The creature looked like an even bigger scorpion than all the others, but above its head was the back of a woman with long flaming hair. Her body was pale, coloured with the drops of blood of the human she had just killed, and in her left hand she held a gigantic sword that I would have trouble swinging with both hands. I looked at her, I'd never seen anything like her before, and above her head was a name: Flame Princess - Gwendolin. A monster named after a Dungeon? No, that had to be a mistake, a creature like that couldn't get out, if it escaped into a city it would be much worse than a wave of monsters.

— Master! – the little bear cried out in despair, running to the torn body of its dead owner.

The little Djin ran to the side of the open body of his dead mistress. His body trembled and he whimpered, mourning the death of his Guardian. His grief seemed to make him blind to the situation we were in. Gwendolin swung his sword in the Djin's direction; if that sword had broken a human in half, the Djin would be turned to dust instantly.

I put myself between the Djin and the attack. One of my swords disappeared, giving way to a shield. My whole body shook when I was hit, my legs barely able to bear the weight of that powerful blow. At the same moment, my whole body went numb, and I could hear the strange crackling sound that my shield made, as if it was about to turn to dust.

That blow made me take several steps backwards, there wasn't enough strength in my being to resist that pressure. The Princess swung her arm again at the Djin, and once again I moved, but I wasn't fast enough to dodge it completely. A deep cut ran down the middle of my back and made me groan with pain. I clenched my teeth to keep from screaming and gathered my strength to dodge another attack that came my way.

— What are you doing, Master? – Ikki asked angrily.

— I'm not going to let a Djin die if I can stop it! – I replied with some difficulty.

As we spoke, I noticed Gwendolin switch hands and swing the hand that had previously held the weapon in a whirlwind of flames towards us. It wasn't like a fire attack, more like a flaming pole thrown at me. I quickly put my shield between my chest and that flaming stake. I jumped backwards, trying to cushion the impact, but I still felt as if my arm had been torn in two.

It was a bit old, but it was a great shield, even if I didn't know if it could withstand a blow like that. As well as greatly reducing the damage received due to its blocking bonus, it increased my reactions even more when its buff activated.

When the blow pushed me backwards, that shield did all the work of withstanding the impact; without it, my body would now be pierced by a pillar of flames. Even though it was the best I had, it only seemed enough to hold off one of her attacks. I then felt the shield crack and received the floating message.

— "Shield broken". – a message appeared – Yeah? No shit!

Even though dungeon-dropped items were weaker, I didn't expect all its durability to fail in a single attack. When the Princess struck the second blow with that giant pole she called a sword, I had to throw the shield away as a sacrifice, or I'd be cut in two. The rubbish lid, which had once been a shield, shattered on my arm and I flew backwards a few metres.

As soon as I stopped, I realised when that Chief said something in the direction of the scorpions that were running towards me in the blink of an eye.

— Are these creatures following that thing's orders? – I heard Ikki talking next to me and I just nodded.

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I was very worried about the little one in my arms. He was struggling to get free. I knew he was trying to reach his master's body.

He still didn't seem to have accepted that his owner had died. Poor creature, I can only imagine how difficult it must have been.

I had to get him out of there, so with one movement I threw him as far to the side as I could. However, things took a completely unexpected turn; I had hoped to save the little Djin, but I had thrown him into an even worse situation. Coming out of the shadows, almost as if they had been waiting for the opportunity, three giant scorpions jumped out. The poor creature didn't have time to escape, it fell and soon the stingers shot into its defenceless body.

Ikki watched the scene unfold out of the corner of his eye and we exchanged glances. My face should have given everything away, but I didn't know what I should have been feeling at that moment. Fear, guilt or despair? It didn't matter now; that poor, defenceless creature was dead, the whole situation was my responsibility; it was my decision to push her away, my fault for not keeping her close to me. Once again, my stupid choices had caused the death of someone innocent; once again my choices had destroyed a life.

In that brief exchange of glances, Ikki knew the whirlwind that was going through my head, my lack of focus at that moment would end up killing us both, and knowing this, he decided to act. His small body shot out like a cannonball, hitting my stomach and knocking the air out of me. That pain made me momentarily forget that problem.

— Are you going to help me crush all these pumped-up vermin, or are you going to die and drag me down with you, you piece of shit? – Ikki shouted at me, swinging me by the armour.

I held back the cry and grabbed my little companion, rolling to the side and dodging a blow from that heavy sword. That was probably the moment I jumped to my certain death, and here I am, drowning in my own blood. My mind is drowning in dark thoughts and my heart is sinking in what little blood there is left inside me.

That battle was incredible, of course remembering it and enjoying it makes me feel almost like a masochist, but what could I say other than that; that was an incredible fight. There was no chance of victory, no matter how I analysed the situation. Ikki had spoken the truth, that Named monster really did seem to control all the surrounding scorpions. I keep wondering how the hell such a monster came to be, isn't all the trouble we've been through enough? The monsters had almost human behaviour and battle tactics, attacking together, distracting, protecting. They used the gaps left by the scorpions, flanked and rotated, distributing the damage between the wounded and the untouched. It was like fighting a battalion very specialised in group fighting.

We retreated while our fight for life continued to be intense. Always with our backs to each other, protecting each other's vulnerable spots. Ikki deflected the scorpions' attacks with his claws and I used the weapons I still had and my armour to defend myself.

My equipment perfectly represented my weakness as a Guardian. They were items dropped by monsters I encountered during my hunts. The Djins I had with me could even make armour and other equipment for me, if I had the necessary materials. That was the problem, though: having the necessary materials.

The company I work for was supposed to keep everything, but because I needed to equip myself, sometimes the head of the department I worked in would let me have the leftovers, i.e. all the rubbish that wasn't so useful. Those weapons and armour were a far cry from those refined by Djin craftsmen. I couldn't blame anyone but my own weakness for not getting better equipment. Of course, the price of such equipment has skyrocketed in recent years, but who could have predicted that?

As the battle wore on, I felt like prey, just retreating and avoiding fatal blows. Withstanding three blows was too much for those flimsy weapons, and eventually I was left with a completely damaged sword that was no better than a club and a suit of armour full of holes.

— These beasts' attacks are predictable! – Ikki spoke up – These shits attack with their pincers to distract and attack with that damn arse.

— Okay, Captain, it's obvious – I said angrily – Now, how do we get out of this?

Ikki had a better sense of battle than me, he wasn't just a handsome, stylish Djin. Because he survived so long on his own, he could be very reliable when it came to fighting. Ikki taught me a lot, much more than anyone else. What could I have taught him, anyway? I've never done anything really great. I was always a little shit who was looked after by others and did nothing when those I loved needed me. Their deaths only made me even more certain of how pitiful I was