CHAPTER 1/2: AGREEMENT

The dragon looked around itself.

The bandit, who was holding a knife on the girl's throat, shrieked in fear and threw his knife towards the dragon.

The knife couldn't even penetrate its scales. Seeing that, the bandit dropped the girl and ran to the forest to hide.

The dragon looked annoyed at this behaviour.

It opened its mouth, and a breath of ice came out of it.

It's breath instantly froze a large portion of the forest, along with the bandit.

The girl screamed at the horrifying scene.

The dragon turned to her and opened its mouth for another attack.

I jumped in front of her, trying to shield her. I couldn't let her die, not after everything that has happened.

I waited for the breath to freeze me, but nothing came.

After a few moments, I looked back, and saw the dragon sitting there, yawning.

"Is she your subject, Master?"

A voice boomed inside my mind.

I looked around to find the person but saw none.

The dragon looked at me with its sparkly blue eyes, as if it was measuring me.

"Are you not familiar with telepathy, Master?"

It spoke up, and I found the owner of the voice inside my head.

The dragon. It talked.

I looked at him, surprised and confused.

"M-master?"-I tried to say in a shaky voice.

"Yes. Or would you like me to call you something else?"

"I'm your master?"

"Apparently so. You summoned me here."

"S-summoned you?"-I suddenly remembered the spell I used earlier.

I took a deep breath and said-

"Z-zelda?"

"At your service."

He lowered his head in a gesture. It took me a moment to realize that he was respecting me.

Suddenly, I heard a lot of footsteps coming towards us.

The other bandits were coming. Apparently, the one I knocked out took advantage of the chaos, and brought his friends.

But all of them stopped on their tracks, seeing the massive beast in front of them.

The dragon just growled, but didn't do anything.

The men approached him cautiously, but he still didn't do anything.

They regained their courage seeing that, and turned their attention towards us.

The leader rushed towards me, with an axe in his hand.

But just as he entered within five meters from my location, another cold breath came out from the dragon's mouth, freezing him wholly.

After that, it went back to its previous uninterested form and yawned.

The other bandits lost their will to fight.

They ran towards the protection of the forest.

"Should I pursue them?"

Zelda's voice echoed in my head.

"No........"-is what I wanted to say. But just at that moment, I remembered their behavior against the villagers.

Those scums didn't deserve any mercy.

"Kill them all."-I hissed.

Zelda made a face which almost looked like a grin. Without another word, it flew up, and turned its head towards the forest.

It took a deep breath, and a light appeared in front of its face.

Suddenly, the light turned into thousands of ice spears.

All of them were facing the forest.

Zelda finally let its breath out.

The ice spears moved at amazing speed, piercing every bit of forest in their path.

The moment they collided with the ground, it froze up, and exploded into small ice particles.

Whoever was unfortunate enough to be in that area was as good as dead.

The bandits weren't a threat anymore.

Hearing a shriek, I turned back, and saw the girl. With the threat gone, she was conscious of her naked body. I pulled off my shirt, and covered her with it.

Suddenly, I heard a dozen footsteps coming from behind me, their owners hidden behind the thick smoke of now dying fires. They couldn't be the bandits.

Cause, after all, I killed them all, didn't I?

The footsteps drew near, and came out of the smoke cover.

It was the villagers who survived.

I tried to walk and greet them.

But darkness covered my field of vision.

My whole body felt numb, and I fell down, unconscious.

[Hours later.........]

I opened my eyes, and pain spread through my body.

I let out a deep breath, and looked at my body.

I wasn't wearing my school dress. Instead, my whole body was covered with some sort of rug and bandages.

I tried to sit up, and at the same time, the door of the cabin I was in opened.

A young girl entered, and saw me on the bed. She turned on her heel, and ran out, shouting something.

My head wasn't stable enough yet, so I didn't get a word she was saying.

I analyzed the interior of the cottage.

Surprisingly, it was still intact, even after the bandit attack.

The only pieces of furniture in the room were my bed, a table, and a wardrobe. My staff was leaning against the wall in the corner, and my old clothes were on the table. Except for the shirt I gave to the girl.

Suddenly, the door opened again, and an elderly man entered this time.

Judging by his appearance, he was in his late sixties.

He was wearing a simple outfit, and had a stick in his hand to support himself.

"Oh! You are awake!!!" -he exclaimed. I was pretty sure that he could see me from there.

"Yeah........where am I?"

"In my home. I'm sorry that I couldn't manage anything finer."

