Volume II: Unforgiving Kingdom
Chapter XVIII: Humble Knight
Location: Outside of the Old Clock Tower, 10th Floor, Goldenia
The Following Morning. . .
"-And, I'm afraid that... they managed to slip past us, Prime Ministers."
Regarding the incident that recently took place on the tenth floor, the result was as followed; Juri, Jick, Harper, and the other soldiers failed to capture Ragna, Monika, Feena, Grena, or Chat Noir. The assassin Predator had also gone missing during the skirmish, her whereabouts unknown to Juri and the others. And lastly, a great deal of damage had been dealt to the airship docks thanks to the group's skirmish with Chat Noir earlier. As of now, The soldiers all stood before Prime Ministers Aglovale and Vira, who had joined up with him and Alexiel during their descent to the lower floors.
"You mean to tell me that in the short time from their escape," Vira began to say. "Not only has that damn demon and the traitorous whores he called friends managed to clear more than eight floors somehow, but they've also gathered up two more members in the process?!"
"This wasn't our intention Prime Minister Vira, we swear!" Harper explained. "We gave it our all and even tried cooperating with a mercenary in order to catch them. However that still was not enough."
"Were you able to confirm the identities of any of the new members?" Aglovale asked.
"I do believe one of them is a woman who calls herself the Crimson Chain sir." Jick answered. "Grena I believe. Another mercenary, already wanted for several accounts of arson and unnecessary collateral damage in multiple floors when hunting down her targets. She's done a good job at aiding the Imperial Army in catching dangerous criminals, but ended up becoming one herself."
"As for the other, he appeared to be a young boy." Juri added. "They never said his name aloud and I've never seen him before until now. I wouldn't be able to tell you who he is. I'm sorry."
"It's fine." Aglovale stated. "That is better than having no information at all."
"Are you positive that this other mercenary that was working with you, Predator, you say." Vira started to ask. "Are you able to confirm that she also has not joined them?"
"We cannot confirm it completely." Juri answered. "But by her actions last night, I would not assume that she would have joined them. She disappeared sometime as well, so we couldn't ask her."
"I see. . ." Vira folded her arms. "Is that all?"
"That is all, Prime Minister." Harper responded.
"Dismissed." Both Prime Ministers said in unison.
The soldiers all nodded their heads and started heading back off to their positions. By then Vira sighed and just put a hand to her head. Aglovale then turned and looked over to a nearby alleyway.
"It's clear Alexiel."
Walking out from that alleyway was Alexiel, who had been listening in to everything that was said.
"I still don't see why I had to hide." Alexiel said.
"You forget." Vira explained. "Your position was stripped from you as Head Prime Minister. You're a regular soldier now Alexiel. And you're also acting out on your own without any orders from Her Highness as well. As much as Aglovale can try to, you said it yourself; Her Highness Freesia told you that you are not supposed to be concerned with this case anymore. So you're breaking the law by doing this. If the other soldiers spot you after all that, how do you think that will look on us?"
"You two both agreed that I could come with you and help. And yet, when it comes to Freesia, you're still going to go as far as to not have my back if she finds out about this?!"
"Her Highness can do the same to us as she did to you, possibly more! That is why you are ordered to not stand front and center and hide whenever there are other high ranking members of the Imperial Army around, such as Juri."
"As loyal as he is, it is most likely he would report your whereabouts to Her Highness." Aglovale added. "Who I should add that you should not refer to by name the way you did. Especially not aloud."
"You two are unbelievable..." Alexiel sighed. "Why did I even bother coming to them for help...?"
"Without us on your side Alexiel." Vira stated. "There is no way you would've made it down here to begin with. Keep in mind that if you continue to behave in such a manner I am not afraid to have you turned in to Her Highness. I don't know what you and Aglovale truly hope to achieve together, but now isn't the time for your own morals and goals. As long as such a threat remains unchained-"
"That IS my goal!" Alexiel cut off Vira. "I want that damn demon vanquished that as much as anybody else within Goldenia!"
"Vanquished?! Did you not hear Her Highn-"
"She just wants them captured. I don't recall her specifying HOW. Besides, two of them were already scheduled for execution that I was supervising over. If anyone knows how to handle this task better it would be me. I've spent most of my life hunting demons down ever since I received this blade of mine. I refuse to allow anyone, even a Queen, put a stop to me from doing what's right." Alexiel poked Vira in the chest. "Need I remind you of Goldenia's history with demons, and why I must handle this threat?!"
Vira looked away an angered look on her face.
"Goldenia has maintained such a strict stance for too long, if you ask me." She answered Alexiel.
"What was that?!"
"What are you saying Vira?" Aglovale asked.
"Oh please." Vira said, rolling her eyes. "Everyone knows that damn two million year old story, how our precious and young queen was turned to gold because of demonic forces, our kingdom nearly on the verge of collapse, Et ceterea, Et ceterea. Frankly, in my own opinion, Goldenia's quite old fashioned don't you think? Even though they've remained the largest kingdom of Man, and possibly the most advanced as well, its policies on demonic forces are quite simple at best. The former royal family held a two million year grudge against a force probably long dead. If we can grow, so can the demonic realm. What are the odds that you'll expect to see another Samael or another Nephthys because of this one demon?"
Alexiel remained quiet.
