April 16th, 1566 ME
Hidden Order Safehouse
Valerie Lockhart
"Let me go! Let go of me! I want to see Kenton!" Kirsten yelled as two Resistance fighters dragged her to a nearby metal table and began chaining her to it. One of our priests and a good friend of Kenton's, Jerald, walked up to her and began taking notes on Kirsten's condition.
"...Flushed cheeks… Purple eyes…" The man mumbled out loud. "Valerie, try suppressing the effects of the corruption again."
I summoned my magic, a bright white glow appearing around my hands. Holding them above Kirsten, it began to have a noticeable effect on the Elf. Her cheeks began returning to their normal color, and her irises lost their deep purple coloring, returning to their forest-green.
"We should have a day or so of clarity… Before the effects of corruption return." Both Kirsten and Jerald grimaced. "Our first test on her, she was lucid for three days. Our second, she was only lucid for two."
My face found comfort in my hands. Ever since Kirsten had come back from the attack on the castle of Floria, she hadn't been acting the same. Kenton explained that the Malef Dragon that Annette and Andreas were supposed to kill had interrupted their battle with the Lilim, blasting Kirsten with a wave of corruptive dragonfire. It wasn't difficult to understand why she was acting the way she was.
"Damn it all…"
Kenton came up to me, covered in sweat from his training. His grim expression spoke volumes. "I'm guessing things aren't looking good for Kirsten."
"My magic is having diminishing returns. By tomorrow afternoon Kirsten will be back to her corrupted state."
"...She's not going to make it, is she?" Kenton frowned.
My face matched Kenton's. "Not unless a miracle happens. Pray to the Chief God. Maybe she'll hear us this time."
The next day
The past twenty-four hours had been a blur. Kirsten relapsed to her corrupted, lustful state after a day, just like Jerald had predicted. Earlier this morning I had tried suppressing the effects of the corruption again, only for it to last a pathetic seven hours. It became very clear that she was almost out of time. Nobody wanted to kill her, so we did the only thing we could. Lock her up and pray to the Chief God for a miracle.
I entered the miniature training yard, where Kenton had been training since morning. "Kenton! You need to get some rest, it's been eight hours! You haven't eaten breakfast or lunch!"
"I need to train… I need to make sure what happened at the castle never happens ever again." He turned away from the training mannequin and glared at me.
"Listen… It's admirable that you're working so hard. Anyone else would've given up by now, going up against such threats. But you need to balance training and your health. You're going to collapse from exhaustion if you keep this up." I lectured him.
My words seemed to resonate with Kenton. He stopped wailing on the mannequin and looked at me, his mind processing what I had just said. He opened his mouth, presumably to form some sort of rebuttal, only to continue being silent.
As I was about to continue reminding him of how I had saved his life, I heard loud noises coming from the other side of the safehouse. I turned away from the miniature underground training yard and towards a door covered in several chains and a lock. Frantic banging came from the other side.
"Kentooooon…" Kirsten moaned. "Kenton! Let me out! I want to be with you! I want to feel you!"
The tone of her voice was a reminder that a miracle hadn't happened. If I tried to suppress the effects of her corruption again, it would probably last thirty minutes, maybe an hour if we were lucky. And so, I decided on our final resort. I had created a special dish, a pie laced with a powerful, magically enhanced, and fast acting poison. It would end Kirsten's life painlessly and quickly.
Dish in hand, I leaned up to the door. "Kirsten. I'll give you what you want." I turned towards Kenton, who had occupied himself with training once again, despite me insisting on him to get some rest. His stubbornness was downright irritating sometimes.
"R-really?! You'll let me see my Kenton?!" Kirsten sounded giddy at that statement. Guilt began to well up inside me, despite knowing that she was corrupted. I repeated the words my mother had told me over and over again in my head.
Death over corruption. Death over corruption. Death over corruption. Death over corruption.
"Yes… But I need to prepare you for something first. I'm going to unlock the door and come inside. You'll need to stay put. Is that fine with you?"
"Of course!" The Elf's voice was practically radiating with excitement.
"Alright… I'm coming in…" I inserted the key into the lock, letting the chains fall to the ground. I opened the door, looking upon Kirsten. She had undergone some minor but noticeable changes ever since the attack. Her face was constantly red, as if she was blushing. Her mouth was curved into a delirious, almost slovenly smile. Her right hand was covering her private parts, but the stains on her clothing told me everything I needed to know.
