29Chapter 42 – What was Secret
The rain lasted for another half hour before letting up. That put it toward the longer end of moderate rains, according to Maria. Bigger storms might last an hour and cover an entire town and surrounding farms. Smaller ones could be the size of a farm, or even smaller, like the first one she ever saw. Incidentally, the first violet rain cloud with the single lightning bolt was actually the second rarest. The rarest was a storm that was several miles across, lasted several hours, and contained much more lightning.
Since it had happened this time, Reina asked Maria and Vyrdrun about the lightning. The bigger the rain, the more likely it was to occur. Most of the ones she'd been in so far, the more moderate-sized ones, didn't have any lightning.
As for what it did to monsters struck, they were usually permanently changed. That doll on her first day would have stayed like that until it died. Its stats would be increased across the board, and it would give increased XP. But that was for normal monsters. For a dragon? They didn't know. Dragons didn't come by Vyrdrun's village, and the shaman who taught him didn't mention anything about them. Maria's knowledge didn't extend too deeply into either dragons or violet rain, let alone both together.
Kuromo was still fine after the bolt, his stats the same as they were before. Reina hadn't checked to see if they changed when he was glowing, so she couldn't say if they did. She just knew his HP didn't decrease, since that was always visible in her status without looking further. All they could do for now was keep an eye on him for any changes.
Speaking of changes, Reina noticed something after talking with her party. The curse damage they took during the Wave was already gone this morning, not even a full day. They experienced no stiffness or aches or anything.
Reina, however, was still cursed. She didn't experience any pain or anything, but her HP was still below maximum.
"Maybe it's because you're a hero?" Maria asked as they continued on their way.
They'd been on the road for several more hours and were well into the evening. Soon, they'd stop and make camp for the night.
"I don't think so." Lola shook her head from her place on the advanced doll spirit's arm. She was still slowly healing, able to walk, but they decided to have her continue as they were earlier. "Daddy said heroes weren't any weaker to curses than normal people. They might even get more resistant against curses."
With all the different bonuses her weapon gave her, Reina could believe it. "What else could it be? Maybe because I was caught in violet rain before?"
"Possible." Vyrdrun nodded. "The rain is known to disrupt spirits, and a curse is damage against one's soul, is it not?"
"Maybe, but that's not the case." Grim added in. "My master has been in the rain before, and been cursed. She's never seen any difference in the damage or the time it took to recover."
There was one thing that could be related to her curse, though Reina was hesitant to mention it. Dream Eat. The spirit that granted that spell was known as an evil spirit, and a being like that could easily be equated to something that gave out curses. In a way, the spell was a curse, since Reina couldn't exactly control it, and she couldn't break the contract either.
However, she didn't bring it up. The chief reason for that was…she still hadn't told Maria about what she saw in her dreams. The one who taught Maria magic, whose name was close to hers: Mary. Reina was certain that's who it was. When Maria's mother found out, she killed the teacher. When Maria left her family, she changed her name. How could Reina even begin to bring something like that up, something that was clearly such an important and painful memory.
Reina noticed something else. They passed by a couple villages, since that was in fact how roads worked, but no one was outside. It made sense yesterday, with how close to the Wave the previous villages were; less so now a day's travel away. Sure, it made keeping Lola out of sight much easier, but Reina didn't like it.
That was in addition to the fact they still hadn't seen a single traveler. Was something going on? The people in the village where the Wave was didn't mention anything, but it wasn't as if the party stayed around too long. The Wave was likely at the front of everyone's mind. And if there was something, surely the few knights present would have said something.
"Hm?" Reina perked up a bit as she mused. Down the long road they were on, she noticed something. "Is that…"
"Stop!" Vyrdrun yelled loudly, louder than she'd ever heard him. "To me, now!"
Startled, but not ignoring his words, everyone got around Vyrdrun. "What's wrong?" Maria asked.
"Mystic rain!" He declared, clasping his hands together in focus. "It's about to start!"