"Precisely." Vira continued. "I understand that the horrible ones still roam Riverbrandt in full, but for a non-demon policy to be placed on them all, that's quite discriminative don't you think? I, on the other hand."
Alexiel stepped back surprised as Vira's familiar emerged behind her.
"I see no reason as to why this is so. The power that the Demon realm possesses should be used to our advantage rather than rejected for a millennia don't you think?"
"No wonder you're such a twisted person." Alexiel said to herself.
"However." Vira started up once again, her familiar disappearing as she put a hand on her head. "Despite all of this, I'm not saying that I don't disagree with your goals of slaying this demon. After all, I would love to see him thoroughly punished and executed by the Imperial Court for daring to lay his filthy hands on my Katalina!" Vira then sighed. "But alas, I cannot bear your deep hatred of carrying on this long, outdated grudge that the rest of the kingdom carries."
"None of us were around during this time as well." Aglovale jumped in. "But, then again, is it truly up to us to decide Goldenia's grudges?"
"I don't need to hear any of this shit."
Aglovale and Vira look over at Alexiel who started to walk away.
"Alexiel wait." Aglovale said. "Where are you going?"
"I just need a moment to myself. I'm not going anywhere."
The two watched as Alexiel walked off into someplace where she wouldn't be seen.
"She hasn't been herself recently." Aglovale said. "Ever since we've run into any sort of trouble involving who she's after, she's changed completely. It's almost as if she's mimicking your behavior."
"Are you attempting to insult me?" Vira questioned in an offensive tone.
"Why are you here truly Vira?"
Vira looked away for a moment before turning back to Aglovale, putting a hand to her forehead.
"I've been humiliated." Vira answered. "Embarrassed by that damn man before. Not only has he left me with this humiliating shame, but he has also dared to lay a finger on my precious, darling Katalina! Can you imagine the pain that I must feel from this?! The unyielding rage that is currently bottled up inside me?!"
Aglovale sighed, knowing what he had gotten himself into with that question.
Meanwhile with Alexiel, the woman had walked behind another building away from Aglovale and Vira. From there, she stared at the ground and clenched her fists while growling lowly.
"This is what I get for trying to reach out to my allies...!" She said to herself. "This shit is why I was so hesitant to go to their asses for some damn assistance and-..." Alexiel slowly relaxed her hands. "No... That's not it... I can't blame them for all of this. I am at fault of this of course..." Alexiel looked up into the sky. "This is what I get for pushing people away... For pushing you away... For not willing to overcome my fears... But, that's why I have to do this. If I can just defeat that demon... If I can just end this once and for all... I can finally move on."
Alexiel held up her Zweihander, staring at it with a saddened, but determined look in her eyes.
"Ever since that day. . ." She spake softly to herself. "Ever since all of you died because of me, I've been waiting my entire life for the moment when I would come face-to-face with another Grim Reaper. I know I can't get any of you back, but I promised myself that I would not rest until I've slain a Grim Reaper myself, and avenged you. I don't care how many demons I have to kill to achieve this. But I won't let another one claim the lives of anymore of my friends."
Alexiel nodded slowly and place her zweihander back on her back and stared ahead of her.
"Ragna, that's his name." She said. "You will fall by my blade. I hope you realize that."
"Alexiel!" Vira called out. "Let's move dammit!"
Alexiel turned around and started walking back towards Aglovale and Vira.
Location: Underground Tunnel between the 12th Floor and the 7th Floor
After their little skirmish throughout the tenth floor, everything from chasing around Chat Noir all the way to Predator and Ragna's new ability, the group of four had finally made their way back into the underground tunnels. Meeting up with a sleeping Goblin Mage, the group then found themselves on the move once again, heading downwards. As of now, they were currently in the tunnel system that was below the ninth floor of Goldenia. While they walked, the group had also spent their time trying to explain everything that happened on the tenth floor to Goblin Mage, who had to wait in the tunnels the entire time.
"And then out of nowhere, Ragna really just sprouted wings!" Feena had continued to explain, already up to the part of Ragna's newest ability. "It was amazing! He was flying all over the place, like he was in one place one moment, then in the next he was so far away we couldn't even see him!"
"You don't have to put it like that..." Ragna sighed, still trying to think up ways to better control his ability to fly.
"Why can't Ragna use it to fly out of Goldenia then?" Goblin Mage asked.
"Because the wings themselves aren't permanent. They'll just fade away over a given time and that probably won't be enough time to fly out of here safely."
"So because of that, he's stuck down here with the rest of us who don't have wings." Grena added on.
"Besides that, if Goldenia saw some random person just flying off on the side of the kingdom, I don't know what would happen to him." Monika also added. "But most likely scenario is that they'd open fire on him from anywhere they can. And if he can't control his wings he wouldn't survive that. This is the safest option we all have."
"Define 'safe' Monika." Grena said. "Aren't all of us still being pursued by the Imperial Army? I mean Chat Noir was smart for splitting off from us after we reached the tunnels."
"He still owes me my hat." Feena groaned. "Said he was heading for the Mercenary's Guild right? That's still on the seventh floor?"
"I hear they're planning on changing out their headquarters to a bigger building on the eighth floor, but I don't think that they've gone through with it. We should be able to stop by there once we get out of these tunnels-"
At that point, the group suddenly heard large, multiple stomach growls that filled the tunnel.
