Chapter 151
Tough to Keep Secrets
“What is Golorath planning!?” the elf interrogator yelled angrily. “How much does he know!? DOES HE KNOW ABOUT US!?”
“I DON’T KNOW ANYTHING!” Stacey screamed, terrified of the man before her. “I DON’T KNOW ABOUT ANY OF YOU PEOPLE! HOW SHOULD I KNOW WHAT THAT BASTARD KNOWS!?”
This was essentially how the whole interrogation had been going for the last few hours. The interrogator would ask questions and Stacey would tell him that she didn’t know. This obviously didn’t sit well with the elf, as it was his job to get the information his boss wanted out of her. If he didn’t get anything, then he was just wasting his time.
He obviously didn’t believe Stacey, when she claimed to not know anything. If someone was holding important information, then they would naturally claim to not know it. That’s when they started using other methods to get the answers they wanted. This didn’t involve physical torture, but rather psychological techniques. Stacey wasn’t allowed to have a chance to rest and was pounded with constant questions and threats. There were even bargains made towards her, promises of riches and privileges in case she told them what they wanted to know. Ao even took part in the whole thing, acting as the “good cop” that was friendlier towards her. To top it all off, they had even used couple doses of truth serum on Stacey to make her talk.
Despite all of their effort, the result was the same. This was obvious to Erin, as she knew that there was nothing that Stacey knew about Golorath or what he was planning. All she was a victim of his cruelty from a grudge that went back years. Problem was that none of Rayleen’s people knew this, so they had to find out for themselves whether she knew anything or not.
“I’m sick of your lies and excuses!” the interrogator shouted as he slammed his fist on the table. “START TALKING OR I WILL MAKE SURE YOU’LL SUFFER FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!”
“HE ALREADY DID THAT TO ME!” Stacey screamed. “HE ALREADY MADE ME SUFFER EVERY DAY! WHAT ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO DO!?”
“Okay, that’s enough,” Ao suddenly said. “It’s obvious that we aren’t getting anything out of her. She is just like Erin told us. Just some poor woman that got on Golorath’s bad side.”
“If I could just do a bit more! Just a bit more!” the interrogator argued. “If you allowed me to use my tools, I could-!”
“Do what? Satisfy your own sick desires?” the dark-haired man asked with a raised eyebrow. “By torturing her we are not going to gain anything useful. In fact, we might only get wrong information, as she will lie to us in order to get out of pain. Torture at this point is just useless.”
“That might be the case, but-!”
“And you should also take into account how the boss would feel about this,” Ao pointed out. “Remember that she doesn’t want non-combatants to be involved in these things. Our fights need to be done only with those who are willing and able to fight back. She’s clearly not that.”
“...So what? Are we supposed to just let her go?” the elf asked while clenching his fists so tightly that his fingernails drew blood from his palms. “Do you have any idea how much I’ve lost because of that fat bastard!? How can I just let his woman walk away without paying at least some sort of a price!?”
“From the way I see it, she already has. At this point, hurting her will not do us any good and killing her will just save Golorath the trouble,” the dark-haired man said. “Remember that while we might use violence to achieve our goals, we are NOT going to be the same as those guys. Got that?”
“These higher ideals are not going to help you,” the interrogator said in a bitter tone. “They will only end up hindering you.”
“That might be so, but it helps me sleep at night at least,” Ao said with a shrug. “If you agree to leave this interrogation now, I will not tell the boss about how you were acting up earlier or about how you intended to torture some defenseless woman. Take it as a sign of sympathy.”
“...Fine,” the elf replied.
Seeing as how they had reached an agreement, Ao motioned to Erin to come get Stacey. With the women following behind him, the dark-haired man began to lead them back to the hideout where the redhead’s friends were waiting for her return.
“Was that true what you said earlier?” Erin asked, as they walked through the tunnel they came through. “About how you people don’t involve non-combatants?”
“Pretty much,” Ao replied. “The way the boss sees it, those who are going to fight shouldn’t complain about getting beaten or even killed. However, in turn, they shouldn’t forcibly include those who have no intention at all to fight. She finds that distasteful, like being a school bully. Of course there is always the accidental victim from collateral damage, but there is only so much you can do.”
