CHAPTER FOUR

Dawn Arrives (Half Chapter)

While Pale and Roari were engaged in senseless pig genocide, an intruder had gone by unnoticed.

From afar, one might think this to be a common knight. With a slim figure encased in a suit of interlocking scale armor. Beneath a gleaming silver helmet was also a face that was seemingly made of platinum. Judging from its well built body and the delicate features of its shapely eyes, it would be obvious to any that this intruder was a female.

Of course, such an appearance did nothing to reflect the being’s innermost feelings. In reality, she was tense and nervous. Her heart pounding so loudly, that she feared those around her would be able to hear.

“I…I’ve finally found it!”

The girl rejoiced after she chanced upon the entrance to Azoth. The time she had spent scouring through the Forest of Swine had not been wasted after all. Now, at the foot of this new dungeon, she would charge in without any hesitation.

Immediately after entering, she found the dungeon to have a massive maze like complex with numerous rooms and branching corridors. Her focus tightened as she gripped her holy sword, prepared for battle at but a moment’s notice.

‘Where are the guards? Wait…’

She froze. At a distance, the muffled jabbers of the living could be heard resonating over the stonework. They grew closer and closer, prompting her to duck into a wall indentation for shelter.

Holding her breath, the slight tremors of her body ceased entirely as she became stock still. Just like her expressionless face, the rest of her lost all semblance of life, and indistinguishable from a common statue. And it was not a moment too soon.

Though she could no longer turn her head, her eyes widened in shock as she saw the people who passed on by.

Their bare feet were pounding dully against the cold stone floor. Completely uncaring of the sharpened stones digging into their flesh, these dried up looking men seemed on the verge of collapse. As if completely oblivious to her presence, the two men in rags were loudly gasping for breath while straining to carry a massive cauldron.

In but a few moments, they were gone.

If the Scion could make a face right now, she would surely be perplexed. Slaves? Here? Such an observation only redoubled her conviction. This was surely one of the lairs of evil, but there was something else troubling her mind.

Where were the armed guards? Where were the monsters?

Breaking free of her frozen pose, she headed towards the path from whence they came. And what she saw was enough to bring a chill to her heart.

A large atrium filled with statues of mighty beings and various mythical plants. Within the room were even more slaves, all attending to menial tasks with pained expressions. One of whom, a young girl who had an expression of biting back her bitterness while she polished a statue of Battali with a small brush. There were also numerous others who were lying slumped on the ground, their eyes hollow and listless.

To see such suffering, her heart only grew colder as the overseer appeared with an onerous roar. It was a massive monster of a man with a bald head that shined like polished silver. He had a crude laugh and a wicked grin; His expression unapologetic even as he bit ferociously into the leg of a beast, while the many slaves could only look on with envy.

‘Disgusting…’

Having only heard the childish ramblings of a village idiot, she never held much expectation to finding this place. If not for her desperation, she would never have chosen to search inside the Forest of Swine.

It was only after persisting for many days, that she was finally rewarded for her efforts. She was certain that this was it. The first clue towards the identity of the hidden darkness that plagued the land. Oh how she had searched tirelessly.

And now that she’s found them, how could she not yearn to mete out justice?

Naturally, she pitied the slaves as well. Though they may only be the result of a series of infinitesimally complex programs, they still had some semblance of human emotion, they still had their own thoughts. Funnily enough, they seemed more real than most of the people she knew in real life. And as of now, they were suffering.

For such a disgrace to happen so close to Torva, it should’ve been inconceivable, yet it was here. She supposed that it goes without saying that the greater the light, the longer the shadow cast.

Her metallic brow furrowed into sharp points as she looked over the overseer. He did not seem too strong. And with her righteous fury, her joints were already screaming in their thirst for battle.

As for the slaves? Heh. They need not worry. Their suffering would soon come to an end as well…

For she was here.

Her mail skirt jingled and her greaves clinked as she strode forward. Now, after getting a better view of the overseer, her heart trembled as the man’s bestial aura threatened to overwhelm her.

With thick tattooed arms and crude leather garments, his entire appearance was like that of a common bandit. A cruel smile was also plastered onto his hideous face as he ended up noticing her. Arrogance radiated off of him in waves as he ripped another large gobbet of flesh, chewing it greedily while grease ran down his chin.

Her eyes shifted. There seemed to be no other hostiles. And as she would never harm the guiltless, her only enemy in the entire room would only be him. Thus she made her decision. Though unsure of the overseer’s true combat level, she would still do her utmost to bring him down. She would not cower.

Drawing upon the ancient short sword, Crandor, she muttered a quick prayer for protection to the watchers of this world. Even if her call fell upon deaf ears, she still had the ultimate trump card in the event that she had to flee.

Not that she would anyways.

After unslinging the silvered heater shield that had previously hung off her back, she bared her blade towards the overseer. Her appearance truly that of a gaudy silver knight shining ostentatiously with the barest of light.

