Chapter 13

  The Road Ahead

  The moon's light shone bright across the oceans of grass as the group crossed as fast as they could, the three of them held tightly on each other with their eyes set on the giant natural stone fortress that rested far away.

  Olivia clenched her teeth at the mere sight of it, while Rigel and Ellyn remained silent. The open area provided room to accelerate as much as they pleased, yet it also opened the door to be seen by less desirable eyes. The possibility that the bandits could be alerted upon seeing the small group escape the village into the nearest city and prompt a violent reaction was all too present of a concern for them. In light of that, they planned to proceed through The Pillars on foot.

  The so-called Bandit Lands were considerably large; multiple smaller villages once peppered various parts of the region, but over time only theirs survived. As a result of its size, traveling from the village to even The Pillars could take several hours at the fastest with only the grassland as a place to rest. Its size was a fact that made it all the more isolated, but at least it provided enough leeway for the merchants and sellers to make preparations for when they encountered the bandits at their ‘checkpoints’ before making a living at the city, Finglas. Although, they still would lose a hefty chunk of what they earned every time.

  Olivia hoped they could cross the distance quickly enough while most bandits still slept soundly. That way, passing through The Pillars’ narrow passage would be relatively easy even without a horse.

  She gazed into the horizon and locked her eyes on the part they would be crossing, that giant and imposing mountain of rock and grass that looked as if it were the base of a large tree that held the sky. That giant and its three other equals were the natural fortresses of the Wood Fang. Most of them slept in a subset of caves or in camps outside. Any prisoners, equipment, or treasure was more commonly stored inside the mountain itself.

  Such a beautiful thing. A natural formation that would be the envy of any other nation in the world. Something to be proud of. To boast and show to others with your heart full about the wonders nature bestowed upon you.

  Its mere sight made her want to vomit.

  Such a beautiful thing... twisted and malformed by their ilk.

  “Tch...”

  It was the keep of everything she loathed. Everything they took from her and the others, all hosted within those stone-cold walls. Parasites. Vermin that corrupted and consumed anything they came across.

  She yearned for their reckoning. To bring down that stone down to a pebble, along with everyone in there.

  That day was finally, by her hand, approaching with each galloping step.

  The moon shone bright, its glow reflected her eyes as they ferociously locked to her target, then, she hit the reins to accelerate even further.

  The night sky slowly darkened more and more as the clouds blocked the moon’s light, turning the blue-tinted grass into pitch-black darkness.

  It had been a few hours since they reached the point where they would begin to travel on foot, Olivia had sent the horse back to the village and the group took a small break before continuing. While the lamp provided a good enough light around them, it did little to show the way more than a few meters away, so they used what little light came from the sky and how it illuminated the top of the mountain. Outside that, there lay an infinite darkness that made Rigel increasingly uncomfortable with each step he took.

  Even in the company of two other people, he felt... vulnerable. They could be attacked with no means to see beforehand from which direction, and the closer they got to The Pillars the more likely it was.

  He looked to his left and saw Ellyn and Olivia wearing similarly stiff expressions. Often looking around them as their bodies looked just as tense. It made him glad, in a way, that they too felt the same, but it also scared him to think they were all feeling vulnerable. Olivia had trained with the sword and bow, so she could hold her own a fair amount in a fight. Ellyn was nothing less of a demon of combat that, based on what had he had seen, could boast a super-human status. Both were more skilled fighters than him and his magic—If they were concerned, he too, was in trouble.

  Then, a moment of respite presented itself.

  The clouds blocking the moon moved slightly out of the way and light was cast upon the land once more. They were able to see how close to The Pillars they were—less than ten minutes away. It also made them realize they had to be quick to get past it and head to Finglas.

  Seeing their first objective made him sigh in relief, but that was quickly overwritten by a different concern. The pressure from before was only the pure speculation that some of the Wood Fang would spot them in an open area. While it could be possible, at this hour it was also possible or even more reasonable to assume that they were all asleep, making this stretch safe in comparison.

  Yet by trickery of his mind, the silence, and darkness that surrounded them made his feet quick on its steps. It all made him wonder ‘was he truly a good fit for this? What would he do if they come into contact with an enemy?’ He wanted to go out and help so badly, he convinced himself as well as others that he could take that ordeal…

  ...But when danger gazed back at him, he realized how much he struggled to keep it together.

