Chapter 25

  Crowned Tulip

  (Lucas POV)

  "...Maya, I told you, I'm fine," I insisted, slightly exasperated, but also finding it slightly amusing.

  After the attempted attack, Maya never let me out of her sight. She was like a hawk, and I was her baby chick. Even Azure grew worried and nervous from her intense inspection of every single part of me, down to even my hair.

  It made going to the bathroom and washing myself extremely awkward. I had to literally push her out of the bathroom the first time I went to use it, and again when I wanted to take a shower. She begrudgingly stood outside vigil. Not even a gnat could escape her notice.

  "Hmm," Maya pondered, lifting a part of my hair for inspection, "You may look fine, but-"

  "Maya," I interrupted gently, taking her hand in mind and lowering it from my hair, "I'm fine. We're at home. Nothing is going to happen here."

  "Sure, that's what you said the st time," Maya retorted, narrowing her eyes in defiance.

  "O-Okay, true, but it turned out fine and-" I tried to assure her, but she'd hear none of it.

  "You're only fine because I found you, Sir," she stated firmly, "I'm not going to make that mistake again. You're not leaving the house until Miss Falcrest returns, and that's final."

  I knew that arguing would get me nowhere, as I knew the look in her eye. She'd simply drag me back if I tried to leave, and I wanted to keep at least some of my dignity.

  "Can I at least go in the garden?" I inquired about the various terraces and garden in the penthouse, "I'm still technically at home, and you'll be with me."

  Maya examined me closely. I tried to give the best smile I could, with a side of pleading.

  "...Very well," Maya finally stated with a huff, "As long as I'm with you, that should be fine."

  "Come on, I can't just stay...wait, really!?" I excimed, half-way through trying to plead my case again before I realized that she had agreed, "I can? Yes! Thank you!"

  I was incredibly excited to be able to at least get some fresh air, and in my excitement, I hugged Maya gratefully.

  "Thank you! Thank you!" I repeated, unaware of the light blush that had entered her face.

  "...Of course, Sir," Maya replied nonchantly in her professional tone, "I aim to please, though my top priority is your safety. Please...try not to make it any harder on me."

  I felt a little bashful at her words, knowing that I had caused her some trouble.

  "Sorry, Maya," I stated while releasing her, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly as I did, "I didn't mean to make things difficult for you. I just...I wanted to help the kid. I didn't know that-"

  "It's fine, Sir," Maya interrupted with a surprisingly gentle smile that caused the words in my throat to pause as my breath became caught for a moment, "It's that kindness which Miss Falcrest loves, but it's also the reason she told me to take extra care of you."

  I felt myself blush at how true that statement was.

  "You don't have to say it like that," I mumbled, grumbling to myself.

  "I shouldn't lie to you, Sir," Maya responded with a smirk, "That would be bad manners and horrible etiquette."

  "Yeah, yeah," I waved it away with a dismissive sigh and a roll of my eyes, "I'll try to be more careful next time."

  "Oh, no, Sir," Maya's eyes took on a keen, slightly dangerous glint, "There won't be a next time. If there is a next time...well, it's not me you have to be worried about."

  Her smile turned mischievous as a chill ran up my spine. Elizabeth fshed before my mind with a simir expression as Maya, only...more terrifying. It was enough to cause my heart to flutter. As much as I would love to see that side of her, I also would do my best to avoid that.

  "I-I'll keep that in mind," I flustered, clearing my throat, "Well...can we go for a walk? Azure has been feeling cooped up tely. He should fly around some outside."

  "After you, Sir," Maya motioned for me to walk, and off I went.

  After the incident, Maya had been incredibly watchful and protective. I was incredibly aware of her presence at all times. I was at a loss for words when she literally pulled out a small bed and simply plopped it down in my room. The look she gave me was enough to stop any protest I might have had.

  It was...adorable in its own way. I had to say, I definitely had a soft spot for Maya. She was an extremely good friend and took her job as my bodyguard quite seriously. I now understood why Elizabeth put her in charge of my protection. I never felt safer except with Elizabeth.

  It was a reassuring feeling, but I didn't want to push it. As much as I wanted to get up and move, I was also content simply zing around. However, after working hard for so long trying to make ends meet, I was a bit restless. Being able to walk around and py with Azure was a nice relief.

  It was also good to see Maya py with him as well, though tely, Maya had been preoccupied with my safety to do much of that. Azure was a little disheartened for a while, but soon overcame it once he realized that I was also capable of pying with him. It was honestly nice to have seen him bound with her, but now it was my turn.