With that, he kneeled down, his eyes on the ground. The people behind him did the same. I was startled at this sudden change of behavior. But before I could protest, he spoke up in a stern tone.

"O' great wizard! Thank you for protecting our town from the bandits. For your assistance, we are grateful from the depth of our hearts. You may demand anything. We will be sure to give you what you want as long as it is in our power. Our lives are yours to command."

He said continuously, not taking a breath. He finally stopped, and looked up.

I was uncertain of what to do.

"Well, listen, Mr......."

"Gilmund."

"Mr. Gilmund. I don't think I'm well suited enough to be your king. I want to ask a favor, if it's alright."

"Of course, my lord. Whatever you wish. All of the girls in our village are eagerly waiting to satisfy you, all of the bards are waiting to entertain you. All of the soldiers are waiting to risk their lives for you."

"What? No! I don't mean that kind of favor. Just provide me with an armor and a sword, as well as some knowledge about your world."

"Knowledge? Surely my lord knows better."-he said, and I tried to think of an answer. Seeing my desperate attempts to come up with one, he decided to drop the topic.

"Very well, my lord. I'll be preparing for your request. Please take some rest, and change into these clothes. Pick whichever you like."

He gestured toward the wardrobe, and a boy opened it.

A number of fresh outfits were already there, ready to be used.

I nodded, and they left the cottage, closing the door behind them.

I took a moment to gather my thoughts. The villagers were the first friendly faces I saw in this world.

A lot of questions gathered inside my mind.

How did this magical power work? Who was that girl? Who are the seven gods? Why was I chosen? How can I get back to my world?

I knew the answer to some, but not all of them.

Sighing, I got up from the bed, and checked the wardrobe for an outfit suiting my tastes.

After wasting fifteen minutes (or so, according to the clock on my wrist), I finally found one.

It was a scholar's robes. The outfit had a shirt, a pant, and some armor.

The shirt was long sleeved and white.

The pant was pitch black and shiny. The outfit almost looked like my school uniform, except for the shoulder pads and armored gloves.

I put the outfit on, and headed out with my staff.

The village was recovering from the damage it had suffered. People were running with logs and parts in their hands. A few houses were still burning, though the fire was almost out.

I started walking, holding the staff with my hands for support. My body didn't fully recover from the strain, though it was improving gradually.

The people working looked at me as I passed them, grinning and waving their hands.

Though all I did for them was muttering some weird and embarrassing words in front of a whole gang.

Maybe that embarrassment was written on my face, as a voice behind me spoke up.

"You look....reddish. Do you have a fever?"

I looked back and saw the girl I saved yesterday. In the sunlight, I could see her astonishing features.

She was beautiful, with long shiny black hair. My mother always thought that my hair was shinier and darker than anyone else, I wonder what she would say if she saw this girl?

Her pale skin matched with her light green eyes, and the simple outfit she was wearing was not enough to hide the elegant and perfect curves of her body.

And by the simple outfit, I meant my shirt.

"Beautiful......."-I murmured, and she looked at me with questions in her eyes.

"Oh, sorry. You are still wearing my shirt......."-I said, eyeing her.

She blushed, and looked down.

"I didn't have time, with all these."-she gestured towards the broken houses.

"I didn't get your name."-I suddenly said. I wanted to know her better, even if a little.

"It's Satsuki."

Her name sounded like a Japanese. But I didn't pry into the matter, and gestured towards the wreckage.

"Anything I can do to help?"

"You've already done enough for us. Don't push yourself."-she said with a soothing voice. I realized that her voice was beautiful, just like her face.

"Besides, your dragon and elder Gilmund is waiting for you."

"My dragon?"

"The white one you summoned."

"Thanks for letting me know. Where are they?"

"Go straight. You'll see the town hall. You can't miss it, not because it's big or something, but for the giant dragon sitting behind it."

I chuckled at her joke, and started walking to the town hall.

It only took me a few minutes to reach there. Apparently, the village was smaller than I previously thought.

I saw Zelda yawning behind the building, looking more magnificent than ever.

It closed his mouth seeing me, and grinned.

"Zelda?"-I thought. I myself was surprised at my cool behavior. I was doing okay, despite the fact that I just got summoned into a war-filled universe, and had to defeat seven super powerful Gods.

"What do you require, Master?"

"What gender are you? He or she?"

"We dragons don't fall into any of those terms. It's complicated, but I think I am masculine."

"So a he?"

"If you would like it."

Zelda, who was now a 'he', turned his head towards the sky.

"I sense some of my kind."-he growled.

"Your kind?"

