IV.

The sight was gruesome when we came by. We stood around the decapitated body scratching our own heads. The corpse was missing more than just that; it was divided from the neck with the gash stopping above the middle of his torso. What was left of his face was a distance away, unfurled and splattered like a brown and foamy soggy tunic. I sensed unease welling up in the boy demon, Samuel. He was barking with the other soldiers a lot last night but it seemed like it was for nothing, I grimaced. The horrors of this world stripped his manliness down to his youth. Soldiers did not feel discomfort over common sights like the splatter before us, but he will learn soon enough. Same with his sister, who hid behind him.

Our orders were clear and simple: Cross the Sarwitz Jungle and join the Damned Army in their siege against Fort Bassalt.

“A Skill?” Caspan murmured more to himself then to anyone else as he regarded the corpse. “His face is bludgeoned, rather than a pierced strike.”

“Most likely,” the sweet voice of Nanishtar drew closer to me. I attempted to skirt around the succubus's body, but failed to avoid her hands from touching my neck. Immediately, flashes of what she and I did last night flooded my mind. I learned her name last night, among the softness of her skin and the way she enveloped me in her— I snapped out of it and freed myself from her touch. Hopefully I did so without much of a fuss. She pouted, yet I remained annoyed. The succubus continued on as I retreated next to a snickering Yokgu. “A Power Skill delivered by a fleeing warrior.”

“There’s more over here!” Another called out a distance away.

“Ope! Let me see them!” Nanishtar turned towards the next victim. Her beautiful hips swayed, clad in an armored war dress that never seemed to get dirty and exposed her skin. Why does that woman not have Ack’Sa armor on? I only saw outfits like that in movies.

“Having trouble with the new transfer, Light Voice?” Yokgu howled with laughter. We left the corpse behind and moved to investigate the other dismembered soldiers.

“No,” I lied. Yokgu gave me a friendly shove. “It’s just that she seems… under-equipped. For battling. And walking.”

”Healers don’t battle, dumbass,” Yokgu poked me, although we both fell into silence.

We observed her for a few moments. I kept up my best efforts to not watch only her butt as it swayed wickedly, instead noting the staff strapped to her back. It looked like a rifle from my old life. I shuddered at the thought of rifles possibly being inside of this world. The succubus’s tail flicked whenever she found amusement which seemed to happen more often as she drew near to more destroyed corpses further down the pathway. That’s just what demons do with their tails, I mused. Ake signaled to us to start moving. I peered through the thick forest at its main path. It would be better if we avoided it, but soldiers do not question their Commanders.

There was something I felt like I was missing, but like an irksome itch that kept itself in an unreachable area on my backside, I could not remember what the missing detail was. For now, as long as Nanishtar kept away from me I was fine.

“Did you get to know what your attunements are?” Yokgu asked me. For a giant of a man with a fearsome fanged face, his eyes were still full of life. It was unsettling to me how one could be this lively in war time. “Did you meet an Inquisitor?”

“Yes,” I said blankly. Yokgu waved his hands in exasperation. “What?”

“Details, woman! Details!” He laughed. “We need more magic in this next battle!”

“Well,” I warned him. “You’re going to be very disappointed. I barely have magic to speak of.”

Yokgu beat his chest in frustration, but laughed at my own anger when he noticed. I blamed my nonexistent Luck stat, but knew if I were to survive until my next level up it would be wasted to promote such a stat. Why did my skill even have it?

“What’s an Inquisitor?” Silmil asked. The demon girl had her armor and helmet on, carrying a standard bow and arrow. I would say she preferred her distance, but the mythril infused sword strapped to her side said otherwise. They were handing those things out like they were loaves of bread when the Hatred Army took the Soria mines.

