IV.

"Be a dear and remember: Corporate will pay us less if we go along with safety regulations so you better cut corners!" Audrey told her, chuckling at her odd joke. She had pulled out a crossbow to hand over to her maid. Madoka looked at her inquisitively as she had forgotten they had the weapon. "You might need this or something. Oh! And—" She whispered more ominous words in English as she handed over the bolts to the maid—"If you need to get to me, kill anything or anyone that gets in your way."

How could such a small girl say that seriously? Her heavy words landed on her like hissing coal melting the snow and burned with remnants of sparks on their brittle edges.

The red haired girl was nervous about being alone and alternated her grip on each of her weapons beneath her cloak. The crossbow's quiver slung easily at her side as she felt its mechanisms.

She would claim that it was because Audrey was too dangerous to be left to her own devices without her but that was simply a lie to herself. The princess moved confidently away to join her group but anxiety gnawed at Madoka. She looked away in a futile attempt to prevent the loneliness that sank its teeth into her.

The Guild Master paid her a look as she attempted to hide her feelings.

The light in his eyes burned brightly from the golden reflection of Knotting strands and fiery orange irises. She sensed recognition in that brief moment of odd warmth before Luxgor turned away to lead other parties. He had a burning recognition of something in her. Fear? Madoka shook her head as she held onto his gaze for a little bit more.

No, it was blind trust. Faith? It was foolishness. The Guild Master feared both of them at first but now merely hesitates before reprimanding them. She hoped to gain his trust for Audrey's sake.

He believed in her and sent her to go with the original iron rank party. Madoka hesitated and looked back towards Audrey. The haughty mage and her princess were already on the move with the rest of their party. All Madoka could do now is pray to the kind gods for her safety. She even sent a prayer to Ceghinort though he seemed unreliable.

A grunt pulled her out of her worries.

"Well, looks like your Lady is in good hands," Eraziror leaned back. "Or rather, they're in good hands because of her, don't you think?"— He cleared his throat — "Since we're simple Iron rankers and those guys were all silver, they've tasked us with the easy work: Kill the bastards crawling out the furthest western gate when the assault takes place on their front door. Well, if there is a gate still standing there anyways."

"I got a bad, bad feeling about this," Kanys adjusted her bow and sword. After she glanced at Madoka, she looked less confident. "A really bad feeling just now."

"Hm?" Eraziror noticed his partner's stare at the maid. "Come on, now. Our copper friend here is as powerful as the big guy, at least. Right? You saw her fight last night. At the very least, there shouldn't be too many left to scatter about from the main attack."

He knocked on Armor's chestplate and could not even produce a rattle. The Sovos pulled his hand away and was evidently hurt from hitting the giant. Madoka's eyes rolled. She knew she could defeat Armor with ease but if she got caught by him it would be difficult to escape his grasp. The maid did not know if he was a Narm or a Sovos to begin with but she did not ask to challenge him on either subject; a duel or his race meant nothing to her.

"It's time to head to the western gate," Eraziror ordered. Kanys nodded while both Madoka and Armor remained silent. The lack of their responses made him grumble as he trotted ahead. The maid heard him muttering to himself. "Well, aren't you all a talkative bunch?"

He paused for a reaction but recieved silence instead. Armor started to move into the woods so Madoka followed with the Sovos trailing behind. Other parties were close but soon branched off to wherever Luxgor told them to go. He truly was a powerful leader, she thought. To be able to direct smaller groups to enact a plan must take a lot of work and power.

Her senses twitched as she sensed something ominous ahead. There was the smell of death hanging in the air like a cloth fluttering in the wind. Madoka was used to that but something else creeped along with it. The forest cleared out as they trailed through to view the former Sovos settlement. They took cover behind boulders where they were ordered to but they could not resist peering around to catch a glimpse at the desecrated place's remains.

The more she looked the more she hated what she saw. Over the zigzagging trails and flattened roads to the dilapidated gate, a paltry amount of shoddy buildings stood in defiance to whatever horrors the goblins inflicted upon its residency. The structures had splintered wood exposed through stone like bones and bloody mud slathered their walls. Madoka noticed a remnant scar of carved up land that led to a destroyed part of the wall. Audrey's spell pierced through the settlement, she groaned at the realization.

"Era— look!" Kanys cried out, pulling Madoka from her thoughts. Purple mist covered the area but lifted just enough for Madoka's eyes to adjust. She wished she could take back what she saw.

