Volume II: Unforgiving Kingdom
Chapter VII: Fleeing Fast
Location: Hallway Outside of The Imperial Dungeon, 17th Floor
"Alright. That should put a lot of distance between all of us."
After a dangerous close call in the execution yard, the group of Ragna, Monika, and Feena had managed to escape, as well as supposedly take down Prime Minister Alexiel in the process. As of now, the three had been running through the halls of the seventeenth floor area. After a good while, the three had stopped in a hallway outside of the Imperial Dungeon.
"Goddamn..." Ragna said as he caught his breath. "Why the hell is this place so big?"
"Goldenia's like what, two million years old?" Feena responded. "It's no wonder that this place is so damn huge. Not to mention it's the number one kingdom of Man out of all that exist. It's gotta be huge."
"Unfortunately, that's just gonna make it much more harder for us to get out of here. We haven't even found a safe way out of this area, yet alone a way out of the entire kingdom." Monika commented. "If we keep going at this rate we're just going to be caught again by the other guards and Prime Ministers. We're in enough trouble already, and not to mention I just cut the head Prime Minister in half via a guillotine. I am gonna get way more than being hanged next time."
"That's why it can't be a next time." Feena placed her hand on her hat. "This is where I come in and help you guys get out of here. I may not be from this place, but I've done plenty of mercenary work to know Goldenia very well. I can get you two out of this floor with ease."
"Tch, yeah that's nice." Ragna said. "Why the hell are we just gonna believe that?"
"Pardon?"
"If you think I'm just gonna trust you like that again, then hell no. You got us into this mess, and now you expect me to just follow your lead like that?"
"Well, I. . ." Feena chuckled awkwardly. "It would be nice-"
"Ragna." Monika butted in. "Save it for later. What do we know about finding a way out of here that's not out in the open? And you can't just barge your way through everything."
"I hat the fact that you're right." Ragna groaned. "Fine. I'll play along. How the hell do we get out of here?"
"This way."
Even though that they had heard those words come from Feena's mouth, they also heard it come from someone else. Ragna and Monika looked up and saw Katalina standing on a nearby door, in which Feena was walking over to.
"Katalina?" Monika said in surprise.
"I'm doing you three a favor." Katalina answered. "I helped get you into this mess, and I'll help get you out. Only thing I ask is that when you leave, you don't speak about me being involved."
"You're just gonna help us too?" Ragna questioned.
"I'll do what I believe is right."
"Is that why you don't want anyone to know about this? In case you change your mind and we still get caught, you'll get away without any consequences?"
"Would you do the same in my position?"
". . ."
"I-I may have..." Monika responded.
"Then let's go." Katalina commented.
Katalina opened up the door wider, revealing there to be nobody else in the area except for herself. Feena quickly ran in with Monika following behind. Ragna stood there for a moment and sighed before running in with them. Katalina shut the door behind them as ran off as well.
Location: Imperial Execution Yard, 17th Floor
"I. . . I still can't believe it..."
"Is she... Is she really dead?"
"Have they killed the Prime Minister...?"
With the guards still inside of the execution yard, all five of them still stood there in complete shock. Underneath a fallen guillotine blade, there laid the brutally murdered Prime Minister Alexiel, her body split straight in half by the speed of the blade that fell down onto her when she was unaware of it. Her bloodied body that had been ripped into pieces lays on the ground under the blade.
"That woman, with the gun..." A male soldier said, his voice shaking. "She... She shot that rope... with such precision..."
"F-From a distance like that, no one should've made that shot with a peacemaker of all guns...!" A female soldier said while clenching her fists. "How the hell did she do that?! That should be impossible!"
"She barely even aimed when she stepped out..." Another female soldier said. "She just pointed and fired. And it hit..."
"Her name is Monika Weisswind, right?" A second male soldier asked. "J-Just who is this woman...? How could she have pulled off something so smoothly that suddenly...?"
"I-I don't even know what to say at this point. . ." A third male soldier responded, with obvious fear in his voice. "I don't even know if it would be smart to even hunt down those three anymore..."
"What the hell is going on out here?!"
