The Three Swords

Jiino turned and rolled in his sleep. As he kept on turning and rolling, he kept on yelling, "No, no, no, no, NO!!" Dragon, who just woke up in the next room, heard Jiino's cries and burst into the room. "Jiino! Wake up! What is it, Jiino?" Jiino suddenly woke up with a last "NO!" and looked around the room. "What time is it?" were his first words.
"11am."
"God, i always oversleep when i have nightmares."
"What was it?"
"Nothin' special."
"Uh huh"
"Just get me some Dew. I'm thursty."
"Okay, wait a sec."
Jiino walked over to a chair and sat down. As he kept going over his dream, he rubbed his snake coils fondly. It was a comfort kind of thing. "Hey, Jiino! Remember we have to go to town today!" Dragon yelled from the kitchen.
"I know!"
"Hey Jiino!"
"What now?"
"No dew left!"
"WTFUX!@#$%"
Dragon came back with two glasses of rum, "Settle with this, ya hippie." Jiino took a glass "Fine then, this will have to do for now." Dragon looked at Jiino, "So, still not gonna tell me about that dream?" Jiino shook his head and lied, "Its gone from my head now." "Pity...anyways, lets get ready and get outta here." With that, Dragon went back to his room.

About an hour later, the two were heading out the door. "What took you so long?" asked Jiino, halfway to town. Dragon lifted up his lightsaber, "My baby needed recharging. Unlike katanas, this thing takes a shitload of electricity." Jiino shrugged,"Bah, lightsabers lack convenience."
"So, how long are you gonna be using those Snake Coils."
"Hey, i got pride in my Snake Coils!"
"Uh huh, you are going to ditch it when you manage to get a San-san or a Kuroichuki."
"Pshawww, lies!"
At that exact moment, someone dashed past them, snatching Jiino's circular hat as he passed by. "HEY!!! WTFUX!!! MY HAT!!!!!GIMME BACK MY HAT YA BASTARD!!!!" The bastard in question stopped and turned around, "Take it back by force, jesus wannabe!" Jiino raised his Snake Coils at the person, "Have it your way." The person responded by drawing a rather large sword from his back,"Ah yes, the all-famous blue samurai, Jiino, and his precious Snake Coils. My Gram was yearning to meet you." "Hah!, you will regret that wish!" And the two slayers dashed at each other with their respective battle cries...

The two swords clashed, while Dragon watched from the side. Although both weaponmasters were seeminly on par, it was obvious that the katana was clearly falling back in power. Jiino paused to wipe sweat from his eyes, "Damn it. I have to use katana's speed to my advantage, but this path is too narrow for any evasive maneuvers." "HAH!! Tiring out already, samurai?" The greatsword wielder shouted as he continued to pound on Jiino's blade. "Can't...hold...on...any longer!" and with that, Jiino slid backwards with a triple slash. "Running away?" the mysterious swordsman followed him with his own triple slash. "Just wait!" and at that moment, Jiino charged forward with a raging dragon slash. "HYAHHH!!!" "OH SHIT!" and with that, the greatsword wielder used guard barely in time.
"Not bad, hippie!"
"There is more where that came from!"
"Oh, I am deeply sorry, but now it is my turn!"
"Show me what you've got then!"
As the two were about to exchange huge blows, Dragon intervened, "Thats enough! I've seen enough, and from the looks of it, this fight is not going anywhere." Jiino puckered up, "And i was just about to finish him." "Oh, really?" the greatsword wielder retaliated, "Lucky you, for if that final blow landed, you were going to be the one sent flying." Dragon stepped in, "Enough is enough. Stranger, you can continue going where you were going to." With that, Dragon snatched Jiino's hat from the stranger's hands and walked away. "Hey! Don't leave me behind!" Jiino followed.
15 minutes later, Jiino asked,"Why did you step in?"
"Because by the looks of it, your katana wouldn't bear that next blow, even if you could."
"Pshawww, it was fine."
"I doubt it."
"So why do you think he attacked me in the first place?"
"Ask him yourself."
