This can't be good… Trixie thought, her aura still flickering from being impaled from behind.

The dwarf queen stepped forward, heading towards Trixie, making her flinch in preparation for another potential attack. Orla brushed her arm and she watched as she kept walking until stopping in front of Svenja. Orla stared up at Svenja with a vengeful gaze.

“Well, look who we have ‘ere,” Orla began, her eyes narrowing at the redhead before her.

“You! What's ya business with us?!” you exclaimed. What in tarnation is Orla of all people doing here?! She was one of the many people you ripped off back during the heyday of the AstroLand Tavern, and you still have no regrets about it all. As long as money was being made, you could sleep at night for another day. Sure, shutting down all the AstroLand chains after the humans left the Kingdom was the biggest blow to the dwarves and their homeland, but hey, after the humans left, the money left with them, and what was the only thing you were concerned about? Money. You even spent most of your childhood surrounded by dwarves, hence why your accent is the way it is, so you'd think you'd have more mercy on the poor little guys, but money sure does things to people, eh? Hopefully Trixie and the others are still deaf, because this is a part of your history that you wanted to leave in the past where it belongs.

“Oho, dun’ tell me ye forgot already how ye fucked over us dwarves, goddamnit!”

“What? By shuttin’ down AstroLand chains all over ye Kingdom after its downfall?”

“Yeah, ye daft cunt! Y'know business was rough after ye filthy humans left my Kingdom, yet ye left anyway like the greedy bastard ye always were!”

“Y'see, that's the thing,” you countered with a smirk. “We were only trying to do what was best for the economy, and unfortunately, keepin’ the AstroLand chains goin’ just wasn't in our best interests.”

“Oh I bet! That's just a shite excuse so ye could keep all the wealth for yerselves!” Orla barked, pointing a finger at you.

“Look, I understand ye're frustrated ‘bout the whole deal, but attackin' us ain't the way to go,” you responded, gesturing towards the other Alliance members.

Orla scoffed. “Yer damn right I’m frustrated, an’ ye deserve it! I don’t care what yer excuses are, ye destroyed everything my people worked for. Now, ye'll pay the price for what ye've done.”

“Look, I'll admit, I could've handled the situation better,” you admitted. “But it's too late now, and I can't take it back.”

“Yer right, ye can't,” the dwarf queen growled. “So this is how it ends for ye, pipsqueak.”

“Pipsqueak?! Now THOSE are fightin' words,” you retorted, cracking you knuckles as you let out a sharp huff. “Ain't nobody gonna call me a pipsqueak an' live ta see another day!”

Before you could say anything else though, Orla swung her halberd upwards, aiming for your head. You dodged backwards in response, the blade just narrowly scratching your chin, but not enough to draw blood. Orla lunged back towards you with blinding speed, delivering a jab with her free hand, connecting with your face.

The force of the punch sent you flying back, your back hitting hard against the tree. Your face felt numb as she spit out blood from your mouth, your aura flickering as you coughed and struggled to stand back up.

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…Damn, that hurt, you thought, still dizzy from the impact of the punch, your vision blurring. You tried to shake off the dizziness and looked up at the dwarf queen, who was walking towards you.

Orla walked slowly towards you with a smirk. With each step, she seemed to grow confident, her eyes narrowed in determination. She stopped in front of you and reached down, grabbing your hair with both hands.

“Aw, are ye hurtin’ bad, now,” she asked mockingly. “Let me help you out, shall I?”

Without warning, she brought her boot down on your stomach, causing you to howl in pain as the air was forced out of your lungs. Your eyes widened as you gasped for air, coughing and retching as you tried to recover. Blood continued to flow from your lips, your aura flickering once more.

Orla smirked as she tightened her grip on your hair. “Yer quite tough for a human, I'll give ya that. But I've dealt with plenty o' yer kind.”

She then chuckled, looking down at her boot on your stomach. “But I have to admit, it's always more fun when they know what's coming.”

"Get your stanky boot offa me!" you yelled, your voice hoarse and your breath short as you tried to speak through your pain.

Orla scoffed and laughed, tightening her grip on your hair even more. "Now now, dun’ya dare insult the royal fragrance that’re me boots, young lass," she countered with a taunting smile. "That’s no way to speak to a queen."