  “...maybe I should-”

  A soft, feminine hand clumsily tapped his face and interrupted his thoughts. His eyes followed to see Ellyn’s stern face looking straight ahead.

  “We’ll be sneaking in soon, Rigel. Stay close to me.” She whispered

  He blinked a few times before getting closer to the girl. To him; the seriousness of her face contradicted the awkwardness and delicacy of her hand as it tried to call out to him but not harsh. He could tell how uncertain she was as well.

  Yet seeing her and Olivia put up with it for everyone’s sake reminded him that he too must be strong.

  And so, he swallowed his fears and pushed forward.

  Thanks to the size of each mountain, the passage that lead to Finglas was in turn long and tiresome to walk on, particularly for the trio who had slowed down to a crawl as they hid behind the rock slabs while advancing.

  Fortunately, the weather favored them. The clouds had once again moved and blocked the moon’s bright light. With the entire terrain in total darkness except for the dim torches at the entrances of the bandit's caves the group was able to quicken their pace. Covered in their dark-colored cloaks, they moved silently past the largest cave entrance right in front of them. After that, they would be in the clear of potentially being spotted by bandits.

  Just then-

  “Aaah! Gods! I durank shoo mcuh!”

  The sudden voice that came out of nowhere made their hearts jump, their shallow scream drowned by their own breath. Their feet forcefully stopped as the three of them lunged their bodies a few meters back into the nearest rocks available for a hiding spot.

  “That’s why I told you to share the blasted thing!”

  Two bandits came out from the dimly lit cave entrance. One of somewhat drunk and the other incredibly drunk. The more intoxicated of the two bandit stumbled around with all the grace of a headless chicken to the point of being caught by his partner.

  “No way imma share mah booze withem some uhngrateful schmuck that doesn’t share with me!”

  “You don’t share your drinks; I don’t share my stuff either.”

  “Awright then... Next time.”

  “Give me some of your secret stash and I’ll think about it.”

  “Fwine, fwine. Let a man pee.”

  Ellyn kept her gaze locked on the sober bandit while the other peed near their next hiding place. All the while Rigel tried to look up, but his head was shoved down by Ellyn and pressed against her.

  Olivia found herself right behind the same rock the bandit was peeing on. The disgusting noise and foul smell made her grit her teeth as her blood boiled, gripping her sword with the full intent of swinging at full strength and making sure that bandit never needed to use the bathroom again.

  The sober bandit strolled away from the stink the other man was making, his average build was unremarkable, yet still looked the part of a dangerous individual. He looked around with a boring look into the total darkness of outside, only meagerly counterbalanced by the cave’s light.

  “Hey, by ze way...” The drunkard called out, “When will that noble... Bugh...! pay fo’ her?”

  “Ah? Ah…! I don’t know. When he decides to pay, I guess. It’s only been a few days, Roy said we gotta wait.”

  “Shoulda pay alreaddy. I wanna buy- Hhg! mor’ drinkz...”

  “Don’t expect much from a minor noble. Those guys are practically broke nowadays. Poses and names renames the city after himself but can't pay for his daughter. I knew he was all bark.”

  “I gwuess... She’s a cutie tooo.”

  “Roy should sell her already. That guy ain't gonna pay.”

  Olivia began unsheathing her sword and started to shift her body to cut the man’s member off. What they have done to so many innocent people were beyond unforgivable. Not content with the village, hearing them gloat about how they had extended their claws and fangs towards others areas of Vigram was driving her mad.

  Maybe she could do the world a favor and kill that drunkard, then, with Ellyn and Rigel’s help she could slay the-

  “…What?”

  As she looked through the gap between rocks to where Ellyn and Rigel were hiding, she found Ellyn’s eyes locked on her, wearing a dead-serious expression not directed solely at her. With a simple motion, Ellyn communicated her message: “Don’t do anything.”

  Olivia looked stunned at such baffling message, “W-what?! But-”

  She couldn’t understand why they couldn’t do this. No, that's not right, she knew exactly why... But so what? They could dispatch them and hide their corpses. What problem was there to that? The world would be better off with those two dead, and there would be fewer bandits to harass her home and others with the decisive moment came. Better yet, if they are the only ones in that cave, then that means they could even get there, search for the girl and-

  But Ellyn slowly shook her head again.

