“You inpetent pieces of filth!” Egressa screams. The woman grips her give tightly while gring at the two c men. “You find someohat knows where my prey is, and then you let him get away.”

  “We tried, but he started a bar fight.” One of the men pleads.

  “And you should have fug e you inpetent shits.” Her gre moves to the rest of the [Bounty Hunters] in the room. A good thirty of them. “What about you all, have you found anything?” She asks the others, only to be met with silence.

  “You’re all inpetent.” She growls. “All I ask is for you to find one fug child, and you ’t even do that properly.”

  She stares at the [Bounty Hunters] afraid of her. She sneers aurns to the two whimpering idiots.

  “Your inpetence deserves punishment.”

  “Are you going to kill them too?” A voice yells from the group. Egressa’s head swerves towards the sound where a group of [Bounty Hunters] look away. She notices Fluffy walking about, but gives it no mind.

  “Who the fuck said that?”

  “Or are you going to poison them like you did us?” Another voice calls out. She tries to find the speaker, but fails.

  At this point, all eyes are now turning towards her. Not yet with hostility, but wariness.

  “If you have a problem, say it to my face.”

  “You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Just so you kill us faster.” Another, different voice. Agairies to pinpoint the speaker, but nothing.

  “What reason would I have to kill those under me?”

  “You want the reward all to yourself. You probably already know where the child is!” Again a new voice, this one lighting the fire in those present. Her grip tightens on her give, while the rest of her [Bounty Hunters] reach for their ons.

  “You killed them freed?”

  “Murderer!”

  “No wonder you were never poisoned. You knew!”

  She watches as the guild quickly turns ohey uhe their ons and point them in her dire.

  “You’re all making a huge mistake.” She warns, takes a step back, and then looks around. “Baetron, where the fuck are you? Talk some seo them.”

  “He’s in bed, dying from your poison, you ung piece of shit,” Someone yells.

  She grinds her teeth and takes aep back from the mob. “Stay the fuck back. If you attack me, you’ll be shunned from the guild!”

  “Better shuhan dead.”

  “Yea, Murderer!”

  “Go fuck yourself.”

  The mob inches forward, emboldened by their numbers. All manner of ons are now poi the [Guild Leader], ready to take her life.

  All this happens while a kitten perches atop a table for a more advantageous view.

  You hear the grinding of her teeth and the seething anger. “Fine, if you idiots want a fight, I’ll give you one.”

  Her wariness disappears alongside her defeance. In the blink of an eye, she rushes forward with her give, slig a surprised [Bounty Hunter] from groin to neck. Without slowing, her give twirls and sings a tale of age. Two more die before she is forced to defend against the others.

  As csses e, [Bounty Hunters] are one of the most diverse csses avaible. bat, perception, stats, and versational skill are all possible attais an individual obtain. Where one [Bounty Hunter] specialized in finding people, another specialize in bating and subduing said bounty. Some specialize not in the bounty of mortals, but in the bounty of information or objects- of which such skills bee avaible.

  Egressa is a level 49 [Bounty Guisarmier] that specializes in hunting bounties using a polearm. Such a specialization leads to a very highly capable batant.

  The woman dodges, blocks, and pivots away from most attacks. For those she does not, she allows her armor to take the hit, leaving only a scratch. As she is pushed back, more and more [Bounty Hunters] surround her. She starts taking small hits and scratches, but the damage tio pile up. She is faster and strohan those present, but not at the level of a simir leveled Buxon.

  Regardless, there is still a vast level differeh most [Bounty Hunters]. Very few of them are advanced csses and those that are are on the lower end.

  Just as she is fully surrounded, she starts spinning her on around her. It twirls rapidly, f many to take a step back. As they step back, the on glows for a moment, specifically the edge.

  Then she kneels and sshes around her. As she does, a bde of is at the bde, extending the on's reach by two meters. Screams of pain reverberate as ten [Bounty Hunters] lose their legs in an instant. Seeing what happeo their rades, the rest turn tail areat.

  Egressa gres at the cowards running away before returnitention on those now crippled. With the determination of someone who has killed and hunted many, she systematically executes the cripples one by oh only slight trepidation. Though angry, she ’t help but not bme them for their as. They legitimately thought she was killing them.

  As the st [Bounty Hunter] chokes on his blood, she allows herself to take a seat. When she does, she releases a tired breath.

  “Must be exhausting to kill your rades.”

  Jumping to her feet, she takes a stand points her give towards whoever just spoke. What she finds is fluffy sitting on a table.

  The cat tilts its head. “o get up. Just take a breather. Rex a little. I’m sure you’re exhausted from sughtering those you sider rades.”

  “You talk?” She blurts out.

