“Phew, with the spirit festival being what it is, it just looks like an excuse to drink.” “What do you mean by ‘it’s that way’?” “Well, now that we know the real spirits have never actually seen a festival.” “But, I’ve never seen one, but maybe the fire and wind spirits have?” ”…Is there?” “There are! …I haven’t seen them though.” ”…And what does that matter?” The town of Helicon, with its lake to the south and desert to the north. Recently hearing that many lizardmen had been visiting, Gash Zapper, a tailless lizardman axefighter, and Heili Water (a pseudonym), a half-elf in the guise of a water spirit, visited around year’s end. Fake evergreen trees stood everywhere in town (there are almost none south of the desert so each one is handmade) and red decorations. Green and red, these were also the image colors for the winter spirit festival.
Well, even though it’s winter, in the south of the desert snow never falls. In other words, this isn’t what Trot people would imagine as a winter festival. It’s more like an autumn celebration in cooler climes with all-night revelry. Celesta merchants are known for their generosity during festivals, spending without hesitation money they earned by working hard day and night. A sluggish economy is considered a personal evil; it’s only right to spend freely if you’re going to be a merchant. True to this belief, the merchants of this town were planning a grand feast since the founding of the city. “Who would’ve thought there’d be so much money in such an out-of-the-way place.” “If lots of lizardmen are coming, they must be making some good profits?” “Well… I mean, it just seems suspicious that dragons have come here at all.” Gash is a lizardman who worships dragons but has never seen one himself. He didn’t want to dampen his fellow tribesmen’s spirits, but the rumors of dragon sightings seemed too far-fetched. As a former soldier, Gash was well aware of how powerful recent illusion magic had become from military demonstrations by magical soldiers. He wondered if even an excellent foxkin or elf could pull off such a deception. “Well, whatever. If things are this lively, it should be quite the grand festival for the spirits.” “Yeah, I’m looking forward to it.”
Heely snuggles up to Gash and rests her head on his shoulder. Gash isn’t small for a Lizardman, but thanks to their characteristic forward-leaning posture, he’s not as tall as one might think. It was a pleasant surprise that Heely, who is somewhat shorter than average, could lean against him without looking unnatural.
On such a day of the Spirit Festival, as evening falls, the town’s festival mood reaches its peak. “Hey Gash! What’s that?!” “That!!” “It’s fireworks,” he says. “The student caravan from the capital university sometimes does it… but I didn’t think they’d do it in this kind of place.” “That’s amazing! You don’t even need a fire or light spirit to make those!” ”…Can fire and light spirits really do that?” ”…I don’t know, but if it were me, I could probably put on something like that with water.” “I got an idea. We should try putting on a show somewhere and earn some money.”
“W-Wait, no way! They’ll find out for sure!!” “It’s a joke.” In the sky, magical lights painted pictures every few minutes. On the streets of town, makeshift taverns popped up everywhere. People kept buying barrels of alcohol and shouting, “It’s on me, everyone drink!” causing others to compete in generosity. The excited orcs started wrestling matches that drew dark elves, humans, lizardmen merchants, and more into the fun with laughter and cheers. Some even got competitive enough to make people wonder if they were ace knights. The festival was a lively, energetic mess, typical of Celesta.
“Go Gash!” “Watch this.” Gash joined in on one of the wrestling matches. His opponent was an orc middle-aged man. Even though he felt good after drinking some alcohol, seeing such a strong brute sobered him up immediately. He wondered if he had bitten off more than he could chew.
“Yeah, Tailed Lizard, can you take it? If you don’t think about how to fall, it’ll hurt.” “Hey, I may be an Ogre, but I’m not your dad. Your stance is starting to strain your back, isn’t it?” “W-Why would you say that… Anyway, even if you were at your level, I wouldn’t get flipped over.” “We’ll see about that. Don’t underestimate a Lizardman’s strength.” By the way, because of their massive bodies, Ogres usually suffer from knee or back problems as they age. Gash’s eyesight wasn’t particularly keen; it was just a bluff. However, since Lizardmen have completely different expressions than humans and Ogres, this kind of psychological warfare works surprisingly well on them. “Alright, C Stage, 27th match… Begin!” “Uoohhh!!” “Gaaaaahh!!” Gash engaged the middle-aged Ogre with all his might, determined to show Heely a good fight.
But the middle-aged ogre, perhaps concerned about his own stance after being pointed out, did not even bother to properly brace himself for Gash’s charge; he merely shook his arms halfway in front of him. He was full of openings.
Gash thought this would work and put more force into his charge, but the middle-aged ogre casually deflected him.
“!?”
Their original body size difference made it difficult even to properly grapple with each other.
With the ogre’s long and massive arms, he could easily prevent any other race from grabbing onto him in the first place. So they hurriedly charged forward to avoid being blocked.
When their momentum was deflected like that, there was no way for them not to lose balance.
