Human Calamity: 78 Days

Job Info:

Luna and Amelia were standing near the cliff side, close to a pathway leading down the cliff, that wound end behind one of the many falls of the cliffs. The blonde Gynoid was pacing back and forth as she was trying to grasp the whole situation. She had a processing capacity that could translate a whole book written in a foreign language and give a summary in under a minute, but yet this seemed to be a tricky mess. Luna was reading from a old book, the diary of a legendary dragon. She felt it prudent to learn as much as she could on the subject of this goal, but she doubted there was much left to decipher. "So, let's recap and get the story straight." Amelia said, breaking about an hour of silence.

Luna closed the book before putting it away in a shoulder bag. "From the top or the last point?" The Nature fairy said calmly. Amelia rolled her eyes, anxious and feeling under a lot of stress. "From the top, would you like a board?" Luna looked around, sensing no one approaching she nodded. Amelia snapped her fingers and connected with Luna, creating a board only they could see. Luna drew a long horizontal line, before marking each with dates. "A few centuries ago, maybe a few millenniums, a group of Dragons, Fairies, Demons, and Gods all joined into a group out of fear for humanity. They feared the dangerous potential for humanity, and how they hunt down each of them and have no remorse as they would for one of their own. The Ethnocentrism of Humans, pushed them into having a backup plan to deal with Humans if they had no choice. So they made a Spell made of four spells to eradicate humanity. Each spell belongs to one of the races and has their own effects, but when combined they eradicate humanity."

Amelia nodded, she was following the facts so far, easily now that Luna was also using a written timeline. "Simple enough to follow so far." Luna kept writing in as much as she knew. "After they made 'Human Calamity: End.', they observed humanity but they did not think that they could judge them so soon. When their lifespans were coming to an end, they couldn't decide nor trust their descendants. So, they hid each of the four component spells, "Justice", "Judgment", "Repent, and Revenge" separately. This was so that if their message gets lost to time among their descendants or any other group wouldn't be able to wipe out humanity on a whim."

Amelia wasn't surprised that it failed, given the fact that the two females were standing hear waiting for backup to go and recover one of those spells. "But that is happening. So now we skip ahead to modern?" Luna nodded, walking over marking the recent dates on the board. "Yes, I was part of the expedition to the original group's hall. Where Neptuna retrieved the book from Dragon of Wisdom, Rethram's office as a hybrid slayer attacked and demolished the structure. It had Water Dragon, Lightning God, and Fire Demon slayer magic. She wanted to leave no trail for anyone else to follow. She, overwhelmed me, she sent me flying from the bottom of the sea, to sky high, and nearly broke the ship with what should have been my corpse if not for a full hour of constant medical care and a pharmacy amount of medicine and enough healing magic to revive a dragon. So, afterwards, you and I tracked down Rethram's cave where he hid the Spell 'Human Calamity: Revenge'."

Amelia nodded, the recap of how everything got to this point. She dispelled the board, saving it to memory as she knew she and Luna wouldn't need one at this point. Luna switched back to speaking, but made sure she was not loud enough to be heard without Amelia's robotic ears being able to pick up on anyone approaching. "So, after all that, we keep the idea of the 'Human Calamity' spells and plot discrete. If the Magic Council or any other wrong ears in high power learn about this, we could risk making worse situations. So long as we get at least one of the components recovered, and keep it out of reach for the next three months, no one can wipe out humanity."

Which in turn led to another situation. How does one seek aid while withholding the critical information? To answer that, Luna and Amelia had, false reports mentioned to the local governing officials that the Dragon of death and fear, Thanatros, who was known to rest in what was legend to be eternal slumber was in the process of waking up. In the diary, Luna read that Rethram had Thanatros kept here in slumber, waiting to guard the Spell with his life so anyone that enters will eventually wake him up with his presence, until someone is slain.

The reports sent to the local government made everyone incredibly nervous, and the region put out a job for anyone strong enough to slay the dragon, and they would be rewarded, no questions asked. "We're doing what needs to be done, but how far do we gotta go?" Luna looked around, waiting to see who was to come from the shadows. "I wish I knew. But not like we could post a reward ourselves, we simply took advantage of pre-existing legends and, bent some truth. As far as we are concerned, we gotta be careful for asking humans for support, I don't want to validate any side on the matter."

Amelia was silent for a moment, but she couldn't ignore the contradiction. "But aren't we validating a side, by keeping humanity in the dark?" Luna sighed, as that question was the last thing she should think about, she had no time to think on the philosophy, just on what needs to be done.