“A high ranking member of the Church. Very dangerous,” Ake rattled. I grunted in agreement, remembering those gooey cages. Those soldiers were cooked by the Inquisitor’s Mind Skill from the inside out, head first. Wouldn’t want to be those guys, I thought grimly. Or a janitor. He halted the conversation, seeing something on the hill long before we could. I wished I was taller, I was about to complain but he signaled to keep on marching. “A burning wagon is up ahead.”

“Bandits?” Yokgu cracked his knuckles. “I can smash them up in an instant!”

We approached the wagon. Lots of recent footprints, I observed. They crossed over each other in a frantic attempt at a retreat and more peculiar carved juts came from a blow that nearly split the wagon in two. Whoever came by here utilized the same skill on those Damned Army soldiers on his way past here. My hair suddenly raised.

“Commander, we’re walking into an ambush,” I pointed at the bordering trees, where they might be. “The Skill User is still in the area—“

A groan came from beneath the wreckage, startling all of us. No alert from my Skill? I clenched my teeth, only to realize a bloody human was reaching towards me. His legs did not seem to be fitting where they were supposed to normally be and a gash bloomed near the top of his head.

“H-Help me,” the human begged. My face must have twisted into disgust, as the squad settled back down. Yokgu laughed as I shifted away from the carved up man. I was about to speak, but he screamed again. “Help, a-ang—“

“Shut it,” I silenced the human with the butt end of my spear. The mangled creature’s head crumbled and matter stuck on my spear, shocking me. Luckily, my helmet hid it, so I simply smeared it off on the grass next to the corpse. I did not mean to kill him, but I was more irritated with Yokgu. Ake shrugged, and my sudden brutality worked on silencing the orc. The Commander signaled to move with caution in formation. We nearly have forgotten that we were in enemy territory.

We departed swiftly from the wagon, but now with the threat of the enemy looming within these woods. Great. An arm wrapped around mine, and immediately flashes of Nanishtar’s soft skin peppered my mind. I yanked out of her reach.

“Aw,” the succubus whined. “Why are you being so cold?”

“I’m trying to stay alive,” I scolded her with a growl. “And you’re not helping.”

“I just love your aggressive side,” Nanishtar licked her juicy lips with that incredible tongue of hers from beneath her veil. Aggressive side? I scoffed. Does she get some kind of sign on bonus for being this annoying?

The hand touched my chin and images of kissing her smooth arms and luscious lips slipped their way behind my irises. How surreal, I thought as I swatted the hand away. This species has a strong power over the mind, but I was not sure how effective she would be in combat dressed like that. Thankfully, Yokgu’s laughter was the only thing that pulled me afloat from the mental waves of her lusty body. Right, this woman is trying to get me killed. Amidst the giggling and laughing, Ake hissed and my hair rose again. My status opened by itself and the beating of my heart stopped me from groaning.

“Get out of the woods, back to the roads,” he commanded the Tusk unit's slave soldiers. He pointed at me and Yokgu to defend the retreating forces. Great.

Alert: Heavily armed hostiles approaching.

Thanks for telling me what the Commander already knew, I grit my teeth. The Inquisitor mentioned interference by demons. Were they able to set this attack up because of the sold information? My team immediately began to get tense, waiting for an attack. Now! I shoved Nanishtar off of me and readied my spear. A massive blast of Wind magic struck the position I dodged from, and the succubus got the hint to cease being annoying. No, it wasn’t magic! I noticed a glowing arrow lying in the wreckage. It was a Power Skill!

Alert: Heavily armed Skill Users incoming.

The roar of several enemy soldiers rapidly approached me, while more dangerous Power Arrows tore through the woods. A roar? I scoffed. It was foolish to reveal their location before attacking. I threw myself near the trees in the hopes of avoiding whatever other attacks the enemy had and ran for it. Yokgu roared and backed the retreating Tusk force with me and we spread out just enough for the archer and mage to cover us as we made way towards the road.

I scanned the forest for these hostile entities and it did not take long to find them.

