Chapter 3: Emerald Judgment
An arrow tore through the sky before it struck the scales on Gidorah's chest with a sharp clang.
But to everyone awe, It bounced off almost instantaneously.
The shaft snapped in half midair and fell uselessly to the ground, spinning once before settling among the dirt and blood. For a heartbeat, the entire village was enveloped in silence once more.
The bandit leader's face twisted in horror watching his ambush attack failing so miserably.
" What are bloody fools waiting for?! Can't you see that bitch on that beasts head!" he shouted, his voice cracking as he staggered back a step. His eyes darted wildly at his subordinates before locking onto the woman perched atop the dragon's head. "She's one of these wretched lot."
" That monsters arrival here is obviously her doing."
"I don't know how she did it, but if we don't kill her now, none of us are leaving here alive!" said the bandit leader, like he said, he had no idea how a common villager could succeed in acquiring the aid of such a fearsome creature but his thought process told him that they might be able to avoid the beasts wrath if they could eliminate her from the picture. In layman's terms, they needed to kill her now!
" B-But Boss, that's a freaking dragon."
" Are you sure we can even take that thing?!"
" I think we should run before it's too late."
Panic spread through the bandits like wildfire at the sight of the dragon.
Gidorah barely registered their shouting. Rather, he was thinking about something else entirely.
' The bloody thing actually didn't pierce my heart' he realized, relief washing through him.
This was Good news to him, he still hasn't gotten used to this new body of his, for a moment, he actually thought that he'd commited a grave mistake by letting his guard down like that.
This time, he quickly snapped back to reality, when he noticed the bandits scrambling for bows, blades, seemingly trying to come together for a precise strike.
" My lord, I think we need to–" Mitsuki cried, her hands gripping his horns tightly. "–D-dodge!"
The archers loosed their arrows in a single, desperate volley.
For the first time since arriving, fear truly struck Gidorah.
' These bastards sure can't wait to get their hands bloodied.' Gidorah said to himself, his wings tensing, he knew the bandits weren't dumb enough to think they could kill him with such an attack, best bet was that their true aim was the woman on his head.
" Hold on tight." Gidorah warned her, Mitsuki's hands reacted unconsciously, wrapping both arms tightly around one of his horns.
With a powerful flap, he dove downwards.
The arrows tore through the air where he'd been moments earlier, whistling past without sinking into any flesh.
Gidorah swooped low, the ground rushing up to meet him, and landed with an earth-shaking thud that threatened to knock everyone off their feet. Before anyone could react, he gently curled two massive claws around Mitsuki and set her down behind him, shielding her with his bulk.
She stumbled back, partially disoriented from the abrupt landing.
Gidorah then straightened and turned to face the bandits.
His emerald eyes locked onto every single one of them with a cold light.
" Count yourselves unlucky you wretched scum... While I haven't killed a man before" he said, his heartbeat pounding in his ears. " This time around... I'll treat this like a game. In which all of you are nothing but villainous NPCs with ample experience points to offer."
The bandits stared at him blankly.
"The hell is he saying?!" one of them yelled.
" Forget what he's saying!"The bandit leader's instincts screamed danger, unlike the rest, he was far more experienced. "Take cover!" he roared at the top of his lungs, already making a break for it towards some cover.
Unfortunately for everyone of them, it was too late.
A green vapor began to seep from between Gidorah's jaws, looking thick and luminous, spilling out like fog touched by witchlight. The air grew heavy, the atmosphere turning even more tense.
' Since I'm a dragon.' Gidorah thought, drawing in a breath that made his chest glow faintly. ' Then I should be able to use the dragon bloodline's signature move.'
The bandits remaining bandits now felt the imminent danger.
They turned and ran, weapons clattering to the ground in a hurry, terror etched into every one of their faces.
Gidorah then exhaled right then.
A concentrated blast of emerald mist erupted from his maw, roaring across the battlefield.
" ARRGH!!!"
He swung his head from left to right, sweeping the vapor in a wide arc, leaving no escape.
Screams filled the air tight away.
"P-poison—!"
"My eyes—!"
"I can't breathe—!"
Blood poured from their noses, mouths, ears and every single orifice they possessed.
Some clawed at their throats as their lungs seized, others collapsed convulsing, eyes bulging in sheer agony.
One by one, they all fell, bodies hitting the ground with dull thuds, faces frozen in expressions of absolute terror, eyes left wide open.
In less than a few seconds, the bandits had all dropped dead.
For a fleeting moment, Gidorah was relieved to know that it had all come to an end.
'…It worked.' he let out a light breath.
But then he heard more screaming.
Not from the bandits but someone else.
His head snapped to the side.
Only to see Villagers, several of them, had been caught at the edge of the mist.
Gidorah's heart skipped.
'No.'
The thought echoed again and again in his mind as he watched them stagger, choke, and collapse. One fell to their knees. Another reached out blindly. Then they dropped, still and lifeless, like corpses.
No. No. No. No—
Panic surged through him. He flapped his wings hard, unleashing a violent gust that tore through the clearing, scattering the green mist into nothingness before it could spread even farther.
Alas, it was too late for those who had been caught in it. Every body within it lay motionless without any signs of life.
Gidorah trembled.
The ground was littered with corpses of bandits and villagers alike.
Some villagers stared at the fallen bandits in stunned awe, whispering prayers under their breath. Others stood silently over the bodies of their kin, faces empty, as if something inside them had broken beyond repair.
Mitsuki exhaled shakily.
"They're… they're gone, Those devils are all finally gone." she whispered, relief flooding her expression. Tears welled in her eyes as she looked up at Gidorah. "Thank you, my lord. You saved us. Truly—thank you!"
She approached him with a thankful look on her face.
But Gidorah didn't respond.
Without a word, he spread his wings wide.
The sudden force of his takeoff sent a violent wind crashing through the village in all directions.
" Ooff."
" Woah!"
People were thrown off balance, some falling to the ground as dust and debris filled the air. Mitsuki raised her arm to shield her face, coughing as she watched the emerald dragon rise into the sky.
By the time the dust settled, He was gone.