The Wave and the Yeti

Ah.

I had said too much.

Truth be told, I didn't know how to cure Red Dragon.

Hell. I don't even know if he has a real corporeal disease.

I had just... waffled? Babbled? Maybe even... manipulated Red Dragon.

Well. It sure wasn't a matter for as of now.

We, consisting of myself and Red Dragon, humbly sat over an Ice-Curve that drooped over the endless white.

It had curved at the end and bent on its back, causing its flawless white form to look like a wave in a rapid descent.

I sat on the edge, with my legs hanging freely.

Vigar had come too, for my sake.

I wouldn't dare do this kind of thing without my very own personal safety net.

It was difficult to decipher the end of the ledge I sat on and the layer of white below from eyesight alone.

On the layer below us, a perfectly unlevelled and jumpy sea of white was present.

Immaculately flawless as it only had one shade and one temperament.

The air was cool and the wind was silent as I felt the occasional chill run through my half-exposed back.

After around 300 meters, the white lumps dropped down, I hadn't a clue how far but definitely a long distance.

It just felt like it had to be.

Thankfully, if any enemies did arise from behind the white, we would be able to see them for a while and prepare in accordance.

Red Dragon was still wearing his traditional adventurer's clothes, a royal red and a brisket gold.

There really was no point in saying that, was there?

What was he going to do with only one set of clothes?

Fight naked?

Yikes.

That was quite the... unwanted image in my head.

I shut off my mind and waited as I tousled my silken hair.

The wind was coarse and rushed as it skimmed past us and down the deep descent.

"So."

I glanced upwards subtly as Red Dragon stood their solemnly.

His ears twitched slightly upon acknowledging my soft and questioning voice.

His royal-red cloak sailed in the wind brazenly.

Was he trying to see the next wave or was he just trying to look cool?

Oh well. I'll let him have his moment.

"When do I learn the good stuff?"

My head bopped up and down slowly as I waited in eager anticipation, hidden behind a layer of seriousness.

He seemed to ponder my question as he continued staring off into the distance.

His figure seemed oppressive to the endless white that struggled to devour our ant-like presences.

The sky seemed to be...

Trembling?

Not only was the sky shaking, I hadn't noticed due to the sheer blandness of this place but.

Everywhere was trembling.

And this time, it wasn't through the world-energy.

Rather, everything was visibly trembling.

Even Vigar seemed to have noticed it as the invisible grip around my arm tightened.

My eyebrows furrowed as I looked around me.

Was this meant to be a lesson or something completely unprepared for?

Stoically and amazingly unperplexed some words slipped through Red Dragon's mouth.

"They're coming."

I choked on my words as I looked back and forth, from Red Dragon to the land beneath us.

They were coming?

As in the -S- Rank monsters were coming?

Those guys?

He did know my arm was broken right?

I spoke as fast as I could, I needed to get every answer right now.

"So what are we supposed to do? No, I mean what am I supposed to do?"

My neck darted and twisted between the contrasting image of the shaking landscape and Red Dragon.

A faint rumbling noise had begun to surface.

He looked at me with a look of uncertainty before drawing a fingertip to my chest.

"Keep this steady and strong."

I met his stubbornly golden eyes as my own burgundy red eyes looked unarguably confused.

Keep what steady and strong?

And then it hit me.

A pulse.

A pulse that coursed through my body.

It felt like my muscles were contorting constantly.

A faint throbbing emerged from my chest. My heart area primarily.

The world seemed to dull as a faint victorious green rose like flames around my hands.

It curved and drew violence like that of a fire.

It is pointed and curved at its edges.

Its length was no longer than that of a hand as I drew my body out.

Oddly enough, I didn't feel tired.

Rather, dangerously energetic.

But this flame was temporary.

It constantly dived down and weakened.

I had to regesture and remember the original feeling, giving my aura of victorious green a brief relapse.

As I was in my moment, looking at my hands with widened eyes as this strange lucid green specter flickered around me, Red Dragon rose a clenched fist in my direction.

I noticed a jeweled ring on the middle finger.

Soon, a strange and mesmerizing black tainted the surroundings.

An entirely black sword hit the ground silently.

It was caliginous from a glance and had no shine.

Though there was no sun for it to shine via, that was a different matter.

As I concentrated on the hilt, I could briefly sense a traceless ringing sound.

I soon blinked twice and it was gone.

Dumbfounded I tried to concentrate on the blade's hilt again, but no sound emerged.

So I was just imaganing it?

Wasn't that just a splendid reminder of my constantly declining mental state.

"Take it. I've got more than enough spares."

Red Dragon's voice was that of concern and nostalgia as the words ruffled out his mouth

I did remember him stating that he had only spent money on swords and his teammate's debt.

But a spatial ring?

Did they exist?

I guess that was nice to know.

Just felt like a bit of a smack in the face, learning such a thing right now.

As my concentration wavered, I soon realized that the last of my tenacious green flames were wisping out.

Wait.

I desperately tried to pull them back up, but they soon became lifeless and ceased to exist in the formless chill around us.