Reina looked all around her, trying to spot the clouds. There, several hundred feet away, they began to form up above. It started as a small ball of pink fluff. A second later, it grew, perhaps to the size of a small home. Another second, and it was halfway to where they stood.
"Crap!" Reina yelled. She remembered how long—or, rather, how short—it took for the rain to start falling when she nearly died.
Another few seconds quickly passed, and the clouds expanded far in every direction, far faster than just about anything she'd seen in this world. The only thing she saw move faster was Demon Lord Karth flying to them in Lespax's second Wave.
A drop landed a few feet in front of Reina. Another soon followed behind them. Vyrdrun was working his magic, but a single wall had barely risen up.
"Get beneath me!" He yelled, desperately guiding the earth around them.
Reina, Maria, and Grim all huddled more closely to the Gromnar shaman, just as the rain began to pick up. It was no longer random drops but a steady sprinkling, and it was growing faster by the second. He hunched over them to keep them safe, still trying to make a shelter for them.
"Geh!" Lola grunted as she dropped to the ground, Reina's spirit having been destroyed by the rain. While made from a skill, and thus her SP, it still had a magic stat, something Reina had found to be an indicator of the damage the rain dealt.
Reina didn't move to help Lola. The girl said she was fine in the rain, and her slowly standing proved that. As it was, Reina could hardly keep herself standing. Barely safe from the rain directly, the vapor it gave off made her want to vomit. Having her spirit destroyed certainly didn't help.
Then, the rain picked up even more.
"AAHHH!" Maria cried out, jerking forward. A small gust of wind directed the rain just under Vyrdrun, coating her bare arm.
"Maria!" Reina stumbled forward and caught her, easing them both to the ground. Already, Maria shook as if combatting hypothermia. "Kuromo! Help!"
"Gau!" Her dragon understood her intent immediately. He moved around the group and ducked down, expanding his massive wing to cover the three humans.
He was able to provide a bit more cover for them, but the wind began to pick up as well. Reina shifted in place, keeping herself between Maria and the direction of the incoming wind, and rain. Some of the rain made it past the wing cover, though most of it harmlessly struck her armor. The few drops that reached her head made her only slightly sicker than she already was.
It seemed to take forever for the walls to reach decent height, and even longer for the ceiling to form around them. Reina couldn't tell just how long it was. She was too focused on the shivering woman beneath her.
Finally, Vyrdrun adjusted his footing. "Done." He declared.
Grim fell back, landing on the wet ground. He still wore his armor, so at least he wouldn't be touching the water directly. Still, he leaned to his side, kept himself up with one hand on the ground, and vomited.
"Lola. Dry the ground with fire." Vyrdrun quickly looked to the dragon girl as he picked up Maria.
"Yeah, okay…" Lola looked at the party, unsure. She still cast her spell and lit up her claws, but her eyes kept glancing to those around her.
Vyrdrun moved Maria away from the doorway, or what passed for one, and went about manipulating some earth on the far end of the somewhat small hut.
"Maria!" Reina walked next to Vyrdrun, her worry for her girlfriend outweighing the pain the rain caused her. Her weapon was already in a form with the lowest magic stat, and her small resistance allowed her to keep going.
"She will survive." Vyrdrun told her as he finished manipulating the earth. Reina could tell he meant it, but the way Maria looked… "Get a pelt from my pack."
Reina did as she was told, pulled out a large, dry pelt and placed it on the ground. Vyrdrun then set Maria on it and kneeled over her, her hat falling off her head. Maria didn't look good at all. Her skin was paler than normal and she didn't stop shaking.
At her limit, Reina placed her hand against a wall to brace herself as she watched. The air in the hut was getting warmer and more humid as Lola's fires burned away the rainwater.
"Boss…" The voice of Maria was so soft, so weak…
"You will need new clothes." Vyrdrun stated, not hesitating in the slightest to tear away Maria's dress. He then placed his hand in the middle of Maria's chest.
