Death wasn't a concept Olivia was new to.
When she had been just a baby, her mother had passed away, leaving her in the care of her father. At least until he got rid of her and made her Rosco's problem. She had been too young to remember anything about her mother, and the death didn't really affect her.
She was sad, of course, but at the end of the day, she had never met her mother or gotten to know who the woman was, so the fact she was gone did little to alter the way Olivia saw the world.
What did affect her, though, was the death of two villagers. When she turned fourteen, Bruno and she had decided to play a prank on an old villager that lived alone at the top of a hill. His name had been Luka, and she didn't know much about him. What she did learn, though, was that he became a Magical Mutant, something she hadn't been aware of until she had already broken into his house.
No one knew when it happened or how, but that night, when she and Bruno snuck into his home, she had seen him. He had been in the middle of devouring a bird he caught. Ironically, his own face had become bird-like, a jagged, bony beak stabbing out of his mouth, and dozens of feathers growing along his skin. Bruno had screamed and run away, but she stayed. Luka found her standing there in shock, and despite the situation, he invited her in and made hot chocolate.
He was still able to talk and think, even with his transformation. He had picked up the taste for raw bird and recently hadn't been able to control himself, leading to him using vine magic to set traps and pull his prey in.
Magical Mutants were still humans, though most people disagreed with that notion. Being a Mutant didn't make a person instantly insane or evil. It was a slow process. Once the curse found its way into their form, it would slowly eat away at their mind and body until eventually they were nothing more than a mindless monster, but some people were still able to go about their lives as if nothing was happening.
Luka was one such person. His transformation was still in the early stages, and as long as he avoided dungeons or stressful situations, he said he wouldn't transform anymore. If he stayed isolated like he was, he'd be able to live for another twenty or thirty years without worry.
Because of the fact that some Mutants could keep their minds and slow the transformation down, it was still a crime to murder a Mutant if it wasn't done in self-defense. Most places would look the other way, though, and silently agree that the Mutant was in the wrong.
Not Fri.
In the middle of her talk with Luka, another villager had heard the commotion and set his eyes on the Mutant. That villager had taken it upon himself to slay the monster and hacked Luka to pieces with an axe.
Luka didn't fight back.
That villager was later executed for killing a member of Fri village.
Both those deaths lived rent-free in her head. Garon's would also live there from now on.
Olivia's body shook, and it took her a moment to realize she was in Davi's arms. His helmet was back on, and he had wrapped himself entirely around her, shielding her from the blast. Garon's last desperate act had failed to take either of them out. Slowly, Davi pulled away and turned to look down at the small crater in the ground that had been created when Garon blew himself up. The giant stone hallway was scorched around the spot they stood, and small embers still danced across the stone.
"W-Why did he—" Olivia's voice shattered.
Davi's helmet peeled away. The look in his eyes was blank and apathetic. He didn't seem like the comforting hero she had come to know. "He was a dead man either way. I guess he decided to go out on his own terms while he was still human. Well… mostly human."
Garon would have been given the death penalty. Estiria didn't often give that sentence out lightly, but the crimes Garon had committed were severe, and he likely would have earned it. Not only had he entered a dungeon, but he also failed to report the existence of the dungeon to the Arcane Knights, which was a serious offense since failing to clear a dungeon meant the monsters inside would grow and wreak havoc. That was on top of the fact Garon had kidnapped nine different girls, attempted murder, and even made a deal with a magical beast.
Sentient magical beasts were considered very dangerous, and making deals with them was expressly outlawed since they often used dark magic, which could cling and infect other mages. All the crimes Garon had committed were evil, and the man himself knew it. In the end, he had decided to take himself out before he fully changed into a monster. Some Magical Mutants were able to gain control over their new form and live a normal life again, but with how fast Garon was changing, due to the stress and emotions he had been feeling, it would have only been a matter of hours until he fully stopped being human.
"He would have died anyway." Davi's words were little comfort, and he knew it. Even so, he guided Olivia and himself forward, walking past the burnt hole Garon left behind. "Don't feel guilty about this. Don't let his death burden you."
