First Demonic Dragon

In a night market in a faraway universe, the atmosphere was surprisingly quiet.

The reason for this was of course everyone's panic.

For two days straight, a series of flashing lights and rumblings of thunder could be witnessed from the sky to the far north.

Needless to say, the people saw it as a bad omen and most refused to come out of their homes.

It made living as a simple stall vendor very difficult.

Supernatural calamity or not, a man still had to eat!

A lone vendor looked down at his wares and contemplated the irony of having such treasures but being unable to eat them.

"Hahhh… I wonder if I'm going to starve again today."

"Sjaadur ve?"

The man almost jolted out of his skin when he heard a strange language come from the front of his cart.

He almost jumped out of his skin when he saw a pale woman covered in blood and riddled with wounds.

There was even a sword sticking out of her back…

"L-Lady, what are you saying!? A-And your body is…"

The man almost fell over dead when he watched the woman's wounds close up right before his eyes.

She cleared her throat and suddenly began speaking the native language perfectly.

Although she still had that weird accent…

"I said excuse me. Are these items here up for sale?"

"E-Erm, yes… Are you okay?"

For some reason, the woman's lip trembled and her eyes began watering.

It was as if a damn that'd been holding back her emotions suddenly broke.

"N-No! No I am not! I really messed up with my lovers and I'm worried they won't ever forgive me!"

"L-Lovers as in plural..?"

"M-My husband, his ex-wife, and my sisters!"

"Uhhh…"

"W-We're not related by blood! They are my husband's other wives and a part of my greater being!"

"Oh, I get it… I think?"

He didn't get it at all.

"But I was being stubborn and now I can't distract myself no matter how hard I try! I spent two days fighting those fucking insects and I spent the whole time thinking about my loves!"

"F-Fighting..? M-Mongrels..?"

Seras dropped to her knees and began drawing stick figures in the sand.

"I don't know what is wrong with me… Before I have always been able to throw myself into the act of violence and forget about everything. I got to feel powerful and dignified and beautiful, but now… I just feel so empty."

The old man was having an abysmally hard time understanding just what this day had become.

He couldn't tell if this woman was insane or just really broken.

"Well… Have you thought about going home to apologize?"

His question seemed to make her even more sad somehow.

"Y-Yes, but… I almost still don't want to. As much as I miss them and want to patch things up, I am still afraid to open up to them… I can't help but fear that once I tell them everything that has been going on with me, they will look at me differently."

"And… What exactly is wrong with yo-"

Seras' eyes glowed an unholy red. "That's none of your damned business, mortal!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!"

Seras went back to drawing figures in the sand with her finger and sniffling quietly.

"I know that I'm supposed to go back to them today, since it's already been too long… but I feel as if nothing has changed within me. I'll be going back to them just as broken as I was before… it isn't what I wanted."

After his earlier mishap, the old man was almost afraid to speak again.

Nevertheless, he still felt a bit compelled to try to aid the strange bloodstained woman with a strange accent.

He hesitantly reached toward her and pulled out the longsword still sticking out of her toned back.

"You know… Being married doesn't require two perfect people. Or… I'm sorry, how many sisters do you have?"

"Nine.." Seras sniffled.

"Right, or nine perfect people." He nodded. "All that matters is a mutual commitment to each other's betterment. Do you believe that you all want the best for each other irregardless of the circumstances?"

"O-Of course we do!"

"Then perhaps this issue is one that is all in your head..? I used to be married once too, you know?"

"Really?" Seras sniffled.

"Indeed… in fact I believe I may have been more like you than you realize."

"What does that mean?"

"I wasn't always some street vendor, you know? I used to have a much more fulfilling job than this, but work eventually dried up, and with it my funds as well.

Deirdre noticed I was becoming more reclusive and spending less time at home and asked what was going on, but I wouldn't tell her. I couldn't be seen as less than a man.

Eventually she became so convinced that I was stepping out behind her back that she left me… ended up finding a better man a few years later."

Even though she did not know the old man, Seras did feel her heart break from his story.

"Misunderstandings and feelings of insecurity are things that are best cleared up as quickly as possible. Irregardless of our own personal feelings on the matter." The old man added.

He passed the seemingly young woman a handkerchief to wipe her eyes and bloodied face.