"I'm feeling hungry..." Goblin Mage said aloud.
"I think we all are..." Monika sighed. "Where are we gonna go? Were wanted criminals so its not like we can just go anywhere and find something to eat."
"If only Chat Noir was still here with us..." Feena sighed.
"I can head out." Grena said. "They'll probably need a moment to fully identify me before I become a serious target for people to try and arrest. Besides they don't know Goby here either, so she can come up too."
"I don't wanna risk losing Goblin Mage up there!" Feena exclaimed.
"Trust me Feena, we'll be fine. I know people. I can get up and down quick. Don't worry about it."
"Well it is the only option we have." Ragna added. "Do you want to keep hearing your stomach growl?"
As if on cue, the sound of growling stomachs filled the air.
"Well..." If that's the only option we have..."
"Hey." Grena places a hand on Feena's shoulder. "I won't let anything happen to the kid, I promise. I know how much she means to you. She'll be safe and sound under my care. I know you trust me on this."
"Right." Feena said while nodding her head. "I'll leave this to you."
"Can we go now?" Goblin Mage whined as her stomach growled.
"Alright, alright." Grena chuckled. "Come on. Let's get up to the surface. An opening is just past this turn."
As the group walked they then came across a small hatch on the ceiling, which was the opening that Grena indeed spoke of. Grena swung her chains up to the handle of the hatch and yanked downward, pulling down the hatch in the process. She then proceeded to walk over and hop up on a small staircase that would lead up to the hatch.
"Come on!" Grena said, gesturing to Goblin Mage. "It's fine."
"Right!"
Goblin Mage quickly ran over to where Grena was, the chained mercenary lifting her up with her. Goblin Mage waved at the group as she went upwards, Feena waving back at her. Soon the two were now on the surface, leaving Ragna, Monika, and Feena back down in the tunnels.
"Do you think she'll be alright without us?" Monika asked.
"I know Grena'll take care of herself." Feena answered. "I just hope she'll keep a close eye on Goblin Mage."
"Looks like we'll leave it all to her then." Ragna said, sitting down on the floor of the tunnel."
"Well then..." Monika said as she sat down, placing her hat in her lap. "Mind if we all just talk for a little while?"
"What do you mean?"
"We've never really had a moment for the three of us to just sit down and have a nice conversation with one another, especially since all of this shit started. I thought it would be nice if we could try to get to know each other better. Besides." Monika frowned. "I can still sense the tiniest bit of animosity lingering around between the three of us."
Ragna and Feena looked at each other momentarily and then looked away.
"Let it linger about then." Ragna responded. "I don't have any reason to feel that way though. I can't really say that I'm still angry with Feena, especially after all she's done to help us since... since back then."
"But you still don't fully trust me huh?" Feena asked, putting her hands behind her head as she leaned on the wall of the tunnel. "It's fine. Can't say I blame ya. Most people wouldn't keep a traitor in their ranks, you know?" Feena shrugs with her eyes closed. "You'd never know when they would enact their treacherous deeds once again."
"Feena don't say things like that please." Monika sighed. "I'm not afraid that you'll betray us a second time or anything. I have the utmost confidence that you've changed. And that you're here to support us for good, like you've been doing."
"I would be afraid of it if I were you. Hell, sometimes I don't even trust myself with how messed up I am on the inside. I mean, after everything I've told all of you, the thought of betrayal has never been a problem with me, obviously. I've abused the trust of others more times than I can count. And to this day, I'm not sorry."
"That's because countless others have abused your own trust isn't it?" Ragna cut in with a question. "The more we think about it, the more we won't fully fault you for that. You were forced to grow up and become an adult at such a young age after something terrible happened to your family. The only person you had to support you was Goblin Mage, and everybody else was an asshole who wasn't afraid to deceive a homeless kid for their own benefit. Am I missing anything there?"
"No." Feena responded while looking down. "You hit everything spot on actually. That's an accurate description of my childhood."
"I just wanna know something. What the hell is it that really motivates you to keep up that joyful mood of yours? You're always so carefree and relaxed as if you're pretending like nothing interesting ever happened to you as a child."
"I would put it like that. But as to why I'm like this..." Feena sighed deeply. "It's so that Goblin Mage doesn't have to spend all her time worrying about me."
"She must really care for you then, I see." Monika replied.
"Goblin Mage is honestly my main inspiration for me to keep on going. For me to not want to throw my life away anymore. After I lost everything to the goblins that invaded my village, there wasn't really a point to me living anymore. There's nothing that I could really do after that. After losing it all. My family... My home... They took it all from me. Why should I have kept living? Why shouldn't I lay down and die like they wanted? Why didn't I? Its all because of Goblin Mage. Something about her wouldn't let me leave her alone in this hell we call life. So ever since, I've been taking care of her. I've provided for her. I wanted to take down the villains that made the two of us suffer. And now, here I am. Feena the Goblin Hunter. The girl nobody can trust."
Ragna and Monika both sat around in silence for a moment, as they thought about what Feena said. Finally, Monika looked up at Feena, speaking up.
"You're not alone in this Feena." She said. "Believe me or not, I know the feeling... somewhat."
"You do?"
