User blog:Thrycius/Zheiro and The Moonlight Sculptor: Chapter 21

'''Disclaimer: This is a crossover fanfic between Brave Frontier and The Legendary Moonlight Sculptor. I don't own either of those; they belong to their respective owners, namely Gumi/Alim and Nam-Hi-Sung (남희성) respectively.'''

'''Disclaimer (extended): This crossover fanfic now also contains some elements from the Type-Moon universe, owned entirely by Kinoku Nasu. I don't own anything from there, either.'''

Is this your first time seeing this story? Go directly to chapter 1 here!

Sarui clicked her tongue in annoyance. Judging by her rival's current appearance, at some point he had failed to cut down the magic like he was supposed to, getting struck by Abaddon's magic and was now feeling the aftereffects of taking such a hit.

At least he was still alive, she supposed.

Still, Sarui wondered why the one she had decided to claim as her rival couldn't be more competent, never mind the fact that she too had somewhat of a difficult time against the demon—not that she would ever outright admit it. She wouldn't lie about it, certainly, but she definitely would never admit it so easily either.

What was more important was that even if the task was difficult, you had to complete it without showing weakness, without fail—because if you show even a sliver of weakness, there will be people who will try to take advantage of it. And that, currently, was the main difference between her and Zheiro.

Sarui was actually pretty confident that Zheiro was not one of those people who would try to take advantage of her in any way. He wasn't cunning enough to do something like that, and during their travels so far he had shown himself to be an honest, if simple, young man.

Thrycius, on the other hand...

Sarui frowned. Now was not the time to get lost in her thoughts!

Quickly making her way over to Zheiro, she rolled him over and studied his condition. His face was twisted in pain as he continued to groan and clutch his head, where the darkness was mostly concentrated. He also had a number of bruises all over, but that wasn't as important as the darkness that surrounded his head.

Sarui frowned, before sighing. There goes the materials she would need for her paints.

Taking out one of her pouches she used for storing the materials she had so meticulously gathered during their journey, she grabbed a special, grey-colored nut and crushed it with her hands before throwing the remains into a vial of blue liquid. Pinching Zheiro’s nose to force him breathe through his mouth, Sarui poured the mixture down his throat as he spluttered and hacked, forcing him to swallow the concoction.

“What a waste of materials.” Sarui muttered to herself, watching as Zheiro shot up into a sitting position, clutching at his chest as he hacked and coughed.

“What the heck did you just do?” Zheiro spluttered as he warily faced Sarui. Zheiro wasn’t exactly confident about whatever Sarui just did to him to be good. After all, he had seen Sarui use her paints many times in combat to poison, burn, and inflict many other ailments on their enemies, and she had just fed him materials that were originally supposed to be used for her paints.

“Treating you of your ailments, obviously.” Sarui said brashly, brushing her hair aside. “Now that this is done and over with, shall we get going on to the next area?”

“Wait, wait, wait! At least tell me that what you fed me isn’t poisonous or will harm me in some way!” Zheiro protested. “You’re always using those materials in your paintings and throwing them at our enemies, so…”

“So? Just because some of my paints may be flammable and toxic, among other things, doesn’t mean everything I use is.” Sarui said. “You really shouldn’t be making assumptions like that, Zheiro.”

Zheiro kind of wanted to retort considering what Sarui often says about pretty much everyone, but considering the kind of mood Sarui was in, as well as having just recovered thanks to her, he decided against it.

“Then,” Zheiro started, getting back up onto his feet. “You actually knew how to cure me? Where did you learn something like that?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Sarui replied blandly. “I’m rather disappointed in you for not being able to figure it out, Zheiro. I learned it from an alchemist. Knowing chemistry is quite useful if you want to make your own paint, so I ended up learning how to make medicines and the like as well. Now then, shall we get going?”

“Ah, I see…” Zheiro acknowledged. Sarui learning chemistry made sense when she put it that way, although it still felt a little strange to him. Then again, considering it was Sarui, it might not actually be so strange. “Right, let’s get out of this tower and go on to the next area.”

Just as the two of them turned away from Abaddon’s corpse and were just about to make their way out of the room, a familiar voice stopped them.

“I’m baaaaack~” Thrycius sang, squatting in one of the windows within the room. “Really, the two of you did a good job on defeating Abaddon, but I think the two of you forgot something.”

Sarui clicked her tongue in annoyance while Zheiro turned to face Thrycius as he tilted his head. “Forgot something? Never mind that, when and how did you get up there?”

