Finally, I can Retire, Or so I Thought

After Edgar returned and finalized the deal to establish a branch of the Aetherias Trading Company in Dion’s territory, he took his leave from the mansion. He needed to get back to Lutherias as soon as possible, promising to keep everything inside Dion’s domain strictly under wraps so word wouldn’t leak to the outside world.

By afternoon, after Edgar and his entourage departed, Luna, Sheila, Mei, and Aria set to work managing the new arrivals and introducing them to the long-time residents. Cleo stayed behind at the mansion to relax while keeping an eye on Gina. Dion walked up the hill behind his mansion to visit his parents’ grave.

He sat back down before the two headstones, quietly taking in the gentle breeze and the warm afternoon sun. His mind, which had been thoroughly overwhelmed and tangled earlier, slowly settled into a peaceful calm. He looked at his parents’ gravestones and smiled.

”This place... used to be just a remote territory with one tiny village and a patch of farmland... Now it’s growing into something way bigger than a village... It’s not a city yet, but you can already see its future... even though I never planned any of this,” Dion thought to himself, a soft smile gracing his face.

He lay back on the grass, gazing up at the clear blue sky as his hair fluttered softly in the wind. Yawning broadly, he closed his eyes to drift off.

Kyuuu!

”Oof! Cough!”

Gina slammed landed hard onto Dion’s stomach, snapping his eyes open. His arms and legs shot up as he puffed out a breath.

”Gina... What was that for?” Dion wheezed.

”Kyuu... Kyuu... Kyuu!”

”Huh... Cleo fell asleep, so you came out here?” Dion asked, sitting up as he held the tiny dragon in front of him.

Gina didn’t answer with words, but she nodded enthusiastically instead. Dion pulled her onto his lap.

”Alright then. You can just hang out here with me,” Dion said casually, stroking Gina’s head.

”Kyuu!”

Gina raised her paws merrily. Dion leaned back down to relax, this time with Gina lying comfortably on his chest. Before long, the two of them drifted off into a deep sleep beneath the cool shade of the trees.

***

Cling!

Groaaaah!

”Hey... Use the ropes and chains!”

”Ugh!”

Dion slowly opened his eyes to the sound of chaos. He looked up to see a massive black dragon thrashing wildly in front of him.

Graaah! Gyaaaaaah!

Bound in heavy chains, the giant dragon unleashed a torrent of flames, incinerating a man dressed entirely in black. Dion, instantly coming to his senses, snapped his eyes wide open and scanned his surroundings. He was trapped inside a subterranean dungeon, illuminated only by sputtering torches.

Roughly eight men dressed in black assassin garb surrounded a massive black dragon, which was actually Gina, her neck chained with magical cuffs as she thrashed violently against them. Dion spotted three piles of burning embers, clearly the charred remains of three assassins torched by Gina’s flames, and he could see the sheer terror in Gina’s eyes despite her giant dragon form.

As for Dion himself, he was heavily bound: both hands were chained above his head and his legs were spread wide, his ankles locked in place by the same magical cuffs.

”Hey... What is this?!” Dion yelled.

Two of the men in black whipped around. They wore cloth masks paired with demon-like half-visors over their eyes, completely obscuring their faces. Their gear resembled ninja attire, and each held a drawn blade. As the two men approached Dion, his mind instantly raced.

”Recall,” he commanded inwardly.

Selecting his Berserk Monk persona, a swirl of dark reddish energy erupted from beneath Dion’s feet, wrapping around his entire body like a raging tornado. A thick black mist billowed outward, completely veiling him from sight. The two approaching men skidded to a halt, dropping into defensive stances.

Clang!

The distinct sound of snapping chains echoed through the thick fog. Suddenly,

Bwaaak!

Two palm-shaped blasts of raw kinetic energy slammed into the pair, hurling them backward into several assassins who were trying to subdue Gina.

”What the...?!”

One assassin, who had been flattened when his comrade flew backward into him, scrambled up and turned around. His eyes bulged in horror as he spotted a palm-shaped hole completely caving in the chest of the man atop him.

”W-What?!”

The man looked up, but the last thing he saw was three glowing claws slicing straight toward his face. Before he could react, the claws sank deep into his visor. Darkness took him instantly. Dion spun on his heel and delivered a sweeping spin kick, sending the assassin beside him hurtling directly toward Gina. Gina snapped her jaws shut around the flying target, biting him clean in half.