  As we exited into the garden, a fresh breeze took me. While it was more of a greenhouse, some of the windows were open to let in a fresh breeze. The cool water of the pool was incredibly enticing, though Azure had other pns.

  He zipped through the leaves of various trees and under some flower bushes. I chased after him, doing my best to keep up. He was quick, leaving a trail of stars behind. It was like I was chasing after the night sky.

  My thoughts quickly turned to other things as I mindlessly chased him. Namely that child we helped save. She was quickly brought into custody of Aegis who showed up shortly after Maya had...cleaned the attackers up. The real cleaning came afterwards.

  Teams came in to clear the scene and the child was taken for their own protection. I refused to go anywhere until she was returned safely to her parents, but Maya had other things in mind. I barely had time to protest before she literally lifted me under one arm as if it were nothing and carried me off. She at least gave me time to say goodbye to the child, who thanked me.

  She was scared at first, but I was able to assure her that Maya was a good person. She even thanked her as well. Seeing the little child take Maya's hesitant, uncertain hand in thanks was something to see. It was like Maya didn't quite know what to do. It may have been one of the few times that I had seen Maya truly embarrassed.

  "Have we heard anything more on the kid?" I inquired as I finally came to colpse on the grass, Azure flying down next to me.

  "She's safe," Maya answered, standing nearby while keeping a constant lookout, "We believe we know where her parents are. Silence was using them as hostages."

  "...Fucking bastards," I growled, face furrowing in anger, "To use a child like that...he really hired them to kill me?"

  Maya was silent, gncing down at me as if she wasn't sure if she should say anything or not, but after a moment, she simply let out a small sigh and nodded.

  "Yes, but you don't need to worry," Maya assured me, "He'll be taken care of...if he hasn't been already."

  "Hmm...I see," my words were quiet, soft as I thought to the state of this world.

  It wasn't like I was sad to hear Maya say what she did, and it wasn't like she explicitly stated what happened to him. However, I knew what Yandere's were and to what extent they'd go to protect the one they love. It was honestly an honor to have someone care for me so much that they'd do anything to keep me safe.

  I was just lucky enough to not have the completely insane one. Though...maybe that was a bit of a stretch. Let's just say, she didn't want to kill me like most Yandere's would. I found the thought amusing, lost to my own thoughts.

  I wondered what she was doing now. "Ellie...I hope you're safe." It was a foolish thought, but I also cared for her. It was just an intrinsic feeling, and tely, I simply allowed myself to flow with these feelings that seemed to come from nowhere.

  I accepted it, for as strange as it was, I couldn't escape it. It was like a yearning deep within my heart. As if my entire soul was screaming at me with all the love in the world for Elizabeth, and it was quite true that whenever I thought of her, my heart simply melted. I couldn't deny such a reaction, and since knowing her, I've gotten to understand a bit of who she is.

  I hoped to learn more and looked forward to it once she returned. Hopefully, it wouldn't be much longer, but in the meantime, I had Azure and of course, Maya to keep me company. That was definitely good enough for me. Of course, my patience was a whole other story.

  -----

  (Elizabeth's POV)

  Finally. After a couple more days of the expedition they had arrived to where they needed to be. An oasis within the jungle that was the D.C. Wild Zone. Concrete and steel held together by vines and the birth of various trees never before seen on Earth held what remained of the surrounding buildings up.

  Water flowed from the top of one such building into a basin below that formed a retively clear pool which then filtered off into a slow-moving stream. It was the perfect pce to set up a base camp, and they weren't far from where the Crowned Tulip's grew. Many resources had been gathered along the way. Various materials to make potions, weapons, armor, and more had been salvaged.

  "...It's almost at an end," Elizabeth sighed to herself, holding the picture of Lucas she had with her carefully in her hand, fondly caressing it, "I'll be home soon, my love..."

  Taking a deep breath, Elizabeth put the picture safely away to focus on the setting up of camp. The various guilds were putting up their respective tents while others coordinated together to scout the area. Meanwhile, Elizabeth turned her attention to the four guilds who this expedition was really for.

  They stood together over a rough map that had been sprawled out on a table. Making her way over, they all looked up with slight deference. Taking her pce by the map, she looked to all of them with keen, impatient eyes.

  "From the look you all have..." Elizabeth spoke quietly, gncing down at the map where various pces had been circled, "You must have found it."