“But what about her then?” the redhead asked while motioning towards Stacey. “She’s not a fighter. Hell, she can barely look at you without being terrified! How can you involve her as an actual combatant?”
“Just because one doesn’t get their hands dirty, doesn’t mean that they don’t have a part to play in combat,” the dark-haired man explained. “Do you have any idea how many people there are who can send hundreds or thousands people to their deaths on a whim? Do you think such people don’t have a part to play in battles? The way I see it, they are worse, as they don’t bother getting their own hands dirty and just expect others to die for their own desires. That’s what we thought that she, until you revealed the truth about her. It was also thanks to your help that the boss ordered there to be no physical torture.”
“...I guess you guys aren’t as bad as I thought,” Erin muttered.
“What? You thought we were just a bunch of bloodthirsty serial killers that get off on slaughter?” Ao asked with a small smirk.
“I-I didn’t-! I mean-!” the redhead stammered, as she tried to explain herself.
“No need to get so worked up! I’m not mad at all!” the dark-haired man replied with a chuckle. “I completely understand where you’re coming from with your assumptions. After all, we haven’t probably shown exactly the best side of us to you, considering how we have forced you into cooperation.”
“Well… There is that,” Erin said, embarrassed over being caught. “It doesn’t help how you just killed one of your own a moment ago.”
“I get that, but you have to think back to what happened,” Ao explained. “Not only did one of those two question my authority openly, but the other one tried to attack me with lethal force. We aren’t a friend club here, but a military organization. In order to keep us from breaking apart, I can’t simply let such things go. To be honest, I could have eliminated both of them due to their actions, but decided to be merciful as I needed his help.”
“I think I understand. Doesn’t make me feel much better about it, though,” the redhead said. “By the way, now that you’re done with Stacey, what are you going to do with her?”
“Honestly? We don’t need her anymore,” the dark-haired man said with a shrug. “It’s clear to me that not only does she not know anything that could be of use to us, but that Golorath also doesn’t care about her. There is really no use for us to keep her around anymore.”
Erin glanced at her old friend, who was still shaken up from her interrogation. Her face was still pale and her body was trembling like she was cold. She was also staring down at the ground, almost like she was afraid of looking up.
“...So what exactly are you going to do with her?” the redhead asked. “Are you going to take her somewhere or do anything with her?”
“If you’re thinking that we are going to sell her somewhere or simply kill her, that’s not something we are going to do. It’s not our style,” Ao explained. “However, we are also not going to keep her around and take care of her. We have far too much on our hands to play babysitter with her. I’m afraid that she will be on her own from now on.”
“...Could I take her with me?” Erin asked, surprising the dark-haired man. “I don’t want to just abandon her, as I doubt she’ll be able to survive on her own.”
Stacey looked up at the redhead with surprise as well as gratitude. She hadn’t expected that Erin would go so far in order to save her.
“Well, aren’t you a generous individual?” Ao said with a small smile. “You can go ahead. It doesn’t matter to any of us at all. I’ll just ask you to think about what you’re going to do very carefully. I might not know her at all, but you should be careful with selecting companions for your group. You need to make sure that you invite those who are actually beneficial to you and not the ones who will simply poison you from within.”
“Thanks for the advice, but I think I’m doing the right thing,” the redhead said confidently. “I can’t just leave her on her own just like that. I feel like I would regret it for the rest of my life, if I did.”
“Better to do something and regret it than NOT do something and regret it? That’s a way of thinking I can somewhat get behind,” the dark-haired man said with a smile. “Go ahead, if you’re so certain. No need to take my warning as anything more than friendly advice. I just felt like I should point it out. I do apologize, if I stepped out of line.”
“Err… It’s alright,” Erin said, surprised by the apology. “I just wanted to give my own opinion on the matter.”
“Of course,” Ao said. “Well, you take care of yourselves. The boss said that you and your little gang should lay low for now. We’ll be in contact once the situation clears up a bit.”