Jiino turned to the stranger, who was right behind them, and asked, "So, give me a reason. AND WHY IN HELL'S NAME ARE YOU FOLLOWING US!!" The stranger replied, "1. I was bored, and 2. my destination is in the same direction as you two are going, and there is only one path." Dragon talked without turning around,"Well, then seems like we became companions unintentionally, even though i think we will split when we reach town. But might be better if we get to know each other's names. My name is Dragon, and this hippie right here is Jiino." "I'm Kirov."
When they reached town, Jiino dashed off to somewhere with a quick "Be right back!" Dragon sunk his face into his palms and sighed, "Not again." He then turned to Kirov and bid him farewell, "Well, we will be on our way, and hope we see you again, because next time, I will be the one facing you." Kirov grunted, "I'll be expecting it."
They then split and went left and right respectively. As Dragon kept walking, he noticed a blue-armored samurai sitting on the streets as if he cared for nothing in the world. And in front of him, was a bundle of cube fragments...

Dragon leaned over Jiino(of course it was he) and asked, "What broke this time?" "My Heartbreaker" Jiino replied in a gloomy tone.
"The one you snitched from Joe?"
"Ya, that one."
"Kiri must be thanking you very much."
"Don't mention it."
Dragon leaned out a hand, "C'mon, let's get moving. We haven't got all day." Jiino grabbed the hand and pulled himself up. After packing up the cube fragments, he asked, "So, where can we meet this Iris?" Dragon pointed down the street, Shuusia said that she would be waiting for us in the bar." As they entered the bar, Shuusia noticed them and pointed to the corner, "Oh, its you. She is right over there." They went to where she was pointing, and Iris greeted them solemnly, "Pleased to meet you, brave warriors. Words of your feat in Sky Tower spread all over this land." Jiino, as always, had already ordered a jug of rum and was drinking, "No, honestly, we just happened to stumble upon there. So, why is it that you wanted to see us?"
"Because, you are the ones I needed to see. The ones who will head to North Myre and help root out the evil that resides there."
"North Myre? That tainted land?"
"Exactly."
Dragon interrupted, "I heard the apostle Direzie resides there."
"So you know. He is the root of all plague in those lands."
"You want us to...kill an apostle."
"It must happen."
"Well then, I suppose we can give it a try. When do we go?"
"When your companion-to-be arrives."
"Companion?" Dragon turned his gaze to the door. At that moment, a familiar person and a stranger stepped in. "Sorry I'm late, and i brought a friend." Kirov waved. "How did I know..." Jiino sunk his face in his palms. "Huh, so she called you too. Well, coincidences happen. Oh, Iris, this is DXD, mind if he tags along in the excursion?" Iris stared at DXD, and DXD stared back with his red glowing eyes. Iris finally said, "Very well, he seems fine enough for the job." "Wait, why is Kirov here?" Dragon asked Iris. "Because he is your companion to be." "Is he good?" "He got rid of Lotus from Behemoth single-handedly." "Ah..." Kirov and DXD sat at the table. "So, this is everyone?" DXD asked. "Seems so." said Iris, "And you can start heading for North Myre...now."

Minutes later, the four of them were walking down the streets of Hendon Myre. And with all due respect to anyone antisocial, it was a very awkward sight. Occasionally Jiino would whisper to dragon and ask, "Are we there yet?" DXD tried to make some good of the situation, trying to open words to Jiino and Dragon, but all attempts failed. At any rate, the party was advancing closer to North Myre in awkward silence.
"Well, here we are," Dragon said when they reached the entry path to North Myre. "Looks pretty gloomy, and dirty," Jiino said, "This place needs to be cleaned, and i mean that literally." "Well, reports say the outer parts of North Myre are taken over by a gang of thieves who took advantage of the mass escapade." Said Kirov, taking out his Gram from his back. "Who asked you?" Jiino said curtly. "I'm just providing information that might be useful, if your brain can bear to understand simple english." Kirov replied as smoothly as ever. At this point, Jiino was drawing his Kuroichuki, which he recently bought. Its blade gleamed black and shiny in the moonlight. "So, I understand that as 'I want a rematch', is it not?" Jiino slung his newly bought katana over his shoulders.
