The Great Sage (Fem. Reader x Great Sage)

Chapter 4

All four of us simultaneously jumped and turned around. It was the dragon from earlier!

"You look sad. Are you sad?" it asked me.

No, I'm positively delighted. Chris just became a homicidal maniac. What else is new?

Choking down sobs, I explained our plight to the dragon.

"Ahhh, I see... the Darker Lord, is it? I can help!" it roared, "Hop on!"

My party climbed on the dragon's back gratefully, and he flew us above the clouds. It told us of a place called the Traveler's Hub, where we might get some information as to where the Darker Lord was. It would be a long and tedious journey, but I hardened my resolve. I would save Chris if it was the last thing I did!

We went through the motions, helping people and getting information. With every monster we killed, I was reminded that Chris was the one sending them to stop us. But it wasn't Chris anymore. I had to remember that!

After what seemed like way too many missions, we discovered the Darker Lord was camped out at his Skyscraper that rested on a cloud. A pretty ominous location, if you ask me. But to get in, we needed four jewels: two eyes, a nose, and a mouth jewel. Of course, it wasn't easy to get the jewels. We braved snowy mountains, factories filled with killer robots, desert sands, and a world I can only describe as peculiar to get the jewels.

Along the way, I became acquainted with my friends. There was Nathan, the knight, Evan, the thief, and Ava, the cleric. They were the best of my group, and the strongest. The other six people in my group mostly hung out with each other, which was fine with me. I was still new to this whole "friend" thing, anyway.

Now we sat on our dragon friend's back, flying up to the Skyscraper to finish the Darker Lord.

"Umm," the dragon said, "This mage, Chris, was originally a friend of yours, right?"

It had no idea. Chris was a little more than a friend to me. But I replied with a simple "yeah".

"Are you going to be able to fight your friend?" the dragon growled.

I thought for a moment. I knew the Darker Lord wasn't Chris, not anymore. But obviously Chris was still somewhere inside that- that thing- and what if I hurt him?

I shook my head, unsure.

"It's a tough choice," the dragon snarled.

"Yeah, but I need to save Chris."

"So you've got no choice..."

I gave the dragon a snarl of my own.

"Exactly."

The dragon dropped us off at the foot of the Skyscraper and wished us good luck. After it flew off, we plugged in the eyes, nose, and mouth jewels. We were in!

Inside, the Skyscraper looked very cool. The walls were lined with stained glass depicting the planets, and the floor was a pristine blue. It didn't have the scary vibe of the Dark Lord's castle.

As we wowed over the decor, we heard a voice.

"Muhaha!"

"That voice!" I yelped, "It's the Darker Lord!"

"Well, well. It's been a while. How kind of you to pay me a visit! And since you've come all this way... allow me to test how strong you really are!" the Darker Lord growled, "Ah, yes. I think you'd like to know... I've summoned an... old friend or two to this tower. I do hope you're looking forward to a joyful reunion!"

"Yes, a joyful reunion with Chris, after we kick your butt!" I snarled.

"Stupid girl!"

The Darker Lord appeared right in front of me, raised his staff, and moved to smack me across the face with it, but he stopped and howled in pain. Was Chris somehow protecting me from inside the Darker Lord?

"Chris?" I ventured, while my friends stayed quiet behind me.

"No... NO!" the Darker Lord bellowed, "He can't control me! You must pay!"

The Darker Lord raised his staff again, and this time it connected with my face and sent my flying backwards. Which would have been fine if the staff wasn't metal, and it hadn't been really sharp on the edges. I yelped in pain, rubbing the bloody gash that the staff had left behind.

The Darker Lord laughed and moved to finish me off. But my friends yelled and stood between me and him, raising their weapons to protect me. I wouldn't let them sacrifice themselves for me...

"Stop! Don't you want a show?" I yelled desperately. The blood trickling down my face made it difficult to see, but I glared in the general direction of the Darker Lord, "If you kill us now, we won't get to fight all the ferocious monsters you have gathered here. No entertainment."

The Darker Lord pondered my words.

"Fine," he said, "You wish to die in a more spectacular way? Be my guest."

With that, he teleported away.

I let out a sigh of relief, and tried to stand. The blood rushed to my head wound, and I had to sit down.

"(Y/N), you okay?" Evan said, and helped me stand.

"I'm fine. I just need some rest."

My friends nodded and helped me walk.

After a long day of traveling, we made it to an inn. Why were there inns in the Darker Lord's fortress? Same reason there were inns in Karkaton, I guess. I healed overnight, and felt my head. The gash had magically transformed into a long, white scar that stretched from the top of my head to my left cheek.

Even though I had healed fully, I still felt terrible. Obviously, Chris had tried to stop the Darker Lord from hitting me. But he couldn't. It must be awful to not be in control of your actions.

"Alright, team. Let's hit the road."