User blog:JeielYozama/Tale Of The Mark Maker - Nadredda

''Minna-san! Ohaiyo!''

''So... you're probably wondering... what's to happen with Marden and Ryla? Who's the next MG running in the picture? Well, here's some of the answers you'd need to know. A couple flashbacks are in order,followed by a crazy Wurm thrown into the mix. Hope you enjoy the second update!''





10:00 AM. Probably a Sunday.



“ Ready for another round, sweet cheeks? I’m at my limit. ”

“The next one will be your last, Mark Maker. Put it all on me.”

“HERE I COME! ARRRGH~!!”

“ HYAAAAAA~!! TAKE IT EASY, will you? It’s my first!”

“EASY FOR YOU TO SAY!”



Just for the record:  a game of PISS (Push It Super Strong) wasn’t what I had in mind when I agreed to settle my score with the Dragon Ryla through a duel. Honestly put, I would’ve been fine with a one-on-one brawl somewhere by a scenic battlefield, or a game of wits like chess (in which I rule, as a matter of fact).

But then again, here I am at the heart of Dragon territory, a forest covered in dense green foliage cut in between by a rock-laden creek, shoving a boulder against the Mamono in wings, talons and green scales, trying not to let her outdo me in the slightest. What a push-over I’ve turned out to be.

(To those unaware on how this game works, it’s a tug-of-war in reverse. Two sides compete by pushing a medium in between them, and whichever side manages to topple the other and reach the marker set in the middle of the medium through pushing wins).



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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">The whole thing started out half an hour ago, and up ‘till now, none of us planned on letting up. Every time one of us were to gain footing and inch the boulder forward, the other would lose ground and move farther away from the goal. Then the roles reverse and all efforts to hold back the fort go back to zilch.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">From my spot, I could imagine Ryla grinning like a Succubus in heat. She’s testing me. On how far I’d go under pressure. She doesn’t know I’ve been trained to last under extreme conditions. She’s messing with the wrong Hero.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Give up, lady! I’m halfway past the point of no return!” I yell triumphantly. I can taste defeat. Hers.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“You jest, Marden. You haven’t seen me when I’ve given it my all!!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Hah! You can’t fool me anymore, Ryla! I know you’re tired! ”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“No, seriously. This is just half my strength.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">That was my second guess.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">All it took was a single flick (kind of an ‘Aah! A bug! Get rid of it!’ flick), and the entire boulder threw me and itself plummeting down the nearby creek showering water everywhere. The boulder could’ve crushed me, had the armor not cover my fall. And my ribs. I gaped in horror as the plated mail I earned with my own savings crumbled, leaving a gaping hole in the middle.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“I guess that’s my win, then. Isn’t it, Marden?”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Ryla peered over to where I fell and smiled her usual, toothy smile.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">The Devil. That’s what she’s aiming to be in my life.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“GODS SWEAR IT RYLA!!! EVEN WHEN WE’RE HAVING A CASUAL GAME, YOU’RE TRYING TO KILL ME!!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“But aren’t you glad you’re alive and unharmed?” Her eyes grinned with her lips as she spoke. “I wouldn’t want the man I like to die out of complete nothing.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“ .. I can’t tell if you’re being sweet or heartless with that remark.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Maybe… a little of both. What do you think?”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Oh brother.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Ryla giggled a good deal, then offered her hand out of concern. “Can you stand, wussycat?”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I held onto her and pulled myself up, pretending not to be up to something.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Of course… Dragon-chan.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“WH-WHAT DID YOU JUST“

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Gotcha.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">An unfortunate splash greeted Ryla as I dragged her arm (and her body) down the creek. As soon as her sorry butt plopped by the creek bed, her face went completely awash in purple. One fact to absolutely note: reptiles hate the cold. Mamonos aren’t an exception, especially the big ones.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">From the way she shot me a death-stare, I could say she’s infuriated as heck.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Y-Y-YOU!! C-c-come BACK HERE!! IT’SSSSS COLD!! I told you to S-S-STOP calling me THAT!!” She shrieked after I careened my way out of the water, escaping a potential whack of her tail.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Isn’t it your fault you react to that nickname pretty easy? Maybe you should change your name to that, too. Sounds much easier to remember!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">She gritted her teeth and shouted, “No I won’t, you DINGBAAAAAT!!”

