”Aaah shit. I don’t know if this is going to be a good idea.” Kenzo muttered to himself as he pulled even more on the hood of his cloak. As he made his way in the streets, someone that was paying special attention to him would be able to notice that his pace had a hint of nervousness. Yet, it was totally justified. After all, the blue haired swordsman was doing something that would be unthinkable for most people in the country. You see, a man with such a high bounty in his head would like to be as far away as possible from authorities after all. However, Kenzo, the stupid wanted man with a two point three million jewels bounty in his head had done exactly that. In fact, he had just entered the tiger’s den. As the sun shone with brilliance in the sky, the Bellan warrior was trying to remain undetected in the city of Era.

Kenzo had been to the place only once before, helping Kazimir with a couple of errands here and there, netting himself some pretty coin. It was ironic to be quite honest. Some of the first jobs he had done in Fiore had been for the Rune Knights and now they were offering a hefty sum for his capture. In fact, Kenzo even considered for a time joining the law enforcement body, given Kazimir’s insistence and influence. The wind wizard was the first true mage the Bellan had met in Fiore, and oh boy was he an important one. Not only had he been the captain commander of the Rune Knights, he later became the Guild Master of Phoenix Feather after their disbandment and just recently a Wizard Saint. Only two mages had received the title, Kaz himself and Kenzo’s guild master.

[300/2000]

That in on of itself spoke leagues of his friend’s talent and respect within the Fioran royalty. From what he’d heard, it was the king of Fiore himself that decided who was to be called Wizard Saint. Or on the contrary, Wizard Lord. Kenzo had been thinking about ways of lowering his bounty, or at least do something to clear up the misunderstanding that placed one on his head. He was sure that if he could speak with Kazimir he could receive some help, but it had been months since the last time he’d seen his friend and had no way of contacting him. Furthermore, there were some alarming rumors circulating. As usual, Kenzo dedicated great part of his time in large cities scouting for information and looking for clues about anything that could be useful. Just the night before, he had heard something that made his heart race with surprise. According to some eyewitnesses, Phoenix Feather’s guild hall had been incinerated some days ago. True, authorities had remained silent so far, hushing every rumor that talked about it. The Sorcerer’s Magazine too had published nothing on the subject. However, Kenzo knew better than that. How hard was achieving a little bit of censorship in an authoritarian monarchic country like Fiore?

Apparently, a fire dragon had woken from its slumber, descending upon Port Astera and burning Phoenix Feather’s headquarters to cinders. As some people claimed, the entire structure had been razed to the ground. No one inside survived the raging flames while innocent bystanders were caught in the slaughter. Kenzo knew that Fiore had a complicated history with dragons. After all, he’d just learned about Myras City’s secret too. Even so, he was sure that there were still many things he didn’t know about the country he now called home.
[600/2000]

For that reason, Kenzo had followed some trails all the way to Era. Apparently, the magic council had been experimenting with dragons, or had created a dragon. His intel was a bit fuzzy, but he was sure he could trust it. Even if the threat of the dragon that razed Astera made a knot in Kenzo’s stomach, there was nothing he could do. Port Astera was quite close to Oak City, and its abandoned guild Advent World. The mercenary grit his teeth as he tried to restrain himself. He had made a promise to himself that he would remain away from Oak to avoid bringing harm to the city. There were still many secrets behind the disappearance of his guildmates, it was too dangerous to get close. Either way, he needed to concentrate if he wanted his mission in Era to succeed. Shaking away from his mind all thoughts about Oak and Advent World, the male decided to concentrate in what was important at the moment.

His source had told him that there was a free lancer of the Magic Council that had put up a request for someone to investigate and stop the monstrosity that had gotten out of control. Kenzo’s informant was none other than Xen, a guy from Crocus that he had met as soon as he arrived at Fiore. Even if the two men had their differences, their business partnership had turned to be quite lucrative. Xen found a lot of jobs for Kenzo in the black market, away from prying eyes. Coincidentally, the pay was also out of the amounts established by the market. Taking and completing one of these quests could fetch multiple times the amount that taking it from a job board could. Furthermore, Xen’s jobs were even more lucrative, quite easy money.

[900/2000]

A couple of minutes had passed since the appointed time. Kenzo sat at the counter of one of Era’s bars. Having ordered a drink, the male tried to remain as undetected as possible. However, it was quite hard in a place where most of the remaining Rune Knights were stationed. Furthermore, it was lunch hour; most of the irresponsible knights in patrol had come to the bar to hop for a cold one before going back to patrol. After all, the day was quite hot to be fair. The male patiently waited for the contractor. According to Xen, the person looking for someone to take it was quite the interesting individual. He didn’t understand the complete logistic of his identity, but he was apparently a mix between a dragon and a dog. Even if Kenzo was untrusting of all that were not human, he couldn’t resist the amount of money he was offering for the job. However, as the minutes went by and he finished his first drink, the male started growing impatient.

Ordering yet another drink, Kenzo began tapping the ground with his foot in desperation. He couldn’t stay any longer here. Just as he started chugging the rest of his drink to leave the place, he was suddenly stopped by an unfamiliar voice.