"Here. Eat this." I laid the apple pie down in front of her and shut the door behind me. Kirsten crawled over to the dish and began devouring the food hungrily. She didn't get far before the poison began to do its job.
"Valerie… what's… what's happening… to-"
"I'm sorry, Kirsten."
Kirsten opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. She collapsed onto the ground, coughing up some blood before laying still. I called for the nearest resistance members that weren't Kenton for assistance. He didn't need to carry the body of his dead comrade. A man wearing the Order's uniform came running, stopping when he saw Kirsten's body. I gave him a single order.
"Get rid of the corpse. Make sure there's no evidence." The man nodded, taking her body to the outside of the safehouse to be cremated. As they were leaving, I swear I saw Kirsten twitching. Rigor mortis, I assumed.
Kenton stopped training, looking upon the corpse of his ally. He didn't look angry, nor sad, nor happy that she was dead. He simply looked blank. As the pair of men left the safehouse, he came up to me.
"I'm going to miss her." Kenton said quietly, glancing at the room where we were keeping Kirsten.
"I know, Kenton. Me too."
The two of us looked at each other in silence for a few seconds. In the days after the attack, I could hear Kenton sobbing in his room after everyone had gone to bed. Yet both of us knew that this was coming, and eventually accepted that it had to be this way.
"...Was it painless?"
"...Mostly."
"Good… There's that, at least. I'm going to get some rest, Valerie." He turned away, walking to his room. Meanwhile, I waited for the man I had ordered to get rid of Kirsten's corpse to come back. Yet, after fifteen minutes, they hadn't returned.
What is taking them so long?! Are they having trouble disposing of a corpse?
I groaned in frustration and exited the safehouse, surveying the area for the Resistance member. A few yards away from the entrance, I saw them laying on the ground, motionless. A bloodied rock laid next to the man's head. Kirsten was nowhere to be found.
"What the hell?!" I swayed my head around, looking to see if Kirsten was anywhere nearby. I didn't notice any footprints or signs of disturbance in the forest. She had escaped. I cursed angrily and stormed back into the safehouse.
"Everyone, get out here now! We have an emergency!" I yelled, ringing the bell in the middle of the safehouse loudly. Several Resistance fighters stumbled out of their rooms, standing at attention. I began to address everyone.
"We have an issue. Kirsten has escaped. It is crucial that she does not reach Floria, for reasons I don't have to explain." I pointed towards the exit. "Everyone gear up and begin searching. If you find her, kill her."
"Yes ma'am!" Everyone shouted, dispersing. I noticed Kenton in the back of the crowd, looking both worried and relieved at the news. I stopped him as he was about to leave the safehouse with everyone else.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
"...I do." WIthout another word, Kenton turned away from me and sprinted out of the safehouse.
April 16th, 1566 ME
"Pro-Mamono Zone" of Floria
Amaya, 58th daughter of the Mamono Lord
It had been a little less than a week since the attack on the castle of Floria. In only seven days, the landscape of Floria had changed immensely. A significant portion of mamono and human run businesses had closed their doors for a few days to mourn the death of King Emyr. A walk down the street of the pro-mamono zone showed crowds full of the more aggressive monsters protesting, not unlike how the human citizens of Floria protested prior to my arrival here. Some were calling for the military to take action, others were insisting that Floria be transformed into a mamono realm.
As much as I understand their grievances… I don't want to do it. I don't want to be another Druella. I believe that I can make this work.
Me and Nikolas were attending a very rare event. A funeral, in a mamono-friendly country. A closed casket one, at that. With necromancy being a relatively common practice in mamono realms and even in neutral territory, funerals almost never happened. Whether it was the husband or the wife that died, they would be back within the day as an undead incubus or monster. Yet, necromancy had its limits. It was impossible to revive someone from a puddle of blood and a few loose bones and organs, not without Hel reincarnating them.
"How are you feeling?" I asked Nikolas, unable to come up with any other conversation topic. The healed man looked at me with an expression of annoyance.
"For the fifth time, I'm fine, Amaya. I've fully healed and am back in fighting condition."
I shook my head in heavy disapproval. "Please, Nikolas… You don't need to fight anymore. That was what you said to me when we met for the first time in Royal Makai. That was why you married me."
"It just feels wrong, sitting here and not doing anything."
