Gus stood on a small rock ledge near the main road into Njord, perhaps a day’s ride out from the city.

The ends of his golden-blond hair bounced from his broad shoulders as he walked towards the edge of a short cliff, dancing in the breeze along with the ragtag fur mixed in with pieces of leather armor. His protective wear was lacking as he didn’t have enough to cover all his vital areas, leaving most of his stomach exposed, revealing a well-defined core.

By his side he carried an iron long sword, which unlike the rest of his gear was probably the only thing worth any proper value.

He pulled a small brooch out of his pocket, fondly touching the picture stored inside. It was an old family picture from when he was a young child with his baby sister plopped square in his lap, and his mother and father standing behind them.

“Don’t worry Nina, even with Mom and Dad gone… after I do this job, I will be able to take care of you. I won’t have to do work like this anymore,” Gus whispered.

Life at the edge of the wilderness was a hard one. Adventurers who tried to venture into the uncivilized parts of the world faced death, dismemberment, or worse on a regular basis. Military life was not much better, if you didn't have the means to be anything other than fodder.

If you couldn't land a good trade apprenticeship or get into work for one of the noble houses, then you were left to struggle relentlessly at any of the myriad hard labor jobs for barely enough money to live on.

Just a little more and we can move to somewhere quiet and warm. We'll be able to buy a cozy little tavern to work and live in!

“Hey boss, we just got word from our lookout. The carriage is coming through and it perfectly matches the description. We are gonna be rich with this one!”

A beautiful girl jogged out from the trees behind Gus, longbow in hand. She wore fur armor intentionally cut out at the midriff, the calf sections, and part of the chest piece, revealing her ample cleavage.

“Amala, I still can’t stand what you did to that armor we made for you. Do you know how hard it was to hunt a dire wolf and get an undamaged piece of its hide?” Gus lamented, his mouth curled in dismay as he looked upon the results of her handiwork.

“Oh come on, boss, you have to admit nobody questions a pretty girl even if she is selling stolen goods! Plus, it makes the guys drop their guard and we get so many better deals!” Amala leaned in seductively, squeezing just enough with her arms to accentuate her form.

Damn manipulative witch! Gus averted his eyes, attempting to hide a slight rush of blood to his cheeks as he did so.

“Anyways, we can deal with this later,” he continued after an uncomfortable silence. “Let’s move into position. Tell the lookouts to slip in and ambush them from behind.”

“Hmph. Fine.” Amala pouted.

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It had been a little over a week since they left Versailles.

The carriage ride had been a quiet one as they avoided staying in any of the settlements and villages in case of any danger within the duke’s territory. The fewer people that saw them, the better. Still, with a carriage as notable as Diane's, as she was still the daughter of the Duke, they had been quite fortunate so far.

Thistleman was utterly perplexed at the situation. Not only could he see the distress and worry on Diane and the coachman’s face, but he could also feel the pain Diane was holding in. It seemed to him that she was just trying to put up a strong front.

I get that we are all too weak right now to properly deal with this but still, running away and hiding like this just feels so absolutely wrong.

He watched a slow and steady drip of mana flow into the silent girl’s mana heart, pulling in just as much as it needed to grow like a thirsty seedling that finally reached water. Stunted, weak, and yet still unwilling to give up.

Thistleman scrunched his face as he scanned the forest once again, failing to hide his disgust as he noticed someone watching them, hidden within the tree line just beyond the supposed border of the dukedom. He sharpened the mana in his eyes.

Detect Life.

A pair of watchers to cut off our retreat… and three more people ahead.

Thistleman seethed. The balls on these pissants. Predictable, stupid, and all too common.

“Bandits ahead! Hold on tight, I’m turning us around n—keugh!” The coachman’s yell was cut off as an arrow pierced his throat.

The carriage lost control and veered to the side, with the crack and crash of one of the wheels shattering against a large rock and the snap of the horses' bridles. The horses whinnied loudly as they dashed into the trees.

Diane screamed, her shrieking continued until the carriage finally came to an abrupt halt. “No no no no no, not now! Why? Why can’t he leave me be? What am I supposed to do? Just leave me alone!” She tried to curl into a corner of the carriage.

Thistleman grabbed Diane’s arm firmly, and with his other hand forced her to look straight into his eyes, even while tears streamed down her face.

“Diane, breathe! You still have your rapier. You are only dead if you give up now! The first bandit is coming for the door, so don’t stop to think about it. As soon as he opens the door, pierce his throat, and clear the two behind the carriage. I will distract the bandits up front!”

Something in his eyes was… mesmerizing. A calm began to fill her and the fear felt like it was fading. In its place… rage. Lines of energy began to form over Diane’s heart and across Thistleman’s right hand, dark lines that quickly began to glow. The sigils that should have formed when the contract was first formed finally began to emerge. As Thistleman felt her emotions, his emotions also flowed into her. His rage was her rage.