”Hmph.. if you keep shaking your foot like that you’ll get every rune knight in Era jumping at you for the crime of causing an Earthquake.” The sentence was spoke with a tone that perfectly accompanied the smug face of the short creature approaching Kenzo. ”Maybe after capturing you they’ll finally notice that they’ve earned themselves quite a pretty penny. Don’t you think? Mr. Kenzo Valens.” A preachy smile painted in the dragonet’s snout. Kenzo chuckled at the comment. ”The things I do for money”

[1200/2000]

”Indeed. I’d say there exists only a handful of people in all of Fiore that would risk everything for the amount of Jewels I’m offering.” The dragonet sat next to the blue haired male, asking for a drink for himself. Even if it was subtle, he had decided to place at the stool that was closer to the entrance. This way, any sight of the warrior was hidden behind the figure of the green colored being, even if just a little. ”Hoh? Do you happen to keep a list?” Kenzo asked with his usual playful tone, taking a sip from his pint. ”Of course I do.” The dragonet’s words were devoid of any sarcasm, even hinting a bit the idea of being offended. Shaking his head, the green guy turned his face forward as he took a drink from his freshly poured glass. ”Let’s see… There’s the underground linchpin and dark wizard Caius, the master thief and assassin Nuala, and Megami Revanna, among others. Of course, the list also contains the famous mercenary Kenzo Valens, or as those in the underground had been calling him, The Espada” Kenzo chuckled in amusement at the amount of information the dragonet held with him. If he weren’t expecting to take a job from him, he’d make sure to silence him if the opportunity arose. He knew way too much. However, that was besides the point.

With nothing else left but laugh, Kenzo placed his glass in the counter as the air around him began changing. A pleasant smile formed in the mercenary’s lips, arching ever a bit upward. However, behind Kenzo’s piercing stare, the full brunt of his bloodlust was released for a second. ”What an interesting fella…” The jawbone in his cheek flashed an ominous smile. ”I wonder whom you may be?”

[1500/2000]

Kenzo was not someone to resort to threats commonly, but the creature had pressed some buttons he’d rather leave untouched. Taking the hint, the dragonet burst into laughter as he tried to brush away the killing intent. ”I’m sorry if it came out this way. Believe me I have no hidden agenda behind getting someone skilled to take the job. As heavens would have it, I Daragast was blessed with your presence” The mood lightened a little after Daragast finally presented himself.

”You see, I’ve been working as an independent consultant for the Magic Council for decades now. They usually call me when they want to take care of something while sweeping it under the roof. This time…” Daragast took a small pause. Kenzo could’ve sworn a *Gulp* sound coming out of him. ”This time they really screwed up.” Kenzo rose a brow at the sentence, whatever it was, Daragast seemed to be really worried about it.

”So? What’s the job?” The male asked with a hint of curiosity. ”For years now, the magic council has been experimenting for ways to turn wyverns into dragons that they can control… However, a certain group of scientists escaped the research team with the chaos of last year. Unknowingly, these scientists belonged to a high-profile dark cult. After stealing most of the research data they managed to corrupt one of the wyverns being kept in the depths of Era’s dungeon. The beast has gone crazy and we need someone to stop it.” Kenzo’s eyes widened in surprise at the job. A wyvern? The male couldn’t help an excited grin grow in his face. ”Since the monster is too strong for anyone in Era, they managed to seal it to the top of the tower. You’ll find it there.” ”Hoh.. I can’t fucking wait.”

[1800/2000]

After gathering the rest of the information from Daragast, Kenzo decided to wait until nightfall. Apparently, a group of high-ranking magicians had managed to cast a sealing barrier using lacrima runes. Even if they couldn’t stop the wyvern, they could at least restrain his movements. The warrior climbed the top of the Era Dungeon as soon as night fell. After spending years battling in the mountainous forests and woods of Joya he had become quite a proficient climber. Taking a look down, Kenzo remembered olden days when he’d fear the drop. He was now thirty meters above the ground. Any normal human that fell from that distance would undoubtedly die instantly. However, ever since he’d unlocked his powers in Crocus he had nothing to fear.

Soon enough, Kenzo made it to the top of the Dungeon. The stone plateau was thirty meters in diameter and completely even. As the crazed beast noticed Kenzo’s presence, the male summoned his katana from within his pocket dimension ring. The battle arena was flawless. Kenzo’s eyes widened in excitement as he lunged at the beast. Astera had fallen to the breath of a fire dragon, right? The Bellan warrior knew he’d face one of those beasts sooner rather than later. What better way to get ready but warm up with the Wyvern in front of him?

Roaring loudly, the blood crazed winged beast flapped his wings as he rose into the air. A powerful gust of wind stopped Kenzo in his tracks, as the wyvern got away from his swords reach. Kenzo couldn’t tell if the monster was intelligent or something, but his decision to rise while he prepared a breath spell was the best option to take while fighting a ground-bound warrior. Except, the Bellan was not an average warrior. Without losing a beat, Kenzo summoned the Helm of Ares as he got closer to the beast. Almost ready to fire, the beast started aiming at him. However, all that was left for the fight to finish was a single word. ”EXECUTION!” Kenzo swung Masamune with all his strength as the golden blade started rapidly growing.

*Thud* The Wyvern’s head cleanly fell with a single strike. ”Eeeh, so easy?” A tone of disappointed trailed the mercenary’s words.

-EXIT-

[2175/2000]