Unruly Summon Chapter 51: Aftermath (Patreon)

"What's that look for? Don't tell me you forgot I existed?" said the wolf-man, his amusement building. "You look like you're about to be sick. Was that your first kill? Hey, watch it!"

The bandit gracefully bent over backward, my subvocal Ventus Ferrum flying over him and brushing the tip of his nose.

"That was mean. I was talking!"

I held my tongue, having no intention of engaging in conversation. Frankly, I just wanted this to be over. Part of me was screaming to cast Parvus Pereo, which would certainly end things, but I had no idea what the range would be. However much it was reduced from a full Pereo, I doubted the audience were far enough away to be safe.

"What, so you've killed the one you came for, and now you don't think I matter? Well, perhaps you should have dealt with me first then, instead of ignoring me, and letting me watch you fight. Thanks for showing me... Woah!"

He dodged a second wind blade, but this time I followed it, drawing on the local mana to accelerate myself. Through my mana sight, I watched him do the same, parrying my sword swing, then kicking out. All the while, he kept his eyes on my empty hand, obviously expecting me to cast magic at point-blank range.

Still wanting this to be over as soon as possible, I dodged his kick, then made another swing, this time deliberately sloppy. As I planned, he parried it easily, knocking my sword far out of position. He smirked as he launched a counterattack, a piercing attack aimed right beneath my breastplate.

His sword impacted my fabric tunic, which stopped it dead, unable to pierce my battle aura. He had just enough time for his expression to flicker to one of confusion before I chopped off his head.

I was vaguely conscious of the roar of the audience, and the announcer excitedly yelling something, but I couldn't focus on either as I sprinted back to the gate I came from. It was still closed, though, which meant I threw up over the arena wall instead, in full view of the audience. I was only vaguely aware of the gate opening and the hostess somehow coaxing me in. By the time my brain rebooted sufficiently to be aware of my surroundings again, I was back in the waiting room, twelve demons watching me with obvious concern.

"Oh, he's moving again," said one of them.

"What?" I asked stupidly.

"You have a hell of a lot of explaining to do, young fool!" exclaimed another.

"Hey!" shouted a third, directed at the second speaker rather than me. Or maybe it was the first again? I wasn't in any fit state to differentiate.

"No, don't stop me. That was stupid. He's obviously never fought people before, and now look at him. How was that worth it? Maybe, if the perpetrator had been free, but he wasn't. He'd been caught and sentenced, and was going to die anyway."

"You're right," I agreed. "I've never fought real people before. At least, not seriously, with intent to hurt them. But you're misunderstanding something..."

"Oh, and what might that be?"

"This was never about revenge. People were desperate enough before the war, but now things are far worse. Travelling outside a settlement isn't safe. My group was attacked by a group of starving farmers, and we were travelling with a non-combatant at the time. I... froze up. If not for the quick reactions of another member of my party, that non-combatant would have been killed."

Perhaps I shouldn't be spilling so much information, but I'd wrapped it up in language that was hopefully compatible with whatever misunderstandings they'd invented. I wanted to talk. I needed to talk. I needed to justify myself, to convince them I'd done the right thing. If I couldn't convince them, how could I convince myself?

... I was slightly concerned that I wasn't making any sense, even in my own head, but there wasn't much I could do about that right now.

"Wait... You did this to force yourself to fight people? To kill them?"

"As you said, they were going to die anyway. Better them than letting my hesitation get someone else killed."

The demons stared at me, aghast.

... Weren't there fourteen of them earlier? Ah, right; the evening's entertainment had started, and they were hardly going to pause it while I recovered. There must be another one-on-one taking place already.

"So... don't tell anyone from the church I said this, but this world sucks," said someone. "How could the gods create something where anyone could end up in a position where they believe something like that is necessary?"

"Where's the rest of your party?" asked someone else. "Shouldn't you go to them?"

"In the audience somewhere. Dunno where."

"Should we send for them?"

"Mary hugs would be very well appreciated right now," I agreed. "Dunno if she'd give them, though. She probably owes me a slap."

I giggled inappropriately.

"Uh..." said someone.

"No, don't send for them. Let them watch the rest of the matches," I said, but apparently no fetching was required, because Minoru chose that moment to open the door.

"You did well out there, but let's get you back to the inn," she said, ignoring the other demons, grabbing my hand and pulling me to my feet. I hadn't even noticed I'd been sitting down.

"Where are the others?"

"Waiting for you outside."

"Well, thanks for everything," I told the demons. "And as for whether it was worth it... I guess I'll tell you the next time I'm trying to defend someone I care about."

I followed Minoru in a bit of a daze until we came out of the same guarded entrance that I'd entered by. Sure enough, Wendy, Mary and Stephanie were waiting. Mary wordlessly charged in and hugged.

"I expected you to slap me," I unthinkingly commented. It wasn't until Mary looked up angrily that I realised I'd said it out loud.

"As if I could, with your face looking like that! Just you wait till you're recovered though! I'm going to make you wish you hadn't!"

"Don't be too harsh on him. He did well," said Wendy. "But let's get him back to the inn to rest."

"Didn't you want to watch the rest of the matches?" I asked.

"Seriously?" asked Mary. "How are we supposed to do that with you in this condition?"

"Oh."

"He's obviously not completely with it. Let's get him back to the inn and put him to bed," said Wendy.

Anypha had said I'd been chosen, but I couldn't for the life of me see why. What use was a hero who ended up in this condition after fighting?

Or at least, after killing?