"You were nearly blown to bits a week ago!" I cried. I was still shaken by how close he had been to suffering the same fate as King Emyr. If the explosive arrow had been one or two inches closer, I would've joined Delilah as a widow.
Our conversation was interrupted by a Dark Priest stepping up to the podium, a solemn expression on her face. Next to her was Delilah. The normally prideful and extroverted dragon was dragging her clawed feet behind her, with her tail and wings drooping like a dehydrated plant. She had spent the last week locked up in her room, crying. I had tried talking to her, to no avail.
The crowd consisted of Delilah's, and by extension, King Emyr's generals as well as Delilah's family from her small kingdom in Dragonia. An older, more regal looking Malef Dragon similar to Delilah sat next to a man in elegant purple and black robes in the front row. The two gave Delilah a sympathetic look as she took her spot next to the Dark Priest. Many undead mamono like Liches, Wights, and Banshees had attended the funeral, all sharing a despondent look.
On the row left of them, stood a Wight and an undead incubus with similar clothing to what David Emyr wore. I recognized them as David's parents. A Lich must have brought them back from the dead. The rest of the crowd grew quiet as the Dark Priest began her speech.
The white-haired priest cleared her throat. "Good afternoon. We are gathered here to honor and celebrate the life of David Emyr the twelfth, a man known for his tireless efforts to make Floria a better place. He is the reason we are allowed to live here. He cast aside the Order's restrictive practices for the betterment of the country he ruled."
I would've added a "partial" next to "betterment". While it was true that he had improved the lives of the pro-mamono region, the anti-mamono region of Floria still suffered. Granted it was of their own volition, not from a lack of effort from King Emyr. It was difficult to help someone that didn't want to be helped.
"What happened to him a week ago was terrible, and shocked us to our core. Even worse, we cannot bring him back, not without Hel's direct help. We should have been better prepared for such an attack."
"As we gather to say goodbye, it's important to remember that while we mourn the loss of David Emyr, we also celebrate the incredible person he was. David Emyr lived a life filled with kindness, generosity, and love, and the impact he had on all of us is something we will carry with us forever." The Dark Priest paused for a moment. "I remember how he tried to help the anti-mamono region of Floria, even as they pushed him away, over and over again. After all, I was one of those people. His persistence and kindness is why I'm the way I am."
"I know many of you have your own memories of David Emyr, and each of us has our own way of remembering him. Some of you may have been friends with him. Others might have worked alongside him. Maybe you just talked to him once, and he left an impression on you. Either way, he was a beloved member of Floria's community."
"To David Emyr, you will be deeply missed, but you will never be forgotten. You've left a lasting impression on all of us, and for that, we thank you. Rest in peace, and may Hel guide you through the afterlife." As the Dark Priest wrapped up her speech, two men moved the casket near a rectangular hole in the ground, preparing to bury it.
Delilah, her parents, and King Emyr's parents all stood around the casket. Delilah's mother laid a comforting hand on her daughter's shoulder while King Emyr's father tried consoling her mother. It was hard to watch, and I felt myself looking away from the sight. A few of King Emyr's close relatives and subordinates left flowers for him, a demonic lamp flower left by Delilah's mother standing out the most.
About fifteen minutes later, everyone had left. Nikolas had gone back to the castle to get some rest, leaving just me, Delilah, and a few of the funeral workers. Delilah watched as the casket containing what was left of her husband was lowered into the ground. She then turned towards me.
"I need to talk to you. Now." Her voice sounded strangely empty.
"About?"
"This deal you made with King Emyr. Specifically, the part about not turning Floria into a mamono realm." Delilah spoke in a low, yet angry sounding voice.
I didn't like where this was going. "...What about it?" I asked with fearful curiosity.
"If we had just done things Druella's way, none of this would have happened. Why do you insist on playing nice with the Order when it's clear that you'll never get along with them? Did Druella play nice with the country that abused its lower class for money? No, she corrupted them. Showed them the error of their ways."
"Listen, Floria is different from Lescatie. The nobility here isn't nearly as awful."
Delilah let out an annoyed breath. "Regardless, we should've done things her way. We would've avoided…" She pointed at the casket. "That, from happening. The anti-mamono region of the city wouldn't be starving themselves to death. Everyone would be happy." The corrupted dragon glared at me.
