Dioneras was too lost in his thoughts to notice the change around him.

Their captive went through quite a few phases until now. She fought them tooth and nail when they first met. Only after she almost experienced death, did she calm down a bit.

Later she found her voice again. She displayed her creativity in hurling insults at the Goblin and the Beastman.

She wasn't even bad at it, a perk of being an educated, though spoiled brat.

If it wasn't for their dire situation, Dioneras might even enjoy this banter.

He wasn't a strong or in any way remarkable man. No Goblins were.

Their strength was in their numbers and adaptability. The Demon Lord only appreciated their smartest. And even then, it was unheard of a Goblin taking such an important post.

He wasn't only the Captain of the Twelve Champions, but Omega's Chief of Staff.

A little mental exercise should have been nothing for him, arguing for the argument's sake.

But he wasn't in the mood after losing his best fighter, and couldn't find the rest of his men.

Thus, the Princess lost her virtue over time when they didn't give in to her provocation.

She was a mere shadow of her former self now.

It wasn't surprising, considering how long they had marched without a clear goal.

They had no tents, change of clothes, or even food.

They ate what Fang could hunt down and cooked up with haste. At least the Beastman had his survival tools and wits with him. Dioneras already gave up on those too.

The forests in the area didn't offer much food that you didn't have to fight. It was pinecones or questionable berries, and the Goblin knew better than to try them.

The vast farm fields were all but abandoned, and the local fauna took over them.

The tribes that lived nearby cared little about cultivating the lands.

The humans left long ago, and the Empire relied on trade over vast distances anyway. That was until the Gate system collapsed.

The citizens didn't have much time to panic though. Their entire city disappeared soon after.

The Thirteenth Bride was sure a scary woman.

They were at the Old Capital and he found no sight of the other Champions.

He wasn't a shaman or a sorcerer to use telepathy at his leisure.

He had no way of contacting his men — or that witch, Omerta — until they did it first.

They never reported what they found though, and it has been days.

It was a grave tactical mistake he made. He brought his best fighters to take on the humans, expecting the wyverns to do most of the job.

Thinking back now, a sorcerer or even a shaman could have made their job much easier.

And with their ability to talk over vast distances, they wouldn't be this isolated either.

At least they had their captive, otherwise the Demon Lord would take his head for sure.

It was impossible to walk her back to the Gates of Hell though. They needed a carriage or horses.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

Or borrow a wyvern from another champion.

"Where the hell are they?" He muttered, looking over the empty basin where the old city once stood.

The Princess was eerie quiet now until she wasn't. The Goblin only noticed the loud retching sounds and couldn't do anything.

The royalty puked all over her once majestic dress, keeling over at the side of the road.

"Are you all right, Your Highness?" Fang asked the stupidest question one could utter. It was clear at a glance that she wasn't.

It was a nasty business.

This would have done it if her misadventures hadn't ruined her clothes in the last week. Her sweat and lack of bubble baths already overpowered her perfume.

This made her a beacon of terrible smell for every carnivore nearby.

"What did you feed her?" Dioneras asked the Beastman, pulling back Elizabeth's curly purple hair. "Your Majesty, did you eat something other than the food we gave you?"

"Only a few red berries when that Wolfman took too long with hunting." She wiped her mouth before throwing up again.

"Shit. Didn't I tell you that they are poisonous?" He didn't, though he thought about them.

"Water..." The Princess muttered a few minutes and plenty of vomiting later.

"It's not the best to drink after throwing up." Fang shook his head, but Dioneras felt like arguing.

"Dehydration is also not the best idea." He looked around, trying to figure out where they were in the Old Capital.

"The water reservoir should be near behind those hills. We need to fill up our waterskins anyway." At least there was a chance they'd find the Champions there too.

They also needed to drink and the closest rivers to the Capital were much further away. It took both of them to support the Princess who turned herself into a hose.

She threw up much more than she could have eaten in the last few days and didn't show signs of slowing down. Dioneras was in bad shape too, but did his best to carry her up the hillside.

That's when he noticed the signs of a recent battle. He almost walked past it, if not for the strange stone formation that someone sliced clean in half.

And there were wyverns too, dead ones. It had a saddle, and he recognized it as one of the mounts of the Twelve. It didn't take him long to put the pieces together.

"Fuck. The Champions were here." As he noted, Fang picked up his head too.

The scout didn't even take notice of their surroundings. He was at the end of his rope too.

"What the hell happened?" He stopped, almost tripping the Goblin and the Princess over. "It looks like they were all wiped out. Even worse than what that blue devil did to us."

Elizabeth threw up again, urging them to move on, rather than investigating the site. But to add to their worries, a hungry howl answered her retching sounds.

A pack of grey wolves appeared on the hill's summit.

"Your friends?" Dioneras asked the silver-maned Beastman, but he shook his head.

"Run."