Maybe I was going about this completely backwards, and I was chosen because I wouldn't fight. But what sense did that make? What good was a hero who couldn't properly defend people from bandits?

The same thoughts repeated in a circle as we walked back to the inn. At some point I changed into my nightclothes, although I wasn't quite sure how or when, and then I was in bed.

Despite my condition, the bucket that Mary had subtly pushed up against my bed didn't escape my notice. I guess throwing up in front of the entire arena would have given my reputation for vomiting another boost.

Still, I felt tired enough that I was fairly sure I could sleep. Hopefully, everything would be fine in the morning.

I closed my eyes.

The look on the elephant-man's face as I pushed my sword slowly through his heart played itself back to me in the darkness. The pain. The hatred. The despair.

My eyes opened.

I was going to get bloody PTSD over this, wasn't I? This whole idea was a horrible mistake.

Mary took one look at me, then wordlessly climbed into my bed, cuddling into me, just as she'd done after the third dragon dream. Or, perhaps, not quite like that; that time had been her selfishness, while this time I desperately needed it.

... Right. I was putting myself through this to protect her. It wasn't a mistake if it meant the next time some bandits targeted our party, she didn't end up with another arrow through her leg.

"Sorry," she whispered into my ear, quietly enough that no-one else in the room would have heard it. "You only did that for me, didn't you? Wendy and Minoru can take care of themselves, but I can't... I should have stayed home with my parents..."

Drat. Right when I'd convinced myself I'd done the right thing, Mary had to go and spoil it. But while she was probably correct that staying home with her parents would have been safer, she was neglecting to mention that the king himself had ordered her to follow me, to spare him my wrath if she came to harm there. Besides, we had Stephanie with us, too, and while I wasn't as attached to her as Mary, I hardly wanted to let her get killed. No blame for this belonged to Mary.

"... Is it selfish of me if I'm glad I didn't stay home?" she murmured in an even quieter voice, probably not intended for me to hear.

That actually succeeded in making me smile, so I closed my eyes once more. This time I saw the wolf-headed man, and the look of incomprehension etched on his face as his head arced through the air, neatly severed from his body. But I could still feel Mary's arms around me, and I imagined her being present in the fight. That I was acting to defend her.

Keeping my eyes closed, I returned her hug and tried to sleep.

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A familiar floral scent tickled my nose, stirring me slowly to wakefulness. Familiar, and yet I couldn't place it.

... I was standing upright.

My eyes snapped open, but saw nothing. Once more, fog blocked my view. And yet I knew Wendy had set up defences against nocturnal intruders. She'd continued her efforts to keep the dragon out of my dreams ever since she'd first worked out what it was doing.

It wasn't the dragon. The fog was white and, stooping down, I could see that the powdery substance beneath my feet was yellow sand, not ash.

"Anypha?" I called. "Is this you?"

There came no response.

"Maius Omnia Visus," I chanted, and once the reverberations died away, I was once again left in silence. Nothing reacted to the spell, nor did it show me anything obvious. No life, no soul, no miasma. Nothing but a uniform blanket of mana.

I felt the touch of air on my face, a light breeze, bringing with it another whiff of the floral scent.

"Where do I know this from?" I asked, talking aloud to fill the oppressive silence.

In lieu of anything better to do, I walked in the direction of the breeze, orientating myself so that I continued to feel it on my face. The scent grew stronger, but the silence remained.

"Seriously, what's going on here?" I asked, but of course, no-one answered. Was something trying to muck around with my dreams, but being prevented by Wendy's enchantments? Was this an actual lucid dream, with no outside interference? Was it a hallucination, brought on by what I'd done in the arena? Was it real?

It took only a few minutes of walking before something came into range of my mana sight. I accelerated towards it, discovering an intricate circular pattern on the floor. I'd seen such a thing with my mana sight before, back in the castle. It was obviously a magical circle of some sort.

A closer inspection revealed it to be a summoning circle.

"Who's there?" I shouted. "Who made this?"

There came no answer.

Was Anypha upset about me taking lives? Was I being sent home? People had often talked about the fact that the gods sent heroes home once their job was done, but no-one had ever mentioned how it happened. But my job wasn't done.

"I'm not going back. I refuse!" I yelled.

As expected, there was no response.

If I hung around for long enough, would someone wake me up back in the real world? Or what if I killed myself here, like in the second dragon dream? Would that wake me up?

Another burst of the scent came through, stronger now that I was standing next to the source, and it was finally enough for me to place it. Eve's house! Specifically, the horrible perfume her mother always wore. In small doses, it was quite pleasant, but she never used it in small doses...

"Why is that here...?" I muttered, kneeling by the side of the circle as I peered at it in suspicion. Was it a trick to lure me through?

... I really wanted to see Eve. How long had we been separated? Barely a fortnight, from my point of view, even if it felt longer. For her, presumably it was no time at all. But as great as healing hugs from Mary were, I wanted that small touch of Earth.

Hadn't Anypha given me the ability to travel between worlds? Even if I went back, I could return. Maybe the time dilation worked both ways, and I could spend a few years in therapy before resuming my mission...

Cautiously, I touched the circle. Nothing happened. In retrospect, why did I expect it to? It wasn't like it would suck a bunch of mana out of me. That wasn't how mana worked. Instead, I pulled mana from the fog, forcing it downwards, charging the circle.

The smell grew stronger. Now that was the overpowering stench I remembered.

The circle flashed with a blinding light. There was also quite a lot of screaming.