  “Don’t do it.”

  Rigel looked away, effectively withdrawing from giving an opinion, yet it was clear to her that Ellyn had already talked him down into not helping her take out these men. Even if it still benefitted them as they could potentially spot them as they moved forward.

  “I’d understand if they were too many of them, but it’s just two half awake bandits! Murderers and pillagers! It’s better to kill them than to risk them seeing us!” She thought.

  Knocking out that bandit in a single hit during Roy’s assault, it was clear to Olivia that she could tear them apart if she really wanted to. These two in particular could probably be hidden without issue once they’re dead. She knew they had to be stealthy, but wasn't it better to make sure they aren't found by disposing of these men? What was the issue with exterminating the plague?

  Olivia slowly unsheathed her sword, while Ellyn continued to wordlessly tell her to stop. Rigel also joined in and asked her to stay put. Olivia challenged their gazes, half defiant, half begging them to help her.

  But they were resilient in their decision. If she attacked, she would do it alone.

  “Oi! Are you done?! Let’s head back and check that the girl’s still alive.” The sober bandit called out.

  “Shure, shure. Comin’...”

  “This time give me a bottle. It’s getting deadly boring for me.”

  With that, the two men went back from where they came from, leaving the passage clean of any bandit once more.

  Rigel let out a sigh of relief and was the first to get up from the rocks, nervously walking away from the fuming Olivia. Ellyn followed after. But she was stopped by the presence that looked at her with contempt.

  Olivia did not say a word, only continued to glare with visible frustration and indignation at the raven-haired girl.

  “Let’s go, before someone else comes out.” She said in a low voice, ignoring for now the hostile red-haired girl.

  Ellyn caught up with Rigel. Olivia was left behind, but she quickly picked up the pace and soon enough the trio was almost out of the passage.

  It was not the time. Even she could understand that.

  The moon had returned some time ago, and the trio stood among a dense pocket of trees away from the road. They had managed to cross the passage and The Pillars in relatively quick fashion. Choosing to depart so late at night proved to be the best decision as not once they needed to fight their way through, nor did the Wood Fang seemed alerted to their movement.

  “What’s the big deal?!” Olivia screamed.

  “...We couldn’t stay there.” Ellyn replied, her face cold and distant.

  After their tense situation at the mountain’s passageway, Rigel had suggested taking a break on the nearby woods to relax their bodies after many hours on horse and on foot. As soon as they sat down, however, Olivia let out all her pent-up frustration on Ellyn.

  “There was a girl being held captive by those two that needed help- our help!”

  “Olivia… We can’t afford it. We have to get to the city.”

  “We could have killed and dragged their bodies away without issue and no one would have noticed until the next morning, or at all for that matter. At that point, we could have found the girl, taken her with us, and been far away from that place!”

  Ellyn did not respond. She focused on eating her piece of bread in front of her. However, she still wore a troubled expression with each word Olivia threw.

  Olivia gritted her teeth as she walked from one side to another, “Maybe that noble could reward us for rescuing their daughter in the form of extra aid which we seriously need! And yet you...!”

  “Olivia, please calm down. We don’t know if they are the only ones guarding that person nor if they’re actually there or deeper into the tunnels. It would be too risky to head there recklessly and without a plan.” Rigel said.

  “We didn’t even try, and now another person is going through hell because of it…!” Olivia kicked the earth in frustration.

  “Olivia, I know you hate them a great deal, but you can’t lose your cool over it!”

  “I’m losing my cool because we had the perfect opportunity to save someone, and we ruined it, Rigel! I trust you feel the same?”

  “I want to help her too. No one should be victim of the Wood Fang, but…”

  Rigel tried to rationalize with the furious Olivia into seeing things from a logical perspective. They still carried the gold that would hire as many mercenaries as possible to fight off the bandits. The loss of those funds would be catastrophic, but Olivia still was upset about their way of doing it. The mere idea of abandoning someone to be torture by those animals made her feel dirty and disgusting on the inside. Like she was an accomplice to their brutality.

  Ellyn looked at her with her troubled expression. She didn’t fully understand the source of that response, neither here nor when she lashed out at Akira. She Remembered how Olivia favorable she seemed to view Ray and his men’s deaths at the inn. It was an event that only brought pain and discomfort to Ellyn’s own heart for all the consequences it brought, and in no way she could understand how someone could praise it.