"Do you love your husband and the others?" He asked.

"…Immensely so."

"Well far be it from me to assume anything, but I would wager that they feel the same about you. So maybe it wouldn't hurt to go talk to them and sort all of this troublesome stuff out."

Seras finally finished her moment of emotion.

She was able to get back to her feet a bit more confidently than before; though she still felt nervous.

But now, she was much more motivated to come clean.

She couldn't imagine putting a crack in her relationships that was so large that it made them leave her.

In fact she shuddered at the thought.

It was why her apology had to be absolutely perfect.

"I wanted to bring back little gifts for them… Do you have anything that might make them forgive me instantly and jump right into the make up sex?"

"A-Ahem, you're a bit of a shameless one aren't you… If I had something like that, do you think I would still be single?"

"…Fair enough." Seras nodded.

The old vendor gestured to his table full of wares and began pointing out objects one by one.

They were mostly small amulets and talismans with slightly unremarkable magical benefits and talents.

Seras wasn't really looking for anything super powerful or fancy anyway; since she was sure that nothing she found here would even slightly measure up to something found in Tehom.

What she wanted was something truly unique, with genuine craftsmanship.

And something that could show her family just how much she truly loved them.

"What about this one, young lady?"

The old vendor suddenly picking up an item that looked like a rose dipped in gold. Each petal had a carved symbol on it that added to it's mystical feeling.

Seras was instantly interested.

"W-What does it do..?"

"It's just a little lovers token." The man scratched his head; not understanding why Seras was acting like she'd never seen this before. "You give it to the person you love and they will hear all of the words in your heart that you cannot express."

Seras' ears perked up. "S-So I don't have to talk about my past and I can just give him this?!"

"When did I say that? It just tells them your secret buried love for them and things of that nature. You still have to do the hard part by yourself."

"Oh…" Seras looked much less excited now.

'Try not to look so disappointed, kid. Jeez…'

Seras stared at the rose for a long time as if she was still visualizing the conversation that would take place when she handed it to her husband.

It wasn't 100% ideal, but imagining the funny look on his face when she handed him a flower, as well as his cute embarrassed expression when he heard everything inside, was almost enough to make it completely worth it.

"I'll take it. How much do you want for it, old man? I'll pay any price you desire!"

"…For a lovers rose?"

The vendor didn't understand this strange girl.

What she was doing now was no different from offering to pay top dollar for the same tin of mints you could find at the checkout line.

"Yes for the rose! Quickly, tell me how much!"

The man jokingly told her an outrageous amount that roughly equated to 60,000 dollars in US currency.

The rose was really worth around ten cents…

"Do you have any money on you? Any form of change perhaps?" Seras suddenly asked.

The old man suddenly paused. "…Little Lady, if you want to rob someone then-"

"Just take the money out, you old coot!"

"F-Fine.."

The man reached deep within his pockets and held out a single dirty bronze coin.

Seras placed her hand on her lower stomach; just beneath her navel.

Her marking glowed for just a moment before it changed shape and color instantly.

'I'll be borrowing just a bit of power for a moment, my lovely sister..'

Seras held her hand out over the man's coin.

In the next second, a literal shower of the precious metal coins fell onto the vendor's stand.

What was first a small pile, then became a mini mountain, and then a waterfall that spilled out into the dirt.

The vendor's jaw dropped faster than stripper panties.

Seras finished paying in full after almost two minutes.

Afterwards, she plucked away the rose with a satisfied smile on her face.

"Got anything I could give to my daughters? I feel like a bad mother for just leaving them so abruptly."

"Y-Y-Y-Y-You…"

Seras cackled mischievously. "You look perplexed, mortal. Have you never seen a goddess work her…"

The hairs on the back of Seras' neck suddenly stood on end.

She lunged behind the vendor's counter and grabbed the old man at an impossible speed.

She successfully pulled him and herself to safety just as a hail of gunfire destroyed his entire stall.

Seras leapt to a distant roof for safety and her eyes immediately scouted out the culprits.

Humans in white slacks and brown coats carrying futuristic weaponry and numbering a group of twenty.

The leader was seemingly the woman in front with bright olive skin and soft black hair.

"My, oh, my. Seems we've caught a really big fish today, gentlemen."