"People not wanting to trust you... That's how it was with my old friends. Before I met them I've... been involving in quite the horrible deed, having sided with a cruel woman who can be described as a tyrant. I stood by her for who knows how long. But when I left, that bad reputation was still on me. So later when I met up with who became my new group of friends... I had to deal with suspicions everywhere. People constantly talking behind my back. I wasn't trusted. I wasn't welcomed. And just like now, where I'm standing up for you, there was still one girl who stood up for me. That's the same girl who became my best friend back then. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have the courage to say any of this to you."
"She really had an impact on you didn't she?"
Monika nodded. "You have no idea. . . " Monika's left hand squeezed her hat as she looked down slowly. "I miss her severely... Not a day goes by when I don't think about how she was taken from me. She trusted me with her life, despite the horrible person I was in the past. Even if her death was out of my control... I can't help but feel responsible for it. I don't expect to ever experience a trust like that ever again..."
"Seems like we both have issues when it comes to trust, huh?" Feena placed her hands on her hips as she spoke.
"Heh. That woman must've been either crazy or too damn nice to have that much trust in you despite all of that huh?" Ragna commented in response to Monika. "Then again, what does that say about me? I don't know who I am, and I haven't known you two for long. But I trust you both enough that for some reason I'm alone in a tunnel with the two of you. A woman who's already double-crossed us once. And another one who's been involved in some messed up shit before." Ragna chuckled. "But I don't see any problems with that, you know? We've all got our past mistakes and things we regret. I'm sure I do too."
"Heh!" Feena laughed. "Who knows? You might be even more messed up than the two of us combined!"
"That would be something." Monika giggled.
The three were able to share a small laugh at that moment.
"Hey, Ragna." Feena started to say. "Mind if I ask you something?"
"What is it?" Ragna questioned.
"Would you be willing to help us out later?" Feena turned to face the man. "I'm not asking you to bend over backwards and miss out on any chances to go home, but since you're here with us in Riverbrandt, I wanted to know if you'd be willing to provide your support. It's clear we all have our problems that we could use help with, you know?"
"...Yeah, I get what you're saying. Alright, I guess I can consider that."
"You will? Alright! Monika what about you? Will you-"
"No."
Ragna and Feena were surprised to see that Monika was against this.
"We're not that close to each other, even after all we've been through." Monika began to explain. "I know that we've gotten to know each other pretty well. We understand each other somewhat. And we can help each other out of situations, each in our own way. But we have our individual problems we have to solve. We shouldn't cut into each other's agendas so suddenly, even if we're getting along." Monika looked away from the group. "We have one goal, and that's to find Ragna a way back home. That's it. If we can't achieve that one goal together, what would be the point in making other promises we can't keep...
Ragna and Feena both understood that this was something personal for Monika, something they most likely couldn't get her to talk about. Both looked at each other and nodded.
"I guess you have a point." Ragna sighed. "You're right.
"We'll slow down a little." Feena said. "Sorry."
"It's fine..." Monika responded. "Don't act like you've done something wrong. You weren't trying to go too far on purpose."
"Monika...? Are... Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. Just... needed a moment alone, okay? You two can go wait for Grena and Goblin Mage, or talk, or whatever. It doesn't matter to me."
Ragna and Feena both wanted to say something to comfort Monika. However they both knew that they couldn't. In truth, they don't truly understand everything that's going through Monika's head. They don't know what happened to her friends or what her past was truly like. Monika, being a closed up person, obviously wasn't looking to spill the beans anytime soon. Ragna and Feena only sighed silently as they gave Monika her space, and walked a few feet from her.
"...Promises you can't keep." Monika said quietly.
"Please! St-Stay with me! I-I'll get you out of there! We'll leave Riverbrandt together!"
"I promised that we would see the other worlds together... Why... Why couldn't I..."
Monika sat there in silence as she remembered her past.
Location: 9th Floor, Goldenia
Meanwhile on the surface, Goblin Mage had been taking in the sight if the city as she ran back and forth in front of Grena, who walked behind Goblin Mage, staying with the girl as to keep her from running off.
"Wow...!" Goblin Mage said. "I didn't realize there was so much all the way up here on the higher floors."
"Don't run too much now." Grena responded. "I don't want you running off on me and ending up getting into some trouble." Grena slightly rubs her stomach. "Especially not while I'm all hungry."
"Sorry, Miss Grena. I've just never been able to explore on my own like this."
"We're not here to explore remember?"
"Well, why not? I'm sure we'll have some time to explore, and have time to get something to eat." Goblin Mage explained, while running circles around Grena. "It's not too early and it's not too late. I don't see why we can't do both!"
"Well can't argue with that." Grena smiled.
"So we can explore too?"
"Yeah. Sure. Come on."
Goblin Mage smile and nodded as she walked beside Grena. The two began their exploration over the ninth floor of Goldenia. As the two walked around, Goblin Mage made sure that she looked at everything that she could without getting into any trouble. The young girl was fascinated by almost everything she saw, which Grena just chuckled as she watched her move about like a regular child.
"You must not get out much huh?" Grena asked.
"Hm?" Goblin Mage perked up and turned to Grena. "No, I don't. I never really leave the first floor, and hadn't until I decided to come and find you all."
