I blinked away the images of my previous run through as I took a deep, steadying breath, but then I refocused on the scene before me. The scout and Nameless finished giving their reports for what I hoped would be the last time, and I listened attentively before I saluted to dismiss Jorgen’s soldier.
“What are your orders, sir?” Jorgen asked as a frown of concern drew his eyebrows into a single line.
“Everyone, stand back and watch me in action,” I said, and a smirk twisted my lips. “It’s not the Naga you have to worry about. It’s the Mirago.”
I heard the Kanuaki tribe members inhale sharply at the word, but I avoided looking in their direction until I could give my men their commands.
“Mirago, sir?” Corvis scratched his head in confusion. “The scouts just saw the ten Naga. You heard the report.”
Everyone else began to gather around to listen closely, so I lifted my voice so they all could hear. I made eye contact with Akina as I spoke, though, and it hurt my heart to see the fear light up in her metallic-hued eyes when I used the monsters’ name. I had hoped
the stoic warrior woman so accustomed to fighting the legendary Naga would face this new nightmare with a brave lift of her chin, but it seemed as though she would need a little more encouragement.
“The Mirago are nearly invisible when viewed directly,” I said,
“so I don’t fault the scout for not being able to see them. But they’re there, and deadlier than anything your men have faced yet.”
“We must flee,” Akina insisted. “The Mirago will kill us all.”
“You’ve faced your fears before,” I pointed out in her language.
“Now will be no different. I can kill the Mirago, and nothing bad is going to happen to any of our people. Trust me, Akina.”
“I-I-I do.” Akina swallowed hard, but some of her stoic composure had returned to her face. “I trust you, Great One.”
I’d seen the staunch desert dwellers show fear over the Naga before, but it was unlike the Kanuaki warrior woman to give in to the emotion. She’d grown up learning how to fight the unkillable, but the Mirago were a different beast entirely. She had every right to be scared, but I wasn’t going to let her fears be realized.
“I just need to blip back to Bastianville to get something, and then I’ll go kill all the Mirago.” I grinned. “Back in a jiffy.”
Without another word, I fast traveled back to Bastianville.
Mahini helped me grab the ring of invisibility, and then I returned to the desert in less than five minutes. Once the sun was shining on my back again, I held up the ring for all to see, and my companions let out awed oohs.
Since I had everything I needed, I gave the rest of my instructions to my companions. When the Mirago were out of the picture, they were to swoop in and kill off the Naga, and then we would strike camp for the night.
“Let’s move,” I said, and I hurried to take the lead as we circled around our enemies.
Then, once we were all in position, I gave the signal, put on the ring, and went after the Mirago.
I kept my gaze on the ground, but I noticed the shadows being cast by the Naga, so I focused on the gaps in between them. I stomped my foot to activate the fleetness ability of my dragon scale boots, and I charged into their midst with my panabas swinging like a whirlwind of death.
The Naga lunged for me with venomous hisses, but my boots made me too fast to catch, so I easily dodged around them to the
spot where I could smell the burning rubber scent emanating from a Mirago. I whipped my blade around blindly, but I sensed more than I felt when my panabas connected to the teardrop shape on the nape of the creature’s neck. The sound of the Mirago shattering hurt my ears, but then it was as though everything froze.
I was the invisible God of Death and Destruction raining on their parade.
The Naga blinked around in surprise, and the Mirago surrounding me hesitated for the briefest moment.
It was the only opening I needed to wreak total havoc on their numbers, though, and I dashed around the Naga to their protective invisible companions. Then I killed mirror-man after mirror-man while I dodged the spiked tails and snapping maws of the cobra-men things.
“Go, Bash, go!” I heard cheers in the distance, but I couldn’t afford to take my attention off the Mirago for a second even with them on the defensive.