“Don’t let them escape!” Someone roared as the forest became beaten with heavy movement. Our attackers were human soldiers dislocated from Bassalt Fort as the Damned Army razed through this place, most likely. Yet, that does not explain the guerilla warfare. Soldiers as clunky and fresh blooded as these did not seem like the type to be good at that. Where were those Skill users? I looked at Yokgu, but I already knew what his idea of defense was going to be.

“Shit! How are they still mucking about here?” Yokgu spat out black bile. “These bastards should have all been crushed by the Damned.”

“They have a Skill User and a magical caster,” I warned him, ignoring his complaints. The orc grunted, but still charged into the enemy groups. The retreating forces had no choice but to defend with us. It’s a battle!

I cut down one soldier, admiring how easy it was to wield the spear. The high value targets were yet to be seen, but there was no alert warning me of an Elite's presence. Someone was approaching behind me, but my blade found his head and my helmet crushed another’s face in with a headbutt. There was an odd feeling from how easy it was to defend from the little ground we gained from retreating.

“The Damned Army reinforcements are here!” Another called out. “Stop them!”

Despite the initial gusto, the enemies started to break from the magical caster on our side and our spears. I found myself a small window of time to breathe behind a tree. Silmil and Samuel quickly took cover behind the trunks beside mine. Throat’s dry. The forest is misty from low hanging fog and the stench of blood. Their combat senses were good for them to get this far, I mused as the pair checked their weapons. I peered around the tree in order to find my warning’s targets.

Amidst the fighting Tusks and humans, I spotted a party of four individuals. They were uniquely dressed, and much more equipped than the regular run-of-the-mill fry. I let out a sigh and hid back behind the tree. “Of course.”

“What are those?” Silmil saw them too.

“Adventurers,” I told them.

Alert: Four Heavily Armed Skill Users in the vicinity.

“Don’t those tend to do odd jobs from the country?” Samuel was well learned, reaching the same conclusion I had. They cleared out dungeons and slayed beasts. Apparently, mercenary work was also a part of those odd jobs. One of the buildings in St. Kueyo was razed, and the insignia burned to pieces. It belonged to the Adventurer Guild, or whoever, of that country. Demons must hate these guys a lot. Still, the Status skill showed nothing about them being Elites. Their confident looks seemed to ignore the fact that the Tusk unit was quickly turning the tide of the fight against them.

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“We’re getting surrounded!” The big guy, a Tank, with a Great Shield called to the well-dressed adventurer. “You fine, Leader? Shit!”

I charged at the Tank, noting that a magical caster and a ranger type was with the Leader and tank. These were the last ones before the soldiers get completely crushed. As soon as my spear collided against the shield, it began to glow white. Iron Wall? Power Shield? My eyes betrayed my stoic look with hesitation and the Tank grinned. My hands rattled, and I had to kick off his shield as my spear uselessly bounced off the Skill. The Skill smashed the ground where I jumped from. Shit. He could have crushed me in an instant!

I regarded the man for a moment to buy time. Strangely enough, the Tank seemed ill equipped for an actual battle. He had no helmet, despite wearing heavy armor. All of the adventurer party’s members appeared as if they were caught in the crossfire.

It no longer mattered during war time, I squashed my helmet back on my head fully and regained feeling in my hands.

“You like that shit, Demon?” He blocked off the vulnerable squishy enemies in his party. I could sense his hesitance, since he did not have much of a counterattack to mount against me. “All you people do is kill and destroy!”

“Are you sure you want to do this? This isn’t some monster den to clear,” I warned him, only to receive mocking instead. I rolled my eyes. If I was a part of the bad guy’s team, then I should act like one I guessed. I switched my tone. “Your little adventures will end here and now.”

“Go!” The Tank spat at my armor and laughed again as he called for an attack. Yokgu roared from somewhere in the woods, but a spike of magical energy pulled at my skin as an alert from the Status skill appeared. Dios green magic, I ducked. A Wind Blade rattled the top of my helmet, slicing a few soldiers in half. A tree crashed down, and Yokgu’s roar went silent.

