When Good Loses Its Grip {Grishaverse Big Bang 2021}

Chapter 12

The book that Dimitri had picked up in the cave lay on his lap, and he groaned and put his head in his hands. 

For hours, he'd been reading to try to find more on the fortune teller, but the author of this book revealed nothing about them. He felt like he was going to lose his mind. 

The knight got to his feet and put the book back in his bag. It was night, and he needed to sleep, but he'd already procrastinated enough on what Leoni had asked him to do. Unsheathing his sword, Dimitri walked to a cluster of glowing crystals and swung his weapon. 

Dimitri did a little dance of excitement as he successfully sliced one of the crystals in half. "Yes!" he exclaimed, putting on his gloves and picking up the top part of the crystal he had halved, inspecting it.The crystal had liquid inside, but Dimitri didn't want to touch it. He looked at Leoni, eyes softening as he took in the princess's sleeping form. She looks so happy… 

Well! Time to ruin that image! 

Dimitri walked over to Leoni and shook her awake. "Leoniiiii," he said. "Leoniiiiiiiii." 

Leoni groaned and lightly whacked the knight's face away. "What is it?" she asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. 

"The crystals have some liquid in them," Dimitri said. "Looks like white or silver liquid. We need a test subject." 

Leoni looked at Dimitri. "I am not eating that." 

"Oh, I don't mean you," Dimitri said quickly. "I mean like, a frog or something." 

Leoni squinted. "Are you sure we're going to find a frog here?" She paused. "Unless…" Dimitri's eyes widened. Oh no. That mischievous look on Leoni's face was never a good thing. The princess grinned at the knight. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" 

_

Dimitri screamed as he ran away from a gigantic monster that crawled after him on all fours. "I HATE THIS PLAN!" he yelled. 

"It's good, right?" Leoni called to him. Dimitri glared at the princess, who was now holding a gigantic net infused with her light. 

"I don't wanna die!" Dimitri cried as he turned right, ducking under a stone bridge and running faster. The monster leapt over the bridge and continued chasing him. 

"You won't if you run towards the net!" Leoni shouted. The princess had already loaded her bow with what looked like a very strong arrow of light, and Dimitri hoped it would be enough to keep the monster at bay. 

"IF?" Dimitri yelled, skidding round a corner and down some stairs. 

"WHEN! I meant when," Leoni hastily corrected herself as Dimitri looked up at the princess. The knight ran beside a wall, his boots pounding into the shallow river. Behind him, the monster roared. For a moment, Dimitri was vaguely reminded of the contents of Leoni's recurring nightmare. Then, he pushed that thought to the back of his mind, and leaped up onto the wall. He climbed it quickly, then ran back towards Leoni. The monster was on his heels, leaping upwards, its jaw opened wide. 

"Dimitri!" 

Leoni pulled Dimitri to the side just as the monster landed in the net, which Leoni and Dimitri hastily tied. The monster thrashed and screamed at its containment, but Dimitri knew the net wouldn't break. 

"Give me the crystal," Dimitri said. Leoni did so, and Dimitri looked at the monster as it roared at her. "Sorry buddy," he said, feeling a twinge of guilt before pouring the contents of the crystal into the monster's open mouth. ●

The monster screamed. Leoni put her hands over her ears and closed her eyes. Dimitri didn't. He made himself watch as the creature thrashed and wailed. Finally, it stopped, and promptly fell down, dead. 

Leoni opened her eyes and took her hands away from her ears. She paused. "Wait. Give me the book please."

Dimitri did so,watching Leoni flick through it. The princess suddenly grinned, and Dimitri was about to inquire as to what was going on when Leoni turned to him pointing to the page she'd found.. 

"Whoa," Dimitri exclaimed, eyes wide. 

Crystals are used to power our devices. They can be used in medicine if applied correctly. Methods here: 

Dimitri groaned. "All of the instructions are in Zonai." 

"Well, we have the tablet, don't we?" Leoni asked. "It can probably scan the page and translate it to Hylian." 

Dimitri used the tablet, eyes lighting up as the page was scanned. 

"Okay, so it says here to crush the crystal itself, then mix the liquid and tiny bits of crystal with herbs." Dimitri raised his head and looked around. "To think this civilisation once had greenery before the castle was built over it…" he sighed. 

Dimitri and Leoni packed up and began to walk again. They turned a corner, stopping as theycame to a room. 

Dimitri stepped inside and looked around. It was empty, except for an altar on the other side of the room. . "I think it's safe," he called, and Leoni followed him cautiously. 

Suddenly, a stone door slid down the doorway, blocking the exit. Dimitri and Leoni spun around as the room became dark. Dimitri's eyes widened. On the altar, monsters stirred, and Dimitri bit out one word:

"Shit."