“Got it. Is there anywhere specific that she wants us to go to?” the redhead asked.
“She didn’t specify anything. It’s more important that you don’t get yourselves caught,” the dark-haired man said thoughtfully. “However, if you can, don’t go too far from this area, okay? We are pretty close to where Golorath is, after all. I’m sure once more work opens up, it will be better for you to be near him. If for no other reason than the fact that long travels can be a pain in the ass.”
Erin nodded in response as they finally came to the entrance they had used earlier. Colbor was still there, waiting for their arrival to open the door for them. Once they had left, the lizardman resumed his guard duties, disguised as a weak and small man dressed in rags.
Ao led the two ladies back to the hideout they were using. The walk there didn’t take anywhere near as long as before, confirming Erin’s suspicions that the dark-haired man had been leading them around a much longer path in order to make it harder for them to turn around and run away.
Once at the hideout, Ao turned towards Erin to say one final thing.
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I hope you guys can leave this place soon,” the dark-haired man said. “This place isn’t meant to be used by those who aren’t part of our faction. Even if you are technically allied with us, you’re still essentially outsiders. Besides, I’m going to need it for poker night with a couple of the guys stationed here.”
“I understand. I’ll tell the others that we’ll be leaving in the morning,” the redhead replied. “Thanks for letting us use it.”
“No problem,” Ao said as he began to walk away. “Just try not to get into trouble, okay? I’m sure the boss still has plans for you.”
“...I’m not sure I should be taking that as a good thing,” Erin muttered.
Once the dark-haired man had left, the redhead turned towards her old friend in order to have a talk with her before going inside.
“How are you holding up, Stacey?” Erin asked. “I’m sure this day has been rough on you.”
“I’m hanging on… Somehow,” Stacey replied in a tired voice. “Like you said, it has been a rough few days, although I would say that goes for the whole time I’ve been here.”
“I’m sorry about that. I know it must have been painful to you,” the redhead said in a sympathetic tone. “But I can assure you that I will do everything I can to make sure you won’t have to go through anything like that ever again.”
“Thanks for the sentiment, but can you really do that?” Stacey asked. “From what I can tell, you’ve got a lot going on. Not only that, but I’m not sure if I can get along with your… friends.”
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? Sure those guys can be a handful at times and they can cause me the occasional headache, but once you get to know them, you’ll find out that they’re all good people,” Erin said with a frown, not liking the way her old friend talked about her group. “Besides, even if I have things going on, it doesn’t mean I’m just going to abandon you in order to make things more convenient for me. I might be ashamed of what we were back in the day, but I still think of you as my friend and I won’t leave you behind.”
“...Thank you, Erin,” Stacey said. “I’ll… try to get along with those guys at least.”
“That’s all I can ask,” the redhead said with a smile. “Come on. Let’s go see the others already. I’m sure they’re already starting to get worried over us.”
Erin grabbed the handle on the door and opened it. She took a step inside and was just about to announce her arrival when-
“DAMMIT! I’M BROKE!” Ryle yelled angrily as she pulled her own hair out of frustration. “And I was just about to make a comeback!”
“Ryle, you were pretty much on welfare over half of the game!” Lexton said. “How were you supposed to make a comeback from that!? You didn’t even have any properties that you could use to get money!”
“Screw you, Lex! At least I got farther than you did!” the blonde shot back. “Isn’t that just perfect? The great merchant himself, Lexton, is the first one to drop out in a game of Monopoly! Care to explain where all your businessman skills went all of a sudden!?”
“...It’s not my fault I lost so quick,” the kobold said as he crossed his arms and sulked. “This game is so unrealistic. There’s no real merchant life in it anyways!”
“Uhhh… Does this mean I win?” Arkay asked awkwardly. “I mean, from what I understand, you all lost all of your money and can’t continue, so doesn’t that mean it’s my victory?”
“Pretty much,” Zeldana said. “This game ends when there is only one player left, which is you.”
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
“...Oh. Great!” the cat boy said. “I wish I understood what was going on…”
Erin and Stacey looked at each other in awkward silence over what was going on with the others.
