Chapter 11 – Chosen Fate
The dreams came again. Insects and spiders on top of Reina. This time, they weren't the dozens or hundreds of smaller ones that would skitter up and down her body. Instead, there were only two. One was a large centipede wrapped around her body. Its many legs held her in place. The second was a big spider pressing against her chest, the heavy weight making it hard to breathe.
It actually wasn't as bad as before. Aside from not having an uncountable amount of skittering things crawling all over her, she felt rather warm and comforted. Idly, she wondered if that meant she was going crazy.
The spider didn't stop there. No, it came closer to her face. Reina could feel the heat coming off of it as it pressed its body against her head, cutting off her air. She struggled to free herself to no avail. She could feel the end coming, nowhere to run in the empty void.
Light entered her world as she awoke from her confusing nightmare, only to find it continuing in the waking world. Instead of a centipede, she found herself wrapped up in a pair of arms. And instead of a spider, her face was smooshed in-between two very aggravating lumps of fat.
"Mmph!" She struggled against the hold of the woman beside her, attempting to find a way to push off. She wriggled and writhed, sliding her arm free of its hold. Once she did, she pushed against the head of the body, stirring it from its own slumber.
"Ow!" The feminine voice cried out as she released Reina, bringing up her hand to massage her face. "That hurt."
"Wha…What are you doing!?" Reina yelled after she caught her breath and backed away.
"Well, I was sleeping before you woke me up." The woman returned, sitting up lazily.
"Who are you!? What are…" Before Reina could ask further, she remembered the woman from yesterday. It was hard to miss the violet hair and her…other features.
"Maria, remember?" The wizard said, looking at Reina lazily with half-lidded eyes. "You hired me yesterday. Remember?"
Reina paused, trying to recall that piece of information.
The wizard, Maria, just killed a bunch of centipedes with her fireball spell—which Reina remembered feeling jealous of, as well as…other things. She thought about hiring the woman, spoke with her for a bit, then…spiders. She remembered lots of spiders. They came back and started crawling all over her.
"I…guess I remember that." Reina said hesitantly. She'd need to check with Vyrdrun on what exactly they agreed on.
"Then can I go back to sleep?" Maria asked. "It's still…"
She looked past Vyrdrun—who was tending to a fire—over at the door to the hut they were apparently in. Morning light was already filling the room past the hung cloak.
"Oh. Well, I guess we went to sleep early, so it's fine." Maria stretched from her spot on the bedroll, which was Reina's and the only one there.
"Yeah, alright, good." Reina rubbed her eyes, feeling somewhat more refreshed than she was previously. "Now we can…"
From the adequate night's sleep she got, Reina's brain was working much better than it was yesterday. It was because of this that she noted a very important detail about Maria that she hadn't before. Something that was pertinent due to a number of factors, not the least of which were that she and Maria had apparently slept next to each other.
"Y-Y-You're naked!" Reina yelled, pointing at the wizard accusingly.
"No I'm not." Maria pointed down, showcasing this world's equivalent of underwear. It was similar to what Reina had gotten and was more modest than what she thought Maria would wear, though that wasn't saying much.
"C-Cover yourself!" Reina retorted. "There's a man here!"
"Hm~?" Maria cocked her head to the side. "But he's a Gromnar. There's no issue."
"What does that matter!?" Reina yelled.
Maria paused for a moment, then plopped a fist into her open hand. "Oh, right, you're not from this world. I guess most humans here wouldn't know either." She leaned back on her arms. "Gromnar women don't always wear something on their upper bodies, especially if they're working in hot weather. Or if it's raining. No pointing having to dry clothes if they don't need to, and they can handle the cold pretty well. Besides, they mostly cover down below out of convenience rather than shame. To them, it's not as big a deal—"
"Would you just put something on already!?" By this point, Reina had already covered her eyes.
"Okay~." Maria said in a teasing, singsong voice. "Gods, you sound just like my mother."
As fascinating as it was to learn more about Gromnar culture, Reina didn't need a practical lesson at the moment.