“Yes, you forgot to pick up your gem for defeating the boss,” Thrycius said, hopping off the window into the room as he made his way towards the corpse before yanking out a familiar shiny rock. “As when and how I got here, I arrived just now, like the wind.”

“...I’m not even going to ask,” Zheiro groaned, palming his face. If the storyteller told something as ridiculous as jumping up the tower and landing on that window thanks to the wind, then the real truth was none of his business, right?

While Zheiro was trying to run from reality, Sarui herself eyed the gem that Thrycius held in his hand.

“I don’t know why you’re even bothering with that shiny rock,” Sarui said. “I personally have no use for it.”

“Well,” Thrycius answered, “Unlike you, I can use it for various things. Like politely asking summoners to do things for me.”

“Politely asking, huh.” Sarui snorted. “As if. Considering it’s you, you’ll probably end up extorting them somehow just by talking.”

“Ha ha ha!” Thrycius simply laughed in response. “Now shall we make our way to St. Lamia?”

It probably didn’t need to be said that both Zheiro and Sarui noticed that Thrycius didn’t even try to deny her claim.

Before they even stepped into the next area, they were stopped by what appeared to be a housewife who suddenly ran up to them. Dropping onto her knees, she brought her hands together as if begging.

“Please, great warriors! You have to help me! I don’t know what to do anymore!”

The three of them shared a glance as the woman continued to beg.

“Actually… we’re not warriors,” Zheiro finally decided to say. But before he could try to say anything else, he was interrupted.

“Oh! Then you must be powerful mercenaries! Please, help me! I’ll be willing to pay anything in return!” the housewife cried out.

“We’re not mercenaries either,” Zheiro protested in annoyance, noticing how much Thrycius was shaking from trying not to openly laugh at their predicament. Sarui herself just stood here with her arms crossed, although apparently she actually wasn’t annoyed if her facial expression and posture actually meant anything.

“Oh! Great heroes!” the woman cried out, still begging as she once again attempted to get it right.

“...I wish,” Sarui replied with a posed look. “But we’re not heroes. If you can’t even figure out what we are just by looking, then there’s no reason for us to listen to you.”

The housewife herself seemed to be at a loss of words after being denied three times as well as Sarui’s ultimatum. “...Knights?”

“Nope,” Thrycius and Sarui both denied it immediately, although their expressions now were polar opposites. Apparently Sarui was still touchy about being called a knight, whereas Thrycius, like always, was grinning.

“........Summoners?” The housewife finally asked weakly.

“Still wrong,” Thrycius said with a laugh. “We’re just a group of travelling artists.”

The housewife blinked upon hearing such a statement. “What? Travelling artists?” She asked in disbelief. “But you carry swords! And you made it past that dreadful tower, so you all must be strong!”

“Is there something wrong about us being artists?” Sarui asked, finally showing her displeasure with the situation. “Or do I need to educate you commoners with art?”

“A-ah, no! Anyway, you all have to help me!” the woman cried out.

“...Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to listen,” Zheiro finally said after a while.

And so the housewife began to explain her circumstances.

Apparently, the housewife belonged to a minor village off to the side, a place not easily noticed by both humans and monsters. She, along with the other villagers, lived peacefully there, careful not to disturb the wildlife around them and mostly keeping to themselves. But recently, the village youths have suddenly begun disappearing without a word, including the housewife’s son. The villagers eventually came to the conclusion that it was probably the work of monsters nearby, but whenever they made a search party they could never get very far, especially when a number of them still needed to guard the village itself from both monsters and bandits.

In truth, the housewife was already risking her life by coming out alone, but she felt it was a risk worth taking after noticing that when the Tower of Morgan had fallen silent again, it was not a summoner that walked out but Zheiro and his companions.

“We’re not the only ones who come by here though,” Zheiro pointed out. “Surely there are other summoners who come through the area, right?”

“I have tried asking them before, but they all ignored me, as if I wasn’t even there.” the woman lamented. “They must be too busy talking about wanting to save the world to be able to see an insignificant village like us worth saving.”

Zheiro frowned at that comment. Just how rude could summoners get? At the very least, they listened to the woman, even if helping hadn’t been confirmed yet.

“Now, now, don’t blame summoners, they’re very busy and have a lot of limitations,” Thrycius said with a laugh. “Concerning them, let’s just leave it at that. Zheiro, what do you think we should do?”

