Dawn- An age of Darkness

I didn\'t have any dreams. It was like I\'d blacked out after drinking too much wine. 

Those really were the days.

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When I woke up, I had a hangover. Well, at least for the first few minutes. Someone was in the room but I didn\'t look. Probably one of the maids. 

Birds chirped and the orange light was blinding. Oh wait, they were crows? Crows? Crows!

My system bolted awake. It\'d be evening soon. If I didn\'t get up now, I\'d have to stay another night. I wanted to meet Biteria as soon as possible, so I didn\'t want that.

I sat down, still groggy. 

I needed to put on armor, sort my things but I felt too groggy.

"Are you really the man who stood up to the grand monster?" The maid\'s voice was rather on the masculine side. Her tone was neutral. It was rare. I\'d never heard a maid talk to me without bowing or showing way too much respect. 

"Unfortunately yeah." I looked back. It wasn\'t a maid. My groggy mind was just playing tricks on me. 

"Hmm." She had horns on her head and a pretty face. Her armor was scaly and looked quite macho. She had two small horns on her head the size of almonds: rather cute than threatening. Her skin was like caramel: silky too. 

"I thought Xerphas was going to send in a guy?" I already figured out who she was. Her appearance and conduct were the proof of it. I didn\'t really care all that much about gender though. I was just too groggy to form an actual conversation. 

"I am a guy!" She or rather he protested.

If I wasn\'t awake before, I was definitely awake now. "Huh? So-Sorry my bad." I stared at her chest. It was flat alright. But the way he was built, anyone could mistake him for a girl at first sight. He had a beautiful face and slim body, along with long hair in a ponytail configuration. 

No matter how you asked me, he definitely looked more like a girl than a guy.

"Hey! Did no one teach you it\'s rude to stare!"

"Oh, sorry about that." Things got awkward very fast, so I tried to change the subject. "It\'s already pretty late. So I should get ready. I assume you are ready as you are?"

"That goes without a saying."

"Okay, now that that\'s out of the way, how about introductions?" I took my shirt off and started to put on a better shirt. I also took off my pants because they were rather uncomfortable. "I am Daarc Green."

 I had to put on armor next too. But I kind of didn\'t want to bother. 

"Hey-hey, what are you doing? Have you no shame!" I could spot the redness in his cheeks. He probably never spent much time with humans.

"Dude calm down. We\'re both guys, it\'s cool. Besides, I have my underwear on."

He cleared his throat and closed his eyes. "I am Veniolor Xerces. You can call me Veniolor or Xerces, or both." The guy was actually a little embarrassed.

I smiled. "Okay, Veni, nice to meet you." I strapped on my belt and put on the armor.

It was actually a good fit. And my wounds didn\'t hurt, at least nothing unbearable.

"Hey! Listen to people when they talk to you. Are you incapable of even remembering a name?" He glared at me, then switched gazes and looked carefully at the armor. "That was made from Xerphas\'s scales."

He kind of right on the money though. I did have a lot of trouble remembering names. 

"Yeah, the guild made it."

He didn\'t say a word. My things were in my ring. I only carried a knife and my regular sword with me: not the Ascan blade. But there were some things with a note, on the floor. The note basically said to use the stuff. The stuff being, potions and medicines. There was even a bottle of Panora water.

I sighed and put them inside the ring. I glanced over Veni. He didn\'t seem to ask anything about it. 

But now that I actually had the mystic blade and could use holy magic, I didn\'t really need Panora water of all things. It was still welcome though, after all, undead were very unpredictable if nothing else. 

"Alright, let\'s head out."

When walking down the staircase, I noticed how comfortable the new armor was. It was so easy to move around. Although the last one was light too, it wasn\'t as comfortable. I couldn\'t help but grin. There were a lot fewer guards and maids around the castle though. I had a bad feeling.

I stepped out of the castle. Veni followed. And as usual, I sighed. Three large crows were sitting in the front yard along with a very familiar face. But that wasn\'t the reason behind my discomfort. 

There was a very big crowd in front of the castle. It was even bigger than the mob that had shown up that night.

This was the reason. 

"All hail, Lord Daarc!"

They all knelt. 

I have to give another speech now? 

I looked over Lianne and she nodded. How the hell did she know what I thought? Dick only grinned: That bastard had shown up after all this time. The nerve of his! A minute in, and I already wanted to punch the guy.

How did Lianne address these people again? 

"Brave men, and women of Helsing!" I might have done that a little wrong, but I still continued. "Lift your faces! I, Daarc Green give you my word. I will travel across the land and save the people. But in my heart, you will always be first: my people! Should you ever need me, I shall come flying. Fear not, my fellow countrymen. I shall never abandon you!" 

The men roared. The women wept. The children sang. It was a very odd sight. Cringe-worthy, if nothing.

I really felt stupid at my own words. 

I really needed to counsel myself in front of a mirror. I needed it badly. 

"You might be an even shrewder politician than I thought," the count said. I actually hadn\'t seen him here.

You have no idea how wrong you are.

I smiled. "I leave the rest in your hands. Assist Lianne as much as you can and look after things."

"As you wish my lord." He knelt before me. He wasn\'t bad. I didn\'t trust him fully, but enough to not doubt him.

I went closer to Lianne. 

"You are getting better at this," she said.

"I never thought you\'d end up being king. Just what the hell were you up to while I was gone?" Dick was salty. A hint of envy in his voice.

"Well, this and that. Let\'s go. Or this situation might end up being even weirder."

 The nobles were here and smiled as I moved towards the crows. The maids all wept. But there was another person who cried as well: Brice was really into the whole shedding-the-tear business. "I will missh you, my lord." His pronunciation got a little weird too.

"Don\'t overdo things while I\'m gone and protect Lianne after she\'s back." As much I felt annoyed by the guy, I couldn\'t really dismiss his efforts either. For the last couple of days, the guy tried his best to make sure I was comfortable. Though he mostly just annoyed the hell out of me. 

"I\'ll put my life on the line-"

"Life isn\'t cheap and you have a kid. Don\'t throw it away. Be cautious and train. Later!" I got on a crow. 

It was ironic coming out of my mouth. After all, I was treating my own life, like didn\'t have any worth. And here I was, lecturing a guard how important life was. 

Truly, an irony. 

"Sir!" His snot and tears painted his face odd.

Someone climbed up behind me. 

"You\'re not going to fly?" I asked.

"You\'d want a dragon to take off in the middle of the town while just days ago this town was attacked by the dragons?" Veni did have a valid point.

"You do have a point."

I remembered how Susan controlled the bird but honestly, it was hard. The crow flashed its wings and flapped them hard. It swayed, so I hugged it tight. After the take-off, the swaying stabilized. 

"Farewell, my people! May the gods be with you!"

With roaring cheers, I finally got moving. 

"There are no gods," Veni mumbled.

"Don\'t be so picky. They might be monsters, but they still are gods. And they are still here."

He didn\'t protest. He didn\'t agree either. 

Dick led the away and we followed. Lianne was on a crow as well. As for the guy behind me I didn\'t really trust him yet. And I was on full alert. But I didn\'t let him know. I was going to wait and see what his real character was.

"ARghh… ARgghhh!" My screams covered the whole sky just moments later.