Arc 8.06

Anto, walking up to the rabbit, says, "Hey little bunny, threatening people isn't good, idiot!"

Jumping up, the rabbit kicks Anto in the face, causing him to fall to the ground. Then, while he is on the ground, the rabbit jumps up to him and, with his stubby little arms, punches Anto in the face repeatedly.

Walking back to me with swollen cheeks, Anto cries, "I hate rabbits!!"

Φ While doing work on my desk, I see the child Mime laughing hysterically while saying, "Go rabbit, beat up my stupid brother!"

Is Orb and everyone else, ok?

Bursting through the door. Iancu says, "DAD SAVE ME!"

"IT'S TOO LATE, IANCU, YOU PROMISED!"

Looking at him, I see him dressed in a girl's clothes with Elia right behind him. "I don't even know where to begin with this."

Φ The rabbit, picking up the stick it used to write on the sand with, inscribes: YOU FIRST DRAGON!

"Cyrus, it seems he wants you. You should hurry up before it kills us all."

"P-P-Please don't say that s-s-s-s-so casually."

Walking up to the rabbit, Cyrus bends down and asks, "What did you wan-n-n-n-nt from me mis-s-s-s-ster rabbit?"

Winding its stumpy fist, the rabbit decks Cyrus directly in the face, then it jumps on him and kicks him again and again. Then, after it stops stomping on him, the rabbit makes a giant sand tornado under itself, sending Cyrus ridiculously high into the air.

Then, after a few seconds, the tornado dissipates, which causes Cyrus to plummet to the ground. As the dust clears around them, I see that the rabbit has a rather relieved expression on its face. I guess that counts as payment.

Walking over to Atalanta, the rabbit points at her. "Orb, is it going to that to me next? I am not a dragon, something like that will kill me!"

Saluting her, I say, "Goodbye, soldier!"

"You bastard!!"

Running over to Atalanta, the rabbit jumps up, which causes Atalanta to enter a defensive stance.

Φ "Come, you sick rabbit, I will take you down with me!"

As it falls towards me in the air, I launch a pre-emptive strike, but it dodges my blow, so I quickly try to put my arms up to shield my face. Waiting for a strike I feel something trying to get down below.

Looking down, I see the rabbit trying to squeeze down my clothes, "Don't go there, little one!!" Falling to the ground, I say, "Why the hell are you so heavy?"

As the rabbit is getting deeper into my clothes, I turn my face to Orb and scream, "I NEED HELP!"

Orb looks away from me while blocking Anto's eyes. "Take your time, we will just look over this way."

Φ "Orb, don't cover his eyes, I can't see anything this way!"

"Iancu, keeping your promises is one of the most basic things a human can do."

"But she tricked me!"

"I believe I told you not to sign contracts without reading them first. This is your own fault."

"You heard Dad Iancu, now it is time for some skincare, I need to clean up those pores!"

Turning around, I shout, "SHUT UP, YOU'RE GETTING IN THE WAY OF MY SHOW!"

The air in the room turns stale as the girl Elia and the nightmare Avram give me cold looks. "I don't know what house you grew up in."

"But here we don't take such tones with our elders."

Both of them stand towering over me, so I say, "I am sorry!"

"You will be."

"Just wait."

Φ After Atalanta stops screaming, we turn around to see her lying on the sand with a disgusted look, holding her chest while the rabbit walks towards us with a glossy face.

Jumping up to me, he kicks Anto right out of my arms.

Crawling away from him on the sand, "Didn't you already beat me up?"

Walking over to Anto, he takes the crescent moon mask she wears from him and puts it on. "Give that back, it is mine!"

When Anto tries to take it back, the rabbit kicks him in the face, knocking him back into the sand. As Anto cries, I walk over to him and say, "I will make you a new one later, ok!"

"You promise?"

"I do," I say, picking him up and rubbing his back.

While I console Anto, the rabbit starts shaping something in the sand, then it points at it, making an adorable noise. Looking at it, I see what I believe to be a poorly shaped six-winged dragon.

"Wow, that looks bad!"

The rabbit nods its head in response to my words, then continues to point at it. Confused for a moment, I ask, "Do you want me to make one of those?"

Ecstatically, the rabbit nods its head up and down repeatedly. "So be it."

Dropping Anto down on the sand, I use my legacy to create a mini sculpture of a dragon, then convert my snow into ice, solidifying it. Handing it to the bunny, I say, "Here you go."

Taking it from my hand, the rabbit jumps ecstatically. Then it writes onto the sand with a stick, 'thank you brocon!'

Confused, I say, "I have no brothers. If I have any kind of complex, it is a wolf complex. Because aren't they the most wonderful beats in the world!"

While I rave about wolves, the rabbit jumps up and kicks me in the stomach. On the floor, I hold my stomach, saying, "How strong are you?"

Walking up to me, the rabbit gives me a head path and then jumps far away into the sky. Getting up, I see my companions lying out on the sand, both emotionally and physically damaged.

Depressed, Cyrus says, "I-I-I-I-I-It probably sensed I am pat-t-t-theic so it chose to bully me."