"Stop bickering you two." Dragon said, "We might be ambushed by these thieves anytime." DXD sniffed the air, "I smell...human prescence...blood." At that moment, a small band of thieves jumped at them with their respective battle cries. But DXD was faster. He backstepped two times and yelled "Bloody Rave!!!!" A bloody twister formed from his hands and sucked the whole ambush team in. Kirov also reacted to this by casting Leap on himself and jumping high. He then pierced the whole party downward with Ashen Fork. "My kills!!" He yelled as he descended at high speed. And so the first fight was over.
"That was quick." Jiino grumbled, "I didnt even get to test my new baby out." Dragon said, "It wasn't a grand fight anyways. About...warm-up level?"
"Still, I wanted to test out Kuroichuki."
"Hippie sad that he did not have action?"
"As a matter of fact, yes."
"Oh shush." DXD interrupted. "We have to sleep for the night." said Dragon, "And we need someone to stand guard." "We don't need that." Kirov said as he laid down on the ground, using Gram's hilt as a pillow, "DXD can sniff out anyone that approaches, human or not." "I'll take your word for it." and with that, Dragon and Jiino also laid down and fell asleep. DXD soon followed. And while they slept, a rather strange shadow was coming closer and closer to them...

The owner of the strange shadow was none other than Hakudo, a dog-human, and an officer of the band of thieves. His current action was to stab the adventurers in their sleep, and save his boss a lot of trouble. He advanced silently and counted the numbers to make sure they were all there, "One...two...thre...hmm? Three?"
At that moment, he felt the cold of metal on his neck. DXD had his blade at the dog-human's neck, "I smelled your blood even before you were halfway here. Leave now, or be beaten up and leave. I'm generous, so I'll give you a choice in matters." Hakudo, at that very moment, vanished in a poof of smoke, and reappeared right behind DXD, "Better not underestimate me, berserker. I ain't like those low-rankers you faced earlier." "Oh, really." and with that as Hakudo attempted to stab DXD in the back, a red circle formed around DXD and erupted in an explosion of blood. Needless to say, Hakudo was beat and sent flying into the air. "Raising Fury," DXD said, catching the falling Hakudo in a Bloodlust,"catches them ambushers off guard. Now off you go and tell your boss that he won't be boss for long." The unfortunate dog-human was blasted backwards in a gush of blood, and he instantly got up and scampered away.
As if on cue, the sun was starting to rise, along with the rest of the gang. "Nothing happened overnight?" asked Kirov, looking at the blood on the ground. "Nope, was just warming up." DXD replied with a shrug.
Later on, they were far deep in the streets of North Myre, and as with if it wasn't cliche enough in adventure stories, came across a Y-shaped junction. "So, I guess we split?" Dragon suggested. Jiino, who was several steps ahead since they started to move, was panting heavily. He had insisted that he wanted some action and so stood at the head of the group, and fended off a total of 6 attacks. "Dragon. let's go right." He said with after a big exhale. "Hmm? any particular reason?" Dragon raised an eyebrow. "Nothing, my instincts tell me there are more enemies to the right." and with that, Jiino headed to the right path. Dragon sighed, "Oh well, guess we will meet up with each other later, if possible." he said to Kirov and DXD. And with that, he ran after Jiino. "HEY, WAIT! WAIT FOR ME!!"
DXD and Kirov looked at each other, shrugged, and went to the left path. And when they started moving, so did a distinguished figure from the rooftops. "You can come down now." DXD stopped a few minutes later and called to the figure on the rooftops. "So, my feelings weren't wrong." Kirov also stopped and looked up. There was a tall man on the top, tossing his revolver around. He jumped down and said as casually as if they were sitting around a coffee table, "So, you knew all along. How come you didn't call me down earlier?" "Because I felt no hostility." DXD replied, "But being followed gets annoying after a while." "Ah, I understand. Anyways, my name is Gunter. I'm here to look for something, but wasn't exactly intent on coming here alone. At any rate, can I go with you?" DXD and Kirov looked at each other, shrugged, and said simultaneously, "Sure, why not?"