WC 987

… This was one dangerous name. He had heard rumors of the Dragon of Death and Fear, Thanatros, who had been slumbering peacefully for an eternity - according to legend - and who was about to wake up. And given said dragon’s name, joy and cookies weren’t awaiting the people who lived near the Serene Cliffs. Mura believed that he could deal with the dragon in one way or another; despite having the suffixes ‘death’ and ‘fear’, maybe it wasn’t that hellbent on senseless, incompetent murder? He could only check out for himself when he had rested through the night, and he held a lot of confidence in his skills today. Besides, someone needed to aid the client in this mission, and he also expected quite a nice sum of jewels from them.

He started packing his gear for tomorrow. He let a clone do so in the night while the real him slept. An Agemaki was stripped to his left bicep where he used to wield an armor piece. He checked its size, and it fitted well. He sacrificed some defense for extra maneuverability, and a full-blooded Midian like him trusted his Agemaki to bless him in battle. WristLac, check. Actual clothes? Check. Gaitō? Check. Futsu no Mitama? Check. Aaaaaaaand… Harusame was also checked. That did remind Mura of a thought that he had quite a few days ago; Harusame looked astonishingly worn out. Rust and cracks surrounded the 600-year old blade, mere erosion of the air while being swung had done enough damage to it. It had taken the toll of 7 years of swordsmanship, and Mura believed that he should take a trip to Ca-Elum to get it fixed and grinded. But Kyuken was too clingy to the katana and didn’t support that idea, arguing that Harusame was a relic from an ancient era in Midi and that changing it now would devalue it. At one point, Mura would’ve thought the same… but not the Mura of today. Harusame was hurting, and he had the responsibility over it, not Kyuken.

Many things have changed about Mura… okay, not that many internally as he still found himself the laid-back samurai of old days and extravagant tenacity, but he had gathered quite a nice arsenal of magical artifacts that he stuck to his body; his WristLac and Agemaki proudly showcased on his left arm, Midian beads made of tensed wool strung around his right, his childhood necklace with tiger claws as well as all the strange symbols that had appeared on his skin. A bunch of demons from that day when he and other Saints demolished their army had sent curses to him, but Hades’ magic negated those curses… but it didn’t negate the paintings themselves. They still beat with faint light every now and then, and Mura had originally tried to remove them with his Onmyōdō, casting many charms and sutras on himself, but the paintings didn’t disappear… he simply stopped before it excessed. He had nothing but hope that it would disappear on its own… anytime soon.

The clone dissipated into the shadows the moment its job was finished. Although… it wouldn’t affect Mura instantly, but the last thing it saw was Mura’s peaceful sleep - murmuring something about hard-boiled jellyfish in his hands - and someone else right next to him in the bed.

…

Mura opened his eyes slowly in the morning. His hands were millimeters away from sterilizing him, and he feared for his life. He kinda just stayed in this position, almost tormenting himself merely by imagining the completion of his action in this moment and what joy it would bring him, contrasted by the poor outcome of last time when his relics were damaged in return.

“… Shit… this is unfair, you’ve been gone for so long…” he cried silently, trying to recollect his sanity so he could get out of bed and get out to do his mission. The look on his face was pitiful.

WC: 659

Sensing the approach of another party, Luna looked in the direction as she sensed a very confusing life force. While there were traces of humanity in one party, there seemed to be a heavy dragonic presence etched into their life force. Luna and Amelia knew to immediately cease talking about the overarching situation. "Sensing a mixed presence approaching." She said as she loosened the top strap on the holster of the fire whip strapped to her side just in case it wasn't a friendly party. Amelia was slightly concerned when Luna said mixed presence, she mentally prepared her right fingers in case she needs a quick draw. "Think it might be the friend you made earlier?" She asked concerned, she had regretted the decision she made before when she decided to go to a convention as Luna took on the job on her own. The guilt of even knowing what the triple elemental slayer did to Luna had cut very deep.

The pink haired fairy shook her head, she would know the presence of Illean from a mile away. This was someone new. "Not sensing any demon or god from the same individual so I think this is someone new. Seal to the cave is intact so I am sure that she hasn't been here yet,but the clock is ticking." Amelia was relieved but a new concern had popped into mind. The spells were only able to be used by members of the race that created the spell, so now the presence of this individual posed a threat.  "Great, now we got a freaking dragon to worry about, a Dragon Luna. Did you not account for this? We now gotta get the spell, without her learning about it. This has just gotten a mountain load more complex." As the individual approached the cliff side, Luna tried to keep her displeasure hidden as she responded to Amelia through Archive telepathy. She had come so far already, now was not the time to start doubting. "I know that, how was I supposed to know a Dragon was interested in taking up this job? All I did was lie to the state and take advantage of poor interpretation and false legends. Look, as long as we keep our cool, we'll be fine."