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<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:.75in;mso-add-space:auto; text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list: l0level1lfo1"> ·<span style="font-weight:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';">         *   *  *  *

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“21-21.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I jotted down the numbers I had in mind on a piece of paper as Ryla and I trudged down the forest pass. It was a few minutes after I finally tugged her out of the creek. She was puffing her cheeks at first, but she soon went back to her usual self.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Huh. Another draw?” She happened to quip, braiding her hair in a ponytail while we walked. Since her only set of clothes were soiled, I lent her some of mine (a shirt and a pair of shorts) and I could barely talk to her straight, seeing as they gave a perfect angle of her femininity. “This never ends, no matter what duel we decide on.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“It’s been that way since none of us would concede. Isn’t that right?” I cleared my throat loud enough for her to hear. “Besides… you call poker, go-Mermaid and Demon Lord’s game, duels?” I muttered to myself.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Ah- er…. You’re partly to blame for that! Take responsibility!!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“EHH?? What’s that got to do with the tie-in on our showdown scores?? ”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Not that it matters though. Hey, how do I look in a ponytail?”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Seems nice. WAIT, you’re avoiding the question!! “

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">You’re probably wondering. Why is a Dragon, a majestic beast of the sky, walking beside me when it could fly? Beats her reason, but all she said was she wanted to stay close to the ground for a change. I ain’t about to argue over that.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">It happens mostly, though. Me and Ryla, arguing over pointless stuff. After that, we hit each other. After that, we bury the hatchet. She would reprimand me on my personal gaps, and I would do the same with hers. A couple more touches, and we might just pass off as husband and wife.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Wife.. Sounds like a dream my father used to tell me...

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">WAIT, WHAT THE ELL AM I THINKING?!?!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“M-Marden?” Ryla asked. I was already banging my head up on a tree out of a weird fantasy. “You’re hitting yourself again.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Oh… uh… This is nothing.” I laughed nervously.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Lately, I’ve been more open to faults ever since she came into my life. Not that I’m complaining, but the first time we met three days ago, I imagined she was strict and arrogant to the core, like what adventurers would relate about her kind. Now I could actually catch her true colors:  cunning yet playful, and in the same time intimidating. The perfect way to exploit my inner depths.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Earlier today, I told her my original mission stays the same: to slay the Demon Lord. I thought she was going to disagree and rip my head off, but the way she keeps tagging along tells me she doesn’t mind at all. Is she planning to stick around until I fulfill my goal?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I could only shrug. She is STILL a complete mystery to me.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Around three days ago, that was when the whole ‘duel’ thing began, too.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">When Ryla and I first decided on the duel, it was supposed to be normal. A normal, one-on-one, no-holds-barred fight. It was my blade against her claws. She was strong. Stronger than any Mamono I had encountered. Her ability to read movements and wide knowledge on close combat was on a whole different level than mine.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">The battle raged on for hours, and thanks to my innate skills, I was able to keep up with her attacks. The two of us were sweating and breathing hard by the time we had grasped the sun was close to rising. This was going nowhere.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Time to end this.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I raised my claymore and chanted, each word growing louder than the first. The tip of my weapon began to glow green - the color of my magical aura – and expanded, causing the surrounding lights to gather in the middle of the swirling vortex of energy. Ryla immediately took to the skies, ready to swoop in for the kill. I weaved a bull's-eye sign in mid-air and charged an enormous ball of energy in its center.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Too slow!” She swerved away from the magic circle’s direction and sped towards me. I smiled fiercely, catching her completely by surprise.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“You’re mine, RYLA!! ”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Ryla flinched upon realizing her mistake and tried to flee. Too late. The ball of energy grew right before her eyes and fired through the bull's-eye like a misshapen bullet, hitting her on the other sign that formed on her forehead before she could change direction seconds ago. She staggered momentarily, then fainted face-first on the earth below her feet.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Hawk-Eye’s Mark.” I said while blowing the tip of my claymore, as if it were a gun. “Once you get within range, it’ll seek you no matter what direction you veer off to. However, it disengages if the target moves farther away from the magic-user.” I turned to her, who was still out-cold. “So.. I won, haven’t I?”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I was keeping it cool, but a nagging thought was trying to wrestle its way out of my head, squealing ’I WON A DUEL, and I didn’t have to trip or embarrass anyone at ALL! EAT THAT, MAMONO!!’

