Kapitel 16: Chapter 15: Pochi
All he'd ever done was love his master.
In this world, dogs were popular domestic animals. While they lived in packs in the wild, dogs were obedient and loyal as long as they got used to a human. They had a developed sense of smell and, as such, were prized hunting companions.
With enough training, dogs were able to tell different monsters apart based on their smell. They could also sense danger from miles away and bark to warn their master. In this world, where there was no telling when vicious monsters might attack you, dogs were irreplaceable.
Naturally, they were also used in armies. Each platoon had its own dog trained to recognize the smell of different monsters.
Pochi should've been one of these army dogs. He'd started training as a puppy, but unfortunately, he'd underperformed compared to others. When he failed to meet the army's expectations, he was thrown away.
That was cruel, of course, but what else could the army do? The dogs wouldn't just feed themselves. The witch and her monsters would destroy every village and field they could get to. People were dying of starvation every day. There was no food to waste on a useless dog.
(Nowadays, life was easier. Ellize, the saint, had discovered that potatoes and soy—two crops that no one thought much of until then—could grow even on devastated land. The food shortage had been mostly eradicated thanks to her efforts, but before her godsent discovery, people had struggled to survive.)
The bygone harsh days were one of the consequences of the previous saint's failure—the one who'd lived two generations before Ellize. She hadn't been able to slay the witch, plunging the world into a long dark age.
The one who'd saved Pochi after he had been abandoned by the army was Alexia, the saint of that era. She'd always wanted a dog of her own, she'd told him.
Dias—the head of her guard—had objected, telling her he'd be happy to find her an outstanding dog instead, but Alexia had picked him up with a smile and simply said, "No need, I like this one."
That was Pochi's most precious memory...and it hadn't faded one bit with the years.
He couldn't forget the warmth of her hand when she gently patted his head.
He remembered every single time she'd picked him up and held him close to her chest.
All he wanted was for her to do that one more time... Just one more time...
Verner and Marie shook hands and congratulated each other on their bravery.
The rest of the students were watching them and applauding energetically, when suddenly, something unexpected happened.
A large shadow covered the two students standing in the middle of the arena.
Before Marie had even noticed that something was wrong, Verner had already grabbed her and jumped out of the way. The next second, a four-meter tall giant had landed where they'd been standing, shattering the arena.
He had the head of a dog, and his body was covered in black fur. He panted heavily, just like a dog right before a walk, his nose twitching as he sniffed the area.
"Where is...the saint? Kill...saint. I...kill... Witch...praise...me," the monster said, completely ignoring Verner and Marie—whom he had almost killed a few moments prior.
His mind was dead set on finding the saint and, before long, he spotted her.
"Saint... Kill... I...get pets... I...not trash."
He started tramping toward her, the students in his path scurrying away in fear. The monster didn't bother with them. His eyes were on Ellize and no one else.
Verner couldn't let Ellize get hurt. He immediately grabbed his sword, but...it was only a training sword. It was still potentially lethal, mind you—even with dull edges, a sword was still a sword—but it was reckless to attack a monster with such a weapon.
But Verner had no other choice. How could a knight ignore the saint when she was in trouble?
He tried to rush toward the monster, but someone grabbed his sleeve and stopped him in his tracks—Marie.
"Wait... He's most likely an archmonster. We're not strong enough to face him," she told him.
"An archmonster?" Verner repeated. "Like the ones we studied in class?! The ones the witch creates by having hundreds of monsters slaughter each other?"
"Exactly. We're no match against something like that..."
Even full-fledged knights couldn't fight archmonsters one-on-one. A mere student attempting to fight such a monster would be insane, especially with a training sword. Marie was no fool. She knew better than to court death.
While the two of them were talking, the beast was rapidly approaching Ellize. The saint, on the other hand, hadn't moved from her seat. She was simply looking at the wounds that covered his body, then glanced right into his lonely eyes.
"Stop... Don't...look at me...that way! Don't pity me!"
Ellize's eyes were full of compassion. Neither hatred nor fear clouded her gaze.
Somehow, that was even harder for the monster to endure. He flew into a rage and raised his fist, running toward Ellize, but Verner jumped in to stop him.
He struck the beast's face with his sword, but it obviously didn't do much damage. The only thing he'd succeeded in was getting the monster to step back for a moment.
"Don't...bother me!!!" the monster roared, throwing a punch at Verner.
Marie froze his arm before it could reach Verner.
"You're so reckless... You could have gotten yourself killed," she sighed.
"Sorry! Thanks for the help!" Verner exclaimed.
After being saved by Marie's assist, Verner put some distance between himself and the monster and assumed a fighting stance again.
Unfortunately, he still had nothing but a training sword—a brittle toy when faced with a monster like this one—in hand.
Right at that moment, Eterna ran up to his side.