When the individual and their exceed arrived, Luna waved at them and tried to keep up a friendly greeting. She couldn't recognize them by face or name however she was impressed by the woman's magical energy. She started to feel more confident that defeating the legendary dragon Thannatros was growing more and more possible. According to the notes of Rethram, the death dragon's life was the only thing keeping the seal of the dragon Human Calamity Spell, "Revenge". "Hey there! Are you here for the job regarding Thanatros as well?" She called out to the woman.

WC 475
TWC 1462

Hnnng… such a tease. Was he supposed to be angry or happy now? He couldn’t decide on one feeling at this point, and harboring mixed feelings was, in all honesty, tiring. And he had just woken up, there was not much time to go back to sleep again. Her soft lips were enticing to feel on his dry cheek, which caused an impulse in which he lifted his head up towards Myth - just a mere inch in a slight response to her good morning kiss - signaling that he craved for more. But he simply let his head rest back on his pillow and look up at her, quite unsure if the view was within his realm of reality.

To share a bed with a lover like this… was pleasant.

“My bed’s big enough, though… wait, what’s the clo-“ he spoke up, only for a slight reminder to hit him hard like the clock that fell down on his face. The literal clock that had been hanging right on the wall behind him always fell free from its bolt and smashed down onto his face like this. “…” He slowly picked up the clock and checked it, spotting that it was around noon now. That meant that he would have to hurry.

“I’ve got a client to meet with today,” he notified Mythica as he rose up from the bed. Despite wanting nothing more than to just hang out in bed with her, he had a job to do, and he wouldn’t want to be late. Darting towards the hallway, he made his presence multiple places at once thanks to his Limbo clones, brushing his teeth, boiling some water for tea to drink, combing his hair and calling out Kyuken and Zirconis from wherever they were in the house. At one point, all things would be prepared, and he would stand in the bedroom once more clad in his gear clanging together. That was the moment when he remembered that he didn’t know whether or not Mythica held any knowledge in this mission. For what he knew, the posters were numerous, but he didn’t want to assume anything.

While stretching his arms and legs, he spoke to his mysterious wife: “It’s been a while since last time I fought a dragon… but I can do-“ His sentence got cut short by the sound of exploding blood vessels in one’s nose, specifically from the samurai ghost behind Mura who was taken aback by Mythica’s rather idyllic but arousing state. “M-M-Mura, you bastard…” Kyuken’s dying voice shrieked in betrayal, “Y-You’ve already lost your-“ In return, Mura cut his sentence short by shooting a small burst of fire at him, causing a whole scene in a dramatic theatre to occur in the room as Kyuken flew in circles in absolute despair… of the more comedic kind, rather than actual tragedy.

“AAAARGGGH, BURNING! THIS HURTS! MY EYES, MY FACE! MY BEAUTIFUL FACE! NOOOOOOOO-“

“*sigh… You ready to take that dragon down, Mura?” Zirconis spoke to the shaman, unphased by any appeal Mythica had. “Yeah, I’m ready for the worst… say, you’re awfully absent at times, Mythica. Would you… want to accompany me today?” he bashfully asked her, not really wanting to see her disappear from his sight so soon. He never got to know or find out what her business was about, but it sure required her absence a lot - and now, when the shaman had begun developing feelings of wanting to make this shockingly random marriage solid in his heart - feelings for her that he lacked before but now began flushing out from his chest - one thing that could help him was to get to know Mythica a little better. They had met so many times before in the past, but it was mostly in the battlefield too busy with a duty, so… yeah, this could be a great ‘bonding’ moment between them.

In all honesty, if there was a chance to see her in his bed again, he would go the long way to guarantee that.

WC: 678
TWC: 659 + 678 = 1337

"We're screwed" Both the fairy and gynoid thought at the same time. Not only did someone with a large draconic aura arrive, they also happened to be a Dragon Slayer. While under normal circumstances this could be a great aid for the job, but under these circumstances it will only serve to worsen the situation given their stance on the mythical creature. A spell created by dragons to kill humans, which was also part of a larger spell to eradicate humanity, and all the while the knowledge being kept from them would make for a very unknown variable. "Luna, remember the secret here to witholding information is to avoid lying when possible and remember every detail you say about the lies. Avoid contradictions. We're too far in this lie. Watch your breathing and pacing, don't let anything slip." Amelia communed towards Luna mentally through their Archive link.