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“N-N-NO! I demand another match!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“…”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“EHHHH?!?!?”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I couldn’t believe it. Ryla rose to her feet, unfazed and unharmed, dusting the dirt off her shoulders with a calm expression on her face. “A-A-Are you SERIOUS?!”  I croaked. My mouth fell open in shock.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Oh, don’t worry. That attack did no real harm.” She reassured. “You are an impressive fighter, but I could’ve won had you not pulled your finishing move. So I petition for a rematch. This time, I won’t lose.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Wait.. that didn’t.. really hurt?”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Yes.” She nodded without hesitation. I felt like my heart would break. Imagine working hard to perfect an magic attack like that, only to discover it couldn’t even scratch a Dragon? Back to drawing board.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Despite my constant insistence that I won, the next fight went on as planned. It was her win.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Well?” She smirked at a down and out impression of me, spread-eagle on the ground. “You concede?”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">No way am I going to end up hers. “Rematch!!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">And you could guess that after that day, one duel came after the other. In fact, they weren’t duels anymore. Just games to see how far our patience would wear out.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">42 matches later, I go back to the fact the scores we’re making are going NOWHERE.

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“I guess the next match settles it.” Ryla motioned while twirling a strand of hair going down her ear. We were back on our conversation down the road.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“You keep saying that.” I said rubbing a hand on my forehead. She obviously has grown a knack of uttering that sort of thing. “Who’s to say you’d be keen on dropping off to defeat anytime soon?”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Ryla winked at me with a grin. “I have my reasons. But mostly, I find this enjoyable. Don’t you feel the same, Marden?”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Oh, shut up.” I slugged her on the shoulder- and cringed at the recoil. “OW!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“You forgot the scales.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“No, I didn’t. I meant to do that.” (That was a lie. Seriously, punching her scales felt like hitting on iron)

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“By the way, where are we headed?”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I fished out from my bag a torn-up map, brittled by age and barely clinging in one piece. “Hmm.. the last person I asked for directions told me to check the ruins of Abilya. Looks suspiciously like a Pharaoh’s tomb.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Oh? The Sand Kingdom’s domain? And you plan to steal treasure from under a Pharaoh’s nose?” Ryla shook her head and shrugged. “The Mamonos there won’t let you leave in one piece.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Well, who’s fault is it that I’ve lost most of my armor and now I have to melt some metals for a new one?” I glanced at the perpetrator calmly walking beside me.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“That’s funny. I can’t recall who it was.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Would it KILL you to sympathize with me?”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">She turned towards me and nipped my cheek. I blushed at the gesture and ducked behind my arm, hiding my rapidly-reddening face. I heard her giggle behind my neck.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">”You’re cuter when you’re in a dilemma. Besides, I wouldn’t mind killing for you, for that matter.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Are you a sadist!?” I snapped sarcastically. Sheesh. She’s getting worse.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Her response was cut off by a thundering boom.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“What the—?“

