In a clearing, days away from the Aurian capital, a silver-haired elf stood among mangled bodies. He loomed over another elf, his hair equally silver, who was being savagely mauled by two creatures: a Frilled Devourer—a large, eyeless lizard with a flower-like mouth—and a Noctilion, a black, wolf-like beast adorned with a golden, crown-like protrusion. The first creature gnawed on the elf's arm, while the other gripped his leg, eliciting a despairing wail that was swiftly silenced as the standing elf approached, a maniacal smile etched on his face. Extending his arm, a monstrous mouth appeared on his palm, dribbling a sinister liquid onto the struggling elf below. The corrosive fluid seared his flesh, rendering him unable to scream, only to writhe in agony.
"Now you're going to answer the questions I asked," the attacking elf declared.
Regaining his ability to speak as the flow of Blightcoil’s venom ceased, the tortured elf cried out indignantly, "You haven't asked any questions; you just attacked us out of nowhere!"
Pausing, the elf known as Goblin mused, "I guess you're right. Now that I think of it, I haven't actually asked you anything yet."
"Mad...you're mad," the other elf responded, horror-stricken.
"Mad, I guess I am... Mad," Goblin replied jestingly.
"Aren't you an Argyrian as well?" At this question, the injured elf watched in terror as Goblin’s expression morphed from jest to wrath.
"Don't ever compare me to any of you inbred trash. You all should just die, die, die," Goblin seethed, stomping on the bloodied elf while his beasts tore even more ferociously into their victim.
In the midst of his assault, Goblin caught sight, in the corner of his vision, of a magic circle forming from an elf who, despite being severely injured, was still alive. The circle was moments from unleashing its power when a bolt of lightning struck from the sky, reducing the elf to nothingness. Looking up, Goblin saw Blondie hovering above on Leo the Caarghast. The creature descended gracefully to land before him.
"I could have handled that myself, just so you'd know," Goblin remarked.
"I know," Blondie responded, her expression indifferent, partly because of her visor. She then glanced at the tortured elf, adding, "You're wasting our time."
"Wasting our time," Goblin echoed, reflecting her words before concluding, "I guess you're right."
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Without another moment’s hesitation, his arm transformed into a worm-like monstrosity with teeth as large as fingers. In a few bites, the elf was no more, leaving only the limbs that Serge the Frilled Devourer and Bill the Noctilion devoured next.
"That's a good thing done," Goblin said, reverting his arm to normal. Turning to Blondie, he noticed her unease—hidden well behind the visor but not well enough to escape his notice. "What?"
"You're sure we should have done this? These were meant to be Argyrian envoys to the Aurian family, right? And we just killed them. For no apparent reason."
Goblin immediately thought of the latest update he had received from Dungeon Master 08. There were Argyrian envoys sent to the Umbryan family, and she believed there must also be some sent in parallel to the Aurian family with the same goal—the one to seek help from them. Her intuition was proven when, by a fortunate twist of fate, they stumbled upon these envoys on their way to the Aurian capital. At their sight, Goblin had acted, thinking eliminating these envoys would better their chances of appealing to the Aurian matriarch. Now, questioned by Blondie over his actions, he wasn’t so sure anymore.
"Since they're gone anyway... Let’s hope we'll have an easier time convincing the Aurian Matriarch being the first to do so, don't you think?" Blondie speculated.
He could tell she was trying to be nice at this point so, "Yeah," Goblin replied, convincing himself nonetheless with her logic that was pretty much the exact same as his.
Unlike Goblin and Blondie, Dungeon Master 08 and her group had reached their destination over a week ago, but they were still on their way. There were two main reasons for their delay. First, they didn’t have the convenience of a Red Wyvern for transportation, a method they had utilized to arrive swiftly to their destination. Second, they had been instructed to take their time with the journey. Rushing would have been counterproductive, as their mission in particular, while important, wasn’t urgent to the point of requiring relentless haste. Thus, they traveled at a leisurely pace, only increasing their speed when they’d been informed by her of the existence of the Argyrian envoys. The news had prompted the duo to pick up their pace, realizing that the envoys’ presence might complicate matters when it comes to the negotiation.
It was really a surprise for them both to stumble upon them on their way to the Aurian capital.
"That's right, we did good," Goblin assured as they climbed onto the Caarghast's back, the two bonded creatures merging back into him.
"Yes,” Blondie chuckled, “and that's why I'm definitely reporting to Ma'am about what happened."
"Eh, don't do that," Goblin frowned.. "If you report me, you'd be snitching on yourself for doing nothing and even participating."
This time she frowned.
"That's the truth, though," he grinned, extending his hand. "So let's just agree that whatever happened here, never happened. Do we have a deal?"
"We have a deal, but if any of this somehow reaches her ears, you’re on your own," Blondie agreed, shaking his hand.
"Deal."