Various hollowed out corpses of different sizes were strung up and dangled from pikes and poles, drained of blood and had faces that were caved in by being bludgeoned repeatedly. They were also nailed to shoddy wooden fences and a hastily dug up moat seemed to carve itself around the town's perimeter like a coiled, dead snake. Madoka winced and averted her gaze for a moment. From her side, Kanys retched as she took in the sight.

"Place looks abandoned," Eraziror remarked. "Those... poor people those twisted bastards hung up..."

He shook with anger. Madoka suddenly hated what these adventurers had to go through and this job. Why did the Princess like these kinds of things? Something boomed within the distance. The maid saw an explosion bloom in the sky and felt the ground tremble beneath her feet. A sick feeling in her gut told her that it was possibly Audrey's doing.

"Kind gods. It's the seige!" Kanys pulled her bow out. She gave Madoka a look while the maid stood there. "Don't just stand there, get ready! Do you even have a weapon?"

Armor rumbled from behind Madoka and startled her. She had forgotten the giant was behind her! Madoka scanned through the mist and the town before speaking. She heard faint echoes of thoughts from her search but she did not know if they were from monsters.

"There's not many of the creatures in there," she stated.

"How do you—"

"Now, now," Eraziror held out his hand as if asking her to hand him something. Kanys's shadow suddenly shifted and warped as the dark form of the Cherish-man emerged from it. "We'll let you borrow a sword, alright?"

The Night Operator placed a beaten up short sword in the Sovos man's grip and vanished. Madoka took it regardless and looked at it with apathy. Knotting magic did not pool around its blade and displayed its unworthiness to be held by the maid.

Unworthy.

They cast you a blade of pity.

Its dull edge will not cut through the blinding darkness.

I will let you see, child.

If you give me your--

"What are you doing? Stop!"

Madoka shook her head after feeling a dull rubbing in her grip. Eraziror was yelling something about copper coins. Madoka was surprised to see shards of the swords blade crushed like sand in her unharmed hands. Did she crush the adventurer's gear? She bowed apologetically but only the cold hilt of the sword remained, never to take another life again. Not like its useless edge could.

"Sorry," she muttered. There was something in her head but she did not explain that.

"I get it, I get it," Eraziror sighed. Another magical attack boomed in the distance. "You're the true monster, here."

Madoka did not know if that was a compliment or an insult. They ignored the ominous winds as they gawked at the bodies. Did they sense the expanding purple mist in the area? It covered her like a spiny cloth. She inspected the magical fog on her arm and noticed tiny needles were stabbing into her skin. She merely took her crossbow out. It had Esmeralda's green stone engraved in its stock.

Still resisting my call?

I will send you a gift...

Madoka growled and kept her crossbow close. Knotting strands were nearby but she knew using her magic would make her tired. Get out of my head, she thought furiously. She already did not like hearing the thoughts of animals and certainly not one who can scheme like this one! Suddenly the ground quaked more severely as the sound of a monster roared overhead.

"Shit," Eraziror stumbled as he covered his ears. "That is definitely not a goblin."

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

"You think?" Kanys glared at him. They ducked behind Armor. The man simply awaited whatever large foe was approaching through the gate. Smog from the fire magic obscured whatever made that loud and ferocious roar but Madoka could tell it was much more powerful than an ordinary goblin. The mist seemed to lift as the billows of flames wafted skyward.

"Maybe it ate them?" The maid suggested. The pair of Sovos looked at her incredulously.

Armor's helmet pointed at the ominous shadow approaching. Based off of the smoke being pushed by its form, Madoka guessed it was taller and bigger than Armor. Perhaps the creature was as big as the bear she and Audrey slayed. The mountain remained calm so Madoka stood beside him. She noticed other parties did not try to get its attention.

The steps grew more violent and a massive, grotesque creature emerged from the curtain of smog. Bodies fell off of the walls into the moat as it stomped around blindly. Madoka had no idea what the giant monster could be. Its pale blue skin brightened around its carriage-sized gut and its flabby skin flapped wherever it could off of its two arms like thick drapes. Its snout sniffed the air and its maw opened, revealing broken teeth. Madoka hated its ugly face but she noticed that it appeared to be in pain.

"Bloody hell," Eraziror breathed. "An ogre?"