"Have you killed before?" Olivia asked quietly. "You seemed eager to make me do it. I'm guessing you took a life before?"
"Do you really want to know?"
Olivia softly shook her head. "No. I'd rather not, actually." She glanced back at Davi. "Olis once said your mana was cold and inhuman… Are you a Mutant?" She asked softly.
"I could strip and show you my body if you wanted." Davi managed a half-joke, though it was still in his typical emotionless tone.
Olivia shook her head again. "No. Sorry. I shouldn't have asked. Even if you were a Mutant, that wouldn't mean anything… You helped me out a lot." She glanced back at the rubble where Garon's ashes remained.
She still couldn't get over what he had claimed to Garon. Was everyone he cared about really dead? Was that why he was seeking the Dragon? She hadn't really considered why he was looking for such a deadly monster until now. And the way he acted in the entire situation with Garon…
Just who was Davi Hawker?
"So what now?" Olivia asked after the silence stretched on for too long. She was shocked at herself more than anything. She couldn't tell if she was being too calm or if she was freaking out so much she had looped back to being normal. Either way, she didn't feel like how she imagined a person should feel when they watched someone die in front of them. "Are we just going to leave the dungeon?"
"Not yet." Davi looked back once they reached the steps. "Row Shadow Vault." His shadow expanded and opened up as if it were a bottomless lake. Oliva watched in shock as the dungeon's walls began to crack and shatter, chunks of stone being dragged in as Davi's shadow gobbled it all up. "Dungeon rooms repair themselves once they're empty. That's why those big doors are fixed even though I broke them and why the arrow trap reset. Now that the boss is dead, though, this dungeon will close and vanish, disappearing from our world. This usually happens about a day after the boss is killed. Before that happens, I like to harvest what I can."
"Is that how you had all those supplies to build a wall?" Olivia questioned in shock. When Davi had first killed the Salamander, he had given a ton of stone and other supplies to the village so they could build a proper wall and keep out monster attacks. She had wondered where he got all the supplies to do that from since he always seemed broke.
Davi just nodded. "I tend to gut dungeons and steal as much as I can from them."
"Can I see what's in your vault?"
"No," was Davi's blunt response. "I can't even stay in my own vault for very long. I only placed the girls I found into it because they were trapped in a substance that should keep them safe."
"That sounds like a crazy spell. Your shadow magic is way cooler than my blood magic." Olivia asked, making a face.
"Just be glad with what you have."
"Yeah…" Olivia shook her head after some time. "We should get out of here." Staying in the dungeon for much longer could be bad. She didn't know how long before the mutation would start, and Davi had been in the dungeon for twice the amount of time she had.
Davi kept sucking up all the stone and other things his shadow could grab. By the time he was done, the area they were in began to crack and collapse, falling apart since he took all the support beams away. Olivia grabbed onto Davi, and he used his super strength to jump up the many steps, carrying her out as the dungeon collapsed.
Olivia instantly drew her wand as they stepped out of the dungeon and back into the forest. They weren't alone.
Several of the town's guards circled them all, holding spears. In the center of them was the baron. The elder man looked exhausted, and his hands clutched onto his staff as he eyed the two of them up. Snow rained down from above, but it was a lot warmer than it had been. With the snake killed, the dungeon would eventually close, and the mana would vanish, allowing the weather to return to the way it should be.
Phones were also finally working again, because several of the guards were making calls to loved ones.
The baron's eyes scanned Davi up and down, taking in the state of his armor. "Is it over?"
"Yeah," Davi said. "It's over. The snake's dead."
The guards all shivered a bit, mostly from how cold Davi's mana felt. One of them managed to get the courage to speak. "Sir," they began slowly. "We sensed Garon's mana. It rapidly expanded and then vanished. That's how we were able to find you. Where is he?"
Olivia flinched, and she felt her stomach tilt. "Garon is…" She made a face. "He—"
"He's dead." One of the guards dropped to their knees and let out a gasp at Davi's blunt response.
The baron closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "How?" The baron finally whispered out, and his knuckle turned white from how hard he gripped his walking cane.