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If she were a true hero of justice, she would announce herself before engaging in a life and death battle, but this was no fairy tale. Without strength, such a fancy should be left to the fools and the roleplayers.

Instead, her arms locked into place, as her shield began to glow with a shining light. The overseer’s expression suddenly changed, as if troubled by such a development. His mouth began to open, but it was too late. She would never give him the opportunity.

Her legs strained and buckled before kicking off explosively. Her entire body changing into a fearsome streak of silver.

“Hey W— Kkkkrraaaaaa!”

Completely unprepared, the overseer had barely noticed the danger before being struck squarely in the chest. His massive body momentarily made weightless before being sent crashing into the stone wall. The intensity of the blow was so strong, that a portion of the ceiling also ended up collapsing, burying the overseer under a pile of rubble.

The girl who had steeled both her mind and soul was taken back by such a development.

‘That was…easy.’

Though concerned, she had no time to dwell on such thoughts as she suddenly found herself at the center of numerous confused gazes of the dungeon slaves.

Quickly taking control of the situation, she let loose a rallying cry as the light of faith poured from her body. With a brightness that would not pale to a shining star, the slaves around her could not help but gape in awe. Their burdens of labor clattered noisily to the ground, haven fallen limply from their nerveless fingers.

“Prisoners of darkness! Heed my words! You are not liberated from this cesspool of pain and suffering. Leave now, and I promise that none shall harass your departure!”

Her voice was commanding and fully of heroic spirit, but moments after, she felt that something was amiss.

…

Nobody had moved!

‘…?’

The armored maiden clicked her tongue in annoyance but was undeterred. Zeroing in on the nearest slave, she bellowed.

“Don’t you want your freedom? Hurry and leave. I promise you. There is a better life to be had if you would just gather the courage to run.”

There was silence.

Heat began to seep up her ears. She had been so sure of herself. She had even mustered the courage to say such embarrassing lines! Had she overstepped her capabilities? Naturally, not every denizen of this world would be so easily moved, but at least some should respond, right?

Suffering the mental backlash from such a shameful scene, her chest heaved as she attempted to forcefully calm herself. However, such an attempt became useless as one of the slaves finally spoke for the first time.

“…I- Is this an event?”

‘…Oh fucking hell.’

“Y-You’re a player?”

Already, an all too familiar ache started to act up in her liver. Her already feeble heart, cast further into the pit of despair as the slave bobbed his head.

The player in question was Spicy Dragon. As Pale and Roari had not returned from their outing yet, Hoyt had grown concerned and was about to send him out to find them. However, Hoyt had barely even given him any directions when he was suddenly sent crashing into the wall.

Naturally, he had no idea that just a few words on his part could cause the intruder to freeze where she stood.

“Wait…Player…Player… The Hell! You’re not an NPC?”

“That’s what I’m asking you!”

The embarrassed knight felt trapped as the curious glances turned into ones of suspicion. It should be stated that the people in this room probably haven’t even been in this world for a day yet. Naturally, they would assume that everyone would be newbies like them. And here she was, knocking out their trainer NPC in a single hit. Let alone, being fully geared in gaudy and expensive looking armor, she really had no way to explain herself.

“I wasn’t the one who came in swinging that shield like some insecure angsty teen with his dick?”

“What? What!!?! No…Listen… I don’t have time for this. Just direct me to the boss room. I have a mission to fulfill.”

“Yeah,no. Screw you.” Spicy Dragon retorted. Who was this girl to suddenly barge in and make demands of him? Though the players had only known this place for a little while, an unseen bond had already formed between them.

“It is for the sake of the world… I do not wish to hurt you, but if that is what it takes, then so be it.”

She pointed her shining sword at Spicy Dragon, stopping but a hair’s breadth away from his throat.However, internally, she wasn’t feeling so brave.

‘The hell am I doing?’

She felt like crying, but had to keep up the brave front. She felt like laughing, but she was already feeling sick to her stomach. Just a few moments before, she had full intentions of saving these people, and now she was suddenly baring her sword at their throats?

Immediately retracting her blade, she held a guarded stance while Spicy Dragon leered at her. Immediately defanging her clumsy threat, she probably wasn’t going to be intimidating anybody. No, she had to get out of here first.

“What is this…”

Spicy Dragon struggled as a glowing light pressed down from above, forcing him to his knees.

The embarrassed knight felt petty, but still enjoyed seeing that confused expression. That said, she was just about to start her tactical retreat when a low groan of annoyance shook the atrium.

After dropping a mountain of rubble on Hoyt, the knight had assumed him dead, but as shattered pieces of stone and dust exploded out of the pile, her worst fears came to light.

However, even as she expected to see an enraged titan emerging from the rubble, when the dust settled, there was nothing but a small hole where the overseer should’ve been.

‘Where?!!’

“I… would appreciate it if you scheduled an appointment next time.”

It was a gravelly whisper, but the girl shuddered as she felt the hot breath against her ear.