"Just what did I get myself into?" She moaned internally.
After what felt like an eternity, the ruffling sound she was hearing quieted down.
"There!" Maria called out.
When Reina looked, she saw the wizard back in the outfit she wore yesterday, minus her cloak and hat. While an improvement, Reina felt it still needlessly showed off more than necessary.
"Better." Reina relented anyway, standing from her spot. She walked over to Vyrdrun, who was preparing…breakfast.
"You could have slept longer." He said as she sat next to him. "You haven't been sleeping well these past few nights."
"I'll be fine." Reina assured him. One part of yesterday's conversation with Maria she remembered was that they were close to the edge of this evil forest, a few hours at most.
"So Boss isn't always like this?" Maria asked as she sat on Reina's other side.
"She's usually much calmer." Vyrdrun said.
"Hmm." Maria stroked her chin. "I think she's more fun like this."
"It is more lively like this." Vyrdrun nodded.
"Are you…can you two understand each other?" Reina asked, looking back and forth as they talked.
"Of course!" Maria flashed her another smile. "I've spent a lot of time around Gromnar, so I learned their language. Nice people. Well, the ones who interact with humans are, anyway."
"This close to the old empire, not many tribes would be too trusting of humans." Vyrdrun added.
"Yeah, but the ones in Lespax are pretty friendly. Even more so in Astros, Oshain, and further west. Even Boshil is pretty good."
"You've traveled far. I don't know any of those nations."
"I like seeing the world!"
The conversation was quickly reaching a point where Reina couldn't really jump in. She couldn't follow along all that well with the names being dropped. If nothing else, this wizard knew a lot about the world. She really got around.
And that turn of phrase was not at all intentional!
Her personality made it a bit easier to talk with her. Reina didn't feel the same reservations about getting to know her better than she did with Vyrdrun, which was already easier than most people. Her excitement after first coming to this world helped with her old party, for all the good that did her. Still, the fact that Vyrdrun at least was talking a lot more was a positive.
"Um." Reina interjected just as they were about to start talking about Gromnar food. "You mentioned an empire?"
"Hm? Oh yes. The Keston Empire." Maria nodded. "It collapsed about 20 years ago, after lasting about 100 years. The first Demon Lord saw to that."
Reina recalled Prince Johan mentioning something about that before. "Do you know more about it?"
"Just what everyone knows, I suppose." Maria shrugged. "The Demon Lord killed the entire imperial family, and many in the extended family that went out and married into their vassals' families, political marriages and all that. He was eventually stopped by the Three Great Heroes."
That brought up another topic Reina needed to know more about. "What other heroes are there? Before yesterday, I thought I was the only one."
Maria looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. "When did you say you were summoned?"
"I think it was nine days ago." Reina answered.
"And when did Savia's capital get attacked?"
"Seven days ago, at night. Why?"
"I suppose that's fine…" Maria mumbled before speaking up. "Well, there's the Chisel Hero, also known as the Golem Master, and the Cleaver Hero, or the Juggernaut."
"Hmmm." Reina was the Ritual Implement Hero, also the Spirit Forger. If she had to guess, the Chisel Hero made golems to fight for them. If they could easily make golems like the ones in the capital…well, they didn't do so well against the Demon Lord, but they were impressive nonetheless.
As for the Cleaver Hero…
"Just to be clear, is the Cleaver Hero some sort of chef?" Reina asked.
"A chef?" Maria laughed. "Well, I've heard stories of how previous Cleaver Heroes turned their enemies into piles of meat, so I guess so!"
"Right. Not that kind of cleaver. I've seen a few cleavers drawn and used in a few games. If that's what it is, it's probably a sword like a falchion, but thicker as it reaches the end." Reina thought.
"Do you know where they are?" Reina asked hopefully, to which Maria shook her head.
"The Chisel Hero holed himself up somewhere and I haven't heard where in my travels. The Cleaver Hero travels around a lot, but I've heard a lot of conflicting information on where he or she goes."
