Clashing steel rang across a quiet corner of Dellwick.

Sparks flew as two monsters and a young girl traded blows. She would advance, focusing her attacks on one of the pair whilst displaying more than enough agility to chase them down across and over any obstacle. The kobolds would then push back, leaping in circles around her and attack from multiple directions at once.

With unsteady hands, she gripped the hilt of her swordbreaker, firming her posture as she received another strike.

"Unya!?" the attacking monster bleated.

She caught its blade in the notch of her own and pulled it down, tugging the wielder off balance. She had created the perfect opening for an attack, but not a moment later, her second opponent unleased a furious assault.

"Nya! Nya! Nya! Nyaaa!" it squealed.

Faced with a barrage of attacks, she held off on her own and parried them away with her free sword.

The delay soon made it impossible to capitalize on her advantage. She would thus retreat, unclamping the first kobold's blade, lest she pinned herself in a tug-of-war amidst the onslaught.

Like so, the battle turned into a stalemate.

As it wore on, both sides only grew exhausted.

The girl briefly considered retreating, but her frustration had reached its peak. She could no longer think straight and was getting dizzy. She had to kill something, or someone. Soon.

She knees buckled, sweat dripping down her inner thigh.

Her condition, combined with her own confidence of her skills, formed a sort of tunnel vision, and she hastily decided on a reckless attack, aiming to quickly end the battle.

As usual, the two kobolds circled her from opposite sides.

But this time, it was exactly as she wanted.

Using her heartbeat as a timer, she ticked down the moments as she stared down her foe, reviewing everything she had learned from their protracted skirmish, in search for one fatal point.

Her legs bent down.

Then, kicking up a massive cloud of dirt behind her, she lunged at the kobold in front.

It tried to evade her as usual, but given the difference in their momentum, she soon caught up, forcing it to block. Again, she wrenched its blade aside with her swordbreaker. And finally, perhaps from the accumulating stress of their repeated exchanges, the jet-black sword wrinkled the moment she clutched down on it, rendering it useless thereon. And though she would have wished it had happened earlier, it was no matter.

Nevertheless, she stabbed her long sword into the monster's face with all the force of her momentum. It tried to avoid it up to the last second, but the tip still caught it right around the forehead.

But rather than crushing the bone underneath, the sword instead caught on something solid, almost like rock.

What...!?

The tip then slid upwards, carving the skin and the fur all the way until the blade clipped into its cat ear.

"Ungyaaaaaaaa!" The monster cried out in pain, clutching its bloodied face as it rolled desperately away.

The creature discarded its weapon in panic, and she had no intention of letting it pick up another. She attempted to give chase, but by that time, the second kobold had recovered from her sand attack and it was screeching closer and closer from behind.

Given her momentum, she couldn't swing around far enough to use her weapons to block or parry, but she did have ample time to present her armor plates and chain sleeves.

The blow landed near her elbow, catching on her sleeves. The impact shattered the links that held her mail together, penetrating just enough to bite into her skin.

She quickly dug her heels into the dirt and twirled across, unleashing a wide slash of her own, which the beast deftly evaded.

When she came to a full stop, she saw the disarmed monster staggering up to its feet. For a moment, she considered killing it after disarming its friend, but soon recalled of how quickly these monsters ran on all fours.

If she did not want it to escape, this was her only chance.

And so, she made a mad dash for the injured monster, at the same time pulling open a small pouch on her belt.

As expected, its partner gave chase, but this time, she had something special. She pulled a clutch of thin metal stars out of the pouch and showered them behind her. Their nail-like protrusions extruded towards several directions, allowing them to land always on three 'feet', whilst keeping one sharp spike facing upwards.

Caltrops.

Unable to recognize their danger, or perhaps just missing their dark iron coating in the dead of night, the armed kobold continued its pursuit, only to land its large, stubby foot into a metal spike.

"Agnyaaaa!!" It cried as it fell to the floor.

Her back secure, she closed in on her prey.

This time, for sure...

She ran up to a full sprint, sheathing her swordbreaker and raising her long blade with both hands for a deadly thrust.

...I will kill you.

But just as she was to deal the final blow, she felt a sharp pain on the back of her head.

"Kuh-!"

Her charge ground to a halt, and she fell on her knee. The next thing she knew, a black sword landed beside her, its hilt hitting the dirt with a dull thud.

