"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?", I asked as both of my companions faces went into wide-eyed shock.
"I want you to help me kill Druella.", she repeated nonchalantly.
I was silent at that for a second before I slowly started to chuckle. That chuckle soon grew into full-blown laughter at the sheer crazyness of her request. Really? This bitch wants me to help her kill Druella? Yeah, right. It was already enough of a pain in the ass to get away from that bitch, and now this random lady just expects me to pack up and undo all the progress I've made so far? Not to mention, that bitch is scary. I may have been able to fend her off once, but I doubt I'd be able to a second time now that she is likely onto a good portion of my tricks.
"What's so funny?", Koyoi asked, her eyes narrowing at me.
"Oh, it's just that, well, that has to be one of the dumbest requests I've ever heard.", I said inbetween laughing as I tried to calm myself down. "Okay, whew, that was a good laugh, thanks for that." I added as my companions and I sat down at the table she was at.
"Don't mock me, Six, I am a famed monster slayer from Zipangu, and I will not be made a fool of.", she responded in a low tone, but one that carried some sense of exasperation.
"If you wanna blame anyone, blame yourself for making that stupid request in the first place.", I responded.
"I don't understand. Are you not the Red-Eyes Six from the rumors? The one who nearly slayed Druella, the Demon Lord's Fourth Born, by himself?", she asked in slight confusion.
"Yes, but those rumors are blown grossly out of proportion and are lacking context.", I told her before explaining."I never intended to fight her, I was just left with no other choice when my escape attempt failed. Not to mention, she is extremely powerful and the only reason I did as well as I did was because she wasn't fully aware of my abilities. That has likely changed now that she seems to have such a hard-on for me."
"But it was said you also killed a great number of monsters in Lescatie and remain one of the only human survivors alongside the knight with you.", she said before adding,"I would think you were a dedicated monster slayer like myself, but it seems your interests lie elsewhere…" As she said that last part, she started to send a nasty look towards Anastasia. Anastasia started to look rather uncomfortable as the woman stared her down.
"Well, news flash, I didn't kill all those monsters for shits and giggles.", I told her before explaining."I was just trying to leave and they got in my way. That's all. If you expect me to have some sort of deep-seated hatred for monsters, you're mistaken."
"Clearly, it seems I truly was a fool for putting so much stock into your rumors.", she said with a sigh before adopting a dangerous look on her face."It would be more pertinent of me to do my job and rid this world of another monster right now." As she said that, she began to put her hand on her blade.
"Hey, dipshit, I don't know how stupid you are, but this town welcomes both humans and monsters so long as they don't cause trouble. They wouldn't take too kindly to you slicing up people minding their own business, human or otherwise.", I said with [Speech 100]. I also had subtly pulled Maria out from my duster and had it trained on her under the table. Just in case.
"...Very well.", she said as she took her hand off her sword and the standoff ended."You got lucky this time."
"Yes, We're so grateful you were able to use your brain.", I mocked her before adding."Besides, there isn't much you'd be able to do to ghost-lady here anyway. She's incorporeal, if you haven't noticed, so that I can't punch her in the face."
"Oh, you don't like her?", Koyoi asked.
"No, more like I tolerate her.", I explained, causing Anastasia to pout. Although, before she did so, it seemed like she adopted a small smile upon hearing me defend her. Not like I care or anything, of course. "She has potential, but she still has some rapey tendencies she needs to work out."
"Hmm, at least I can see you still have some sense, even if it is misplaced.", Koyoi responded before looking towards Elt. "And what of you, boy? Do you tolerate this affront to your God?"
"I...I don't know.", he said, causing Koyoi to raises her eyebrows in surprise."I still believe in the Chief God and her teachings for the most part, but...the things I've seen in this past week lend more credence to the fact that, well, monsters might not be all bad…"
"...My, you two certainly are disappointing.", she remarked before our food finally arrived at the table and we began to eat. "I was hoping you'd help me after my last hunting party was defeated."
"Your...last party?", Elt asked.
