right thumb onto its nail. This represented The Wisdom Fist and allowed her a peek into the space-time fabric. She chanted: “I am one with the energy of manifested reality”, and the spot between and right above her eyes flashed briefly. What she intended to do was open her mind to different flows of energy. All matter consisted of energy waves that were constantly being re-created. Visualizing this re-creation would grant her partial control of time. Having geared her ki properly, Aki took out a kinchaku drawstring purse from the inner pocket of her Slayer suit. From it, she spilled magic gemstones and an odd collection of things. Temujin recognized pieces of lapis lazuli and hematite but there were also vials of oils, a
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Before she knew what was happening, Aki’s consciousness was whisked away to a completely different time. It was as though she had leapt a couple of years forward and was at once seven years old. As it was in a dream, logic evaded her and it appeared as though the raid on the castle and the attempt on the Egg happened on the same day as the meeting with the chief architect. Aki knew this was virtually impossible (the chief architect was yet to begin construction of the Vault) but her consciousness believed and existed in the moment nevertheless. Just as it was on that fateful day, the red-clad invaders had set fire to the Grand Hall. Aki could see the blaze even from her spot under the table, which was indeed very odd. All participants of the meeting rose and cried out in alarm. They left the door open, giving Aki front row seats to the painful event that was about to take place. She saw her father, just like she did so many years ago, rush towards the invaders in full Slayer suit and
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And so they set out to the north. At first, Aki and Temujin clung to each of Griffin’s legs to avoid being seen by Stork gliders who might be flying overhead, which included Aki’s search and rescue party and Temujin’s shoot-on-sight fanbase. As they advanced northward, they felt the gradual change in temperature which was a clear sign they were nearing the territory of the Clan of Undina, whose mother element was water and ice. Temujin radiated the flame on his fingertip to keep all of them warm: himself, Aki, who sat behind him, and Griffin, whose neck was the only spot his heat could reach. Any hotter and Griffin’s feathers would catch fire. The drop in temperature went hand in hand with a decrease in light. At that time of year, it was night all day long in the territory of the Undines and it became harder and harder to see anything beyond the fire-glow that Temujin shone. The weather, too, had grown harsher. Snow was falling though they didn’t notice when it started to; nor when
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“Have we lost it?” Temujin screamed, his dark-accustomed eyes straining to pierce the inky vastness below. “Tell me we lost it!” “Of course we lost it! Bears don’t have wings, silly,” Aki tittered. “Oh, you should’ve seen your face! That was the most scared I’ve ever felt in my entire life!” They tried to bring their racing hearts and the sudden rush of adrenaline under control. Griffin especially, whose heart they could feel through all his bulk and feathers, beating madly like a rapid volley of cannon fire. “It wasn’t just the bear!” Temujin shouted. “There was something else!” “Something else?” Aki shouted back. “What?” “I can’t be sure… but I think it’s… a dragon!” “A dragon? Are you out of your mind? Dragons have been extinct for two cen—” Before Aki could finish her sentence, a large mass from below struck them like some black, flameless rocket. Griffin stiffened in pain. “Nooooooooo!” Temujin screamed as Griffin convulsed trying to break free of the deathl
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The Kuma-wani water dragon hunched over Griffin’s body, wary as any predator. The relentless winds swept the land and sometimes howled like angry spirits. They were enough to send frightened children under their blankets and push ordinary trekkers to the ground. But Temujin wasn’t ordinary. He was a Slayer. The dragon tensed and snarled when it saw Temujin ahead, making a lone stand in an extremely uneven showdown. His right hand was crimped on his side and blazing like a torch. Without it, he would be lost in the suffocating darkness. He was like a faint candle on the edge of the world. The dragon didn’t mind the dark. Its eyes glowed yellow. Just like Temujin, it was capable of night vision. And a dragon could see a hundred miles ahead of it, close to if not surpassing the visual acuity of its ancestor breed, the Ri-Tatu. “Hey you!” Temujin shouted. “That’s right. I’m talking to you, Ugly! That’s my friend you got there. If you know what’s good for you, you’re gonna leave him alo
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“’Tis a sin tah suffer such a numbskull as ye live,” Captain Fang said, “but it appears we be a perfectly even match. Ye know as well as I do ’tis futile tah resort tah our mother element.” The pirate could barely stand in his exhaustion and was leaning on his sabre. Sasha was also down to his last reserves of energy. He was poised low on the ground, ever ready to strike with his shinobuken held horizontally in front of him, his left hand behind. “Were we in a trainin’ dojo where ye’ve been raised,” the captain said, “no one would claim victory… BUT HITHER IS NOT A DOJO!” Captain Fang thrust his amputated right arm and released the harpoon on the end of it. As a matter of fact, Sasha had earlier grabbed a handful of salt when he tumbled forward across a drying pan. Now he swung his left hand from behind him and flung the salt to the captain’s eyes like a sumo wrestler purifying the ring. Sasha felt a certain amount of pleasure when he heard the captain utter a pained squeal. In a s
Dragon-kissed Chapter 89: The Cleanup
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Dragon-kissed Chapter 88: Rooftop Fisticuffs
