Mikhail took a deep breath and aimed the bow. His form, as usual, was perfect. He waited for the dragon to pass by him and with a slow exhale, released the arrow.

The plan to take down the dragon was simple.

After Mikhail explained to Danico what a conduit was and how to make it, taking down the dragon sounded like an easy task. Basically, Danico would use something of himself to focus his magic and spell on and attach it to the dragon. It could be a drop of blood, a piece of nail, or a lock of hair, as long as it’s on the dragon, he could use his gravity magic without having to touch the dragon himself or prepare a complex magic circle.

The issue then became how to get it to the dragon. Its scales were a massive problem considering not even the heat of his hottest fireball could scorch it. While Danico was debating if sacrificing another body part of his to slow the dragon down was worth it, Mikhail spoke up.

“I noticed the dragon kept dodging away from stray acid splatters whenever you hit it with a wind spell and I think the dragon is wary of its own acid. It might be strong enough to weaken it. But then how are we going to get the acid to spill in its direction? Do you think you can redirect it with a wind spell somehow?”

Danico smiled at him. The prince was actually kind of smart. “Leave it to me,” he said. “I have a plan.”

“Alright,” Mikhail asked. “Now for the conduit. I found this bow and arrow laying around, I can take a shot at the dragon with it.”

“That looks like it’s going to fall apart,” Danico pointed out. “Use this instead.”

He summoned a weapon he hasn’t been able to use properly ever since he got it. It was the “Bow of the Soulful”. He never really got to use it since his arms weren’t strong enough to even pull the string back. He handed the prince a normal arrow that he put in his interdimensional pocket when he first started his adventure. It was the very first weapon he collected and he might be a little bit attached to it.

Next he cut a lock of his hair and handed it to the prince. “Let’s use this as a conduit. Tie the lock of hair on the arrow, I’ll go distract the dragon,” he said. The dragon has finally realized that in order for the tower to stop burning, it had to kill Danico.

The plan was simple. 

Danico would make a mark on the scale for Mikhail to aim at and Mikhail would shoot it with the arrow wrapped in Danicos hair. Danico would use his gravity magic to drag the beast to the ground and slice it’s neck off with his cursed sword.

It was simple really.

What he didn’t expect was for Mikhail to activate the power behind the bow which made it into a legendary weapon. 

The bow was supposedly incredibly powerful. An arrow shot from it could pierce through mountains and cleave the skies, but Danico himself had never seen it in action.

Danico remembered when he first came face to face with the weapon. He was wandering around as usual when he took cover from the rain under the rooftops of an ancient shrine. The old shrine maiden with her gray hair and sunspots eyed him warily, but still opened her doors with open arms.

They didn't receive many outsiders to visit their small village. Those who came tended to be troublemakers and Danico with his loose shirt, tight pants and viridian cloak was as suspicious as any bandit from the forest.

“Who is this shrine for?” Danico asked.

The shrine maiden said it was dedicated to the most powerful priestess who destroyed an evil artifact. That artifact was said to corrupt those who held it in its possession. Only someone with a pure heart would be able to withstand its power.

Danico listened curiously about the legend of the priestess who fell in love with a demon. The demon almost killed her when they first met and the priestess back then did not have as much power as she had later on. They fought each other every time they met, the young priestess was only alive thanks to the grace of her companions.

But the more they fought, the more they battled on even ground until one day, the demon found them his equal. Love had slowly blossomed with each meeting until they devoted themselves to each other.

They had a daughter they cherished very much. However, as was humanity’s fate, time was not on their side. The priestess grew old and brittle and could only watch as her demon husband and daughter barely changed.

She begged her demon husband to turn her bones into a weapon that could help her protect her child even from beyond the grave. Even if she could not protect her beloved daughter physically, she wanted to protect her spiritually. That was how the “Bow of the Soulful” was created.

The husband agreed and hired the most skilled blacksmiths in the land.

When she passed away, the daughter was left to live with the human friends of the priestess. It would be far too dangerous for a halfling like her to live in demon society despite having the noble blood of her father flowing in her.

The bow was passed on from generations to generations until eventually, the last of her bloodline ceased to exist. The bow was kept safe in the shrine, but because of the recent war that ravaged the land, the bow was stolen.

“You should leave this shrine the moment the sun rises, lad,” the old priestess said. “The lord will eventually come to visit.”

“Who?”

“The demon lord. He comes by once every decade to visit his wife and descendant’s graves. He would bring a single branch of a cherry blossom tree and stare at their graves until the sun goes down.”

“He must love them very much,” Danico said.

“Yes, indeed,” the priestess said. “And that is why this shrine will be destroyed when he finds out the bow is missing.”

“Is that why you’re here all alone? Did everyone else evacuate already?” He thought it was odd when he walked around the clean pathways of the yard and into a spotless room he was given to rest at. There was no way an old lady like her, who walked slowly with her hands behind her back, could do the harsh labor required to keep an ancient shrine spotless.

“You’re a sharp one,” the priestess said. “Yes, I had the other shrine maidens leave days before the lord would arrive.”

“And you?” Danico asked. “Why did you stay?”

“Someone has to greet the lord and explain,” she said with a wry smile.

Later on, Danico found the person who stole the bow. How could he know it was the right bow? Well, it was easy.

The man was bragging about it to anyone who listened. He said the bow was indestructible and might be the reason why the shrine was guarding it. He demonstrated by slamming it on the wooden table, destroying the furniture in the process.

Danico smiled charmingly at the man and got him drunk to the point he did not realize Danico had slipped the weapon into his interdimensional pocket.

He went back to the shrine to return the bow, but found that only a large cherry blossom tree and a graveyard remained. The pink flowers of the tree stood out like a sore thumb amongst the ruined shrine. When Danico got closer, he was stopped by a barrier.

“Should I leave it here?” Danico muttered under his breath. After debating for another second, he decided to keep the bow. Leaving it outside the barrier ran the risk of it being stolen again. He might have a use for a bow in the future, even if he prefers to fight with magic over weaponry.

If it weren’t for the kindness the old priestess showed him, he would have kept the bow to himself either way. He’s always loved collecting shiny weapons.

Danico summoned a lyre. It was simple compared to the rest of his garb, but lovingly painted with colorful flowers. The bard hummed a tune and played a song of farewell for the deceased.

He lent the bow a couple of times to other people before and none of them were able to use it to its full potential either. It was useless to Danico, that was why he decided to give it to Mikhail. The man deserved a reward for entertaining him all this while.

The wind whined sharply as an arrow of white light pierced through the dragon and towards the sky. The beast roared in pain as it fell down the sky, a huge chunk of its body missing.

Danico landed on the ground with a whistle on his lips. “Wow, I didn’t know it could do that,” he said.

“Danico, are you sure the arrow wasn’t magicked in some sort of way?”

“Yeah, the arrow is completely normal.”

The bow lit up and split into tiny little balls of beads which wrapped themselves around Mikhail's wrist. The pure white bracelet sparkled in as it settled into its newest form.

“It’s never done that before either,” Danico said. “I guess the weapon’s bonded to you now.”