W-what...?

She looked behind her, only to see the incapacitated kobold had thrown its only weapon at her, to no effect.

A cold fury broiled from within.

She took it as mockery, as though it was taunting her to demonstrate her throwing skill. Alas, her emotions got the better of her. She grabbed a set of three knives off the belt around her thigh and threw them at the kobold.

Unfortunately for her, none of them even so much as grazed the monster.

The monster's eyes flickered as it stared at her.

And then, after a few moments of stunned silence, it covered its mouth and sneered, "Pfft..."

Her eyelids twitched.

Kill...!

At that moment the other kobold had already gotten back up. It started at her in the meantime, gauging its next action.

She bent down, picked up the black sword that had fallen at her feet and staggered towards the incapacitated kobold.

Its partner purred menacingly at her, pretending to pounce on her at several occasions, but with a mere wave of the sword in her hand, it scurried away with its tail between its legs.

Her shadow her loomed over the kobold's bleeding foot.

It slinked back as much as it could but alas, it was no use.

She had suffered all night just for this one moment.

Her shoulders, sore and ragged, creaked as she lifted the creature's own weapon overhead.

Finally... It's over.

The monster looked away, clenching its teeth.

But as she was to plunge its point into the monster's scalp, many figures seemingly dissolved out of the darkness, creeping out of alleyways and dropping in from the rooftops.

Her heart pulsed in renewed alarm.

There were two at first. Then four. Then seven, maybe more but at that time she had already lost count.

Black, cat-like creatures crept out into the street, blades drawn and ready to pounce. At this point even the cowardly creature she had disarmed earlier took up its bent blade, slapping it rhythmically in its paws as if threatening to bludgeon her, now that its friends had arrived.

Just... how many...!?

Even her mind, muddled from exhaustion - quickly sobered up to her new and most pressing goal:

Survive.

Thus, she hastily stabbed the black sword into the monster's head and made a break for it.

"Unya!?" The monsters screamed collectively, as though they expected her to spare their comrade just because they had suddenly turned the tables on her.

Indeed, the sheer shock bought her a few seconds' head start. Furthermore, the more excitable among the newcomers learned a bit too late that spikes were spread around their comrade, when they went to check if it was still alive.

And so, she ran.

Or at least, that was the plan.

She was far too exhausted to now run at any decent speed, and she could not even slow her assailants anymore as she had already used her caltrops. But even then it wouldn't have mattered to the otherworldly agility of these creatures; a couple of which sprinted alongside her - from the rooftops.

And soon, they pounced.

Using her momentum, she twisted her body and threw a cut straight from the draw of each of her blades.

The long one connected hard, sending a furious ring right into her ear. She was sure that it had chipped terribly from this single blow.

The short one, however, missed entirely, and she staggered sideways as she received a full leaping chop on her shoulder. Luckily, the attack itself landed on a steel plate. On the other hand, the metal crumpled inwards from the unabated attack and left a bloody bruise on her upper arm.

"Ngh!" she grunted.

The blade dug deep into her armor, but she quickly recognized an opening between the kobold's feet touching the ground and it retrieving its weapon, where its body would be entirely open to a counterattack.

Thus, she twisted her elbow, pointing her swordbreaker right at the creature's belly. However, when she gave it a powerful thrust, the monster jettisoned its blade without hesitation, instead pushing itself off by its hilt and evading her attack.

No way...!

Alas, her failure opened her to consecutive attacks from three more kobolds who had now caught up from behind.

Each one was a light cut, relatively speaking, but they still connected at various parts of her body, sending her reeling.

Worst of all was the slice to her thigh, which made it difficult to stand, much less walk.

She slowed down, though did not come to an entire stop.

No matter which way she turned, a bright, glowing eye stared back. Their attack was methodical, deliberate. Every cut was light but lightning-fast, and gave her no time to counter. It was as though she was slowly being gnawed to death by a pack of hungry rats.

Soon enough, even her armor failed - tearing, ripping and shattering from countless, repeated blows, and her vision, now tinted red, began to dim.

It continued just like that until, after yet another attempt at a counterattack, she twisted her body a bit too much and stumbled.

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

She was able to recover enough to land on her knee, but at this point, she realized.

I can't... go much further...