"It's missing its eyes," the maid observed. The gouged caverns where the ogre's eyes would be still gazed in Armor's direction but its head diverted as it sniffed the air. One, two, three, Madoka counted. Three hollowed out sockets, no doubt clawed out by the foul being's influence over its thoughts. It stretched its neck to the left and then to the right blindly but remained in the gate's open path.

They all were suffering from this evil entity, Madoka growled. She vowed she will find it and clean it off this world's surface! Madoka scoffed and took aim at it with the crossbow. She shall lure the evil being's "gift" to them for her to destroy. Behind her, Armor tapped her shoulder with assurance as if he knew what she was planning. She determined the giant man will be her weapon to slay that thing.

"W-What are you going to do with that?" Eraziror shrunk because he already knew what the maid intended with the weapon.

"I'm going to shoot it," Madoka shrugged. She took a bolt from the small quiver and slotted it in the crossbow's mechanism. She had never loaded it before but it was less complicated than it seemed. The bolt locked into place and the crossbow glowed with golden light that only she could see.

"Are you mad?" Kanys stopped her question as if it was rhetorical. Madoka glanced at her briefly. "Of course you are. You crushed a blade with your bare hands."

"Yes, I am angry," the maid explained.

"That's not what I—"

She let her killing intent flare to life and its aura silenced the Sovos girl's complaints. She was angry over everything about this commission. Over the separation from Audrey and the lives she took yesterday as well as the ones she will inevitably take today. Above all, she growled as she pointed the crossbow at the roaring beast, she hated this constant chatter.

"C-can you hit it from here?" Eraziror peaked from the cover. His tone tried to remain cheerful but it wavered like the thin grass in the wind.

"Of course I can," Madoka sighed. "I used to hunt deer with stones awhile ago."

"Stones?"

"I threw them," Madoka told him blankly. "Directly at their heads."

"I'm sold, then," Eraziror grinned. "I'll just, ah, be standing way over here, then."

"No you're not!" Kanys gripped him and dragged him back behind cover.

"You think you can take it? It'll hurt other people if it goes loose," Madoka ignored the pair of cowering Sovos and asked Armor. She cautioned a look at the big man. The gold adventurer tag gleamed brightly as the helmet glanced slightly at her. A nod was all she needed. "Here goes then."

She pulled the trigger and watched the bolt sail straight into the beast's head.

"Kind gods!" Eraziror cheered. "Perfect shot!"

The ogre ceased its wandering as the bolt dug into it. She could hear its flesh crunch as it folded over the projectile and she knew the ogre felt it. Rage and vengeful thoughts seethed within the wicked monster and its flesh glowed red. It roared and pummeled its chest as it tracked the source of its ire. Chunks of its fur tore off its claws and the ogre charged directly at them.

Kind gods, Madoka breathed in as she realized her plan might be too reckless. What if the oaf lost against the ogre? Its imposing frame was a lot bigger than she thought as it burst into a full sprint towards them at an alarming speed.

A rumble thundered by her side as Armor began to charge towards the ogre in response. He raised his axe and prepared to swing at the enraged beast. Its blade glinted in the grey sky's light between smeared rust and dents but both the tower and giant monster collided in a deadly exchange.

A blade rang against claw.

A stoic silence smothered vehement desperation.

The two locked in a bind. Their momentum slammed to a halt as a heated crater formed from their terrible impact. Madoka flinched from the dissipating purple mist and Knotting magic crashing against each other but the two bodies crushed the ground beneath them. They appeared to be evenly matched, she observed. Madoka hesitated to help him and leave the useless iron ranked adventurers behind her alone.

Despite being evenly matched, Armor's own intent rose like heat in a burning furnace. This was a true Gold rank adventurer's strength, Madoka's eyes traced the bright strands gather along his wrists and axe. The mountain roared louder than the ogre and broke through its claws!

With a single swing, the adventurer brought his weapon upon the monster's tree trunk sized neck and struck bone. The life and desperate thoughts escaped out of the towering monster's eyeless head but it did not fall. It died where it stood. Instead, a tiny stream of blood jetted out of the gash when Armor withdrew his axe from its neck.

"Blast it all," Eraziror paled.

"Get back behind the rock, you two," Madoka growled as she moved to cover them. Something disgusting was upon them so she took up guard over the Sovos adventurers. "If you know what's good for you."

"What do you plan on doing?" Kanys demanded. "Block it when it's already dead?"