  It was clear Olivia harbored such strong feelings of hatred against the bandits to go as far as committing murder in cold blood to quell her fury. While not unexpected to see villagers feel that way, Ellyn was surprised to the length Olivia’s own hatred reached. It went as far as to cloud her sense of judgment in order to ensure any bandit that appeared in her path would know the end of her sword—It was rather terrifying to see in practice, but it wasn't like she didn't understand where it came from.

  The cute, air-headed Olivia was currently absent. In her place there was a frustrated figure, biting her own lip, clenching to the hilt of a sword. A figure that long awaited the day she could do what the bandits had done to her and her people, but was currently denied such catharsis.

  The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  “Sorry,” Ellyn spoke, “but we cannot afford a risk like that.”

  “I know it’s dangerous, but we are finally trying to stop for good the bandits once and for all, are we not?” Olivia gripped her chest.

  “We carry something way too valuable to risk on someone else. Should we lose it, there would be no way of saving anyone, that girl included. Like it or not, that’s our current situation.”

  “Trying to pick fights is the last thing you should do. Leave that to mercenaries we’ll hire...” Rigel added.

  Olivia grew more irritated at Rigel’s remark. Especially because as soon as he finished, she could see his pained expression painted all over his face. They both desired to stop the bastards. If yesterday wasn’t already a reason, the many years their families have endured them certainly gave them the right.

  “Am I the only one not afraid of them? What’s wrong with wanting the vermin exterminated?” Olivia thought.

  “Olivia.”

  Ellyn spoke in a firm voice. Standing straight was her body as it bathed in moonlight. Her eyes illuminated by the moon gave for a moment a surreal glow as they stared blankly at the red-headed girl.

  “I don’t know what you have lived through, so I don’t fully understand the pain that you are feeling. However, I was taught by my uncle to focus only on what truly matters to achieve your goals.”

  She came forward to Olivia, who looked increasingly uncomfortable.

  “Remember that every person in the village, your family as well, depends on you. I didn’t embark on this mission to kill everyone we came across, or at all for that matter. We are to deliver this gold and come back with mercenaries to protect everyone. That is all.”

  “We can’t lose sight of our priority. It sucks, but our village is the most important thing right now.” Rigel added.

  Olivia bit her lip, she was still frustrated at letting even a single Wood Fang free, but she had to relent. While Ellyn didn’t sound like a loving, worried mother, her tone, as well as Rigel’s, was far from hostile. And in the face of two people trying to reach her as calmly as possible, she realized she only looked worse the more she objected. The heat of the moment had already passed, and she couldn’t deny what they were saying anymore.

  Every step of the way she thought of her mother. The bandits needed retribution for all they had done to the village and her own family… but to fixate on that right now would only get in the way of that very same thing.

  “...I’m sorry. I... I want to protect everyone from that scum in human skin and I truly cannot allow them to go unpunished... but you both are right, my time will come, eventually. We must get to Finglas to make that happen.” Olivia closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

  “I’m very sorry for losing it like that, I’m alright now.” She bowed.

  Ellyn and Rigel both faintly smiled, accepting her apology.

  “Don’t go off doing stuff like that, it puts me on edge…”

  “Sorry Rigel, your sis showed you an ugly side to herself, didn’t she?”

  “Don’t you start with that stuff, I hate it!”

  “Haha~ well, let’s get moving before dawn comes, there’s still risk of encountering something dangerous on this area.”

  The two of them nodded and went on their way. Rigel walked ahead as both girls were left side by side in silence. Olivia soon noticed Ellyn strangely close to her, completely invading her personal space, which was something she had never seen do.

  Before Olivia could ask what was wrong, Ellyn spoke first:

  “Later... I would like to speak to you in private.”

  Olivia was taken aback. She didn’t understand what business could she have with her that they haven’t just resolved.

  “... Hm. U-understood.” She swallowed.

  Ellyn nodded in response, “Mn. Thank you.”

  After that, Ellyn began walking at her own pace again, leaving Olivia behind.

  After hours of travel and only one break, the group started to feel the first signs of weariness in their effort.

  Ellyn forced a straight face as she dragged her feet, “...”

  “A-aah...”