All the soldiers snapped their heads up and nearly jumped in fear as they turned around. Coming from the entrance to the execution yard was Goldenia's newly appoint Queen, Freesia herself. Her royal guards were all surrounding her. The woman looked around in surprise as she saw the state that the execution yard was in.
"What the bloody hell happened in here?!" She asked firmly. "What happened to the prisoners?! Where's Alexiel?!"
"The... The prisoners have escaped, Y-Your Highness..." One of the male soldiers answered.
A small vein was just visible on Freesia's forehead at that answer.
"And the Prime Minister?!"
"S-She's-"
Before the soldier could finish his statement, a glowing green light could suddenly be seen from under the guillotine. Loud grunting and groaning could be heard as everyone looked over to see the pieces of the guillotine, including the blade were all rising up. Suddenly, a loud shout was heard as the light grew bigger, knocking the guillotine into the air, and breaking it into pieces. Even the blade was shattered by the power of the light. Everyone looked over in surprise at what they saw. As the light died down, standing there was none other than Alexiel, who's body had been fully healed to the point you couldn't tell she was cut in half. Her entire body looked brand new as if nothing ever happened to her. The woman was breathing heavily as she started to walk back up to the group. Freesia soon started to approach her, in which Alexiel respectfully bowed down with her zweihander in hand.
"What on earth happened...?" Freesia asked.
"Your Highness, I..." Alexiel began to explain. "Forgive me. Everything had flown smoothly until one of own betrayed us... The one that I let live back at the eleventh floor. She put her life on the line for the prisoners to escape and rearm themselves. And when they came back, I-"
"Stop. I don't need to hear anymore."
Alexiel continued to look down in disappointment.
"I shouldn't have let you talk me into allowing you to handle this. I should've just done the bloody damn job myself. I'm removing you from in charge of-No. Not just that." Freesia clenched her fist. "Because of all of this Alexiel. I am removing you as head of the Prime Ministers posthaste!"
"What?!"
"Whether or not your powers are gonna bring you back doesn't matter! Not only did you allow two simple prisoners to escape your grasp, you allowed the two of them and a known traitor to be the ones that killed you a moment ago! I do not need someone so careless and so reckless to be the head of the Prime Ministers! From this your moment on, you're relieved of your duties until I say otherwise."
". . . . But. . ." Alexiel wanted to argue back, but conceded and slowly stood up. "I-I understand, Your Highness."
"All of you get out my sight."
The soldiers all saluted before heading back through the entrance to the execution yard. Alexiel walked after them, eventually disappearing from Freesia's line of sight as well.
"That includes the rest of you." Freesia said to her royal guards. "Fan out, and search for the prisoners and traitors. They must still be somewhere on this floor."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
The royal guards all quickly ran back through the entrance and went off in every different direction in order to search for the three targets. As of now, Freesia had been left alone, the woman looking down at the ground as her fists trembled. She suddenly looked up and screamed into the air.
"Damn it all! Damn you Alexiel!" She shouted at herself. "I had everything perfect! I had everything going the exact way that it should have, and in one moment. Just one moment! You managed to screw up everything I had planned?!"
"That, 'Your Highness'. . . Is where you are wrong."
Freesia gasped and looked around in sudden fright. The atmosphere in the execution yard turned darker as did the sky. A purple-blackish mist could be seen floating around the area, circling above Freesia's head.
"Y-Your Excellency!" Freesia exclaimed in fear. "I-I can explain! This isn't what it looks like!"
"No. No need. I already know."
Freesia gulped, believing that she was in some sort of trouble.
"Oh me, Oh my. . . Dear sweet Freezie. . . I gave you one simple task. Contain Ragna The Bloodedge and get rid of any unnecessary obstacles need be. That God worshiper delivered him straight into your kingdom's hands. I gave you the power needed to rid yourself of the old king. I even gave you a brilliant strategy to do so. Fake an execution and allow me to take care of anyone in the area! And even after all that... You've managed to let my prize escape."
"Pl-Please forgive me, Your Excellency!" Freesia bowed down as the mist floated in front of her. "I didn't mean for any of this to happen! I swear!"