Fear and pain shall be repaid in ash and death!

Then the door opened with a horrifically slow creak, almost as if time itself slowed down.

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So far, so good.

Her shot was perfect and the coachman was down, and now it was just a couple of little kids. Putting them down would be the easiest money she’d ever made! A magicless little girl and a peasant, at that!

A smile enveloped her face, although she quickly hid it when she noticed the serious look on Gus’s face.

Why can't he just have fun with it like the rest of us? Amala pouted as she notched another arrow. I'll show him how to really have some fun!

The other bandits whooped in excitement, rushing towards the undefended carriage. The first to the carriage door was a gangly fellow with a freakish smile, revealing many missing and rotten teeth.

However, their joy was short lived. The door was flung aside as a ball of unfettered rage screeched out with reckless abandon. The bandit couldn’t react in time as the blade came for him, held by a small girl whose face was twisted with anger. The tip of the weapon pierced through the gangly man's eye and into his skull. The girl twisted her body around to use his shoulders as a launching pad, the blade tearing free from his skull, spilling grey matter as Diane dashed towards the bandits in the rear.

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She was followed by a disheveled looking boy who leapt out of the carriage and, seemingly without surveying a single thing around him, dashed straight towards Amala.

“Damnit! You should've just accepted your death, you fucking kids!” Amala screamed, loosing her arrow. An odd drop-step by the boy caused the arrow to fly just over his shoulder.

“Don’t get distracted by rage, Amala! The boy is unarmed, he is probably just trying to buy her time. The girl is the main target. Leave no witnesses and I will get the girl!” Gus grimaced, then dashed past the boy as Amala readied another arrow.

She shot… and she missed.

She aimed and shot again, sure that this time it would hit the boy’s chest, just as the arrow skimmed over his other shoulder.

"You think getting behind me will help you?! Stupid brat!" Her voice shook with anger.

She shot again, missing for a fourth time.

“This damn bow must be broken. You think you can run from me?!” Amala dropped her bow, pulled out her dagger, and began to chase the boy as he turned and beelined straight towards the other side of the forest.

Thistleman tried desperately to hide his maliciously satisfied smile. Those arrogant idiots were playing straight into his hands.

If that archer and swordsman were to focus on Diane, their combination would be too much for her too handle. So the answer was obvious, he just needed to split them up. He glanced behind him–the two lookouts behind the carriage were already dead, one blow each.

Gus seemed shocked at the girl's blind ferocity and was barely holding on, dripping with blood. Even while blocking any strikes coming for his exposed stomach, her blade found its way into the other exposed parts of his body. Between her small size and improved speed, his large blade would never be able to easily reach her on its own.

Oh? What's this? Thistleman's eyes darted a little deeper in the woods, spotting the mana outline of a creature. A huge smile stretched across his face! A purely innocent smile. Purely. Innocent.

Amala was absolutely focused on Thistleman.

She would never hear the end of it from the others if she couldn’t even kill one kid! She kept chasing him deeper into the woods, ducking through the trees and pressing on through the rapidly thickening brush. She was breathing heavily and her hair was thoroughly messed up.

“What the hell is up with these kids? This was supposed to be easy money! Shouldn't I be laughing my way back to the camp already!?" Amala grunted fiercely, as she had to yank her hair out of yet another branch.

Thistleman cut around a large tree up ahead and as she came around the corner, she ran face first into something large and very furry. She fell ass-backwards, cursing before the blood drained from her face. The boy was nowhere to be seen but the creature in front of her turned and glowered at her, blood dripping from its fangs. The carcass of a wild boar, partially eaten, lay behind it.

No no no! Where's the kid? Shouldn't he have run into it first?

Amala recognized it immediately, just as it seemed to tilt its head in acknowledgement of the fur she was wearing. She crawled backwards away from the dire wolf as fast as she could without turning her back towards it for a second.

Thistleman savored her scream as he made his way back to the carriage.

It's a shame I can't watch.

Thistleman sighed. Sneaking around and manipulating things like this was certainly not his strong suit, especially when compared to other daemons. Or demons, now? Still, it was a relief that even with his reserves of mana so low, he was able to shadow step from the sight of these pathetic creatures. Silver linings and all.

If I could actually do all the fighting myself then this would all have been just a joke.

His rage at these creatures began to subside. They were just a bothersome waste of his time, inconveniencing him while dying for nothing at all.

Hopefully this world will have someone who can offer me a worthwhile challenge.

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Diane had never moved this quickly nor felt this strong in her life. From the moment the door opened, it felt as if she had been in a non-stop rush. After leaping off the corpse of the first bandit, she rushed to the closest one behind the carriage. She saw him raise his bow, and it all felt so incredibly slow. She could watch precisely where the arrow was aimed.