"Remember what I said, back in the cave? Leaving Floria uncorrupted would leave space for human resistance efforts. I warned you that this was going to happen. You didn't listen to me. You wanted to be the next Druella, yet you didn't want to use her methods."
"I never said I wanted to be Druella. I wanted to give everyone a choice. Nikolas convinced me-"
"That man is a fool! He's why we're in this situation to begin with! He insists on giving lenience to our enemies! David paid the price for his ignorance!" Delilah yelled at me. Her wings flared up a little as her face became red with both anger and sadness.
Taken aback by her insult towards my husband, I shot her a harsh glare. "Nikolas isn't a fool! He cared for his people! That's why he gave them a choice! He wanted them to come over to our side on their own terms!"
"And look at how well that turned out. Tell me Amaya, how many anti-mamono citizens have you seen willingly marry a monster or monsterize in the past month we've been here? I've visited the anti-mamono region a few times, and I've seen less than ten. Less than ten anti-mamono citizens willingly joined our cause in the past month from what I've seen." Delilah aggressively rebutted. "Which reminds me, you've failed your troops as well. You promised them husbands if they helped you. You've barely fulfilled your end of the deal. The monsters protesting outside aren't just angry about the king's death, they want what they were promised too."
"The anti-mamono region is bigger than you think. We just need something that could convince them to join our side. Something they can't ignore." I bargained. "What happened to your husband was tragic, but that alone won't make me give up on coexisting with the humans in Floria."
Delilah scoffed at me and shook her head, chuckling bitterly. "You're so naive, Amaya. They'll never join us willingly. If you ask me, I think we should revoke the non-aggression law as punishment for the human's regicide."
"You can't do that, not while I'm here. Coexistence between monsters and humans in Floria will happen. I will make it happen. I don't care how long it will take or how hard it'll be!" I shouted, raising my voice. Delilah didn't look impressed.
"I can do that. I have the authority." Delilah growled, sounding like an animal warning someone to stay away. "And believe me, I will if I feel it's necessary. Neither you or Nikolas will stop me."
"You're making decisions based on personal trauma that you've barely had time to process!" I yelled at her, frustrated that she wouldn't listen to me. "Just… just go home. Get some rest. You shouldn't be ruling right now. I'll take over."
Delilah looked at me for a moment before taking a deep breath and flying away. It felt less like she was taking my advice to spend some time processing her trauma and more like she had just gotten tired of talking to me. Taking one final glance at the casket of David Emyr, I flew off after Delilah. Someone needed to keep an eye on her to make sure she didn't do anything rash.
April 17th, 1566 ME
"Anti-Mamono Zone" of Floria
Elise Maxwell
I lay cross-legged in a relaxed position on a large, soft chair that I had bought just for my therapy sessions with Roseann. The Bogey sat down on a similar chair, hers colored dark blue while mine was colored white. The Bogey listened intently to my recollection of the past week since our first meeting, nodding along and adding her comments when she felt like it. Her presence made me feel comfortable, strangely enough.
"...Norah is probably the other monster I like in this city, other than you. Lizardmen and Salamanders were always one of the few monsters that I could somewhat respect." I took a sip of tea that Roseann had brought for me. The warm liquid soothed my throat, relaxing me.
"It's true that some monsters can be particularly enthusiastic about their beliefs and ideals regarding humans. Forceful, even. It's what scares humans away."
"Forceful is an understatement. Me, Delilah, and Amaya talked while they had me in captivity. It almost always devolved into a screaming match. They even locked me in a room and tried to feed me corrupted food. I starved myself for days because I didn't want to monsterize. If Norah hadn't been there to rescue me, I either would have starved to death."
Roseann's face scrunched up in disgust, putting a large, stuffed hand on her chest. "They did that to you? I knew they were forceful, but to do that to you…" She took a deep breath and put her hands back in her lap. "We're getting off topic again. How are you doing with your alcohol problem?"
"I'm doing… fine. Not as well as I hoped." I recalled a couple days in the past week where I had more than two drinks a day. I blame the psychopath in the wolf mask for that. "There were two days where I had more than two drinks."
"It's progress, Elise. Five days out of seven is a good start. Now, I don't mean to prod, but why do you think you went over two drinks on those days? Is there a specific reason?"
"..." I debated on whether I should tell her about Gabriel. The thought of him hurting Eryn haunted me every night. I would find myself checking on him in his room, with or without his knowledge, in the middle of night out of paranoia. He had told me he was watching, and I knew he wasn't bluffing. I had given him the money he had requested, so he would hopefully stay off my back for now.