"The snake killed him," Davi responded. The men all nodded somberly, but Olivia gave Davi an odd look. "He and I fought it together." Davi walked forward, passing the men. "Till the very end, Garon fought to keep your town safe. Stand proud, for his sake." Several more of the soldiers collapsed, and some even began to cry. Davi left them at the entrance to the dungeon, which had caved in, making it impossible to enter.
Olivia struggled to catch up with him. "Why?" She asked.
Davi stared ahead, his expression unreadable. "I don't know who Garon was, so I also don't have the right to condemn him," Davi said, after giving it some thought. "The mutation clouds a mage's mind and makes them have a harder time thinking rationally. These people viewed Garon as a good man. He was the captain of the guard, a loving husband and father, as well as someone that helped his town out as much as he could."
Olivia shook her head. "No." She said sternly. "Even if, toward the end, his mind was being changed and altered, he still made the deal with the snake, and that would have been during the earliest stage of his transformation. That means he was willing to do all those horrible things while he was still sane and even wanted the potion for himself before his own child. The transformation might have made it easier for him to do the wrong thing, but he still willingly walked this path. So why are you letting him be the hero in this situation?"
"You're right." Davi weakly chuckled. "He doesn't deserve to be seen as good. Still, there's no reason everyone else should have to suffer because of him. The people seemed fond of him and respected him. The town will recover faster and stand united, believing they had a hero like Garon amongst them. It'll also be easier for them not being held down by the guilt of allowing him to roam around for as long as he did."
Olivia looked conflicted. She knew what this was. Davi liked leaving a place better than it was when he arrived. He had saved the village from the snake, but for Davi, that wasn't enough. He still needed to do more. In his own twisted mind, this was the best outcome. Garon being celebrated as the hero, letting the town unite over it. She wanted to argue, but she didn't.
She was just too tired.
Davi eventually made his way out of the forest and reached the settlement. He wasn't shocked to see the whole town waiting for him. Everyone had noticed the commotion when the mayor and all the guards stormed out. All the civilians had left their homes and were waiting with bated breath for what would happen.
Davi felt all eyes on him and thought about putting his helmet back on, but he was honestly getting drained from all the combat and spells and didn't want to waste the mana. Instead, he opened his vault again, and out came several blocks of ice, each the size of a person, which crashed down onto the ground. Yelling filled the air as the people stared at the ice blocks and saw what they contained.
Olivia felt her breath hitch. There were nine in total, each holding the unconscious body of a young girl around her age. She felt sick when she remembered that she would have been in one of them if not for Davi. She would have been the tenth. Not skipping a beat, she created a dagger of blood and heated it, using the weapon to stab into one of the blocks of ice poured out along with the body of the girl trapped inside. As the girl spilled out, Olivia caught her.
The girl remained in her arms and didn't respond. Olivia bit her lip hard enough to draw blood, and she muttered a spell. "Row Blood Heal!" Her healing magic sucked, but it would have to do. She gently pressed her lips to the other girl and breathed out, forcing a drop of blood past the woman's lips.
As she pulled away, the girl's eyes snapped wide open, and she let out a loud gasp, sucking in air. Olivia held the girl in her arms, helping her not to fall over.
Something was wrong… Olivia realized it a little too late, but she didn't have time to say or do anything as the sight of the breathing girl spurred the other villagers into action.
"They're still alive!" Someone yelled in shock, and some of the townsfolk ran forward and used whatever they had to break more of the blocks, freeing the other girls.
"Hannah!" Olivia felt someone yank the girl away from her, and she looked up, finding the woman from earlier—the one who had first piqued their interest. The mother had her daughter back and was hugging the still delirious girl.
Olivia stood back up and awkwardly shuffled away. She felt hollow, and her face was pale. Davi noticed her look and frowned. "What's wrong?"
"We were too late," Olivia whispered, and she stared down at the ground, feeling a lump of shame and guilt appear in her throat. "We didn't save them in time."
"What do you mean?" Davi looked at the girls, and he finally noticed it. He wasn't the only one who did either, because a second later, one of the townspeople let out a horrified scream. "Damn it." Davi sighed and closed his eyes. "Why, Haru? Why?"