Diane dodged to the right. The arrow missed completely.

She could see the fear in the bandit’s eyes. The rush was taking over. She saw an opening in his neck-guard and stabbed straight through his throat.

She pulled her blade out deftly and dodged around the falling corpse, dashing to the next bandit.

He turned to run, but not fast enough. She leapt onto his back and stabbed him through the ear.

You will never try to take from me again!

She felt almost... liberated with the overflowing rage, venting out her years of abuse, pain, and suffering. She didn’t even notice she was laughing as the blood rained onto her.

She turned to look at Gus like a blood-soaked little devil. He was charging towards her much too late.

His face was perfectly calm, though there was a slight tremble in his hands.

Diane was thoroughly unaware of how terrifying she appeared.

Gus strained his eyes and attempted to concentrate some mana into them as he stared at Diane.

A monster worse than a damn dire wolf. How the hell did anyone mistake her as inept? Is this a setup for the duke to get rid of us?

Gus panicked at the thought, and he knew he would need Amala’s help if he was going to kill the girl.

She moved after him quickly, her blade aimed straight for his face. He used his longsword to deflect the rapier, but she struck quickly.

He dodged as best he could, but cuts were rapidly appearing on the unprotected parts of his body. He was losing blood quickly. Gus tried a counter-swing , but she was so short she easily dodged under his arm and his blade only hit earth. Then he felt a searing pain in his calf.

Gus despised his lack of talent. It was what had forced him into this life in the first place.

He swung his blade low, sweeping behind himself and forcing Diane to leap back.

Taking the opportunity to breathe, Gus yelled, “Amala, where are you? Stop playing around. I need help here now!”

He looked around quickly but she was nowhere to be seen. Nor was the peasant boy. Dread filled him.

I'm going to die here.

“I’m sorry, Nina,” Gus whispered as he let the sword fall from his hands, succumbing to despair. His sight went black as the rapier pierced up through his chin.

Diane was breathing heavily, steam wafting from her body. The rush faded along with the rage. Exhaustion seeped into every pore.

She heard the patter of feet running and stopping further down the road to see a lookout they had missed.

Diane's surprise was met with an expression of terror on his face as he realized everyone else was dead. He naturally wasted no time as he turned to flee.

“Damnit! Fireball!”

It was nowhere near as powerful as when she was forcefully awakened as she had less mana to draw on. However, the raging flames flew true down the road and exploded on contact with the back of the bandit. He screamed in agony and Diane shuddered as the rage finally left her. She looked at the blood dripping from her hands and the corpses left in her wake.

I... did all this?

Her vision grew blurry as she heaved the contents of her stomach onto the side of the road.

“Hey Diane, I think I lost her. Do you think you can find the horses? They shouldn’t have run far, I will grab our supplies and get us out of here! Hey, Diane? You listening?” Thistleman prodded, carefully looking for any wounds on her.

Ah, right. Some humans get a little strange about killing each other. I need to break that attitude before it causes some serious problems.

“W-what? Oh, y-yeah, you’re right. Don’t take long, I’ll be right back!” Diane stuttered in surprise, before looking into the woods. She spotted where the horses had charged through the brush and followed the trail they blazed.

Seems that got her mind back in order for now... although, there is another odd feeling there?

There was some kind of emotion there, but unlike the others, it felt just out of his reach.

Thistleman took stock of the bodies, counting to make sure no one was missed and looting anything valuable along the way. He found some odd looking tokens on them.

Considering their line of work, it’s probably some identifier that they use. I bet there's a high chance it helps them find people to sell-off their stolen goods to.

Thistleman’s eyebrow twitched at a new thought. This means they were at least professional enough to be hired. By the Duke? Perhaps… a last minute attempt at revenge? Someone of his wealth certainly should have been able to afford better…

Thistleman paced slowly and pensively toward the last bandit Diane had killed. Ah, right. Seems everyone was worked up about that Horatio guy. He probably needed to keep his best cards for that fight.

When he was searching Gus, he found the locket with a picture in it. He looked it over carefully, judging the picture with a furrowed brow. Diane came running up behind him, having picked up the horses who hadn't run far.

“I got them. Let’s go! Hey, whatcha looking at?”

If she really is one of those sensitive humans then the picture might break her mind.

Down went the brooch.

“I found a great snack! This guy had a sweet muffin on him! It was delicious.” Innocent. Absolutely innocent! Thistle went for a dumb smile.

“You found a snack and didn’t share? Greedy! Why am I having to be so nice to you?” Diane smacked him on the side of his head in a huff.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t know you would want some! I will give you the next one! I promise!”

“I did all the work so everything here is mine! How can you give me what is already mine?”

They continued arguing like this as they mounted the horses and quickly made their way to the port city of Njord.