"For someone who had ventured up for the first time, you sure seemed to find your way around rather quickly when you were looking for your friend."
"You mean-"
Grena covered Goblin Mage's mouth.
"Don't use her name out loud." Grena whispered. "She's still a wanted criminal across Goldenia, and you'd get her into trouble if someone heard you. And then that gets us into trouble."
Goblin Mage nodded as Grena removed her hand from over her mouth. The two then continued walking, but Goblin Mage soon stopped as something caught her eye, unknown to Grena. What had her eye happened to be a shiny piece of jewelry poking out of a woman's back pocket.
"Shiny..."
Goblin Mage then found herself unconscious walking over to where the woman was standing, as she was currently talking to another woman. Grena had been walking this entire time and had looked back behind her to check up on Goblin Mage, but blinked in surprise when she wasn't there. Looking around she then saw Goblin Mage approaching the woman, her hands reaching for the jewelry. Without hesitating Grena rushed over to the girl and quickly scooped up Goblin Mage. However, in the process she grazed up against the woman's back with got her attention. Not wanting to bother with explaining herself, Grena just whistled and walked away, despite having gotten the woman's attention.
"How rude." The woman said to her friend. "Ugh, did you see how she just bumped me without even an apology?"
"Ugh, the nerve of some people." The other woman answer as she turned her head in disgust.
With Grena and Goblin Mage, the former was still walking away with the latter in her arms.
"What the hell are you doing Goblin Mage?!" Grena whispered harshly.
"It was shiny..." Goblin Mage whined, as Grena soon put her down.
"Seriously, is shiny things that important?"
"Yes. It is. It's a goblin weakness I can't help. We're just instantly focused and attracted to anything that shines, no matter what. So when I see something that's shiny, I can't help myself but go to it."
"That's no excuse to be stealing. Didn't getting chased around by Daria earlier teach you anything?"
"I know. I'm sorry."
"Good."
Grena's stomach suddenly growled loudly once again.
"Dammit..." She groaned. "I'd suggest we'd get something to eat ourselves first, explore a little, then get everything else for the others, but that would be highly unfair." Grena sighed. "Guess we'd better end our exploration here huh?"
"Already?"
"Yeah. Come on. I know a shortcut to a friend of mine who can help us out."
Okay."
Grena grabbed onto Goblin Mage, and began walking. The two headed off into an alleyway not too far from where they were standing a moment ago and began making their way through. While walking, Goblin Mage tried to have a talk with Grena.
"Miss Grena?" She asked. "What's it like for you, being a mercenary and all?"
"It's pretty much normal for me." Grena answered. "Can't say the same for everyone. You have to be prepared and willing to put a lot of things that you do behind you and not care about them."
"How so?"
"Well for instance. I don't know if you're planning on trying to be a mercenary or not, but if you're too scared to take someone's life, then this isn't the profession for you. While we don't always have to take lives, down this line of work that's usually what happens."
"You're assassins then?"
"No, see here's the difference. Our jobs are to fulfill what the request is for a certain target. That sometimes leads to killing, but not always. An assassin's job IS to kill."
Goblin Mage looks down. "I don't understand why anyone would do that. I don't see why people can just take lives like that for money."
Grena shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe they love killing. Maybe they're broken inside. Maybe they're desperate for some money. It doesn't really matter to me either way."
"I see..."
"But hey, you shouldn't have to worry about anything like that. I don't think you're the type to try and become either a mercenary or assassin. Hell while we're at it, what do you wanna do anyways when you grow up?"
"Huh?"
"What do you mean 'Huh?' I'm sure Feena's gonna let you go off on your own one day."
"Why? We can be together forever."
"I'm not saying you can't. What I'm saying is that one day Feena won't be able to support you both all by herself. One day you're gonna need to step up and help her out of course. Granted she'll probably remain a mercenary for as long as possible, she'll need someone to support her in case there's things that she can't do. You know what I mean?"
"I think so. . . But what should I do?"
"That's something you have to decide. You have to be the one to figure out what you're good at."
Goblin Mage scratched her chin. "What am I good at...?"
"Ah think later. You'll have plenty of time. Right now, we just need to focus on getting something to eat. Alleyway's ending now anyway. Shouldn't be too much long-"
Grena was cut off as she collided with somebody, knocking down the person she ran into, Goblin Mage, and herself. Grena groaned as she sat up and rubbed her head.
"Sorry! Sorry about that!" The person spoke as they stood up. "I didn't notice you!"
"No, that's my fault." Grena said as she looked up and stood up. "I wasn't paying close enough-?!"
Grena was then surprised as she and the person she was talking to locked eyes. Who they ran into was none other than Juri, the Imperial Soldier from earlier.
"H-Hey wait a minute!" Juri stated. "Aren't-"
Before he could finish his sentence however, Grena wrapped her chains and pulled him over her head and into the alleyway. She let go of him and turned around, taking stance. Juri managed to land on a handstand and flip himself onto his feet, holding his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"How the hell did you find us?" Grena questioned.
"I wasn't looking for you." Juri answered. "I ran into you two on coincidence. Just to make sure... you're that girl from the clock tower, right? Grena."
"That's me. And you're one of the soldiers after me and the others. Which is why I had to throw you in here. Cause I know you won't let me go. So I'll just knock you out so I can get away."