That hope died pretty quickly. "Damn. I was hoping to talk with more people summoned like me to see how they handled becoming a hero."
"Oh, no, they aren't like that." Maria quickly said. "While the Totem Hero can only be summoned in dire circumstances, anyone can become one of the other heroes. I haven't heard anything about these two being summoned."
"Good to know, I guess." Reina said.
"Do I get a bonus for teaching you~?" Maria asked with that smile of hers.
"No. You're already being paid with…uh…" Reina didn't actually remember what the conditions were. She gave Vyrdrun a quick look.
"A cut from your loot and item drops, if that's what it's called." Vyrdrun answered her unasked question. "And to take her to locations of other spirits."
"Right, that." Reina nodded. That sounded fair enough. She would need to visit other spirits anyway to increase her power, so it wasn't out of the way.
"Aw." Maria gave a very fake pout. "What about you, Vyrdrun? Do I get a reward from you for being so knowledgeable?"
Reina didn't expect him to give any sort of positive response, though not negative either. She really didn't expect him to reach his hand over and ruffle Maria's hair.
"Oh my~!" Maria said with a laugh. "So friendly~!"
"Yes, yes." Reina sighed, more than used to Vyrdrun's strange acts by now. "We should eat our…breakfast, and be on our way."
Maria smiled at that, taking a skewered bit of cooked centipede that Vyrdrun offered her. "If you want to know anything else, feel free to ask Big Sis Maria!"
"I'm not going to call you that." Reina deadpanned, taking a skewer of her own. Hopefully, this would be the last meal of something that she refused to acknowledge as chicken-flavored.
Breakfast passed in relative peace. Reina had to reevaluate her opinion on Maria, or rather the tropes she ascribed to the wizard. This world wasn't a game or a story, something Reina now had fully cemented in her mind. Still, seeing the shapely woman eat so much and maintain her figure checked a box. She even ate more than Vyrdrun. However, the fact that they were centipedes made her question things.
"Well, I guess I should clean myself up." Maria said after patting her belly. She brought her hands near her head and gave them a wave. The hair that was completely out of sorts from sleep began straightening.
"How are you doing that?" Reina asked, her attention fixed on the wizard.
"It's just Prestidigitation." Maria said, looking at her with one eye open. "Vyrdrun said you could do magic already."
"I don't think I can do that." Reina could see the outlines of effects she could create with that spell, and this wasn't one of them. At most, she could clean her hair, just like she had been with all those giant insects bleeding on her. Otherwise, she wouldn't have bothered getting that brush, even if she kept her hair braided most of the time.
"You can. Eventually." Maria finished her work, pulling her hair forward near the ends toward Reina. "Give it a whiff!"
"I'm not…strawberry?" The scent that reached Reina's nose paused her rebuttal.
"Maybe! That sounds like a fruit." The smile on Maria's face grew larger. "Once you understand more about the framework of the spell, you can expand on it to do much more. Oh, to teach a hero how to do magic! This will be the best job I ever got!"
Certainly, listening to a possibly hallucinatory laugh was going to pay off in the long run, and Reina wasn't sure how to feel about that.
"Well, I did manage to find a wizard to teach me more about magic, even if she's strange. Good job, Sleep Deprived Reina. Thank you, Well-Rested Reina." Reina conversed with herself internally.
"Is that something that happens when you gain a lot of levels?" Reina thought to ask.
"Nope!" Maria emphasized the end with a loud pop. "I mean, not completely. Levels help access more MP consuming spells and enhancements, but it's not always needed. It's more about understanding, practice, and application. After all, I'm only level 21. I'm just that great!"
A boast to be sure, but yesterday's fireball spell showed some merit.
Speaking of spells, there was another spirit they could visit before exiting the forest, according to Vyrdrun. Despite wanting to leave a soon as possible, Reina couldn't pass that up. That was their next destination.
They packed up their belongings and Vyrdrun restored his hut to the land, letting them set off. Since they added another person, Reina and Maria would be on the ground and try to keep pace with Vyrdrun. The detour would only keep them in the forest for about one extra hour, plus however long it took to form the contract, so it wasn't terrible.