“Yokgu?” I screamed, and looked at the mage’s glowing staff. I saw his hand sticking out from under the log and fury erupted inside of me.

“So you monsters can feel emotions!” The Leader laughed as more magic tore soldiers apart. I return my emotions to my core, for he was right. It’s not a soldier’s duty to show those.

Still, they will all pay for that! The mage’s look in her eyes was full of horror from the damage she caused. Were those tears? These adventurers were inexperienced in actual combat, I noted. I can take immediate advantage over that.

“You’re no better than us. Murdering others with those Skills of yours. You think you have it easy, but you are wrong,” I taunted them. The Leader gave me an incredulous look as I pretended to pace and mock them some more. “You cry when you kill, humans. You're weak willed soldiers in the middle of a fight to the death, and yet you still cry! It is why I… I am so very jealous of you.”

The girl's eyes seemed to drop her guard, as the Leader tried to retort or use a skill. I immediately charged again upon closing enough distance, forcing the Tank to use his Skill improperly. I feinted a shield breaker, sacrificing the spear against the skill, but as he rose his shield with that mocking grin of his, I leapt on top of it and slashed his exposed head off with my sword. The DEX stat appeared to improve my speeds, and my bluff found bloody revenge. Surprisingly, the mage screamed.

“You killed him!” The mage shrieked at me, but all I returned was a blank stare after standing up over the headless Tank.

“You damn invader!” The Leader’s sword was glowing. Shit, I was exposed and his blade was coming right at me. “Picking on the weak! However, I’m not weak!”

Alert: Skill “Power” incoming.

The glowing sword blazed with a heat and power blessed by divine strength, easily shattering my sword and crushing a burning scar across my breastplate.

“Destroyed armor and shattered sword,” I taunted him. “It will not be enough to stop an army if you are too afraid to actually kill.”

“Leader get back!” The Ranger called out from behind me, drawing her glowing bow. Tch, I was careless and lost track of her, but suddenly the collapsed tree flung off with a thunderous crash behind me. A pair of arms seized the human girl, lifting her up into the air while she screamed helplessly. A piece of bark and sticks fell on top of a standing Yokgu, but he looked furious.

“Put her down!” The Leader roared and switched his target to him. As he charged, I delivered a swift armored boot to his shin, dropping him instantly.

“That’s a horrible choice of words for a man like that,” I sighed. The man's face fell when he realized what I meant.

Yokgu regarded the Leader as he effortlessly rose with the flailing ranger in his grasp, but grinned and nodded.

“Okay, human. I will put her down!” Fear spread across her face, but in an instant he flung the helpless Ranger into his powerful knee. The crunch was loud enough to make me wince. Two eliminated, I growled. The party has been broken! Time to end this.

The Leader did not move as I regarded him warily, which was perplexing, though the sorrowful look upon his face after seeing his comrades fall would stick inside my mind for a while. The mage had six arrows lined up inside her chest from Silmil’s bow, who was hidden in the treeline. Unceremoniously, I marched up to him and cut him down in a swift blow with his sword and left it in him. The battle was decided! I looked at the former Leader’s open lifeless eyes, and noticed they appeared to be charmed by magic. Nanishtar, I concluded and turned to see the witch hiding behind a tree with a perverted look on her smile. Even the veil could not conceal her twisted nature. A Mind Skill?

She was a lot more dangerous than I thought. I shuddered. Yokgu grinned with his fangs and torso covered in blood and burst into laughter at my apparently disturbed face, kicking the halves of the ranger into the forest. I twisted into disgust, but noticed his grin evaporated as the succubus approached him.

“Yokgu, my dear,” she called. Yokgu froze up and fear crawled across his face. He did not even react when I smirked. “You’re hurt, let me tend to your wounds!”

“Y-Yes, ma’am,” he stammered. A veteran beast turned instantly into a puppy, I scoffed and began to trudge off to regroup but something made me freeze.

