The Silver Sacrifice

The other dragonslayers followed the black crows by horse. Captain Leo didn't believe that Akai was just testing him, but instead of thinking about it, he focused on the mission at hand. It was true that he failed Captain Halido, and that he wouldn't let Akai down again, even if it was just a test.

"Follow the birds and kill the dragon," he thought to himself.

One of the crows came up to his ear and said in Miura's voice, "The dragon is close. He is still wearing silver armor and hasn't left the old shack."

"Can you see him?" Captain Leo asked.

"No. My crows are able to find cracks in the shack, but when they look through they can only see black. Some kind of magic is blocking my view inside. Either this dragon knows a bit of magic, or he has a mage with them. Either way, expect some magical resistance."

Captain Leo continued onward with the other horsemen following closely behind.

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The full moon shone a bright light upon the clearing where the abandoned shack stood. Nia had already left through the portal, but the sounds of hoofbeats closed in on them. The silver merchant told Belze, "Stay in the shack. I'll handle them."

Belze unafraid nodded. He knew that both Nia and the silver merchant were strong.

"When this fight is over, can you teach me some magic?" Belze asked.

"Magic? Why do you need to know any?"

"Well, since I'm your assistant, it would be proper to teach me as a disciple, too."

"I don't know how being a good salesman translates to being a good spellcaster."

Belze complained, "C'mon. I'm already your better at selling junk. As you know I'm a quick learner. I just want to pick up some small things."

"What would you use it for? The magic."

"To protect my family. To protect people like you and big sis."

"Protect? When you protect somebody, you'll have to harm another. May even need to kill. Protecting a maiden from a bandit would mean killing the bandit. Although you saved one life, you had to take one. Could you live knowing that you took away another man's life?"

The silver merchant paused as he heard the horses come to the clearing. He couldn't see them, but he knew they were there. He walked towards the door and said to Belze, "I have learned that children tend not to understand the world, but you have experienced more than any other. I'll teach you some basics of what I do know of your magic, but that's it. What you do with it is your choice."

Belze was thrilled that he would learn magic. He thought that once he has learned some spells, he would no longer need to be protected.

Magic was just a tool, the silver merchant thought. What Belze would do with that tool, he would have to decide for himself. In the end, the silver merchant was still apathetic to Nia, but there was a flicker of emotion that swelled up. He never imagined that he would worry for another person, yet for a moment, he worried what Belze would do once he learned a simple spell.

The silver merchant opened the door and walked outside facing the group of dragonslayers.

The inside of the shack morphed as the silver merchant left. Belze watched as the room turned into a dusty and decrepit holding. It was now empty except for an old wardrobe. Belze watched outside through a crack in the wall. He looked upon fully armored knights against the silver merchant.

The silver merchant stood while the other dragonslayers got off of their horses.

"I am Captain Leo. There have been reports of a dragon nearby."

"There is no dragon here. Unless you brought one with you," the silver merchant replied knowing where this path will eventually lead. His horses were continuing to eat the grass calmly. Crows were perched on top of the wagon, the shack, and the surrounding branches.

One of the crows landed on Captain Leo's shoulder and whispered, "It may seem obvious, but this is the man... or dragon that we've been looking for. Silver armor hiding every single detail of his skin. Ask him to take off his helmet so that we can be sure that he is or isn't a dragon."

The crow flew away and Captain Leo asked with a calming smile, "Well, all we need to do is find this dragon. It would be nice to see the face of whoever I'm speaking to."

"I can't do that," the silver merchant replied.

The other dragonslayers were about to unsheathe their weapons, but Leo signaled them to hold.

"I just need to know whether you're a dragon. If you're just a regular man, we'll leave you alone. Hell, even if you were a some wanted criminal or a skeleton underneath all of that armor, I promise that we won't come after you. We're just dragonslayers. I would be alright if you just showed some skin on your arm or something."

The silver merchant looked into the dark forests and could see the crossbows pointed at him. The other dragonslayers held their unsheathed weapons ready for a fight. The silver merchant only stood in silence.

Neither the dragonslayers nor the silver merchant were afraid as Belze watched from the crack in the wall.

The crows started to caw and fly away except for a few that stood on top of the silver merchant's wagon.

Captain Leo's attitude changed as his friendly tone turned violent.