Meanwhile, Dragon and Jiino were, as Jiino's instincts told him, being attacked every 10 meters. That's not to say the attacks were doing some damage. The attacks on them were as effective as a spring breeze trying to blow a boulder away. Jiino and Dragon, ever the buddies, were coordinating their attacks as skillfully as any swordsman educator hired by the empire. Still, about an hour after the group had split up, Dragon turned off his lightsaber and said to Jiino, "How about we take a break and recover some MP?" Jiino slung his katana over his shoulders, "Where, we'll be attacked out in the open." Dragon pointed to a nearby building with an open door, "I'm sure that place would provide some shelter. Might as well fill our stomachs, too." Of course, the building was not empty, as the two would soon find out. As Jiino entered the building first, a small, dimunitive female-looking figure whapped him from overhead with her broomstick. With the stick part too...

Jiino, as if he had expected the attack, instantly raised his scabbard and blocked the attack. He then grabbed the broom by the stick and held his attacker in mid-air. "Huh? It's only a mage of some sort." he noticed as Dragon followed inside. "Don't think she's one of them thieves." Dragon observed carefully. "Huh? You aren't part of the thief gangs?" the mage asked them. Dragon and Jiino looked at each other, and sighed.
Minutes later, they were sitting around a fire, made by the mage, and relaxing. Jiino opened his bagpack and took out three cans of Dew and three servings of ramen, "We havent got much to eat with, so this will have to do for now." he said as he distributed the food. "You talk as if you have something to eat in that bag besides Dew and ramen." Dragon said as he recieved his share. "Good point." Jiino retorted sarcastically, "So anyways, who are you, and why are you here?" he asked the mage. "I'm Maribo, a witch, and I got lost." the mage answered as she opened her can of Dew. "You got lost this deep in North Myre? How did you come in this deep anyways, not that we're that far into this place. We still have hell long way to go." Dragon raised an eyebrow. "It's...a long story." Maribo stuttered as she set her broom against the wall, "But I have to go in deeper, because I have something to find." "Uh huh, anyways, if we're going in the same direction, might as well go together. We have a long way to go." Jiino said, not looking up from his ramen. Maribo nodded without a word. "We move out in an hour." Dragon said as he plugged his lightsaber recharging cord into a portable generator, "Might as well rest up. It's only 3 PM."
An hour later, the three of them came out of the building, with Maribo coming out last. "Lolicon." Dragon whispered to Jiino. "Shush, you." Jiino said, hand on the hilt of his Kuroichuki, "I think i head something." "Hmm?" Dragon looked around. The square was instantly surrounded by a larger group of thieves than they met before. Jiino already had drawn his blade and stood at the center of the square, "Come at me, wimps!!!" he cried out as he changed his stance. The thieves lunged at Jiino altogether with their respective gruesome battle cries. "HYAHH!!" Jiino instantly used Draw Sword, and the thieves who were in range of the swing were instantly cut in two. Those who were out of range were flung back by the force of the swing and crashed into the walls. Things broke. Not the walls. Those who were intact fled. "I love wide-open spaces for this reason." Jiino said as he walked back towards the other two, "There isn't any space to use Draw Sword in the narrow streets. Don't want the walls to crash down on us, obviously." "Shush, and let's get moving. According to what I know, Hameln isn't too far. Then we can finally be out of the outskirts of North Myre." Dragon pushed him forward, and the group started to move.
Meanwhile, in the other group. Things turned from boring, to gruesome. They had turned around a corner to find a rather large square, where Hakudo was waiting. Hakudo had returned with all the grunts under his command and had attacked them. Of course the gruesome bit wasn't reserved for the trio. With all due respect to the gang of thieves, the trio was, in fact, looking for a warm-up. The thieves were just too charitable to hand it over to them, silver platter and all. Gunter leaped into the air with Skud Genocide and took down the grunts on the roofs. DXD blew up the ones in the middle with Outrage Break, and Kirov circled around the outer rim of the square with Raging Dragon Slash, taking out those who weren't taken out by either attack. He then rushed at Hakudo with the last slash and rammed Hakudo down with the flat of his Gram. "Pitiful." He said after a moment of silence.