"I didn't think I would be fighting you guys so soon. But if that's the case then-"
Juri was interrupted as the sounds of someone's stomach growling filled the air around them. Looking over he saw a light blush of embarrassment on Grena's face, the mercenary in question avoided looking straight at Juri.
"Uh... Was... Was that-"
"Oh just shut up will you." Grena sighed. "I probably ain't got the energy to fight you anyways. Not if I'm hungry like this..."
"Mr. Soldier?" Goblin Mage spoke up. "Do you think this could wait till after we've eaten. I'm hungry too."
"? A little kid?" Juri noted.
"She's with us as well." Grena replied.
Juri removed his hand from off his blade. "Well... It wouldn't be right for me to fight you like this, especially since you've got a kid here with you."
"Excuse me?"
"Come on." Juri starts walking out of the alleyway. "I know a nice restaurant we can stop at."
"What?"
"Really? You'll help?" Goblin Mage said.
"Don't get me wrong. I still have to arrest you after this." Juri explained, looking at Grena. "But I'm still a nice guy, so I guess I could buy you both something to eat first."
". . . Heh." Grena chuckled slightly. "Who says we won't run when you have your back turned?"
Grena's stomach growled once again.
"You." Juri replied.
"Smartass." Grena muttered before speaking out loud. "If you're ordering, then don't hold back on meat. I'm not a vegetarian."
"Anything is fine for me." Goblin Mage said.
Though the two of them were sketchy of the soldier, they both knew that they needed something to eat. Grena and Goblin Mage proceeded to follow along after Juri, walking through the streets as the imperial soldier kept a close eye on them as they walked behind him.
"So." Grena said, striking up a conversation. "Where's your buddies? They hiding somewhere so that you can have them ambush us or something?"
"What? No." Juri answered. "They have their own duties to attend to elsewhere. There's nobody else tagged alone with me."
"Don't get offended by it, but I don't believe you one bit."
"I can understand that. Yesterday at the clock tower we were just enemies. And even then we still are."
"What's your damn angle? You think just because you treat a woman right you can get us to just go along and let you arrest us without putting up a fight? I'm no idiot and certain not a dumb bimbo. So if you're trying that on me, I'll let you know now it ain't gonna work, no matter what you do. You got that?"
"I'll keep that in mind."
"But still." Goblin Mage spoke up. "Thank you for doing this for us."
"Goblin Mage!" Grena said in a corrective tone.
"It's no problem." Juri said to Goblin Mage. He then looked over to his right. "Ah. We're here."
The group stood in front of a small restaurant. It wasn't anything too major or special, but it was still decent. Grena scooped up Goblin Mage as she walked beside Juri.
"This is one of the places I had in mind." Grena thought to herself. "
"Right. Let's go." Juri said, as he started walking in.
"Oh. Right."
Grena followed after the soldier, Goblin Mage in her arms.
Location: Underground Tunnel between the 12th Floor and the 7th Floor
Following the group's conversation, the three continued to sit in silence. Monika continued to sit on the ground, hanging her head so that she was facing the floor that she was sitting on. The girl appeared to still be deep in thought as she was last thinking about some touchy memories from her past. Meanwhile, Ragna and Feena sat across from her, the two both silent. While neither of them spoke, the way the looked up at Monika showed that they were indeed concerned for their friends.
"She's been like that ever since our conversation earlier..." Feena sighed. "Should we say something?"
"Doesn't look like she's in the mood to talk." Ragna replied. "I don't think our input matters to her right now."
"I really wish I could get know her better... Sometimes it feels like Monika just wants to be distant from the rest of us."
"I know what you mean. Girl's got a lot of things she doesn't want to talk about with anyone, huh?"
"I can hear both of you."
Monika spoke up and got both of their attention.
"Sorry Monika." Feena apologized. "We didn't mean to disturb you or anything."
"It's fine." Monika said as she stood back up. "I can't fault you two for worrying about me. At the end of the day, we still have to be able to work together, so of course you'd be worried.
"Not just that Monika. We're all friends here."
"Yeah... I know."
"You sure you wanna keep things a secret?" Ragna asked. "We will help you if we can."
"You can't. Not with this. There's no altering my past."
"You can at least talk about it with us." Feena stated. "We know. It's probably something you don't wanna think about anymore. But the more you keep it to yourself, bottled in like this, the worse you'll feel."
"We'll listen. We promise." Ragna added.
Monika just continued to stare down at the ground, refusing to make eye contact with the two of them. To Ragna and Feena, that was the girl's silent answer that she didn't want to talk. They could also tell that she indeed wanted a moment alone as well, indicated by when she started walking away from the group, down the tunnel. Feena still wanted to follow after the girl, but was stopped when Ragna held out his arm in front of her.
"Don't do it." He said. "I don't think there's anything we can do."
As Monika was a good distance away, she sighed to herself and stopped walking.
'I need to get it together..." She thought to herself. "The longer I spend here thinking about this, the more inconveniences this could cause everyone in the near future... If I can't think my thoughts straight. Even if we aren't doing anything I shouldn't be thinking about this shit too hard..."