"If you won't prove to me that you aren't a dragon," Leo said while unsheathing his sword as the other dragonslayers unsheathed their weapons, "then you're only proving that you are one. This is your last chance."

"I have seen countless genocides before. Acts of violence do not surprise me, but I do not feel anger or empathy towards you or anybody like you. You all seem like regular people who are going about their daily lives like a farmer waking up to go to work. Only doing what you believe is right, and the definition of right is ever changing. A war hero in one view while a butcher in another. With all that said, I do not wish to hurt any of you," the silver merchant said, but the dragonslayers readied themselves for a fight.

The silver merchant was still for a moment, and the next instant, he dashed straight towards the side away from the shack. In that moment, a barrage of arrows started to fire at the silver merchant.

The merchant thought that defeating them would be easy, but he had to focus their attention away from the shack. One stray arrow would be all that they need. He couldn't shield the whole shack in a magical barrier, otherwise they would know that there was something important in there.

As each arrow hit him, they would only bounce off of his silver armor. The other dragonslayers charged at him while Captain Leo stayed behind with two other masked dragonslayers. One that held a large axe while the other held a chain whip with a scythe head attached.

The silver merchant dodged the oncoming onslaught without any desire to kill them. He took his fists and struck the armored dragonslayers to the sides. Their armor was thick, yet the blows were able to push them back. They weren't like the bandits at Jaeden town. They were properly trained to fight things bigger and stronger than them.

The group of dragonslayers noticed his fighting pattern. One of them took out two daggers made of dragon scales and as the silver merchant tried throw a punch at him, he dodged quickly and stuck the two daggers into the dark opening where the silver merchant's eyes were. The dragonslayer smiled in victory, but the merchant threw the quick dragonslayer away as the daggers fell to the ground. As the daggers fell to the ground, their blades turned to dust leaving only the hilt.

The other dragonslayers were shocked thinking that it was over. Captain Leo was surprised at what he saw. He believed that the silver armored man wasn't a dragon, but also not a human. He was unaware of any type of creature that could turn dragon scales to dust especially after getting stabbed in the eyes. Leo's eyes were deceived. He knew what he saw, but he showed no fear.

Captain Leo held his blade to his face. He remembered getting it as a gift from Akai when he first became a dragonslayer. It was made of a blue dragon scales. He saw the reflection of himself on his face from the pristine dragonscales. He hasn't killed many dragons as there weren't many by the time he has become one, but each one he did kill, he remembered. Each one of the dragonslayers next to him fought for their own reasons, and each one knew how to fight against monsters.

Captain Leo gave orders to his fellow dragonslayers.

"Dragonslayers, fall back to me!" He shouted, "Crossbowmen, fire!"

As the dragonslayers went back, the barrage of arrows pierced through the dark forest towards the silver merchant.

As the merchant dodged the oncoming arrows, he shot out small balls of light towards where the shots were coming from. He could see the archers as if it was day, but he didn't want to kill them.

One of the crows started to squirm as small maggots dug into it's feet and talons. Soon, it calmed itself and flew to the top of the shack and looked through any holes that it could see through. Miura started to manually control one of the crows while continuing her own plans, although she knew that she was only being guided.

The crossbows were hit by the balls of light with perfect accuracy and their weapons rotted and turned to dust.

Captain Leo could only assume that his crossbowmen were killed, but he couldn't mourn. He ordered the other dragonslayers to continue their assault. The silver merchant focused his attention to the knights coming at him.

The crow that was looking into shack saw a young boy watching the fight. Miura was aware that it wasn't a dragon, so the child was of no importance. But a sharp pain struck the back of her head, although there was nothing there. The micromanaging of all of her crows were putting a strain on her own shattered mind.

But as her crow watched back towards the silver merchant, she realized that the boy must have been important to him. The merchant was preoccupied with fighting off the dragonslayers to notice the crows. Something itched on the back of her head. It wasn't the micromanaging, but another form of guidance. She heard nothing but the brawl, yet in the back of her mind, she wanted to kill the boy.

As the silver merchant fought against the assault, he continued to hold back his punches. Occasionally, he would conjure a small sword of light and hit the dragonslayers' swords turning only the blade to dust, but not the person.

