I.

Madoka was not sure how to feel after the heavily armored man's comment. His accent was thick and clouded by the helm upon his head. His words were thunderous hammers landing blows with strength but they did not have enough precision to hit their mark. Something resembling a chuckle echoed from under the visor but he started to turn back to where Guild Master Luxgor posted. She decided to remain silent and wait for the other adventurers' comments. That is, she thought as Knotting strands tangled beneath the walking tower's tough metal boots.

"Just what in the hell do you guys feed that guy?" Audrey looked up at the armored man. Eraziror simply shrugged and looked assuredly at the princess as if he would explain later. She was already shorter than Madoka and he was several heads taller than her. The maid feared Her Highness's words would not even reach the giant's ears.

Madoka designated the huge man as "Iron Armor" or "Armor" in her head and shrugged. Madoka pondered if she could grow to be that big if she ate enough. Armor rested while Audrey kicked dust. Luxgor was delivering a speech but Madoka did not care for it.

"What are we even doing here?" She asked Audrey. "Don't we have these so-called goblins to worry about?"

"Well we're at a kind of makeshift rally point," Audrey told her. At the sight of Madoka's puzzled face, she sighed. "It's something militaries do but since we're not military he's probably explaining what we're going to be doing. Or something. I can't hear him!"

"Have you seen rally points in your life?" Madoka asked her. They moved away from Eraziror's party and spoke quietly while the other adventurer parties looked on at Luxgor.

"No, Father did not allow me to watch over the soldiers in Fiara," Audrey sighed. Her father was a smart man, Madoka shuddered at how much trouble Audrey could cause with an army. "Something about responsibility and protecting his little girl. Do I look little? D-Don't answer that! In my other life, there was this weird kid at school who blabbered about the Navy a lot. Always a weird kid..."

Madoka looked down at her princess and stifled a laugh at the sight of her attempts to see the stage Luxgor stood on. The adventurers here seemed hardened enough to rip through such insignificant creatures. The maid was unsure whether she would rather pick herbs again or hunt monsters. A chuckle came out of her but she covered her mouth. Perhaps she did like battling more than she thought.

"I don't know what to expect from goblins," Audrey sighed. "Normally, they're low leveled mobs and it seems so in this world but... I thought we passed the tutorial zone already."

"Tutorial zone?"

"Like uh... a beginner's zone," Audrey explained. "I know we're the back up copper newbies but if you ask me I think we're here to protect those guys."

She gestured to the party they were assigned to.

"Why would we do that?" Madoka glanced over and realized she did not need an answer. The Sovos party leader was picking his nose with his finger while the Night Operator sat silently. The other Sovos was inspecting her bow but there was something odd about the girl. "They seem weak besides the big one and the girl."

Madoka wondered what exactly she felt from Kanys's hidden intent. It felt similar to Audrey's own intent when the princess was scheming over something. A hidden strength kept locked under a mask, she mused. An unwavering determination for a goal the Sovos ranger was not willing to share so easily.

"Exactly," Audrey clicked talismans in her bag together. "Liabilities. Except the big guy and if I could be honest, I don't like the look of that Dragon girl. She seems like an imposter among-- I mean, just something ain't right about her. I know trust is necessary and needs to be built in order to maintain team cohesion but be wary--"

"Don't worry about her," Madoka sighed but she knew the princess's intuitions were much more accurate than hers. "I'm here."

The two looked at each other. Relief filled Audrey's eyes. They were shining unlike the grey sky above. Should a fool scheme against her princess, Madoka swore she would take them down.

"Oi, you two copper sprouts!" Eraziror roared and clapped impatiently. "Get to moving! We'll leave you behind if you so much stop for one moment!"

Madoka instinctively moved in front of Audrey to guard her but Eraziror held his hands up. Kanys rolled her eyes from behind him. Her shadow seemed to move erratically for a second before remaining still. Knotting strands shifted around it and avoided its darkness. Was a creature inside her shadow? Perhaps the Night Operator priest used some kind of magic to hide inside it. He was nowhere in sight.

"Hey, I'm just kidding you know. Guild Master's got a lot of faith in you two," the iron ranker waved his hands defensively. Kanys punched his shoulder. "Ach! That hurts! We're covering the rear guard since the heavyweights are supposed to clear out whatever goblins they come across. Let's go!"

