Seth was speechless. This was not what he had expected.
They had set off from Day early in the morning and entered the Garden of Apollo, an expansive forest. Seated on Puffles’ back, the blacksmith was able to get an overview of the damage.
As the reports stated, there were large swathes of destruction with broken trees and deep ditches crisscrossing through the forest.
They followed the signs of destruction all the way to the center, but they led even further and out the other side of the forest. There they finally found Scorpio. It was a huge black scorpion roughly the size of a cow.
Its shell was smooth and polished black like granite. It had two huge, sparkly eyes, with much smaller ones surrounding them in a pattern. Overall, it had nothing in common with the critters Seth knew. It looked almost cute.
It was like those tiny spiders from the internet.
As the blacksmith entered the scene it had its round claws and tail lifted over its head in a defensive position. On the other side was a beast of a man. Easily four meters tall. He kept rapidly firing arrows at the smaller scorpion.
Every time an arrow hit, it would exclaim a “Kyu!”. The arrows on the other hand just glanced off, with a force that cut into the landscape. This explained what happened to the forest.
However, Seth didn’t really have the capacity to think about that right now, the Situation was already hard enough to understand. Not only was there someone trying to steal his target, but the beast he came to slay was not what he expected.
The blacksmith had been more than ready to wail on a giant monstrous scorpion. The bard had prepared to play his destructive tunes to grind the monster to dust. But how could he possibly do this to such an adorable fellow?
It reminded him of small Puffles.
~ Adorable!? I was never adorable and I never looked anything arachnid pup! I was ALWAYS magnificent!~ the Ivicer called out indignantly.
What was he supposed to do now? He suddenly felt bad thinking of committing the atrocities he planned on that little scorpion. And there was also this guy actively messing with his quest.
The man was so preoccupied that he did not even notice Seth using on him.
~Let’s land first.~ Seth decided and the Ivicer slowly descended.
~Zap him if he tries anything~ he instructed Ceres in the sky. A good zap from the elemental would knock him out, but not kill him. Probably.
“Aha, another abominable creature has come! Are you here to here to help your brethren?! Do not think you can beat one of the line of Orion with numbers!” the braggart laughed confidently, leaving Seth speechless.
How was the current Puffles similar in any way, shape, or form, to that pitiful scorpion that had a hard time enduring the volley of arrows?
“Die!” I sounded from the sky.
When Orian suddenly pointed his bow at the Ivicer, a bolt of lightning struck him from above. Twitching he let go of his weapon, bow and arrow fell to the ground.
“Z-Zeus? Why would Zeus interfere in my glorious revenge?” he mumbled, looking up at the lightning-wielding eagle above. It seemed that he had mistaken Ceres for Zeus in his eagle shape.
The misunderstanding did not hold for long.
“Urgh, no. You are an automaton, like those of the lame one’s design! Why does uncle interfere?” he mumbled before Seth could capitalize on his mistake.
“Hey, that design is original,” the blacksmith scolded from atop the Ivicer.
“Who are you to interrupt my righteous revenge? Curses, it got away again,” Orian exclaimed.
He had been focused on the giant man. When Orian mentioned it, Seth realized that the scorpion had run away without him noticing.
~It’s extremely quick. No wonder half the forest is decimated. This dud must have hunted it for days and all across the landscape…~ Puffles commented disdainfully.
“This is your fault,” Orian stated aggravated. It seemed he had already recovered from the lightning strike.
“My fault? I am here on a quest from Apollo to subdue the scorpion. What the heck are you doing, getting in my way?” the bard spat back.
“I do not care! This is the beat that killed my ancestor Orion and I will have its head,” he proclaimed before running off at breakneck speed.
Not only didn’t he listen at all, but he was also wasting Seth’s precious time. But not everything was bad. As Seth and Puffles followed the duo in their comical hunt, the blacksmith realized a pattern.
