Seeing the gigantic hound bounding towards her, and realising that she had no way left to turn to, Mana decided to hold her ground and fight in any way that she could.
With her back to the wall, Mana held out her hand and tried to summon the strongest shield spell that she could – and then she realised that she couldn't summon even the smallest spark of magic at all!
Stunned, Mana tried again, trying to summon the simplest and most rudimentary magic – but even that didn't work, to her dismay.
Meanwhile, the hound was barely three feet away from her.
Mana took a deep breath. "Hey," she said quietly. "Are you lost, too, big fellow?"
The dog stopped and blinked at her – and suddenly, the dog didn't seem all that fierce to Mana.
Mana put her hand in her pocket and pulled out a pack of biscuits – everyone in their family always had some food or the other in their pockets these days, thanks to the two gluttonous baby dragons that they were raising.
Mana opened the pack of biscuits and held out one to the dog. "Come on, then," she said. "I'll give you a nice biscuit, and then we can be friends, all right?"
The hound cocked its large, dark, furry head to one side, listening intently.
Mana smiled slightly. "You seem to be a clever dog," she said, waving the biscuit at the dog.
The dog stepped forward, wagging its tail, and took the biscuit from Mana's hand.
One by one, Mana fed the dog an entire packet of biscuits, and then the dog bumped its head against Mana, acting spoilt. Mana could only chuckle and pat its large head.
"Do you have any idea where we are, and how we can get out of here?" she asked the dog.
The dog whined and shook its head.
Mana blinked. "Do you understand what I am saying?" she asked, surprised.
The dog nodded.
Mana frowned. "Are you a real dog?" she asked.
The dog shook its head.
"Did someone curse you to become a dog?" Mana asked, petting its large head again, feeling bad for the creature.
The dog seemed to shrug and bumped its head affectionately against Mana again.
Mana sighed and rubbed the large, furry head of the dog.
"Let's take a look at our surroundings," she said. "Let's try and find a way back, all right? I'll take you with me. I'm sure Raven will be able to help you."
The dog whined, the sound seeming as if it was curious.
Mana laughed. "Oh, you want to know about Raven? Raven is my fiancé, and he is the smartest and the most beautiful human you will ever see," she said proudly. "If you were cursed to become a dog, then perhaps Raven would be able to help you. He is very, very clever, you know? He is very talented and very nice and overall, the best person ever!"
Mana continued to gush about Raven as she walked around with the big dog, examining the area slowly.
There really was nothing here other than collapsed buildings and a ton of garbage. It looked like a post apocalyptic world, if Mana had to be honest. She could find no trace of any arrays or anything magical around, nor could she find anyone other than the dog that had become her companion. There was no food or even clean water – and Mana had no idea what to do.
"Perhaps we should go a little further," Mana murmured.
The dog's ears perked up suddenly, and then he started to growl in a threatening manner.
"Mana? Is that you?" came a familiar and well loved voice.
"Raven!" Mana cried, almost shedding tears of relief.
The dog moved protectively in front of Mana, refusing to let her go to Raven.
Surprised, Mana knelt and patted the dog's furry head. "Hey, that's Raven, you know? My amazing fiancé that I was telling you about. He's one of the good guys; he is not our enemy. You don't have to act like this, all right?" she said to the dog.
The dog ignored her and growled menacingly at Raven again.
Mana noticed that Raven had stopped a short distance away from them.
"Mana, kill that dog," Raven ordered her. "Such an insolent creature does not deserve to live."
The dog whined pitifully and looked up at Mana, its red eyes shining sadly.
Mana frowned. "Don't worry," she said to the dog.
"Raven? Is that really you? I can't see you very clearly, can you come closer, please?" Mana called loudly.
Raven's figure didn't budge. "Get rid of that dog, Mana, and I will come to you right away," he said.
"I can't," Mana said simply. "This dog helped me."
The dog nudged Mana affectionately with its head.
"Mana! Are you choosing a strange dog over your own fiancé?" Raven scolded.
By now, Mana was sure of her suspicions. She folded her arms. "You are not Raven," she said quietly. "Who are you and what is your purpose in coming to me? And why are you pretending to be Raven?" she demanded.
The dog, too, made a low growling noise in its throat.
The fake Raven burst out laughing. "Wow, Princess Mana of the Emerald Kingdom is much cleverer than we anticipated," he said in a mocking tone. "How did you know that I was not your precious little fiancé? I got the face and the figure and the voice right, didn't I?" he asked curiously.
Mana smiled slightly. "Even if you imitate Raven's face and figure and his voice – you can't imitate his noble temperament. Raven would never kill indiscriminately. He is the nicest and the kindest person I know, and he would never, ever ask me to kill someone who had helped me," she pointed out. "The moment you asked me to kill the dog, I knew that you were not Raven."
The fake Raven laughed. "Little girl, you are too naïve. Do you have any idea about the bloody massacres that your precious Raven will bring to this world if you let him grow up without hindrance?" he hissed.
Mana shrugged. "Raven won't cause a massacre without good reason, and in any case, even if Raven needs to kill a lot of people, I will help him," she said simply.
The fake Raven looked at her in askance. "What? Aren't you supposed to be a good person?" he demanded.
"I am good to those who are good to me," Mana replied with a smile. "Why should I be good to people who are trying to harm people I love? Do you think I am stupid? If people are trying to harm Raven or Big Brother or Papa or someone else I care about very much, do you think I will sit tightly pretending to be a good person and letting them do as they please? If you do think that, then you are the biggest idiot!"
"Little girl," the fake Raven said seriously. "Your precious Raven is the root cause of the future destruction of this world. You must not allow him to grow up."
Mana was so angry that she laughed, and her laughter had a sharp edge, like that of a weapon grade knife. "Who the hell do you think you are, that I would listen to any random nonsense that you spout about my Raven? If Raven needs to destroy the world, then I would rather believe that the world deserves to be destroyed than doubt Raven because of someone like you who won't even show his true face and is trying to randomly sow discord between me and my Raven," she said, narrowing her eyes. "Do you think I am that stupid, or are you the one who is that stupid?" she demanded fiercely.
The fake Raven chuckled. "Your faith in your little fiancé is rather remarkable," he murmured.
Mana crossed her arms. "Of course," she said proudly. "A remarkable person deserves remarkable faith."
"Too bad that your fiancé will never know that his precious Mana put so much faith in him," the fake Raven said. "Just like I am here talking to you, one of my colleagues is speaking to your dear Raven as well – and do you think that he will be able to figure out that he is speaking to a fake Mana just like you figured out that you are speaking to a fake Raven?" he mocked.
Mana laughed. "You fool," she spat. "Aren't you underestimating us a little too much? Look behind you!"
The fake Raven turned around, and Mana took the opportunity to throw a brick at the back of his head.
Then she ran away with the dog, ignoring the angry roar of the fake Raven behind her.
The little girl and the big dog ran and ran and ran until they came to a window that quivered with magical power.
Mana didn't have much time to decide.. She grabbed the dog and jumped through the window.