Hannah's mother was the one to let out the scream. The older woman was holding her daughter, and all joy had faded from her face as she finally saw her daughter's eyes.
Hannah, for the most part, looked fine, just exhausted and confused. The girl was still dressed in the same winter coat she had been wearing the night she had been kidnapped, and her hair was a tangled mess. Her skin was a little blue, and ice clung to it, but soon that would fade. What wouldn't go away, though, were her eyes. Instead of the simple chocolate brown they had been, they were jagged and yellow.
Like those of a snake.
Hannah wasn't the only one, either. The eight other girls were free of the blocks of ice that held them, but no parent dared to approach.
Some had jagged red or black scales that were coming out of their flesh. Another girl had a straight tail that was wildly whipping around, and some had the yellowish eyes Hannah now had.
All nine of them were Magical Mutants. The ice the snake had forced them into had put their bodies into a slowed state where the corruption wasn't able to progress as fast as it normally had, but even with the slowed effect, the girls had been in the dungeon for days, some weeks, and a few even months.
All the girls were still on the ground, their bodies not fully recovered from the venom that Garon had used to paralyze them. They were all in a state where they would need help and support, yet none was being offered. The parents, friends, and guardians all remained on the sidelines, staring at the nine girls in horror.
Many sobbed, some began to throw up, and others still were unable to move and simply stared in horror, disgust, or shock.
Davi stepped forward and approached one of the girls. He placed his arm under Hannah's back, who had been dropped by her mother, and helped support her. "How are you feeling?" He asked quietly.
Hannah's eyes kept rapidly blinking, and the girl groaned weakly. "I… My eyes hurt. What's happening?"
"You're still alive." Davi grabbed her wrist and helped her move her arm back and forth gently. "Your muscles are likely numb, but it should fade. Do you think you can stand?"
"Okay." Hannah gave a weak nod, and with Davi's help, she stood up. He kept an arm on her back and made sure she didn't fall over.
"You're doing great. Your body will recover from the venom and cold soon, and you'll be able to move around like normal." Davi gave a gentle smile, his usual cold look seemingly gone. "Olivia, help one of the other ones up." Olivia remained motionless, staring down at a girl that was covered in spiked scales. "Olivia," Davi repeated.
"R-right." Olivia stepped forward, and she tried to do the same, helping the other girl up. Once both Hannah and the other girl were standing on their own two legs, she let go and stepped back.
Davi stayed next to Hannah, who was silently looking around. Her skin was finally no longer blue, and some color was returning as her body woke up fully. "Shouldn't you be holding your kid?" Hannah's mother flinched back when she looked up and found Davi's cold eyes staring down at her.
The mother found her throat had suddenly gone dry, and despite the fact that the snake was dead, the surrounding area seemed to become much colder. "I-I can't—"
"What's wrong with all of you?" It was rare that Davi raised his voice, but this was one such occasion. "These are your fellow townspeople, are they not? The transformation is still in an early stage. Their minds shouldn't be altered, and physically speaking, they're still human. This is the only stage in Magical Mutation where a person can be helped. They need support right now. They'll never return back to normal, but as long as they can manage themselves in this state, they'll be able to live out mostly mundane lives. And if you all can't stomach the thought of these girls living on like this, then why don't you just kill them?"
"Davi!" Olivia looked up, horrified at Davi's blunt response. All the townspeople were shocked by his statement.
Davi didn't meet her gaze and instead kept staring at the crowd. "You refuse to help them when they need it, and you refuse to put them out of the suffering you assume they're going through. Sitting there in horror or disgust doesn't do anything. Make a choice. Either accept them or end them, but don't just leave them there while they're in this state."
This was different from Garon. Garon had done bad things and was actively trying to hurt innocent people. These girls hadn't done anything wrong yet, and their forms hadn't progressed as much as Garon's had. It was still possible for them to live, even if it would only be a small life of ten or twenty more years.