Plus, it gave them time to work out fighting strategies.
"Vyrdrun fights up close. I can send in my forged spirit first and back him up myself, or we surround enemies if it's feasible." Reina explained. "That leaves you with your magic. What kind of spells do you know?"
Maria hummed in thought. "Well, since I'm usually on my own, I don't have many spells that focus on helping teammates in combat. When I need to fight, I usually go big before enemies get close enough to attack."
The fireball spell from yesterday came to mind.
"I have some warding and defensive spells, but nothing to build a strong plan from." Maria finished. "Though that can change depending on what spirits we find. Big Sis needs to prepare and make sure she can help!"
Reina sighed, but she was still happy about that.
The conversation turned lighter as they continued. Eventually, they reached the spot Vyrdrun said the spirit was. His ability to detect both spirits and violet rain was quite handy.
Compared to the last spirit, this one's location was a bit lackluster. Reina expected a large tree or something more serene, but it was instead a cave. It wasn't even inside the cave, just on the outside and to the side.
"Well, I guess I expected too much. People do secure areas with spirits in them, apparently, but a forest with giant insects doesn't strike me as someplace people want to defend." Reina reasoned.
The three of them sat near the cave to meditate, Vyrdrun doing it for his own reasons.
Now that she had a better grasp of it, reaching out to the spirit came much easier to Reina. It only took a few minutes.
Contract: Charm Animal
Restriction: monster prohibition
Accept?
"Hey, Maria?" Reina called to her newest party member after accepting.
"Hm?" The wizard cracked an eye open to her.
"What do you think 'monster prohibition' means?" She decided to accept the spell, since she had no real reason not to. At worst, she would break the contract accidentally and lose the spell, and the bonus from her power up method.
"What do you mean?" Maria asked.
"It's the restriction for this spirit's spell." Reina said. "I don't really get it, but it seems relevant to the spell. Maybe I can't own any monsters or—"
That seemed likely, since she could probably get a monster as a pet somewhere down the line. She didn't get an answer, since Maria grabbed both of her arms by the shoulders and pulled her close.
"You got the spell already!? And you know that much about it!?" Maria yelled, slightly shaking Reina.
"Y-Yes?" Reina tried to speak, but the look on Maria's face was intense.
"How did you learn that much so quickly?" She asked. They'd been there about five minutes, so it wasn't a very long time.
"I just did." Reina attempted a shrug with her arms still held. "After Vyrdrun helped me with the last one, I just looked for the same feeling and—"
"It should take a lot longer to learn the spell and restrictions! The spirit just told you what it was so soon? What did it say? Did it tell you the limits as well? How much potential is in the framework? Are you—"
"Breathe." Vyrdrun placed his hand on Maria's back, pausing her speech.
She did as he said and took in a deep breath, letting go of Reina in the process. When she let it back out, her eyes were focused on Reina.
"Please tell me exactly what happened." She said.
Reina did so. The explanation wasn't long, since there wasn't much to say. After connecting, she got a popup with that bare information. Maria didn't seem to think it was such a small thing, if her growing smile was any indication.
"I think the spirits like you~." She sang out. "Most don't just hand over the information like that. It's more a sequence of visions and feelings, and it takes longer to parse out what the restrictions are."
"Oh…?" Reina wasn't sure how to respond. That sounded like how she first forged a contract with her own soul, but not the last spirit.
In the next moment, Maria pulled Reina into a fierce hug. "Contracting spirits will be so much easier with you! I knew I made the right choice joining your party!"
"Can't…breathe…" Reina tapped Maria's back in a vain attempt to free herself.
"Hush! Such a lovely, cute little hero needs pampering!" Maria laughed, ignoring the small girl's plight.
"Vyrdrun…help…" As a last resort, she reached out to the giant, but he simply left her to her fate.
~Forging Legends~
Maria was able to contract with the spirit as well and they set off. She said it was easier with the knowledge Reina gave her.
