Hero Dyes - Blue

Bridget: I couldn’t tell if I was winning or not. The count’s attacks were so strong. I was being tossed around and hurled like a pathetic doll. Having said that, Gilgamesh was assuring me that I was laying down some heavy blows. I could see he was fatigued as he breathed heavily and clenched his wounds every now and then.

“Is this getting us anywhere?” I spoke out loud, not caring if Masque heard me or not. To be honest, I wanted Gilgamesh to lie to me and tell me just a few more strikes and it’ll be done.

“I went over this before. You’ll have to wear him down until this dragon form of his shatters. As thick as those scales look, you’ll never pierce his heart.” He reminded me as his voice echoed in my mind.

“I know that already. His heart is the wild card tattoo on his back, I got it. I’m asking if we’re any closer to bringing down that dragon form.” I heard him sigh within my mind. He was frustrated because the plan was altered a bit. This should have been an easy win. I was supposed to 'die' and be 'revived' by the hair pin he gave Yohan. Which, only fakes the wearer's death as it takes the full attack of the 'killing blow.' After that, the second pin would activate. Not only would it heal all my wounds but also shield me from any damage the count would produce. This would distract him long enough for the third pin to activate and summon Gilgamesh to pin him down using his magic while I delivered the final blow. At least, that was what Gilgamesh explained to me. Thanks to Yosin who doubts me, most likely because of his father, we’re forced to improvise and hope we all come out of this alive.

“Ask your boyfriend how to take down that form and maybe we’ll get out of this soon.” I huffed at his comment. I felt my cheeks blushing as I tried to ignore that possibility. His father would never allow us to remain together if we decided to go down that path. Besides, Ulrik is waiting for me. Once I prove I was right and bring him Excalibur, he’ll take me back for sure.

“Speak of the devil.” I joked as we watched Yosin slam his mighty tail against Masque. Since the Count was focused on me he never saw the attack coming. He yelped in pain as he soared through the air. He was out of sight once he slammed into several trees in the neighboring forest.

“Yosin! We need your advice.” I started off as I grabbed his attention. He calmly walked towards me, scanning my entire body with his eyes with a worried expression on his dragon face. I couldn’t help but smirk and blush as he cared so much about me.

“I’m fine, if you’re wondering.” I added, bringing a smirk to his face as he stood before me.

“I’m sorry-”

“We don’t have time to apologize, young sage.” Yosin looked around as if he could hear Gilgamesh. He soon fixed his eye on me and tilted his head in confusion.

“Yes, it is me, the mask seller, Gilgamesh. I’d tell you how my voice is only heard by you two, but like I just stated, we don’t have time for unnecessary dialog.” We both looked around a bit speechless, more so Yosin than me. I was simply amazed that he extended his voice into Yosin’s mind as well.

“Right, let’s get this over with. Yosin, how do we dispel that form he has. After all, it is your form as well.” My words only brought Yosin to sigh and shake his head. He looked at the ground and thought for a moment, then shook his head again.

“It is not my form, but my father’s form. He taught it to me when I was young. I’ve never used it until now. Back then, I couldn’t do much with it. Now, with my understanding of my own magic, I can do a lot more. This gives us an advantage when fighting Masque. He doesn’t know all that he can do with it.” Once again Gilgamesh sighs with frustration.

“We don’t need to outperform him. We need to make him revert back to his normal self. Once we do that I’ll be able to hold him long enough for Bridget to stab his heart.” Yosin listened and nodded his head a few times. He then shook his head once more and sighed with disappointment.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know how to revert him back to his normal self by force. The only one who would know how to do so would be my father.” I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms as I huffed.

“Your father has a rule about fighting alongside Dye Heroes. He isn’t going to help us, so we need a better plan. Wearing him down is going to take forever. Even if you fought with us, it’ll still take too much time to break that form.”

“Not to sound cruel, but what is the rush? Why haste yourself in this fight?” Yosin asked as he blinked a few times. I opened my mouth to speak but Gilgamesh spoke first.

“The protective barrier surrounding Bridget will wear off eventually. Either that, or it’ll collapse due to the strain each attack causes. If he starts to learn what he can do by mimicking your moves and attacks, that barrier around her will not last the next hour.” Judging by the expression on his face, I could tell Yosin finally understood the crisis at hand. We heard rustling within the forest and immediately took our fighting positions. I could feel my heart beating louder and louder the more the trees and bushes moved. I squinted my eyes as I noticed that the rustling wasn’t chaotic. It was very patterned, like a rhythm or steady beat. I started to ignore all thoughts of safety as we heard and felt the thunderous booms of giant footsteps. The trees were being knocked over as something was approaching, very slowly.

“Wait!” Yosin stated as he took a few steps forward. I cycled my sight from the forest to his face, sweating and gripping the hilts of my swords very tightly. Yosin lifted his hand up and signaled for me to calm down as he smirked and kept his eyes on the approaching creature.