I moved faster than ever before as I made my way toward the next stench of burning rubber, but I didn’t dare look directly into the blinding white reflections shining off the Mirago’s flesh. Now that I
knew their weakness, their impenetrable glass-armored hides were little more than a minor obstacle, but it was still a challenge to avoid their thrashing razor-sharp claws as I searched for their drop spot.
Four, five, then six explosions shook the air as I dropped Mirago after Mirago, but then I had difficulty placing another opponent. I dared a glance around, but no blinding flashes of light greeted my eyes. Only the Naga stood in a circle around me with their tails whipping violently from side to side, and realization dawned on me that the Mirago were all dead.
“Fuck, yes,” I muttered under my breath, but then I let out a loud, shrill whistle to signal to my companions it was Naga hunting time.
Akina, Mikino, and Rystuni led the charge with their flame swords burning brightly, but Jorgen and Corvis weren’t more than a step behind the Kanuakians with their platoons. We easily outnumbered the ten Naga, and we got into our preplanned positions to section them off into smaller groups.
My people and I decapitated and burned the Naga systematically like we were taking out the trash, and I ignored the sweat dripping down my forehead as I lit yet another oozing corpse ablaze.
“Whoop!” Akina jumped up and down while she pumped her fist victoriously in the air, but her tribe members quickly followed suit.
I made a save point to seal in the win, but I mimicked the victory dance, too, and then the rest of my people joined in as well.
We stomped our feet and howled into the sky, and the echoes of our voices bounced off the sand dunes around us. It reminded me of Native American dances, but I wasn’t going to scoff at some well-earned celebrations. The warriors had worked hard to quickly take care of the Naga, and they’d all swallowed their fears of the Mirago and trusted in me to handle it.
I was one proud god.
“We’ll strike camp here for the night,” I said to the group of people standing around me in the sand. “We all deserve a brief rest after that fight.”
“Yes, sir!” Jorgen and Corvis said simultaneously as they saluted crisply.
Akina, Mikino, and Rystuni began the process of harvesting any useful items from the Naga, but I went in search of any shattered remnants of the Mirago. I wanted to see what kind of enchantment I
could do with pieces of their armored glass flesh, but I had to find some first.
I searched the sands for a while until I found a tiny sliver. It was like searching for beach glass, and I only found several more of the small pieces before I called it quits. There was no telling what kind of magic I could glean from the shards, but I imagined summoning my own Mirago, and I wondered if they would be difficult to mentally control.
Then I helped the men set up the tents, and I used my fire magic to start a huge bonfire in the middle of our temporary dwellings. The sparks lifted skyward to the slowly fading sunlight, but the eastern edges of the horizon were tinged with the purples and blues of twilight.
Nameless squawked as he descended from the sky, and the light of the fire reflected off his scales as he landed at my feet. He was growing quickly, and now he stood almost to my knees. The small dragon sniffed at my hands curiously, and I wondered if he could smell the remnants of the Mirago on my fingers, so I sent a mental image of the mirror-men creatures, but then the little dragon shivered as a wave of understanding passed between us.
Our bond was growing stronger.
After I fed him his raw meat dinner, the little dragon curled up next to the bonfire and folded his wings against his back. He rested his chin on his front legs as he gazed around at us with his star-flecked eyes, and I wondered how much he understood of the conversations going on around him.
“I never thought they could be real,” Akina was saying to Mikino. “My mother used to say the Mirago would jump out of the mirror at me if I became vain over my beauty.”
“They certainly died in an interesting fashion,” the stoic warrior replied with an understanding bob of his head. “That wasn’t included in any of the tales I heard as a boy.”
On the other side of the bonfire sat my three lovely ladies, and their conversation laid along very different lines.
“The flatbread is better with honey than the spicy seasoning,”
Eva argued adamantly. “You don’t know what you’re missing out on!”
“I’m not missing anything,” Caelia countered with a shake of her head that sent her chocolate curls dancing. “I’ve tried it before, I just prefer the more exotic flavors than the bland ones.”
