The night before, Glyn sits in his room listening to Pepper, who holds onto the arrowhead, tracing the flow of Mana. She explains how Lika and Jenna escaped from the island, swearing to take revenge. And how she headed after them to warn Glyn, only to be caught in a trap and delayed by a day. Glyn listens, nodding as he comes up with strategies in his head. Eventually deciding on one and explaining it to the group. After going over the plan, Pepper stands, adding one more addition to the plan.

            “How do we handle Jenna’s False Dragon?”

            “Her what?” Rufus asks.

            “A False Dragon. A familiar of sorts for beast tamers. Think of it as a homunculus of monsters formed into the shape of a Dragon.”

            “That doesn’t make this easier,” Rufus says.

Miller nods. “How dangerous is this False Dragon?”

            “Depends. Most are only the size of a large dog and some are smaller. But considering she hasn’t used it up till now….”

Pepper nods. “Its use puts too much of a drain on her internal Mana. It practically kills her to use it for prolonged fights. Fenwick explained she’s only to use it on his orders and never any other time.”

            “It’s impressive he didn’t tell her to use it when we were fighting him.”

            “He likely didn’t want to kill Jenna.”

            “Kill?” Mila asks.

Glyn nods. “Yeah. If your internal Mana runs dry, you die. Or more accurately, you enter a death-like state. If someone is fast enough, they can resuscitate you. But the chances of happening on a skilled healer fast enough are slim.”

            “Well, that’s good. If uses it, then she’ll die and we’ll just have to clean up a little mess. Keep it away from the village and we’ll win,” Fiona says, nodding happily.

            “If only it were that easy,” Epper says, killing the mode for a more serious tone.

            “When the user runs out of Mana, the beast will lose its connection to the User. And go on a rampage, destroying everything around it.” Glyn explains.

            “What!?” Everyone yells out.

            “The False Dragon is not a natural creature,” Zanrit says. “Because of that and the amalgam of souls used to forge it, beg for destruction.”

            “That’s the prevailing theory anyway,” Glyn says. “But yeah, if she loses control over that thing and dies, it’ll rampage all over the island.”

            “But she’s almost guaranteed to call it if she’s cornered,” Pepper says.

Everyone pauses as Glyn thinks about the subject.

            “What if we made her do it on purpose?” Mila asks. “If we can kill it while she still has control over it, then we can stop it from rampaging.”

Miller shakes his head. “But Mila. We’re trying to stop her from calling that monster before it gets to that point.”

            “Wait. Mila has a point. She can’t control the whole thing too effectively. At a certain level, her control over it will become the perfect hindrance.”

            “Wait, so our plan is to stop her from summoning a big scary monster by having her summon the big scary almost unconformablely powerful monster?” Fiona asks.

Glyn nods. “Right. I figured some of you would love this chance. Besides, if we do this fast enough, no one will know a thing.” He laughs.

            “This is a reckless plan,” Miller says.

            “Yes. But if we pull this off, then we’ll have one the day and defanged a snake.” He leaps up and looks at the group. “So, are you with me?”

Mila nods. “Of course!”

Pepper nods. “I believe this is the best course of action.”

The Pawns turn to Miller, who sighs, shaking his head. “Fine then. We’ll go along with this plan. It’s not like we can come up with anything else that’d beat this thing?”

            “Exactly. Now let’s make sure we’re ready for anything this beast can put out!”

 

In the present, the False Dragon floats high overhead, towering over everyone as it lands on the ground. One head shaped like a dog yells out with a distorted roar similar to a lion. The other head shaped like a horse screams with an almost human voice. The distorted creature stomps about as it swings its massive body about.

            “Fenwick, even in the grave, you’re a massive pain in the ass,” Glyn says, watching the monster.

Lika flies down from above, snatching up Jenna. Before she can fly away, Tan blocks her path, with Faye forcing the two to the ground.

            “Give it up!” Tan yells.

Lika glares at her. “Move out of the way, birdbrain. If I don’t get Jenna to a doctor soon, she’ll die and then that thing will go on a rampage! I have to do something or else everyone here’s going to die!”

            “Fenwick gave one hell of a fight, didn’t he?” Glyn asks.

            “He did.” The twins stop turning to Glyn.

            “Judging from Pepper’s appearance here, this was part of your plan to have her use it?”

He nods. “I have to rob you lot of all of your options or you’ll be a pain for me and this island. With that said!”

A blast of flames hits the side of the monster, with Mila leaping up at it. Miller turns to Glyn, who nods, and he disengages, rushing towards the False Dragon.

            “So, you mean to destroy our weapon of revenge and bring this to an end?” They ask in unison.

He nods. “Exactly. I’ll stop this nonsense and put Fenwick to bed once and for all. You hear that, Tisha?”

Tisha emerges from the cavern with Eliana and Aoife at her side. She leans Aoife down against a tree as Eliana rushes to Glyn’s side.

            “Damn it. Always such a slave driver.”

            “Sorry. Normally, I’d want you to rest. But if we let this thing rampage, then we’re going to lose most of the island.”

She nods and pulls out her bow. “Fine. Let’s clean up this mess.”

She charges through the forest as Glyn looks down at Eliana. “Sorry for this Eliana.”

            “Brother?”

            “I made quite a mess of things, running away from home and coming here. But I did what I could to keep you safe and I would do it again. But now….”

She grabs his hand and tightens her grip. “Brother, go fight!”

            “Huh?”

            “You’re the coolest when you’re fighting! When you’re worried and stuck in your head, you're kind of a pain.”

He laughs. “Thanks, sis.”

            “I’ll watch Mom. Go fight!”

            “Faye, Tan.”

The two nod. “Go kick butt, Boss!” Faye yells out.

Tan nods. “I’d rather not fight that thing, honestly.”

            “Hold the fort here. I doubt these guys have much fight left in them. But Sam, watch those twins.”

Sam nods. “Hurry this up alright.”

            “Got it.”

Glyn rushes off, following behind Tisha as the three turn to Eliana and Aoife.

            “Brother.”

            “He’s strong,” Faye says. “Boss is super strong. I can see why you like him so much.”

Sam rolls his eyes. “He’s a bit full of himself, honestly. His plans are always so risky.”

Tan laughs. “But that’s what makes them fun. And don’t get thrown in too much danger if he can help it.”

            “You keep trying to run away.” Sam sighs. “But I get your point.”

Eliana stares ahead. “My brother is the coolest. He can do anything.”

            “That may be true.” Aoife forces herself up. “But that doesn’t mean he has to do everything.”

            “Mom!”

            “You shouldn’t move too much, Boss Lady,” Faye says.

            “It’s fine. It’s the effect of my curse. Glyn hass spent most of his life trying to loosen the effects on himself, but on me it's as strong as ever. That teleport barrier must’ve made my internal Mana start acting up.”

            “Mom!”

            “Eliana. Let’s help your brother.”

            “But how?”

Aoife holds up Eliana’s hand. “With magic.”

            “Magic?”

            “We’re going to use something that hasn’t been seen in this world for over a hundred years.”

Eliana’s eyes go wide. “What!?”