The group trailed behind the lines while other parties appeared to branch off on their own paths. Luxgor must have commanded them to go to several other places. Madoka glared at Audrey as they approached the disaster she caused. It was as if a giant sank its teeth in the earth and ripped out a strip of land as far as the tough rocky ridges of those forest hills. All that was left was a scar of baked and brown masticated earth across the fields. Kanys knelt down and scraped at the dirt. Audrey immediately moved to warn the dragon girl but Madoka stopped her.

"Ach!" Kanys recoiled and shook her hand. The dirt must have been too hot to the touch. "Fire magic. Too hot to touch. It's not fully Domineering magic... It's twisted somehow."

"Definitely twisted," Madoka confirmed as she glared at Audrey. The girl shrunk and the Sovos looked at her oddly at her sudden comment but nodded in agreement. The maid quickly shut her mouth.

Domineering? Madoka wondered. Perhaps Domination and Domineering were interchangeable names for those passionate mana strands. Audrey snickered but earned an elbow from the maid. It was her fault they were going to take lives today, Madoka felt her face darken. It is time to see how much information the pair can learn. She remained quiet as the iron rankers talked over the clanking of Armor's boots.

"Is this glass?" Eraziror pinched some of the fine dirt and released it quickly. Madoka knew what the white sand was although she could see the adventurer's gloves were singed from the magic anyways. She flicked a bang out of her face and could not help but feel impressed at the princess's destruction. "No, it's like..."

"It's most likely an aerial monster," Kanys looked up at the sky. "Hey, wait up!"

The adventurers were getting left behind but to Madoka they seemed undisciplined and too slow from the start. She has seen her fellow maids move quicker up and down the flighted halls of the palace. Audrey could barely hold a straight face at the mention of an aerial monster but luckily none of the others seemed to notice her. They traveled along the rut. Madoka counted four parties of adventurers along with the iron rankers they shadowed. She did not recognize any of them from the Guild Hall. Perhaps this was a joint effort?

Was this enough for a settlement full of goblins? Audrey spoke of such creatures with disdain. Malevolent and prone to harmful deeds, she described them. The guards were able to defeat a large group of them so Madoka felt easier on the situation.

"The attack starts way back there," Eraziror waved behind him as the group walked. "And juts to a halt right before the mountains in the woods. Like it swooped and took a hit then buggered off sky high whence it came."

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"Hmm," Kanys made a deft jump onto a rock and surveyed the damage. Those skills seemed more refined than what she tried to appear, Madoka observed her movements. "Perhaps you're right. No tracks and the reports said a King slime was involved. Would be a pleasant surprise for once."

"Uh," Audrey looked up to Kanys for attention. The dragon girl lept off the ledge and peered at the princess. "Any idea where we're headed?"

"Headed into the Circle of the Labyrinth, no doubt," she pointed to the side of the mountain ridge.

"A labyrinth?" Madoka asked. That word was terrifying to her. She recalled the massive structure they visited last summer.

"Aye. This forest circles around it. Hence its name," Kanys continued. It made sense to the maid. Woods seemed to close in on them as they walked alongside the damaged landscape. The scar in the land seemed to converge along with the treestumps of vaporized forest like the sharp point of a sword. "Bastards came from the area, anyhow. Frankly, it's a blessing and a curse that this monster battle revealed a path to this settlement. I doubt anything good will come out of it but goblins make for good weapon parts. Not for good food, though."

"F-Food?" Madoka shuddered at the idea. "Weapon parts?"

"Aye. Bones for arrows, tendons for bowstrings, and so on. Good way for quick money," Eraziror joined in. "We've a ways to get onto the main course, so! What's a beauty like you doing in this guild?"

His eyes settled on Madoka but he recieved a swift punch from Kanys. Madoka noticed hostility emanating from Audrey but she did not care for his compliments.

"What did I say wrong?" Eraziror complained. "Beauties! I meant the both of you are! To think of it this way--stop punching me! Two horrifically powerful beauties joining the guild is just unheard of!"

"I'm here on my Lady's orders," Madoka sighed as the two followed. Audrey remained quiet but seemed to approve of her acting. "Nothing more, nothing less."