At the question, the housewife looked pleadingly at Zheiro, but Zheiro ignored it as he thought about the situation.

“...Do you think we have enough time?” Zheiro finally asked Thrycius. “I don’t mind helping, but I thought we were already in a bit of a rush.”

“Time?” Sarui interrupted before Thrycius could say anything. “Why are you even asking? Isn’t it obvious that people as magnanimous as us should help them?”

Zheiro had some objections to Sarui including herself as those described as magnanimous, but he wisely kept quiet about it.

It wouldn’t do to anger her, after all.

“Well, there is a pretty good chance that we’ll find them along the way,” Thrycius commented. “Thus, if you’re worried about time, there should be no problem. Chances are it won’t take very long to bring them back after we find them, too.”

“Then I suppose we’ll be helping you, lady.” Zheiro said, turning towards the housewife. “Leave it to us! We’ll do our best to find the missing youths.”

“You’ll promise me that you’ll find them, right?” The housewife asked, looking hopeful.

“Of course!” Sarui declared without hesitation. “It’s a promise! We won’t let you down.”

Although the housewife hadn’t noticed it, both Sarui and Thrycius had observed that Zheiro visibly flinched upon hearing the housewife’s final request for a promise.

Taking their first step into the next area, Zheiro paused at the overwhelming scene before him.

“What is this place…” Zheiro trailed off, looking at the various mountains that stood in their way.

“This is St. Lamia, of course. As you can see, it’s quite the mountainous region,” Thrycius commented. “This might impede our progress through it, but we don’t really have a choice if we want to continue on this journey.”

“...And the first mountain we have to pass is a volcano?” Zheiro asked, staring at the first hurdle they had to cross.

“That’s right; what you are currently looking at is known as Volcano Eldent.” Thrycius replied.

“...and you’re not going to tell me anything more about it?” Zheiro asked, tilting his head.

“It’s a volcano. What more do you want to know?” Thrycius replied, grinning.

“Aren’t you going to do the usual and explain a little more about it?” Zheiro asked. “You know, tell a story like you usually do, about the history of where it got its name, or how it came to be, that kind of thing, like you always do?”

“If you insist,” Thrycius said, grinning even wider as he began to speak.

“Volcanoes are ruptures on the crust of planetary-mass objects, like this world that we stand on, which allows hot lava, ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface,” Thrycius intoned with a mischievous smile. “There are many classifications of volcanoes, such as shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes, and supervolcanoes, with supervolcanes being the most dangerous type; Volcano Eldent is thought to be classified as a stratovolcano that is still potentially active, but much of its activity may actually be caused the the ridiculous number of summoners scurrying around it lately, and thus…”

“I don’t think we have time for that nonsense,” Sarui cut in with a frown. “So let’s stop with the chatter and hurry on forward.”

“Ha ha ha, I thought so,” Thrycius laughed mischievously. “Zheiro, let’s have a short chat while we walk.’’

Zheiro nodded, although he was already quite confused. In addition to whatever confusing nonsense Thrycius had just mentioned earlier, what else was there to talk about?

“Let’s talk about your fight with Abaddon, first.” Thrycius first said, walking relaxedly with his hands behind his head. “I heard from Sarui that while you did manage to cut down Abaddon’s magic most of the time, you still ended up getting cursed.”

“Oh, was that what happened? Did the demon curse me with a headache or something?” Zheiro asked.

“Curse you with a headache…that is probably the simplest way I’ve ever heard it described,” Thrycius said, chuckling. “To put it more accurately, Curse is a status that suppresses the mind by using a massive burst of energy released during what is called a Brave Burst. Of course, that energy has to specifically target the mind or Curse won’t be inflicted, so not all Brave Bursts will inflict Curse.”

“A Brave Burst… you mean, like those massive attacks that the demon used against us?” Zheiro asked, the facts finally clicking into place.

“Yes, that’s right. In other words, the reason you got Cursed was because you failed to cut down Abaddon’s attack at the end.” Thrycius replied. “In other words, you need more training. A lot more training.”

Zheiro groaned upon hearing that, but he knew that the storyteller was right.

“Besides, you used way more prana than I expected, so it seems that you haven’t actually mastered the moonlight sculpting blade technique for cutting enemy spells, even if you are able to use it.” Thrycius continued. “Please feel free to practice on the enemy monsters that will block our way as we continue our journey.”

“Duly noted.” Zheiro replied lifelessly.