“Even if you have some speed, I’ll buy it! Go back and bring your tail next time!”
Gash was pushed away with a thump on the back and rolled out of bounds. The surrounding audience burst into laughter.
“Shit!” “C’mon, c’mon. It’s a festival, so don’t take it seriously, Tail.” “You ran pretty well, Tail!” The spectators around Gash tried to console him as he sulked. Heeley laughed and ran up to him, stroking his head. “Ogres are strong, aren’t they? You did great too, Gash.” “Damn it! I’m a warrior too, you know!” “Yes, yes, we all know how strong you really are, Gash.” “You must be jealous of my pretty girlfriend, Lizard Man.” “A wife’s worth is more important than sumo matches, Tail. You should see the Ogre’s wife; she’s amazing.” “Don’t badmouth my wife! I have ears like a demon!”
Laughter never stopped. Gash tried to endure his humiliation by licking his tongue, but only a fellow lizardman would recognize this as an expression of shame.
The commotion continued until past midnight. When the bell rang announcing the hour, people suddenly quieted down and began closing their shops before heading home. “Huh? Gash, what’s everyone doing?” “Oh—… It’s the second half of the Spirit Festival after midnight.” “The second half…?” “Yeah.” Gash patted Heely’s head with slightly stinking breath. “The Spirits enjoyed the commotion until midnight. From now on it’s time for their blessing…” “?”
?
“From now until tomorrow morning is the time of mercy under the protection of a satisfied spirit. They’ll be watching over families and lovers as they nurture their love,”
“Huh?”
“Well, it might not be fun for you since it’s like someone threw a wild party in your place without asking and then sent you the bill, but that’s alright. Everyone just wants to get cozy.”
”…I see. You guys are pretty shrewd or something, huh? Or maybe it’s just well done?”
“Hey, Heelee, how about we nurture our love too?”
Gash muttered with his mouth full of alcohol.
Usually he wouldn’t talk about love and would just slip into intimacy under the guise of each other’s lewdness, but even if it was just for show, even if it was just a matter of atmosphere, Gash had said ‘love’ and Heelee blushed.
“W-What are you talking about…”
“Does that mean it’s not growing?”
Gash took a sip from his wooden cup. If he finished the alcohol in this cup, they’d have to leave the open-air tavern.
“Nobody said that, did they?”
“You’re such a complicated person.”
“…You seem to have forgotten, but I’m an angel, you know?”
“Oh yeah. Right.”
“…So, my job is to comfort people, right?”
“…Huh?”
“So,”
Heieryi leaned close to Gash’s incomprehensible ear and whispered.
“If it comes to that kind of day, then there’s no choice but to comfort you.”
“You’re such a hypocrite.”
The large gash in Gash’s lips and Heely’s small ones almost touched.
Then, a deafening sound and screams erupted.
“!?”
Both of them looked up at the sky and around them simultaneously.
“Gash!”
Heely pointed north. The sky there was darkened.
“What is that?”
“A sandstorm… maybe?”
“No, it doesn’t look like one… plus those weird sounds and screams…”
The ground shook as if something heavy were hitting it. Explosive-like noises.
“Something’s wrong,” Gash’s warrior instinct warns him. A disaster, it says. The instinct tingles at his limbs’ roots and starts pumping blood rapidly, telling him this is a disaster that warriors should face. “Heelee! Let’s go!” “Gash?!” Gash takes off running. He still carries the family twin tomahawks with him. He unfastens the locks and straps binding them together and wields both axes in his hands. His arms are still accustomed to merging with these weapons. “That is… not good!!” Gash’s speed quickly turns feral. Lizardmen warriors are naturally strong.
In the outskirts of town, people were being attacked by monsters.
A huge snake… no. “Sandworms!?” And they’re big!! It was a giant sandworm, unique to the desert. Even an average-sized one would be around five meters long and several dozen centimeters thick, making it a troublesome creature that’s omnivorous—eating scorpions, snakes, cacti, and even monsters at times. Even this large specimen of sandworm, with a diameter over a meter, was attacking the residents. “Help me! Help meee!!” “Damn it!! If only Lady Rila were here to deal with this thing!!” “Go to the Ogre Inn and wake up everyone there!! Go to the garrison post and get anyone you can find!!” “What good are they against something like this?!” “They’re better than nothing!! At worst, we can at least guide people to safety… ah, hiiiii!!”
And it’s not just one. A monstrous body can be seen writhing from behind the palm trees.
“Tch… I envy races that have night vision.”
Gash muttered as he ran at full speed, swinging his tomahawks at the sandworm that had latched onto the townsman.
“Y-You saved me!!”
“Get out of here now!”
“I-I can’t! It won’t be that easy!”
The townsman’s leg was broken. The sandworm didn’t have teeth, but its suction could crush an animal’s body into a pulp.