"Dragons. Five of them."

"Are they like you? I mean, sentient beings?"

"No, they give off some weird aura. I can't be sure until they come closer."

"How much time do we have?"

"An hour or so, maybe less."

Hearing that, I hurriedly entered the town hall, and searched for Gilmund. The villagers had to evacuate, as I didn't know whether our 'guests' were hostile or not.

I found him in the library, reading an old book.

"Ah! My lord......."

"We don't have time. Escape, NOW."

Gilmund just eyed me worriedly for a moment, and then rushed towards the door.

I stepped outside, and overseed the evacuation.

The men looked for tired and frightened than they looked in the morning.

They hid in the forest, and kept an eye on me and Zelda, who were now standing in the middle of the village.

Soon, five small figures appeared in the blue sky, turning bigger and bigger every moment.

They finally reached us. Zelda was right, they were dragons, but different from him.

These five dragons had riders on them, human riders. The dragons followed their commands, but in a robotic way. They looked like they were brainwashed.

Their leader dismounted and came to me, a hand on the hilt of the sword.

"Are you the wizard?"-he hissed in a low tone.

Zelda suddenly took a battle posture and looked at the guy sternly.

He was almost two times bigger than the dragons those guys brought.

The leader looked at Zelda, and softened his voice.

"I ask you again, are you the wizard?"

"I am."

"Then I ask you to come with me, with your dragons."

"To where?"

"To Lord Behemoth. He has commanded you to come, and you shall respond."

"Very well."

Hearing my answer, another man came down from his dragon, with a chain and blindfold in his hands.

He came with them towards me, and Zelda hissed, making him stop.

"What's the meaning of this?"-I asked, trying to hold my anger.

"You have to come with us, in the chain. You have no choice but to comply."

"I refuse."-I growled in a deep voice, a voice that even frightened me.

"If you refuse, this village will be turned into ashes. You have no choice but to comply."-he said again, this time with more pressure.

Rage built up inside me, and I felt like I was about to explode.

Suddenly, a voice whispered inside my mind. It wasn't Zelda.

"He who has answered the call, I give you two paths to follow. The path of red, which embodies rage, hatred, and violence. You'll feel more power, but lose a certain portion of your humanity. People will fear and respect you, but whether they would love you or not will depend on your action. And again, you may choose the path of green, which shows kindness, healing, and respect. Though you'll be weakened to a certain extent, people will follow you more desperately, and you'll find inner peace."

"And I have to choose between two?"

My question was answered with silence. Accepting that as a yes, I looked at the knights in front of me, and then turned my gaze to the frightened villagers hiding in the forest.

Taking a deep breath, I decided on the path.

"I shall accept the path of red, embodying rage, hatred, and violence."

"Very well."

My whole body suddenly felt lighter, and I felt my mind sharpening. I looked at my hands. They were glowing with a red light.

A magic circle appeared below me, and I felt a rush of information passing through me.

Pieces by pieces, memories of different ancient wizards filled me, and I felt powerful, invincible.

I looked at the knights, and grinned.

I held up my staff, and incited three arcane words-

"Dersálvà Magnéfira"

Wind started blowing, and the whole sky got dark and cloudy.

A ritual circle appeared on it, emitting red light.

A figure emerged from the circle, who looked like a devil.

It had long spiked horns, and red glimmering eyes.

Its mouth was formed in a shape of a smile, revealing a lot of sharp, pointy teeth.

It looked down at the humans under it, and spread out its hands.

Fire came down, melting the knights in an instant, along with their dragons.

After that, the creature vanished in the thin air, as if it never existed.

The sky cleared within a moment, and sunrays fell down on my face.

Just when I was about to go back, the whole sky started shimmering, shaking violently.

A face appeared in the sky. It looked much like a human.

His hair was blonde, and his skin was pale. He was quite good looking, except for his eyes. They were shining in a bright white colour, giving him a ghostly appearance.

He looked at me, and smiled. It wasn't a friendly one.

"I see. You've chosen to defy me."

"Behemoth?"

"LORD Behemoth, you insolent fool!"-he screamed with rage. But in a moment, he regained his posture.

"You have defied me, boy. I hope you're ready for what comes next."

"I think YOU should prepare yourself, no?"

"What?"

"Yeah. You are the weakest of the seven Gods, right?"

"Seems like there will be no negotiation. I bid you good luck. Only one of us may survive."

"At least we agree on something."-I grinned, and Behemoth's face disappeared.

I stood there, just looking at the empty sky.

I messed up, pretty badly.

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