“Well, that’s about it for now!” Thrycius suddenly said cheerfully. “Sarui, do you have anything else you want to mention?”

“I most certainly do, but there was no need for you to tell me what to do,” Sarui said haughtily. “But Zheiro, I’ve been meaning to ask. Why did you hesitate so much when that old lady asked us to help?”

“Why?” Zheiro asked perplexed. “Isn’t it reasonable not to make a promise if you’re not sure you can complete it? Trying our best is one thing, but to say that we will find them is another thing—no matter what, promises should never be broken, so we should take care before making them.”

“Well, I certainly agree that promises should never be broken,” Sarui replied, “But I think rather than being so cautious, you should just make sure you fulfill those promises instead.”

“But what if we can’t? For example, in this case what if we don’t find the youths that went missing?” Zheiro asked.

“What makes you think that we won’t find them?” Sarui said confidently. “Don’t give up before you’ve even started, Zheiro! You’ll never get anywhere that way!”

“No, that’s unreasonable! Giving up before you start is not the same as making impossible promises one can’t keep!” Zheiro grumbled in exasperation. “Where do you even get all that confidence?”

“It’s because I have faith in my—no, our abilities.” Sarui said seriously. “I’ve already traveled with you and the storyteller for quite a while now, so I know. Although you are still weak, you have vastly improved your combat abilities since we first met. Between the three of us, I’m confident that we can overcome anything in our travels.”

“I, well, uh,” Zheiro stuttered, not expecting praise from the normally conceited woman. “This isn’t like you, Sarui.”

“What do you mean, this isn’t like me? Didn’t I choose you as my rival?” Sarui argued, crossing her arms. “I had already acknowledged you long ago. Is there really anything wrong about praising someone who deserves it?”

Zheiro blinked. Putting it that way, there really wasn’t anything wrong with that, but… “I didn’t think that you thought of me that highly, that’s all.”

“Ha!” Sarui barked out in laughter. “Do I think of you highly? Certainly more so than many of those commoners out there who do not appreciate art, but don’t get ahead of yourself here. You’re still lacking in many areas.”

Zheiro sighed. “Yeah, I know I still have a lot of areas I need to improve on,” he admitted. “But that’s why I’m on this journey: to do what it takes to become the world’s best sculptor.”

“Alright, I think we’ve gotten off topic enough as it is,” Thrycius interrupted. “We have a long way to go, so let’s at hurry.”

“Speaking of which,” Sarui asked when they finally settled down for the night. “If you didn’t like what I promised, how would you do it, Zheiro?”

Zheiro paused in his work of mindlessly carving a wooden sculpture to answer her question. “I wouldn’t have made a promise in the first place if I wasn’t sure I could do it. That’s why, in this case, I would have told her that I would try my best, but wouldn’t make any promises.”

“That’s weak,” Sarui commented with a frown.

“No, I think this is perfectly reasonable,” Zheiro countered. “Well, if you really had to make a promise, you could promise to try your best; I think that is also acceptable.”

“That’s also kind of weak,” Thrycius said, joining the conversation. “What if someone said they promised to try their best only to break it?”

“Then they should just go die.” Zheiro said darkly. “People who break promises are the absolute worst.”

“Agreed.” Sarui said, nodding with her arms crossed.

Apparently no one present was bothered by Zheiro’s sudden shift in tone.

“But never mind Thrycius’ scenario; there are also people who promise to try their ‘best’, and still get nothing done,” Sarui said, looking pointedly at the storyteller who just laughed her unspoken accusation off. “That’s why I think there’s no point in making such meaningless promises, and why I think what you suggested was weak.”

“I don’t understand,” Zheiro admitted. “How can one try their best and still not get anything done?”

“Why don’t you ask that storyteller over there, then?” Sarui said, pointing to Thrycius. “I’m sure he’s quite good at that sort of thing.”

“How rude, I most certainly do keep the promises that I make,” Thrycius said with a laugh. “A single breach of contract will ruin my reputation, you know?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t doubt it,” Sarui grumbled in response. “But I would bet that most of the promises you’ve kept were meaningless in the first place.”

“No way, I don’t make promises that easily.” Thrycius said, still laughing as carefree as ever. “And I definitely follow through to the end when I do.”

“Well, whatever,” Sarui said, waving off the conversation as she stood up to leave the campfire. “This conversation isn’t getting anywhere, so I’m going to retire for the night.”