"No," Madoka sighed. "I'm blocking what comes after."

Slowly, its insides bubbled like stones splashing in water as its reddened flesh faded back to grey. It gave her a brief moment to gather enough of the Knotting magic strands in a shield to protect all of them from the disgusting spray. In a flash, blood and dark guts erupted from its neck and crashed against her translucent golden barrier. Most of its gunk bounced off the shield but Madoka felt the yellow chains in her hand heat up from their impact.

The ogre gurgled before it collapsed. Its sheer weight caused the ground to shake but soon silence settled in the forest once again.

"Kind gods," Eraziror glanced at the magic Madoka conjured. "Is there anything you can't do? Using this level of Knotting magic like nothing. It's just... brutally annoying how jealous I am of you!"

Madoka shrugged. Kanys tapped the barrier and found it to be sturdy. She scoffed and said nothing though the maid knew she felt jealous, too. The guts that puddled on the ground made her wish Audrey was with her to wash it away. She jerked out of her thoughts in horror. She did not protect Armor! She crushed the golden links in her grip and saw that he was covered in gore. The shield broke like shards of intangible glass she could run through.

"S-Sorry, sir! I didn't cover your armor in time!" Madoka apologized and inspected the aftermath. The giant was unharmed despite getting innards sloshed all upon him. Slowly, he turned. All of its mess sloshed to the ground and the maid jumped back to avoid the splash. His heavy armor started to clink. "Sir?"

The armor heaved into a rapidly moving motion, like a tray set clattering on a rickety cart. His steps squashed the gore as he faced the maid. A low noise sounded within the helmet. Madoka realized that it was laughter. Armor was laughing! At the sweet and deep earthy tone, she relaxed. He was truly the warrior she thought he was. He was gloating over his felled prey while Madoka wondered what he looked like beneath all that viscera covered metal coating.

"You are quite a fine warrior," he spoke in Reverent Noble. "You protected my friends and knew my intentions."

"Why are you praising me?" Madoka asked him but recieved a laugh as a response. "I did nothing. You're the one who defeated it."

The tower shook the branches of shredded trees with nothing but his voice.

"I see you. A warrior who does not waver in the face of an ogre's charge," he told her. She was still trying to get used to his voice but he spoke again. "One who knows strength."

Madoka was about to say something but she heard someone cheering from behind her.

"Bloody hell," Eraziror clapped as he hopped over spilled organs to see the massive ogre corpse. "That's the power of a Gold rank adventurer, right?"

"H-Hai," Madoka nodded.

The other adventurers she noticed scattered away. It did not matter, for their abandonment meant the ogre before them was Armor's to claim. However, she did not know if its massive corpse could fit inside Kanys's shadow. The two were too stunned and did not notice Armor speaking.

"Now what?" Madoka breathed. The purple mist still enshrouded the ruined settlement.

"The fun part," Eraziror pointed at the ogre's ugly head. "We claim it, like we did yesterday with those bastards."

He happily marched towards it but Armor moved in front of Eraziror.

"What is it?" He asked but retreated behind Kanys after Armor let out a growl. "Okay, okay, big guy. All yours."

Armor pointed to Madoka and directed her to the creature's head. Only the hushed tones of a rhythmic breeze infused with the sizzling grass melting from the dead beast's blood could be heard. Battles sure destroy a lot of nature, she mused. Its neck was loosen and threatened to sever completely from the rest of its corpse like a strip of torn dressing.

Armor brought his axe down deep into the earth. Madoka looked at his helmet inquisitively. He nodded expectantly. A challenge? She pondered as she saw golden links swirl towards the towering axe's handle. The axe glowed a deep red instead of golden, indicating to her that it was stronger than the weapons that glowed yellow. Armor wanted her to sever the head completely. The maid scoffed. It was child's play even though the axe was as tall as her.

"Go on," Eraziror seemed too excited to see what Madoka could do with Armor's weapon. "Give it a go!"

Madoka groaned. Were they there to mock her strength or to extol it? Armor's axe was cold and its handle was full of dents from its master's continued grip. She pulled it out with ease and inspected its bladed edges. How many unspeakable horrors has this thing faced? She looked to the dead ogre's eyeless head and severed it completely with a thunderous swing.

Armor gave a growl of what she presumed was approval.