I decided not to put Roseann in harm's way. "No. Just… Struggling with withdrawal." I lied. It was a completely plausible excuse, given my current state. Roseann seemed to believe my lie, nodding.
"Have you found a hobby yet? Anything to distract you from the bottle?" Roseann asked.
"I… not really. My duties to the Order took up a huge part of my life, and whenever I wasn't working for them I was taking care of Eryn. I barely had time for anything else." Roseann's disgusted look returned.
"The Order and their work culture… I can almost understand why Amaya and Delilah wanted to take over Floria. Almost. Anyways, work on finding something to distract yourself with. The best way to fight the urge to drink is to find something you enjoy. Anyways, our session is almost over, we can meet next week on the same day, or we can choose another day to meet if you want to-"
Suddenly, there was a loud, aggressive knocking on the door. My blood froze. Did I miss my payment to Gabriel? No, I didn't. Not many people knew where I lived, and both Amias and Eryn were home right now. "I can answer it." I told Roseann, then got up and left the living room. The aggressive knocking continued, getting so violent that I feared whoever was outside would break my door down.
I opened the door. "Who-"
Standing on my porch was Delilah. From what little time I had spent with her from our duel in the forest and our few short conversations, she was assertive, prideful, and arrogant, just like many dragons. Yet one look at the Malef Dragon showed that she was none of these at the moment. One look at her eyes showed that she had been crying recently.
"You… I've been meaning to visit you for the past few days. Your Orderite friends have caused me an immeasurable amount of grief lately." The dragon snarled at me. From the few times I went into the pro-mamono zone, I had heard whispers of a terrorist attack on the castle of Floria where the King had been killed. I hadn't mourned the death of King Emyr, mainly because I didn't particularly like him for turning against Floria like Nikolas did. It had been shocking to learn that he had been killed, but I quickly got over it.
"And what exactly do you expect me to do about this? Go find someone else to do your job." I shot back.
"I'll tell you why you should care, Elise." She bit down on her finger hard enough to draw blood and pointed at me, blood dripping off her finger. "This. This is why you should listen to me. Do exactly as I say and your precious humanity will be preserved. If you don't? You know exactly what'll happen."
I hated to admit it, but she had me in a position of vulnerability. All it would take to turn me into a Dragonewt would be a few drops of her blood in my food or water. As much as I hated Delilah, I'd need to play along for now. For a brief moment I thought about taking Eryn and Amias and running away, but abandoning the people I had taken an oath to protect would weigh on me.
Then again, I've already failed them by letting monsters take over Floria. Fine, I'll see what she has to say.
"Sure. What do you want from me?" I cautiously asked Delilah, a displeased frown on my face. Delilah took out two folded up pieces of paper and shoved them into my hands harder than I was comfortable with.
"Amaya drew these pictures of the two surviving terrorists. She said they were heroes blessed by the Chief God. We know that you zealots work closely with each other." Delilah said in a voice that was dripping with vitriol. "Do you know who these people are?"
I took a closer look at the drawings. The first one, simply labeled "Intruder One" depicted a woman with tied-back blonde hair and green eyes and pointed ears in a green jacket. It was an Elf. I had occasionally seen elves watching me from a distance when I went on patrols outside of Floria, and had sometimes even mistaken them for monsters. The influx of monsters from the invasion must have displaced her from her home.
The second drawing, aptly named "Intruder Two" was much more detailed, seemingly done by someone who had more artistic experience than Amaya. It was a man wearing the same jacket as Intruder One with curly brown hair with a serious expression, his face dotted with scars. I immediately recognized the man as Kenton. He was alive. Nikolas was right. A feeling of immense relief washed over me, but it was immediately followed by immense dread. If he had attacked the castle, that meant he was a priority target for the monsters.
"Nikolas said he recognized the man in the second picture." Delilah continued. "He was a close ally of yours, correct?"
I kept on gawking at the picture of Kenton, wide eyed. He was alive. He hadn't committed suicide. My mind raced as I thought about what I would do with this information. Maybe I could join his resistance, help him overthrow Amaya and Delilah…
"Do you know who he is?!" Delilah shouted, snapping me out of my stupor. "Don't ignore me!"
"I… I do." I said slowly, bracing myself for whatever Delilah was about to say next. Delilah grinned unnervingly, worsening my dread.
