Grandma Gren? Gloria asked. The group had been walking for quite so ti. The tower steadily spiraled downwards, but the change in elevation was barely noticeable. So far, they had seen seven different sealed evilsall of which were dead. If a new ancient evil appears, are you the one whos going to seal it? Will you die too?
Gren furrowed her brow and glanced at Gloria. First of all, if a new ancient evil appears, it wont be called an ancient evil; itll be called a calamity bringer. As for whether or not Ill be the one whos going to seal it, that depends on how well the humans do when fighting it. The ancient evils youve seen so far are the earliest sealed evils to appear. As you go down the tower, youll see evils that were defeated by creatures other than cursed dragons. Gren gazed down the corridor before she put a paw on Glorias head. Dont worry. Its been a while since any cursed dragon has died while dealing with a calamity bringer. We went from fighting the evils to being the ones who seal the already-defeated evils.
Gloria nodded and patted her chest. For the past seven evils the group had seen, one cursed dragon had died during the sealing process! Why are cursed dragons responsible for doing this? she asked. How co phoenixes or other creatures dont have to seal evils?
Gren narrowed her eyes and stroked her chin with her claws. You could say we fought for the right to seal the evils.
Fought for the right to get killed while sealing evils? Gloria tilted her head. Why?
Power, Gren said and smiled, revealing her teeth. Take Ramon for example; one of the sealed evils is interacting with him. If things go right, he can form a contract with Kozabokget and use her power as his own. She patted Glorias head again. Every cursed dragon must experience the evil-sealing tower to see if they resonate with any of the sealed evils. Generally, youd have to be in front of their seal to see if theyre willing to form a contract with you, but Kozabokgets seal is weakened, which is why Ramon saw her a bit earlier. Even though youre not seeing anything strange, that doesnt an a sealed evil wont pick you.
Gloria blinked. Does Daddy have a contract with a sealed evil too?
Your dad did have a contract with a sealed evil, yes, Gren said before glaring at Grimmy. But he tricked it, and now, none of the evils in the tower are willing to work with him anymore.
Glorias eyes widened. How did he trick it?
Grimmy puffed his chest out. I
Shut up! Gren said and smacked Grimmys snout with her paw. Dont poison my grandchildrens brains with your terrible ideas.
Grimmy scratched his nose and chuckled. When Gren turned away, Grimmy crouched down and whispered to Gloria, Ill tell you later when your grandmas not around.
Gloria flinched when Grens tail slapped the ground. Gren cleared her throat. Lets continue, she said. Although you cant form contracts with these sealed evils because theyre already dead, theyre still useful to learn about. You never know when youll encounter an enemy you cant defeat. If thats the case, you can always trick them; tell them the poisonous clam is a rare tonic and have them eat it.
Ramons eyes lit up. In other words, everything sealed in this tower is a weapon for us cursed dragons? he asked. And other people just let us take these weapons from them?
They dont let us take them, Grimmy said. We take them whether they want to give them up or not.
And you wonder why the rest of us dont like cursed dragons, Kondra said and snorted. Did you use one of these sealed evils of yours to destroy the southern continent? How irresponsible.
Hey, Tafel said. She pointed at the translucent crystal pane up ahead. Is that a book? She pursed her lips. For so reason, she really wanted to break the crystal pane down to see what was written inside the book.
Yes, Gren said. Thats the Tricksters Book. It belonged to a being that ca from another dinsionthe Trickster. Its his book of spells. However, when the Trickster died, he sealed his soul inside of the book, and if anyone tries to open it, theyll be possessed and taken over by him. When my ancestors got around to sealing him because he beca strong enough to hunt dragons, he was already on his hundredth possession or so. He killed three cursed dragons before he was finally sealed away.
Tafel gulped. Theres spells in that book capable of killing dragons?
Gren narrowed her eyes at Tafel. Why? Are you interested? She grinned. Hundreds of people just like you were tempted by the Tricksters Book, but in the end, the Trickster possessed all of them. Do you think your soul is strong enough to defeat his?
Tafel furrowed her brow. No cursed dragon opened the book before? How strong are dragon souls compared to his?
Gren snorted. A cursed dragon tried to open it once. Although she wasnt possessed, she was still severely injured. Since then, the book has been left untouched.
Without warning, Grimmy slamd his tail against the crystal pane; it shattered into hundreds of pieces. Grens eyes widened, but before she could do anything, Grimmy plucked Vur off of the earthen construct and tossed him at the book.
Stop! Gren shouted. She rushed forward, but Grimmy grabbed her tail, holding her back. She snapped at him with her teeth. What are you doing!?
Vurs soul has been through so much that it should be strong enough to eat the Trickster, Grimmy said. I always wanted to know what was written in that book.
Vur picked up the book and looked behind himself. Should I open this?
No! Gren shouted.
When was the last ti you gave Tafel a present? Grimmy asked. You saw how she reacted when she heard about the book. Destroy the soul inside and give the book to her as a gift.
Wait, Vur, its dangerous, Tafel said.
Grimmy said Ill be fine, Vur said and placed his finger underneath the front cover of the book. With a simple flicking motion, the book opened, revealing the first page. He waited a bit. Nothing happened. Vur looked at the two cursed dragons standing by the entrance. Is it broken?
Before Gren could reply, a shrieking sound ca out of Vurs body. Black mist surged out of Vurs chest, forming a scaled face with a terrified expression on it. Before it could get very far, silver mist in the shape of dozens of different animals enveloped it. A bloodred light flashed inside like thunder within a cloud. The shrieks beca screams, and when a black dragons head erged from the imprint on Vurs forehead, the screaming turned into the sound of pleading. Without rcy, the black dragons head chomped down on the ball of black, silver, and red mist, eating it all in one bite.
Vur made a face as the dragons head retreated inside of him. Was the Trickster human?
With a dumbfounded expression, Gren shook her head. He was a fish.
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