“Come on, come on… the Spirit Festival has turned into nothing more than a pretext for drinking.”
“What do you mean by ‘turned into’?”
“It’s because we now know the fact that real spirits haven’t actually seen this festival before.”
“W-wait, just because I haven’t seen one doesn’t mean fire and wind spirits didn’t! Right?”
”…Are there any?”
“Y-yes they are! …I’ve never seen them though.”
”…So what? That’s still questionable.”
To the south lies a lake, to the north stretches a desert—that town is Helicon. Hearing rumors lately of lizards frequently stopping by, Gash Zapper, a tail-less lizard axe-wielder, and Heely Water (tentative name), a water spirit appearing as a half-elf, had arrived just as year-end approached. Pine trees scattered throughout the town—artificial ones, since real pines are nearly nonexistent in southern deserts, each crafted by hand—and adorned with red decorations. Green and red: those are indeed the symbolic colors of the Winter Spirit Festival. Well, even though it’s “winter,” snow rarely falls in the south of this desert, so to be blunt, it bears little resemblance to the winter festival Celestans typically imagine. It’s a town where temperatures stay only as cool as autumn would be back north, yet all-night revelry unfolds anyway. A merchant’s virtue among the Celestans is squandering money without hesitation during such festivals; even coins earned by keeping flames lit beneath their nails for days are spent lavishly when the occasion demands it. Stagnant economies are minor crimes in their eyes; no businessman thrives unless he displays a booming prosperity before his customers. Sticking faithfully to this creed, the town’s merchants had planned a grand banquet unprecedented since Helicon was first founded. “What a small place for such a wealthy town…” “Surely making so many lizards visit means it’d be profitable enough?” “No, I mean… that rumor about a dragon being the cause? It just seems fishy.”
Gash is also one of those lizardmen who worship dragons, yet he’s never encountered even a single dragon in his entire life. Though watching his own kin rejoice makes him reluctant to pour water on them, dragons can shapeshift so perfectly they look human… leading him to suspect they might be getting fooled. As a former soldier, Gash is well-acquainted with the terrifying power of illusion magic through military demonstrations. He’d considered that talented fox-beast people or elves could perhaps achieve similar feats if they tried hard enough. “Well, either way works. If the economy’s doing this well, the Spirit Festival must be happening in a big way.” “Yeah… I’m looking forward to it.” Heely leaned close to Gash, resting her head on his shoulder. Though Gash isn’t short for a lizardman, his species’ characteristic forward-leaning posture keeps his overall height modest. Having Heely—a slightly petite female whose stature fits within that range—lean against him felt entirely natural, and it brought them a small shared joy.
Thus began the day of the Spirit Festival.
By evening, the festive atmosphere in town reached its peak.
“Gash! What’s that?! That!!”
“Freaking fireworks! Seems like student caravans from the Capital University occasionally bring them… can they really do this in a place like our town?”
“Incredible! Spirits of Fire or Light wouldn’t need anything like that to create such magic!”
”…But could even spirits of Fire and Light pull something off like that?”
”…I don’t know, but I think water spirits could easily make displays like that.”
“What an interesting idea. Let’s put on a show sometime and earn some cash.”
“W-wait, no way! That’d get out for sure!!”
“Just kidding!”
Every few minutes, magical beams of light painted patterns across the sky. Throughout the town streets, open-air taverns sprang up everywhere. One after another, someone would shout, “I’ll treat everyone—drink up!” purchasing a barrel and serving drinks right there on the spot, turning it into a competition among friends. Enthusiastic ogres started wrestling matches, with dark elves, humans, and lizard merchants joining in too, throwing each other around to elicit laughter. Though some genuinely struggled valiantly, others would exclaim, “Ooh! Which one of your elite knights is that?” heating up the crowd further. It was truly a chaotic yet energetic festival very typical of Celestans.
“Gash, give it your all!”
“Come on and watch.”
Gash decided to join the wrestling match too. His opponent was a middle-aged ogre man.
Though alcohol had loosened his mood and he eagerly stepped forward to challenge… facing such a brute of sheer strength made him sober up instantly. He muttered inwardly, “Did I make a mistake?”
“Hah, you hornless ogre, can you actually take a hit? If you ain’t thinkin’ about where you’re gonna flop, it’s gonna hurt!”