If there were four Skill Holders, then where was the fourth one? None of them seemed to be used to killing anyone. Who was destroying those scouts from before? That mage did not seem to employ both magic and Skill, so where was the last member of this group at? Suddenly something hit me and my world went sideways. A blast of powerful white energy from an unknown weapon struck my side. I did not have time to register as I careened through wood and brush alike. I screamed in pain and realized my legs definitely did not work. Despite my horror at the state of my body, I groaned in agony and frustration. Why did I have to jinx myself? I tried to move my hand to escape, but it was too late. Boots were moving towards me! I helplessly flailed for anything that I could use to defend myself with.

The vision of my attacker, the fourth Skill Holder, walked slowly towards me. Was this their ace in the hole? I burped out blood, and wailed involuntarily. The chest piece was gone. As they walked closer, my thoughts focused on my broken hand as I attempted to peel the remains of seared metal off of me. The Status alert did arrive, much to my chagrin. The attacker simply was too fast.

“You remember me?” A feminine human leaned over me.

Obviously not, lady! She is dressed in those adventurer clothes, but I remained silent and closed my eyes. To die against an overpowered Skill, was exactly what a soldier like me deserved. My chest felt like it was shattered like that soldier we first found. Wood punctured multiple places and my Status Skill was giving me critical alerts.

“My Lord?”

Those words pulled me out of my stupor, and I open a cracked eye at her. The other was gone, I assumed. The human leaning over me revealed her face and I recognized her. The tent, I tried to speak but coughed up more chunks of blood instead. She was in my tent that night! So the skill was correct in warning me. If my destroyed face was smiling at the irony, the woman did not seem to notice.

She looked over her shoulder as she grabbed something from her lapel, and placed it on my chest. A feather? I groaned in an attempt to stop her from wasting that on me! It was too late! Shit! I screamed as my bones started to reform and heard every tendon pull back together. The woman waited until I was done writhing and my body pieced itself back together.

“Why do this for me?” I croaked, but heaved for breath. The chest plate! The woman rested me down and I felt the piece lift off of me. I freed my breath, but I was too weak to move. Could my Status skill heal me? Would this enemy allow me to escape? I stare at her and gulp as a cold metal object was placed on my chest. "Y-You should have... killed me."

“From one woman,” she pointed at the object on my chest. My eyes wandered towards it and realized it was a lantern. A singular red and white feather that contained much more power than the first one rested within it. “To another. Find your freedom, Nameless.

Alert: Legendary item, "Phoenix Feather" acquired.

“W-Wait!”

It was too late, for the Skill Holder vanished within another powerful skill of hers. I tucked the lamp into my cloak and pull my tunic over. The crumpled remains of metal plating sat next to me and I was alone. That chest armor was long gone, I groaned. The bloody sticks that pierced me were now dirtying my stained skin, resting uselessly on top of me. Heavily armored movement and screams broke through the trees, and a familiar rattling noise rapidly approached. Commander Ake’s glowing axe slashed through the human soldiers in his wake as he chased them on his belly, but stopped as he noticed me.

“Taking a nap, Light Voice?” He inquired, squeezing one of the humans in his grip until it popped. After eyeing the chest piece and the blown up path my body made as I crashed through, he turned to me. “A Skill did that, eh? They’re waiting for you at the road point. Get healed there and grab gear, Light Voice.”

“Yes, Commander,” I stammered. I realized my tunic exposed more than it normally would. Shit. That explains his odd look. He saw everything, but Ake had already slithered off to hunt more prey. I swore again out of embarrassment and stumbled my way back to the main Tusk unit. My Status skill did not level up, so I guess all that I had to show for this battle was getting flung through the forest like a tossed pine cone. I vowed to find and slay an Elite. I would definitely have to level up in this world if I were to come against another powerful foe like that woman.