Luna listened carefully to the advice of her partner, but still found things difficult especially under the circumstances of a slayer nearby. She knew firsthand that slayers have incredible senses, enhanced sight to see facial cues, hearing that can hear the rhythm of breath, smell that can sense the sweat and perspiration. Luna steadied her breathing and vowed to stick to the facts about the dragon that they are after. She stuck her hand out towards Adalina accepting the handshake. "Luna Mira, and this is my partner Amelia Thorn. A Nature Fairy and Artificial life form respectively." Luna said as she was mentally formulating the next words to leave her mouth with great caution.

She recalled the research that led her towards the location and discovery of Thanatros through the diary of the Wisdom Dragon, Rethram. From what she recalled this was a common place for dragons to dwell in when they weren't in search of conflict. While primarily for mating or nursing wounds, dragons often dwelled here for a millennium until the peaceful period broke when less and less dragons saw the area as a safe haven. Luna composed herself and prepared to speak. "I understand that this place used to be a common mating grounds for dragons that wanted to, start the next generation of their lines or a place to temporarily hide. But humans have a knack for finding things like this and even hunt what they presume are threats, so it was used less and less. As Dragons were about to abandon this place, there was one dragon that was too dangerous to allow freedom. however here's where history gets a little tricky as there are plenty of stories according to human records."

Luna said as she was going through the first part. As a scholar and glutton for reading she read all the records on the subject, including the one by Rethram himself on the subject, so she had a hatred for falsified records as they become frustrating to try and tolerate. Amelia knew the struggles of frustration but had no opinion one way or the other as it was a common prejudice to try and skew events in personal favor. "Only facts that are certain is that Thanatros, was a nightmare by comparison to other dragons, he is not exactly a zombie, but he's not alive nor dead, he is a dragon imbued with the element of Death and fear, some saw he is either part god or demon, or even it's a resurrected dragon gone horribly wrong. But even then, the dragon wields a form of fire that burns not matter, but life and fear itself. He was a massive problem as he was able to wipe out several towns in under half an hour. However here's where the records get spotty."

Luna knew this was her make or break moment, as she had to insert the truth in a way that would realistically seem like she would be available to such knowledge without the knowledge of the Human Calamity plot. "The more common records state that it was some historical figure from the military or a legendary hero that you don't hear about except for that tale that slayed him in the most unrealistic depictions, but the majority say he was sealed in the cave just down this path, behind a few traps. However five stories name the one that sealed him in the cave, Rethram."

Amelia remained calm on the outside but internally she was following every single word Luna said. "Good, make sure you reference materials available in ways plausible, you have a history of being a study bug and you're a former guild master, it's no surprise you have such knowledge." Luna knew that she set up the premise that she was already aware of the Dragon's history so she figured as long as she applied a seemingly natural transition it wouldn't arose too much suspicion, despite that the job was announced on short notice. "In truth, Rethram is a mythical dragon, a rare one that ever walked this earth. He was the Dragon of Wisdom, one of the wisest and intelligent beings known. According to draconic archives he was the real source for sealing in the dragon for the good of everyone. That's how the story should have remained since that date long ago. However as time dragged on, Thanatros became nothing nore then a legend, details being twisted and lost to time, until recently."

Luna managed to remain calm as she managed her breathing, she reminded herself that she was trying to avoid a catastrophe and she did not know who to trust. Especially when she was dealing with a dragon and a leader of an influential organization, she knew at this point she had to keep up the lie or risk being partially responsible for the genocide of humanity. "However, the seal isn't as strong as initially thought, and an anonymous tip to the Fioran government and Magic Council said that the seal was weakening. So the Magic Council made a job requesting any able bodied wizards come to slay the dragon before it can get out." Luna felt her golden heart practically skip a beat as she explained the skewed facts that were made public. In truth the tip was made by the fairy and gynoid, and it was only in a vein attempt to get assistance without exposing the truth of the situation. She tried to ease her conscience by adding in a line of truth.