“Haah. You call yourselves ogres but I’m an old man! Look at the way that guy’s standin’, don’t he gotta worry ‘bout his back soon?”
“N-no way… No, no way, even so, you’re not flipping me over with just your level of skill.”
“Who says? Don’t underestimate a lizard man’s strength, okay.”
By the way, ogres get bad knees and lower backs as they age due to their massive frames. It wasn’t that Kashu had amazing eyesight; he was just trying to bait him.
However, since lizard men express themselves completely differently from humans or ogres, this kind of psychological warfare works surprisingly well on them.
“Alright, C-Stage Match #27… Let’s go!”
“Grrraaaagh!!”
“Chaaaaaaarge!!”
Kashu locks onto the middle-aged ogre. He’s really going for it, trying to show a little more than his usual self.
But the middle-aged ogre, noticing the mention of his back, just waves his arms half-heartedly in front of him without properly bracing for Kashu’s charge—he’s full of gaps.
This should work! Encouraged, Kashu pushes forward with even more momentum, but the middle-aged ogre sidesteps him quickly.
”!??”
Even if they were twice their size, locking grapples is already a struggle in itself.
With such long, massive arms, it’s possible for an ogre to simply not let another race get their hands on him at all.
That’s why other races rush forward desperately so they won’t be blocked.
If their momentum gets nullified like this, there’s no way their stance won’t break.
“I’ll eat your speed! Let’s restart from here, tail-less!”
Shoved hard on the back by a loud pang, Kashu tumbles out of the ring without a sound.
The surrounding audience bursts into laughter.
“D-dammit!”
“Easy now, easy now. It’s a festival, so don’t take it too seriously, you tail-cutter.”
“That dash was pretty good, hey tail-cutter!”
The audience coaxes Kashu’s frustration with jokes. Heeri approaches him laughing and gives his head some gentle pats.
“Ogres are strong, aren’t they? Kashu wins the Fighting Spirit Award!”
“Damn it! Even though I’m a warrior too!”
“Yeah yeah, we know Kashu’s actually strong—”
“I miss that beautiful girlfriend of yours, lizard man uncle.”
“Martial arts ain’t as important as judging which wife has the better figure, you tail-cutter. That old ogre guy’s wife is something else.”
“Don’t badmouth my wife! I’ve got devil ears!”
The laughter doesn’t stop. Kashu sticks his tongue out while enduring the shame, but only another lizard man would recognize that this isn’t a face of true embarrassment.
This commotion continued until well past midnight.
When the bell rang to announce it, the crowd suddenly stopped their fuss, packed up their shops, and began heading home.
“Huh? Where’s everyone going, Kashu?”
“Ah… The second half of the Spirit Festival starts after midnight.”
“The second half…?”
“Yeah.”
Patting himself on the head slightly with a breath that reeked somewhat of alcohol, Kashu gently runs his hand through Heiri’s hair like he’s stroking her.
“The Spirits enjoy our rowdiness until midnight. From here on out is their blessed time…”
”?”
“This is a time blessed by the spirits’ mercy, starting now and ending with tomorrow’s dawn. It’s when family and lovers watch over each other as they nurture their love.”
“Eh?”
“Well, from your perspective, you’ve been dragged into a raucous row without asking and then billed out of hand, so it’s hardly fun, is it? But that’s okay. Everyone just wants to be affectionate about it.”
”…Yeah, I get it. They’re all pretty shrewd, wouldn’t you say? Pretty well put together.”
”…Come on, Hee-ly. Shall we nurture some love too?”
Gush whispered with a mouth smelling of cheap liquor.
Usually, he never speaks of love, but rather excuses himself into intimacy by citing each other’s lustful natures. Yet even if it’s just a formality, even if it relies on the atmosphere alone, hearing Gush murmur words like ‘love’ made Hee-ly’s face flush red.
“W-what are you saying…?”
“Are you not going to grow any love yourself?”
Gush took a small sip of sake from his wooden cup with a look of slight regret. Once he’d finished that last drop, the stall would have to pack up and leave.
“No one said anything like that, did they?”
“You’re such a complicated fellow too.”
”…Hey, you seem to have forgotten, but I’m a spirit, aren’t I?”