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I felt a deathly chill run down my spine. Ryla must’ve felt the same, judging by the way she gritted her teeth on what sounded like a blend of a collapsing cavern and an avalanche heard for over a mile away. Startled birds cawed fearfully as they took the skies, and cries of other frantic animals sent waves of panic and dread echoing throughout the woodland.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Ryla’s webbed ears twitched as she listened in on the sound, reverberating once more from a distance. “it must’ve been a landslide.” She deducted. I shook my head.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Landslides don’t make a noise three times in a row and draw nearer.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">The booming noise resounded, and I could clearly see plumes of dust rising into the air. Something dangerous was on the move, mowing down anything in its path. I shifted gear at once and unsheathed my claymore. “Ryla, can you zone in on the Mamono coming this way?”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Something appears to be cloaking its scent. “ She replied anxiously. “I can’t make out what it is from here. But I can fairly make out it has magic powerful enough to send this amount of murderous aura.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Right. We have to --“

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">The trees behind my back parted with a deafening snap.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“FOUND YOU ~!!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">My head swerved to the source of the sweet, yet deadly voice. I prayed I wasn’t right on what I had guessed. I was wrong.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">It was my worst nightmare.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Towering me and Ryla was a Mamono studded in varying hues of jade-colored scutes. An elongated snake- body branched below instead of a normal pair of legs, slithering and waving hypnotically. More scutes of intensifying hues gathered up her chest area and arms, which ended in sharp talons much like Ryla’s. Twin clumps stubby horns grew on both sides of her head. Her silvery-red hair flowed wildly in the wind.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“You.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">The Wurm, Nadredda.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">As always, her face screamed chaos despite having a haunting air around it. Her facial muscles twitched at random and her hot red eyes widened alongside her smile.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“It’s been far too long… Darling.”

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-left:.75in;mso-add-space:auto; text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list: l0level1lfo1"> ·<span style="font-weight:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';">         *    *    *

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Two years ago, my life was a living Hell.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I was absolutely, positively sure that Hell is non-existent to the world of the living, but given the circumstance, I reconsidered my earlier idea from the start.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Roughly in a span of two years committing myself to life-long work as a Hero, my identity as a staunch defender of honor and truth shattered to miniscule bits. Mamonos abhorred the sight of me so much that no one would take me for real, in fear of me leading them on then embarrassing them. It was until I met her.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">It was the night of the harvest moon when she appeared before me. She was like a Ryu, an ephemeral dragon-goddess, or an unheard snake deity I’ve forgotten about. The only exception was that her eyes were cruel enough to make my skin crawl.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Well well well…”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">She licked her lips hungrily “What do we have here? A widdle Hero? Another one of those avenger hopefuls doomed for failure.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Ouch.” I happened to blurt out in response. “And here I was hoping the Chief God Almighty had given me a sign. Turns out she sent me a worm to flatten out.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Why, I am a Wurm, cutie. How informative of you.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">The Mamono bowed curtly, eyes profoundly glued on mine. “Nadredda Dolennych, at your service.” Her tail wagged wildly in anticipation. I was still frozen solid, claymore clattering in my grip. Fear churned my insides at the fact I was in front of the Demon Lord’s worst creation: the man-hunting Wurm. Chances of me escaping the clutches of this predator unscathed are practically nil.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Marden Bale. You might be aware of who I am. Funny name, though. Nadredda.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">She looked offended. “No it isn’t, stupid. It was given to me by my father.”  She stroked the hair down her shoulders. “You might know him. He was a blacksmith of the Order before. “

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I paused to ponder on what she said. Then it hit me. A fond memory of an elderly gent I used to respect as a master. “The missing blacksmith of kings, Caballan Canaveral. Wait – he IS your father?!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Correct! You’re knowledgeable as I thought you’d be!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I hadn’t planned on sticking around for praises. My feet were itching to flee, my hands dying to stick a blade down her scaly hide. But I couldn’t do it. She was gazing at me with such intensity, I felt rooted down like the tree.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Nadredda began to move. She slinked around me and whispered hotly into my ear.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“I know you’re strong, Hero. I have senses far greater than an average human. I sensed your presence for over a mile. Your magical power.. your spiritual energy…. And your libido.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I swallowed a lump of worry down the hatch.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">''Darn it!! Move, body, MOVE!''