The working theory for why Reina was able to do it so easily—according to Maria—was because she was the Spirit Forger. She likely had some innate connection to spirits, given how she used a physical manifestation of one. Given her power up method, it wasn't a bad theory, nor one she particularly cared to question.
Reina did bring up a point she noticed. Unlike Prestidigitation, neither of the two spells she gained gave an explanation for what they did and only a few words on the restriction. The name of the second spell gave Reina enough of a clue to its function. Maria explained that the restriction needed to be parsed out, and that novice mages wouldn't be able to figure it out until they break it, and even then they may not make the connection until they tried casting the spell again.
As for the lack of spell effect information…
"Well, it is your spirit you got that spell through."
That explained little, yet a lot. It wasn't like her own soul would try to hide anything from her…probably. This shortcut told her basically what not to do, so she was free to experiment with it as she saw fit.
As they walked through the forest, they got the chance to try out their new spell on a giant spider that crossed their path. The result? A burned spider corpse. Maria believed it was because these monsters weren't considered animals, a term that applied to a smaller group of monsters. An example she gave were those horse-like nipeigh, so Reina assumed it meant more docile or domesticated monsters, far removed from the more mindless insects of the forest.
Not that Reina was exactly complaining about that last bit. She didn't want a giant spider to get friendly with her.
"If you learn the intricacies of the spell framework more, you could probably include other monsters in the spell." Maria had offered earlier.
To reiterate, Reina did not want a giant spider to be friendly with her. Learning more about spells like Maria said seemed to be more complex, so it was far off anyway.
The trio continued walking through the forest, occasionally dealing with some monstrous centipede or ant that got in their path. After a couple hours, the trees began to thin and they exited the forest.
Maria walked ahead of them and spun around, holding her arms out wide. "Welcome to Ablos!" She called out.
Reina looked around. There wasn't much to see besides the hilly grasslands around them. "We're in the next country?"
"Yep!" Maria hid her hands behind her back. "This one was only part of the empire for less than 20 years, so there'll be less issue with Vyrdrun walking around. Well, Savia was pretty pulled into the culture, so that did spread a bit, but the way into Ablos from there is bordered by the forest we just walked through and a small mountain range farther north. There's a lake more south, but that connects to other non-imperial countries too."
The main thing Reina took from the empire was that it didn't like Gromnar, since she had one in her party. That was reason enough to keep going west for now.
"Lookie here, boys!" A voice called out. Reina looked to the top of a short hill, where a man dressed in leather and light plate armor appeared from. "Looks like we got some travelers."
He was joined by over a dozen more men, all in various states of armor and weaponry. A few bits of plate here and there, one of them wearing a full breastplate, but leather was the dominant armor type. As for weapons, there were axes and swords aplenty, with a few maces mixed in.
"Bandits? Here?" Maria commented as the men slowly walked down the hill and spread around.
"Surprised, little missy?" The man who spoke before asked. "This here is a popular spot for weary travelers such as yourselves to stumble out of the forest."
"Huh? But you said no one would show up here." Another bandit voiced.
"Quiet!" The man roared back.
"So, they got lucky." Reina realized, watching them come to a stop.
The lead man twirled his sword. "So, we got a nice catch there, a little girl, and a giant of all things!" It wasn't hard to figure out who he was talking about with each comment. "He'll fetch a good price in Savia. Glad we have enough men."
Reina leaned closer to Maria, who'd made her way behind the shorter girl. "I thought you said Gromnar were treated better here."
"A little better." Maria corrected. "Besides, they're brigands."
"Fair point."
It may have seemed like Reina wasn't taking the situation seriously, but she was. She just understood the concept of bandits, especially in a world like this with levels. If they were strong enough, the bandits would probably be adventurers. It would be more dangerous, sure, but it would also be much more rewarding and less risk of fighting trained knights. The best that bandits could hope for would be finding well-equipped adventurers alone and by surprise, or raiding a merchant caravan, like some did with Maria's group.
