Jennifer narrowed her eyes at the guards kneeling before her. Their reverent expressions felt misplaced, almost surreal. She let out a breath, steadying her voice as she asked, “Why would you think gods sent us?”
The lead guard hesitated, his face a mixture of awe and fear. “You appeared out of nowhere, with powers beyond our comprehension. You’ve saved us from these... things.” He gestured at the heap of lifeless monsters. “Only gods could do such a thing.”
Jennifer's brow furrowed. “Gods? Seriously?” She shook her head. “Where are your slayers? To let a gate open and not have anyone on standby... that’s insane.”
“Slayers?” the guard echoed. “What’s a slayer?”
Jennifer’s lips parted, and for a moment, she was at a loss. “You don’t know what a slayer is? Or a gate?”
The guards exchanged puzzled looks. Before they could answer, James stepped closer, his tone incredulous. “Alright, forget that term. What do you call people who kill monsters? You know, trained fighters, specialists, anyone who handles this kind of thing?”
The guards looked even more confused. One of them muttered, “No one.”
The lead guard turned to his companion. “Do you think the king has created a new agency? Like... secret soldiers or something?”
The other guard shook his head. “I’ve heard nothing about that. And this—” He motioned at the carnage. “This is the first time I’ve even seen these creatures up close. I thought they were just... myths.”
Jennifer narrowed her eyes at the guards kneeling before her. Their reverent expressions felt misplaced, almost surreal. She let out a breath, steadying her voice as she asked, “Why would you think gods sent us?”
The lead guard hesitated, his face a mixture of awe and fear. “You appeared out of nowhere, with powers beyond our comprehension. You’ve saved us from these... things.” He gestured at the heap of lifeless monsters. “Only gods could do such a thing.”
Jennifer's brow furrowed. “Gods? Seriously?” She shook her head. “Where are your slayers? To let a gate open and not have anyone on standby... that’s insane.”
“Slayers?” the guard echoed. “What’s a slayer?”
Jennifer’s lips parted, and for a moment, she was at a loss. “You don’t know what a slayer is? Or a gate?”
The guards exchanged puzzled looks. Before they could answer, James stepped closer, his tone incredulous. “Alright, forget that term. What do you call people who kill monsters? You know, trained fighters, specialists, anyone who handles this kind of thing?”
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The guards looked even more confused. One of them muttered, “No one.”
The lead guard turned to his companion. “Do you think the king has created a new agency? Like... secret soldiers or something?”
The other guard shook his head. “I’ve heard nothing about that. And this—” He motioned at the carnage. “This is the first time I’ve even seen these creatures up close. I thought they were just... myths.”
Jennifer crossed her arms, disbelief written all over her face. “You thought they were myths? How could you not know about these things when they’re literally tearing your world apart?”
The lead guard stiffened. “We’ve heard stories, but that’s all they were—stories. No one’s ever actually seen them before.”
James cut in, his frustration boiling over. “What do you mean stories? You live here, right? You’re telling me no one’s ever prepared for... this?” He gestured at the crumbled remains of the monsters, his disks faintly glowing with leftover energy.
The second guard stammered, “We prepare for wars, invasions, bandits—but not for creatures that crawl out of... what did you call it? A gate?”
Jennifer pinched the bridge of her nose. “This is unbelievable. If you don’t have slayers, or anyone trained for this kind of thing, then how do you even survive? What happens when more gates show up?”
“More gates?” The lead guard’s confusion deepened. “There’s more than one?”
“Yes, there’s more than one...” Jennifer muttered, then paused, exhaling sharply. “Look... You have to tell your leaders about this.”
James turned to her, incredulous. “Wait, hold on. This doesn’t add up. If they don’t have slayers and don’t even know about gates, how the hell are they still alive?”
Jennifer was already piecing it together, her thoughts racing. “They’re not. Not really. They’ve just been lucky so far. No slayers, no gates, no framework. They’re defenseless.” Her voice grew quieter as the realization sank in. “They’re just food for monsters.”
The guards exchanged uneasy glances, unsure whether they should feel insulted or terrified.
James sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Alright, so you’re saying this is their first time dealing with monsters? Ever?”
The first guard nodded hesitantly. “Yes. I thought we made that clear...”
Jennifer opened her mouth to reply but froze as a strange heat flared behind her. She spun around, eyes narrowing at the school wall. Flames crawled across the surface, forming words that shimmered in the dim light:
Your mission is done. You have reduced the population of monsters on this Talar by 1%. You can return to home... by saying so.
James followed her gaze. “What are you staring at?”
Jennifer didn’t answer immediately, her eyes locked on the burning message. When it fizzled out and left the wall pristine, she glanced at him. “You didn’t see that?”
“See what?” James looked back at the wall, confusion etched on his face. “There’s nothing there.”
"I got a message from the Key."
"Oh that makes sense. Mines take a bit longer to fade away."
The first guard’s voice broke the silence. “Is... everything alright?”
She turned back to him, her tone softer. “Yeah. Look, just take care of yourselves. I’m sorry we didn’t get here sooner. Maybe we could’ve saved more of you.”
The guard straightened, shaking his head. “Don’t apologize. If not for you, none of us would’ve made it.”
Jennifer offered a faint smile, then turned to James and grabbed his hand.
He blinked. “Uh, what are you doing?”
“Take us back to home,” she said firmly.
James stared at her, baffled. “What?”
Before he could protest further, flames roared to life beneath them. He yelped, stumbling back, but Jennifer held tight to his hand. The fire climbed their legs, engulfing them completely.
“It’s not burning us,” Jennifer said calmly, her eyes locked on his panicked face. "Well, not burning me. It might turn you into dust."
"W-what?!"