Chapter 20 - Uninvited Guests

After an unknown amount of time, Lucas's meditation was disrupted by a commotion coming from the direction of the woods.

Opening his eyes, he saw Chloe and Samantha startled awake by the noise. Exchanging brief glances, the girls nodded to each other before taking cover. Lucas quickly extinguished the fire and joined them.

The trio peeked out, spotting sparks of metal flashing in the dark woods, likely from weapons clashing. Moments later, a figure stumbled out from the shadows.

Both Chloe and Samantha gasped softly when they saw who it was.

“That's Susanne, right?” Chloe whispered in surprise, recognizing the fleeing figure as their former classmate

Two more figures emerged from the woods behind Susanne, a tanned, muscular man in his mid-thirties wielding a baseball bat, and a petite blonde woman in her twenties with knives strapped to her belt.

"Come on, little girl. Just give it back, and we can pretend this never happened," the man said mockingly.

Sneering, the woman scoffed, "Why bother, Austin? She's dead anyway when the others show up."

"Monsters!" Susanne spat, gripping her dagger tightly as she prepared for a final stand.

The woman laughed loudly, "Monsters? Did you hear that, Austin? She called us monsters!"

Grinning sinisterly, Austin stepped closer. "Listen, girl. We're being nice here. Hand it over, and maybe we'll let you walk away. Isn't that right, Britney?"

Clenching her jaw, Susanne charged straight at the man, only for her figure to vanish and reappear right in front of the woman.

"This annoying trick again," the woman, Britney, sneered, parrying the dagger with her knife. "I gave you a chance!" she spat, delivering a swift kick to Susanne's abdomen, causing her to double over.

Grabbing Susanne by the hair, Britney smirked menacingly. "Be a good girl and tell us where it is. Otherwise, your pretty face might not stay so pretty."

From their vantage point at the temple, Chloe whispered urgently, "We have to help her! She's going to die if this keeps up."

"Both of you go. I'll stay here," Lucas said firmly, keeping his voice low. "They mentioned having others coming. I'll climb to the roof and cover you."

Without hesitation, the girls dashed out of the temple.

Unsheathing her sword, Chloe shouted, “Get away from her!” She flicked her blade, producing a sharp, ear-piercing screech that echoed through the clearing, causing the duo to recoil in pain.

“Who the hell is this kid?!” Austin growled, swinging his bat only to have it clash against Chloe's sword with a clang.

Meanwhile, Samantha sprinted forward, thrusting her spear at the woman. Forced to dodge, Britney released her grip on Susanne. Samantha caught Susanne in her arms and asked, “Are you alright?”

“Samantha?” Susanne gasped, her voice laced with confusion as though she couldn’t believe they were there.

Pushing Austin back, Chloe quickly joined them, standing protectively in front of Samantha and Susanne with her sword raised. Her glare was icy as she focused on the two enemies.

Spitting out a glob of bloody phlegm, Austin warned while gesturing at Chloe, “Careful, Britney. This girl is stronger than me.”

Hearing her partner’s warning, Britney raised her hands and said, “Whoa! Whoa! Hey! We surrender! We're not looking for a fight with you. We just want her!”

“Why do you want her?” Chloe demanded, gripping her sword tighter.

“Relax, girl! She stole something from us. We just want it back,” Austin said, a sly grin plastered on his face.

“Lies!” Susanne shouted, her voice trembling with anger. “You're trying to kill my friend and me just to get it!”

Britney roared in fury, “Because your little friend killed one of us and stole that Skill Book! It was supposed to belong to him, but you murdered him! We were kind enough to let you two stay with our group, and this is how you repay us?!”

Confused by her words, Chloe turned to Susanne and asked, “Susanne, is she telling the truth?”

“They're lying!” Susanne shouted. “Camelia found that Skill Book, and they threatened us to hand it over as a so-called protection fee! Otherwise, they'd kick us out and hunt us down!”

Austin intervened, a smile on his face. “Listen, kids. We just want her. Soon, our friends will be here, and when that happens, escaping will be nearly impossible for you. So just hand her over, and we’ll go our separate ways.”

