“What’s with the disrespect, old man?” Amalia snapped.
“I expect an apology right now, or I’m going to get very angry.
And trust me, you do not want to see me angry.”
Ruel raised his hands in an attempt to seem innocent.
“That wasn’t me, young lady.
I would never dream of questioning the…
ahem, ‘exploits’ of a fellow adventurer.
That would be an unforgivable act of hypocrisy.
However…” His voice became a whisper as he reached into his bag.
“I think I know who spoke.”
The Enutrof calmly rummaged through his belongings, searching for the most obvious suspect.
But, the moment his fingers closed around the Iop’s dagger, the metal seared with sudden, blistering heat.
“By Rushu’s Beard!” Ruel yelped, dropping the blade in shock.
The cursed weapon spun through the air before plunging point-first into the solid wood of the table with a sharp thwack.
In an instant, the large eye embedded in its hilt snapped wide open and scanned the room around it.
Silence hung for a second…
until that same deep voice echoed through the tavern.
“That’s right, it was me.
You stand before the great Rubilax, the mightiest of the second-generation Shushus.
Bow before me, mortals, or you will face a slow and painful death.”
Yugo just laughed out loud at the dagger’s grandiose declaration.
“Scary?
You’re just a talking kitchen knife.
You couldn’t even frighten a Tofu.
Now tell me, why did you destroy our village and hurt so many people?”
The eye on the hilt narrowed with pure disdain.
“And why exactly should I justify myself to a bunch of kids and an old man?” Rubilax retorted.
“You got lucky this time, but sooner or later…
I’ll have my revenge.”
“You’re not exactly in a position to negotiate right now”, said Evangelyne, crossing her arms to intimidate that weapon.
“If you don’t answer our questions, I’ll toss you down the village well and tell your owner that you mysteriously vanished.”
The dagger let out a sound somewhere between a growl and a groan.
“Fine, fine.
No need to be so uncivilized.
I’ll do what you say…
for now.”
“Says the monster who nearly destroyed the village,” the Cra fired back.
“Not to mention you, tried to kill us for absolutely no reason.”
“And I would have, if my Iop brain of a master hadn’t put up such a fight,” Rubilax complained.
“I swear, next time we fight you won’t be so lucky.”
Suddenly, a bloodcurdling scream echoed from upstairs, followed by a loud crash.
“What the…?!
Where am I?…
Rubi!
Where are you, you damn Shushu?
We’ve got unfinished business!”
Everyone turned toward the staircase.
A red-haired young man who looked both angry and bewildered came scrambling down to the ground floor.
His frantic gaze swept the room until it landed on the group.
“Hey, guys,” the stranger said.
“Any chance you’ve seen a very annoying talking sword?
I can’t find it anywhere and I need to stop it before it hurts someone.
It may not look like it, but it’s extremely dangerous and could cause great harm if it ends up in the wrong hands.”
Before anyone could respond, the dagger burst into cruel laughter.
“Oh, wonderful!
There’s brave Sir Dally, the smartest knight of the land!”
The Iop, instantly recognizing the voice, let out a battle cry and lunged at the table.
“There you are, you wretched Shushu!
How dare you take advantage of your own guardian!
I swear you’re going to pay for this!”
Without a second thought, he wrenched the dagger from the wood and began slamming it repeatedly against the nearest stone wall, punctuating every clang with a string of insults.
Unbothered, Rubilax just kept laughing, hurling the verbal abuse right back at him with equal energy.
Yugo couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing at the absurd spectacle before him.
Only then did the Iop seem to realize he had an audience.
With an exaggerated flourish, he made a deep bow and declared in a grandiose voice:
“Forgive my manners.
I lost my temper after what that Shushu pulled, and I didn’t even say hello.”
He straightened up and pounded his own chest with pride.
“Before you stands Sir Percedal of Sadlygrove, or Percedal for short!
I am a knight of the Order of Shushu Guardians and protector of the weak.
That insufferable dagger,” he added, “is called Rubilax, and it’s the Shushu assigned to my care.”
“Knight and protector?” Rubilax said mockingly.
“Ha!
You couldn’t protect a fly, Iop brain.”
Percedal’s smile vanished in an instant.
His face turned red and he immediately clenched the dagger’s hilt, ready to crush it once more.
“Shut your mouth, hellspawn!
I’m going to smash you good for this!”
And so the ridiculous fight between the Iop and his cursed dagger began all over again.
Completely oblivious to his surroundings once more, Percedal went back to battering Rubilax against the wall while the Shushu ruthlessly mocked his every swing.
Every insult from the cursed blade only stoked the Iop’s anger further, making him strike the wall even harder.
Evangelyne could only facepalm in frustration.
Now I understand why it kept calling him “Iop brain.” I think that monster was onto something.
The only one who didn’t seem entirely embarrassed by the display was Yugo, who was watching the chaos with fascination.
Ignoring the exasperated sighs of his companions, the boy approached Percedal and asked with excitement.
“Are you really a knight?
Ruel told me about the order, but I want to know more.”
Percedal froze mid-swing, leaving Rubilax dangling limply from his grip.
The boy’s admiration was all it took for him to puff out his chest again and a broad, triumphant grin spread across his face.
“Of course I am, young man!
The Shushu Guardians are a higly renowned order of knights with the mission is to seal dangerous Shushus roaming the world and harness their power to fight evil.”
“And have you been on lots of adventures?” Yugo asked.
This was the first time he’d met a knight in person, and he wanted to know everything.
Percedal paused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
“Well…” he murmured, trying to recall a worthy battle.