  "...Yes," Reina, the Umbral Witch of Haven acknowledged, watching Elizabeth with soft eyes, "Though, there aren't many of them."

  "Is it not enough for you?" Elizabeth inquired, a slight exasperation in her voice, "You now know it exists, so you know what you're looking for."

  "Yes, but..." Dimitry, the Mammoth of Adamant spoke hesitantly, a slight accent to his words as he looked around to the others, "There are only three of them."

  "According to the rules in pce..." Julian, the Radiant of Aurora spoke up with a sigh, hands on their hips, "That means one of us will lose out, due to the lottery."

  Elizabeth looked to Edward, the two of them meeting eyes for a simple, brief moment before he nodded in understanding. It was a heavy blow after losing Bryan, but he would concede.

  "Hawks Guild will sit this out," Edward stated, his tone somber, "We've caused a few disturbances on this expedition that has slowed us down."

  "Are you sure, Edward?" Reina inquired, quite curious at his volunteering, "We would have thought you'd push for this, considering..."

  "Reina!" Julian gasped, mouth agape as they looked to her mortified.

  "What? I mean no disrespect," Reina dismissed, gncing at Edward, "It's just the simple truth. Will this not hurt your Guild?"

  "Rex, everyone," Edward raised his hand to ease them, "This won't be the only chance to find one, and if I bow out now...that just means you owe me."

  Edward smiled deviously, though in a pyful way.

  "Haha!" Dimitry ughed, cpping Edward on the back, "Good man! I don't mind owing one if it means getting a Crowned Tulip!"

  "Shut up," Reina growled, looking around the camp to see if anyone heard, "Damn, you're noisy. Do you want everyone to know?"

  "Ah, my bad, Reina," Dimitry answered with an apologetic smile, "Just got overly excited."

  Reina rolled her eyes with a shake of her head.

  "So, it's settled then," Elizabeth stated, looking among them, "Each of you, besides Edward, will take one. I assume you've heard how to use it?"

  "Eh, only rumors," Reina expined with little concern, "We'll figure it out. We're not Haven for nothing."

  "Adamant is up to the task," Dimitry acknowledged, with Julian also stating that Aurora was capable.

  "Very well, then what are we waiting for?" Elizabeth inquired, knowing exactly why they were waiting, but had to feign ignorance.

  Dimitry pointed to the map where it was circled.

  "Two pces, guarded by...something," he looked to grumble a bit, uncomfortable in his uncertainty, "We believe one is a Golem, while the other...well..."

  He shivered at the thought of whatever it was.

  "It's a Basilisk," Reina chimed in, impatient with Dimitry's hesitance, "The Basilisk guards one, while the Golem guards two."

  "Creepy lizard bastards," Dimitry muttered, not a huge fan of anything reptilian.

  It was almost comically adorable knowing that such a man as him was freaked out by them.

  "I see..." Elizabeth nodded along, "So, what's your pn?"

  A Golem was just it sounded. A humanoid shaped creature made out of various materials. Depending on the material determined its strengths. Regardless, they were incredibly tough opponents with high defense and huge destructive power.

  This one was most likely made out of the same substance that Scarab Vines were made of. Concrete, steel, and pnt matter. Its size was probably about twenty or thirty feet tall. The size of a small building. It wouldn't be an easy opponent for most of them.

  The other, a Basilisk, was a reptile of sorts. Different from what you might think of as a Basilisk. Frog-like in appearance, it had rge bulging eyes on top of its head, but these were only decoys. Its real eyes were just under them. Its back was scaly and its tongue...well, its tongue was a snake.

  It's method of attack was to distract using its odd appearance and then shing out with its "tongue". Once the tongue had sunk its teeth in the Basilisk's victim, they would slowly begin to petrify. Turning completely to stone over the next few seconds.

  On top of that, they weren't slow. When threatened, they leapt around at high speeds. Basilisks were about the size of a rge dog on average. However, some could grow to the size of a horse.

  Even Elizabeth didn't find those pleasant. Though, they were all the same to her in the end. They would die just like any other monster out there. Some often mistook the Basilisk for an amphibian creature due to its frog-like appearance, but that would be a mistake. While it could swim and live under water, it was more akin to a lizard in terms of proportions.

  A long body with a scaly back and tail, though its legs were built like a frog to allow them to jump quite easily. It was definitely an unnerving creature to face. It was part of what made them so difficult to fight. Many people were often confused by its appearance, and that's exactly what it hoped for. It was in those moments of confusion and distraction that the Basilisk struck.