“Oh yeah. That’s right.”
”…And isn’t what I have to do the ‘blessing’ part?”
“Hmm?”
“Because…”
Leaning her lips close to Gush’s unclear ears, Hee-ly whispered.
”…If it’s like that, there’s nothing for it but for me to bless you.”
“So pretentious with all your formalities.”
Gush’s wide-open lips met whether or not they touched Hee-ly’s small ones.
Then, thunderous noise and screams erupted.
”!?!”
Both looked up at the sky simultaneously, casting around them.
“Gush!”
Hee-ly pointed out towards the north, where the sky was turning murky.
“What the heck is that?”
”…A sandstorm… maybe?”
“No, it’s different from that… there’s weird sounds and screams.”
The sound of something heavy striking the earth. An explosion-like noise.
“This isn’t good.”
Gush’s warrior’s intuition warned him: It’s a calamity.
It’s the kind of calamity a warrior must stand against, his intuition stimulated at the base of his limbs, suddenly accelerating his blood flow.
“Hee-ly, let’s go!”
“Gush!?”
Gush bolted away. His family heirloom Twin Tomahawk was still on his back.
He untied the chain and leather restraint binding it together from above and manipulated the axe with both hands. He could still feel his arms merging with the weapon.
“That’s… not good at all!!”
Gush’s speed quickly turned that of a beast. After all, warrior lizardmen are inherently strong.
On the outskirts of town, people were being attacked by monsters.
A giant snake… no. 「Sandworm?! And what the hell, it’s HUGE!!」 It was a sandworm, a massive annelid unique to deserts. Even an average specimen was a nuisance at five meters long and several centimeters thick, plus they were omnivorous—they ate scorpions, snakes, cacti, and occasionally monsters too. Even this one had grown into something major, over a meter in thickness, and it was terrorizing the residents.
「Help me, help meee!!」
「Damn it!! If Lady Lyra was here, I’d never have to deal with something like this!!」
「Go back to the Ogre inn and wake them up!! Go to the military police station and summon anyone there!!」
「Can even those MPs handle this?!」
「Better than nothing!! At least I can guide people to shelter… Ah, eeehhhhh!!」
Besides, it wasn’t just one. From beyond the grove of palms, a grotesque mass could be seen writhing into view.
「Tch… how jealous I am of races with night vision.»
Ghash whispered as he sprinted at full speed, bringing both tomahawks down upon the sandworm that was mauling a townsman.
「T-thank goodness!!」
「Get away, run now!!」
「B-bloody hell, there’s no way I can just leave him behind…」
The townsman’s leg had been broken. Sandworms have no teeth, but their suction power could crush and shred animal flesh into paste.
Heili approached the man as she chased after him, holding her hand over his broken foot.
A sickening squishy sound came from his leg, and the man grimaced in disgust, but the next moment, his foot had returned to its original shape.
「W-what?!」
「Go! You should be able to run!!」
「O-okay!!」
The townsman fled, running away as fast as he could.
「Heili, you too, get out of here!!」
While striking the writhing sandworm repeatedly, Ghash noticed that his blows were barely having any effect thanks to its tough outer skin that resisted blade penetration, and frustration began to creep in.
「I’ve always said it, right? My true body is that water you’re carrying, so running with just this form is pointless!!」
「Tch…»
Ghash glanced at the silver-water flask strapped to his waist. It was a luxury purchase, filled with water infused with nuclear elements mixed in—something Heili calls her “true body,” though Ghash still doesn’t fully grasp it, sensing it as something akin to a soul.
This is what anchors Heili’s existence; even if the girl herself were torn apart while manifesting in human form, she could revive without issue as long as those nuclear elements remained intact… That was the deal.
She hasn’t pushed things that far out of fear yet.
「It might not seem useful, but it’s better than nothing, right?!」
When Ghash shouted, Heili retorted with a shrill 「Of course!!」
「Because tonight our role as spirits is to show mercy to the people!!」
「I’m saying if this thing can help us crush these bastards, then use it!! If you’re going to ‘show mercy,’ do that over there!!」
With an axe swing, Ghash smashed the writhing sandworm that had turned toward Heili. Had it been a normal creature’s neck, that single blow would have sent it flying already.