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“There is nothing for you to fear...” (Quite the opposite. She’s making me pee my pants)

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“All I require is you….”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">From behind my back, her shadow grew, threatening to pounce.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“… AND YOU ALONE!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">In an instant, the threat of losing my manhood to a deranged Wurm jolted me back to reality.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I rolled out of harm’s way, just in time for her to dive headlong on where I’d been. She popped her head out of the rubble and without a second thought, charged, talons at ready and tail lashed out. I sidestepped, narrowly missing a swipe of her tail. One of her talons dug against the earth opening a fissure deep enough to snag my foot. Another blow from her tail slammed into my armor, but I dug my bladed weapon into the ground then skidded several feet away from reach.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Don’t you underestimate me, Mamono.” I said, eyes flared much to her surprise. I was pissed. Out of all the Heros under service of the Kingdom, it had to be me, the unluckiest person alive. “I’m stronger THAN YOU THINK!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Claymore in hand, I made my move. I sketched a symbol in the frigid air and chanted, triggering a spell circle in the shape of an inverted pentagram to glow an ethereal-green underneath Nadredda.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Oh?” She looked at the spell circle beneath her, undaunted.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">She’s mocking me.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU CONFRONT THE MARK MAKER, MAMONO!” I bellowed, swinging my weapon and forming the same pentagram-symbol earlier. The sign blazed in emerald-green and magical energy poured into its center.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph; tab-stops:320.25pt">“ EXORCIST’S MARK!! ELIMINATE!” I cried, thrusting the claymore in the heart of the insignia.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Malevolent lines of energy, like strands of electricity from a live connection, burst into life from the sides of both pentagrams and wired to each other. A bright flash, followed by a blast that rocked the heavens and pierced the sky, shattered the silence of the evening sky.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Seconds later, smoke poured in from the aftermath. There was a lingering scent of burnt skin mixed in with the smell of sulfur and brimstone. I was impressed. I never guessed it’d be that effective, really.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">The repercussion drew in faster than expected. I sank on my knees to hug the ground, clutching the claymore handle as if it were leverage.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Darn. I used a whole lot of magical power to make this work, and now my entire body wouldn’t stop throbbing. I’ll be out of energy for a couple of days.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">But who cares? I vanquished a Mamono, for the first time since forever.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">(Who knew that ten seconds later, I’d eat those words?)