"Now, now... Let's not dwell on the past. Instead. . ."
Soon the mist swirled around as it began to take a transparent shape. Appearing before Freesia was a woman who looked to be fairly young. She wore a long, purple garment that exposed her cleavage, and a white cape with a red design over it, on top of her dress. She had brown hair, lavender eyes, and was wearing a large headpiece almost resembling a crown on her head.
"Let's focus on the 'now'. As in. What are are you going to do now? How are you going to fulfill what I ask of you? How are you going to give me the Grim Reaper?"
"I-I won't let them leave Goldenia!" Freesia quickly responded. "I swear on my life, Your Excellency! They will not escape from this kingdom! I'll let everyone know of these escaped convicts and offer a reward for their capture, to be turned in alive of course. With an entire kingdom after them there's no way that they'll be able to escape! You'll have Ragna the Bloodedge delivered to you momentarily! I won't disappoint you this time! I swear it!"
The transparent woman stood here for a moment, tapping her chin with a smile on her face. Soon, she giggled, and answered Freesia.
"I suppose I can overlook this. Very well then."
Soon the mist started to vanish, as well as the woman.
"I look forward to seeing excellent results from you, Von Bismarck. Excellent results."
". . . Wait! Your Excellency, wait!"
The mist stopped vanishing for a moment.
"If you were going to kill everyone else here, then. . ." Freesia looked up at the mist. "Then why were you planning to wait until Lieutenant Weisswind was dead?"
The woman slowly reformed in the mist again, as if she stayed for a moment to answer her servant's question. But instead of providing her an answer, she placed a finger over her lips and winks.
"In due time. For now, that's not something for you to worry about."
With that last statement, the mist fully vanished as Freesia looked up in surprise, reflecting over what just happened, and the new task that she has taken.
Location: 17th Floor, Goldenia
"Over here! I saw someone go by!"
Several guards continued to patrol the seventeenth floor, occupying every hallway that they could get into at the time being, and the outside areas. With the group of now four, they had managed to hide inside of a previously locked room that Ragna had managed to break his way into. As of now, he, Feena and Monika all sat around to recover from their previous time spent running while Katalina stood at a crack in the door, checking to make sure no soldiers were heading to this room.
"Hey, Feena?" Katalina suddenly asked. "You sure this is the right way?"
"I'd bet on it!" Feena answered. "It shouldn't be much farther if we could get down that hallway."
"Said hallway's locked up tight." Ragna butted in. "A lot of guys, and a lot of weapons. I'd rather not have to keep rushing through just to break out of this one floor."
"Ragna's right." Katalina said.
"This can't be the only way." Monika added on. "If there's a way to reach our destination from this hallway, then there has to be an alternate route that we can take to get there as well. Do you know of anything like that Feena?"
"Well, I do know another way..." Feena started to responded. "But it'll take much longer to reach our destination from there if we do go that way."
"That's better than trying to take our chances here, I guess." Ragna said.
"Then Feena and I can scout ahead." Monika commented. "Ragna, you and Katalina stay here for the time being and keep yourselves from getting caught."
"That's too risky." Katalina protested. "If we split up now, then we'll just be at even more risk. Though a smaller group is less likely to be seen, on the chance of it happening, they're also the most likely to be captured."
"She's right about that part." Feena sighed.
"Not to mention, that redhead's probably hot on our trail." Ragna added on. "We'd have a better chance of escaping from her if we're all together. I'd hate to admit it, but she's definitely a tough one."
"Redhead?" Katalina asked. "You mean Prime Minister Alexiel?"
"Yeah, whatever her name is. What the hell's her deal anyway?"
"What do you mean?"
"Monika here dropped a guillotine on top of the woman, and I have full confidence that she survived in one piece and is already after us once again. Not to mention, I could've sworn she dropped dead in our first fight, but somehow got right back up like I never touched her. Who is she? What is she?"
Katalina stood there for a moment as she thought about how to answer this question to the best of her ability. As a few seconds passed she finally started her explanation.