  “Mnhg...”

  Meanwhile, the less experienced Rigel and Olivia looked visibly tired and ready to drop like logs. They have been walking for several hours already on top of the hours they spent glued together on horseback, with less than three breaks of ten minutes each, it was no wonder how thoroughly exhausted they looked.

  Each of them exchanged looks as they walked. The look of their sleep-deprived eyes communicated more than what words could say. Even Ellyn, who comparatively had more stamina for being on the road for long stretches of time, made a loud sigh and sat down on the grass.

  “If I remember correctly... we are still about five to six to eight hours away from Finglas.” Olivia sighed.

  Ellyn looked up, “That’s not too bad-”

  “On horse.”

  She dropped her head and gave up.

  “I think we all need to actually sleep for a bit...” Rigel suggested.

  They had departed order to make the best time possible. While they managed to successfully sneak past the Wood Fangs eyes on an impressive time, it still didn’t take away that going as far as they could at that speed took a toll on their unaccustomed bodies. Vigram and by extension the Bandit Lands, were geographically large regions with vast extensions of land that stretched between city to city, town to town. Even while traveling light, and taking short breaks, it still took many hours to get from one point to another.

  In light of how much terrain they still had to cover, not resting was out of the question.

  “We should clear an area to sleep on…”

  Ellyn looked around and luckily she spotted a large, moss covered rocks they could use for a quick camp for them to rest.

  “I’ve never camped outside before; I’m getting kind of excited.” Rigel said.

  “Got some blankets from our bags,” Olivia reported before turning to Ellyn, “what about a fire?”

  “I’ll collect some wood for a fire.”

  Olivia chuckled, “Are you gonna chop the trees with your bare hands?”

  “I can break the branches, I think.” Ellyn answered with a straight face.

  The tree branches were thick enough and high up to justify an axe and a rope, so Ellyn's words took Olivia aback, “Y-You are serious?”

  Ellyn nodded.

  “I can try to light it up with my magic, if not; we can always make fire the old fashioned way.” The boy interjected.

  “That’ll be a great help. Then, I’ll see you in a few.”

  “Don’t take too long.” Rigel waved.

  “Don’t destroy any bird nest!” Olivia said, with Rigel looking at her like in a weird way.

  Ellyn nodded as she left the two near alone. Rigel quickly moved towards the large rock filled with moss and holes and observed it from all angles. While not suitable to sleep on it, at least the three of them could lean back and rest… after he cleaned it.

  “You like that spot?”

  “What do you think? I think it’s better to have something to lean on instead of just throwing ourselves on the ground.”

  “Hard to say, I’ve never camped for real before… I do agree, though, I don’t feel right not being covered by something.”

  Olivia extended her hand towards the moss-filled rock, “That being said, weird how a rock of this size is just full of hole- UAIIIIIIEH!!”

  “O-Olivia?!”

  The red-head felt how something small and squiggly crawled around her hand, sending shivers through her entire body. The feeling of small legs and other unidentified body parts made her heart jump straight out of her. In the blink of an eye, she backed away while shaking her body with all her strength, inadvertently hitting and shaking parts of the rock. This provoked a dizzying number of bugs of all kinds to pour out from the rock’s holes, all moving and squirming on top of each other right before her eyes.

  Rigel looked at the girl with pity in his eyes, knowing how bad she was dealing with bugs that weren’t locked in a jar.

  “So much for a girl who wanted to make a bestiary.” He thought.

  “They got on my hand…” She whispered.

  “Well, I guess camping can be like that.” He shrugged.

  “...Rigel.” She whispered.

  “We can just scare them away-”

  At that moment, a small bug spread its wings and flew right in the girl’s direction, landing right on her cheek.

  “RIGEL!!!” She cried and squealed, shaking the harmless bug off of her like a dangerous animal out to get her.

  The boy sighed. After concentrating mana around his palm, heat began to form, and a brilliant red sphere of energy—a miniature star, was within his palm.

  ...

  A few minutes later. Ellyn returned to the camp with a handful of wood and timber she found, enough to provide warmth while they slept until morning.

  But then she saw-

  “...? What happened here?”

  Olivia and Rigel were both resting on each other’s shoulders as they leaned back on the rock, which was darkened like a giant slab of coal, all mixed with an odd tinge of burnt meat that lingered in the air.