“Hells, what happened to you?” Yokgu looked actually worried as I approached the rendezvous point. Caspan simply covered Samuel’s eyes with his spare wing as he checked camp inventory, but I did not care what was showing on my body at the moment. I spat out the remains of blood and dirt from my hike with a sigh. “You look pissed, but for some reason I prefer your gloominess over this.”

“Got my ass kicked,” I scowled at the dead Leader adventurer and yanked his sword out from beneath his chopped torso. That sword will be mine for now. My legs wobbled over to a box and rested themselves upon it whether I wanted it or not. “Find me wearable armor. Please.”

Yokgu gawked at me. Apparently he has never seen me like this, but I did not have the patience to entertain any teases—

“Ohhh, more of that sweet chest of yours, love,” Nanishtar swooned over my exposed tunic and what was beneath it. The succubus stalked her way closer to me, but before I could react her hand glowed white. That skill! “Relax, deary. My magic isn’t only useful in bed.”

She giggled and drew closer. Despite my protests, her magic made my joints and weakened muscles feel a lot better. Was this what she used to mend the other wounded soldiers? Nanishtar’s lips pecked my cheek and her hand brushed across my breast as she slinked away. I simply groaned, but I was cut off when a chest plate and a robe slammed onto my lap, and a pike clattered on the dirt next to my feet as well.

“Thanks,” I grumbled.

Yokgu sits next to me and remains serious, much to my surprise.

“That Skill Holder got away I guess?” He takes a bowl of soup from a soldier passing by as I strip off my armor. He gingerly set a bowl down before me as I nodded for him to go away.

“Yeah, couldn’t catch so much of a glimpse of them before they hit me,” I felt another pair of eyes stare at my skin as I removed each piece, and I knew it was not the orc’s gaze. I could care less, it was not a soldier’s duty to worry about what their fellow coworkers thought about them.

“Damn,” Yokgu leaned back.

We sat in silence as the others regrouped around us.

“Tomorrow’s going to be much different,” Yokgu ignored the sight of my flesh, which I appreciated. The orc seemingly only cared for prey he could toy with, and I must have proved myself worthy somewhere along the way. “We’ve never fought in a siege battle before. Makes a man like me excited. You best stay on your toes, Light Voice.”

“Sure,” I muttered as I finally wrestled myself free from that tunic. My bloodied up breasts got some fresh air and some unwanted attention, but all I wanted was some peace and quiet. A gasp echoed swiftly through the camp, and Samuel covered his mouth.

“Y-You’re—“ Samuel’s horns glowed red, but Silmil punches him.

“What is it, boy?” I sigh. Yokgu howls with laughter at his embarrassment. What was so special about me if a beauty like Nanishtar was here? Despite resting at an inn and having plenty of opportunities to look at myself, I did not bother. I felt like I was the most plain of any woman and just as grimy as the rest of the unit.

“You better have only good things to say about your senior, kid!” Yokgu laughs. It was too late for him, for I had already slipped the new dirty tunic on and covered myself with my armor with utmost efficiency.

“Get used to it, already. We’re nothing but Tusks,” I remind the demon siblings. “The only thing that comes first is the coins. Got it?”

Samuel shrank away and got scolded by Silmil, but I sipped my soup and then resumed my nightly duties as usual. I worried about the siege, since there could be hundreds of enemy soldiers gathered within that fort. I rolled over on a cot when I returned from night patrol, feeling the lantern that powerful Skill Holder gave me clink against my side. Even though the fire died hours ago and the others fell asleep already, I still felt the lantern emanating heat from the legendary item inside of it.

A phoenix feather, huh. I wondered what it does. The woman’s other feather that healed me was not as beautiful as this one. I decided to keep the lantern close to my side from now on, feeling an odd comforting sensation. Nostalgia? I felt a small tug at my heart, which I thought was left behind when I awoke on my first battlefield. It was a distant calling— a faint whisper above the chaos of war but I could not interpret it. I gave up guessing, so I let sleep takeover and drifted into the darkness.