  "So...who's going after what?" Elizabeth inquired.

  "We're going to draw lots," Reina expined, pulling out a small box with a hole in the top and setting it on the table, "Since the Golem guards two and the Basilisk one, we believe that three of us should go after the Golem while the other two take the Basilisk."

  "Liar," Dimitry accused, slightly sulky, "You just want more chances to avoid the Basilisk."

  "I have no idea what you're talking about," Reina dismissed, though her expression said that Dimitry was exactly right.

  It looked like he wasn't the only one not wanting to face the Basilisk. Rolling her eyes with a sigh, Elizabeth reached her hand into the box.

  "Enough, let's draw then and get this over with," Elizabeth stated as she felt several pieces of paper inside of the box.

  Moving her hand about, she reached for one and pulled it out. Unfolding it, she smiled with a slight chuckle.

  "It seems some of you lucked out," she said, showing the piece of paper to them which held one word; Basilisk, "Seems I'm on Basilisk duty."

  There was almost a collective sigh of relief among all of them. "...So childish," Elizabeth mused, shaking her head. One by one, they each drew lots.

  Edward: Golem.

  Julian: Golem.

  Both of them looked incredibly relieved while Reina and Dimitry began to look nervous.

  "Please not Basilisk. Please not Basilisk," Dimitry prayed deeply as his turn came around.

  "Hurry up, you oaf," Reina pressed, impatient.

  "Alright, alright! Shut up!" Dimitry growled, gring at her, "I'm doing it!"

  With a deep breath, he plunged his hand into the box, praying silently. Slowly, he took one of the remaining pieces of paper out. Carefully, he unfolded it. Peeking at it, a slow smile crept over his face, and for a moment, Reina looked completely horrified before Dimitry's smile cracked into one of pure anguish.

  Turning his piece of paper around, it read one word: Basilisk.

  "Ha!" Reina ughed, pulling the st piece of paper out which read Golem.

  She lorded her win over him as he begged for her to switch with him, of which she adamantly refused to do.

  "Come on," Elizabeth stepped up, grabbing Dimitry by the colr, "Let's not waste time. Now, don't be such a child. Man up and let's get this over with."

  "Noooo!~" Dimitry cried as he was dragged away by the scruff.

  "Oh, come on, it's not that bad," Elizabeth assured him, "You're embarrassing yourself...and me. Get it together."

  Reina stuck out her tongue at him to add insult to injury. "What children indeed..." Elizabeth sighed, though she couldn't say she wasn't amused. This was about the only non-boring part of dealing with these bastards. Now, the only thing standing between her and Lucas was a Basilisk.

  Dimitry didn't know how lucky he was, because anything standing between her and Lucas was already dead. They'd have it killed in no time.

  -----

  (Elizabeth's POV, A Little While Later)

  Elizabeth couldn't believe what she was seeing. Dimitry, a giant of a man, was running around like a chicken with its head cut off. All while they were screaming in pure terror.

  The Basilisk, one on the rger size leapt up to cling to the side of a building. Its tongue shing out towards the fleeing Dimitry. The ground broke as he jumped away, screaming his lungs out.

  "Why! Why me?" Dimitry excimed, fleeing from this pathetic creature, "It shouldn't have a tongue like that! Damn my luck!"

  "...Seriously?" Elizabeth sighed, gncing over at Richard who she had brought with out of Zero Squad, "Richard...could you...?"

  "Yeah, I got it," Richard let out a sigh of his own, dexterously pulling up his bow.

  It was a beautiful thing, expertly crafted from the wood of a Great Ghostwood from one of the many dungeons Aegis had under its material collection division. It was entwined with mithril, making it light and extremely flexible, while losing none of its power. It truly was a marvel of a bow.

  "Easy does it..." Richard muttered softly, masterfully pulling and drawing an arrow.

  As Dimitry ran around like a fool, Richard took aim. Following the Basilisk's movement. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled as he lined up his shot, and the moment all breath left his body, he released. [Pinning Shot] activated, a streak of light blue encompassed the arrow as it flew true.

  With a sickening squelch, the arrow found its mark, piercing the Basilisk's leg into a tree that it had just jumped to. Wood splintered and the moment the arrow nded, bindings of light in the shape of thorny vines erupted from it. These vines entangled the creature's leg as it made a horrible shrieking sound.

  "Good shoot," Elizabeth approved with a nod, "Now...to get that coward to face it."

