Am I a bad person for enjoying this?

The thought crossed my mind as I watched a literal Gremlin stab into the dead corpse of my stupid former boss. He did it over and over, the monster seemed to be having a grand old time.

Nah. I'm good.

He deserved it probably.

Those who died while he lived definitely appreciate my actions.

I know I'm not the only employee that wanted that to happen.

Besides, I'm a horse. So killing a human isn't so bad when put within that context.

I smiled, after finishing my various complex justifications for my actions. I only take a few more minutes to watch the show, before moving towards where Flaze should be hiding.

The gremlin shifted then, almost as if to try and attack a superior being. Me.

I huffed back, asking the wordless question. Are you sure this is how you want to die?

The gremlin wasn't sure. I allowed the monster to retreat, showing that I do indeed have compassion, despite recent events.

"Hey horsie!" Flaze called to me, from within a bar. There was a incubus-like demon within, freshly covered in blood.

I gave her a judgemental look.

She rolled her eyes, content to not discuss whatever just transpired with me out of her sight. "I know what you're thinking. And no that's not what I'm into. Let's just go?"

I shrugged at her question, unconvinced. It was clear that she wanted to get a move on quickly, so she won't have the time to ask questions. I agreed, not wanting to burden her either with my own choices.

Flaze and clone mounted me after grabbing a few bottles of alcohol for the road, and soon we were off into the sunset, towards Orlean Piercer's house.

It was after making only a few turns, that something strange caught my eye. A pillar of scrap metal embedded into the earth, covered in uneven furnishings of black spray paint. There were burn marks, almost like graffiti, etched along its sides. Faints wisps of electricity arced out of the metal, making my hairs stiffen from the static.

Flaze's Knight Clone jumped off my back at the sight. She circled the pillar as I stayed a few paces away. The masochist touched the obviously electrically charged object.

I laughed. Real Flaze slapped my head from my back. "It's for science."

Sure, sure. I neighed.

I stopped joking once the clone of Flaze spoke again. "Runes."

I cocked my head, thinking of the possibilities. If those markings are indeed runes, then what of their origins? A person, with a proper Class? I believe we've seen a few structures within both Ralph and Geneva's camps that made use of runes. Or could it be a natural formation, like the golems presumably are?

"Yep, they're runes." Flaze took the moment to explain, her real self speaking. "I recognize them, from the ones we've had the chance to inspect. At least parts of them. Although... it looks a lot less... precise, than the ones we've seen. I don't know that they're wrong. Perhaps less rigid, and more free.

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I walked closer to the pillar, to get a better look myself. I scrunched my eyebrows, staring into it, as if to lay bare all the secrets of magic and the universe. Are they not one and the same?

Very interesting indeed. I nodded sagely.

Flaze Clone elbowed me. "You're talking out of your ass aren't you?"

I roll my eyes. I'm literally not talking.

We continued making our way towards Orlean's house, with no more answers forthcoming from the runes. It only took a few sparse turns to see another pillar of scrap metal, black spray paint, and electric discharge. Another one followed soon after, and then another one.

I spotted two in the same general area, and then three, growing denser like a very strange forest. Some were even sticking out not on the ground, but on the walls and floors of buildings several stories high.

The same trend continued, we also noticed a lack of monsters or even people in the surrounding area, growing more pronounced especially as we finally reached our destination.

"I, uh. Shit, am I still drunk?" Flaze questioned, pointing at the house in front of us. It was supposed to be Orlean Piercer's place, or well, a cousin of hers. An impressive three story building, aesthetically pleasing, and close enough to shore to overlook the ocean beyond. "I don't think that was there before..."

Flaze was of course referring to the perimeter of the very same pillars we've been seeing on the way here, encasing the house almost as if a fence. The electricity arcing through them was visible, making it clear that these structures were here to defend the place.

Flaze Clone walked over and touched it.

"Ow." She quickly pulled her hand back from the constant stream of lightning running in between the pillars. I looked up and saw that the lightning was also apparent in a crisscrossing pattern above, protecting even from flying invaders.

"It appears that it is electricity." Real Flaze reported, I could just feel her salute from behind myself.

How'd you figure that out? I held back the retort, and instead gave a dignified whinny.

Secure the perimeter, analyze the foreign technology, look for weaknesses in the structure.

"Sir!" The both of her exclaimed with utmost loyalty. I am so lucky to have such good soldiers. Manly tears--No.

Horsely tears. Horsely tears.

Cry.

We examined the area right after, from the pillars and their runes, to what little we could see of the house, distorted it may be. I scrutinized them, ignoring Flaze's childish attempts to say that I don't actually understand jack shit. I gathered my mana to prove her wrong and drew haphazard figures of the runes using my flames. They didn't work, but my control over my fireball wasn't anything impressive to begin with. The lines drawn were crooked and unruly, just like when I use it for writing. Perhaps an increased intelligence will fix that. It is my lowest stat.

"There are electrified metallic wirings leading from the pillars towards the inside of the house." Flaze announced. I moved closer to the electric fence, and confirmed her statements for myself.

This formation, whatever it is, is clearly purposeful...

I looked towards Flaze and gave her a meaningful look. She nodded her head in response.

"It could be Orlean."

It is her house. I agreed.

"ORLEAN!" She then shouted.

"ORLEAN PIERCER!" Her clone did the same.

I neighed loudly with the same intentions. We sang our voices dry, but were only able to attract a few fliers to come down that we had to kill.

"Fuck it, I'm going in." Flaze Clone announced. I metaphorically laid out the red carpet for her.

Real Flaze went up to her clone before she left. They hugged and exchanged teary words. I laughed at them, the insensitive prick that I am.

Flaze Clone charged. Her conjured form immediately shivered once she made contact with the cascading lightning. But she pushed through. The Pillars responded, the runes lit up brighter.

The world went white.

For a moment.

A deafening thunderclap followed soon after.

The Clone was dead, I first saw her charred remains quickly dissipating. I looked up only to see fissures in the sky, a reversed lightning strike, announcing our position for all to see.

An alarm system! Nice!

The excitement washed and then fell off me.

Wait. No! Fuck! We're its target!

The ground rumbled, to the approaching footsteps of a giant.