One of the dragonslayers took out a chain attached with a scythe head. He wrapped the chain around the silver merchant's leg while the head couldn't even pierce the armor. When the merchant looked down, another dragonslayer with a heavy axe struck down on the merchant. In that moment, the silver merchant blocked the axe with his silver arms. The other dragonslayer pulled at the chain while the force of the axe pushed him down to his knees.

Captain Leo whistled and the two dragonslayers jumped back. Before the silver merchant could get up, Leo took out a green-filled glass ball from a pouch and threw it. As the ball hit the ground, it exploded into an eruption of flame. The dragonslayers thought that they have destroyed the merchant, but none would sheathe their blades as they should still be prepared for any unlikely event. Captain Leo especially didn't think that one explosive would beat whatever this was.

The silver merchant stood up among the flames and as he did so, the fire started to swirl around him. The burning fire started to be consumed into the openings of his faceplate and disappeared into nothing. The only signs of a fire was of the burned ground underneath him. His armor was still clean. No hint of soot or dirt.

The crossbowmen came out of the forest and ran towards Leo. One of them said, "Captain. All of the crossbows are destroyed, but each one of us is alive and accounted for."

Captain Leo was surprised that they all lived. He thought that the silver merchant's magic was only able to affect non-living things, as he never saw the merchant using any of the magic against his men.

"Grab your sword and prepare to fight," Captain Leo commanded.

There was a moment of silence as the dragonslayers faced against the silver merchant. Captain Leo waited for his opponent's next move, but the merchant was only still.

Leo looked around his fellow dragonslayers and saw that none were killed. Bruised and some tired, but none dead. He was unsure if the silver merchant was holding back. As the other dragonslayers waited for his command, he had no time to think about his options.

Captain Leo yelled a battle cry and charged forward. With that, the other dragonslayers charged. The merchant waited.

As Leo slashed, the merchant defended himself with his armor and nothing else. As the dragonslayers surrounded him, he started to push them away. The silver merchant grabbed Captain Leo from the neck and threw him away. The other dragonslayers started to get thrown around as the silver merchant's strikes were suddenly stronger and faster than before. As one of the dragonslayers swung his axe down, the silver merchant punched straight into the sharp metal shattering the axe head.

As the other dragonslayer wrapped his chain whip around the silver merchant's arm, the merchant merely pulled the whipe towards himself. The dragonslayer held onto the whip and flew towards the silver armored merchant. As he did so, the merchant punched the man's face breaking his nose while flying away. The silver merchant started to injure the dragonslayers, but still tried not to kill any of them. Some bled. Some bones were shattered like cracked tree bark. But none were killed, again.

As Captain Leo got himself up, one of the crows landed on the captain's shoulder and whispered, "The man isn't a dragon. Don't jump, but the dragon is inside the shack."

Upon hearing these words, Leo jolted up and looked at the shack. He was near the walls of the shack and only a couple of feet

"Where is the dragon?" Leo asked Miura through the crow.

"Once you enter, he will be in the corner. He is watching the fight, but if you quickly enter, you will catch him offguard and give him a swift death."

Captain Leo understood what needed to be done. While the silver merchant was busy pummeling the other dragonslayers, Captain Leo could quickly check the shack.

Belze continued to watch the fight, but didn't notice as Captain Leo was moving slowly around the walls. Captain Leo kept watch on the silver merchant as he continued to brush off the waves of dragonslayers. Even as bones broke, the dragonslayers continued to fight. A broken arm. A broken leg. Each one of them had their own story of why they were fighting and that gave them the will to keep going against the impossible.

The silver merchant noticed Captain Leo and saw that he was slowly moving back towards the shack's door. He was only a couple of feet away from the door, but the silver merchant wouldn't let him.

The silver merchant dashed past the dragonslayers and towards Leo. Upon noticing the merchant's reaction, he realized that whatever was in the shack was important enough to protect. Leo ran towards the shack and as soon as Belze noticed the running dragonslayer, he jolted up.

The silver merchant shot a beam of light aimed at Leo's legs. The amount would be enough to just make the leg frail and old. But before the light could hit its mark, a crow flew in the way morphing itself into a frail old bird and eventually dying in front of him.

Captain Leo had little time to think. He trusted the words of the witch. The silver merchant shot a barrage of light beams, but more crows would fly in front of them killing themselves in the process.

As Leo appraoched the door, he broke down the door and quickly ran to the corner of the decrepit shack. It was dark and not even a second passed.