Healer caught up to the injured man and ran over, placing her hands on his broken leg. A disgusting grinding sound came from it as she healed him, and he grimaced in pain, but the next moment his leg was back to normal.
“W-What…?!”
“Go!! You should be able to run!!” “Y-Yeah!” The townspeople ran away. “Hey, Heelee! Run too!” Gash kept hitting the Sandworm that was thrashing around, but its tough outer skin seemed to make his attacks ineffective, and he started getting frustrated. “I always tell you, my main body is in that water bottle you have. So running off with just this body won’t do any good!” “Tch.” Gash looked at the silver water flask strapped to his waist. It was an expensive item, but it contained water mixed with Heelee’s core element (which Gash still didn’t fully understand, but thought of as her soul). This was the axis of Heelee’s existence; even if she were torn apart, she could easily be revived as long as this core element was kept safe. He hadn’t done anything so risky yet because he was too scared.
“Fine, but you better be useful!” Gash yelled. Hei-ri replied with a shout of “Of course I am!”
“I’m the spirit that pities people tonight!!”
“What good are you for beating these guys up? If you want to pity someone, do it over there!”
He swung his axe at the Sandworms lunging at him and sent them flying. The blow would have decapitated any ordinary creature.
But the Sandworms didn’t seem fazed in the slightest.
“Damn it, if only I had a tail!” Gash growled.
If he still had his tail, that full-force horizontal swing might have been a fatal strike against the Sandworms. The sheer power of the blow would have made it impossible to evade or deflect.
But Gash’s tail was severed just fifty centimeters from his rear end. It was useless.
“Hey, water spirit! Don’t lick me!!” Heely thrusts her hand out behind Gash and fires a spear of water. The sharp blow hits the Sand Worm right in its mouth, making it flinch. “It’s working!!” “No way, it’s not!!” “At least it’s better than what Gash is doing!!” “But we can’t seem to kill it!!” Though they’re still trading insults, Heely and Gash are also trying their best to keep the Sand Worm away from them, resulting in a surprisingly good combination. “Damn it! I need some pure power to crush this thing… Where the hell are those Orgs?!” Gash curses. However, it seems that the Sand Worm appeared not just here but elsewhere as well, and with screams and crashes echoing around, there’s no sign of any reinforcements coming to help Gash and Heely anytime soon.
“Damn… If only General Vincent were here now…” “Who’s that?!” “What are you so mad about?!!” “We’ve got the spirits on our side, what more do you want?!” “You’ll get to be jealous after we take these guys down, moron!!” Gash thought again of his last reinforcements when he was in the military. Even though hoping for an overnight rescue during a pinch might be unrealistic, he missed Vincent’s crazy attack power. “Damn… I guess I could try stuffing my mouth with a tomahawk.” “You won’t get it down.” “That’s true.”
The sandworm’s mouth, which is over a meter in diameter, seems like it could easily swallow something the size of a tomahawk. Even if they’re connected by silk chains, once inside, it’s easy to imagine how difficult it would be to retrieve them.
“Hey, don’t you have some kind of killer move, Water Spirit?” “No! What do you expect from water?!” ”…Something like poison that ruins your stomach?” “I’m pissed. Next time we’re doing it, I’ll definitely poison you. Something that keeps you in the bathroom for a day.” “Got it, I won’t be with you anymore.” “I’m sorry, that was a lie, please don’t say such mean things.” “You’re weak!”
While they continue to hit the sandworm’s head over and over again, this couple is flirting nonstop. Anyone watching would probably burst out laughing at how it’s nighttime during the festival.
No.
“Hahaha! You guys are so close, huh?!” He was actually laughing out loud. ‘Who?!’ Gash and Heely turned around in shock. There stood a woman with dark skin and silver hair, her appearance somewhat androgynous. “That’s right.” She continued to giggle as she pointed at the sandworms. Just as Gash and Heely were about to attack the monsters reflexively, “Here’s a hint… There are no fireworks users in this town today.” “What?”
“Hint No. 2” The woman swings her finger, which had been pointing at the sandworm, to the side. In the next instant, the sandworm is suddenly sliced into pieces with a chun sound. “!?” Gash and Heely are dumbfounded. The woman calmly passes by them and spreads out her hands toward the remaining few sandworms. “Hint No. 3: Tonight, I have the duty to cherish you lovers like yourselves.” She then elegantly spins around halfway, turning her back on the sandworms and facing Gash and Heely again. A dazzling light illuminates her back as if it were swelling up. The light scatters like a giant firefly, swarming onto the backs, heads, and mouths of the sandworms.
The light danced like fireworks at dusk, pulverizing the sandworms.
“Hello, warriors of lizards and spirits of water.”
A deafening boom, a cloud of dust, and green liquid spraying from the sandworms.
“My name is Bright Light. I am but a fragment of the spirit of light.”
She smiled sweetly, her appearance indistinguishable from that of a dark elf, untouched by any of it.
(To be continued)