“I understand both your situations. But there’s no need for violence or bloodshed in any of this. I’m sure we can find a way to resolve this peacefully,” Chloe stated solemnly, her voice unnaturally calm and convincing.

Even Samantha noticed Chloe's tone seemed slightly unusual, but she chose to remain silent and observe.

“If it’s a Skill Book you’re after, could we offer you other resources in exchange? We have food, water, and equipment,” Chloe suggested, carefully watching the duo’s reactions.

From her perspective, Chloe could see the duo’s pupils trembling slightly with hesitation.

However, Britney gritted her teeth and responded, her tone less aggressive than before. “We don’t want bloodshed either, but we have enough resources to last a few more days. We just want the Skill Book they took from us.”

“No, Chloe,” Susanne shook her head desperately. “We didn’t steal it. We earned it fair and square. Camelia found it while looting a monster.”

“She’s lying!” Britney snapped, her agitation flaring. “Our friend found it first, but they stole it before we could claim it!”

Turning to Susanne, Chloe asked gently, “Susanne, where’s Camelia?”

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Fidgeting with her fingers, Susanne answered meekly, “We got separated.”

But before Chloe could press any further, the sound of rustling and heavy footsteps emerged from the woods.

“There! Austin, Britney! You got her?” a voice called out from the trees.

Moments later, a dozen people stepped into the clearing, each armed with makeshift weapons ranging from bats to crowbars.

Austin turned to the girls with a sly smile. “Sorry, girls. Time’s up. Our buddies are here. And now that I think about it, your resources sound pretty tempting. We might as well take those after dealing with you three.”

The group began advancing, cornering Chloe and the others with their backs against the temple wall.

All of a sudden, Britney raised her hand, halting the group’s movement. “Wait,” she said, addressing Chloe and Samantha. “You two are skilled, no doubt about it. Leave her behind and join us. We’re a big group, and we could use people like you.”

“Thanks, but no thanks. We already have an avid reader guiding us around,” Chloe replied, shaking her head with a calm smile.

Without warning, she flicked her sword, emitting the same nail-scraping noise as before.

“Ugh!” Austin winced, clutching his ears. “Be careful! That noise makes us weaker!”

"I gave you a chance!" Britney roared, dashing forward with her knives at high speed, clashing against Chloe's sword.

Samantha, wielding the long reach of her spear, easily fended off four attackers trying to close in on her.

"I'll kill you first, kid!" Austin snarled, grinning wickedly as he swung his bat at Susanne, sending her crashing into the dirt.

Slowly approaching the fallen Susanne, Austin smirked and muttered, "You messed with the wrong man, kid." Raising his bat, he prepared to smash her skull.

Then he stopped, frozen, before tumbling to the ground like a ragdoll with a gaping hole on his forehead.

Even Susanne was taken aback by the sudden turn of events, and the rest of the attackers stared in stunned silence. The only exceptions were Chloe and Samantha, who remained unperturbed.

“AUSTIN!”

Britney's roar cut through the clearing as she frantically tried to shove Chloe away. When that failed, her gaze locked onto Chloe's face, noticing the faint smirk curling her lips. Desperation took over as Britney pulled back, attempting to flee toward Austin.

“It's bad to get distracted during a fight,” Chloe muttered icily. Her sword hummed in rhythm, slicing through the air and slashing into Britney's torso.

Britney screamed in agony, clutching at her wounds, but before she could recover, another deep gash tore across her chest. She collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

Within minutes, the attackers lay sprawled across the ground, their bodies riddled with wounds. Chloe, Samantha, and Susanne, however, remained unscathed.

"Thank you for saving my life," Susanne said gratefully to the two of them.

Chloe gave a curt smile and nodded. "You're welcome." Samantha only glanced at her briefly.

“If it's possible can I-”

"I believe you should go and find Camelia. You two got separated, right?" Chloe interrupted with a smile, catching Susanne off guard for a moment.

"Y-yeah, we got separated," Susanne replied meekly before adding, "But I don't know where she is. So, can I stay with you two for a while? I promise I won't cause any trouble!"

"But we don't have enough resources for three people," Chloe rubbed her chin, sounding troubled.

"Huh?" Susanne was momentarily stunned. "But just now you told Austin you had a lot of resources, right?"