“In that case, I too shall retire,” Thrycius said with a grin. “Zheiro, if you need anything I’ll be working on my stories over here.”

Zheiro watched as Sarui left before he realized that his question never actually did get answered. Really, how was it possible for someone to try their best and still not achieve anything? Zheiro honestly couldn’t comprehend such a scenario.

Hard work always pays off, right?

“Court magician.”

“What is it, Ixia?”

Ixia was taking a lesson on magic from the court magician again today. It had been a number of weeks since Ixia had found out her element, which happened to be thunder.

“We have already long discovered that I was attuned to thunder, right?” Ixia questioned.

“Yes, we have.” the court magician replied.

“So why haven’t I learned any thunder-related magic yet?” Ixia asked.

“Well, I had been trying to figure out something suitable for you to learn,” The court magician answered. “Thunder, like fire, is considered an aggressive element, so a lot of thunder-based magic that had been researched ended up being used for combat. I don’t think that’s suitable for you to learn, especially when neither of us have a wish to fight any time soon.”

“Well, I suppose you’re right,” Ixia conceded. “Not only are we noncombatants, but it’s relatively peaceful here in the castle. But does that mean I am back to learning neutral element magic?”

“Seems like it,” the court magician agreed. “Although, considering your aptitude for magic, I think a visit to the astral realm will be both suitable and quite rewarding.”

“...The astral realm?” Ixia asked, waiting for an explanation.

“The astral world is a realm where we normally pass through at physical death. No, don’t get me wrong, it’s not absolutely required to die to be able to visit, but it’s also a realm which tends to inhabit beings of non-human nature; for example, spirits. I believe most, if not all, gods should be able to travel there as well, although there’s not a lot of research concerning that.”

“I see.” Ixia nodded. “But why should I visit it?”

“Well, it’s quite the experience if I must say so myself. It’s a bit hard to explain with words though, but I’m sure you’ll like it when you first experience it.” The court magician said. “It is very dangerous if done improperly, however. When visiting the astral realm, you must separate from your physical form and take on an astral body—however, you will be more vulnerable in this form. Any damage incurred while in your astral body will be reflected upon your physical one, and if the connection between the two is severed then you will, for all intents and purposes, die. So much caution must be taken when attempting this sort of thing.”

“If it’s so dangerous, then why visit?” Ixia asked.

“As long as you’re careful, it’s actually pretty fun and useful in some cases.” The court magician said with a smile. “Imagine being able to explore the castle as a “ghost”, unseen by nearly anyone.” The court magician explained. “It will also deepen your understanding of the world around us, which in turn will make using magic easier.”

“Well, I guess I could give it a try,” Ixia admitted. “But let me guess: you won’t let me do it until I have proper training first, right?”

“That’s correct. So, shall we get the training started?”

“Absolutely.”

''A/N: Wow, how long has it been? Almost a year? Sorry for the long wait, I had been expecting this to come out during the summer but the proofreader went fwoosh and disappeared on me, haha. Anyway, here's the next chapter you all (may) have been waiting for! (probably not orz lol)''

''In any case, I really should have gotten this chapter out a long time ago, leaving you guys out on such a cliffhanger is just plain mean. Sorry about that.''

''Anyway, this chapter's an interesting one. Some more reveals about the characters as they talk, which reveals a small bit of how they think, all still mixed with the usual bit of fun here and there, and as usual, a final scene involving what Ixia's up to. ''

''Speaking of which, that quip about summoners ignoring the villagers; it was more of a jab at how BF doesn't really have a lot of sidequests, and the only npcs you can 'interact' and talk to with are the ones that are important to the plot. And no, vortex doesn't count. But really, you can't really blame BF, phones are a bit limiting with what they can do still.''

''Speaking of which, that joke where Thry started giving a lecture instead of a story—I hate to admit it, but it's also because past mistral, it's hard to properly research the areas they visit without actually having the game. As you can imagine by what I'm saying, I can no longer even access the game, nor do I have any desire to restart anew. So I probably won't be giving any more interpretations about some areas as the story goes on anymore.''

''If you're interested, however, you can go back and see how many times I referenced the actual game for the earlier areas; you might be surprised by what I did here or there. Or maybe not, who knows. But yes, it does apply to Zheiro getting cursed here, that was straight from the ingame description of Curse. ''

''In this chapter though, I think the most important part here would be the conversation about promises. I won't talk about it here, since I think it's both self-explanatory and it gives further insight on the characters in the story.''

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

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