There was no jealousy from Reina at seeing this. She remembered well how Vyrdrun saved her life, and the boy from that town so long ago. The warmth such an act provided was like a roaring fire against a harsh blizzard.
This time, however, there wasn't any change.
"What's wrong?" Reina asked, sliding her hand along the wall as she slowly got closer.
"Hm." Vyrdrun grunted, keeping one hand on Maria's chest as he moved the other to the side of her head. "Maria, you need to stop."
Maria groaned in response as she blearily looked up at him. "No…"
"It could kill you." Vyrdrun pressed on. "Whatever your reasons, it can't be worth the risk."
Slowly, Maria shook her head.
"Maria." Reina knelt down next to her, armored hands on the ground to keep her somewhat stable. She didn't know what they were talking about, but she had to agree with Vyrdrun. "Listen to what he's saying."
A soft whimper escaped Maria's lips as she turned her head to the side. "No…not like this…"
What was it? What was Maria doing that was so important she'd risk her life for? What even could she be doing right now? As far as Reina could tell, Maria was just lying on the ground. In relation to the violet rain, she was doing everything she should be, the only thing she should be: resting.
So, what was it? There must have been something going on that the rain would make worse. Reina quickly thought of what that could be. The rain harmed spirits, making them inactive. It made people sick and damaged them, based on their magic stat. Any spells in the rain were destroyed, and it followed that casting magic while in the rain directly wouldn't work…
Then, she realized what it was. Maria had accessories, jewelry, foci, that she used to sustain her spells. The Magnificent Mansion with the talisman, and her flight spell in her weaker ring. They weren't in the mansion, and Maria dropped to the ground when she got a little rain on her—or, she stopped using it at all, since it was pretty much always in use.
All that left was…
"Vyrdrun, take off the fancy ring." Reina said. That was the only thing left.
Maria snapped her head to Reina, her eyes wide. "No! You can't—!" Her protest was quickly cut off with a groan of pain.
"Whatever spell you're sustaining is making helping you harder." That was the conclusion Reina came to, and Vyrdrun's nod confirmed it. She could only imagine how taxing it was to sustain a spell that was likely on the verge of falling apart, or being ripped apart by the rain.
Maria reached up with a shaking hand to grip Vyrdrun's arm over her chest. "Vyrdrun, please don't. Just—" She had to stop as she winced in pain again. "Just help as best you can."
"Maria." Vyrdrun said her name much like one would when scolding.
"I'll be fine! I just…just…" Her breath was becoming more and more shallow. Slowly, her hand slid down his arm until it reached his hand.
With a sigh, Vyrdrun removed his hand from her head and placed it over her hand, joining his other hand over her chest. For a moment, it looked like he was about to agree with her.
Then, Maria's eyes widened again.
"No! My spell! It's—Vyrdrun!" She shouted desperately, trying and failing to pull her hand back—the same hand that had the fancier ring, locked under Vyrdrun's grip.
"I will not apologize." He said as Maria struggled uselessly against him. "This will save your life, whether you are happy with it or not."
Reina realized what he was doing. He didn't need to take the ring off. Just like with the golem in Lespax's capital, or that guard before that who used Cutting Edge, Vyrdrun was unraveling Maria's spell. Unlike both of those times, Maria seemed to be able to resist it somewhat, but it wasn't going to last.
Tears began to form in her eyes. "No, stop! She can't see me like this!" Her voice cracked with panic.
Despite her pleading, Vyrdrun didn't stop. "I have acted as you've asked me to, but I will not do so at the cost of your life."
Maria continued to struggle for a few moments more, then ceased entirely, tears falling down the sides of her face. It was a fight Reina knew Maria would lose. Even if she wasn't weakened from the rain, Vyrdrun was still a higher level than her, if only just barely. More than that, Maria improved her magic stat more than any other at the Dragon Hourglass, while Vyrdrun spread his growth out. And, most importantly, Vyrdrun was a Gromnar, a race with much higher physical stats than humans. The outcome was inevitable.