What's more, bandits likely relied more on numbers and intimidation than actual ability. Based on what Maria said, it wasn't likely they had powerful magic with them, unless they got blessed in some church. Celia had mentioned how some guards got that, but she was unclear on if and how that got removed.
Besides, they just fought their way through a forest full of giant insects. Fifteen bandits weren't going to stop the three of them. Or rather, the four of them.
"Spread out, boys!" The leader called. "The one in the back looks like a mage."
The bandits moved as told. Based on the size of Maria's spell, they were such that no more than two would be hit by a Fireball. Based on what she was told, a single casting probably wouldn't be enough to stop a single person, unless they were pretty weak. That spell sacrificed power for area.
"You lot focus on the giant." He looked over to the bulk of bandits closest to Vyrdrun. "We'll take down the girls and join you."
"Oh my~." Maria called out. "You think we'll be that easy?"
The bandit scoffed. "Mage or not, you can't fight in close combat dressed like that. And…"
In the next moment, he pulled an axe from behind his back and threw it at Maria.
"Forge Spirit!" Reina shouted her skill, summoning her spirit to block the attack. The axe struck one of the segmented parts, ghostly yellow liquid dripping from the wound.
"What the—"
"Web!" Before the bandit could react, Reina shot a web at him, binding him in place. At the same time, her forged spirit Charged through the air at another bandit assigned to the pair, biting into his shoulder with Spider Bite. His legs wobbled as he fell back, his body becoming paralyzed.
"She's the Spirit Forger!" One bandit called out. The bandits near Vyrdrun started to back away as he stomped forward, though he remained close enough to help keep the women covered.
"Twin Fireball!" Maria launched two beads of fire in-between a pair of bandits, hitting them both with a dual explosion.
With two of their fellows on the ground, the ones looking to fight Vyrdrun seemed to be reconsidering things. The wisest one of them all turned on his heels and ran away.
"Don't run! Attack!" A brave bandit yelled, charging at Vyrdrun. His sword was held above his head.
Once the man was close enough, Vyrdrun brought up his arms and slammed them down in sequence. One arm knocked away the bandit's sword, earning a light cut on the Gromnar's arm. The other arm struck the bandit's chest, sending him to the ground.
The other bandits quickly regained themselves, charging in or throwing any ranged weapons they had at Vyrdrun. Unfortunately for them, Reina and Maria were free to engage them while the forged spirit held back the remaining two bandits that were supposed to subdue the pair.
"Twin Fireball!" Maria cast her spell again, targeting a group of three bandits who had grouped too close together, throwing axes and knives from a distance. Two of them were knocked to the ground with the third having avoided the brunt of the spell. He too saw fit to run away.
All that was left was the four bandits that engaged with Vyrdrun. Even if he handled them alone, they wouldn't stand a chance. That was no reason for Reina to sit back and watch.
"Hah!" With his back to her, Reina swung her Thunderstruck Doll Totem into the head of one of the bandits. The totem gave off a light electrical charge, damaging him further. He turned around wobbly, unfocussed from the blunt attack to his head. Another strike sent him to the ground.
"Crap! Run!" The bandit who encouraged that group into attacking Vyrdrun quickly changed his mind. Unfortunately for him, his arm was grabbed the moment he turned around. Vyrdrun swung the man through the air once before throwing him into the remaining two bandits who'd managed to retreat a measly ten feet.
One of them tried to get up again, but Reina quickly ran up to him and struck him in the side of his head with her totem. He fell back to the ground, unconscious.
With a look behind her, Reina saw the two her forged spirit had fought on the ground, paralyzed by Spider Bite. Over the past day or so, she was able to better understand her Forge abilities. Some seemed to have a cooldown, like Charge, but her three others didn't. All of them used SP when used, just like having her forged spirit out.
With the fighting done, Reina recalled the spirit to preserve and regenerate her SP.
"My, that went much better than last time." Maria said as she swayed over to the only conscious bandit, that being the web-bound leader. "You fine gentlemen are from the group that attacked the merchant convoy the other day, right?"