"From what I've heard..." She began. "She's an extremely blessed woman. Her faith in the Gods above has caused her to be blessed with an immeasurable amount of strength and power, as well as that her life is in their hands. I've seen her fight once before. From what I saw back then... she can be killed... but she can't die. But... then again this is my assumption from the things she's said and from rumors. I don't know how much of it is true."
"I can't say that I believe that myself." Monika responded. "If she's got all this power that the Gods supposedly gave to her, then what the hell's she doing here as a Prime Minister?"
"Shouldn't she be doing much bigger things than dealing with us?" Ragna asked.
"Maybe there's some specific reason why she's here then." Feena replied. "But then that just makes a bigger question as to what in the world could that possibly be."
The group all sighed for a moment.
"We can worry about that later." Ragna spoke up. "Right now, we have our own problems. All of those guards are out there and that's the fastest way out of here. What the hell do we do now?"
". . . I believe I may have a plan." Katalina answered. "First off, I need a place for the three of you to hide."
"The vent?" Monika asked.
"No, not there. I need that to stay clear. But, speaking of. I do need the vent to look like someone opened it and crawled through."
Ragna transformed his hand into a monstrous claw and tore off the vent cover.
"That'll do."
"The only other thing in here are several shelves and a few giant sheets." Feena responded. "This must've been a supply closet or something."
"Those may work. If the three of you can hide in those, I should be able to clear us a path."
"Why the hell would we leave this up to her?" Ragna thought to himself. "But, then again, she's the only person out of all of us who can walk out in the open and not get attacked on spot. I don't trust her to do this, but I don't have any other choice."
"Well..." Monika said. "We may as well go along with this."
Katalina nodded as the three did their best to hide without looking suspicious. As they did so, Katalina opened the door to the room they were in and stepped out, walking quickly over to the area where the soldiers had been patrolling. As she walked out, eventually one of the guards looked up and noticed her.
"What the-?!" He said in surprise, alerting several others. "Where did you come from?!"
"Guards, come quick!" Katalina said frantically. "I-I think someone's broken into that room over there!"
Katalina pointed towards the room she just exited.
"That area was locked off!" Another soldier said. "It shouldn't be open!"
Katalina and the others quickly rushed back to the room, Katalina entering first.
"Up there!" She said as she pointed to the open vent. "They must've torn the vent off and snuck back out!"
"Are you sure that no one else would be in here?" A third soldier asked.
"Yes, sir. I searched this room when I walked by and saw it was open. The room was empty and the vent cover was torn off."
"They couldn't have gotten far." The first soldier said. "The vents only lead to specific areas. Everyone! Split up! One group, search the inside of the vents! The rest of you, head to where the vents lead off to!"
"Yes, sir!"
Quickly, several guards scrambled into the vent, while the others ran of in different directions, clearing up a good portion of the route forward. Katalina stood there for a moment, as she was supposedly supposed to join the others at the vent's exits. However when the soldiers were all out of sight and range, she whistled.
"They're gone." She said. "You three can come out."
Soon from behind her, Monika tossed up a giant sheet, letting out herself, Ragna, and Feena.
"Phew! For a minute there, I thought it wouldn't work." Feena said in relief. "Come on. We'd better get going while they're out."
The group all nodded as Feena ran out in front, the rest of them following. As they ran through the hallways, they could look around to see that there wasn't anyone else around to notice him, as apparently almost all the guards had ran off towards the vent openings.
"Idiots..." Ragna muttered to himself. "They all left just because of one lead? Either they're really that dumb or we're just that important that they have to find us.
Soon, the group of four led by Feena arrive in a closed space that was surrounded by a few walls. As they looked around, the area they were in seemed to be a dead end.
"There's... Nothing here." Katalina commented.
"Dammit, did you get us lost?" Ragna asked.
"Oh, pipe down!" Feena responds. "Just watch."
Feena walked over to one of the walls and felt around it with her hands. Soon, she stopped on one particular spot and pushed forward, causing a piece of the wall to move in. The group jumped as the sound of hatch unlocking from below them was heard. Feena then smirked and walked to the source of the noise. She bent over and lifted up a tile off the ground. As she did so, a large opening was revealed under the tile on the ground. Inside the opening was an underground tunnel.
