Hero Dyes - Blue
Count Masque

Son of the Sage, Yosin: The fight between Bridget and the female puppet was amazing. I admired our hero for using her wits to out smart the fake Count. She was captivating. Even more so as she used what she had to her advantage. My father didn’t seem to care at that moment. He kept mumbling something as he looked at the ground or at the ceiling. I was getting frustrated with his whispers to himself so I finally questioned him. He kept repeating that Count Masque should be a male. He never read in any of the scrolls left behind by the other sages, that Masque was a female. Also, he pointed out that Gilgamesh himself kept referring to the Count as a he. This bothered him as he thought Gil was a liar. Thinking such things made him question the hair clips he gave him to give to Bridget. So far so good I guess, as no matter what mask she put on the hair clips remained. Even when the puppet removed all of their clothes the hair clips did not vanish. Watching the fight sparked a fondness for Bridegt. I had to admit, I liked her. Her body, her attitude, and her wit, all of it intrigued me. Having complimented her on all this, I still believe she had a lot to learn and there was a lot of room for her to grow. For one, her attitude could be adjusted. Her ability to use her mind to outsmart her opponent needs to be revealed more often. As far as battle tactics goes she is too spontaneous, but that seemed to work for her this round. She needs to plan ahead as a true knight of Magnus would, so I’ve been told.

Regardless of how proud I was to see Bridget overcoming this battle, my father still didn’t believe she didn’t have it in her. Along with being stumped that the Count was a female, he thought this was too easy. Obviously it wasn’t for Bridget. She was struggling yet not completely losing at the same time. As crazy as it sounded, my father voiced that because of this, he believed something was wrong. Every time his heroes would fight Count Masque they struggled greatly under worse conditions. He expressed that he hasn’t done this quest for a while, as it has been stated several times over, and new things keep surprising him. This fight wasn’t a new thing. It was a very old and simple thing. The trials his heroes had to face were far worse than this. Lastly, he told me that if the tyrants are growing stronger then why result in something so basic as this? He couldn’t remember a time where Masque gave his foe the option to become stronger than himself.

Our argument continued until we noticed that Bridget was just about to kill the puppet. When she did, my father began to panic even more. This caused an overwhelming amount of fear in my heart. For once, my father actually feared for Bridgets life. He knew something was wrong when the puppet’s body didn’t turn into dust. Bridget didn’t notice either as she was so enveloped by her own victory. Then he appeared. Bridget spoke but my ears couldn’t hear what she was saying. Sweat formed along my back and forehead as an evil looking Gilgamesh hovered above her. Then I saw it. The soul of the puppet was absorbed by the giant floating sphere. I watched in horror as Count Masque appeared behind Bridget and plunged his sword through her back. Blood poured out as he kicked her away from him and looked towards us.

“Is this your very best, Golden Sage?” He mocked as a smirk started to spread across his face. It soon turned into a grin as he started to chuckle. He then threw his head back and roared an evil laugh. He continued this for a few moments as he started to float in the air again. He suddenly stopped as he realized something. He blinked a few times then looked at Bridgets dead body. It took me a second before understanding his thought process. Her body didn’t turn into dust. This confused the Count, as well as my father. I was also baffled at this sight, until I gathered the same thought my father currently had in his mind. We both smirked as we saw one of Bridget’s hair clips crack, and then explode into nothing. A glorious green and yellow light swirled around her as a gust of wind slowly lifted her off the floor. Her entire body was engulfed in this splendid array of lights. She suddenly burst out of the light and launched a strong kick to the Count’s chest. He blocked her attack but the power within her kick sent him gliding backwards until he stopped himself in mid-air. Her armor had returned to her as all her wounds were healed. She seemed a bit stronger as well. She motioned to rush the Count again but stopped as if someone was talking to her. She tilted her head a bit, nodded a few times, then raised her hand in the air.

“I summon thy, mighty weapon! Bestowed by the Lady of Lake! Come forth!” She yelled. She was about to shout again until suddenly her two swords exploded into sight. They were stabbed in the ground to her right. It was like a spell had been placed upon them to hide them this entire time. She stared at them with confusion as she was expecting something else. No doubt, she was trying to summon Excalibur. I lightly shook my head as her look of disapproval was evident. She huffed and raced to grab them as the Count took flight towards her. At this point, I had seen enough. I wasn’t about to let her die again. I was going to make sure this second chance was going to be worth it.

“Don’t stop me father!” I nearly shouted as I burst forward in a strong and powerful leap. My father yelled something in protest but I ignored him. I made it just in time as I slid between Bridget and the Count. He had charged some kind of oblivion orb within his hand. Thinking he was going to hit Bridget with it he launched it too late which allowed me to deflect it with a strong warding shield. It bounced off my magical force field and shot back towards him. As Bridget collided into my back and fell to the floor, the Count managed to dodge the attack I redirected towards him.

“Yosin, what are you doing? Isn’t your father going to be upset if you help me?” She questioned as I helped her up.