“...Well, at least they didn’t start throwing punches at each other,” the redhead said with a sigh.
“Are you sure that should be taken as such a great achievement?” Stacey asked. “I feel like the bar is very low.”
“Hey, I take what I get, okay!?” Erin said in a slightly irritated tone. “Anyways, I see that everybody else got around playing the same game, but where is Durge? Didn’t he feel like joining you guys?”
“We did invite him, but he said that he had other stuff to do,” Lexton said. “Plus, it doesn’t help that most of these games can only be played by four people at maximum…”
“Alright, I’ll go find him,” the redhead said. “Besides, seeing as how he is the most mature among us, I doubt he’d be getting himself into any sort of trouble.”
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean!?” the kobold asked angrily. “I take great offense to that!”
“Me too!” Ryle shouted. “I’m obviously the most mature here!”
The blonde’s statement was met with blank stares from everybody else.
“...And just what is that reaction supposed to mean!?” Ryle asked angrily.
“Do you even want to know?” Lexton asked sarcastically.
As another argument was breaking out, Erin decided to slip away in order to find Durge. She didn’t have to look for long, as she found the orc sitting on the floor with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. He was completely still, to the point he almost seemed like a statue, if it weren’t for the steady rise and fall of his chest, indicating his breathing.
“Durge? You okay?” Erin called out to the orc yet received no answer.
Little did she know that Durge was actually facing his biggest fear within his own mind at that very moment.
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What Durge had been doing was meditating, as he could feel that there was an inner turmoil that was affecting him. Ever since he had removed the seal on his body in order to access his berserker state, he could tell that something had been changing inside of him. At first, he hadn’t thought much of it, just some strange dreams here and there, while also getting the feeling of wanting to get his adrenaline pumping. It was all something that the orc could easily either ignore or work out of his systems.
However, as the days went on, his dreams were becoming more and more vivid, and terrifying. Visions of brutal combat, blood, gore and death were constantly tormenting him, showing him pictures of himself drenching his hands with the blood of those he came across, no matter who or what they were. All that mattered was that he got to kill and relish in every second of the horrendous acts.
Even the small urges that were disturbing him from time to time had become far more distracting than before. What were once simple needs of getting his blood pumping were now desires to kill and destroy. To cause havoc and mayhem all around him with no remorse.
All of this was eating up at Durge, who was terrified of what he might be becoming. It was similar to when he was still just wandering around after his tribe had been destroyed. Back then, he thought that such feelings were normal. After all, he had been living through countless battlefields, where there was no room for calmness or relaxation. He would just need some time in order to get over such feelings and he could begin his new life as a normal person.
This changed, when he was targeted by a bunch of bounty hunters. In a way, the orc had welcomed the attack, as it allowed him to finally let loose with all the pent up aggression and desire for combat he had. However, this led to him activating his berserker state and going on a rampage that didn’t simply take care of his attackers, but also any unfortunate soul that got caught in the crossfire.
Horrified by what he had done, Durge had gone into seclusion, staying away from large settlements altogether, as he feared what he might do to them. During this time, he had learned about a wandering shaman with mystical skills. With no one else to turn to for help, the orc had sought out this person in the hopes that they could assist him. Fortunately, the shaman had been able to assist the orc by placing a seal in him. While this meant that he could no longer use his berserker powers, it was a small price to pay in Durge’s eyes. He no longer needed to worry about losing control and harming others.
Before he had left, the shaman had told the orc that if he were to ever break the seal, he would most likely have to find another way to suppress the power within him. Now that the seal was gone, Durge needed to figure out what to do. It was only thanks to his training within the warrior tribe that he was able to keep himself under control, but he knew that it would only be a matter of time until he would lose it.
Inside Durge’s mind, he found himself walking in a barren land covered in darkness. He couldn’t tell if there was anything around him at all, as he couldn’t even see his own hands due to how dark it was. All he could do was start walking in one direction with his arms stretched out in the hopes of finding something.