I sighed.

Solemnly, I looked at Red Dragon for help but my head instantly jerked backward.

Something had slipped past in the corner of my eye.

Well. Not just something.

Hundreds of things. Hundreds of tiny little black dots on the horizon.

They ravaged through the perfect snow, leaving unkept trails and blistered scrapes in the ground. Revealing yet another layer of white.

They moved wildly and unintelligently.

Strangely, they were mostly covered in thick layers of browned fur and scales.

A very undiverse range for an entire -S- Rank Dungeon.

They were ranging from the size of a human to that of a tree.

Judging from merely their travel speed and thick skin, I would say they were creatures within the Advanced Rank.

I just couldn't help but think that the masses of these furry and scaly little creatures reminded me of something.

And it was in that moment, as I squinted my eyes and leaned my back over the edge that I saw the finer details.

They were not howling and running crazily in rage, instinct or hunger.

They were running in fear.

In desperation.

In front of death.

"RAUAGUAGHAGHAGH."

It was brutish and primitive.

Its face had the expression of happy anguish.

Whatever that meant.

A white titan emerged in one go from the drop behind the horizon.

It was huge even from our far-away distance.

It beated its scaled and furless chest in primal urges.

It was covered in luxurious white fur that was unkept and spazzed all over its humongous figure.

Its face was infested with delicate, sleek strands of white that seemed to be sprouting from everywhere.

Its eyes were entirely white and a shade lighter than its fur.

The bristly skin on its face was darkened, matching the unhealthy tone of its teeth.

I then realized that the area had not been trembling due to the presence of hundreds of wolf-men.

But because of one creature.

Or should I say...

One Carnivorous Yeti.

So that was the -S- Rank?

Red Dragon seemed to nod calmly at this existence.

Putting a finger right through my solar plexus, he once again set me alight.

Energy coursed through me.

It felt like I had just been winded, yet I could breathe better than ever.

As the hordes and wails of Wolf-Men got closer, they soon lost all dignity.

The sight of their brethren being ruthlessly chomped off by the Yeti had decreased any will they had to show honor or respect.

Excitement and bodily fluids dirtied the floor as their faces became desperate and sickly.

Making sure to keep this strange thing lively, I looked at Adam for confirmation of our current task.

"You take care of the small guys."

He pointed his red blade at the Yeti in one smooth draw.

The sheathing sound was so precise that it caused my ears to then crease and flinch.

"The big one is mine."

And soon, the soon beneath us fell to the floor.

And our fleeting figures with it.

I hadn't a clue of what had actually happened.

Just that Red Dragon had somehow caused the floor only beneath us to collapse in the form of a snow-white boulder.

A small cloud of snow puffed in my face as I kept the faint aura alive.

I watched as a scene of unprecedented stature unveiled itself before my fragrant self.

And before I knew it, I was before a throng of the desperate.

They had turned the flawless white into a sickening sight for sore and blistered eyes.

I felt my emotions swell upon the sight of my left arm in its casted position.

Red Dragon did not bother for me however, keeping his eyes away from my figure, he seemed to only have eyes for his target.

Noticing Red Dragon's presence, the Yeti roared even more horrifically. Each beat of its chest sent a pulse of visibly pained air outwards.

A small smirk creased at the end of Red Dragon's mouth under his mask.

The top of his right hand curved to the top of his blade.

It would unsheath in a moment's notice.

Soon, the back of his cloak began dancing strangely.

As if it was being waved up and down by an odd force.

At that moment I had a short lapse of judgment.

It happened again.

He was no longer the moody, unstable, and silently concerned Red Dragon.

He had no wrinkles. No imperfections. And certainly no weakness.

Just a burgundy red blade and the stance of the powerful.

He was cured. For that short interlapse.

Before my meek self could even react, his hood threw itself backward as his figure blasted through the sea of wolf-men. He aimed for the prize.

A rupturing boom resonated and fizzled dangerously.

Air loops soared outwards from his instant charge as my hair flailed around unknowingly.

A huge split had formed in the once blinding mass of brown fur.

A revolting cylinder of bloody remains had been cursed down.

The world took a second to acknowledge this destructive force.

Even I had to take two looks to admit that what had just happened.

Oh. That had really happened.

A straight and almost evanescent trail of pure red that had crossed straight through the middle of the bloody parting soon vanished, its destructive power caused the air to tremble for a short moment.

The wolf-men looking to their right and left soon became even more crazy and frenzied, realizing that a straight path had just been blasted through their entire pack.

I then gulped as I realized that they were all now running at one person.

Me.

The tenacious green flames around me gave me confidence.

I wielded my black blade with one somewhat still hand and my eyes flashed with a strong red.

I was ready.

I could do this.

Vigar curled off from my cast before warding around my neck. I felt a reassuring texture.

Ready to dull any lethal blows, scratches and bites.

My figure stood there, steady and ready as I met eyes with an entire army of creatures that could probably tear me to pieces.

But right now they weren't bloodthirsty, gore-gripping monsters.

And I was no longer a boy.