"Yes, I only arrived in Erova a few weeks ago, and happened to be passing through when I saw that the Order was recruiting for an operation to retake Lescatie, which had just been taken by Druella and her armies. I was grouped with five other monster slayers and sent in with many other parties to reclaim Lescatie."
"I see, and how did that turn out?", Elt asked.
"Well, she's here now asking for our help. Take a wild guess.", I responded, which earned a nod from Koyoi.
"Indeed, we were no match.", she affirmed before continuing."I managed to fight my way to the castle as my fellow comrades fell around me to the monster's wicked ways. I even had a brief duel with the injured Druella, but even while wounded, she was a force to be reckoned with. If she hadn't been injured, I would have no doubt fallen right then and there and become corrupted myself, but I was thankfully able to escape with my faculties intact."
"Once I had gotten clear, though, my mind began to wander.", she continued,"Just who was able to injure the Demon Lord's Fourth Born like that? I communed with my ancestors using special rituals that have been passed down in my family for generations in an attempt to answer that very question, and they provided me with the answer. The man known as Red Eyes Six, on a journey to the Fairy Kingdom to the great capital, Magicor. And so, here I am wasting my time with a cowardly man who does not even deserve to be called such."
"Call me whatever you want, it doesn't change the fact you're shit out of luck when it comes to dealing with Druella, and I don't give a shit.", I responded before adding,"Our business is concluded, so we'll take our leave now." I said as I went to stand up.
"On the contrary, I think you'll help me yet.", she responded with a slight smirk.
"Oh, this'll be rich.", I said before asking,"What are you gonna do? Offer me a six figure salary?"
"I don't have any money to offer you, and I can't offer my body, but I can offer my sword.", she said before explaining,"I need you to help me kill Druella. No human to date besides the disgraced Hero himself has shown the strength and resolve to wound a being as powerful as a Lilim as badly as you have. I will accompany you and be your sword, and in return, I merely ask that you consider my request." Disgraced Hero? Is she referring to Arthur Pendragon? I only read a little bit about him since it was clear from the text in the Order library that all the info was extremely biased, but from what I read, he was one of the Chief God's first and best Heroes, but ended up betraying her and marrying the Demon Lord.
"...Really? You're gonna stalk me until I kill that bitch for you?", I asked. I was honestly at a loss. Was I going to have to get a restraining order? Just how desperate is this woman?
"It's shameful, I know, but...I must slay Druella, no matter what…", she said before looking down toward her sword. So it's personal, I guess that makes sense, but I still don't like the idea of being followed around.
"Uh-huh, and what if I don't necessarily like the idea of you following me around?", I asked.
"You tolerate a monster following you around, I hardly think I'll be an issue for you.", she pointed out before adding,"Besides, I'll be maintaining my distance as to keep myself from being slowly corrupted by her Demonic Presence." I suppose that makes sense. Elt and I seem to have a better time of it because we are men, and men are simply able to develop resistances to Demonic Energy more easily. Women, on the other hand, are much more at risk since it's so much easier for them to mutate.
"...Fine, but you try anything stupid, and I mean anything, and I won't hesitate to smear your brains on a tree.", I told her before asking,"Got it?"
"Indeed.", she responded simply and neutrally.
The rest of the day went by rather quickly. We paid for our meals, got some rations for the road, and then made our way out of the bar along with the town entirely. Koyoi followed us out, but once we hit the edge of town, she disappeared, likely stalking us from a distance like she said. What followed was a very uncomfortable walk to Magicor as we were watched the whole way. Both Elt and Anastasia commented on how uncomfortable it made them feel, and quite frankly, I agreed. There has to be a better way to do this.
On another note, I began to think about just how we would get ourselves into the city in the first place. From what I was told, the place was very much restricted to outsiders, especially humans. Not only that, but most monsters weren't even welcome as many of them caused too much mischief with their sex antics and sneaking in human men for just what you would expect. It was mainly populated by demi-humans: Elves, Dwarves, Fairies, etc., but it was also home to the largest, most renowned Magical College in the world. Humans are allowed to attend this college if they are good enough, though something tells me they wouldn't be treated all that well.