After just a couple of steps, he heard a sound. There was something there with him, but he couldn’t tell what it was. The sound of something walking around him soon began to repeat itself, telling him more details about it. It was obviously massive, as the steps carried incredible amounts of weight behind them. It was also bipedal, which he could deduce from the rhythm of the steps.
Whatever the thing was, it seemed to have noticed Durge, as the sounds of footsteps seemed to be circling around him. It was unclear whether it was able to see in the darkness or if it had some other way to determine where the orc was.
The footsteps came to a sudden stop right in front of the orc. He tried to focus his eyes in the hopes of seeing what it was, yet it didn’t help at all. There was no way for him to see in such pitch black darkness.
However, the being itself made itself partially visible, as two gleaming eyes suddenly appeared in the middle of the darkness, glaring right at Durge. The orc could feel his blood run cold, as he realized two things about whatever it was that was watching him. For starters, it was enormous. Even if he was very tall among most people, this being easily towered over him. It must have been at least twice his size. Lastly, he could tell by just the look it had in its eyes that it was malevolent and it wanted nothing more than to commit violence against him. Considering where he was, there would be nothing that could stop this monster from doing just that.
Below the eyes, a small light began to shine. At first, Durge was confused over what it was, but soon realized that it was a fire that began to bring some light around itself, revealing more about the creature staring down at him. The fire seemed to be coming from the creatures mouth, as the light of the flames revealed sharp teeth that were the size of daggers. And while it was only very little, the light also showed parts of the body itself, revealing bulging muscles and dark red skin.
image [https://i.ibb.co/8D2T1GB/Ch-151-Pic-1.jpg]
Cold sweat dripped down Durge’s face as he stared at the monstrosity before him in sheer terror. Even when he saw so little of it, it was more than enough to tell him just what kind of a being it was. It was something that lived for violence and destruction, and could easily tear him apart the second it decided to do so.
And this thing was inside of him.
The creature covered in the shadows of darkness was about to lunge at him, when a voice called out to him, bringing him back to the real world.
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“Durge! DURGE!” Erin shouted at the orc, finally breaking him out of his meditation.
Durge’s eyes shot wide open and he took in some heavy breaths, like he had been running a marathon. His body was covered in a cold sweat from the terrifying visions he had been up against just a second ago.
Now that he was back in the real world, the orc looked around and saw all of his friends staring at him with looks ranging from concern to curiosity. Since he had no idea about how long he had been stuck in his meditating state, he hadn’t realized what it might look like on the outside to the others. It was probably only natural for them to be concerned, considering how long he must have been still and silent, not to mention whatever reactions he might have showed to what he encountered within himself.
“Durge, are you okay?” Erin asked in a concerned tone. “It looked like you were in pain or something. Did anything happen to you?”
“...I’m fine,” the orc replied as he got up. “I was just doing some mental training. It can get a bit rough from time to time. Other than that, I’m completely okay.”
“Are you… sure?” the redhead asked. “You looked like you were in pain. Are you sure you’re alright?”
“Yeah! It looked like you were dealing with some seriously scary shit!” Ryle said. “I mean, you were sweating and trembling and had this look on your face that something was wrong big time! That’s not exactly something you just come out of completely fine, ya know!?”
“I’m fine, guys. Really,” Durge replied with a smile. “Anyways, how did the meeting go? Was Ao and the others able to get what they needed from Stacey?”
“Nah. Much like I had expected, they got nothing from her. It was just a waste of time for them,” Erin explained. “In the end, they came to the conclusion that she was pretty much useless to them and decided not to keep her around.”
“I see… So what happened to her?” the orc asked, before noticing Stacey standing in the back, staring at him with a scared expression. “Judging by the fact that she’s here, I’m going to guess that we got ourselves a new member, huh?”
“Pretty much. It seems like Erin wasn’t able to leave her on her own and decided to pick her up and take her along,” Zeldana said before shooting a glare towards the redhead. “Without consulting any of US, by the way!”
“Hey, I get that I should have asked you guys first, but what was I supposed to do!?” Erin argued. “I couldn’t just leave her be! Or do you think that she would be able to survive by herself!?”
“I have a better question! Why do you think any of us should care!?” the elf asked angrily. “I mean, she hasn’t exactly given us a good first impression, has she!?”