Thanks to the bowstring snapping during Ceres’ attack, the hunter was now forced to try and catch the arachnid. Every time Orian came too close the scorpion would run away in a random direction at a speed impossible to keep up with.
But it would also stop after some time and wait. Before he had been shooting at the scorpion from outside this range and it had been Seth and the Ivicer that had stepped into the scorpion’s zone, prompting it to flee.
Without his bow, Orian was forced to play this futile game of cat and mouse. The hunter was wasting Seth’s time by constantly scaring away Scorpio.
~Zap him. Make sure he stays down for a while.~ Seth finally instructed Ceres in annoyance.
He didn’t want Orian to die. The bard knew only one lullaby and the guy might be quite helpful to him in his performance.
Another lightning fell from the sky, but Orian managed to dodge the first and second strikes. However, the next five all hit their mark rendering him unconscious. With the pursuer out cold, Scorpio stopped in its tracks, waiting warily.
The name of the demon this song was for had been crossed out in the book, but it belonged to the kinds of ballads that called upon Pymon. Able to control and manipulate those that hear it. The bard had learned it mostly because it had no negative impact on the musician and it was one of the few calm ones that he actually liked the lyrics.
Since he didn’t know the original name he used without any target, aiming it towards the void for anyone to pick up. With his talent for finding demonic sponsors, it might get picked up by the right person.
The bard played a hauntingly soothing melody with Oz, as he sang in an unwonted soft voice. It was a slithering, manipulative force that followed his channel and poured into his music. Dark runes spawned from the lyre’s strings and crept toward the scorpion.
“Sleep, my little Scorpio.
Let your dreams take wing One day when you’re big and strong You will be a king.”
As the demonic notes slowly seeped into the hard shell, the beast started swaying in sync with the melody. Its tail and claws slumped a little as it became drowsy. The melody started picking up speed.
“You’ve been exiled, persecuted Left alone with no defense When I think of what that brute did I get a little tense”
The energy that flowed through him with was stronger than expected. There was no will attached to it, no presence, but it kept giving him the inspiration to improve the song for his situation.
Now dream a dream so pretty That you don’t feel so depressed ‘Cause you are still so itty bitty And need a good night’s rest.”
The scorpion had now completely stopped moving. Seth let go of Oz who kept playing the music while the bard stepped on Orian’s back. He took hold of his arm.
“The sound of an Enemy’s dying gasp, Their bodies squealing in my grasp.”
With a determined yank and gut-wrenching crunch, Seth dislocated the man’s shoulder. Though unconscious, he let out a painful squeal. He had no intention to kill him, but his cry of pain was enough to weave seamlessly into the demonic melody.
“His family’s mournful cry That’s my lullaby.”
He left the fleshly instrument behind and approached. With light steps, the bard came closer to the scorpion, and the number of demonic runes that seeped into the scorpion grew. The polished black shell started taking on a red tinge to it.
“Your master is gone… but I am still around, to love this little lad,” he almost whispered to the giant scorpion.
“Till you learn to be a killer,
with a lust for being bad!”
The lyre’s play swelled on and became more chaotic and brutal.
“The melody of angry growls A counterpoint of painful howls A symphony of death, oh my! That’s my lullaby”
In the short break, he took some distance and brought out his pets. Using he prompted Puffles and Tatzel to join him in the song.
~Sleep, ya little pest! Uh– I mean, precious little thing!~ the nightmare centipede corrected his Freudian slip.
~One day when you’re big and strong~ the Imugi followed Seth’s instructions.
“You will be a king! “The pounding of the drums of war The thrill of Armies’ mighty roar”
~The joy of vengeance~ the Ivicer bellowed ~Testify!~ the snakelet cheered.
“I can hear the cheering” he prompted the two.
Puffles: ~Scorpio, What a guy…~ Puffles was slightly annoyed. Tatzel:~Scorpio! What a guy!~ Tatzel had fun singing along.
“And then our flag will fly Against a blood-red sky That’s my lullaby! “