Location: Restaurant, 9th Floor, Goldenia
With Grena, Goblin Mage, and Juri, the three had gathered inside the restaurant that the latter had taken them to. The group had been at the restaurant for nearly ten minutes now, all three of them sitting down having received their meals. Juri however didn't seem to order anything other than a glass of water, stating he wasn't hungry, and left Grena and Goblin Mage to eat away. While Goblin Mage did not waste any time eating away, Grena was more slow to eat, despite the array of meat that she had received. Instead she was just sitting there with her eyes closed and one of her arms propped up on the chair she sat on
"You're not going to eat?" Juri asked her.
"I'll eat when I'm good and ready." Grena answered. "What about you?"
"It hasn't been too long since I've eaten myself. No need for me to eat again so soon." Juri glanced over towards Goblin Mage. "This one, on the other hand doesn't seem to be wasting any time..."
Goblin Mage didn't seem to notice the two discussing her as she continued to eat. Soon Juri looked back up at Grena, the mercenary in question still staring down towards her lap.
"So..." Juri started to say to Grena, causing her to look up. "Mind if I ask you a few questions?"
"What is it?" Grena asked.
"Why are you working with them? Your... friends I mean. I looked into you after our encounter and from what I've found, you're a mercenary who usually works alone. Why now are you working with them, considering that you know about the situation that they're currently in?"
"...So what? Helping out my friends is wrong to the Imperial Army?"
"Uh-No, that's not what I-"
"I know. I was just joking." Grena sighed. "Look, I want to leave Goldenia just as much as they want to. At the end of the day, we more or less have the same goal in mind. I figured that before I leave, I could help them out."
"If you wanted to leave Goldenia, you can easily do so without them."
"As if. I'm a mercenary remember? While I take on contracts that are completely legal within Goldenian, and Riverbrandt's laws, I do have a habit of causing unnecessary collateral damage. I don't have the time or money to bother paying all of that shit off, so at the end of the day, I'm a wanted criminal too."
"Couldn't you have cooperated with us? You could easily use the Imperial Court's offer to clear out all your crimes."
"First off, I don't really care about clearing my crimes. I'll just have more by my next mission. Secondly, I've already tried going after them myself. If I can't take on one, then I can't take on three. Thirdly, they've already saved my life once when we had to deal with Iska." Grena sat up straight and crossed her legs. "That reminds me. We left her lying out in the open. You guys did find her and take her to an infirmary right?"
"Huh?"
"We really did a number on Iska back then on the twelfth floor. Despite her being our enemy, we decided that we couldn't just leave her to die, but we couldn't take her to get treated cause, you know. How is she?"
"Well... I believe that Prime Ministers Aglovale and Alexiel have taken care of that."
"I see. Well, that's a relief." Grena laid back once again. "So. Mind if I ask you something then?"
"Huh?" Juri blinked in surprise. "Sure. What do you wanna know?"
'Why are you in the Imperial Army?"
Juri seemed surprised at Grena's question.
"You've got some reason why, don't you?" She asked.
"Well, yeah. I do." Juri answered. "I just didn't expect you to ask."
"If you don't wanna talk about it, it's fine."
"No, I don't mind. I just doubt there's much for me to say. I'm a new recruit technically."
"You are?"
"Yeah. I've only been in the Imperial Army for about two months now. Honestly, chasing after you all could be considered my first big mission. It's almost like a dream come true in a way."
"What do you mean?"
"My reasoning for becoming an Imperial soldier is mainly because I wanted to make a name for myself. I wanted to do something with my life, and I chose the Imperial Army of Goldenia."
"Was there nothing else for you to do other than go into the army?"
"To be honest, no. Granted I am an earth elemental, but I really wasn't sure what to do with myself. When I was a child, it was like that for me too. But still, I've always admired hearing the stories about the soldiers and the great battles they went through years ago, not to mention learning about the constant wars Goldenia was involved in, in the past. It interested me. So I decided that perhaps this was to be what I should pursue a career in. Therefore, I decided to sign up for the Imperial Army of Goldenia as soon as I could. I want to rise through the rankings and become a great general."
"It's a lot harder than you thought, isn't it? Not to mention, all the warring is over. The other kingdoms have been quiet, and the Demon Realm has been mostly quiet 'cept for a few skirmishes."
"Well, you've got me there. Granted a lot of things that would help have passed, that isn't going to stop me. I volunteer whenever the Imperial army is shorthanded, and try to take on as many tasks as I can to help out. Every little bit counts. Especially after His Highness was assassinated."
"I see..." Grena folded her arms. "So that's that, huh?"
"Yeah. That's all. Well, what about you?"
"Excuse me?"
"Why are you a mercenary?"
"I did it because I needed money for my mom."
"Your mother?"
"I lived outside the walls of Goldenia when I was younger, me and my parents. When I was about ten years old, a small demonic force came in and attacked our village. My dad, my mom, and a lot of warriors all went out, and put a stop to the attack quickly. But, the Demons played dirty. About twelve hours later, there was an outbreak of a demonic disease in the village, poisoning all those that went to participate in that fight, my parents included. My mom could barely stand when it first hit, and my dad was coughing up blood occasionally, but despite that he tried to head out to bigger cities in order to find something or someone who could cure us. A few days later, the villages that went with him who weren't sick brought back his body. He died along the way."
"Why didn't he stay at home with all of you? If he was ill then he shouldn't have exerted his body like that!"