‘What? How did he get behind me?’

Any normal player would’ve screamed, but her body was already whirling into motion. Her blade blurred as she instantly twisted and slashed upwards.

‘Clang.’

Her blade jerked to a stop as light tremors coursed through her arm.

With bated breath, she looked at the dark metal hand that encased her sword like a vice. Following it, she found herself at offs with a disproportionate metal mannequin. With a wide and robust chest, massive arms and tiny legs. If not for the emptiness of the helmet, she would’ve taken it for a living being. The grinding of gears screamed as it slowly pulled her sword away, sending sparks flying from the surface.

“Harhar. You sure did a number on that wall, girl.”

Hoyt tutted and appeared from behind the mannequin. Despite being a bit dusty, he was completely unharmed, and seemed to be more concerned over the stone infrastructure than the preemptive attack by an unknown intruder.

His jaws widened into a shit eating grin. The sound of his knuckles cracking were like falling rocks. Boom. Boom. Boom.

“I do hope you’re prepared to face the consequences.”

The girl trembled. In such a position, her trump cards became useless, and it was doubtful that she had the ability to take such a monster down. Neither could she flee either, as her holy sword was still wedged tight in the automatons grasp.

What? Throw it away and run?

She would rather die first.

Of course, she might not even have a choice. After taking a deep breath, she repainted that mask of bravery once more.

“You don’t scare me monster! I I may fall here, but words of your wrongdoings will spread from here. Others will surely follow! And when your evil is exposed to the world, a subjugation force will surely come to make you pay for your crimes!”

“…Evil?” Hoyt snapped.

The strength in her legs gave out.

“It might be all the manual labor you’re making us do.” Spicy Dragon remarked dryly.”

“Not now boy!”

Despite having no strength in her arm, she continuously tugged and tugged at her sword handle. Seeing that her efforts were fruitless, she decided to opt for a more diplomatic approach.

Looking back towards the slave overseer once more, she asked timidly. “Um. Just to clarify, but is this not an evil hideout for demonic rituals and other crimes against humanity?”

“Uhh…No?” Hoyt glared at Spicy Dragon, as if daring him to speak.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. I’m sure!”

“Oh…”

In the short moments when a person realizes they had erred, there are usually only two outcomes. One is to double down on their stance to the point of irrationality, whereas the other was to throw away all sense of shame and apologize.

She cast her eyes downward as she meekly asked.

“Uh…I don’t suppose its too late to say, I’m sorry?”

Hoyt cocked a saucy eyebrow at her sudden meekness, while the players standing in the peanut gallery could not contain their looks of disbelief. Could a person really be so shameless after barging onto their turf and assaulting their boss? Such thoughts should be normal, but of course, Hoyt did not follow the conventional paths of logic. The entire atrium shook with the might of several hearty bellows as he laughed at her.

“It is not.”

Three simple words, yet it felt as if the weight of the world has been lifted off her shoulders. She hadn’t even realized that she was holding her breath this entire time as she exhaled in relief. Did miracles truly exist? How else could she find such an understanding NPC with a heart of gold? In reality, nobody would ever let an aggressor go just like that. Nobody would ever be so understanding.

Today would not be the day she died.

Releasing the hilt of her sword, she awkwardly bowed. The deep valiant voice she used before morphing into a more feminine girlish pitch. “I apologize, no… I’m sorry! This was all just a misunderstanding! I don’t have much, but please, let me pay for the damages that I have incurred.”

“Very polite.” Hoyt chuckled. “But don’t worry about it. You didn’t even break through my skin, and as for the wall…well…I’ll just get this kid to fix it.”

He jabbed a meaty thumb towards Spicy Dragon who glared at the girl in protest.

“So for all intents and purposes, I accept your apology.”

The girl sighed, feeling doubly relieved. Having not noticed the wicked glares of the players around her, her body posture relaxed. She was just about to ask for her sword to be released as well when Hoyt noisily cleared his throat.

“But…” Hoyt’s smile grew sheepish as he gestured to some slight tears on his greasy clothes, of which there were lines of hearts embroidered at the seams.

“While I might forgive you, I don’t think she will…”

“She?”

The surroundings soon darkened as a huge shadow loomed over her. The poor knight barely had time to turn her head in time to see a monstrous woman with raised firsts held high above her head. Her face somehow both icy and heated as she was enraged to the point of breaking through the nine hells.

Towards such a sight, the girl seemed to be in a dream. Only the stark recognition of what was going on managed to muddle to the forefront of her dazed stupod.

‘Oh…She.’

Those crude fist like anvils…no…anvil like fists swiftly came crashing down, transforming into giant pits of death as they were reflected in the hollows of her eyes.

She who could not even raise her shield in time to defend herself could only paint a sad smile on her face as she thought helplessly.

‘Well, Shit.’

At least there was no pain this time.

Her vision faded to black as her body was thrown to oblivion.