Holding her boobs with a face of shock, Atalanta says, "A beast actually managed to best me, this can't be happening, who am I?"

Shaking on the floor, Anto says, "Humans are truly evil."

"It was a rabbit that kicked your ass?"

"I am not talking about that, I am talking about what those two monsters are doing to Mime. That is completely inhumane."

Behind me, I hear a weak roar, so I run over to my new pet and say, "Hey boy, are you doing alright?"

My pet gives me a weak roar, but with a happy face, "Good, it seems you're doing ok, but now let's get you some food."

Running around, I pick up the corpses of the dead wonderbeasts. Seeing everyone still sulking on the ground, I scream, "STOP BEING BABIES AND HELP ME!"

After gathering enough corpses, I place them around my pet and then create a large ice barrier all around it. "Eat up and heal, I will be back for you."

Facing everyone, I say, "Now let us continue our journey."

As Orb and everyone else start walking away, a lone wonderbeast that's almost identical to an eagle stalks them from afar.

-Break-

Location: The City of Jedidiah

Φ "Nothing beats alcohol for breakfast," I say just before I take a sip out of my mug.

The heat is ridiculous, just like always. My throat dries up immediately, just like always, and the sand in front of me is the same as always. "When did life get so fucking stale?"

"Well, maybe if you actually did your work, you would enjoy yourself, old man!"

"I am 40, not an old man, you stupid soldiers. If you can't even understand that, I doubt you could understand my boredom"

"If you want to explore the desert and have fun you can, but I hope you enjoy dealing with all the vicious beasts out there, those things will make you shit your pants just like it did with Omar over there."

"Hey, you were shaking in your boots too, Abdul!"

"Because I thought I would have to carry your shit-covered body back home."

"Say that again!"

"For a bunch of soldiers, you sound pathetic, you do realise that it is your job to fight those beasts? With people like you here, I wonder if it is actually safe in Jedidiah."

"You talk as if you could do half the work we do, old man."

"Don't forget that you are breaking the rules by being out this far; we could forcefully drag you in."

The two young men beside me are almost on the verge of attacking me, so I laugh and say, "I doubt you guys could do that, but if you weaklings want to try, go ahead."

As the two are about to strike me, the third one behind them stops them and says, "Hold up, you two, if you actually harmed a civilian, our merciful king would strip you both of your ranks and punish you as if you spat in the face of his wife."

"But Hamza, he started it."

"Looks like one of you can actually rationalise things. Being logical will keep you alive, boys."

Hamza says, "Ahh, rationalisation, a rather funny word."

"Come again," I say, annoyed.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to flare your anger, but your attitude reminds me of something our kind said. People who constantly talk about rationality and logic are the most emotional of us all.

Logic and rational become a tool used by those people to try and mask some kind of emotional agenda. For example, if you were being logical, you would have played around with us and tried to get us to leave as quickly as possible."

"I don't have time for your nonsense."

"Abdul phrased his words badly, but his words were out of genuine concern due to the dangers out in the sand, instead of using all that logic and rationale to infer that you instead picked a fight and used Abdul as tools to vent your anger.

Are you upset about something else in your life? Maybe your personal failures? Your lost goals? Your daughte-."

Irritated, I punched Hamza in the face before he finished his sentence.

Wiping the blood off his cheek, Hamza says, "Looks like I was spot on."

"Picking fights with those stronger than you was a bad idea, Hamza."

"Don't worry, unlike you, I was being logical, now I can freely break your legs."

"Just try!" I say, preparing to punch Hamza. But as I approach my right, I see Omar disappear and see a boy with white hair, then suddenly I feel my head turn and my consciousness fades.

Φ After knocking out the older man, in the same movement, I knock out the two younger men. I drag all of them, men, to a spot which isn't easily seen.

A little while after that, everyone else approaches me. "Mission complete. Now let's change."

Creating an ice blockade for Atalanta, all of us change into the clothes the men were wearing. "These clothes cover our bodies quite a bit."

"Orb, what should we do with these guys?"

"Anto invert their thought process, so the last thing they will care about is getting out."

"Will do."

"Now for our search, I believe we should split up, Anto and I have great mobility, so we should be able to get around quicker on our own."

"Then that leaves Cyrus with me."

"P-P-Pleasure to be w-w-w-working with you."

"I am finished."

"Looks like we are all ready, let's go!"

Name: Anathematised Panther

Height: 110 cm

Type: Carnivore

Description: A wonderbeast which looks almost Identical to a panther with only a few differences. It has golden patterns which lie upon its black skin, and its tail is that of a golden blade which it can stretch to cut up anything in sight.

Fact: Due to its patterns blending into the sand around it, the panther is able to bury itself in an act as an ambushed hunter. It is often confused with a wonderbeast, but it isn't.

Name: Anathematised Jackal

Height: 99cm

Type: Carnivore

Description: A wonderbeast which looks almost identical to a Jackal with only a few differences. It has golden claws and a golden horn, which enables it to shoot lightning.

Fact: They are pack hunters who will almost never be seen alone. They are ranked number 2 in animals that can hold a grudge. It is often confused with a wonderbeast, but it isn't.