  “Ah, Ellyn… welcome.” Rigel waved.

  “You know, I might get used to this camping thing~” Olivia hummed.

  “What in gods’ name just happened?” She thought

  At least the blankest and fireplace were laid out.

  Ellyn took a deep breath as she watched over the two of them sleep, she had offered herself to take the first watch to allow her two inexperienced companions rest as much as they needed. Rigel and Olivia argued that Ellyn, being their strongest fighter, needed to rest to be able to protect them, but eventually were convinced that their lack of stamina was a higher priority.

  While she would have liked to sleep for a bit, she didn’t mind too much being given a moment of quietness next to the mesmerizing fire, as the whole camp around her reminded her of a very special night, so long ago.

  Her eye’s lost in the flame, her mind went back to the time she was only ten.

  “...It was all like this. The camp, the moon, hiding in the woods. How odd to feel nostalgic for memory like that.”

  If only she could have been born differently, without some curse others call a ‘gift’. If she didn’t have it, she would still be living peacefully in that house, with a family now long gone.

  “Mn!” She threw a branch into the fire.

  Unfortunately, the small branch landed awkwardly and knocked another burning branch in the direction of the two sleeping people, making Ellyn hastily scramble to catch them. The sudden noise makes Olivia wake up in high alert, and in the process, she hits the side of her head with the charred rock.

  “Agh...?! Eh? Ellyn? Aah- Is it... Is it time to switch...?”

  “N-not yet,” She wavered, “Sorry, I was being too noisy.”

  “Really...? Ugh... My head hurts.”

  “You hit yourself with the rock, are you hurt?”

  “I don’t know... maybe…? Ugh.” She said while massaging her head.

  “I’m so sorry for waking you up like this… Go back to sleep! You’ll feel better that way.”

  “...Alright.” she replied in a tired voice.

  Ellyn went back to stare at the fire as Olivia went back to sleep, letting silence permeate the air once more... only for Olivia to get back up again after about twenty minutes.

  “No use. I’m fully awake.”

  Olivia proceeded to walk next to Ellyn’s spot with an awkward look on her face, “May I sit here?”

  “Hm, Sure.”

  “Thanks.”

  The two of them sat close to each other, the fire in front kept their bodies warm, all while the flames danced for them. Only the creaking wood could be heard as the fire consumed it. Olivia looked uncomfortable from the moment she sat down, as if she wanted to say something but didn’t know how. Ellyn spied her from the corner of her eyes as she submerged herself in thought. She clearly was bothered by something, and it wasn’t hard to think what it was. While Ellyn would have rather move on, it was an opportunity to get to know the red-headed girl just a little better.

  “E-Ellyn!”

  She tilted her head, “Yes?”

  “You see, I wanted to talk about... earlier.” She said, fidgeting with her fingers.

  “Ah, that... I’m not mad or anything. I hardly can imagine what you guys went through.”

  “I know, but I shouldn’t have put you two in danger because of it. Even with me believing on punishing all of them. We still need to go a long way to get that help for our village, and to put it all at risk for just two kidnappers was beyond foolish.”

  She bowed her head, “I’m sorry, Ellyn. I will try my best to prioritize you two from now on.”

  Ellyn smiled, “Its fine, Olivia. Though I am glad to know we won’t run into that again. Let’s work together from now on.”

  Olivia breathed a sigh of relief, “Yeah! Thanks, Ellyn!”

  “Make sure to let Rigel know, he’ll get mad if we exclude him.”

  “True~ when he wakes up, I’ll apologize to him too.”

  Ellyn nodded, “You seem quite close to him, hm?”

  “You could say I’m like the older sister he never had. Though, with you now, I feel challenged on that position.” Olivia jested.

  “Or maybe he just secretly enjoys having two big sisters doting on him.” Ellyn jested back, holding her chuckling.

  “Absolutely.”

  Ellyn wasn’t able to contain her chuckle, shortly after, both her and Olivia laughed in a low voice as to not wake up their ‘little brother’. Though, he would rage if he heard them call him like that. Olivia on her part felt relieved. While her emotions towards the bandits hadn’t gone anywhere, she was just glad that Ellyn had been so well receiving of her apology, and now was getting along with the mysterious, almost supernatural girl that killed all of those bandits single-handedly.