"What the hell?!" Ragna and Monika both said in surprise.
"So this is what you meant earlier..." Katalina said in surprise as well.
"Definitely!" Feena exclaimed. "Mercenaries that need to sneak through this place would use them all the time. It used to be something that the nobles of Goldenia would use in case they needed to sneak out in an emergency, but once someone found out, they stopped using them due to the safety issue. Ever since then, they've forgotten about them. No one else really knows where they are. Except mercenaries like myself, who have used them on regular basis."
"So then, this is our ticket out of Goldenia?" Monika asked.
"Well... partially. Apparently, the tunnels weren't designed to all connect directly to the first floor. This one should get us down to the fourteenth floor at best. Then we'll have to find another one. It's not perfect but it's better than taking a chance at the lifts."
"Well then, I guess this is where we part ways." Katalina stated.
"Thanks again for getting us out of here Katalina." Monika said.
"No need." Katalina turns around and starts walking away. "Just promise you'll hold up your end, and don't mention that I'm involved with you."
"I can do you one better." Ragna said.
"What do you-"
As Katalina turned back around, she, Monika, and Feena all went wide eyed as Ragna shoved his large sword straight into her chest, impaling her.
"Ragna?!" Monika exclaimed in shock.
"What the hell man?!" Feena also asked.
"She doesn't want to be associated with us right?" Ragna explained. "They're gonna find the fact that no other vent except that one was open suspicious obviously. And if they suspect her, they'll change their minds when they see her like this. It'll look like she tried to stop us, but failed and nearly died from it." Ragna removed his sword from Katalina. The girl dropped onto the ground not moving. "She'll live. But she'll probably pass out sooner or later. Whatever it is, that should keep suspicions of her low." Ragna placed his sword back on his waist. "That, and consider it payback for getting us into this shit in the first place."
Feena promptly moved away from Ragna and behind Monika at the sound of that last sentence. Ragna simply glared at the woman response.
"We'll discuss this later." Monika said. "Let's go."
Monika didn't say anything else and simply hopped into the underground tunnel, Feena quickly followed after. Ragna sighed and jumped in after them. Once they were all in, Feena shut the hatch and locked it.
"There." she said. "No one will know this is how we got out of here."
"Which way to we head off to now?" Monika asked, examining the tunnel. "There's two pathways we can choose from."
"The one on the left. The right side's a dead end."
"Right. Let's go."
"Good luck you two."
Monika and Ragna started walking off. However, both of them suddenly stopped as they realized something. Feena wasn't walking with them. The girl was still standing by the entrance to the tunnel and was looking away from the two of them.
"Um, Feena?" Monika started to say. "We're leaving..."
"I know." Feena responded.
"You're not coming with us?" Ragna asked.
"No. Why?"
"Wh-What?" Monika said in surprise. "Why not?!"
"Come on, Monika. You can't blame me now can you?" Feena put her hands behind her head. "Besides, why should I? I've done my part and gotten you two a way out of this floor. Now you can go find the other passageways and find your way out yourself. You don't need me anymore."
"Don't need you? Of course we need you! I may not be your superior anymore, but that doesn't mean we can't be allies. That doesn't mean we can't be friends again!"
"Oh, what's the point? I'll just get in your way and cause more problems. Hell, our entire trip here I can tell you were probably frustrated with me the entire time. I'm surprised you and Ragna didn't throw me off that airship while we were on our way to Goldenia. All I've done is get you guys into a lot of unnecessary bullshit and nearly got you killed. Well that's done. You're alive now. And I'll stay here this time." Feena gave he two a thumbs up and smiled. "So do me a favor; Stop giving a damn about me, will ya?"
"Feena. . . How can you. . . How can you say that?"
"As much as I'd like to agree with you, I'd have to side with Monika on this." Ragna joined in. "Do you honestly believe the two of us are gonna be able to sneak through floor to floor and get out alive?"
"I have confidence in you." Feena answered.