But the sandworm showed no sign of being affected. 「Damn it, as long as it has its tail!!」 Ghash gritted his teeth in frustration. Had Ghash’s own tail remained intact, that full-powered horizontal slash might have delivered a killing blow to the sandworm. Unlike slashing attacks, an impact strike converting pure body strength into shock force is nearly impossible to dodge.
But right now, Ghash’s tail had been severed just fifty centimeters from its base and was useless as it hung there.
“Hold your horses, you Water Spirit! Don’t get cocky!!”
Behind Gash, Heriyi thrust her hands forward and unleashed a lance of water.
The sharp stream struck the sandworm’s mouth square on, forcing it to recoil.
“It’s working!!”
“Not even a little!”
“Well, at least it works better than on Gash!”
“But we can’t seem to kill it!!”
While bickering, both fought desperately to keep the sandworm at bay, and by some miracle, their clash produced a surprisingly good combination.
“Damn it… We need to smash this thing with raw power alone… Haven’t those ogres shown up yet?!”
Gash growled in frustration. But apparently, the sandworm wasn’t the only threat; screams and explosions rang out from all directions now, yet no reinforcements for Gash and his companions had made an appearance.
“Damn it… If only General Vincent were here right now!!”
“What are you talking about?!”
“Why’re you so mad?!”
“For crying out loud! The spirits are on our side!”
“Don’t say anything so stupid until after we’ve taken these things down, you jerk!!”
Once again, Gash cast his mind back to the last of the military allies he’d had.
Even though hoping for Overnite’s aid in such a pinch was wishful thinking, he craved that nonsense attack power of his own.
“Damn it… One or the other. I’m gonna jam my tomahawk straight into its damn mouth!”
“What if it swallows you?”
“Yeah, probably will.”
The sandworm’s mouth, boasting a diameter of over one meter, would swallow a tomahawk with zero trouble. Even though they were tied together with silk chains, once inside that gullet, extracting anything would be no simple task.
“Water Spirit, haven’t got some kind of special move?”
“There isn’t one! What the hell do you expect from me regarding water?!?”
”…Something like poison that makes you want to throw up?”
“I did feel a bit warm just now. I’ll definitely add extra poison next time I fuck you. Enough to make you unable to use the toilet for a whole day.”
“Got it. Never fucking with you again.”
“My bad! It’s just a lie, so please don’t say mean things like that!”
“You weak bastard!!”
This shameless couple was flirting nonstop while repeatedly pounding the sandworm’s head. If anyone were watching, they’d probably burst out laughing: “Of course, it’s Spirit Festival night after all.”
No.
“Hahahaha! How sweet! You two are perfect for each other!!”
Indeed, someone was laughing at them loudly.
“Who is that?!”
Gash and Heriyi spun around in alarm.
There stood a woman with dark skin and silver hair, exuding an ambiguous, almost中性 (androgynous) aura.
“Yeah, I suppose so.”
The woman continued to giggle while pointing at the sandworm.
As Gash and Heriyi reflexively prepared to attack the approaching monster—
“A hint for you… No fireworks users have visited this town today.”
“Huh?”
“Hint #2.”
The woman flicks the hand pointing at the Sandworm sideways.
Instantly, the Sandworm splits into rings with a sharp chun sound.
”!?”
Gash and Heili stare dumbfounded.
The woman breezes past them without breaking stride, spreading her arms toward the remaining Sandworms.
“Hint #3. Tonight, I have a duty to cherish lovers like you two.”
Then, she spins halfway in an elegant whirlwind. She turns her back to the writhing creatures and faces Gash and Heili head-on.
A dazzling glow adorns her swelling form like fireflies dancing upon it.
Like massive beetles suddenly taking flight, the light scatters across them and surges toward their backs, heads, and mouths.
As if fireworks dancing at dusk, the brilliance rips the Sandworms apart into dust under its crushing footfalls.
“Pleased to meet you, warrior lizard and water spirit in love.”
Explosive thunder, swirling sandstorms, and splashes of green viscera flying from the Sandworms.
“My name is Bright Light. I am a spawn of the Light Spirit.”
Unblemished by all that chaos, the elf who looked like a dark elf smiled softly at them.
(To be continued)