On that night, two robed figures strolled along the southern side of the city’s wall. The tall mountain to the West and the Whispering Wind Mountain range to the South were faintly visible in the dim light of the full Green Moon, Ureiris. The moon cast an eerie white-greenish glow over the landscape, but the shadows of the night still shrouded much of the scene, leaving the figures partially obscured as they moved silently along the wall. One carried a black rectangular briefcase-like box by its handle, seemingly designed to hold something important.

“Hey sis, when will he arrive?” Aura was the first to speak as she and Saleh walked along the outer perimeter of the wall. Both Aura and Saleh wore half-masks that covered the upper portions of their faces, split down the middle in black and white.

“The boss is never late nor early, he will arrive precisely when he is meant to,” Saleh responded, although she whispered instead of talking normally like Aura did. “Or at least that’s what he told me, it’s probably his otherworldly wisdom.”

“The boss sounds so cool,” Aura whispered back after hearing her sister’s tone of voice.

“But he’ll be here soon enough,” Saleh reassured her.

Saleh responded to Aura, but just moments later, a shadowy figure suddenly blotted out the moonlight before it returned just as quickly. The dark shadow descended rapidly, landing on the ground in front of Saleh and Aura. Both of them immediately knelt before the figure as it rose and unveiled itself by drawing back the darkness that had covered its face, like a cloak made from the very shadows it commanded. The figure revealed a young man with hair and eyes as dark as the night and the shadows that surrounded him. He wore metal gauntlets on both of his arms but on the right gauntlet, a golden metal block was embedded in it, seemingly as a magical energy source. Both of them rose when he removed his cloak from his face.

"Saleh, Aura, you’ve brought the outfit for the child as I ordered, haven’t you?" the man spoke in a cold, emotionless tone, without so much as a greeting.

"Yes, boss. The organization's uniform you requested is right here," Saleh responded, holding the briefcase she had been carrying horizontally in her hands. She used her other hand to open the box, revealing the neatly folded uniform inside.

"Ah, very good, Saleh. This uniform should fit her well enough."

The boss glanced at the clothes in the bag momentarily, seemingly satisfied. He then smiled and raised his arm, revealing a young girl clinging to his waist beneath the cloak of shadows. The girl was trembling slightly as if she had just experienced something terrifying, like flying. Her large, rusty-orange eyes were wide and her small mouth and nose gave her face a delicate appearance. Her short, neck-length, dark brown hair was dirty and greasy, as though it hadn’t been washed in a long time. The ragged clothes she wore resembled tattered rags that hung down to her knees, barely holding together despite the rough journey she must have endured while clinging to the man during their flight.

The most distressing feature was the slave collar around her neck, with the emblem of the Kingdom of Veridia engraved in the center, marking her as a legally owned slave. However, what stood out most about this girl were the animal-like features she possessed. Goat-like ears protruding from where a human’s ears should be, and large ram-like horns curving from the sides of her head.

"Saleh, Aura, I present to you the newest member of our organization, Lilith. I named her myself," Satoru announced.

"Lilith, huh? That's a name I've never heard before, boss," Aura said as she stepped closer, bending down slightly to get a better look at the girl's face. But Lilith turned away, hiding behind the man she was clinging to instead.

"Of course you haven't, Aura. It's the name of the Queen of Hell from the world I came from. Now, introduce yourself, Lilith," Satoru turned and gently pushed Lilith forward to greet Aura and Saleh.

"O-okay, Master Samwell," Lilith stammered, her voice trembling with fear as she gathered her courage to speak.

"H-hello. My name is Lilith. I'm 12 years old, a goat-type beastfolk. I was a slave to very bad people, but Master Samwell saved me. It's a pleasure to meet you all a-and please take care of me."

"A fitting name, as expected from the boss," Saleh complimented Satoru before kneeling in front of Lilith.

"My name is Saleh. From now on, we'll be relying on each other, Lilith. Let's become a great support for the boss together."