"So yeah, the objective is to not let the most dangerous thing in there cause the death of innocent lives." Luna said as her heart rate returned to normal. She had a feeling in her gut and very fabric of her consciousness that she was on thin ice with a blindfold, and would need to play it out carefully. Amelia caught onto this as she could see Luna start to tense up a bit, but assumed it would be written off as nervousness in the face of a dangerous dragon. After all, Luna was a being of life, it would only be natural for her to be on edge so close to a being of death. "Hopefully enough show up to be able to take this on. After all, Rethram was practically a god and his work is coming undone." Amelia said, but the words struck Luna in a different way. For Luna she thought of Rethram's work to prevent the Human Calamity spells from ever being known again, and how there was a race to hunt all four components before the chance for reckoning and eradication.

WC 1253
TWC 2718

When Mythica replied that she was eager to come along with him on this mission, Mura’s face brightened up. Mythica was such a capable wizard - the only reason he would say ‘capable’ was because of her amazing air of mystery - and with her along, the success of the mission was guaranteed plus more. He would get to have some quality time with his sweet wife, and the thought spawned butterflies in his stomach and caused him to smile brightly.

“Nice!” he said in a voice of gratitude with his head leaning on his hands behind, “I’ll wait for you to… wait, no, can’t you transf-“ Lo and behold, his question was immediately answered; Mythica did know of magic that could manifest her garments in an instant, but he still got a quick view of her for a mere moment before that. A small drop of blood escaped his left nostril, but he quickly sniffed it up again and pretended like nothing was, uh, ‘bothering’ him or anything. He had to focus on the matter at hand; the mission… and he had a place to meet the clients.

“Well, the client is from the Fioran government… an ‘undead’ dragon’s seal is weakening, and it’s about to wake up from slumber. According to what information I’ve gathered, the location is well-known for sheltering huge creatures and dragons in the past, but how that’s connected to this specific one is unclear. I’ve been told that the dragon’s bent on rampage upon its wake, so someone gotta prevent that from happening… maybe it won’t be that angry, but dragons are unpredictable,” he explained to her while getting eyes of indifference from Zirconis who was lurking along with the burning Kyuken. Truth be told, after the night of sleep, he was half-aware of the exact identity of the client - whether they were from the government board or directly from the Magic Council - but he had been doing his research on the Serene Cliffs the last day, and he got a few rumors of some huge monster slumbering deep in a cave in that area. Hopefully, he could take it down before tragedy struck.

The shaman’s cheeks reddened upon Mythica’s compliment of his armor as she took a strong liking to it. It was probably the first time that he was that aware of his style of clothing and their effect on another person’s opinions of him. “R-Really?” he mumbled a little loud in a mild surprise; his gaitō - the name of his cloak - as well as his gi accompanying it weren’t bought for the purpose of satisfying anyone’s eyes akin to, say, a tuxedo or a bathing suit, but it was pleasant to hear that from her. “… I’ll make sure to fight a lot, then,” he promised her with a wink before following her out of the house.

Since the topic of today’s mission involved a dragon, Mura wanted to try out riding Azure-chan for the first time. Azure-chan was a serpentine, Midian Dragon with thick, blue scales, catfish whiskers, deer horns and pearl-like ornaments on its face. If Azure-chan proved interesting as a mount, then perhaps Mura would let her mount him on other occasions in the unknown future. Say, if there was a place where he wanted to go on a vacation… hopefully with Mythica by his side…

…

The Azure Dragon flew graciously over the clouds towards Serene Cliffs, and once it darted through the clouds to descend in a divine manner along with Mura and Mythica resting on its neck, the shaman could spot two entities with magic power beaming off from the meeting spot. One of the energies was recognizable - if he wasn’t wrong, he had met the Iron Dragon Slayer before at a party held by the three-way alliance. It had been a while, so… would she even remember him? They hadn’t gotten too acquainted with each other back then, so maybe this’ll be a good time to learn some more WFTC members to know.

The Azure Dragon landed softly on the rocky ground only a dozen meters away from the two ladies before Mura leapt off and would assist his wife in stepping off its neck if need be. Afterwards, he would approach the two women while speaking to Mythica: “I bet they’re here to take down the dragon too.” He would finally be standing right in front of the two of them, nodding to Ada first before facing her as well as the cherry-haired woman and greeting: “Nice to see you again, Iron Head. And greetings to you too.” He rocked his cloak a little before continuing, “You two are here to stop the sealed dragon too, right? In that case, I’m Mura Kensho from Fairy Tail, and this is Mythica. So, any preparations needed or…?”

WC: 807
TWC: 2144