"Boss…" Maria whimpered, turning her head to the side once more. "Don't look at me…"
Before Reina could question why, and just as Vyrdrun released the captured hand, she saw Maria's body begin to change. It was slow, and subtle, but began to pick up in speed. Reina watched helplessly as her lover's body changed right in front of her eyes. She couldn't comprehend what she was seeing.
No, that wasn't true. Her eyes weren't deceiving her as she saw Maria's body begin to change. The change, though…Reina just couldn't believe it. As the seconds passed, she had no choice but to do exactly that. Every second, Maria's body changed just a little bit more.
Her arms became a little bit thinner, and shorter. Her well-proportioned legs faced a similar fate, losing the curves Reina had come to love. Her torso shrunk as well, especially her chest. There were smaller, more fine changes on Maria's face. The only constant throughout the whole thing was her long violet hair.
When it was over, Reina continued to kneel next to her…lover. Vyrdrun had kept his hand on Maria, though he'd fished around his pack for another pelt to act as a blanket. Even now mostly covered, Reina couldn't deny what her eyes were telling her, as much as she wanted to.
"Maria…" Reina's mouth felt dry as the situation began to sink in. "You…You're…"
With a small shiver, Maria turned to look at Reina again. The only other thing that remained exactly the same with Maria was her blazing red eyes. "Boss…" Maria whispered softly as the tears only just began to slow.
Reina held her curled up hand against her armored chest. "You're…a kid."
She wanted to deny her own words, to ignore what was before her eyes. But no, a single, slight nod from Maria was all it took to dash those hopes.
"I'm so sorry, Boss." Maria said a little bit louder, the change in her voice more apparent. "I wanted to tell you, but…"
Reina's hand shook. She didn't know what to say next. No, that wasn't true either. She knew what she wanted…what she needed to ask, even though she didn't want to. "How old are you?"
Maria gulped as Vyrdrun moved around the woman—the girl, covering her up more while he kept his hand on her chest to keep the freezing effect of the rain at bay. "I'm…13."
It felt like Reina's stomach twisted in on itself as the words left Maria's lips.
"I…I need to…" Reina couldn't find the words. What could she even say? Instead, she turned around and walked.
"Boss…? Boss—" Maria tried calling after her, but her voice cut out with a wheeze.
"You must rest now." Vyrdrun told Maria, but the words sounded so far off to Reina.
It wasn't that Maria was 13 years old, or that she deceived Reina about her age. No, it wasn't just that. It was everything they did together when she thought Maria was older. She tried not to think where she may or may not have touched, where she may or may not have kissed!
"Hgh!" Reina held her gauntleted hand to her mouth. While she wouldn't be surprised if this sickness was from her thoughts about Maria, she knew it was actually the rain getting to her.
"You okay, Big Sis?" Unknowingly, Reina had nearly walked right into Lola.
"Y-Yeah." Reina responded, slowly lowering her arm.
Lola placed her clawed hand on Reina's shoulder, turning her a little. "You should get out of that armor. It's a little wet from the mystic rain."
"Yeah…" Reina nodded.
As Lola helped her out of her armor, Reina looked around the small hut. Kuromo was curled up somewhat close to the doorway, away from anyone who could get sick from the violet rain that still clung to his scales. Well, as far away as he could be. With such quick construction, the dragon with the torso the size of a large horse took up a lot of room. Grim had settled near the end opposite of the hut's opening, as far away from the rain as possible. He looked absolutely miserable, but at least he wasn't vomiting anymore. Just like when Lola was indecent, he had his head turned away from Vyrdrun and…
"She's going to be okay, Big Sis." Lola pulled her from her thoughts as she pulled the banded mail over Reina's head. "Shamans are experts when it comes to treating humans with mystic rain sickness."