“Yes, he is going to be very upset. I don’t care, obviously. I’m not going to watch you die again. If he doesn’t want to help then that is fine. We don’t need him to kill this tyrant.” I told her. I watched my words inspire her to win this fight. Maybe that is all she needed to believe in herself. She needed someone to do this with her, not follow her along and hope for the best. Sᴇaʀ*ᴄh the (ꜰind)ɴʘvel.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“You think you can defeat me, just because you’re the son of the Golden Sage?” The Count asked as his head and neck twitched a bit. His evil smile flickered on and off, as if he didn’t have much control over his expressions.

“Prove your worth, boy. Show me the power of a Hero Dye Sage.” He added, to which I only replied with a determined look.

“As you wish.” I finally spoke as I signaled for Bridget to step back. Once she was far enough I Extended my arms out and gripped the air tightly.

“Dragon Soul, awaken.” I calmly commanded. Suddenly a surge of power roared from my body as high speed winds whirled around me. The roof began to shake as I focused on the power rising within me. The roof cracked and completely broke away as a storm formed around the palace. Lighting strikes rushed into my body as I started to transform with each bolt that entered. I gave one final shout of power to silence the raging winds and disperse the storm overhead. Once all was calm I growled as I opened my eyes. My new humanoid dragon form was complete as I slapped my long tail on the floor and cracked it. I could feel the power surging within my claws. The horns that looped once before curving over my head gave me control of many didn’t elements. The scales on my body felt light, yet their strength and endurance could not be matched. At the corner of my eye I witnessed Bridget’s expression of my new appearance. She was both frightened and in awe.

“I’ve heard tales of such Sages using this power. They called it Dragon Soul, for obvious reasons. Each blessed Sage is born with one, and their elemental soul is based off of one of the Geminis. I only state this because I’ve only seen your father display a Dragon Soul that wasn’t based on any of the Geminis. I’m guessing he told you how he got the name Golden Sage in the first place.” The Count paused as he waited for my reply. I could only look towards my father who currently wasn’t there. I looked back at The Count who shrugged and laughed to himself.

“Either way, you seem to be a mix of the Dark Geminis and the Fire Geminis. I wonder why that is?” He added, tilting his head to the right. His head twitched and looked like it was about to snap off. He adjusted his posture and crossed his arms as he smiled evilly.

“Well, I guess I have no choice but to see if I can handle such a form… Mimic.” My eyes widened as his last word echoed in my mind. My heart began to race as a storm cloud engulfed him while lightning danced around within the cloud. The cloud began to expand as more power was surging into it. It soon popped like a balloon and evaporated, revealing a perfect reflection of myself. I quickly noticed one difference though. Masque was only able to copy the Dark Geminis portion of my Dragon Soul. Once he came to the same conclusion after inspecting himself, he simply shrugged and grinned as his eyes glowed a solid red color.

“Not bad, wouldn’t you say?” He asked. His twitch was still present, making this Dragon Soul form of his creepy.

“Are you ready?” He adds. I wasn’t sure who he was talking to since his eyes were fixed on Bridget. For a moment I had forgotten she was there. At this point the battle could go two ways. One way would be me going at it with the Count until Bridget sees an opening and takes, hopefully not dying in the process. The other way would be for Masque to target Bridget continuously while I play defense and protect her the entire time. If it does come down to that, she won’t last very long.

“Begin!” The Count shouted and rushed forward as a ripple of wind shattered the ground under him. As I thought, he instantly went for Bridget. I motioned to cut him off but something prevented me from moving. A golden see through wall stopped me from aiding Bridget as she just stood there and waited for Masque’s attack. I frantically looked around to see if my father was responsible for this wall. To my horrid surprise, he was! He had moved his position as if he knew I was going to try and save her again. My blood began to boil as I charged an attack within my claws to unleash upon my father. Not intimidated by me in the slightest he simply lifted his finger up and pointed at Bridget, as if telling me to watch. I calmed my attack until it was depleted as I watched the count tackle Bridget with great force. He drove her through the ballroom wall as it exploded, leading them outside to the courtyard. Suddenly the force field came down as my father sighed and waved me off, as if he was annoyed by my actions again.

“Go, fight like an idiot to save someone who doesn’t need saving. Let me know when she kills the Count.” He told me as he started to walk away. I was confused by his words and his very calm demeanor. I watched him for a bit before rushing to the hole in the wall. I was expecting to see a horrifying sight. However, I was completely wrong. Bridget was coated in a green and yellow aura. It was like she couldn’t be harmed. She struggled against the Count as they fought, yet she was also prevailing as she landed very powerful attacks with her two swords. Evidence of her attacks could be seen as the Count was bleeding from certain parts of his body. Still, his might would send her hurling around yet no matter how hard he hit her she wouldn’t receive any damage at all. She would just get up again and attack wildly. She had a crazed look in her eyes, much like the one she had when she finally killed Magnus. My father was right. I saved her from nothing. Not only did I jump in when I didn’t need to, but I also empowered Masque with greater power than he previously had. I needed to fix this. I needed to help her slay this tyrant. He would be dead already if I didn’t transform. I’ll fix this, and we’ll come out the victors once again.

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