"My dad was always quite stubborn at times. When he made up his mind, he makes up his mind." By that time Grena had started eating while she was talking. "When he died, I was left alone with Mom. She could barely move while I was young so I had to be the one to take care of both her, and myself. I did everything I could to try and make sure I could provide for her. But, a ten year old didn't have many options. So, when I turned eleven, I decided to look into becoming a mercenary. I knew that I would have to do things that I have never done before, but if I could get money to help provide for my mom, hell the whole village even, that would be fine with me. Back then just like now, I used my chains as my weapon of choice. Though I relied on more stealth attacks using them since I wasn't an fire elemental at that age."
"You weren't an elemental when you started?" Juri took a sip of water. "How did you become a fire elemental then? Considering that there are people who aren't born with an elemental ability, how did you get yours?" Juri then noticed that Grena went silent. "...? What's wrong?"
"..."
That question was enough that it caused Grena to flashback to memories that she wanted to forget. In her head, she could see the events that led to her becoming a fire elemental. She could hear her screams of pain, the chatter of a large group of people, demonic screams, screams of fear. She could see people with weird masks, herself in large amounts of pain undergoing a cruel process. A large demonic figure of fire that soon started to attack the people with masks relentlessly. To her, it almost felt as if those demonic eyes from the figure were staring back to her from inside of her own head. Her last memories was an image of her body impaled on a fiery spike, screaming her head off.
Grena soon shook her head, as she looked back at a concerned Juri.
"I-I don't want to talk about that..."
Juri looked away. "I understand. Sorry for asking. I didn't mean to awaken any bad memories, especially while you're enjoying a meal."
"Yeah... But... I don't think I'm hungry anymore."
"Right... I see."
Grena tapped Goblin Mage on the head to get her attention. The little girl in question had finished eating all of her food, and was nearly about to eat her own plate.
"You've finished eating you know." She said. "Don't eat the plate."
"Okay." Goblin Mage said, putting the plate down. "Oh! Grena. You've barely eaten."
"Don't worry about it. We're done here. Hey. Juri." Juri looked over towards Grena. "Your call. We leaving or what?"
"R-Right."
Juri stood up, Grena and Goblin Mage doing the same. The three soon walked out of the restaurant. The moment they were in the street, both Juri and Grena stopped walking, prompting Goblin Mage to stop as well. The latter just looked at the former two in confusion.
"What's the matter?" Grena asked. "You ain't taking us in anymore?"
"I... I don't know." Juri responded. "What about you? You don't seem to be attempting to run off anytime soon."
"I... I don't feel like it."
Both Grena and Juri stood there silently. Goblin Mage just tilted her head in confusion.
"What am I doing?" Juri thought to himself. "I know that I'm supposed to take them in but I just can't bring myself to do that. I joined the Imperial Army to make a name for myself, and I always do my best to do the right thing by bringing villains to justice. But... I don't see these two as villains."
"This is the perfect chance for us to get away!" Grena thought to herself. "Why the hell won't my legs move?! I already promised Feena I'd keep Goblin Mage safe, and the others are bound to be starving. If I stayed here this close to a soldier, I'd be sure as hell thrown into jail for sure. But... I don't feel like Juri is going to do that."
Both were suddenly snapped out of it as Goblin Mage tapped both of their legs.
"Um..." The little girl said, looking at Juri. "Can... Can we go now? I don't wanna worry Feena and the others, and we promised to bring them food too. Can you please let Grena and I go, Mr. Soldier? Pretty please?"
"I-I..." Juri stumbled.
"What is she doing...?" Grena said quietly.
"Do we really have to be enemies?" Goblin Mage continued, talking to Juri. "You seem very nice. We don't wanna be your enemies! We just wanna leave!"
Juri was speechless when Goblin Mage was talking. He didn't expect to hear this from a child of all people. Grena was equally stunned, having no idea what to say. Finally Juri sighed loudly, and spoke.
"I just want to do is right." He began to say. "But, now, I don't really know what's right after this. The two of you seem like good people, but considering the crimes placed on your group, that makes things conflicting for a soldier. If people find out that I let you go after having you this close to being arrested, there's no telling what labels and crimes would be placed on me. I don't know if I could handle taking such a risk."
"...Hey. Juri." Grena said. "We're not gonna rat you out or anything. That won't benefit us." She smiled slightly. "No one will know you let us go. We won't say anything. We promise."
"You sure I can trust you?"
"I don't know. I am a criminal after all."
Juri and Grena laughed at that for a moment.
"Wait." Goblin Mage said. "Does that mean-"
"Yeah." Juri sighed. "I'll let you two go back to your friends. No tricks."
"You're a real help Juri." Grena smiled. "Which is why I'm extremely sorry for this."
"Huh? For-"
Before Juri could finish, Grena rushed forward and slugged him the chest, causing him to clench his chest and drop to his knees.
"Just for precautions." She said. "And just in case any suspicions come up, you can tell them I tricked you, got a lucky shot in and then escaped." Grena grabbed Goblin Mage later. "Thanks for the meal, sorry for the assault! Come on Goblin Mage. Let's find something else for the others to eat."
Juri groaned as he sat upright on the ground, watching Grena and Goblin Mage run away. However he then chuckled as he watched the two run off.
"Heh."