"Good. Now, I suspect that those terrorists weren't working alone. There's probably more of those rats hiding out somewhere where we can't find him. Me and Amaya have sent out harpies and wyverns to scour the forests outside of Floria to locate where they're hiding, but we haven't found any sign of them yet." Delilah explained. "That's where you come in, Elise. You'll be our spy. You'll lure them out of hiding and we'll ambush them. I've assigned for you to lead-"
My blood began boiling as I listened to Delilah's schemes. The audacity of her to not only ask me to work for her, but betray my brothers-in-arms and threaten to monsterize me. It was too much to bear. I lunged at the dragon as she was still talking and pummeled her in the face as hard as I could, over and over, momentarily unfazed by the threat of monsterization. My heroic blessing gave me strength far above any average human, yet strangely, Delilah didn't seem to react, despite being in pain.
"E-Elise? What are you doing?" A calm, yet worried sounding voice came from behind me, dragging me out of my rage induced beatdown. I turned around and saw Roseann peeking out from the living room. I quickly got off of Delilah and began to try and apologize.
"I-I can explain. She tried to-" I stuttered out, only to be interrupted by the sound of Delilah laughing. She had gotten up and was feeling the bruises I had given her. She took out a scrap of paper and tossed it at me.
"Go to the address I just gave you on April twentieth. You know what happens if you don't." Delilah laughed again, before flying off towards the castle, leaving me and Roseann alone. The two of us just stood in silence for a while, registering what just happened.
"Was that Delilah?" Roseann asked. "What was she doing here?"
"She… I'm being forcefully conscripted." I blurted out. "If I disobey, I get monsterized."
"Wait, what? Why?" Roseann called back, confused. "What did you do to deserve that?"
I sighed. "I never told you, did I? About my experience with her?" I shut the door and trudged back to the living room, a different type of stress weighing on me now. I plopped down on the sofa, with Roseann taking her spot across from me.
"No. Do you want to talk about it to me?"
"I don't know… You might not like what you hear, Roseann."
"I can tell it's bothering you. If you need to get something off your chest I'm the one you talk to."
"Alright, then. About a month ago now…" I paused, realizing how much had happened in a mere month, despite it feeling like more time had passed.
"I had trouble sleeping. Nightmares about past events, and all that. I decided taking a nighttime walk would help clear my mind, but I ended up… sleepwalking… outofthecityandintotheforest." I struggled to get my words out. I could feel my cheeks heating up in embarrassment as I looked down. "A-Anyways, I encountered Delilah. Just sleeping there, for whatever reason. I figured that killing her would halt the mamono army's invasion plans. So I tried to, and almost succeeded. Then I got knocked out from behind and captured."
"I see. So I'm assuming she's doing this out of revenge, right?" The Bogey didn't seem fazed about how I had nearly killed Delilah.
"Probably… I'm surprised it took her this long to seek vengeance for me trying to kill her. During our fight she was saying things about 'making me spend the rest of my life servicing her'. If there's one thing that I can thank Amaya for, it's how she stepped in and stopped her from doing that."
Roseann snorted in disgust. "Good god. Every story I hear about Malef Dragons makes me like them less and less. So haughty and prideful." I nodded in agreement. Part of me wished that she had died alongside King Emyr. If the rumors about Hel were true, she would get to be with her husband again, and I wouldn't have to deal with her ever again. It would've been a win for both of us.
Roseann looked outside at the setting sun. "Either way, I'm glad to see you're progressing, Elise. Keep up the good work. I'll see you next week if that's fine with you?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Alright. Goodbye, Elise." Roseann retrieved her bag and left the house. I saw her stare at the blood that my encounter with Delilah had left on the porch for a moment, before she walked off, leaving me alone.
The next day
I wasn't looking forward to today. A few days ago, I had received a letter from Gabriel stating that I had to give him money again, and on top of that he was demanding that I do it every week. He ended the letter off by threatening both Eryn and Amias's lives if I didn't follow his orders. Seeing the threats filled me with a sense of severe self-pity. Threatened by Delilah, threatened by Gabriel, it was infuriating to be pushed around this much. I had to do something, anything.