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“…….. that was…”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“…SPLENDID!!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">The voice was so sudden, I nearly fainted in alarm. Nadredda emerged in the midst of the smoldered blast zone with not a scratch visible on her partially-naked body. Her hair was in absolute torment. Her scales, covered in embers. A part of her face bled profusely. But she didn’t care. Rather, she didn’t want to. The vibration she was giving off now was in a whole level of ‘spine-tingling’.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“The magical damage you inflicted … turned me on so much, I can still feel the sensation stinging my skin! AAAHH~! ” She stared at her quivering fingers and panted heavily. “SUCH A HEAVENLY FEELING!! GIVE ME MORE, MARK MAKER!!!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Ah, f*ck me, she’s a masochist?! WHY? WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO ME?!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">How is this.. even possible?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">My strongest spell.. the mark of Exorcists’..the one I mastered from my travels in Zipangu… didn’t work..?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">If that won’t work, then WHAT ELSE WILL?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Such power.. such sheer, raw energy only you possess… such untapped libido…   I WANT IT!! I WANT MORE OF IT!!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">She reared into the air as if trapped in her own world, arms clasped on her shuddering shoulders. Her eyes darted in the darkness and spotted me, the only person standing within range, now reduced to pathetic cowardice.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“I’ve decided. Marden Bale.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Do tell.” I had the nerve to ask while my knees trembled under my weight. The dust finally cleared, giving me a full-on view of her again. She grinned wide enough for her fangs to gleam into view. It was a grin too deadly to keep staring at.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“I’ll make you my husband, dearest Hero. My darling little beast. We’ll coil in each other’s embrace, sapping each other’s spiritual energy… YES!! I CAN FEEL IT NOW! Your tongue.. rolling down my nape… and mine on yours… WOULDN’T YOU AGREE?”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Not to me it would.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I dropped my weapon and fled for the hills.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“KEEP AWAY FROM MEEE!!!!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Oh? You’re running away? Not BAD, Darling!” She hollered loudly, voice wearing out as I went farther and farther away. “Just SO YOU KNOW.. I LIKE IT BETTER WHEN MY DARLING DECIDES TO PLAY PREY!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">A single lunge was all it took for her to close the gap between us. I ducked before she could swipe me, armor and all, and dashed ahead, ignoring the fact she crashed down on an entire clump of trees instead.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Fine. If I can’t take her down, I’ll bring her down.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I rounded a corner then parkoured past her overlapping coils, yipping away to catch her attention. She licked her lips and tailed closely with fangs bared. My hands fumbled into my utility gear. A loud clink told me I’ve got what I need in my hands.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Swallowing hard, I threw a weapon in her way - a small blade inscribed with runic letters. The blade bounced from her scaly arm and fell behind her.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Normal metal can’t pierce me, Marden! You’re being stubborn on our wedding proposal!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I continued to run. She lashed her tail after my leg, sweeping across the barren field. I dodged the attack, made a curve, and dropped another knife along the way. Turning left, I ducked and rolled to avoid her talons. One snagged me by the hem of my shirt mail and flipped me over, but then I managed to find footing and land on my toes. I finally dropped my third knife and ran towards the center of the clearing before coming to a halt.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Done already, Darling?” She asked, puffing her cheeks while slowly approaching me. Not cute at all. “I thought you wanted to play a bit more.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“That’s right.” I replied.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Enough games.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I struck the earth with an open palm, chanting a verse faster than my previous spells. A triangular symbol traced into view following the path of the knives I planted casually. As soon as I leaped out of the area of effect, a hail of chains sprang from the knives’ and fastened themselves on Nadredda’s hands and tail.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Game over.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I silently paced past Nadredda and grabbed hold of my fallen claymore, watching her struggle to free herself but to no avail. To think that the weapon I possess was made by a former member of the Order, now an Incubus who sired a monster. What a waste.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Gleipnir’s seal marks. Impressive. So you did have some fight left in you. ” She stared hard at the magical restraints keeping her prison. Either she stopped resisting or she wasn’t interested on fleeing anymore. “I expected something like this would happen. AH… being a Wurm sucks. Why can’t I be a Wyvern or a Ryu instead? Then I won’t have to put up with this insatiable hunger. ”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Shut up. You’re noisy.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“YA~! SO mean. “

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Apart from the temper shooting up in my nerves, my blood had never felt so hot. Boiling, raging hot. Why is she so composed, when I’ve already put her into so much trouble? Is she actually enjoying seeing me this miserable? WHAT IS HER PROBLEM?!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Monster. Ruthless, sadistic, mana-seeking Mamono.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I hovered the claymore by the center of her chest, the only visible area showing more skin than scutes. One strike is all I need. A clean strike. She saw through my intentions and laughed. Her loose shoulder-scales rattled as she did so.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Ohh - ! How exciting! You want to end my life, now that I’m defenseless? Come then! Fulfill your duty, my darling Hero! Let me experience the agony of being rejected by you~!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Rubbish. She’s even telling me what to do? Is she stupid?!