"Y-you can't get rid of Magical Mutation." A man in the crowd said, shaking his head. "One day they're going to turn. It could be a month from now or a year or—"
"Or they could die of a disease, or have a heart attack, or be struck by lightning." Davi cut the man off. "Everyone dies one day. You'll die, and I'll die. We all will die. Maybe it won't be as long a life as they deserve, but they can still live for another few years as long as they can keep the transformation in check. How many of you didn't get to say goodbye? How many of you had your children stolen from you by the snake and thought you'd never see them again? You all accepted that your child was dead and gone, but now you have time that you can actually spend with them. And yes, the day will come when they do start to transform and change, and their minds become altered, but isn't that all the more reason you should be with them now while you still have that time? And when that day does come, you can tell them goodbye."
"It's not fair, though—"
"Life isn't fair," Davi said flatly. "People die all the time of diseases, in the beds of a hospital. The only difference is that when it is time to pull the plug, it'll be a Knight that does it, instead of a doctor. And should it come to it, I'll be that Knight."
Davi's words did little to put the people at ease. This wasn't like a child getting diagnosed with something like cancer. With an actual disease, healing magic could be used to help prolong that person's life and give them time to get their affairs in order before it was time to go, and they'd eventually pass away. The mutation was different, though. A person didn't die. They became a monster.
One that would harm other people and needs to be put down. It was horrible, it was evil, and it wasn't fair.
It was one of the many curses the elves left humanity with.
"So what's it going to be?" Davi asked quietly.
No one dared to move. The town was entirely silent. Then, it was all broken by a single voice…
"Mom," Hannah said softly, and her mother let out a weak sob. Tears were also streaming down Hannah's face, who was now fully aware of what was going on and what had happened to her. "I'm sorry." The girl whispered out. "I-I should have listened to you. I shouldn't have gone out."
"Hannah." The mother took a weak step forward and then gently took her daughter's hand. "This isn't your fault… It's… It's…" The woman broke down and hugged her daughter tightly.
The other eight girls were now all standing, and most still looked a little out of it, but some managed to turn to their parents. Hesitantly, a father stepped forward. He did his best to avoid the scales that clung to his daughter, and he gently reached out and cupped the girl's face.
"I'm so sorry…"
More parents finally came forward after that.
Olivia watched in silence as the girls were finally hugged and surrounded by their family members, but she couldn't get rid of the lump that was in her throat because no one had said what option they were picking. Was this them accepting them, or was it a goodbye…
"I wish you could have gotten here sooner." Olivia turned and found the baron of the town now standing next to her. The bone mage looked exhausted, and his guards had finally returned to the town. "Maybe then some of these poor souls could have been saved."
"I'm sorry," Olivia said weakly.
"Don't be. It's not your fault. It's that damn snake." The baron spat out.
Olivia had to bite her tongue to stop herself from spitting out Garon's name. She glanced at Davi, who stood off to the side watching the girls. She wondered if he was still happy with his choice. She wasn't. Garon was evil. A true monster for forcing all of these girls to be put through the same thing that happened to him.
She no longer felt bad about his death. Hopefully, he was rotting in hell.
"You saved our town," The baron began. "It's a shame what happened to Garon and these girls, but Daisy will survive. Now that the barrier is gone, we can get in contact with the kingdom and hopefully have help reach us before the end of the week. Maybe some of these girls can even be given the help they desperately need."
"Maybe," Olivia said bitterly.
"It's a shame what happened to him. Garon, I mean." The baron rubbed his tired eyes. "His daughter will be devastated. I hope she can make it past all of this." The man let out another weak sigh.
Olivia flinched when she recalled the state of Garon's daughter. It would have all been a little better if he had been doing it for her sake, but he hadn't been. She had been so excited to start her adventure, but now it all felt so wrong.
She wasn't the hero that saved the day, and neither was Davi. Both of them had arrived too late.
Was this what the real world was like?
"Olivia." Davi approached slowly. "It's time to go."
"Already?" The baron asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah." Davi held his hand out to Olivia. "I think it's best if we leave as soon as possible."
Olivia stared down at the hand in silence. Finally, after some time, she nodded. "Yeah. Let's leave."
She didn't take his hand.