"Geez…"

Exasperated, Guila wiped some boar blood off her hands against the grass. Little did she notice that the Drake's face had been thoroughly drenched with it.

"...You should eat more cleanly…"

"I want to take another bath now, thanks to you…" She stuck her tongue out at the creature.

Before sitting herself back down on her seat, with Wain's poncho set aside on the ground next to her.

Curiosity quickly got the better of her, as she drew her hand inside, trying to look for anything she could get her hands on.

The poncho was thick enough, to look like a sleeping bag, so surely, she was going to find something.

And, she did.

As her hand landed something flat and long.

It was surely a weapon. one which contained Mana, no less. Something which immediately interested her enough, to glance at Wain.

And, he was still washing the cutlery.

With her eyes trailed on him, she pulled it out with one hand. While another hand rummaged around.

"You're looking through my stuff, aren't you?"

A wry, frustrated smile soon crept onto her face, as she was just inches away from seeing the weapon.

"So? What if I am?"

She quipped back, pulled her hands out, anc crossed her arms, once again. Quickly trying to recover whatever semblance remained of her image as nobility.

"I deserve to know more about the person that I saved, don't I?"

He nodded, as he rinsed the last of the cutlery. Then, he walked over with them stacked in one hand. "It seems that you do."

"Go ahead. But, make sure you ask permission first. Only vagrants do what you just did. Are you a vagrant, Guila?"

"Grrrrr… you talk too much. But so be it!" Yelling, she flipped the poncho open, revealing several compartments inside.

A couple were torn apart. But…

"It's a good thing that these are ruined." She commented, before tossing several bloodied cigars away.

Only then, did she grab the sheathed weapon.

"I knew it!"

She pulled it out, and there it was. A curved dagger, scratched-up, but relatively well maintained, made with a golden alloy. On it, was an insignia too faded to be recognized, and beneath it, were two initials.

They were written in a much simpler font than the current one, but there was no mistaking it.

G.C.

"Tell me, Wain. Are you a fan of my work?" She asked him with a smug look on her face.

Only for it to be wiped away, into a frown, when she saw a cigar in his mouth and a matchbox in one hand.

"You're eventually gonna kill yourself with that."

He just shrugged his shoulders in response, before lighting the cigar. Despite having some blood on it, he was more than able to exhale a large cloud of stinging quite smoke.

"Kah! Kahf!"

Instantly agitated, she yanked it out of his mouth, tossed it at her feet, and ground it against the dirt.

"Oi! What the heck do you think you're-"

"Talk to me, when I talk to you. Got it?"

Before he could even retaliate, she had already pushed her index finger against his chest, while glaring up at him.

"Divines…" He sat on the grass with a plop and a loud sigh.

"I regret coming to you for help, now. But, your work, huh? I'll have to say thank you, then. It's saved my life several times."

"I'm sure that it has, and you've taken good care of it, too. There seems to be an odd enchantment in it, though."

There was a short pause in the conversation, as Guila swung the dagger at the air. Until she eventually pointed it straight at him.

"So, Wain. Tell me something."

"..." Seeing her brandish the weapon, he instantly became alert, and was preparing to snatch it out of her grip. "...What do you want to know?"

"Why are you all the way out here?"

"..."

"Well? Tell me."

Of course, this unnatural silence didn't escape Guila, and she narrowed her eyes at him. Then, she drew the knife even closer to him, pressing the edge against his chin.

"Answer me."

"Like I said. I'm sort of a bounty hunter, and I have a bounty I want to cash in on."

"What kind of bounty…?"

"The really big kind."

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"What was it about?"

"..." Silence once again.

The longer the questioning went, the more and more that Guila was spooked. Before long, she had gone to her feet and took a rudimentary stance.

Sensing his master's unease, Drako also raised its head.

Protecting herself, always came first. Regardless of any benefits she could possibly be getting, otherwose.

Whatever hint of, well, acquaintance, the two managed to develop, quickly evaporated from her mind.

Why wouldn't he tell her something so simple?

Unless…

"You."

He finally answered, as his hands whisked through the air, twisting Guila's arms, and pushed her down, with the dagger now back in his position, and pressed against her neck.

"I was looking for you."

RAAAAAAARGH!!!

While roaring so loudly, that it could be heard from so far away, Drako got to his legs, and prepared to tear the man apart.

But, it was immediately stopped when Wain pulled Guila back up, and used her as a meat shield against the creature.

"Drako! Kill him now!"

"Nope. Stay down, Lizard." He ordered, while gesturing with his head towards the ground.

And… much to her utter despair, Drako did as the Bounty Hunter said.

Nrrrrnnngh…

"W-what did you?!"

"Quiet, Blondie." He pressed the dull side of the dagger against her neck, which immediately made her flinch, and docile.

"I'm actually surprised that your family would let you go this easily. Do you have any idea about the powerful people that want you?"

"N-no! I apparently don't!"

She struggled to answer. But answered nonetheless, before spitting at his face. She also tried to elbow him in the gut, but this failed too, as he was somehow able to anticipate that and pushed her wrist against her back.

"Don't try and struggle, Blondie. You're no fighter. Everyone knows that. You're just a sitting, golden duck."