She remained alert despite her appearance. They were definitely in monster territory now. The thoughts of animals were scarce and an ominous feeling crept up on her. Eraziror seemed ignorant of the atmosphere and did an odd twirl.

"Ah, how mysterious!" He danced but pinched his fingers together and stroked his chin. "And yet, as expected as a loyal and noble warrior. Had I my lyre I would craft you a marvelous song! Tsk, I forgot the damn thing in Gladeban."

"A bard?" Audrey muttered to herself. Armor stopped moving and Kanys took the cue to warn the others. The other units were held up by something.

"Well if you want to see that noisy thing again, focus up," Kanys growled. "Something's got the vanguard shook."

"Alright," Eraziror's mood changed from his relaxed state to an adventurer who has seen many things. Madoka did not dislike it but then he muttered under his breath in front of Kanys. "It's not noisy..."

Madoka chuckled but a loud groan creaked from Armor. The big oaf appeared to be on the move. She turned to Audrey but the princess did not have any answers. The pair of Sovos started to move up after him.

"Oh, that's him signaling for us to move up," Eraziror turned back as he jogged and winked. "You'll get used to his creaky armor."

Kanys was frozen up ahead as the girls caught up. Other adventurers were also inspecting the scene. Madoka followed the dragon girl's gaze and stopped at the horror before her. The opening to this so called Circle of the Labyrinth was quite suspicious.

"Are those... ears?" Audrey gawked. How was she surprised at the sight of them still?

High above them were thin metal wiring with bloody chunks of flesh dangling off of them like gruesome fruit from the trees. The entrance perimeter was lined by them. It was clear to everyone that those inside the main forest did not want visitors.

A curtain of ears, Madoka mused. She would have retched from the macabre sight but she had already seen much worse. That thought shook her up more than the pointed red berries swaying in the wind. She knew she would not be the same after the gruesome sight of the mutilated king in the Palace but it was the fact that she felt nothing from seeing cut-off ears made her worry about herself.

Could she ever be free of such horrors? Her fist gripped her axe and she focused on her surroundings. A talisman hummed from behind her. Audrey also must have sensed Madoka's urgency and prepared for battle.

"Aw, who let the children come out to play today?" A member from another one of the units mocked them. Was this the time to pick fights? Madoka wondered. There were no animals here. Not even the birds desired to mess with those sawed off ears. Only her knotting magic swirling around each wire. "Is the sight making you little girls shake in your boots?"

"Shut it!" Kanys warned the adventurer. "I'm warning you."

"Oh?" The cocky adventurer lowered his hood. A silver tag dangled from his neck. "What's a poor disgusting Sovos Iron ranker going to do?"

A rumbling came from Armor's helmet and Madoka sensed a faint killing aura from him. It was a candle compared to Audrey's wildfire scorching the lands around her. Kanys had a dangerous intent as well. This is bad, Madoka worried. The ears were a trap system and here they were turning against each other. What could they do? The green-scaled dragon girl spoke again with a cold and serious voice.

"I'm saving you from them," Kanys warned him again. "They will kill you."

Silence, fool! You're making us look evil! Madoka thought at the ranger but saw her tail flick in annoyance. Lord Leopride's tail would do that whenever Audrey annoyed him so the maid could infer this was the same.

"I ain't afraid of you or that slab of metal. Rustaze's guild is so soft. Had I the chance to work elsewhere for my Gold tag I would but this is too easy of a job to pass up," He began to pace. Madoka recalled Luxgor's explanation of ranks. Silver tags must work in other countries for recommendations for a rank up. "And I am certainly not against working on tasty women..."

He began to approach her and surprisingly Kanys rolled her eyes and let him pass her. A big mistake, Madoka stepped in front of Audrey as she always had. The princess simply kicked dirt in boredom.

"Feeling brave, are you?" The cocky adventurer stood above Madoka. Can there be another way than these little games? The other parties began to laugh amongst themselves. He pulled out his knife and pointed its tip at the wires of ears. "If you ain't used to the sight of frozen ears then you should stick by my side and ditch that disgusting--"

Madoka instantly closed her grip around the cocky adventurer's neck and rose to her full height.