“Oh, come on! So she pushed you away! Is that really such a big deal!?” the redhead asked. “I’m sure most of us would do that for a good reason!”
“Yeah, but the thing about us is that we know her well enough to do so,” Ryle pointed put. “She doesn’t have that excuse, so why would she do that to someone trying to help her? Besides, do you really expect us to have sympathy towards someone who calls us freaks?”
“Look, I get that this hasn’t exactly gone well, but-” Erin began to say, but was cut off.
“Come to think of it, why are you so insistent on keeping her around?” Lexton asked. “I get that you like helping people and all, but you’re going way over the board to help her out. Why is that? Was her sob story so touching that you just cannot bring yourself to leave her behind? It’s almost like she’s your friend or something for you to go so far for her sake!”
The redhead struggled to respond, as the kobold had correctly pointed out her connection with Stacey. Even though he still didn’t know just how close he had gotten to the truth, it shook Erin to the core. This was due to the fact that if she let anything slip up, her friends could figure out her real identity and who she was to the Five Overlords. That was something she couldn’t risk.
“I… I just don’t want her to lose her life pointlessly, okay?” Erin said. “I’m sure you guys can tell that she won’t survive even a day on her own. I just want to help her, because… I can somewhat relate to her plight and what she’s been through. Just give her a chance. I’ll make sure to carry out the responsibility for her, no matter what happens. Just do this for me, guys. Please?”
The others looked at each other skeptically, not sure how to take this new development. They were torn between their dislike towards Stacey and their loyalty towards Erin. All of them wanted to help the redhead out, but this new addition to the team wasn’t exactly easy to warm up to. Yet they could see the genuine desperation the redhead felt.
“Well, it can’t hurt to give her a chance,” Durge finally said with a shrug, breaking the awkward silence. “I mean, when you think about it, quite a few of us joined this group on even worse terms than her. Take me for example. I basically started out as your enemy, didn’t I?”
“That might be the case, but not only did you end up helping us, you were ready to put your own life at risk to save Arnie,” Lexton pointed out. “Besides, you practically sacrificed yourself when we fought that dragon. I think you were far better than the open hostility she has shown towards us.”
“All I’m saying is that even bad encounters can turn around, okay? We can’t make a definite decision just yet,” the orc explained. “Stuff like this takes time, so we just have to be patient.”
Durge then walked up to Stacey and stood before her. He extended a hand for a handshake in order to have a proper greeting.
“Let’s try to build things up again properly, okay?” the orc asked with a smile as he still held out his hand. “Hello. My name is Durge. Pleased to meet you.”
“...Stacey,” came the reply as she didn’t even bother taking the hand offered to her.
“...Okay, at least this is some level of progress, I guess,” Durge said with a sigh as he walked away. “Let’s take this slowly with one step at a time.”
“Kind of hard, when the other side doesn’t even bother trying to take a single step,” Zeldana said.
“Guys, I get that you’re not happy with her, but can we just let it be for now?” Erin practically begged, having grown tired from the long day behind her. “She has been through a lot. We have all been through a lot. How about we just go rest for now and we try to move forward tomorrow?”
The others decided to agree with differing levels of dissatisfaction with the current situation involving Stacey. However, since she had managed to get her friends to agree for now, Erin saw it as an improvement. If she talked to Stacey and got her to come around, maybe things would work out in the future?
However, the redhead was also a bit worried. Not only because of Stacey’s sheer refusal to cooperate, but because she feared that by forcing the others to agree with keeping her old friend around, she might have stepped over some sort of a boundary. Erin feared that by doing so, she might start to sow discontent and grudges within the group, which could turn into much bigger issues in the future. Not only that, but there was always the risk of her backstory being revealed.
Still, the redhead was happy that she had managed to keep Stacey safe for now. With enough time and effort, she was certain that things could be smoothed out between her old friend and new friends. She just hoped that she wasn’t wrong.
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That night, when Erin was asleep, she didn’t see any calming dreams or terrifying nightmares. What she got instead was a meeting with someone she hadn’t seen for some time.