"We will talk later," he spoke quietly. Perhaps she could clean his armor later, Madoka mused. A shadow above her pushed through the crowd.

"Hold!" A voice came above through the cloud. Luxgor was flying high above them but the purple mist made it difficult to see him. The Sovos iron rankers greeted him as he landed. The Guild Master scrutinized the scene and stopped in shock from the sight of the chopped up ogre. "Don't tell me you killed that thing, Madoka."

"I didn't," she replied curtly. Luxgor flinched but noticed Armor standing by its massive leg. The leg was taller than her even though it was flat on the ground. She pointed at the giant. "He did."

"We will discuss things later," Luxgor sighed. "Regroup with us soon. This place is strange but the Truth Guild will set things up soon."

"Yoohoo!" A familiar voice called Madoka. Luxgor rolled his eyes. It was Audrey! The gloomy feeling she had subsided but she realized the princess was dragging someone along with her. "Where is my maid?"

"I guess we will regroup here," Luxgor interrupted them. "Stay put."

"Rin?" Madoka studied the haughty mage. Rin seemed bewildered by whatever troubles Audrey caused them. She suddenly missed Luxgor but realized even he could not control the princess.

"Come on, man," Audrey looked hurt. "I'm right here and you say her name instead?"

"Apologies," Madoka began but Audrey jumped up towards her. Rin's dazed eyes did not even glare at her like she usually did. Just what did the troublesome girl do to her?

"Speaking of that," Audrey held onto Rin like she was a friend. "She and I are best friends now! Isn't that right, Rin?"

"H-Help," Rin mumbled. "She's too much!"

"Audrey Dalion," Madoka spoke calmly but powerful enough to cause Audrey to gulp and release her prisoner. Juujee came through the woods with a copper tag around his neck. "Come."

"Nae waaah! We were just talking about isolated atmospheric pressure and water molecules! Nothing troublesome—"

"Audrey Dalion," Madoka repeated herself. She needed somewhere to store the ogre's head, after all. "Come."

Audrey pouted but straightened up after she recieved a single glare from Madoka.

"Who is in charge here?" Eraziror muttered. "The noble or the slave? Ach! Ow!"

Kanys punched him in the shoulder to shut him up. Madoka ignored the pair and dragged Audrey by the arm to where the severed ogre head rolled.

"I was gonna get her to apologize to you, but Jesus what the hell is this thing?" Audrey examined the corpse and its head. "Three eyes, moldy skin. This thing ain't right!"

"An ogre," Madoka stated blankly. "I was going to put its head in the portal."

Audrey squelched her breath before her cheeks got bright.

"Oh! I remember!" She exclaimed. "Proof of a kill, yada, yada. Though the only town that takes a monster this size is called... Glade. Glade something. Put it in here! You must've gotten XP from killin' this thing, I swear."

"I didn't kill it," Madoka sighed. Audrey manifested a large enough portal for it to store. "But it was a gift from the big armored man."

She drew her axe and plunged it into the monster's gargantuan head until she dug into skull. The hooked grip was able to be dragged, so Madoka simply walked through the portal with it and it vanished inside. The maid did the same thing with the infected bear awhile ago but it still surprised her. Audrey clapped her hands and the portal closed.

"Well?" Audrey asked as she pointed to the rest of the body. "Should we take that too?"

"Can it even fit in the portal?" Madoka glanced at its clawed feet. Three bumpy lumps of toes stared back and made her avert her gaze. Audrey shrugged but then noticed the gate.

"Soooo, hey, Madoka," Audrey spoke slyly and immediately Madoka knew what she was thinking. "Come around here often?"

"You honestly expect me to go inside there?" Madoka put her hands to her hips. Audrey grinned. She withdrew the axe without the head it was stabbed into and placed it Madoka's unwilling hands. "With you?"

"Yeah!" Audrey cheered. They were quite a distance away from the rest of the group. "Let's go explorin'!"

Madoka groaned and inspected the mist. It did not seem to harm her or the princess. Audrey was already standing at the gate, startling the maid. How did she get there so fast?

"Come on!" Audrey waved to her. "Let's go before Luxgor-san sees us!"

"He's going to be so angry with us!" Madoka complained but did not stop herself from following the princess.

"I know right?" Audrey chirped. "But something tells me there's secrets in here that we might wanna get to first."

"Kind gods help me," Madoka breathed in a prayer. She will destroy this girl one day but after she picks up her messes!