  Truth be told, she didn’t know what to expect out of her in the time she had known her.

  To Olivia, Ellyn looked like a stoic, silent beauty with lethal prowess hiding beneath her. Sometimes cute reactions would come out of her, sometimes she can look quite hopeless, but after both Ray & Roy’s attacks, she had a strong image of what Ellyn was, or rather, what she was capable of being. That image gave her a certain level of hope.

  Ten minutes after their laughter died down, Ellyn asked, “Though, I would like to know; why did you get so... carried away? I didn’t expect you to hate them so much to lose yourself.”

  Olivia’s face immediately darkened. Her gaze quickly avoided Ellyn and lost itself in the flames.

  Ellyn frowned, “Ah, sorry. I didn’t mean to-”

  “The Wood Fang... did a lot of damage to us. Damage that cannot be healed. Actions that cannot be taken back.”

  Ellyn swallowed with great difficulty; nevertheless, she gave the girl her undivided attention.

  “Back then I was too young to remember properly, yet they were already harassing us and the settlements nearby. When the famine hit, their assault grew as brutal as they were depraved, and many good people died as a result. Those that lived were damaged in such a way that they might as well be dead. My father died and my mother suffered terribly in... other ways. Rigel's father abandoned and even Marco lost his adoptive teacher.”

  Olivia took a deep breath, her nails clutching her cloth and skin until piercing them.

  “No matter the age, no matter how little they had, or how weak they were, none were spared. No one was meant to be spared.”

  Ellyn placed a hand on her shoulder in an effort to comfort her, which she quickly accepted.

  “Every villager has a scar that will be with them until the day they die. From the young to the old, men and women, and of course, me, too.”

  “Olivia…”

  She clenched her fist, “It is a scar that runs deep on me, and I cannot ever forgive them for it. And I refuse to even think of letting them get away with anything other than violent death. Just as they did to us.”

  Ellyn closed her eyes. For her the mere idea of committing to a blood-soaked path was something she feared, as it might make her lose herself again just like the last time. She didn’t raise her voice, however, she understood it was no place for her to speak in place of someone else’s grief.

  “I will prioritize Rigel and you on this mission. When Roy attacked, I couldn’t do anything except watch helplessly and I... I want to do better for them. I promise.”

  Ellyn nodded, “Hm. Don’t worry, we won’t let them get away with all what they have done to you and your village, so let us see this through.”

  There wasn’t much she could add, nor did she want to. She was glad Olivia was capable of opening up like this. So, let there be trust as well as hope. Hope for the success of their mission, and hope for a future where the villagers can be happy.

  The two smiled at each other. It was at that moment-

  “Huh?” Olivia looked around, “What was that?”

  The two of them look around in search of the strange noise. A ragged, hoarse panting that sounded less like an animal’s or a person out of breath and more like the echo of wood being cut by a saw, but instead of wood, it was meat. It was a completely bizarre sound to be heard at all here.

  “Ellyn... Over there… that’s a...” Olivia’s voice, usually chipper and full of energy, had gone faint and fearful in an instant.

  Ellyn turned her head and saw what kind of creature had produced such reaction.

  Animals roamed the outskirts of Vigram, and all over the world for that matter, and their encounters with humans were all too common. Those encounters possessed a variable amount of threat to anyone trying to make their way through the woods. The villagers themselves had dealt with scaring away packs of wolves on the hunt, stray bears that have gone off the path of the forests and lakes, and the occasional boars that lived nearby.

  Those, however, were normal animals. A natural part of the ecosystem any person was well accustomed to.

  Dark as the night was the ragged fur spread across its unnaturally large body. Open wounds that gave view to its internal organs, fangs as sharp as a blade and a single, bright red eye that stared at them without blinking. Monsters were less common, and several magnitudes deadlier. Then one step further there were demons, supernatural creatures with higher intelligence and power that lived in specific territories of Vigram. The Shuck, or Black Shuck, was one of them, a servant of the Black Hound—an omen of death.

  “A monster?”

  “A black shuck… why is there one here…?”

  “Wake Rigel up. Quick!”

  “Uh, right...!” Olivia backed down, not taking her eyes away from the beast.