“Trust me, people will pay good money for a sweet treat from the desert lands,” Zenda interjected. “But they may indulge in the
more exotic spices as well. So, in a way, you are both correct.”
I chuckled to myself as I eavesdropped on the women’s debate over the Kotarian delicacies we’d all grown fond of.
Despite the obstacles we’d faced that day, we were all in a good place with each other, and that was what really mattered.
Everyone seemed content to follow me through any foes or challenges we may face, and I couldn’t have asked for better followers.
I still had some questions about the Mirago, though, and it was possible the desert dwellers knew some more about them, so I cleared my throat to get the desert dwellers’ attention.
I made a new save point before I went any further so I could reset and already know all the answers.
“What else can you tell me about the mirror monsters?” I asked in a curious tone. “Where did they come from? Do they have a master?”
“A master?” Mikino frowned in confusion. “They answer to no man.”
“Why do you think they were guarding the Naga?” I arched an eyebrow at the Kanuaki man. “What was so important about the
snake-men?”
“I do not know, Great One.” Mikino’s frown deepened. “All I know about the Mirago is they come from a place of nightmares. A shadow world we cannot see with our waking eyes, but a realm full of terrors unknown.”
“Sounds like a place to summon monsters from,” I mused. “So, the Mirago aren’t usually foot soldiers for some greater foe.”
The three Kanuaki tribe members shook their heads as one.
“They aren’t supposed to exist in real life,” Akina said. “They’re just stories to scare children into good behavior.”
“Like the Naga?” I chuckled. “No, there’s something or someone bringing legends to life, and I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”
“If anyone can, it’s you,” Rystuni insisted. “You defeated the undefeatable. You killed all the Mirago single-handedly. I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes.”
“Everything has a weakness,” I said with a one-shouldered shrug.
Then I reset to my save point with a wave of my willpower.
Chime.
The Naga and the sandworms were similar to the Mirago in that they’d been little more than children’s tales before they began to terrorize the desert dwellers. The Naga had been around the longest, and the Kanuaki tribe had dedicated themselves to their annihilation, but I’d been the one to learn how to kill the impenetrable sandworms.
I couldn’t shake the feeling that the mysterious sorcerer was the one responsible for the appearance of the Mirago and the others, but other than the monsters suddenly showing up after ages of being only tall tales, there was little evidence to go on.
I needed to find this sorcerer and get the answers directly from him.
Wherever he was.
That was a problem for another day, but the nagging thoughts continued to circle my brain.
Had he been working for the warlord, or was it the other way around?
Was he a summoner?
Usually, when creatures were summoned through magical means, they left a blue-gray pile of ash behind instead of a corpse.
There had been no such piles after the deaths of the Naga, the sandworms, or the Mirago, so I was curious to learn how ancient legends were coming to life.
Another obstacle to summoning magic laid in the tangible ingredients needed to perform the spell. There had to be an item from the real world sacrificed in order for the magic to work correctly, and I knew this from personal experience. I’d mastered the art of summoning several creatures and animals, but I rarely found the method useful compared to my other skills.
Had the mysterious sorcerer found a way around this limiting side to summoning?
What other tricks did he have up his sleeves?
Had we faced the last of the monsters, or was this just the beginning?
My thoughts continued to circle around the day’s events, but I was confident I’d be able to replicate my success the next time I had to face a mirror monster. It felt good to be challenged by an enemy again, but I still needed to try my hand at summoning one even though it wasn’t my favorite skill.
If I had a Mirago on my side, that would be another matter entirely. The tiniest shard of glass could potentially summon an entire mirror-man beast, and I had more than enough to keep me stocked in glass-armored monsters for a while.
The glass shards were added to the long mental list of trophies, loot, and treasures I’d gained over the course of my adventures, but it was all part of being a god.
“Bash!” Eva’s voice finally cut through my thoughts.