"Yeah right. I don't believe that. Hell, I don't believe any of that crap you just spat out earlier. What the hell's gotten into your ass?! You and I both know you sure as hell won't survive on your own! They'd kill you easily! Either that or you'd rat us out again and tell them how we plan to escape! You expect us to believe you just aren't gonna follow us like that!?"
"I honestly don't care what you believe from me." Feena closed her eyes and looked down. Still smiling. Still has her hands back behind her head. "You could say I was lying to you about the secret tunnel. I don't care anymore. I don't expect you to believe me. I don't expect you to even want me anywhere you two. I got on your nerves. I turned against you. It took me until you were about to die before I changed my mind. All I'm saying is that you guys have a need for a piece of shit like myself, now do you? I'm not trustworthy. I'm not reliable. All I can do is get people into trouble. So I'm gonna stay here. Right here. Nothing like that'll happen again."
"You sound so... pathetic."
"As I expected."
"So, just like that, it's over for you?" Monika spoke up and asked. "Just like that you're done with life? You're gonna accept whatever punishment fate decides to throw at you?"
Feena nodded. "I'm fine with that."
"Come on, Monika. Leave her." Ragna said with a sigh. "If she wants to die, let her die."
Ragna started walking off into the tunnel even deeper. Not knowing if it was a trick or not, but he knew it was their only option. Monika looked at Feena for a good moment, and sighed before turning around. Although she did not walk away immediately.
"Feena..." She started to say. "I'm sorry."
Feena suddenly looked up and opened her eyes in surprise upon hearing those two words.
"Sorry?" She asked. "For what?"
"It's my fault isn't it? Even if it's a little bit, I'm responsible for this happening. As your superior, back then it was my job to learn about my subordinates. To get to know you. To seem like a friend to you more than just a superior officer. I mean, you didn't even memorize my name till recently. I don't see why you wouldn't betray us like you did. " Monika looked down. "That's why I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not being a good superior. And I'm sorry for not trying hard enough to. . . to get to know you... To be your friend..."
". . . Why...?"
Monika turned around and looked up at Feena. While she was still facing away from the two of them, Monika could see that her body was slowly shaking.
"There isn't any point." Feena replied. "I wouldn't have understood anyway. As we speak now, I don't even know what a friend really is. I've tried to learn but it isn't sitting with me."
"How the hell do you not know what a friend is?" Ragna asked. "You'd think that'd be something you should've learned as a child."
"I don't know. It's kinda hard for a five year old child to learn anything when everyone she's ever known and loved are all dead, and she's spent her entire childhood trying to live in this cruel world."
The fact that Feena said all of that in such a casual tone startled Ragna and Monika the most. They were surprised. Considering up until today, neither one of them really understood Feena, and now they hear this.
"Shit, I... didn't realize..." Ragna said, realizing how offensive he may have been.
"Feena, I... Never knew." Monika also said.
"Well, duh. Of course not." Feena responded, still in her calm, carefree demeanor. "I've never said anything about myself to anyone. I don't like reliving these things. So why on earth would speak about them? That's even worse, am I right?"
"You don't need to. What you've said was enough. Enough to tell me that you've lost a lot in a short amount of time, haven't you?"
"..."
"I'm sorry. I never should've said anything. I shouldn't be pestering you on this subject like I am-"
"Stop it."
"E-Eh?"
"Y-You understand, don't you?" Feena asked. As of now, her calm and carefree demeanor could be heard falling apart from her voice. "You get me, don't you Monika? You get what it's like to experience things like this don't you? Don't you? Then you'd understand why I behave like this. Why I've never learned about friendship or any of that crap. Why I've-"
"Feena..." Monika interrupted. "There's a lot about you I won't be able to understand. There a lot of things I still don't understand. But with what little I do, I know one thing. You need a friend. An actual one. Whether or not you know what a friend is, I'll be that person who you can call a friend."
"Why. . . Why are you so.."
"I've had worse betrayals happen to me Feena. This isn't the first time someone's turned their back on me. The only difference this time is everyone else on my side didn't die. Everyone being Ragna and you. But... I can say that you're definitely the first one to come back and join me again. I wasn't really angry with you. I was just... sad. I just wanted answers. I just wanted to know you better. I just wanted to understand you."