"Eterna! Why did you come here?!"
"Because you're trying to do something crazy all by yourself, idiot!" she retorted, clutching her favorite weapon—a staff.
Eterna was no close-quarter combat specialist. She preferred to use magic and fight from a distance, which put her at a big disadvantage in tournaments such as this one. Her abilities only shone when there was a vanguard protecting her and buying her enough time to cast her spells.
There were only three of them. That was far from enough to have a shot at beating such a monster.
Right at that moment, arrows started raining down on the weredog and someone simultaneously smacked him in the face with their sword, forcing him to retreat. John and Fiora appeared.
"Don't try to act cool all on your own!" the former yelled at Verner.
"I'll fight too! Let's protect the saint together!" the latter exclaimed, following close behind.
They were both holding training weapons, but that didn't seem to stop them. That was no excuse. They'd be disgraced as knights if they faltered and hid while the saint was being attacked right in front of them.
Verner and his friends were brave, without a doubt, but they were also incredibly reckless. One wrong move and they'd be dead.
As if to remind them of that fact, the monster stepped forward. Right at that moment, however, a big rock exploded, sending dozens of small bits of shrapnel flying at the enemy.
"Oh my, you seem to be having a lot of fun here. But I can't congratulate you for stepping up instead of fleeing. I will be deducting points from your grades accordingly. Still, your courage is commendable, so I'll let it slide if you attend a few supplementary lessons and promise to behave next time. I dislike barbaric endeavors such as...fighting...but I cannot forgive that beast for attacking my precious saint. I shall help to the best of my meager ability."
"Mr. Supple!"
While delivering his monologue, Supple Ment had grown roots around the monster's legs to pin him in place. He smiled, turned his head so a ray of light would hit his glasses and make them sparkle mysteriously, then walked up to Verner and his friends.
"You may use these. They're makeshift weapons, but they're still better than training weapons," he said, handing a longsword to John, a staff to Eterna, and arrows to Fiora.
As for Verner...he'd picked such a large claymore for the tournament that Supple Ment had nothing to replace it with. Still, there were now six of them—enough to put up a fight.
Ellize raised her hand and a sword began to emerge from the ground. She must have used the earth's different mineral components around the area to craft a sword. And, in ten seconds, the sword was fully ready. Ellize had crafted a weapon just for Verner.
The weredog roared before jumping at Verner.
"Verner! Use it!" Ellize screamed, watching the monster's fangs draw nearer and nearer to Verner.
He picked up the sword Ellize had gifted him and started slashing at the monster, severing one of his arms in a split second.
Verner was in awe. The sword was light—way too light for it to be made out of metal. And yet, it was sharper than any blade he'd ever used before.
"Thank you, Lady Ellize! I know I can do it now!"
Verner effortlessly swung his sword over his head, as if it weighed absolutely nothing. His form was perfect as he prepared to bring the blade down. His feet were firmly on the ground, anchoring him, and he was holding the sword with both hands, accompanying its movement with his entire upper body.
He made sure the blade was facing up and the sun shone down on it, making it sparkle.
The monster flinched.
Layla was green with envy. Receiving a weapon from the saint was a knight's prerogative. To them, there was no greater honor.
She'd also been bestowed the sword she was using by Ellize on the day she'd officially entered her guard. However, while she'd gotten the honor of receiving a blade from Ellize's hands, the weapon in question had been crafted by a regular smith, not by Ellize herself. It had been nothing more than a ceremony. The sword had been chosen by other people before being given to Ellize, who in turn, had just handed it over to Layla to observe protocol.
Still, she couldn't bring herself to tell Ellize she also wanted a sword crafted just for her. It would've sounded like a child's tantrum.
She stole a glance at Ellize, lost in thought, but the other girl noticed.
"What's wrong, Layla?"
"No... It's nothing."
Layla was a little disappointed. Sadly, Ellize hadn't understood her feelings without her having to say anything.
Granted, she doubted Ellize had thought it over before bestowing a sword upon Verner. She'd just given him one because he'd had nothing to fight with.
Layla was certain that if she were just to ask, Ellize would make her a sword without question. But she couldn't... She didn't want to sound like a whiny kid.
While she was battling with the feelings inside her head, the fight was still ongoing.
The monster roared, slamming on the floor with his only remaining arm. The ground burst open under Verner and his party's feet.
They jumped back, and Marie got ready to counterattack. She unleashed ice magic from her fingertip, hitting the monster in the chest.
It wasn't enough to stop the weredog, though. He kept moving forward, his enormous mouth wide open. A fireball began to form in the back of his throat.
As soon as she noticed it, Eterna stuck out her wand.
"Light Shield!"
A wall of light appeared in front of Verner and his friends, weakening the fireball. However, Eterna's spell didn't block it completely, and it continued its way toward her.