"We are, as you might already guessed, still in the outskirts of North Myre. But a little farther and we will be briefly entering the first big area of North Myre, Hameln." Gunter noted. "Briefly?" DXD raised an eyebrow. "Yes, briefly. our entry route into Hameln gives no way into the center. Instead, we will be exiting Hameln after about 20 minutes of walking, then its a desert. Then after about a 30 minute walk in the desert, we will have to take an elevator down to an abandoned mining town. After that, I am uninformed of what there is. All I know up to is the elevator." Gunter spoke without pausing. Kirov started to walk. "Well, i think i see one more corner up, then I think we will be entering Hameln. We got no time to waste. Let's start walking." "Hmm...wait." DXD stopped them. "What is it?" Kirov turned around. "I have an idea." Moments later, they were riding on a cart, which was dragged by Hakudo on a leash...

As the trio cut around the corner, there was another square, with a much larger group of thieves. In the head of the group was a large masked man. "Boss Myojin!!" Hakudo yelped, "These...scoundrels!!They are ruining our gang!!" "Oh shush" said DXD as he jumped off the cart, stepping on Hakudo's head in the process. "This seems to be the boss of the gang." Gunter noted, also jumping out. "Then our choice is simple. Kill and pass." Kirov also jumped out. The trio drew their respective weapons and prepared for battle.
On the right path, the trio here met with a few more grunts, but entered Hameln with ease. "Hmm, this is Hameln." Jiino looked around. "Yup, and it's said that you should watch...your feet." Maribo noted, suddenly starting to levitate. "Feet?" Jiino looked down. from all around them, rats were popping up out of the ground. "Oh, dear. First thieves, and now rats. What are we, exterminators?" Dragon activated his lightsaber and followed up with a 7-Hit Triple Slash back and forth the alley. Maribo activated Gravitas to make things easier. The rats were sent back scampering to where they came from. "Looks like we have fun times ahead." Dragon said sarcastically. "I hear something." Jiino speculated, cupping his ears. The rest of the group also tried to hear what Jiino was hearing, and found out. A eerie flute tune was ringing out throughout the whole of Hameln. "The legends of the Mysterious Piper...they were true." Maribo shivered. "Mysterious Piper? The one who bewitches beings with his flute and makes them do his bidding?" Dragon's eyeballs nearly jumped out of their sockets. "Well, one way or another, there is one way to find out." and with that, Jiino trudged ahead, dragging his Kuroichuki behind him.
In the meantime, in the left trio, things had turned quite strange. A berserker had jumped in from the side of the square and confronted Myojin. "Haven, good timing. We have guests to deal with. Go and show them your power." Myojin ordered to the berserker. "Tsk, fool." and with that, the berserker Haven grabbed Myojin in a Bloodlust. "What are you doing? Is this a betrayal??" Myojin hung helplessly in Haven's grab. "I have been turning your gang into mine little by little. Before you knew it, only a few remained loyal to you. I was just returning from dispatching those wimps." Haven explained as he charged blood into his hand, "and these intruders were kind enough to provide a stage for my debut, and your public execution." "You will never get away with this!!!" Myojin struggled harder. "Adios, senoir." Myojin was flung back in an explosion of blood, and Haven slammed down on him with a Mountainous Wheel. Needless to say, the ex-boss of the thieves was not of this world anymore. Haven turned to the trio, "Sorry to keep you waiting, but I had little business to take care of. Now I can properly treat my guests to the service they deserve." Haven stood up and activated Frenzy...

Gunter looked at the other Kirov and DXD, "I'll take care of the grunts, you two take him down." "Nah, DXD can do it alone, you can take the left, I'll take the right." Kirov shrugged, looking at DXD. DXD sighed, "Berserker vs berserker...fine, have it that way." Gunter used moving shot and mowed down grunts as he walked towards them. Kirov Charge Crashed into them and started hacking down the grunts on his side. DXD and Haven were left face to face. "Berserker and berserker, I should've expected as much." Haven sighed. DXD drew his sword and cast his own Frenzy, "Enough words, let's fight." "As you wish." and the two berserkers collided in a clash of blood.
