Tyre took a step outside the shadows, towards Elias, "Jolly good we've stumbled upon you so soon. Everyone back home were growing quite antsy, wondering when you would pay us a repeat visit."

Elias took a step back raising a brow, "I don't think I have ever visited your home, mate."

Tyre cupped his chin, "Intriguing, yes? Was it not you who drew those intricate runes around our humble abode?"

Elias looked around, there were people still milling around the tavern. He turned to run but Tyre was already upon him, his hand clutched around Elias's throat with enough strength to silence him.

Vile smell assailed Elias's nose as he felt a breath on his ear, Tyre whispered as he struggled to ask the bystander's for help, "Shhh, it shall be over before you know it."

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On her way back home, Lily couldn't shake off the feeling of having forgot something.

That idiot. Lily almost yelled out before she furiously retraced her steps in a hurry to find Elias. It did not take her long to reach the tavern but like she had expected he was long gone. Too late to ask for his number then.

She watched the people hanging out at the tavern, her singleness making it easy to spot the couples in the crowd. Halfway in her judgmental staring of a rowdy couple, she heard some muffled groans thanks to her sharp mouse ears. Her strained face relaxed when she also picked up the sounds of a violent struggle.

Stretching her arms around she followed the sounds to its source. Never too late to blow off steam by beating the shit out of some thugs.

In the dim corner behind the tavern, where the street lights missed to shed their gleam, Lily witnessed a surreal fight.

A pot bellied, dusty attired noble choked a younger man. With unreal strength the fake noble held the struggling man by the throat, suspending him a few inches above the ground.

Silent, she approached with practiced steps leaving no sounds behind her steps.

Closing in, Lily unleashed a roundhouse kick directly on the noble's face. The impact sent the noble backward, blood spraying from a now broken nose, while the man getting choked collapsed to the ground.

Lily went to the collapsed man to ask if he was okay but then she yelled, “Elias! What the hells are you doing here?”

Elias answered her with fit of coughs while pointing at the fallen noble. Which was her cue to bring her attention back on the noble, “Oh right. What the hells are YOU doing?”

Tyre got to his feet wiping the blood coming out of his nose, “Se-seems like we have a fighter among us, it would be wise if one of you took over.”

Alarmed by the mention of others, Lily spread her mana around, looking for people hiding in wait but she sensed no one except the three of them in the dingy corner. At the same time Tyre stood a little straighter, his demeanor a bit more solid, “Ah hells, bugger off, grandad and shut up that bloody woman."

Lily noticed the subtle changes in the Tyre's body. Sensing an actual threat from the dusty noble she took a stance, circulating the mana throughout her body, augmenting it.

Tyre threw out a punch which Lily dodged with ease. Stepping to his side she threw another kick aimed at Tyre’s liver, her leg augmented by her mana landed like thunder. Yet instead of flinching, Tyre grinned while holding her leg trapped between his torso and pressing elbow.

Lily tried to free herself. And to her horror despite the mana augmented might, she couldn't free her leg.

“Hah! Never been in a proper scrap, huh. Little mousey?” With his target secured in place, Tyre started throwing haymakers with his free hand. The height discrepancy made it easy for him to strike leaving Lily unable to retaliate in any meaningful way.

On the receiving end of the one sided violence, Lily panicked, struggling to twist her leg free. Maddeningly, she felt her blow crack the man’s ribs, which by all logic should've had the dusty noble dropping to the floor looking for god. Yet here they were, the old bastard held on as if he had no concept of pain.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Disturbing thuds reverberated in the darkened corner as fists collided with flesh. Lily felt her face numbing from the punches raining down on her. Suddenly, she fell to her butt, her leg free from its confines. As she looked up, her vision blurred from swollen eyelids, she saw Elias back. Standing over her with a blood-soaked brick in hand, Elias glared at the dusty noble.

Lily's head spun from the beating, pure agony traversed through her fractured skull with every shake of her head. Even amidst the confusion and grateful for the rescue, she still couldn't help but question, "Where did you even find a brick?"

But all that emerged from her mouth was a garbled mess, along with a spurt of blood making Elias wince. He saw Tyre’s dangling arm; Elias might have broken up the fight, but he had no doubts that the broken arm was all Lily’s doing.

“Fucken, shit vessel!” Tyre roared, spraying out blood from his mouth. Lily had not only broke his entire arm but even the hand he punched her with was going out of commission.