I looked outside. It was still dark out, but people would be waking up in a few hours. In my hands was my payment to Gabriel, a medium-sized bag, full of gold coins. I had also brought my sword with me and some of my lighter armor in case things went downhill, or I had a chance to get rid of him. Mamono realm silver be damned, I would just strangle him or throw him to the nearest monster if I beat him. I quietly exited my bedroom, making sure not to wake up Eryn or Amias. Hopefully, I would return before they woke up. I didn't need another lecture from either of them.
Clutching the bag closely, I tiptoed out of the house and onto the streets towards where I had met Gabriel for the first time. I broke out into a full sprint, wanting to get this over with as much as possible. Reaching the alleyway in record time, I stopped as I saw a barely visible masked figure standing in the shadows.
"Hello, partner. How are you on this lovely morning?" I refused to answer him, instead shoving the bag of coins his way. Hopefully, he would just take it and I would get to go home.
"Eager, are we? I'm flattered that you enjoy our relationship that much, Elise." Of course he wouldn't.
"..."
"You know, I enjoy our relationship too. Before I found you, operations in Floria were hard work. I had to steal from mamono and make food to sell to the impoverished. One is fun. Robbing a Danuki blind and watching them lose their mind the next morning is a blast. But the other?" Gabriel made a gesture with his hand near his throat. "Boring. Mind-numbingly boring. But thanks to your generous donations, I've been able to spend time on what I enjoy."
"...What are you even using this money for?" I asked, unable to hide my curiosity.
"Myself. It's cathartic being in control of your life and doing whatever you want, outside opinions of you be damned." Gabriel said, spreading his arms out. "You should try it. Being underneath the Order's boot constantly must get frustrating, right?"
"No. They always treated me fine. They paid for my brother's treatment."
"Lucky you. Let me tell you a story. I was with the Order at one point. A priest came by when I was twelve and told me that I had potential to become a hero. At that point, I wanted to become a chef. I had a knack for cooking, you see. I never got to pursue my passion because those stupid bastards dragged me into this. Saying no wasn't an option. They put me through years and years and years of training, and it was awful. Awful!" Gabriel screamed that final word, sounding like he was recounting some personal trauma.
"Eventually, I got the Chief God's blessing. Actually, blessing is being too nice. Correction, I got the Chief God's curse. Everyone treated me like shit. My allies, my superiors, even the people I helped. Gabriel! Do this! Gabriel! Do that! Gabriel, fight off an entire tribe of orcs! Gabriel, do everything for us!" Gabriel shouted, mocking the citizens of the Order. "My family wasn't any help either. They liked all the money the Order gave them. At one point, I think they stopped loving me, and started loving the money I brought in. It was all too much."
"Listen, I really don't care. I want to get home before my brother wakes up-" Gabriel grabbed me by the arm and forcefully pulled me towards him.
"No! You stay here and listen. I'm almost done anyways. After a few years, I snapped. I killed everyone, including my family. I've been on the run ever since. I decided to go to a mamono realm. I had heard whispers of monsters not being the blood-thirsty abominations they were amongst the commoners."
I blinked at him, stunned. "Why are you telling me this?"
"Be quiet and listen. Anyways, you know what they said to me? They told me I was a psychopath. That I was crazy, and that no monster would ever want to be with me. So, there I was, hated by the Order and hated by monsters. So I decided, screw both of them. I'm going to do what I enjoy and not let anyone get in the way."
Gabriel took a deep breath. "I apologize for the rant, partner. I got carried away."
"Again, why are you telling me this? Do you expect me to sympathize with you? Because I don't. Regardless of how your family and superiors they treated you, you can't just kill them."
Gabriel looked offended. "Easy for you to say. I bet your parents coddled the hell out of you when you were young. You live in a luxurious house and have several maids serving you day and night. You never had to go through the shit I had to experience."
"Whatever. Forgive me if I don't want to spend time with a wolf-masked psychopath." I sneered at him, turning around to leave. I kept my hand on my blade, just in case he tried anything.
"Standoffish as always, partner. We'll be seeing each other again soon anyways." He turned his back away from me and walked back into the alleyway. "Oh, and don't forget about the money. You know what happens to Eryn if you don't." With that closing remark, he vanished into the alleyway.
Something inside me snapped. I began formulating a plan in my head to break free of Gabriel's aggressive threats and blackmailing. I looked at the sky, estimating that I had about an hour before Eryn woke up. Instead of heading home, I began walking to Norah and Dayna's house.
Chief God forgive me, for I'm about to collaborate with our mortal enemies. I hope you understand…