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"> 

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">''Clear your mind. Clear your thoughts. Hit the mark. That’s who you are. ''

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I stabilized the weapon in my hands, the words I’ve engraved in my system echoing soundly in my head. I have to end this farce. End her ranting. End this curse of mine. End everything. But nothing happened.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I wasn’t moving an inch. I was hesitant. My palms were sweating a storm. My breathing came in ragged wisps. Worse, I was shaking like a leaf. Not of pain, or fear, or nervousness, but of grief.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I’ll make this count. I’ll earn my keep. I’ll prove myself.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">THAT’S THE PLAN.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">IF THAT’S THE PLAN… THEN..

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">WHY am I –

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">H-HUH-?

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">In front of the chained Nadredda, my strength abandoned me and I dropped my claymore. The blade clattered out of reach. Tears ran down my cheeks and stained my armor, one after the other.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">The Mamono in front of me was utterly bewildered. The matter caught her completely by surprise. She panicked, not knowing what else to say. “W-What—WhY ARE YOU--- OYY!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“I—CAN’T….” I gritted my teeth. Clenched my shaking fists.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Again, it was my weakness pulling the wool over my eyes. The same thing.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I sighed and snapped my fingers. The runic knives flew into my hands, disabling the sealing spell on Nadredda. She landed on her face, swearing and coughing out dirt. I sheathed my claymore and pocketed the rest of my equipment in a hurry.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“YoU!!” She shrieked as I turned my back on her and started to leave. “WHAT’S THE BIG IDEA?!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I stopped and glanced behind my shoulder as if to tell I was all ears.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“You can’t fool me…. I can sense what you’re feeling, Marden Bale..” She said, face turning red by the minute. “You fought me with full determination.. you outwitted me with your skills, yet… WHY are you… crying for me? WHY DID YOU FREE ME? WHY DIDN’T YOU KILL ME?! I DON’T UNDERSTAND!!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Neither do I.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I steeled my conviction and turned to her, exposing the rivulets of tears that streamed from my pained expression.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“All my life, I’ve been taught of nothing but the idea that in order for Heroes to succeed, any and all Mamonos must be slain. Likewise, I’ve always doubted if that were true. If our one aim is to put an end on the Demon Lord’s reign, why should we bring down creatures whose only mistake is to look like us?”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“I’ve known. I’ve seen. I’ve heard. Mamonos, plundering and taking men. It’s no different from the tales I’ve been read to when I was small. I tell myself they’re a menace, and it’s my duty to do what’s right. Yet whenever I look at a Mamono, all I see is a woman. And to me, a woman is someone men like me have to value and protect, not skewer alive. That was what.. Caballan taught me.. ”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Nadredda’s pupils widened, as if she had waited for someone else to say that name in a long time.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“I can’t kill you, Nadredda. No, scratch that. I don’t want to. Maybe it’s because even though your Mamono nature perplexes me in ways I don’t understand, I feel there’s something very human with you. Something that pains as much as it had been for me.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">She glowered menacingly. “W-w-WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW?! You don’t know the faintest thing about ME!! ”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“If that is true, then why did you want to die by a stranger’s hands so senselessly?”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I heard the clicking of talons die with my last comment.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“I’ll come clean. The minute I placed a mark on you, I saw fragments of your self, diving into mine. A side effect. Right now, I can feel what you feel. That loneliness … so drenched in sadness, you’d want to end your life.. That sentiment of being the only one in the world to understand you ... That goes the same for me.”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">With nothing more to say up front, I returned my gaze down the moonlit path. “I don’t wish to end your life. Not when you have a void in your heart that you wish to be filled. I’m still a weak-willed warrior, and you, a forlorn Mamono. Perhaps, in time, we’d meet after we find what’s missing in the gaps of our existence. Then, only then, I’ll fight you for real. No more distractions”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I wiped the tears off the corners of my eyes and went on my way. I could tell she’d want to give chase, but the sound of a large object hitting repeatedly against a glass pane assured me she won’t be able just that.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“I placed some barriers around you as a countermeasure. Hope you can sit tight for an hour or two, while I get out of your hair. ” I added half-heartedly.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Nadredda giggled in delight. Her talons skidded against the hard surface of the magic barrier, causing tiny cracks to appear and a screeching noise to fill the dawn air.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Well played, Darling!” She yelled as loud as she could, putting in a hint of sweetness in her otherwise, noxious manner of talking. “I knew I wasn’t wrong when I chose you! If you want me to abide by the rules of your game, so be it! Sooner or later, I’ll have you for my husband, IF IT’S LAST THING I DO~!!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">So be it.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I grinned, and taking a step forward, dashed off to hills unknown while the sun peeked on the horizon.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Thus, that became our game of cat-and mouse, two years in the making.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">