Captain Leo's blade stuck itself into a body. As the adrenaline faded, he realized what he had done. He was overcome with shock. It was impossible. It was just a child. Not even a one with scales. Just a normal boy. Leo's blue blade turned red with the boy's blood as the blade stabbed through his heart and into the old wall.

Belze could only make weak groaning sounds. Tears swelled up in the child's eyes and blood started to pour out of his wound onto the blade. Leo looked at the boy and saw himself as a child. Helpless and scared as a giant dragon burned down his town.

Belze tried to raise his hand up, but it was slow. His vision blurred as he tried to reach towards the dragonslayer in front of him. His entire body became cold. His thoughts ran of his parents. Of Nia. Of the silver merchant. All people who protected him, yet in the end, he felt like he has failed each one of them. With each painful breath, he felt fear. His whole body became numb.

Captain Leo held the boy's hand as guilt overwhelmed him. He had no idea how the witch could have made a grave mistake, but he blamed himself most of all. He was too rash and could have prevented this. As he tried to comfort the dying boy, he could only blame himself. The wound was fatal.

Belze gave out one loud bloody cough and fell silent. His eyes stared blankly at nothing.

Suddenly, the silver merchant broke through the old wall of the shack and grabbed Captain Leo by the head. The merchant yelled in anger and threw him away from the shack to a far away tree. As soon as Leo's body hit the tree, he fainted while throwing up some blood. The whole side of the wall was destroyed, but the shack still stood.

The silver merchant kneeled next to Belze. He took out the blue blade and threw it away.

"Nothing I can't fix," the silver merchant said as he spawned small orbs of light that reverted the wounds. The lost blood started to enter back into his body. The color of his body started to rejuvinate. Belze started to even breath as his eyes gained color.

The silver merchant looked at Belze after the orbs disappeared. Belze made no movement. He breathed and stared. His heartbeat was normal. His body was functioning normally, but something was different, although the silver merchant only thought that it was shock.

He put his hands on Belze's shoulder and lightly shook him. "You're safe, now, Belze. I saved you," the silver merchant said.

There was still no response. Just an empty stare. The merchant didn't understand. He reverted the wounds away, but even as the silver merchant shook Belze harder, he wouldn't even give one response back. Not even any slight movements. Just a steady breath. As the silver merchant looked at Belze's eyes, he noticed that he didn't even blink. It looked like Belze was just a doll. For the first time in the merchant's life, he felt worry. Even if he hadn't made a promise to Nia, he still worried whether Belze was safe or not. He didn't understand why Belze wasn't moving nor his own emotions.

As the other dragonslayers got up except for the fainted Captain Leo, the silver merchant felt another emotion. Hate.

The merchant closed Belze's dry eyes shut.

"Don't watch," he said.

The merchant got himself up and looked at the following the draognslayers. None of the crows were there any more.

The horses of his wagons started to neigh and with the flick of the silver merchant's hand, the horses were free to run away.

The dragonslayers slowly readied themselves to fight. The silver merchant said quietly to himself, "Even with broken bones, they still fight. Admirable, yet pointless. I don't care what these people would amount to be. I don't care whether they believe to be righteous. They are like cockroaches."

The silver merchant yelled in anger at the dragonslayers, "You wanted to see my face. Very well."

As he finished that sentence, he took off his silver helmet and only a dark void twisted around reality. As the dragonslayers looked upon the shifting dimensions of reality, their minds turned to jelly. Each one of their eyes burst out of their sockets. Their faces melted as they witnessed something that none of them could explain. Something beautiful yet horrifying. The full moon twisted into a torrent in the sky above them. Every single creature that looked upon his face began to kill themselves. The bugs burst into pieces. The rabbits and small animals that came upon him began to hit their heads upon the trees until they either forgot how he looked or died from hemorrhaging. The stars moved away from the black void that came upon everything it touched.

There were no crows nearby as if Miura knew that she shouldn't linger nearby.

After noticing that all of the dragonslayers were dead, the silver merchant contained his head back into his silver helmet. The merchant walked back towards Belze and continued to shake him until he awoke. Captain Leo still laid there unconcious, but alive as his eyes never met with the the silver merchant's face.

"Wake up, Belze. Please wake up," the silver merchant repeated while shaking him. There was no response.