The man glared up at her as he continued to struggle. "You must be the mage they left behind. Didn't think you'd survive the forest alone."
Maria smiled. "Well, I did have a bit of trouble, but my new boss helped me out with that."
The bandit looked over at Reina as she began to approach. "Of all the people…how the hell did the Spirit Forger end up here?"
Maria's smile widened. "You can ponder that when you get to hell." She pointed her finger at the man.
"Whoa, wait!" Reina called, dashing over. "What're you doing?"
"Hm?" Maria tilted her head back as she looked over. "I'm getting rid of the bandits, what else?"
"They're beaten, you can't just kill them!" Reina shouted.
"Hm? Oh!" Maria snapped her fingers and turned to Reina. "You want to turn them in for a reward, don't you?"
"That…yes, that'd be better." Reina sighed. This was a different world with different norms, but killing a restrained bandit just didn't sit right with her. Killing people in general wasn't something she wanted to do. It was a wonder none them died already.
"You're better off killing me now!" The bandit yelled.
"Oh, hush." Maria waved him down. "If you didn't want to end up a slave, you shouldn't have become a bandit."
"Wait, what?" Reina looked between the two.
"You didn't know?" Maria asked. "One of the possible punishments is bound servitude to the state. Banditry gets at least a year, usually much longer depending on what other crimes can be shown. If they were apprehended by knights, that's where they'd be going."
Reina could understand the logic behind it, using criminals as labor to repay their debt to society. But to make them slaves…
"Normally, bandits, brigands and the like captured by adventurers wouldn't face that, since it's one person's word against another's. There are some…let's call them brokers, that deal in such matters."
"You mean slave traders." Reina said pointedly. "Just like I saw in Savia."
Maria shrugged. "Possibly the same group. Savia's more open about such things. It would take a while to transport them there—"
"I'm not selling them into slavery!"
"Easy, easy." Maria held up her hands. "Since you're a hero, we can turn them in to the next town we come across."
"I'd…rather not let people know where I am." Reina confessed. After what happened in Savia's capital, having people spread the word about her traveling wouldn't be good at all.
"Well, then the only other option is to kill them." Maria said without any change in her voice.
"But that's…" Reina was stumped.
One choice was unthinkable, one required revealing to a town the Spirit Forger was there, and one would have her take the law into her own hands.
"Vyrdrun, what do you think?" She hoped the Gromnar could add something to help her.
"I only heard part of the conversation." He replied, dragging over the last of the unconscious bandits.
"Oops!" Maria covered her mouth daintily. "Sorry. I switched back when I started talking to this guy."
"We need to figure out what to do with them." Reina supplied. "I don't want to reveal I'm a hero to turn them in, and I don't want to kill them, but I know we can't just leave them be."
"Then I shall kill them." The giant offered.
"Vyrdrun!" Reina cried out.
"What's the issue?" He asked with a raised hand. "They rob and kill people. They chose their fate."
"See?" Maria pointed at him. "Look, I don't know why you want to hide that you're a hero, but that's the best option. Going back to Savia would take a while, especially going around the forest. I don't know where any brokers are here, so killing them is the only option left. Unless you want to release them?"
"Of course not!" Reina knew doing so would only let them hurt more people.
What she needed was some time to think of something. Maybe she could absorb a lot of their gear for some weapon reveals and destroy the rest…but then they'd just go back to the rest of their group. Even if they were left tied up somewhere, they'd get loose eventually. Maybe revealing she was a hero wouldn't be that bad. The Demon Lord couldn't have spies everywhere, could he? Then the local government could handle the bandits, and she'd even get paid for it. That was sounding like the best option the more she thought about it, but the burning buildings and screams of fear and death came to mind. She just couldn't decide.
A snap broke them from their argument. The leader of this small group cut through the webbing that bound him and lunged forward, his sword's point aimed at Maria's chest.
It happened in an instant. Reina didn't even think about it. She simply reacted, the desire to protect her newest party member overshadowing her trepidation.