She didn't even know where she was headed. As far as she knew, even if she managed to escape the village, the creatures would just hound her all the way to the forest, and beyond.

But she paid it no attention.

It was how she was trained.

There was one goal: Survive.

And if right now, all her hazy mind could come up with was to stand up and limp away, that was what she must do.

"Funya!?" a monster mewled, "This furless is as tough as a sith, meow! But this should be enough, meow. Finish it, meow!"

She her light footsteps behind her, not even chasing anymore, but walking towards her. Closer and closer they came until she could almost feel their breath at her back.

I...

She panted.

I'm sorry, boss...

And for the second time, she stumbled. Only on this occasion, her eyes finally fell shut.

I'm sorry b-

"Nnngh!!" A deep grunt emanated close by. It was unlike the kobolds chasing her. Was a new monster? Something else entirely? But at the same time, it somehow felt... familiar.

The sound of shattering glass rang in her ear, followed by a loud scream, "Lil!!"

When her knees fell to the floor, she turned her head, though just barely, to the source of that voice.

And there, she saw him - brandishing a mighty sword a large as she was tall.

...big brother...!

"Ooooooooaagh!" A powerful gust of wind accompanied his roar, as well as the whimpers of the kobolds, whose voices suddenly became distant.

Just before she fell over, her belly landed on the man's thick forearm, which so easily whisked her over his shoulder as though she were a stack of laundry.

He looked at her, bringing his lips close to her ears, muttering in a deep, gentle voice, "Are you alright?"

"...Mm."

"Good. Now, don't breathe in," he said as he pulled out a strange painted ball from his pocket.

Everything afterwards flew by so fast, that all she could recall of it was a blur.

The moment he threw it to the ground, they were suddenly enveloped in a thick mist.

The next thing she knew, they were already in the forest, and she no longer hung off her brother's shoulder.

"We're safe now," he said, noticing that the girl had stirred from slumber.

Safe.

If there was anything she knew, at that moment, whilst nestled in his arms, it would be that.

And in that moment of rest, it finally allowed her mind, freed from anxiety to regale recent events with a contemplative eye.

I... will certainly be punished for tonight, she thought, as she snuggled her head closer to his chest and closed her eyes.

But it's okay.

Because big brother came for me...

In her contemplation, she realized that her frustration had passed. She couldn't recall if she had killed anything tonight, but was glad to be relieved either way. It was her strange sickness that got her in trouble - this curse. But for some reason well beyond her understanding, she didn't feel so bad about it this time.

"Have a seat." Sylphia said, lounging in her chair as the most carefree person in the room at the moment.

Across her was her fallen secretary; a prisoner, more like, though she had no plans to incarcerate her.

"As we speak, my boys are probably dragging your friend's sorry ass back here. I'm excited to see what I have to learn from interrogating you both, but we have no time. I'll just have to bring him along, back to the castle, so I can..." Her lips twisted into a dark smile. "...take my time."

Eris merely hung her head, refusing to respond.

And so she continued her tirade, "Hah. To think that you were doing all this just to get some free food... Gimme a break. Just how petty can your master be?"

The girl shook her head.

"Well, needless to say, he will not be waking up one fine morning, once I'm done with him."

Those words, casually said, made the woman shudder.

"...And make no mistake, had you made the wrong decision, neither would you." She then reached out, grabbed Eris by the cheeks and pulled her from side to side. "So cheer up!"

"Ngh!" Eris rubbed her cheeks, both of which turned red from Sylphia's teasing.

"Hihihi! So congratulations! From now on, you'll be working for Team Sylphie!"

"Mm..." At first, she nodded, seemingly out of obligation, but she soon did a double take and asked, "Um... what did you say?"

"Did you think I'd let you off the hook so easily?" Her face darkened as she etched a sadistic grin across her face. "We're just getting started, you know? I've so many fun things planned out; things I want to show you!"

Eris' expression turned vacant, as though in that moment, her heart shattered into a million pieces. Her eyelids and fingertips twitched just as her shoulders fell limp and further and further she plunged into a state of hopelessness. In the end, she replied, with a tremble to her voice, "Y-yes... my Lady."

"Heehee! That's a good girl."

After a short while, Sylphia let out a yawn. And after stretching her arms out, she said, "Well, let's continue this tomorrow. Our carriage will arrive at noon, right?"