I frowned and shook my head to dispel my intrusive worries, but then I flashed my beautiful blonde wife a broad smile.
“Sorry, I was lost in thought,” I said.
“We know!” Eva tilted back her head and let out a melodic laugh. “I’ve been trying to ask you a question for a few moments now.”
“What’s up?” I blushed sheepishly.
“What’s on your mind?” Eva’s lips twitched into a lopsided smile. “You seem worried, and we wanted to know if we could help you brainstorm.”
Caelia and Zenda nodded their agreement beside the blonde bombshell, and I gave them all a grateful look.
I was one lucky god.
I still made a new save point before I took my women up on their offer, and I waited until the familiar tingling sensation washed over me before I opened up about my concerns.
“There are some hard to ignore similarities between the Mirago and the other monsters we’ve encountered,” I said, and I raked a hand through my hair as I began to vent about all the thoughts circling around my brain.
I lamented about the unanswered questions and the mysteries we still hadn’t solved, and it certainly felt good to let go of being all-knowing for a few moments, but I knew I’d go back to being godly after this run through. It felt good to lean on my women in that way, though, and even if it wasn’t going to last in their memories, it would at least last in mine.
“I think the missing sorcerer is the one responsible for the Mirago protecting the Naga,” I said at last. “There might be a trail we can pick up on that will lead us in the right direction.”
“What about the catacombs?” Zenda asked. “Aren’t we on our way to the oasis to figure out how to get inside?”
“Something tells me there are answers hidden inside the catacombs,” I admitted with a nod. “But it might be a good idea to send some of Jorgen’s scouts in the direction the Naga and Mirago had come from.”
“That sounds like a very dangerous mission,” Caelia pointed out. “They may encounter more than they bargained for. The Mirago are almost impossible to spot, after all. Even Jorgen’s scouts failed to see them at first.”
Zenda and Eva nodded along with the chocolate-haired beauty’s words, and I realized they were of one mind.
“But now we know how to detect them.” I reminded her. “Their burning smell is distinct and easy to pinpoint.”
“It’s settled, then,” Eva said with a decisive nod. “We’ll split our forces. Jorgen and his platoon will track the monsters back to their source while the rest of us continue onward to the oasis.”
“Yes, but next time I’ll say it.” I laughed as I reset back to my save point.
Chime.
“Is there anything we can do to help you relax?” Caelia asked in a worried tone, but then she exchanged a glance with the other
girls, and they all burst into giggles. “We have some ideas…”
“Oh?” I chuckled.
“But who’s turn is it to help Bash relax?” Eva giggled.
“You should do it tonight, Eva,” Zenda said. “You and Bash had been flirting all day before I took him to my chambers, and it’s time for you to enjoy each other’s promises coming true.”
“Good point.” I smirked. “Eva, what do you think?”
“I would be honored to help you fully relax and rest tonight,”
the blonde bombshell said as desire filled her smoky-gray eyes, and her tongue flicked out to dance across her juicy lips as her gaze met mine. “It would bring me great pleasure…”
“Oh, I cannot wait to give you great pleasure,” I growled playfully.
“Then come with me,” Eva giggled, and she pushed herself to her feet before she reached out a hand. I clasped her hand in mine, and she pulled me up until I towered over her. Then she stood on her tiptoes to press her juicy lips against mine, and a moan escaped both of our lips despite the many eyes around us watching the exchange.
“Lead the way,” I murmured when we finally pulled apart.
Eva squeezed my hand before she turned toward our tent, but I couldn’t help stealing a glance over my shoulder at Akina to gauge her reaction. The desert dweller watched me depart with mixed emotions in her metallic eyes. I could definitely see lust and desire among them, and that stirred me immediately.
I hurried after Evangeline as my wife took me to bed, and I had to admit, I was one lucky man to have so many willing beauties jostling for a turn with me. It made me want to spend the rest of my life giving all of them everything they wanted.
And I would do just that.
But first, Eva needed me.