  The cat sighs. “It’s always the talking that gets people surprised. You’d think they’d ask about my ability to think, or that I have a css. But no, it's always my ability to make various sounds out of my mouth.”

  Egressa’s hands tighten on her give.

  “Did you turn my men against me?” She asks.

  The cat chuckles. “Of course not,” he says with an elderly man's voice.

  “Well, maybe,” He says in a young girls voice.

  “Possibly,” he says in a grisly man's voice.

  “Absolutely,” he says irons voice.

  “WHY!” She roars. “Why do this? What bes do you get? Did anuild hire you? Who are you w for?”

  The cat stretches oable. “Do you remember that woman you turned into a cripple three years ago?”

  “Did she hire you? Is this for revenge?”

  “What? No. Not unless she offered me something very valuable- which she didn’t. I’m doing this for pletely selfish reasons.”

  “I did nothing to you,” she states.

  “Actually, you did. See, I generally don’t have many morals. Very few actually, but the one moral I have is that childre to be harmed. And you, my former petter, are actively hunting a child I’m extremely fond of.”

  “You work for the !” she chokes in realization. “You’re one of her [Royal Guards], aren't you. Nobody would protect her otherwise.”

  “That's quite a bold cim,” The cat says.

  Her eyes flutter for a moment. “A [Captain]? No, you’re keeping your status hidden.”

  “Is that really the st thought you want to have before your death? I don’t mind, but there are better options. Just saying.”

  She swallows saliva. “Look,” she g the exit. “I’m willing tet everything that happened and abandon this hunt if you allow me to live. I’ll keep my mouth shut and I won’t say a word.”

  The cat sighs. “My dearest Engressa. I believe I told you that I have morals. These morals dictate that any who are willing to kill childreo be punished by death. No exceptions.”

  The cat hops off the table and starts walking to her.

  “It doesn’t have to be like this.”

  “It doesn't.” The cat grins. “But I o level.”

  _________________________________________________________________

  One moment she’s pleading for her life, and the her body is blitzing across the room with the full iion of making a fluffy kitty skewer.

  I release my transformation a moment before her give makes tact. My gau screeches as I parry her on arepare to capitalize on the opening- only for the woman to use the momentum of my parry to nce me with the butt of her give. My other hand is forced to block, allowing the women to coolly step back.

  She quickly takes a stah a on again poi me. Her gaze focuses oh the tration of an experienced batant. Then she grimaces wheices the horns, spiked tail, and numerous eyes.

  “A Fenrimorph?” She asks. “No, an illusion to drop my guard,” She says cooly.

  I grin at the woman, revealing my sharp teeth. Then I take a stance.

  She does the same.

  The moment I rush at her, she starts spinning her give. I punch aside the on, but the womahe momentum to attack. I intercept with another punch, only for her to do the same thing. For the minute, gives and gaus meet in a flurry of blows. I block, pund riposte while the woman dances with the spinning on at a speed simir to the Buxon I fought. She is skilled, maneuverable, and has the range advahankfully, she cks the physical strength and skill to give me a hard time.

  After seeing her movement and feeling her rhythm, I move to break the stalemate. I throunch to deflect the give, but instead of defleg it away, I deflect it towards my other fist with the opposite level of force. The bde's momentum nearly halts and the woman's eyes widen in surprise. With the opening made, I move into her read throunch.

  Then I see it, a trickle of a smile. The give head glows for a moment. A scythe of is from the on behind me. My fist makes tact with her chest- shattering her armor, flesh, and bones before sending the woman flying. With her hand still gripping the give, she pulls the scythe with her. I feel the sharp ice touch the bay neck.

  Then it passes through smoke as my form ges into a cat. Her momentum tinues until her body craters into the stone walls of the building. The give falls to the ground and the formed ice turns to water.

  A momehe woman's body slides down the crater and on the floor. To my surprise, the woman is still alive on at of her coughing up blood.

  I walk up to her in my cat form. “Damn woman, that was close. I didn’t know you could make different ice bdes with the give. I thought it oehe range.”

  The coughs up more blood and even gives me a gre.

  “G-g-g-o to shit,” she forces out with a gurgle of blood.

  “Really? Are insults really that necessary? Couldn’t you leave it on a niote? Maybe say something like That was a good fight or You’re really skilled. I’d even accept the words adorable and fluffy.”

  She opens her mouth to say something, but that only results in more and more coughing.

  “e on. I’m listening and waiting. Just say either of those two words.”

  Realizing that her lungs are now full of blood, she lifts a hand with a single finger pointing up. Then her eyes close and head falls.

  Quasi stares at the still extended fihen nods.

  “Aight, that retty badass. You’ve got my respect.”