  Dimitry was still running around like a fool, though as he saw the Basilisk currently pinned down, he began to catch his breath, running over to Elizabeth.

  "N-Nice...shot..." Dimitry huffed, taking ragged breaths, "Couldn't...have it hit...in the head though?"

  "What fun would that be?" Elizabeth inquired, smiling deviously, "You have to face your fears one of these days, Mammoth."

  "Come on!" Dimitry protested, waving an arm over in the Basilisk's direction, "Do you see that thing! It's unnatural! No lizard should look like that! Jumping around, slithering everywhere like a snake with feet, yet jumping around like a frog! And the tongue! Don't even get me started on the tongue!"

  He shivered, hugging himself at the thought.

  "And it's scales! How can something be so rough and slimy at the same time!" He cried, shaking his head, "Nope. It's not right! Give me anything else!"

  "Oh, don't be such a baby," Elizabeth said wearily, "It's just a strange lizard. It's not even that tough."

  "That's not the point!" Dimitry excimed, and before they could say anything else, they all sensed something.

  Dimitry brought up his shield reluctantly as a globule of what could only be spit exploded against his shield. It was a rge tower shield made out of a special, heavy metal with incredible defensive properties. [Shield Wall] activated for a moment, creating illusory images of Dimitry that formed an ethereal wall. Several globules of spit bashed themselves against these illusions, but they held strong.

  "See! What the hell is that!?" Dimitry cried, now covered in a mucus like substance, though unharmed, "Even if I block, I still get covered in this. It's disgusting!"

  He shivered, attempting to wipe off the spit. It was the Basilisk's [Bile Shot] which is exactly as it sounded. It was quite acidic upon impact, but if nullified, it became simply a harmless mucous. It definitely wasn't pleasant.

  "Yeah, yeah," Elizabeth waved, her hand fshing green as the mucous on him burst into fmes.

  Freaking out for a second before he found that he was alright, Dimitry let out a sigh.

  "Come on, can't you just-" Dimitry tried to bargain, though Elizabeth's cool gaze cut him off.

  "What will happen if a dungeon break occurs, and it's Basilisks?" Elizabeth asked sharply, "Will you just run away while the people die? What about your squad? Your guild? Will you just run like a coward because of a strangely shaped lizard? I didn't know you were that type of person Dimitry."

  "Well, I mean...no, I wouldn't, I-" Dimitry attempted to defend himself, growing nervous under Elizabeth's scrutiny.

  "I mean, I could always release this to the public," Elizabeth motioned towards Richard who smiled devilishly.

  Floating nearby Richard was a small metallic sphere with a lens on the front like an eye. Its focal point closed like a shutter, making sounds like it was zooming in and out. It was an observation and scouting skill, called [Recon Drone]. Many technological advances were made because of such a skill, and a lot of simir items were sold for non-Pyers to use.

  "Y-You haven't been...recording, have you?" Dimitry asked anxiously, "Come on...that's pying dirty."

  "I never said I pyed fair," Elizabeth smirked, and to Dimitry she was sure that the two of them looked like devils right now, but she needed his head in the game, no matter what it took, "You need to face your fears. If you're attacked by lizards, snakes, or any other kind of reptile, we can't have you breaking formation. Dimitry, be the wall."

  Dimitry gnced over at the Basilisk who was almost free of the pinning shot. He had a nervous, anxious sweat on his forehead. It wasn't easy to face your fears. Elizabeth knew that, but she had no time to coddle him.

  "Damn it..." Dimitry growled, gring at the ground, "You're right. Many people depend on me to keep them safe. I can't fail them."

  Elizabeth smiled approvingly, seeing a newfound determination enter his eyes.

  "Good, so you'll have no problem killing it yourself, right?" Elizabeth asked amusingly.

  "Wait, what?" Dimitry's facade dropped as he looked to her in disbelief, "But I-"

  "You want the Crowned Tulip, don't you?" Elizabeth inquired nonchantly, "Well, earn it."

  "Damn it..." Dimitry swore, glowering at the Basilisk, "Alright then, if that's how it is..."

  "You can do it, Dimitry," Elizabeth assured, casually leaning against the wall of a ruined building, "It's one thing to run if you have no chance of winning. Survival is important, but in this case, you can easily take it."

  Grumbling to himself, Dimitry stood tall. Hefting his shield up before him. Pcing both hands on its grip, he pulled as it separated into two. Gncing back at Elizabeth, he gave a determined smile to hide his discomfort.