"Fuck you! You piece of shit! Ahg!" Unfortunately, try as she might, she was completely at his mercy, totally incapable of escaping his grip, with her weak, untrained limbs.

It still annoyed the man greatly, though. So, he pushed her wrist even higher up her back. "Stop! Stop! Please! It hurts!"

"You understand your place now? Lady of Golden Steel?"

"You… you don't deserve to even speak my title."

"Really, huh?" A kneekick to the back of her knee, and a strong yank on her ponytail, immediately brought her back to her knees. Her vision shook wildly again, and she found herself face planted on the ground, forced to stare at a Drako with hazy irises.

"Do you have any idea how hard it was to prepare for this hunt? I studied you for months, and this just came down to me physically overpowering you." He spat back at her face, which landed just below her eye, as he straddled her.

"You'll be worth every goddamn Culmi! But even the greenest bounty hunter could have taken you down, fucking waste of effort!"

She wasn't dismayed. Everything he did, every word he said, only made her more and more indignant. Anger from her damaged pride, quickly took over, as she snapped her fingers.

With just that, she activated her magic. And her metallic, thigh-high boots, grew long spikes. Which dug quickly and deeply into his legs, enough to shatter bone, and caused him to recoil, screaming.

"You speak too much…" With another snap of her fingers, the spikes retracted.

With writhing on the ground, screaming, Guila had all the time in the world, to stomp her heel on his stomach. Causing him to vomit the dinner she had made for him.

With a flick of her wrist, she had a handkerchief float over, and wiped his spit of her face.

"So. How does it feel to be proven wrong?"

"YOU BITCH!"

Wain roared, whilst spitting out blood, bile and food matter. Soon, Mana also evaporated from his body. And… his physique changed.

What was a rugged, tanned body, turned lanky, and pale. The stubbly, rugged face, thick jawline and piercing eyes, turned weak and unpronounced.

The only thing that didn't change, was his height.

"Ew. You're bald too. You could've at least had the same brown mane-like hair."

"I'm gonna fucking kill you!" And he was going to follow through, by some sort of miracle, he managed to get up to his feet, and swung at her.

But, she was more than able to jump back.

"Whoops. Sorry." She stuck her tongue out at him, just as she landed with a bad footing and her too far apart.

"You'll have to move faster, if you want to catch me." She then giggled, before tapping her boots.

Of course, 'Wain' didn't stop, and he kept going for her, swinging again, and again, and again.

Whilst Guila just continued to toy with him, repeatedly dodging blows, by jumping backwards.

Until…

Bang! Clang!

She tripped on the basin that she had made, and fell on the back of her head.

Her vision blurred, the wind was knocked out of her, and her movements slowed dramatically.

'Wain' on the other hand, now had a large grin on his face, as he gingerly walked over, and stabbed the knife into what was exposed of her right thigh.

"Like I said! You're no fighter, bitch!"

"AAAAAAAAGH!"

The pain cleared her vision. But the pain was so great, that her mind turned white with it. She couldn't handle it. Never once, had she needed to endure anything more dire than a papercut.

Such was the privilege of Nobility such as herself. Someone who never encountered actual pain, since the strokes of her life had gone perfectly.

Thus, she flailed wildly, screamed hysterically, and desperately tried to crawl away.

"NO! NO! NO! NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

It was almost quite a sight. To see her demeanor change so much, the moment that the situation changed. But, perhaps it was the same for everyone else.

Or maybe not.

Regardless, this reaction only resulted in worsening her situation.

Since he still held the knife in his hand, when she yanked her leg closer to herself, not just her flesh, but even her tendons and a blood vessel were torn apart, bringing another wave of excruciating pain.

She couldn't even hope to try and get up. Instead, she just curled up into a ball, utterly a mess, with the back of her thigh torn right off, and the bone exposed.

With a bright, arrogant, and almost sickening smile on his face, he took a knee beside her, and yanked her hair up, forcing her to face him.

What he saw was her face, distorted with tears and mud.

"And with that, I caught Guila Cassiana! The Lady of Golden Steel! The biggest catch of my career! HAHAHAHAHHAHA!"

He gloated. His applause being her tears and desperate, unintelligible cries.

"Luckily for me. The contract only said that you need to be in one piece. So I can have as much fun, as I want." He cackled again, before placing the knife underneath her shirt, and tore it apart

Thus, revealing her bare, voluptuous chest. Even with the campfire being farther away, her body still glistened from the cold sweat.

Fearing for her life, and thinking that she was approaching death, her body also reacted in kind.

Much to her shame, and despite what emotions she was currently feeling, the rush of adrenaline made her nipples stiffen.

"You... fucking whore…! Hahahahaha! Scream harder!" He yelled, and slapped her across the face.

"Come on! Harder!" He slapped her again, from the other direction.

Then again, and again, and again, while her cheeks turned sore, and the initial pain, turned into utter humiliation.

"SCREAM! YOU GOLDEN WHORE!"

'Please…! Somebody..! Help me…!'

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RAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGH!!!!!!!!!

The sound of meat and bones being torn apart resounded far and wide, for quite some time. While quiet, fearful sobs accompanied it, in the background.