Eris nodded.

"That's perfect! So-" She brought her hands together. "-you should get some rest now. We have a fun day ahead of us!"

She visibly cringed. Still, without saying anything, Eris limped back to the door and excused herself.

She was about to shut the door behind her, however, when the little girl called out once more, "Oh, I almost forgot!"

"What is it...?"

"Don't get any clever ideas like, oh, I dunno... escaping?" She snapped her fingers. "Just so you know..."

And just like that, a kobold appeared seemingly from thin air out of a dim corner of the room.

"...the kobolds are watching you."

Eris nearly fell over, and if it weren't for her hand on the door, she certainly would have.

Soon after, she was finally dismissed, leaving Sylphia and the kobold alone in the room.

"My Goddess," he spoke, "shall I keep watch, meow?"

She shook her head. "You and the boys have done enough overtime today. You should all go home and rest."

"But, my Go-"

"She won't escape," she interjected, before walking around to her bed and sitting down on its soft mattress, "even if such a thing is physically possible at her state, she now believes that kobolds are watching her 24/7. Which is ridiculous, of course. But it works, for now."

"In that case, please excuse me, dear Goddess of Wa-"

Again he was interrupted mid-sentence, but this time, by the door swinging open.

"My Goddess, reporting, meow!" a second black-furred kobold entered the room, partly cropped from the shadow of the door frame, where the sole oil lamp in the room could not directly illuminate its body.

Sylphia sighed, before standing up and returning to her desk. "Go ahead."

"Nya! Our unit suffered 12 injuries in total, meow! Most are minor, but one of our brothers suffered a fractured skull, meow!"

"Oh? Will he be alright?"

"N-nya!?" The catman squeaked anxiously. "O-oh, yes, meow! He will be fine after a long rest, meow. But aside from that, meow..." He slowly turned his gaze sideways.

It was way past her bedtime, or so she felt, and she wasn't in the mood for some kobold being cute with her. And alas, she had soaked her next words with a bit more venom than she really intended or liked. "Spit it out, already."

"N-nya! Um, meow... well, uh, it's that, meow... we failed to capture the target, meow...""

Her eyes widened.

"EH!?" Realizing a moment too late so suppress the scream just now, she quickly lowered her voice to an alarmed whisper, "Why!? How!?"

"A-a large number of bandits headed us off just when we almost captured it, meow!"

"Bandits...? You mean his bodyguards?"

"Ye... n... we don't know, meow! But it looked like some bandits tried to kill the target, so we intercepted them, meow!"

"They... were trying to kill him?"

"Nyaa." He nodded. "And I am deeply ashamed to say this, but our warriors were not fully adept in fighting at this 'night', and in the chaos, we lost sight of the target and lost it, meow."

"Tsk. I can't believe this."

"A-ah, but more importantly, meow! T-there were also strong bandits that caused some damage in the village, meow! One even threw a lamp at a house and started a small fire, meow! We quickly put it out, but they uh, also escaped... meow. "

Sylphia frowned. "Strong bandits...?"

"Two furless, meow. Very strong, meow! Stronger than any of the bandits we've ever fought, meow! Stronger than siths, even, meow!"

Some bandits, stronger than siths...?

"Did you know what they were doing in the village?" she asked.

"No, my Goddess, meow. But from the looks of it, they were looking for something, meow. The Captain believed that they were after you, meow!"

Me...?

Her brows furled.

Strong bandits. Looking for me. Also trying to kill our target...

One by one, the blocks fitted together in her head and she soon came to her conclusion:

Assassins!?

She turned a nasty glare at the general direction of Eris' room.

What the hell? Why go through all that trouble to kidnap me, only to then send assassins my way!?

Unless... there's a third guy that wants all of us dead!?

Aaaagh! It makes no sense!

She clicked her tongue, at the same time sneaking glances at the kobolds looking intently at her.

Goddamnit.

"Ahem, on second thought..." she said, placing her hand on her chin while affecting a 'formal' impression. "...w-what would you two say about staying the night here...?"

Many head pats were dispensed that night.

Our primary lead is gone and someone's out for my head. Great.

Thus, she the tucked herself in bed, flanked on both sides by kobolds gently purring.

Thank God we'll be out of here by tomorrow.

And with a sour expression, she grumbled, "...this fur is itchy."