  "Your words are harsh, but you're right," Dimitry stated, steeling himself, "It's dangerous, but nothing I can't handle. Even if it's a...creepy fucking lizard."

  Swallowing hard, he turned to face the creature as it finally broke free from its bonds.

  "Come on, you creepy bastard!" Dimitry roared, letting out a [Taunting Howl], "Come get me you bastard!"

  Rushing forward the ground shook with his footfalls as [Leaden Flesh] activated. A skill that increased the user's mass, granting them several benefits. It became harder for them to be pushed back, increased their defenses, and granted their hits a little extra oomph. The downside was that it slowed the user down, but under Dimitry's mastery, he may as well be unhindered.

  The Basilisk set its sight on him, the [Taunting Howl] having taken effect. Its eyes, the tiny beads below the fake bulbous ones, glowing red to indicate as such. It screeched, shing its tongue out towards him. Dimitry howled in return, bringing his shields before him like two great doors closing.

  The tongue bounced harmlessly off, but before it could get too far, Dimitry anchored one of his shields, reaching out from its safety to grab the snake-tongue around the neck. He visibly looked disgusted but pushed it down as he roared.

  "You're not going anywhere, you ugly bastard!" Dimitry lifted his other shield up, and as he did it changed shape.

  [Anchored Strike] melded the bottom of the shield into an arch with two prongs on either side. Smming it down on the snake-tongue, the prongs dug into the ground, trapping the snake-tongue under it. It hissed at Dimitry, bearing its fanged mouth.

  Leaving his shield holding the snake-tongue down, Dimitry grabbed his other shield and rushed forward towards the Basilisk's main body. The ground cracked under his newfound weight. He was like a freight train barreling towards the now trapped creature.

  It struggled to pull its tongue free, but it was useless. Dimitry's legs glowed with power as he activated [Great Leap], unching himself up into the air. The ground fractured from such weight leaping off from it. Lifting his shield up, he roared as the Basilisk looked helplessly on at the impending meteor crashing towards it.

  "Die you fucking freak!" Dimitry yelled, positioning his shield downwards.

  [Heavy Sm] activated, empowered by [Leaden Flesh] and the height he gained with [Great Leap]. The resounding impact spttered what was the Basilisk into nothing but a flesh paste. The ground caved in, creating a small crater upon impact.

  The snake-tongue filed, having been severed from the main body. Dimitry stood from the crater, covered in the guts of the creature. Raising his hand, the shield holding the snake-tongue heeded his call as it reverted in an instant back to its normal appearance.

  Doing so severed the snake's head. It filed for the st time before it ceased to move altogether. With another motion of his hand, the shield flew from the ground, returning to Dimitry's grip. Two shields became one once more.

  "See, you can do it," Elizabeth praised with mock pyfulness.

  Dimitry stood, silent among the gore. After a moment, all pretenses of his stoic nature dropped.

  "Ugh...God...So nasty," Dimitry shuddered, gagging as he tried his best to quickly get himself free of the guts and gore of the Basilisk, "Get it off, get it off, get it off!"

  He brushed the bile, blood, and guts from him as best he could. It was like Elizabeth was watching a comedy. Never had she seen such a rge man so disturbed by such things. She's seen him neck deep in blood and guts before, but when it came to any kind of reptiles or anything that came close to it, he was an absolute wreck.

  "Oh, come on," Elizabeth chided, "It's not that bad. I could always burn it off again?"

  "What? N-No! No, no! That won't be necessary," Dimitry assured, raising his hands, "I can still feel the burn from the st time. Let's just get the damned tulip and get out of here...I need a bath."

  Elizabeth shared an amusing look with Richard as the three of them proceeded to cim the Crowned Tulip as a prize, with Richard harvested what was left of the Basilisk. Its core was a useful material. Unfortunately, the rest of the creature was utterly useless because of Dimitry obliterating it.

  The Crowned Tulip grew upon the crags of broken ruins. Fed by the constant dripping of water from above a broken roof. Its deep crimson petals with its golden tips were vibrant in the light of the sun shining down. Carefully, Dimitry plucked it and immediately sent it to his inventory.

  "Finally..." Dimitry let out a sigh of relief, "Honestly, I wasn't sure it was real, but now we have proof."

  With that, they left the area and regrouped with the others. They had made short work of the Golem, having collected their own Crowned Tulips. Finally, after days of trekking through the Wild Zone, they had gotten what they came for. This expedition was finally over, but more importantly...so was the grueling wait to see Lucas again.

  -----

  Nikushimi