"I warned you!" Kanys yelled at him but backed off when Madoka glared at the Sovos girl. She turned her attention back towards the cocky adventurer. His face was turning blue. A satisfying and yet sickening surge of strength slipped itself inside the maid from her shoulder. She did not check but she knew it was the rune's doing.

"Listen, I was willing to let you insult me all you want. However," Madoka darkened her voice and unleashed her killing intent. She seized his knife and struck him in the stomach with the back of it. "You insult my Lady and you shall suffer my wrath."

Others moved quickly to apprehend Madoka but collapsed to their knees. They were choking from Audrey's wind magic! Horror spread across Eraziror's eyes as he gawked at the fallen parties at before her. Madoka let the man squirm within her fist and tightened her grip when he attempted to feebly punch her side. The knife was an excellently crafted weapon so the maid decided to keep it.

"These wires," Audrey inspected the strings of ears. The girl simply ignored the gurgling gasps of choking adventurers at her feet as she released them from the deadly zone of her spell. "They appear to be an alarm system. What say you, Madoka?"

"I sense a lot of them in front of us," Madoka focused her attention for the monsters' gross auras. She determined the number of them and went back to toying with the adventurer within her iron grip. "Underground and also up on the branches."

"If we trip the wire at our feet then those goblins will definitely attack," Audrey looked at the tree lines surrounding them. Movement rustled the branches but Madoka could only see vague shapes of creatures scurrying within the leaves. "Enemies spotted."

"Aye," Eraziror agreed. "Most likely from ranged considering you made easy pickings of our, ah, friends here."

Kanys growled incredulously at their nonchalance.

"We could do a one wave rush, couldn't we?" Audrey asked Madoka.

The maid dropped the man on the floor and stopped him from crawling away with a tough boot. The crunch sounded like gnarled wood splitting apart and his suffocating utterances were music to her ears. She had no idea what a one wave rush was but she grunted in agreement.

"A one wave..." Kanys somehow deciphered what Audrey meant and shock marred her face. "You can't mean you'll face them all alone!"

"Round 'em up and defend these idiots," Audrey chirped cheerfully despite her deadly plan. "Then I'll wipe 'em out!"

"Sounds good enough for me!" Eraziror had a newfound confidence in him as he drew his sword. "You made quick work of these other adventurers. Let's see how you can clear out goblins!"

"You can't be serious!" Kanys yelled. Her eyes glanced at her sword and her bow as she hesitated which weapon to use. She turned to Armor with a pleading face but the giant remained silent. "What about these guys you nearly killed?"

"Oh, right," Audrey shrugged as she stared at the downed parties before them. Madoka realized she needed as few witnesses to her strength as possible. The princess's methods horrified her but she was brilliant. "Perhaps they could be food for the goblins? Though, their ears aren't pointy like yours..."

"Gods, no! Please!" The cocky adventurer below begged at her menacing princess's threat.

"You're mad!" Kanys screamed. Armor rested a heavy arm upon her shoulder and prevented her from moving. His helmet nodded downward at her feet and revealed the string of bloody ears hidden beneath forest grass. "You can't face them all alone."

"Too many enemies, not enough time," Audrey sighed and stared off at movements in the distance. "Watch and learn, bucko. Madoka, protect these idiots from ranged attacks if you can. They'll be useful when the goblins come hollerin'."

"You can't be serious," Kanys complained but she readied her bow.

"You," Madoka spoke to the squirming formerly cocky adventurer beneath her boot. He looked at her with terror in his eyes. "Fall in line or your teammates will die. Not that I care, though."

She released him and he scurried to his unconscious party.

"You won't get away with this," he muttered and drew his sword. Madoka shut him down with another glare and focused on the Knotting strands. The jolts of electricity coursed towards what she presumed were the goblin's weapons.

"There's over thirty of them," Madoka warned Audrey. The princess nodded. There was something off in their confident intent as if Madoka could understand their thoughts. Could monsters have such thoughts?

"Prepare for the mobs!" Audrey yelled gleefully and kicked the rope of ears. The ears sloshed as blood and ice leaked out of them but Madoka did not have time to wince from their visceral clinks. A war horn sounded in the distance and horrid cackling echoed throughout the forest.