Meanwhile, Gunter was finishing off his half with a cruel Wild Shot. and Kirov just cut down what was left with a swift Draw Sword. "That wasn't too hard" Kirov said as he leaned against a nearby wall. "Right, I knew better to expect more. Let's just enjoy the view." Gunter holstered his revolvers and started to spectate the fight between the two zerkers.
With all due respect to all self-proclaimed flashy fighters, the current fight was very fancy, if not bloody. DXD was caught in Haven's Bloody Rave, but caught the finishing slash with his hands. He then countered with a Gore Cross connected with an Outrage Break. Haven simply jumped aside and lunged at DXD with a Blood Sword. DXD quickly parried it and hacked at Haven with his two swords. Haven responded and the two were caught in a flurry of blood. And the fight went on for another hour or so, even sucking the blood from the corpses of grunts nearby to replenish lost blood, until Haven jumped down on DXD with a Mountainous Wheel, flattening DXD beneath his greatsword. "It's over." Haven smiled. "Yes, it is." DXD grinned back. "What?" Haven, surprised by this response, looked around, and noticed that a red circle formed around them. DXD's grin was so wide that you could've fit a banana into it, "You just activated my trap card." and the red circle exploded in blood. Needless to say, Haven was flung into the air, and was caught by DXD's Bloodlust as he descended. "Those who succeed by Bloodlust, shall fall by Bloodlust. Good-bye, fellow berserker." DXD blew up Haven's head just like that.
"Gruesome." Kirov winced. "Tell me about it." Gunter agreed.
The right trio werent faring any better. That's not to say anyone was critically injured or anything. But they were pestered by rats every single step of the way. "I think i prefered fighting 'human' foes." Jiino grumbled. "Aw shush, this is as comfortable as it gets." The trio were, in fact, all riding on Maribo's Ice Drill, threatening to 'demolish' any rat that disturbs them. Dragon and Jiino were left with the job of swatting away rats who tried to jump at them from the roofs. "So, do you know the road?" Dragon asked Maribo. "No, but we can ask someone who seems like he can answer." She shrugged. "And that might be?" Jiino questioned, squinting his eyes. "Over there." Maribo pointed to a human figure up ahead. Human figure was putting it nicely, because aside from the fact that the being was human sized and standing on two feet, it looked more like rat, especially the rat-head...

Rathead Shuu, the human figure in question, were hearing reports of his soldier rats being trampled by a trio of adventurers who happened to enter Hameln. He turned to go to face them when he was whammed in the face with what seemed to be a giant drill. He was then picked up by a swordsman of some sort, who asked "Where is the exit?" Mindless, Shuu gave the directions, then was flung away like a useless rag.
"Well, he was kind enough." Jiino leaned back on his seat. "Very, he didn't even ask for money for his service." Dragon agreed as he swatted two rats that jumped at the drill. "Jiino, 15 minutes are up, your turn to stand watch." Dragon sat into his seat, trading spots with Jiino. Later on, after the sun set, the three were sitting by a Furnace created by Maribo. "Get some sleep, because we will totally pass this place tomorrow, and end up on whats deeper inside North Myre." Dragon ordered the group, and went to sleep. Jiino quickly followed. Maribo, after setting some shururus around the trio, went to sleep, too. a few rats tried to ambush them, but were blown up by the shururus.
At morning, the trio started moving, once again on the drill. Not before long, they reached the last section of Hameln. "Wow, it sure is nice to have something to ride." Jiino mused. "Of course, I doubt we would have gone half this distance if we walked." Dragon agreed. "Uh, guys, you need to see this." Maribo pointed up. "Hmm?" Jiino and Dragon looked where she was pointing, and saw a rather tall and slim figure, in what seemed to be somewhat of an uniform. He was blowing on a flute. "Welcome, visitors, to the hell that I have created. You are all welcome to a nice serving of torment and death. And I shall see to it that you never get out alive." Jiino and Dragon jumped off the drill, and drew their respective weapons. "We shall see who dies and who doesn't." Jiino said, pointing his blade at the tall figure. "Ohohohoho. I greet you to my realm. I am Peter the Piper, and as long as you are in Hameln, you shall succumb to my power." Peter the Piper jumped high and landed in the middle of the square they were in. He then blew his flute again, and summoned a larger hoard of rats then what the trio had ever seen. "Now, let the games begin!" Peter yelled out, and the rats lunged at the trio...