Saleh spoke warmly, then pulled out the uniform from the bag and handed it to Lilith to change into under the cover of the night. After Lilith changed out of her rags and into the organization's uniform, she noticed that the uniform was made of black silk, trimmed with white along the edges. The uniform also had a black cloak attached, which could be quickly transformed into a full-body cloak. Lilith immediately sensed that the clothes she wore were imbued with a significant amount of magical power, making them a formidable piece of protective equipment. In addition to the uniform, Saleh handed her a half-mask, with one side black and the other white, completing her transformation into a member of their organization.

"Th-thank you, Lady Saleh," Lilith said as she took the mask and put it on. The mask fit her face perfectly, just like the uniform she had received.

"Lilith, why don't you show Aura and Saleh your power? For instance, with that briefcase," Satoru said, placing his hand on Lilith's shoulder. His tone was gentle, as if he was fond of her, though devoid of genuine affection.

"Yes, Master Samwell. Skill Activation [Metal Transmutation]," Lilith responded immediately. She placed both hands on the briefcase, and the part she touched instantly turned to silver.

"Metal transmutation magic? I've never seen anything like it. You're amazing, boss, for finding someone like this," Aura praised Satoru, even though it was Lilith who had demonstrated the power.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"Hmph, of course, Aura. But now I—"

Vroom Vroom

Vroom Vroom

Before Satoru could finish his sentence, the golden square block embedded in the right arm gauntlet on his right arm began to emit a faint golden light twice and then twice again in quick succession, like a warning that their energy was almost depleted, signaling that it was time to stop using it.

"Ah, finally, it's running low. After using levitation magic for six hours, it still has enough power left to give a warning like this," Satoru muttered as he inspected the square blocks attached to his gauntlets. He then turned back to face the other three.

"As I was saying before this little cube interrupted me, I need to rest, a bath, and a roasted pork."

"Understood, boss. Come on, Lilith, we need to get you cleaned up, stinky little goat," Aura said, nodding in agreement before turning to Lilith with a teasing gesture, covering her nose.

"Y-yes, right away, Lady Aura," Lilith quickly agreed, not resisting in the slightest.

As soon as Lilith responded, a single, large black magic circle appeared beneath the feet of all four of them. The circle activated, teleporting them away from the outskirts of the city walls in an instant, leaving the night outside the city quiet and undisturbed once again.

In the morning, Muriel woke up on a pile of gold and treasures spread over her white bed and lay still, staring at the ceiling of her room. She heard the chirping of blue sparrows from yesterday outside her window, but as Muriel became fully awake, she found herself smiling unconsciously. She wasn’t even aware that she was smiling or why, only that she felt unusually happy, almost as if it were instinctual.

“What’s going on with me? Why am I smiling all of a sudden? Did I eat some laughing mushrooms last night or something?” Muriel joked as she used both hands to try and stop her smile, but she couldn’t help it and continued smiling.

“Well, I suppose it’s okay to smile for a while. Besides, I feel oddly happy,” Muriel thought, giving up on trying to suppress her smile. She glanced at the clock in her room and was relieved to see that she had woken up nearly an hour early.

After seeing the time, Muriel sighed and got out of bed, putting the gold and treasures back into her bottomless pouch. She then went to take a shower to greet the new day with a beaming face. After showering and dressing, Muriel went to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for herself: bacon, eggs, and a whole roasted chicken. Once she finished her breakfast, she was able to stop smiling as she was preparing to leave the house for the amphitheater. As she was about to leave, she thought she heard a faint whisper near her ear. When she turned to listen or try to identify the source, she couldn’t pinpoint where the whisper came from. Nevertheless, the whisper felt strangely familiar, and despite her surprise, she left her abode without any trouble.