Elias pointed at him with the brick, "You don't look like you can handle more so how about we call it a night."

Tyre gritted his teeth at the proclamation. He staggered backwards, "Grandad let the bloody dog take over!"

Elias heard it too and he had a feeling things were about to go sideways. He pulled the disoriented Lily to stand up, cringing at her swollen face he asked, "Can you run?"

Lily nodded and without looking back they both broke into a sprint. Still they weren't fast enough as they heard a low guttural growl very close to their rears.

Lily cursed under hurried breaths while Elias took a look back.

Tyre had given up all semblance of humanity, dropping down on all fours — or rather, all threes. His broken arm trailed behind him, painting a macabre line of blood behind it's path. It was a haunting sight, the likes of which reminded Elias of tales he heard about evil spirits possessing human bodies.

With another surge of panic, Elias increased his pace dragging Lily along. They darted down every available alley, hurling down obstacles behind them in hopes of slowing down the demon on their backs. All to no avail; the hound-like figure continued to close the gap, evading every obstacle with such finesse as if he were a bloodhound all along.

Soon enough the possessed hound of a man was upon them. Elias being naturally slower than the beast blooded ranger had the misfortune to get caught up in Tyre's reach.

Tyre pounced on his back making Elias fall to the ground face first. Taking the full brunt of the fall to his face knocked him out. He heard Lily shouting, then the inhuman growls above him. He tried to get up but the best he managed was to stand before he stumbled to his knees.

Phasing in and out of consciousness, Elias recalled being hauled like a ragdoll. Their captor took his time carrying them - a tough thing to do with only three intact limbs. Bystanders glanced their way before looking away offering no help.

Eventually, the long journey came to an end as Elias was dropped on cold hard soil. Rolling over, he felt prickling discomfort of laying on blades of grass. As he struggled to make sense of his surroundings through feel, he opened his eyes to only be met with dense fog enveloping his world, the haze even made it impossible to see his own hand gripping the grass.

"This bloke's done for, but lucky for us we've got some fresh meat bags with us, eh?" The familiar rough voice hollered.

"Pfft, do what you want. I'm taking the beast girl. Unless you lot fancy having a female body." Came the the hitch-pitched, annoyed retort of the noble lady, her words barely making it through the fog enveloping the graveyard.

"Bit uncouth, ain't it? Towards such a fine specimen too. You two keep bickering; I need to plant my teeth on this lad." A voice snickered that felt like it belonged to an older gentleman, despite the creepy words.

"Sod off, granddad!" The thug spoke again but his voice strained under the thickening fog, making it hard to hear the next words.

"Children please, no bodies will be taken. Not before I have a word with the necromancer." Despite the soft motherly tone, the sole declaration cut through the fog with ease, shutting up the argument.

Elias, disoriented under the fog, heard the whole conversation, his grip on the grass under tightening. Not being able to see clearly he couldn't even place the direction these voices were coming from.

"Necromancer, you have taken what is rightfully ours, our sustenance, our life blood." The woman let the words sink in.

Elias closed his eyes, trying to sense the elusive particles of mana flowing through the cemetery, hoping to catch a glimpse of the voices speaking to him. Instead of the voices his senses caught on to a pulsing circulatory system of mana beside him. With a hesitant hand, he reached out for what he thought was the head and sure enough he felt the furred ears within his grasp.

"And for the crime of stealing, you will repent with service as a necromancer. Your term will go till death and beyond." The sweet voice delivered the decree with a finality that made Elias forget his words. He had just found some relief upon finding himself not alone.

Now however Elias felt dread, he wanted to yell, he wanted to curse this woman out but he felt his mouth sealed from an invisible pressure from the suffocating fog. Not to mention being surrounded on all sides by somethings that were beyond death.

Not satisfied with chaining one soul, the ghostly woman demanded more, her voice echoing from the fog, "As for the beast girl, she will be taken as your offering for this arrangement."

Elias had been patting the short beast girl's head laying beside him, then he stopped.

It was all about to end, Elias's mind raced as he tried to understand the implications. Receiving the grimoire had been the chance he needed to change his fate. In any other situation, he should have giving up to the will of the ghosts he was facing but to let it all end like this felt like a disservice. To himself and the mysterious old man who wanted to be shown a good story.

As much as Elias felt petrified from terror, he felt anger rise to the surface, through gritted teeth he forced out the words, "She has nothing to do with this!"

If the world wanted to keep taking from him, it would have to pay it's due.