<p class="MsoListParagraph" style="margin-left:.75in;mso-add-space:auto; text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list: l0level1lfo1"> ·<span style="font-weight:normal;font-stretch:normal;font-size:7pt;line-height:normal;font-family:'TimesNewRoman';">         *    *   *   *     *

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“After that night, I guess I got braver. But then I realized I’ve just ticked a very-hungry Mamono. Within the next few months, I’ve been covering my tracks, checking and double-checking all over again to make sure Nadredda won’t sniff me out of hiding. Funny thing was, wherever I went, a few days after I leave that place I hear news of a town, much more a city-kingdom, caving in due to a certain ‘Wurm’ thrashing about. Days passed, months, then a year of sleep eluding me. I was plagued by the horror Nadredda would suddenly appear, drag me to her den, then make her way with me.. even now it still gives me the willies!! “

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">A slow clap brought me back to reality. Nadredda was all eyes and ears, sitting on her coils and smiling wickedly. Her tail waved to and fro in the air like a natural bug-swatter.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“Wow! You remembered our little romp from 2 years ago? Amazing!” She said in a voice clear as crystal. “If your memory of our 'Prima Noctis' hasn’t waned, you’re not the ‘one-night-stand’ kind of stud I thought you’d be!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“DON’T BLURT OUT ‘ROMP’ AND ‘ONE-NIGHT-STAND’ SO NATURALLY, YOU SEX-STARVED WURM!” I retorted.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“AH~! Being oppressive with your foul words again… This brings back memories!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“QUIT IT!! YOU MAKE IT SOUND LIKE IT’S A FOND MEMORY, BUT IT ISN’T! NOT BY A LONG SHOT!!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I returned my attention to Ryla. “Come on, help me out here, Ryla---  Ryla?”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">Ryla’s image darkened. It was like staring at her when we've barely gotten to known each other days ago. Swirls of magenta-colored energy arose from her body, an event only a person with powerful magic could witness. She trembled, then instinctively vaulted her wings and grabbed me by the collar. Her irises shined in a violent shade of maroon.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“T-T-Tell me honestly, Marden… By the way s-sh-she talks casually about you, and the w-way you talk about her … COULD IT BE…. YOU-Y-YOU TWO ARE…. IN A RELATIONSHIP?!?!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">My mind went blank. Pure, white nothingness. I couldn’t grasp what it meant, until it hit me point-blank between the eyes.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“WH-WH-WHAT?!! DON’T BE RIDICULOUS!!! Didn’t you hear anything from my latent flashback!!?? ”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“AAAH~! Yes! You are RIGHT!!” Nadredda remarked with a huge grin on her smug little face. “Darling and I go waaaay back… The sins of a Hero and Mamono root deep… We exchanged vows.. exchanged moans… exchanged bodily fluids… SO.. HEAVENLY!!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“S-S-SEE?! YOU LIED!! YOU LIED, YOU MORON!!!”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">“………..”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">I am SERIOUSLY in over my head here.

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph"> “WHAT ARE YOU TWO GOING ON ABOUT!?!?”

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">'' -Third update soon.. ''

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">'' DYK? – Both names ’Nadredda’ and ‘Dolennych’ are Welsh translations of the word ‘snake’. ''

<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify;text-justify:inter-ideograph">'' See you on the next work, minna-san!! ''