Upon returning to the participant’s lounge area, Muriel noticed that the scene had changed significantly from the day before. Nearly half of the people who had been there previously were now gone, likely eliminated. Muriel thought, but she still saw some familiar faces, like Grimold and Oliver. Additionally, on one of the chairs sat a blonde-haired woman with short hair nearly around her neck. Her face was obscured by a half-face mask, half of which was white and the other half black. Despite the changed atmosphere in the room, Muriel could still sense the same fear from the others that she had inflected when she was escorted out yesterday. She could smell the fear of everyone in the room as if it were her next meal.

“There’s someone I don’t recognize and that mask. It must be from those dumbasses from the association or idiotic organization or something along those lines. Do they really think I’ll lose to them?” Muriel thought to herself. As she detected the familiar scent of the people in the room, she immediately recognized who the masked woman was.

“Oh, it’s that girl that called me short. It would be nice to fight her. I could teach her a lesson.”

Muriel, deep in thought, finally allowed herself a wicked grin. She then walked over to a chair near the window in the lounge so she could see what was happening down in the arena. Despite her anticipation, her name wasn’t called at all during most of the day’s matches. As a result, Muriel grew bored, spending her time munching on the food and wine provided in the lounge until she almost slid off her chair from sheer relaxation.

Eventually, two hours past noon, her name was finally called by Leon.

"Muriel Belrost, your match is at two in the afternoon. Proceed to the arena."

"Finally," Muriel said after waiting all morning and afternoon. She slowly got up from her chair to leave the room, but when she glanced around, she noticed both Oliver and Grimold were standing up as well. Aura, who was wearing a cloak and mask for some reason, also stood up and followed her.

After Muriel walked out of the waiting room and made her way to the arena, it seemed those three also left the waiting room but did not head in the same direction as her. At this point, Muriel could guess she might have to fight one of them in successive rounds—or possibly all three at once. But that was nothing to fear. If anything, it excited her for the first time in hundreds of years.

"And now, for today's final match! On the left side, we have yesterday's winners: Grimold Nightlock and Sir Oliver Ardmane! And! There's another participant who joined midway through!" The announcer proclaimed with a voice-amplifying spell.

"And on the... right. Oh, Holy Syra be merciful! She's not eliminated yet?! On the right side, we have Muriel Belrost!"

"Pff, that announcer's making me look bad," Muriel muttered under her breath with a look of exasperation at the commentator's words. But her bored expression faded as she glanced around the amphitheater. She noticed more people cloaked and masked than yesterday, and she felt like she spotted Hari among those watching her. Additionally, Muriel seemed to see a child dressed similarly to them—wait, is that a goat? But that could wait, she had other matters to attend to right now.

"Grimold, I didn’t expect you’d be skilled enough to make it to the second day," Muriel began, talking over to Grimold, who was visibly nervous.

"Well, um, my ice magic is quite potent, you know," Grimold replied, trying to muster a smile toward Muriel. She seemed to think Muriel was trying to ease the tension.

"We’ve got quite the audience today, Grimold. Even though I’ve known you for less than half an hour, know that I hold no disdain against you and I hope you won’t hold a grudge when I smash you all into the ground," Muriel remarked with a twisted grin.

Muriel finished speaking and raised both arms, but suddenly, a black liquid began to pour from her ears, eyes, nose, and mouth, enveloping her entire body. The spectators around the arena were confused, wondering what Muriel was doing. But then, the black liquid dispersed, revealing Muriel in a half-dragon form, ready for battle. A pair of horns sprouted from the top of her head, curving forward. Her bare hands and feet were covered in black dragon scales, and sharp claws extended from them.

What struck fear into the hearts of the three combatants—even Aura—were the large, black dragon wings that spread out from Muriel's sides, along with a tail coated in black scales that looked as though it were armored in black steel. Muriel let out a deafening roar at the three of them. The spectators who witnessed the beastly figure in human form were so terrified that they fled from their seats around the arena. Even the king of Veridia himself made a swift exit, leaving only Veenciel to sit and watch from his special seat.

"Alright! Come on, if you're so eager to challenge a dragon!!"

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