"I…yeah. She'll be just fine." Reina sighed. She didn't want to think about anything. Not Maria, not getting more information out of Lola, not even…
She sighed again, thinking back to what she saw just before the rain started. With the lack of people since they began walking to the capital, she was a little surprised to see someone walking in their direction. But it didn't matter now. With how much time they were out in the rain, and how far away they were, they were more than likely already dead. Vyrdrun had to stay to help Maria, and Lola was still too injured to do a lot on her own. Kuromo could go out there, but she didn't feel like it was safe. Lightning struck a couple times already, though she didn't pay too much attention to it at the time.
They could find their body tomorrow, after the storm ended. Maybe bring them to the next village and see if anyone knew who they were.
A minute more, and Reina's armor was completely removed. All that was left now was the clothing/padding she wore under it. Of course, there were other things on her body. A few rings she used to sustain spells, none of which were particularly high quality, but she didn't need them to be. And, of course, a bracelet.
Reina gazed at the silver bracelet with an emerald embedded in it. The attack buff was nothing crazy, but every little bit helped. She smiled at the memory of getting it, of the date she went on with Maria…before remembering the huge problem with all that now.
Since she couldn't not think about it, some of Maria's actions made a little more sense. Her immature moments, never being in a relationship…no. Reina really didn't want to think about all that right now.
"Are you okay?" Lola asked, bending slightly to get in Reina's vision.
"Yeah." She responded, trying to sound a little more confident than she really was. She kept her hand around the bracelet, unwilling to remove it. It was a gift, and just because things got more complicated and…unethical, she wasn't going to get rid of it.
As much as she didn't want to think about anything, Reina knew she only had so long to get information out of Lola. Seeing as it was already evening, and the now-storm wasn't likely to end anytime soon, now was as good a time as any. At least the lightning seemed to die down.
Since she was the only able-bodied, uninjured person, Reina set up the fire for the night. She had some firewood in her weapon as item drops, so she used those. Thanks to Lola using her fire on the ground—and, incidentally, her own clothes—the ground wasn't soaked. Some kindling, a Prestidigitation, and the fire was going.
All the while, Reina didn't look at Maria. She just couldn't at the moment. She never did find out what all they did together that first night, and she really didn't want to know now.
The prospect of finding out more information from Lola was enough to distract her. For now, at least.
They settled in for the night, Grim and Kuromo by themselves, Vyrdrun with Maria close by to help with the sickness, and…
"Um. What are you doing?" Reina asked Lola as she got close to Reina on her own pelt.
"You were still in the mystic rain, Big Sis." Lola said, wrapping an arm over her. "Holding someone helps."
"I don't…" She wanted to protest, but a pressure was lifted the moment Lola settled in next to her. With her thoughts on what she just learned, the strain on her body wasn't as important. Now, though, she saw how much she was affected.
But having Lola hold onto her…no, this was…well, it wasn't good, but…
"Thanks." Reina decided not to think about that either. Instead, she turned so her back was to Lola, letting the younger girl hold her from behind. It wasn't to keep Lola out of her sight, but to keep Maria out of her sight. She still hadn't told her about Dream Eat's effect, and what she saw with it. Like Maria, Reina kept something important from her. Once Lola left, and they were back in the mansion again and away from prying eyes, Reina would tell her.
For now, Reina still had work to do.
Author's Notes:
Finally! I wanted to do this reveal for so long! Like, seriously, for almost a year. Hope I don't lose any followers over this. Now Reina will have to seriously consider what they'll be like going forward.
I didn't get quite as far as I wanted, but the next plot point would end up taking away from this, so I'll save it for next chapter. I mean, it will still take a little away from this, just not quite as much if I had put it at the end. Though, knowing me, it would probably make this chapter super long if it was here, since I still don't have all that great a grasp on chapter lengths. (I'll get better eventually. I've only been writing for…2 years…Huh. Thought I'd be better at that by now.)
Think I'll do my other story for next week. Not sure about the week after. We'll see where my muse takes me.