Monster Quest Cursed Sword Chapter 3 (Patreon)

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Chapter 2 

Chapter 3 Bad Omen

Ichigo was having bad dreams. It was like a vision of what was to come, the demon king rises to power. His might and influence fully awakening, the skies turned red, the clouds turned black. The land and sea became twisted and corrupt, not a single place in the world became safe.

He watched helplessly as the gates of the demon king’s castle opened and out marched hordes of soldiers. It was the army of darkness, led by the Dark Generals. Villages were consumed and burned to the ground, fortresses erected in their wake. Those that survived the slaughter were drawn into labor.

It seemed like all was lost. His village lay before the marching army. “No!” Ichigo screamed and charged in. The general was clad in shadow but was riding a white horse. His family was in trouble, he draws his blades and charges in. With all his might he tried to clash with the general.

SHING!

His blades were broken and Ichigo was thrown back. “Not good enough!” A pair of golden eyes gazed down at him, the sword was raised. “Not strong enough!” Down came the blade.

“NO!” Ichigo bolted upright, he was sweating and panting. “Ugh!”

“You shouldn't move too much, your body went through a lot.” A new voice drew his attention. Ichigo looked over and saw a mage, he had snow white hair and looked young. He wasn’t very tall, even his staff was larger than him, the top of which had a dragon shape holding an ice crystal in his mouth.

Kurosaki grasped his head. “What happened? What hit me?” He felt like he had been tired to a horse and dragged for miles, after sitting in a sauna for hours.

“A goblin hex, and a powerful one at that. You are lucky, your friends got you to me in time for treatment.” The mage approached Ichigo. “My name is Toshiro Hitsugaya, an Ice Wizard.”

“Ichigo…” He shifted and the blanket slipped revealing his naked form. “Ehh!” He quickly grabbed it and covered himself. “Where are my clothes?”

“Your friends had them, they are sitting over there.” Kurosaki blushed.

“Could you hand them to me?” He felt weirdly vulnerable for some reason, it was something he couldn’t really explain.

“Well it seems you’re back to normal.” Toshiro brought over his clothes and armor.

“Normal?” Hitsugaya waved him off.

“It’s nothing best not to think about it. People say and do crazy things while under a hex.” Ichigo’s eyes widened, he was now deeply troubled. What had he done while hexed?!

He’d seen adventurers do a strip tease on the bar while under a hex before. Hexes varied depending on their tiers, and held an umbrella of effects ranging across the spectrum. “You guys don’t have a wizard in your party, magic casters are the best at countering hexes.”

“Are hexes becoming more common?” He started dressing.

“Unfortunately, the stronger the demon king’s influence gets the more powerful other creatures become. Those with magic affinity get some oomf oomf in their options, and creatures that never had magic are suddenly casting spells.” It’s been a real problem. “Sadly word is even some veteran parties are wiped out because of bad match ups and poor coverage.”

Ichigo punched the palm of his hand. “Damn it, this is too much!” Toshiro was surprised. “The demon king needs to be stopped, before he regains more power and throws the world into even more chaos.”

“You want to take on the demon king before he awakens?” Ichigo finished dressing and stood up. “You think you can do it?”

The orange haired warrior smirked. “We got a plan!”

“You’d be lucky to get to the gates at this rate.”

“It’ll be fine, we just need a mage right?” Toshiro face palmed.

“You sound like so many hopeful fools. They all end up the same.” Ichigo stretched.

“Well anyway, thanks for the help Toshiro!” Hitsugaya was surprised, but before their conversation could continue.

The door opened and in came two women. One was a busty woman who was a mage with a cat topper staff. The other was a druid, she was wearing clothes of the moon priestess with a sash and golden bells.

“Ah Ichigo-san, your friends sent us to check on you. I’m Rangiku!” She waved.

“Toshiro-kun, you were supposed to let us know when he wakes up.” The druid girl pointed out. “I’m Momo!” She bowed politely. “Sorry about him!”

Ichigo was confused. “Will you two stop it. His treatment is complete.” He looked at Ichigo. “You can be on your way, but don’t blame me if you get yourself killed out there.” He huffed angrily.

“What’s his problem?” Ichigo pointed at Toshiro.

“He’s always like this, he’s just grumpy is all.” Momo said.

“I am not grumpy!” Toshiro hissed.

“Yeah, because he’s never been in an adventurer party before. Whenever he treats adventurers, he tends to get snippy.” Toshiro twitched.

“He’s a powerful wizard, but no one takes him seriously because he looks like a kid.” Rangiku chuckled.

“Mind your own business!” He huffed and left the room. He’s helped many adventurers that have come through this town, some of which he tried to join in the past. They judged him by his appearance. That just made him work harder, but no matter how powerful he became, no one took him seriously. More and more parties needed mages and spell casters, but despite that he was left behind.

Ichigo left the room and met up with his party. The group was at a Sorcerer's Outpost, a business ran by mages and casters. They provide all kinds of services from Readings, Fortunes, Curse Breaking, Identifications, and even Enchantments.  “Ichigo!” They rushed over and hugged him.