The redhead found herself standing in the middle of darkness with nothing seemingly around her. As she walked around, her steps made a sound that came from a hard concrete floor, meaning that she was in a room of some kind.
Suddenly, a light was lit up in the distance, prompting Erin to move towards it. Once she arrived there, she found a table with two chairs. With nothing else to do, the redhead decided to take a seat at the table. She was kind of reminded of the interrogation Stacey had gone through and wondered if someone was going to appear and start asking her some questions.
This would soon turn out to be the case.
“Well, good to see you once again. Although, I wish it was on better terms than this,” a familiar voice called out, causing Erin to look up. “I was kind of worried how things would turn out with that whole rescue operation you just did. Good to see that I didn’t need to worry about that itself, but I fear you might have done something that will cause problems for you in the near future.”
As the redhead had expected, the shadowy figure that kept appearing around her from time to time was right before her once again. Emerging from the darkness like he had been a part of some solid mass of shadows, the figure walked up to the table and took a seat on the opposite side from her.
image [https://i.ibb.co/YNZm1fR/Ch-151-Pic-2.jpg]
“Nice to see you, too,” Erin said sarcastically. “It seems that I still haven’t exactly improved the way you see me, although I doubt that will ever get better…”
“If you want to make me think better of you, there’s an easy way to do that,” the shadowy figure said. “Just start making smart decisions and I won’t have any complaints! Problem solved.”
“Really? And just how can I do that?” the redhead asked. “It seems to me that no matter what I do, you always have something to complain about. I’m sure that even when I defeat the Five Overlords, I’ll have to listen to a whole list of complaints.”
“Well, aren’t you certain of yourself!” the shadowy figure said with a laugh. “You didn’t say “if” when you mentioned beating the Overlords! Mind telling me where is this confidence coming from!?”
“...It’s not that I’m confident. I just feel like I have to do it and that I don’t have the choice to fail,” Erin explained with a solemn look on her face. “There’s just too much at stake.”
“Good to see that you’re taking this seriously, even if I’d hope that it came with some level of realism. But progress is progress,” the shadowy figure said with a shrug. “Sill, I wish you made some better choices as you went along with this mission of yours.”
“And just what decision has gotten you upset with me this time!?” the redhead asked angrily. “Is it the fact that I’ve begun working with Rayleen!? Do you really think I had a choice in that matter!?”
“Hey, don’t you start raising your voice with me! I’m not going to tolerate that!” the shadowy figure said in a stern tone. “As for you working with Rayleen, I actually have no issues with that. In fact, I’d say that she is one of the better options for you to partner up with. I have had my issues with her, but she is far better than many others.”
“Alright, so the problem isn’t that I’m working with her,” Erin said with a sigh. “In that case, what is the problem? I can’t think of anything else that I’ve done lately that would get on your bad side.”
“Oh, but there is!” the shadowy figure said. “It’s related to the company that you keep around you!”
“My… company?” the redhead asked with a surprised look on her face. “What’s the problem with them? I’ve been gathering allies for quite some time now and you’ve never had any issues with any of them! Where did this sudden change of mind come from!?”
“Don’t get me wrong. I don’t really have that many issues when it comes to your buddies overall. Even if you could have chosen much better companions. I mean, the first one is dumber than a sack of rocks, the kitty boy has serious anxiety issues, the kobold has a massive ego that tends to piss people off and the orc has some big time “anger management problems” that he’s dealing with,” the shadowy figure counted down Erin’s companions and their faults on his fingers. “But despite all of these issues, they have always stuck through the toughest of times with you and handled whatever it is that you’ve faced. That’s why I haven’t complained about them.”
“If that’s the case then- Hang on a second!” Erin said, realizing that there was someone that the shadowy figure had failed to mention. “What about Zeldana!? Are you telling me that you don’t have any issues with her!?”
“...Please don’t say things like that. It’s pretty hurtful,” the shadowy figure said. “As for why I didn’t mention her, she actually has a pretty good record as to doing stuff like this. In other words, I knew that you could trust her and that she would have the skills to be of assistance. However, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t have issues, like her very crooked and disturbing personality, questionable methods and psychopathic tendencies, just to name a few.”