Feena continued to look away from the two of them.
"Hey, Feena?" Ragna spoke up once again, walking back to the two of them. "What exactly do you think friends are?"
". . . They're just... people who use you for their own purposes." Feena began to answer. "Friends to me, have always been people who will act like that they are there to help you. Like they actually care about you. But then when things aren't on their side anymore, they'll stab you in the back, both figuratively and physically. As long as they need you for their purposes, they're your friend. When you fall, they won't be there for you. When you're hurt they won't help tend to your wounds. And when the law's against you, they'll turn you in themselves and be on their merry way. That's what a friend is to me."
Ragna and Monika seemed to be a bit surprised, not expecting to hear something for someone who's always so carefree.
"Feena..." Monika started to ask. "What happened? What happened to cause you to end up going through life like this...? We know you lost your parents, but what else happened? Please. Tell me."
Feena sighed.
"Honestly, there's not a whole lot to it." She began to explain. "When I was five, my home village was raided by a bunch of demons. Goblins specifically. Everyone there was killed. My dad died trying to fight them off. And my mom... perished horribly... keeping me out of harm's way. I tried to save her, but ended up taking a spear through the chest and left for dead. I'm lucky to survive. Years later, my dumb self thought that I could actually rely on people to help me take revenge. But I soon came to learn that Man is full of people worse than those Goblins. I've been abandoned more times that I can count."
Monika and Ragna remained silent.
As a mercenary, I've dealt with that my entire life." Feena continued. "So I guess that it... must have just rubbed off on me or something. There's only a few people that I'm close to, and I do everything in my power to keep them from helping me because I don't want them to die. But... I wouldn't have called them friends. Unlike everyone else, they never really used me. They were... well the good side of this world in general. In the end, I didn't want to risk their lives. So I left them, and came here in hopes of finding 'friends' that could help me out with my revenge" Feena finally turned around and looked at the two, now having a serious and sorrowful expression on her face. "Is that all?"
"I. . . That's all." Monika responded quietly.
"I've heard enough." Ragna answered with a sigh. "Can't say you haven't been through some shit on your own. But, that doesn't mean I'm gonna give you sympathy like that. However, Monika's right. It was nice getting answers. Now, will you stop with all the being sad shit and just come on? You know where these tunnels are more than us, and we'll just get lost trying to find them."
"Wait, you... You're actually letting me come along... You're-"
Before Feena could react, Ragna's claw cut straight across her midsection, causing her to fall to her knees.
"That's for getting us in this crap in the first place." Ragna said.
"I know what happened, but the more I learn about you, the more I know you need guidance." Monika commented. "Let us be your guide then."
"You guys..." Feena smiled slightly. "I am trying my hardest to keep a straight face, and you keep making it harder with this emotional crap. Can we just go already before this breaks out into a hug fest?"
"Someone's back to normal." Ragna said in response. "Not in the mood to hug either."
"I am!"
Ragna and Feena soon found themselves pulled into a hug by Monika.
"The three of us are together once again!" She exclaimed. "We've had our differences. We've had our fights. But if we're gonna have anymore of those, we need to do so somewhere where it's safe."
"At least let us go already, will ya?" Feena asked, clearly wiping tears.
Monika soon let go of the two and started walking off, waving at the two to signal them to follow. Feena smiled and soon hurried up after the girl. The two immediately ran off into the underground tunnel. Ragna stood there for a moment and watched the two take off. He then sighed and walked after them.
"I'm ditching those two once I leave this place." He said to himself. "I need their help in getting out of this damn labyrinth of a kingdom. Then they're on their own."
"Ragna! Hurry up!" Monika called out.
"We're leaving!" Feena called out as well.
"But for now..." Ragna sighed as he started moving faster to catch up with the girls. I've got to deal with these two. And hope they don't get me killed before we get out of here."
Finishing up that last thought, Ragna continued to walk ahead and catch up to the girls. None of them knew what was in store for them next. But they were in this together. Whether they like it or not.