This time, Supple used earth magic to erect another wall, weakening the fire even further.
Without a moment's delay, Marie followed up with an ice spell, finally extinguishing the fireball. Verner and John made use of this opportunity to dash forward, each striking one of the monster's legs.
Fiora aimed for his face, shooting arrow after arrow, helping them keep the beast in check.
One of his legs having been badly cut open by Verner, the monster let out a whine and fell to his knees. He wasn't going to go down so easily, though. He opened his maw again, blasting out a fireball that destroyed the ground.
The rubble hit Verner and his friends, forcing them to step back. The monster immediately followed up by jumping at them head-first.
His large body blew them away, and they all fell to the ground.
John and Fiora went flying outside of the arena and passed out on the spot. As for Supple, he spun several times in the air before falling down head-first into the seating area. Marie barely managed to remain conscious, but she was unable to get up.
Eterna and Verner were the only two members of the team who hadn't taken too much damage. The former got up and raised her staff toward Verner, using healing magic on him.
Verner used his sword to prop himself up, getting up with difficulty. As soon as he could, he charged at the monster head-on.
The weredog was already back on his feet and roared again, rushing at Verner too.
Right before the two collided, the last spell Marie had miraculously managed to launch hit the monster in the eyes. He faltered for a second, which decided the outcome of the fight.
Verner's sword went right through the monster's throat and he tumbled down, out of strength. Blood spewed out from the deep gash, and no matter how many times he tried to get back up, he couldn't.
"W-We made it..." Verner whispered, plopping on the ground, breathless.
What a scary opponent, he thought. Even with the six of them joining hands, they had barely managed to grasp victory. And yet, their terrifying foe seemed so pitiful in Verner's eyes now that he was at death's door.
"Witch... I...do my best...for you. I...do better...so...give hugs..."
His eyes—in which you could read intelligent thought—were filled with tears as he called for his master.
Ellize walked up to him slowly.
The dog started bringing his face closer to her, as though he didn't recognize the person he'd tried to kill a few moments ago. He was most likely confusing her with his beloved master, the witch.
Ellize didn't reject him. She reached out and hugged him tenderly. Her arms could only reach his face, but the monster closed his eyes nonetheless, at peace. He looked just like a puppy in his master's embrace.
"Lady Ellize... This monster is..."
"He must have failed to become an archmonster. I'm sure this poor puppy only loved the witch. He must have caused all this trouble because he wanted her to embrace him like this. He didn't know any better. Everything he did was to make the witch happy. He tried his best so she could praise him. How sad... The witch didn't return his love, did she?"
The countless wounds on the monster's body seemed to prove Ellize's guess right. No one knew how the witch treated him. Perhaps she'd been the one to inflict these wounds to relieve her stress. Perhaps she hadn't done anything to him herself, but had let other monsters test their powers on him. In either case, there was no doubt he had suffered a great deal of pain under her care.
"Witch..." he called out weakly.
He sounded like a child whining for his mother's attention. He probably had no idea who was hugging him in this state. He was lost in a daze, reliving old memories.
Ellize continued to pet him gently, lulling him to sleep.
"It's all right. You've been such a good boy... You can take a little nap, no one will get mad at you. Good night..."
The weredog let out a little whine, but quieted down.
"Pochi."
He still couldn't forget about her voice.
In his dreams, the dog—Pochi—saw his master as she'd been before she changed.
She sat down and smiled at him just like she used to in the past.
"Come here," she said, extending her hands toward him.
Pochi didn't hesitate for a second and jumped right into her arms.
No matter how much she had changed, he still loved her.
In his dreams, Pochi was back to being the happiest pup in the universe, nestled safely in the arms of the person he loved most in the world.
His body went still.
Ellize patted his head one last time before letting go slowly.
Faced with this sorrowful spectacle, Verner clenched his fists. He had been the one to kill this poor monster. He'd been convinced he was a terrible foe he needed to get rid of.
That was why he knew he had no right to feel this way... But he couldn't help it.
"I'll never forgive her..." he whispered.
"Me neither..." Eterna answered, her voice cracking as if she was about to cry.
This monster had only followed the witch faithfully. His only sin was loving her and wanting her love in return. Even though she'd treated him like worthless trash, even though she'd hurt him, he'd remained loyal to her.
After seeing Pochi's pitiful end and understanding his feelings, Verner and Eterna made up their minds.
"We'll defeat her... We have to. She doesn't deserve anyone's forgiveness..." Verner let out.
They couldn't allow such tragedies to be repeated over and over again. They had to put an end to it. Verner swore he'd defeat the witch before praying silently for the pitiful monster who—he hoped—would now rest in peace.
He believed that Pochi's last moments, at the very least, had given him some solace...
(2.9k word count)
A/n: damn... 😢
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