Orla leaned forward, pressing her boot against your stomach while tightening her grip around your hair. "I'm givin’ ye a taste of true dwarves' superiority, little wench." She continued in a mocking tone, taking pleasure in the look of fear and pain on your face.

"Argh!" you growled, her anger rising as pain shot through your stomach. "Ye think ye're all that, anyways?! Ye're just a dwarf!"

Orla laughed, leaning down and putting her face dangerously close to your own. "Just a dwarf, huh?" she said in a sarcastic tone. "Is that what ye think we are, pipsqueak?”

The two's banter was interrupted by an incoming sound projectile aimed at Orla, which she avoided with a swift sidestep. Turning her head towards the direction of the projectile, she saw a smirking Liesl, who was covered with rubble.

“Hey, I'm still here, damnit! What a joke, you thought that was enough to finish me off!”

Orla's attention was quickly diverted away from you and towards the other female human, Liesl, who had just launched the projectile. Orla let out a scoff and cracked her fingers, her face now filled with rage.

"Liesl! When'll ye learn ta give up already?" Orla barked, taking a step towards her with her halberd in hand. "Dun' ye have a prince's lap to be sittin' on so ye dun’ get hurt?"

“Still on that nonsense, I see? Heh, you'll see who's really gonna get hurt here,”

Liesl smirked as she launched herself into a flying kick towards Orla.

Orla caught the kick and grabbed Liesl's ankle, shoving her to the side and throwing her against a tree. Orla then began to walk towards the female human, a sinister grin on her face as she held up a hand in warning.

"Ye're pushin' me patience, little wench-"

Liesl jumped right back up and launched a flurry of kicks and punches at the dwarf queen, who deflected the strikes with ease. Her expression now one of annoyance, Orla launched a palm strike that connected with Liesl's chest and sent her soaring back.

Liesl hit the tree and dropped to the ground, her chest feeling like it was on fire.

Orla scoffed and crouched down over her. "Ye little shit," she said, her voice dripping with malice. "Ye dunno when to stop, do ye?”

Liesl groaned and spit out blood, her aura flickering once more. After a few seconds, she finally gathered enough strength to respond.

With a grin, she groaned out the words, "You're right, I don't."

She then launched herself at Orla, aiming to ram her and knock the dwarf back.

As Liesl rushed forward, Orla grabbed her wrist, stopping her momentum and throwing Liesl over her shoulder. She then pinned her to the ground, pressing her foot against Liesl's neck.

"I'll make ya regret those words, ye human filth! Yer lucky I dun’ kill ye right here an’ now."

Liesl groaned as she felt the dwarf queen's foot on her neck, the weight of her foot now increasing. Liesl struggled to breathe in her weakened state, and as fear began to set in, she looked up at Orla, who was now glaring down at her, her eyes burning with fury.

Liesl then gritted her teeth and hissed, "Then kill me already, you skank dwarf witch!"

“Now those are fightin’ words!” Orla said, gripping her halberd tighter as she lifted her foot from Liesl's neck. It was the last mistake she'd make, as Liesl rolled out from under her and got back on her feet.

“Take this!” she bellowed, swinging her hand down. A deep vibration filled the air from above, and everyone looked up to see a giant ball of bass descending onto them. “You're all fucked now!”

Ahina jumped up and swung her claymore, absorbing the attack into it as the ground beneath her rumbled violently, Liesl's eyes widening as she gasped.

“Well played…well played!” Liesl said before the ground beneath her erupted with fury, the explosion sending her into the sky until she was out of sight.

Orla watched as her enemy disappeared into the sky, and turned her attention back to the others with a smirk. “Welp, ye did me job for me,” she said.

“Hey, I couldn't pass up on the opportunity,” Ahina touted with an accomplished grin.

“Eh, well it saves some time. I'd still settle the score with y'all fuckers, but I have a meetin' at Snowclover to attend.”

“Oi, ye're goin’ there too?” you asked.

“Aye,” Orla replied. “That's what the whole journey was ‘bout. I gotta know what's goin’ on in this godforsaken country, shit's been haywire these days.”

“No kiddin, mate,” you said with a sigh.

“Then let's all go!” Trixie suggested. “Might as well keep going together at this point.”

“...Bah,” Orla huffed. “Whatever, it's settled. But don't think it's over!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” you said, flipping your red hair with a crooked smile. “Fuggit, let's mosey, then!”