The trio of the left path passed through the short route in Hameln with little trouble. A few rats, but nothing of big concern. They then exited Hameln after what seemed to be a 25 minute walk, and entered the desert.
Meanwhile, Dragon, Jiino, and Maribo was trying their best to fend off the rats as best as they could. That's not to say that they were struggling, but the rats were coming endlessly. Maribo was holding off the masses with Florae Collider, and Jiino and Dragon were covering up the blind spots, but rats didn't seem to decrease in number. "What is he? Bringing forth every single rat in this area?" Jiino spoke between slashes. Dragon mused, "It happens that we have to take down the 'summoner' to stop more 'summonee' from coming." Maribo panted, "Not...much...mp left. We have to do something, or we will just be worn out like this, without having done anything." and the Florae Collider blew up, instantly replaced by a Gravitas. Dragon raised his saber high, "Jiino, cover my side too." "What? Don't tell me." Jiino whapped away a rat and looked at Dragon. "Yes, I will go and take that musician wannabe down!" and with that Dragon leaped over the masses of rats with a Mountainous Wheel. "Foolish of you to be facing me alone." Peter mocked Dragon. "We shall see who is the foolish one!" Dragon lunged at the piper.
Kirov, DXD, and Gunter also passed through the desert with ease. Instead of rats, giant insectoids attacked them, but were driven away easily. After a short walk, they faced a rocky cliff. And right in front of their eyes, was what seemed to be a fair-sized mining elevator. "You sure about this?" DXD asked Gunter. "Sure, it's our only way, to be honest" Gunter shrugged. "Oh well, like we ever cared." Kirov just walked into the elevator, beckoning the others to follow. And as soon as they were all in, DXD pulled the lever which seemed to be the one that activates the device. And so they started their descent into the depths of North Myre.
Dragon wasn't doing so well. Not that he got any critical injuries, but Peter the Piper was proving to be more agile than he seemed. Constant attacks by rats didn't help eithor. 'This is endless! I've got to get rid of that flute, or there won't be an end to this fight.' he thought. He looked at Jiino and Maribo. They seemed to be at more ease than before, seeing that a fair portion of the rats had been called to block Dragon from attacking their "master". Dragon wasn't the least bit fazed by this. "Illusion Sword Dance!!" he yelled, and hacked away madly. The rats in front of him were all blown to bits, and were replaced by more. "Just as I thought." and he just ran through them with a Raging Dragon Slash, before the rats blocked the way. "Oh?" Peter was amused. Dragon just charged at Peter with the last slash of Raging Dragon Slash, and ducked, following the move with a Upper Slash, "How's this!!" The 'plan' succeeded, knocking the flute from Peter's grip. "Why you..." Peter lunged for his flute, but Dragon was faster. Rushing ahead with a Triple Slash, Dragon stood in front of Peter and kicked him away. "Now, die." Dragon used Draw Sword, only for Peter to duck. "I'm not killed that easily, fool." Peter mocked Dragon. "No, you just acted as I expected." "Eh?" Dragon dashed at Peter at that moment with Charge Crash, sending him flying into the air. He hacked away at the falling ex-piper with an Illusion Sword Dance, instantly dividing the unfortunate man into many pieces. The rats, with noone to coordinate their movements, much less control them, were mostly dispatched of. The rest fled. "That ended easier than I thought," Jiino wiped sweat from his forehead. "Tell me about it." Dragon agreed. "Let's take a break, then keep moving before the sun sets. With the piper gone, the rats won't attack us any more." Maribo said, sitting down on a nearby rock.
About an hour later, the group was moving again. It didn't take long for them to reach the end of Hameln after that. They were faced with a desert, just like the other trio. "So, I guess we gotta cross this sandy hell?" Dragon facepalmed. "Well, we only have one option." Jiino shrugged and started to walk, stepping into the sandy path...