“Sorry guys…” He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “I hope I wasn’t too much trouble while hexed?” They blushed.

“It’s fine…” There was a code among adventurers, “What happens while hexed goes away with the hex” though what happened wouldn’t be forgotten. They’d never seen their friend so wanton, lustful, hot, and horny. No adventurer worth their salt would hold him accountable for it.

“Are you okay?” Chad asked.

“Yes, I’m feeling a lot better thanks to Toshiro.” The mage was reading a spell book behind a desk. “Looks like we need a mage or a bard or something.” He huffed.

“If this are our troubles so far, maybe we aren’t ready for this mission.” Uryu wondered.

“We can’t give up, things are gonna get worse before they get better.” His dream scratched at the back of his mind. The drive to get the sacred weapon increased. “Tossen believes in us.”

Toshiro eyed them. “I’m with ya Ichigo, once we get that weapon nothing will be able to stop us!” Renji said, throwing an arm around the orangette.

‘Idiots the both of them.’ The holy weapons did provide a buff to the party, they stacked so gathering all the sacred items together and fighting on mass was believed to be the key to victory.

“We’ll just be more careful!”

Suddenly a book slammed on the desk. “I knew it, you guys are going after one of the holy weapons early!” The group froze. It was hard to gauge Hitsugaya. For most people going after the holy weapons was a pointless endeavor. To some it was a blasphemous act.

“Something like that.” They needed to keep going, but they had to be prepared.

“You lot are gonna get yourselves killed!” Momo and Rangiku came out.

“What are you yelling about?”

“Nothing, just a bunch of fools racing to their deaths.” Toshiro snapped.

“I have an idea, we need a mage, why don’t you join us?” Ichigo suggested.

“What?!” Hitsugaya blushed. “You...actually want me in your party?” He huffed and turned away. “I don’t need your pity.”

“It’s not pity.” Toshiro glared at him.

“Then a bribe then?” Ichigo hesitated, not sure what to say.

“If he doesn’t want to join our party leave him be.” Uryu said, while adjusting his glasses. “Our mission is important, we can’t have someone who isn’t serious about this.”

“Oi!” Hitsugaya snapped. The two glared at each other.

“Now now…” Sajin said trying to stop them from fighting.

“This guy may have helped ya Ichigo, but is he strong enough to adventure with us?” Renji asked.

Toshiro glared and his magic orb glowed, in seconds it began to snow over the red head, his legs froze fast, quickly locking him in place.

“Toshiro!” Rangiku snapped. Abarai was shivering and shaking, fighting back a sneeze from the cold.

“Listen Toshiro, you know what we are after. I want to help protect the people I care about. We need a powerful spellcaster in the party to help cover our bases. You are a powerful spellcaster, so please join us.” Ichigo offered a hand. Toshiro hesitated but the look on his face showed he was thinking about it. “Think of it this way, with you we have a better chance of succeeding in this quest.”

“I have an idea!” Momo chimed in. “Let’s ask the universe!”

They were brought to Momo’s chamber and there was a fire set in the back of the room, like an alter. “Believe it or not Momo is a skilled seer, her predictions are 95% accurate.” That was impressive.

She connects to the fire and it speaks to her. Elemental channels existed, Water was the best at knowing the past, Wind was the best at knowing the present, Earth knew many things, and Fire knew about the future. Ask elements questions outside of their field could still lead to results but they varied.

Momo began to chant and threw some dust with her right hand into the fire. She rang a bell and the flames expanded. “I see, I see, I see!” Clap! The flames calmed down.

“Ichigo your quest is a dangerous one, you must be prepared to face all sorts of challenges. If you meet these challenges you will be greatly rewarded.” This lifted Ichigo’s spirits. “Toshiro, what you’ve been seeking lies before you, do not let the regrets of the past keep you frozen here.” Momo danced, ringing bells as she spoke. “The universe has spoken, your paths were meant to cross here, going forward will lead you both to where you must be!”

Sado and Sajin were for it, as was Ichigo obviously. Renji and Uryu weren’t buying this but would agree with the rest of the party. It all came down to Toshiro. ‘These guys are fools but they are trying to…’

Hitsugaya was an orphan, his village was wiped out by the demon King’s army. One of the first casualties of the wait and see principles that plagued the world. ‘If they are truly backed by Tossen, maybe there’s merit to this mission after all.’ This was his chance to go on adventures and do something more with his life. “Fine I’ll help you!”

They restocked their supplies and prepared to head off. Rangiku would be in charge of the shop, it’d be fine the other three members of their staff would be back soon. The adventurers would be leaving off in the afternoon.

A mysterious figure watched them go but remained in town late into the night.

-x-

Momo stood before her alter and through some dust into it with her left hand. The flames turned black and blue, and Momo bowed before the flames. “I’ve done as you asked, the boy is heading towards the weapon, now with Toshiro at his side nothing will stop him from reaching it.”

The sinister fire crackled. “They suspect nothing, all is going according to plan.” The mysterious observer left, he sent a message using a flying turtle before vanishing into a gate.

To be continued...The Cave of Wonders