"Oh, that?" Chloe smiled innocently. "That was just a lie. We can barely survive in these woods. We're lucky to have found a temple with some food."

"But why don't you stay here for the night? There's still some stew left. I'll grab you a bowl," Chloe offered, pulling Susanne inside without waiting for a reply.

***

In the middle of the night, a figure stirred from her spot, it was Susanne.

She glanced at Chloe and Samantha, making sure they were asleep.

Slowly, she trudged toward the sword Chloe had left by her side while sleeping. She picked it up and examined it. Grinning greedily, she grabbed the sword and quietly made her way out of the temple.

Just as she stepped out of the temple, a metallic object pressed against the back of her skull.

“Wh-mmph! Mmrrggh!”

When she tried to speak, only faint, garbled noises escaped her lips as she realized some invisible force had clamped her mouth shut.

“Shhh. Quiet, please. My friends are trying to sleep, yeah?” a soft voice whispered from behind her.

She tried to reach for her dagger but failed. Her mouth wasn’t the only thing restrained, her entire body was pinned to the ground.

Terrified, she struggled and tried to scream, but it was useless. No matter how hard she tried, her body wouldn’t obey her commands.

“Hey, miss. Try to keep it down, okay? If you keep squirming like that, I might just pull the trigger,” the voice whispered again, this time with a distinct edge of menace.

Hearing the threat, Susanne stopped struggling, though her body continued to tremble involuntarily.

“Good. Now here’s what’s going to happen,” the voice whispered, dangerously calm. “I’m going to take back the sword you stole from my sleeping beauty, and you’re going to give me one good reason not to bury you six feet under like your ex-friends, for betraying the kindness she showed you.”

“Do you understand?” the voice murmured right next to her ear.

Her pupils darted left and right, searching desperately, only to realize with horror that the bodies of Britney’s group were gone. Her eyes widened in terror as she mustered every ounce of strength to nod. “Mmmph! Mmrrph!”

“Great. You understand,” the voice replied, amusement lacing the words.

Suddenly, her fingers were pried open by an unseen force, one by one, until the sword was wrested from her grasp. She watched helplessly as it hovered into the air and out of her sight.

“Hmm,” the voice mused. “The blade’s still in good condition, but now it’s dirtied by your sweaty hands. What do you think?”

Susanne’s eyes widened in terror, trembling as beads of sweat rolled down her body, her shivering growing more intense by the second.

As if entertained by her reaction, the voice chuckled softly, whispering, “Relax. I’m not going to kill you over sweaty hands. But for stealing my sleeping beauty’s item? That’s a different story. I’d suggest you start racking that brain of yours. Otherwise, I might just put some dirt in your eyes.”

The voice grew colder, almost taunting. “Heh. For a Rogue, you really can’t keep your composure, huh? And if I’m not mistaken, you’re fifth on the second quest ranking, right? Someone that skilled must’ve prepared an answer for this situation. Or am I wrong?”

Before she could process his words, the invisible force clamping her mouth suddenly vanished. Realizing this, Susanne immediately tried to scream, “Hel-mmph! Mmrrgh!”

“Oh no, that’s a wrong answer,” the voice hissed, dripping with menace. A sharp, searing pain exploded in her thigh, making her cry out in muffled agony.

“Hmm, so this is how it feels to be a villain, huh?” the voice whispered amusingly.

Suddenly, a pair of unseen hands reached into Susanne’s jacket, slipping effortlessly through her body. From her inner pocket, they pulled out a leather-bound book.

Susanne’s eyes widened in sheer panic as muffled garbles spilled from her lips.

The voice chuckled darkly. “Since you’ve decided not to cooperate, I’ll just help myself. Consider this payment for my sleeping beauty’s emotional damage. And no, you don’t get a say in this.”

Pausing for a moment, the voice’s tone grew colder. “You should be grateful you’ll live to see another sunrise, only because you were once my beauty’s classmate. But betraying her kindness? That’s something I won’t forget.”

“Now, off you go.”

With those words, Susanne’s body began moving involuntarily, as though controlled by invisible strings. Step by step, she was forced into the darkness of the woods, tears streaming down her face. Her figure slowly disappeared into the night, swallowed by the shadows.