It was a different kind of presence, unlike Ilinore whose aura commanded fear, he seemed fearless. I could tell he was strong, he would have had to be to have an expression like that.

His eyes were a piercing blue glare that stuck quite literally to the word, it seemed to stare beyond me and into my deepest fear. It felt as though everything I was trying to hide would be forced out of me, from his expression alone.

We were well past the point of lying but I needed to say something. I wondered whether the truth would be the best though, it seemed pretty certain that they wanted to kill Alice. They didn’t know her like we did, that she wasn’t a monster…not really.

Running isn't an option, they have too many people here. Even if we had Alice’s roar, I doubt we could make it past him. Something about him is off like we’d die before taking two steps.

“She isn't like them.”

The grip on my shoulder which held me to the ground grew tighter. The shield imposter behind us glared daggers over my shoulder.

Everyone looked on edge but he was especially angry, did I say something he didn’t like?

“Don’t talk so cocky to the master! You should be on your knees hoping he doesn’t lock you up.”

“Veldor.” The guild master said simply.

The guy behind me quickly adjusted his expression, he must have known he went too far. It was good to see that he had a grip on guys like that too though.

He jolted his glare off to the side and broke the eye contact between us. The hand on my shoulder fell off reluctantly.

“You said it wasn’t a monster, correct?”

“Y-yes sir.”

His gaze didn’t fade, it remained just as intimidating with every word he spoke. No matter how simple or short it was.

He looked at me with a sharper regard, as though he wanted to hear those words of mine. “Then prove it.”

Prove it, what does he mean by that? How could I prove that Alice isn't a monster, it doesn’t help that she has horns and a tail?! Unless…if he wants us to prove she isn't dangerous then maybe we could.

I didn’t question it. I gave a slight nod to show I would do just that and brought Alice forward.

The question was how…

I leaned into her ear and spoke softly, she was too on edge so I needed her to calm down. Her entire body was trembling, there’s no doubt that it had all been very sudden.

“Alice we have to prove that you’re a good girl, okay?”

“…”

She was too nervous to speak, she simply nodded and kept her grip on my undershirt. There was no separating from her, she refused to move from my side.

I didn’t blame her. All those eyes around us, it was scary for me too.

She took in a deep breath and gazed out at the watchful eyes that surrounded us. Not a single set of them rooted for us, we were met with distrusted scowls and sharp brows.

I looked at her and played the role of support, giving her a supportive nod.

Come on Alice, you’ve got this!!

She bit down on her lip and looked fired up, I knew that she wanted to but it was hard for her. She was determined to free her name, to prove that she wasn’t just some mindless monster.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“H-hello…my name is Alice…” She muttered gingerly.

Way to go, Alice! Everyone had to hear that, I doubt they’ve met a monster that can speak before. This has to rack up some points in her favour!

Nobody was able to mask their surprise, not even the guild master up front. A sea of murmurs erupted between the men and women that stood around us.

“How could this be?”

“I know what you mean—a monster that speaks? How is that even possible, aren’t they supposed to be like animals?”

“She even looks like a little girl…is that some kind of magic then?”

Alice caught every word and her mind raced at the thought of their accusations, I could see it play out beside me.

She stepped back with a nervous response, I thought she was going to fall over from anxiety.

“Alice? Are you alright, Alice?”

I got no reply. My words fell on deaf ears, she didn’t seem entirely conscious. Her mouth hung open with a terrified expression that enlarged her eyes.

After listening in on his men’s thoughts, Mister Edward let out a disappointed sigh.

“I will admit, this Dragon doesn’t seem to fit the bill of what our reports have said. However, this isn't enough to truly deem it not a threat. We’ll have to kill it, there’s no point in taking risks.”

His reports, what did he mean by that?

His eyes settled on Alice.

He raised his hand into the air and those behind him turned silent, it must have been some kind of signal. It held in the air for a moment as the sound of swords escaped their sheaths. I didn’t bother to find out what would happen when his hand settled back at the bottom of its arch.

My mind and body fell in tune with one another. I knew it was stupid of me but I didn’t care, I planned on taking on all the risks if it meant saving her.

I made a promise after all.

I pushed Alice back and she fell into Arga’s arms. She must have known exactly what I planned to do because as soon as we separated, Arga placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.

In a burst of white aura, I shot towards Mister Edward and extended out my Chakram to his neck. I was surprised. He didn’t so much as flinch as the edge of my white blade cut through the air toward him.

With a sudden jolt, a spear collided with my blade and blocked off the attack.

It was inevitable with the amount of ready-to-go adventurers around us, my attack was intercepted by one—no, three different weapons.

Even with all my strength behind it, the white Chakram couldn't move. It didn’t matter though, like I said…it was inevitable.

“Shadow Step.”

I appeared behind him and brought the blade down with a swift strike. It was in perfect position to slash his head and with nothing to stop me this time.

Nobody except him.

Mister Edward dove forward and completely dodged out of the path of the attack. It was too late to stop it though, my blade was flying at full speed with all my strength behind it. The two shields on his back absorbed the damage and the resulting shock from impact sent my hand numb.

A large tang echoed out through the filled room as my blade bounced off of his shields. I nearly dropped Agos out of my hand but I managed to endure it.

I expected him to step forward or put distance between us but he went for the offensive. The tip of his metal grieve came flying into view and nearly knocked my head clean off.

I managed to trigger Second Step right before he could but any later and I’m sure he would have hit my head clean off.

I emerged from the shadowy cloud and made a break for it, I was headed into the crowd and a large group of them stepped in my way.

Spears, swords, hammers and all kinds of large weapons pointed at me, clearly they planned to intimidate me out of moving forward.

They have some pretty sturdy armour, so they better live up to the name here~

I held out my hand to the crowd and summoned a bright red glow. “Dragons Roar!”

The dragon appeared ahead of me but the large crowd of charging men didn’t slow down, I doubt they would have expected what followed after those two words.

The dragon bared its fangs and in a flash of yellow from its eyes, the fiery blast was let loose upon them. The tankers in front must have felt the heat before it reached them because they planted their shields down ahead of time. Behind their protection, I could see the anxious eyes staring back at me.

They must have been so confused, I’m sure a Rust rank doing all of that would turn a lot of heads.

It wasn’t enough though, they held on for a brief moment but were soon blown away by its power. None of them were too badly hurt but there was some damage to their weapons and armour in the process.

Enough to clear a path.

Arga charged through the newly opened pathway and headed straight for the exit with Alice at her side.

Yes! This can work, I’ll hold them off and she’ll get them to safety. Whatever it takes, I’ll keep my word!

I had just fired an attack at one of the most powerful guilds in Istoria and yet I couldn't contain the smirk that formed on my face. Was I enjoying it, maybe deep down?

A flash of light appeared ahead of Arga and my smirk was washed away.

She stopped in her tracks and pulled Alice close to her chest. I couldn't believe it myself, somehow Mister Edward appeared directly across the room.

There was a new weight to the air as one of the shields on his back was equipped to his arm. It was massive, easily taller than me. The ground cracked and broke up as the full weight of his shield dropped to the ground.

“You’re not an ordinary kid, are you? If that’s the case, I’ll have to take you on myself.”