Aki leapt from roof to roof. Her tabi boots touched the tiles lightly before pushing off. She was harnessing Karamijutsu (Body-lightening). Without warning, a tile she was stepping on broke and she slid straight down to the edge of the roof, only managing to grab the gutter in the nick of time. She was dangling there when Yuriko appeared on the incline, just a few feet away, crouching and fanning out a set of throwing knives. Apparently, she had launched a projectile that broke Aki’s foothold. “Fancy a prince tah rescue ye, princess?” “I’m not a princess,” Aki replied through gritted teeth. “I’m a SLAYER princess!” With a back flip, Aki brought herself upside-down with her legs spinning in a wheel kick. Yuriko held her forearms up in an X shape and the casings of her katars blocked the kicks. Aki landed right in front of her. They were soon locked in hand-to-hand combat; something rare for Stork Slayers who emphasized defense over offense, evasion over brute strength. Yuriko projec
Dragon-kissed Chapter 87: The Teacher
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Dragon-kissed Chapter 86: First Class
They sat around Koumori-shishou on the moonlit beach. Like real students, Aki thought excitedly. Sasha had returned to his human form and was still half-naked. Apparently, shrinking back down was relatively easier than blowing up to the fearsome scale of Dragonkist Ryūjin. The master sat on a large piece of driftwood. He took off the tunic-like uniform of the Dark Emperor and revealed his usual attire underneath: the saffron robe and pom-pommed surplice of the hermit monks, the Yamabushis. From inside his sleeve, he drew out his shakujō staff with the six rings. Like Aki’s bō staff, it could be retracted and extended. Next, from his slightly hunched back, he produced his straw conical hat and placed it on top of his head. Finally, he unclipped his one-toothed geta sandals from his belt and put them on. He was completely transformed. Aki clapped and Sasha muttered, “Wow.” Koumori-shishou bowed with a flourish. “You’re a true master of disguise, shishou,” Aki complimented. The monk
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From the strong rocking movements, Aki could tell they were on a small boat. Her captors were using oars. All at once, the bag was pulled from over her head and the wind coating was removed from her mouth. “Get your stinking hands off me or I swear you’ll lose them!” Aki blinked to adjust her eyes. It was still night. Have they arrived in Dragon’s Horn already? “Spoken like a true warrior-princess,” said a familiar voice. Aki couldn’t believe it. She strained her eyes in the dark. “Temujin?” she blurted out. “That’s right. It’s me.” “But I thought…” “I had some help,” he said, gesturing to a second figure behind him. Aki let out a frightened gasp. In the pale moonlight, she could make out the Dark Emperor! “Oh, don’t be alarmed!” Temujin said. “It’s just my master, Koumori-shishou.” To Aki’s great consternation, the Dark Emperor swept back his hood and took off his iron dragon mask. An old man with slanted eyes and a long wispy beard like a mountain goat’s was beaming at her
Dragon-kissed Chapter 84: Hard Truths
“What do you think they’re going to do to us?” Aki asked Sasha. They had eventually given up hope that Temujin would return. As much as it pained Aki to admit it, she knew he would succumb to brainwashing. Most Slayers did, sooner or later. “Well, at first they were pointed south like us but then they made a U-turn, which explains why we didn’t see them coming. My guess is they’re now taking us to Dragon’s Horn. It’s a big and busy trading port, for all things legal and illegal.” “They’re gonna sell us as slaves?” Aki said in horror. “No, we’re much too old to be submissive. But they know you’re the heiress apparent so they’ll demand a princess’s ransom.” “A princess’s ransom? How much is that?” “Let’s just say they’re gonna try and bleed your empire dry.” “My grandfather would never allow that. I’m sure he’ll have imperial soldiers waiting for us when we reach port. I’ll have these pirates arrested before they even—” “They probably wouldn’t tell anyone about you just yet. The
Dragon-kissed Chapter 83: Torture
In the afternoon, after their cheerless and tasteless brunch, the captain came down to the brig to grace them with his presence. Aki was right, the four most important people on the ship were: Captain Fang, the Dark Emperor, Kosano and Yuriko; in that order. But because they were pirates, it was easy to imagine incessant politicking among the last three. The entire crew was of course curious about the young Slayers who had kicked their butts, but they were under strict orders to stay on their posts and perform their duties. Nevertheless, Aki recognized Zaterra and Ganzorig; the first was endlessly cutting his nails with a dagger. Temujin also noticed his cork backpack slung on Zaterra’s shoulder. “Hey, that’s mine!” Temujin shouted, gripping the dragon-bone bars of his cage. “Finders keepers,” Zaterra replied and stuck out his tongue. “Give it back to him!” Aki demanded. “Be yer companions knowin’ yer secrets in this here bag?” asked Kosano. Temujin fell quiet. “Cat got yer ton
Dragon-kissed Chapter 82: Prisoners
They were held in separate cells down the ship’s brig. Aki’s and Sasha’s were adjoining while Temujin’s was across from theirs. Each cell had an additional feature. For instance, Aki’s had a water barometer to monitor the slightest change in atmospheric pressure if she attempted to form winds inside the ship. Sasha’s had a quicksilver thermometer to keep the room temperature in check. Last, apart from confiscating his flint and steel, the pirates put Temujin in a cell with the fire-proof bones of a red dragon for bars. In case the prisoners showed any signs of defiance by using their powers, the pirates also had a weird-looking contraption like an electrically charged spear. Sasha figured it was a weaponized version of the Leyden jar. If it touched their prisons (the conductor), it would discharge tens of thousands of volts. This last piece of technology suggested a link between the pirates and Tamerlane’s research on the fifth element, but all of them pointed to the fact that the cap