In terms of getting in, I doubt Anastasia will have a problem seeing as how she can easily phase through walls and the ground to remain undetected. Given how good Koyoi's been at evading our own detection, I'd say she would do pretty well, too. Not that I care, if she wants to keep following me like she says, then she better hope she can stealth well. It's Elt I'm worried about.
I don't think I'd like it, seeing as how I'd be introducing another one of my abilities to Anastasia by doing so, but I could give Elt a Stealth Boy if I absolutely had to. Of course, that would only help him remain undetected. He still is lacking in a lot of the general basics of stealth, so I'd also have to help teach him some of that if I want to get him in successfully.
Then, of course, is the matter of acquiring good accommodations for us while I do my thing. I could see if I can't hunt down another abandoned building in this place's slums, but with the added problem of not even being able to be seen on the streets really puts a hamper on my search. So many problems...maybe allowing all these people to accompany me was a bad idea after all.
Eventually, we reached it. Magicor. A grand city with beautiful sites, glowing lights, large, spiraling towers, and a massive fucking wall. Seriously, that thing had to be at least a quarter of a kilometer high. No way we were going to scale that undetected unless we were really lucky or someone was really dumb. We'd have to search for another waterway entrance.
"Well, we're here, Six.", Anastasia spoke as Elt paled at the massive wall."You still wanna go in after seeing this?"
"Yeah…", I said, turning to my Pip-Boy to check the time. 8:47pm and the sun had already set."Not right now, though. I think we should set up camp here for the night and reconnoiter the perimeter tomorrow. There has to be a place where they let water runoff. If we can find it, we can use that to get in."
"And what will you do if it is heavily guarded?", a voice behind us spoke up in a neutral tone. Whipping around with Maria at the ready, I quickly dropped my aim from the speaker as I realized it was just Koyoi who had snuck up on us.
"Jesus, don't sneak up on us like that, I could've shot you!", I said in a hushed tone as to avoid drawing too much attention in case there was anyone around."But to answer your question, I may have a way…"
"...Well, I guess we should get to it.", Elt suggested as he began to prepare a campsite for us in a small alcove surrounded by bushes and trees. We all quickly joined him in getting things set up and a fire going. I almost objected to the fire since we were rather close to the walls, but given how we had foliage shielding the firelight and it was pretty much nighttime, I doubted anyone would be able to see our smoke trail.
"Okay, so as I was saying earlier.", I began as we had all just finished eating."Tomorrow, we will reconnoiter the perimeter for some sort of waterway entrance or other such tunnel into the city. If we can't find any, then worst case scenario is we'll have to scale it somehow."
"And how do you propose we do any of that undetected?", Koyoi asked in her usual tone."They'll likely be heavily guarded, so do you have a way to evade detection?"
"I do, but I don't want to talk about it now if I don't have to.", I said while giving Anastasia a look."I don't wanna give her any more intel on my abilities if I can help it."
"I see, that is understandable.", Koyoi responded, nodding her head.
"Again, I don't really see what the proble-", Anastasia began to speak in a smug tone to mock us, but was interrupted by some of the foliage moving. Switching to my IF vision, I almost did a spit take at what I saw.
We were surrounded.
Immediately jumping into action, I turned off my IF vision and switched out Maria for the K9000 Cyberdog Gun, causing it to bark in delight upon being brought into my hands. Everyone around me became startled by my sudden outburst, but it seems like Koyoi caught on to my movements and tried to ready herself, too. Unfortunately, before I could warn them and wind up my machine gun, it was already too late.
In a flash, a dozen or so almost completely naked girls jumped out from the foliage around us and began to...aim arm-mounted guns at us!? What!? Taking their appearances into account, they all looked the same: white hair, purple eyes, emotionless faces, extremely pale skin, black horns and skirts that didn't cover their front but had an almost gear-like design to them. An arm-mounted gun on their right hands and multiple small, purple bullets that seemed to float towards the gun. Just what the Hell are these girls?