“Its my father.” He comments at the same time of his reveal. My eyes widened with fear and awe. Yohan was a huge four legged golden dragon that shined in the moonlight. His sharp teeth contained Masque’s bleeding and battered body. He wasn’t in his dragon form which brought such excitement to my entire body. Yohan lightly stomped towards us and dropped the Count in front of us.

“Do it. End the tyrant’s life so we can move on.” Yohan’s voice boomed even though he was speaking softly.

“There! On his back, pierce it with your blade!” Gilgamesh shouts in my mind as I winced in pain from the loudness. I did as he commanded and rushed towards Masque with my blades ready. I leaped and swung my swords down like fangs of a lion ready to pierce its prey. My eyes widened with terror as I saw Masque’s mangled face scrunch with madness. His bleeding eyes narrowed as he flung out his arm and forced me backwards with a powerful rush of wind. I rolled a few times but regained my footing and fixed my eyes on the target. I squeezed my hands tight but gasped with a bit of shock coursing through me. I looked to my right and noticed my sword had flung out of my grasps. At least I still had the sword within my left hand.

“Die already!” Yosin shouted as he stabbed his tail into Masque’s torso and lifted him up. He screamed in pain as he struggled to free himself.

“Don't worry about your other sword! Attack him again and I’ll help you! Follow my words and thrust your blade into his back with all your might when I say so!” Gilgamesh shouted his instructions in my mind. I ignored the ringing from his shouting and took off in a full sprint. Once again Masque heard me coming and repeated his efforts to push me away. As planned, I was thrown by the mighty force of his wind attack, this time it was stronger as it cut me and tore into my armor. I shouted in pain as I ascended high into the air. I felt like this sudden push upward wasn't done by the Count, but by Gilgamesh. I watched Yosin fling Masque to the floor with his tail and started beating him to a pulp, relentlessly. His father burst into a cloud of gold smoke that blinded everyone below. As I started to descend I saw Yohan force his son out of the cloud of smoke with a strong push from his palm.

“Now! Dive down and drive your blade into his back!” I did exactly that. I fixed my posture and forced myself to speed towards the ground, towards the golden smoke that was slowly dispersing. To my surprise, Masque was already recovering from their attacks. He was standing now and swatting away the smoke to see where everyone was. He never once thought to look up as he spun around frantically, looking for me so he could counter my next attack. I smirked as I drew near. There wasn’t any countering from this attack.

“Haaa!” I shouted as I felt the blade plunge into his back as a gush of blood erupted from every wound he currently had. His demonic screech took me by surprise as I planted my feet on him and pushed off while pulling my sword out of his back. His body began to pop and burst as he flailed and ran around like a man set on fire. In fact, that is exactly what happened next. He was suddenly engulfed in purple and black flames as he dropped to the ground and laid there while his screeching died down. Soon, whatever remained of him explodes into purple and red dust that scatter into the night sky. I huffed and sighed as I sat on the ground. I laid down and stared at the stars above me and tried to control my heavy breathing. I slowly closed my eyes and breathed normally. I felt the cool breeze of the night cresting me, whispering to me, thanking me for ridding the world of another tyrant. I smiled and rejoiced in my victory. After a few moments I sat up and opened my eyes. I felt lighter, free, weightless even! I slowly stood up and focused on Yosin and his father. I raised an eyebrow as they looked at me with a strange and nervous-like look.

“At least she isn’t completely naked.” Yohan commented, to which Yosin just stared and slowly nodded. My eyes widened as his words finally reached. I looked down and saw most of my armor was gone, along with chunks of my undergarment. I motioned to cover up but stopped and blinked a few times as I began to admire my body. I’ve come a long way from when I started as a soldier in this army. I’m not ashamed to reveal my progress. If they want to look, then they may look upon the figure of a true warrior. A bold and strong woman of Geminis, worthy enough to wield Excalibur. I nodded to myself and walked towards them with a smile.

“If we’re done here, let us prepare for our next target.” I told them, leaning on one hip and smirking at their expressions. Yohan simply sighed and shook his head as he led the way. Yosin took off his shirt and handed it to me, smiling nervously as he did.

“Just in case we run into others on our way back. We don’t want to draw much alarm to ourselves.” He told me. I nodded my head to agree with him and wore his shirt with pride. I huddled up next to him as he walked, loving the sensation of his arms wrapped around me. We were making good progress. Our relationship and our mission. Having said that, I’ll have to talk with his father. He can’t keep jumping in the way. This is my fight, my battle. If I can’t prove myself worthy enough, the Lady of the Lake will never give me Excalibur. I have to prove my worth, and he has to let me do it. Otherwise, he’ll keep getting in my way. I won’t allow him to take what belongs to me. I’ll earn the right to hold Excalibur, even if I have to break his heart for it.