“The way you spoke about her made her sound way worse than I ever thought she was,” the redhead mumbled. “But if you don’t have any issues with my crew, why do you claim to have a problem with them? It seems like everyone I keep around me isn’t a bother for you.”
“Oh, for the love of… Do I have to spell it out for you or something?” the shadowy figure asked in a frustrated tone as he buried his face in his hands. “Have you perhaps taken anybody into your group in the last 24 hours? Specifically someone that you’ve had to rescue?”
“You mean… You’re talking about Stacey?” Erin asked. “What’s the problem with having her around? She’s not going to hurt anybody! Besides, if I left her on her own, she would-”
“Die? Yeah, I’ve heard you make that argument multiple times already! Get some new material already!” the shadowy figure said angrily. “I’d also like to make a counterargument to that point! So what!? Why should anybody care about that!? If she can’t survive on her own, I’d say it’s her own fault at that point!”
“I… I cannot believe I’m hearing this from you!” the redhead said, shocked over what she was hearing. “Didn’t you want me to actually save this world from the Five Overlords!? How can you just tell me to leave someone to die!? Especially when that person is one of the many victims of the Overlords themselves!?”
“You can’t help everyone. That’s the sad reality. This is true in this case, because you are actually going to have to drag her around with you on your travels. If you did that to everyone that needed help, do you have any idea how large your group would be?” the shadowy figure said. “Why not ask everyone that lives in the Graven Hills slums to join you while you’re at it? Or is it just that you’re playing favorites with her, because she is an old friend of yours?”
The last question had caught Erin by complete surprise. She had always made sure to not let her connection with Stacey slip up. How did he know about it?
“What are you-? How did you-?” the redhead began to ask, but was quickly cut off.
“I’ve known about you and Stacey even before you came to this world. In fact, I know more about you than you could ever imagine, Erin,” the shadowy figure said with a sigh. “So don’t bother denying or trying to hide anything from me. It will only be a waste of time.”
“...Alright, so you know about me and Stacey. Fine, but so what?” Erin asked. “I still fail to see how her being part of my group is going to be a problem in any possible manner.”
“If you can’t see the issues she is going to bring upon you and your little gang of misfits, I really have to question your intelligence even more than before,” the shadowy figure said in a manner that told the redhead that he was rolling his invisible eyes. “For starters, have you seen how well she’s getting along with your crew? How she is pretty much openly hostile towards them? She already put her hands on one of them. Do you really think it’s going to be the last time she does that?”
“What? That time she pushed Zeldana? That wasn’t such a big deal!” Erin argued. “And I get that she isn’t exactly warming up to the others, but I’m sure that with enough time that problem can be solved. That’s all we need. Time to heal and grow.”
“Do you actually believe all that bullshit you’re spouting or are you trying to just fool yourself? Want to make a bet that this will go south very soon?” the shadowy figure asked. “But even her inability to get along with your buddies isn’t the biggest issue.”
“And what would that be?” the redhead asked.
“The main issue is that she refuses to change from the way she was back in your world,” the shadowy figure explained. “Because of that, she refuses to see the people of this world the way she should and only thinks of them as “freaks” or “monsters.” She refuses to give anybody in this world any value as living beings and that will be the ultimate downfall with her.”
“What? You have got to be exaggerating!” Erin said. “I get that she has been saying some things that she shouldn’t be saying, but it’s a big leap to think that she downright dehumanizes everyone around her! It’s only because of how she was treated under Golorath that she is like this! Again, with enough time-”
“Yeah, don’t bother telling me that crap. I’m not interested in hearing it and I can see you’re not interested in hearing me out either,” the shadowy figure said as he stood up from the table and began to walk away back into the darkness. “Just remember that when she does something unforgivable that I did warn you.”
As the figure melded into the darkness and disappeared from view, Erin tried her best to not think too deeply about his warning. She tried to play it off as needless paranoia or something similar.
However, deep down the redhead had a feeling that he was right.