“I’ve been through plenty of adventures, sure, but none truly worthy of a great hero like myself.
Sooner or later, though, I’ll find the adventure that makes me a legend.”
He struck a dramatic pose, as if he could see his glorious destiny laid out before him, but a moment later blinked and scratched the back of his head.
“Wait…
What was your name again, young man?
Come to think of it, none of you have even introduced yourselves.”
“Oh, right!
I’m Yugo,” the boy replied eagerly, gesturing toward his companions.
“That’s Ruel, an old friend of my dad’s.
The girls are Amalia and Evangelyne.
They’re also adventurers and super cool.
Together we managed to free you from that demon…
Rubilax, right?”
Hearing this, Percival dropped to one knee with solemn grace, bowing his head in a gesture of deep gratitude.
“I owe you my life.
Freeing a knight from a second-generation Shushu is no small feat.”
Then his gaze drifted toward Evangelyne.
The Cra caught his attention immediately, and the knight, with a gallant gleam in his eye, approached her.
“I pray I did not harm you while in my monstrous form, fair lady.
If I caused you any injury, I swear I shall repay my debt however you see fit.
I am at your service.”
Evangelyne’s cheeks flushed a deep red.
Why does this always happen to me?
she thought, feeling frustration and embarrassment heating her face in equal measure.
Beside her, Amalia watched with a mischievous grin and whispered in her ear.
“Looks like you’ve got another admirer, Eva.
I don’t know what it is, but every Iop we meet ends up falling head over heels for you.”
The Cra gritted her teeth, trying to ignore her friend’s teasing.
With effort, she composed herself and firmly replied to Percival:
“Don’t worry about me.
And there’s no need for the formal speech…
It just sounds weird.
You don’t have to do anything to make it up to me, either.
It’s not the first time I’ve ended up in a situation like this.”
Before the conversation could get any more awkward, Ruel cleared his throat and crossed his arms.
“Well, putting the romance aside… Visit g.com for the full chapter.
I wanted to ask you something, Percedal.”
“Sir Percedal,” the Iop corrected with pride.
“Don’t forget I’m a knight.”
“…Sir Percedal,” Ruel repeated.
Who does this clown think he is?
If he’s a knight, then I’m the god Enutrof himself.
“Tell me, Sir Percival, how did a knight as mighty as yourself end up possessed by his own Shushu?”
The question made the Iop stiffen.
For several seconds he faltered, his eyes darting around as he searched for a way to answer without severely denting his pride.
“Well…
you see…” he stammered, scratching the back of his neck.
“It’s a long story…”
Evangelyne, catching his hesitation, looked at him with a mocking smile on her face.
“Oh, I’m sure it’s a very interesting story, Sir Percival.
I’m just dying to hear it.”
The alleged knight’s face became even redder.
When he finally gathered his thoughts, he cleared his throat and began his tale:
“Well, you see, I was peacefully resting in the forest after an epic battle against a pack of fearsome beasts…”
“They were Gobbles, Dally,” Rubilax cut in, seizing the chance to humiliate his master even more.
“Shut up, Rubilax!” Percival huffed, trying to ignore the cursed weapon’s cackling.
“As I said, I was there enjoying a well-earned rest when suddenly a swarm of strange creatures came out from the trees and surrounded me.
I fought with everything I had, but there were too many of them.
Even the greatest knight has his limits.”
He paused dramatically, raising his voice as he reached the climax of his tale.
“When I was at death’s door, I had no choice but to call on Rubilax’s power to save myself.
But that treacherous demon,” he growled, shooting a venomous glare at the dagger “possessed me and turned me into a monster!
Normally I’d never fall for such a trick, but that wretched demon struck when I was at my lowest point and caught me off guard.”
Evangelyne raised an eyebrow in suspicion.
Sure, sure, she thought skeptically.
Unlike her, Yugo followed the story with eyes bright with curiosity.
The moment a brief silence fell, he didn’t hesitate to jump in:
“And what did those creatures look like, Dally?”
“My name is Percedal, but I don’t mind that nickname, young man,” he answered with a smile.
“I didn’t get a great look at them because…
well, the forest was very dark, and there were so many of them they blurred together.
They were sort of…
greyish green, I think.
Slimy.
With stuff coming out of…
leaves?
Yeah, leaves.
Or branches.
I don’t know, they just looked really weird.” He scratched his head in frustration.
“Like plants, but twisted.
Like possessed by something.
That much I’m sure of.”
Hearing this, Amalia, who hadn’t been paying much attention to Percedal’s boasting, instantly locked in as this description really caught her eye.
“Sorry to interrupt, Sir Percival,” she said in a strangely serious voice.
“Before you entered that forest, did you cut down any trees or damage the environment in any way?
Because I think I know what those beings are.”
“Not that I remember,” the Iop answered, genuinely confused.
“I only went there because someone told me it was a quiet spot to rest.”
“Based on your description, they sound like forest spirits…
But their behavior is highly unusual.
They’re peaceful creatures that would never attack unless someone damaged their territory.
For example, the spirits of the Sadida Kingdom are adorable and wouldn’t even hurt a Tofu.
It’s strange that the ones here would be so aggressive…
Did you notice anything unusual about them or about the forest itself?”
Percival strained to recall any significant detail, but his memories remained foggy.
Come on, Percival, he thought as he tried to remember, my master always said that in situations like this, you’ve got to use your head…
And then a cunning plan arrived to his small brain.
To everyone’s shock, he slammed his head into the table, cracking it down the middle.
When he lifted his head, completely unfazed by the impact, his eyes were bright with excitement.
Now, he remembered everything.