A translucent head jutted from Reina's body, mandibles already sunken into the bandit. Two sets were clamped onto his head, which she could see had an expression of shocked horror on it. That was because the last, lowest set had pierced his neck.
Reina's Deft Strike skill, one that didn't need to be said aloud, activated on instinct. She just couldn't watch another party member, no matter how new, die.
She knew what she just did.
The XP notification in her vision confirmed it.
"Nice, Boss!" Maria exclaimed as the bandit was released, the forged spirit's head returning inside Reina.
The Spirit Forger looked down at the now-dead body of the bandit. She killed him. It wasn't murder, she knew that. It was self-defense.
"Boss?" Maria looked over at her with a questioning look.
It didn't change the fact she had this man's blood on her hands.
~Forging Legends~
Atop a plateau overseeing a city, Goalith looked to the filled roadways. With the distance between them, there was no way he'd be spotted. His enhanced senses, however, did not bar him from seeing them. Small, weak humans were busy at work, doing whatever it was they did nowadays.
Strange creatures, this lesser beings were. News of their father, the Demon Lord, had spread here from the orators that relayed messages. Still, they carried on.
The Waves of Destruction, something he knew could devastate the world, was also widely known here. Still, they carried on.
It was a time of prophecy and threat, yet they continued with their day-to-day activities. He understood the reason well enough. Until it came to their doorstep, the average person wouldn't involve themselves. Why would they? It was the job of soldiers and mercenaries and adventurers to keep them safe. Why step up when someone else was sure to do so?
It was just as well. A more cautious populous would be on the lookout for trouble.
"What are you doing?" He heard his sister's voice accompanied by the sound of beating wings. When Maphai landed, she marched up next to him. "You were supposed to speak with our contact here."
"Job's done. I have time until I must return." Goalith responded, barely giving his sister a glance.
"Tsk." His sister was visible out of the corner of his eye. She turned her nose up, letting her long, golden hair spill over her shoulder. "What's the point of looking at humans? They're weak and pathetic creatures."
"They're fascinating." He retorted.
"Cities like this won't be around for much longer. If Father has his way—"
"If you have your way." Goalith interrupted, sparing her a longer glance. "Father doesn't care for mindless destruction. You know this."
Their business in Savia was an exception. Father's operation being discovered, combined with the coming of the Waves, required acceleration of his plans.
"You may be the oldest, but I'm Father's favorite." Maphai looked at him with disdain. "He won't always tolerate your fascination with these things, let alone your…hobby. Not if I have any say in the matter."
As fast as lightning, Goalith's arm swung. Maphai blocked with her own before it struck her head, the snapping sound indicating the wisdom of her action. His expression was unchanged, his voice remained level, but anyone could have sensed the fury emanating from him.
"You may be Father's favorite, but even his patience will run dry with your provocations in your siblings." Goalith pulled back his arm. "Run to him if you think he'll side with you, about our little tiff here or your opinion about my hobby."
"Tsk. You're one to talk…" Maphai lowered her arm, letting it limply sway at her side with a grimace. She looked at Goalith with equal hate, but she was smart enough not to push him any further. Instead, she spread her wings and took flight.
"Hm." Goalith turned away and continued to observe the humans below him. He knew his sister well enough that there was no chance she'd breathe a word of that to their father.
Not that it would matter if she did. Goalith did his job properly, just as he always did. He and his siblings were allowed their own interests, so long as they didn't interfere with Father's goals. If his sister only wanted assignments that involved killing as many humans as possible, that was her business.
Author's Note:
I think I'm enjoying writing these fan service scenes too much. I'm not stopping, you can't make me.
The chatty wizard will help facilitate more conversations with the hero, maybe doing so in a flirtatious manner as befitting her appearance. It's all for the greater good, you see.
And now, Reina has another taste of what she might have to do in this world. Killing people. Self-defense or not, someone is dead in part because of her direct action. That's not something to just shrug off. Still, it's necessary.