"Freeze!", A voice called out to my right. Turning to look, I saw a black-haired elf emerge from the shadows with a stern look, long pony-tail, silver eyes, a purple-glowing saber and multiple scars all around her body. She wore a decent amount of material on her upper body, but all she wore below were shorts that only covered half her thighs."You are under arrest for-!" She began to yell, but stopped herself when she got a good look at me.
"Master, should we detain them?", one of the emotionless girls asked the elf as she and her lookalikes continued to aim at us.
"Hold, girls, let me think…", she seemed to get a conflicted look on her face as she brought her her left hand to her chin."You there, you wouldn't happen to be THE Red Eyes Six, would you?"
"Well would you look at that, looks like I've got a fanclub.", I remarked before adding."Sorry, but I don't do autographs."
"I thought so, you certainly look like how the rumors described, and that weapon…", she pondered, ignoring my quips before asking again."I overheard part of your conversation. Tell me, why would the Red Eyes Six seek to gain entry into Magicor?"
"Oh well, you see, I thought breaking into a heavily guarded city would make for a great vacation.", I answered sarcastically, causing her to frown."What's it to you?"
"Because, if you really are how the rumors describe you and your not here to cause harm, then I may be able to get you in regardless of your human nature.", she said with a smirk on her face.
"Uh-huh, well, call me skeptical, but I highly doubt you'd just do this out of the goodness of your heart or some kind of admiration.", I pointed out to which she nodded.
"Indeed, you see, I think you may be able to help me with a little...problem of mine.", she explained before adding."Of course, given the classified nature of my job, I can't tell you the details of said problem until you agree to my proposal."
"...And if I refuse?", I asked.
"Then we'll subdue you and put you on a cart heading back down south.", she said before adding."And given what's happened down there recently, I think you know just what that means." Sent to face the proverbial firing squad, got it.
"And my companions?", I asked.
"I'll make exceptions for them, too, though we'll be keeping an eye on your...ghostly friend there.", she said before asking again."So how about it? I'd say it's pretty generous seeing as how you have already been caught planning a crime."
"Yeah, you're a real charity-worker.", I deadpanned sarcastically as I thought about it. Well, more like ranted about it. This bitch really wasn't giving me much a choice. Be strong armed into helping her in return for passage into Magicor or board an all-express trip to rape town? Worst part is I'm not in a position to carve a thirds option for myself, what with all these guns trained on me. I no longer have a monopoly on firearms, it seems.
"Fine, I'll agree to those terms.", I said, digitizing my weapon in the process.
"W-Woah, wait! Don't we get a say in this?", Elt asked frantically.
"Not unless you want to meet the Demon Lord's armies by yourself.", I suggested before asking."Just play along for now, alright? The last thing we need is to attract Druella's attention."
"Alright, then it's a deal!", the elf girl exclaimed excitedly before adding."The name's Fara, by the way, and sorry about this, but I'll need to have you all detained if I'm going to get you inside without a commotion. We'll unbind you as soon as we reach our destination."
"You better. Try and pull a fast one on me, and I'll play baseball with your femur and kneecaps.", I responded.
"I believe it, seeing what you did to Druella. Though, I'm not really sure what "baseball" is.", she said before directing her attention back to the girls."Alright, detain them, girls, and be gentle!" As she said that, the emotionless girls dropped their aim and approached us. One by one, we had our hands bound behind our backs and were guided by a girl behind us. I was going to ask just what these girls were, but something happened that surprised even me.
Anastasia agreed to become corporeal and be detained. What? I would've thought she would take them up on their offer for a ride back south. After all, I thought she wanted to get back home to Ender and Druella's armies, so why is she choosing to stick around? Is it for me? Did she come to a new conclusion in what to do with me? Or maybe it's something else? I'll need to ask her when I can in order to figure out her current motives. For purely selfish reasons, of course! Like I could ever be worried about her well being!
Whatever the case, the girls were gentle like Fara asked them to be, and before long we were being guided toward the city gates. Magicor, here we come.