The remaining four men scrambled together into a tight huddle. They stared in horror at the figure of Dion, now shrouded in a sinister red-and-black aura, stepping low toward Gina. Recognizing Dion immediately, Gina calmed down instantly. Dion reached down to pat the dragon’s snout.

”Wait here,” Dion said, his voice raspy and deep.

Gina gave a firm nod. Dion turned his sharp, burning red gaze toward the four assassins. Clad in black martial arts gear, radiating a dark miasma, and sporting razor-sharp claws on both hands, his presence terrorized the men. They recoiled in shock, though they forced themselves to raise their blades.

”Hyah!”

One of the assassins, driven mad by sheer panic and choosing a fighter’s death over being slaughtered like livestock, lunged forward, swinging his blade straight for Dion’s throat.

Clang!

Dion casually parried the steel blade with his clawed gauntlet.

Duak!

Dion drove a vicious upward elbow strike straight into the man’s chin. The sheer force snapped the assassin’s head back so hard it cracked against the dungeon ceiling before his lifeless body crumpled to the floor.

Seeing how effortlessly Dion had eliminated their companion, the remaining three abandoned all thought of fighting and tried to flee, leaping in three separate directions. But Dion simply brought his hands together at his chest.

”Mirror Image.”

Dion’s body instantly split into three distinct copies. All three blurred forward at blinding speed, pursuing the fleeing assassins in different directions.

Crack!

One copy caught up to the first runner instantly, delivering a heavy chest kick that shattered every rib in the man’s torso.

Boom!

The second runner, who had leapt up to scramble along the cavern wall, gasped as a Dion clone materialized directly above him, stomping him down into the stone floor with a deafening crash.

The final assassin sprinted deeper into the corridor, glancing back over his shoulder. Suddenly,

Blam!

He crashed headfirst into an invisible barrier, rebounding into the air. As he looked up mid-flight, he found Dion standing directly before him with a cold smile. Dion’s claws whipped across his face, cleanly severing his head into three distinct pieces.

As the headless corpse hit the ground, Dion landed softly in front of it. He looked down at the assassin’s black uniform, his eyes locking onto a dark emblem embroidered on the chest: a palm silhouette set over two crossed swords.

”Shadow Hand... from Eredor. They invaded my territory and kidnapped both me and Gina... Damn it,” Dion realized in his head.

Looking up, he watched as his two mirror images walked back toward him, accompanied by Gina, who had shrunk back down to her small form. As the clones dissolved into thin air, Gina flew straight up to him.

”Kyuu... Kyuu!”

”I’m fine, and thank goodness you’re safe too,” Dion said with a warm smile.

”Kyuu!”

”Still... Where on earth are we?” Dion mused, surveying the cavernous dark.

Graaaaaah!

Suddenly, the dungeon-like cavern trembled violently as a deep, monstrous roar echoed from up ahead. Dion turned toward the sharp bend in the corridor.

”Come on... Let’s see what’s at the end of this tunnel and find a way out of here,” Dion said to Gina.

”Kyuuu!” Gina cheered, raising her paws as she floated up to settle on Dion’s shoulder.

With his Berserk Monk persona active, Dion strode purposefully down the dark corridor, his glowing red eyes leaving twin trails of light in the pitch-black gloom. Reaching the light at the end of the tunnel, Dion and Gina stepped out to see what lay ahead. Spread before them was a vast blue lake beneath a cavernous ceiling, pierced by a massive opening that let in a brilliant beam of sunlight. Before long,

”Kyuuuu!”

Gina, perched on Dion’s shoulder, pointed forward. Perched atop a jagged rock rising from the depths of the water stood a colossal, blue-scaled serpent. The monster noticed Dion and Gina’s arrival, turning its massive head and looking down at Dion with a cold, condescending glare.

”Hmm... a rank-S Cave Leviathan... Berserk Monk isn’t exactly the ideal matchup for this... but whatever. Let’s do this, Gina, then we’re getting out of here,” Dion said, dropping into a low stance.

”Kyuuu!” Gina chirped, raising her paws and glaring fiercely at the creature. She expanded into her massive form, landing heavily beside Dion with a low, rumble of a growl.