  The beast was almost the size of the same horse that they used to get there, and the red-headed girl had no doubt it could pulverize even something bigger than that with ease. Even with what seemed like open wounds, the creature did not flinch. Its gaze was locked on the two girls; they were its prey.

  Yet what dominated Olivia and Ellyn’s thoughts was ‘why was it here’ and to Olivia, the answer filled her with dread.

  The monster’s mouth opened to large amounts of saliva pouring out. It steps made no sound, and its torso did not move. Despite ‘hearing’ the beast breath, it did not appear to move anything but its mouth and legs. It did not appeared to be breathing at all.

  Ellyn got her fist ready, slowly calling into her gift to grant her the strength to dispatch this creature. Olivia was several steps behind her with her sword drawn out as she kicked Rigel a few times, eventually waking him up. The boy was confused for a few seconds before noticing the huge, black hound prowling in front of them. Then he stood behind the charred rock and prepared his magic as hastily as he could.

  Ellyn observed the beast as intensively as the monster did to her, trying to use one of the innate instincts of her power to find a weak spot on the monster. The blessing answered her request, and a flash of insight showed her where to tear that thing apart in a storm of violent rage, rage she tried to suppress with all her strength, keeping only the insight knowledge.

  The creature jumped at Ellyn with its bare fangs open wide. She reacted by dashing back and leaning her body backward.

  “Geh!”

  As her hands reached the ground, she propelled her right leg straight into the hound’s jaw, closing it shut with thunderous force. The hound’s head bent backwards and sent the creature a few meters away. However, it immediately recovered with unnatural movements and quickly made a rush to her leg.

  Then, a small ball of light flew directly into the eye of the beast, knocking it away from Ellyn.

  “Rigel!”

  “Kill it already!”

  Ellyn didn’t turn around. She instead got up, and quickly dashed towards the reeling dog to kick it again. At that moment, she placed her boot into one of the open wounds and rams it with abnormal strength towards the tree next to her, splattering blood and guts all over the tree trunk as it violently shook as if it were to be toppled. The hound cried out, but it hadn’t given up yet. The beast used its claws to fight back and, in the struggle, it cuts through Ellyn’s leg. She is forced to step back as the cut leaves a burning sensation on the area injured.

  It was at that moment, that Olivia then rushed in to help her.

  “Wait!” Ellyn cried.

  The hound took the gap to leap furiously towards the red-haired girl. There is no strategy for this beast, only the maddening hunger that dominated its mind. It’s maw wide open and ready to devour the girl with a single bite.

  Olivia may have been inexperienced, but her training with her sword was one not to be underestimated. With a deep breath, the girl stops her advance and side steps the attack. At the same time, she cuts through the beast’s entire body and slices it open from the left side. The success of her attack made her feel accomplished, at last, she had put her sword to what it was meant to do-

  However…

  “AAH!” Olivia’s face goes pale as she hears the boy’s voice behind her, combined with the chilling howls of the black hound. She turned around to see that despite the grievous wounds her sword inflicted, the monster didn’t stop, and instead was aiming for the boy all along.

  The beast was larger than Rigel himself, and its jaws extended wider than his own head. The boy could only stare wide-eyed as he tripped on his own steps while the monster was about to swallow him whole.

  Ellyn rushed in with abnormal speed, and desperately grabbed the tail of the creature. With a violent pull, the beast was slammed into the charred rock they were leaning for comfort just a few minutes ago.

  Rigel’s eyes trailed from the monster… to the other monster; the raven-haired girl carried a nearly bestial expression as it held the black shuck against the rock. A small howl left her breath like a whisper, but one he could hear as clear as day.

  Ellyn took proper position, one that showed proper technique and skill, technique with the full intention of killing.

  “HAARGH!” In a single blow, she rammed her fist with extreme force right into the shuck’s glowing, unblinking red eye. Its force such that the monster’s head exploded against the rock and its blood splattered all over it, the grass, Ellyn and even Rigel to an extent.

  Olivia and Rigel looked with eyes wide in shock at Ellyn, who is panting out of exhaustion.

  On one end Olivia; had seen what she heard so much about, that strength that could vanquish her hated enemy once and for all.

  On the other end Rigel; had once again been witness of that ‘thing’ that took Ellyn’s place six months ago, and nearly took his own life.

  Finally, Ellyn… cursed her own flesh, as it once again had turned her into an animal just to survive.