Megumi had intended to go back to the guild hall, but as she approached the door, she felt the nagging of her conscience once more. It pained her to admit it, but what she had done to that guard's soul was truly horrible. She didn't know if she really could snuff out a soul like she had bluffed to Poro-tan what seemed like ages ago, but maybe she had really caused some damage to that woman that could never be repaired. What did that say about her? Was she really that much of a monster? She knew that she was far from being the definition of a 'good guy,' but maybe she should consider the limits to what she should do to accomplish her end goals?

Megu doesn't really want to face Poro-tan right now, she needed to be alone and think. She turned and headed towards the market district. It still wasn't extremely late, and maybe some food would help her think. When was it exactly that she had started caring about doing the right thing again? Wasn't the world a rotten cesspool that needed to be cleansed? At the same time, it felt really good liberating those orphans from their torment. Not everyone in this world is bad. Tara is good, as is her aunt. Poro-tan is also good and some of the guild members, too.

She pulled her cloak tight against herself to shield against the cold gust of air that blew down the street. She needed to pull herself together. Conflicted feelings would get her nowhere. Her only reason to exist was to get revenge on those who had wronged her and her family, but maybe she could accomplish those goals differently. She still would do what needed to be done, but reanimating dead corpses was something entirely different than tormenting a person's immortal soul.

She had a plan to carry out, but she decided that she wouldn't do what she had done to that captain to anyone ever again. She would use the woman and then give her the release she deserved. Minutes stretched by as she trudged along the city streets towards her destination while deep in thought. There was also the matter of telling Poro-tan about her past. It would be painful, but maybe it would be good to get it out?

A cafe with cakes in its window caught Megumi's eye as she walked along the street. It made her think of Tara and her aunt's bakery. Those were seriously the best cakes Megu has ever eaten. Once this is done... hopefully we can go back and see them again.

The chill was getting worse and she hadn't even noticed the clouds coming in over the mountains, but flakes of snow had begun to fall while she stood outside the cafe windows staring at the cakes.

This place would do, she opened the door and was greeted by an energetic girl around her own age who told her she could sit anywhere. Megumi took an open seat near the window so she could watch the falling snow. There was something that always felt good about sitting inside a warm space while watching snow fall. It was cathartic.

The girl came by her table and placed a menu in front of her. "My name's Nira and I'll be your waitress tonight. Would you like anything to drink? I recommend this new drink we just started serving that's popular overseas on cold nights. It's called hot cocoa. Interested?"

Megumi pulled herself away from staring out the window and processed what the waitress had said. A warm drink did sound good. "Megu would like to try it."

The waitress nodded and scurried away to the kitchen. The snow was really starting to dump outside and it looked like she was going to have a long cold walk back to the guild hall. She wondered what her family would think of her and what she had become. She actually didn't have to wonder, she knew that they would be horrified by the things that Megumi had done to survive and get ahead after she had been on her own.

Nira came back with a large mug that steamed. It smelled distinctly of dark chocolate and had a little bit of cream on top of it. The girl sat the mug down in front of her and Megumi placed her cold hands on the outsides of the mug. The warm ceramic felt good against her cold fingertips. "Thanks."

"Did you decide what you'd like to eat tonight?"

Megumi was in the mood for strawberries and had seen a delicious looking cake from the window. "I'll take two slices of the strawberry cake in the window."

Nira jotted it down in a little notepad. "I'll be right back with your cake." She then went over to the window and removed the cake from the glass case it had been in and carried it over to the bar. Megumi watched as the girl cut two large wedges out of the cake and placed them on two small plates, bringing them back over to her immediately before putting the cake away. "Let me know if there's anything else you need."

It was amazing how wait staff always plastered a smile on their faces the entire day. Megumi knew that she couldn't do it. Acting friendly was hard work for her and she wasn't very good at being social despite her upbringing. The cake was sweet, but not overly so, and she ate quietly while watching the snow, which was now beginning to accumulate on the ground at a rapid pace.

Megumi finished her food and paid the waitress, thanking her again for the meal, and headed back out into the cold. The wind was now blowing so hard that she could hardly see in front of her, and she had to pull her cloak and hood down tight against herself to try to not become a popsicle.

When she finally got to the guild hall, her fingers felt numb. She couldn't wait to get out of these high mountains and down to a place where the climate was less horrible. She cupped her hands to her face and breathed warm air on them before making a b-line straight for the fireplace.

There were a lot of people inside the guild hall tonight, and she saw people sitting in groups laughing and drinking pints of ale. She even saw a couple people playing chess in the corner. She had played the game a lot when she was younger. Her father had told her that it was a good thing to learn as it helped you to learn to think ahead before you moved. She turned back toward the fire and held her hands out.

Finally thawing out. Her teeth had almost stopped chattering at least.

"Doesn't look like it was a good day to go wandering the city," Poro-tan said from behind her.

"M-Megu had t-things to do."

"Aery gave us one of the unused rooms on the second floor. It's the third one on the right. Once you've thawed out, come up. I want to hear this story of yours already."

Megumi nodded silently and continued warming herself by the fire as she heard him walk away. Will he understand why they deserve to die? Or will he try to stop Megu from going through with this? Regardless of how Poro-tan feels, the old bastard needs to die.

After she was no longer frozen to the bone, she headed up stairs. Poro-tan was sitting in a chair by the window in the room watching the snow fall while reading a book when she came in. It was kind of a shock to see him reading, but she supposed that he didn't really have anything better to do while stuck in this place and they didn't know any of the guild members other than Aery.

She took a seat on the edge of the bed closest to him. "It seems that the best place to start my story is from the beginning..."

Megumi talked until her throat began to grow dry and then talked some more. She told him everything about who she really was and what had happened to her family, how she had ended up in a wretched orphanage, and how she had been given salvation and a chance for revenge when Cerberus came and took her under his wing.

Her companion sat quietly and listened intently as she told the story and only at a few points had he openly shown surprise at her tale. When she was done, she took a deep breath and raised her head to meet him in the eyes, "...and that is why that bastard needs to die."

"I understand why you would want to do that. Think about what would happen to this kingdom if you went through with this plan, though. It could be devastating for the regular people here, like Tara. It stinks... but I think you need to move on from this obsession you have with revenge, and live your life for you. It's what your family would have wanted."

Part of her wanted to heed his words, but she had been down this path for too long to ever turn away. Her small hands were covered with the blood of more people then she cared to actually stop and think about. No, it was too late for her to change now.

She slowly shook her head. "Megu cannot let this go. We will do whatever it takes to get revenge, and once it's said and done, if we survive, then we can think about doing the right things. Megu has nothing against helping people where she can, but this mission takes priority. Sorry, Poro-tan..."

The next morning the two of them left the guild hall. Poro-tan was against her plan, but he would do as she asked, albeit reluctantly. "Megu secured a way for you to get into the palace guard. We need to go check on her. This way."

"So that's what you were doing last night? What did you do exactly?"

Megumi didn't answer right away and walked at a brisk pace. She only hoped that the woman would be responsive today. It would make things easier if Poro-tan could infiltrate the palace guard right away, if not he'd have to join the regular city watch and work his way up. She didn't like the idea of wasting an unknown amount of time in this city before putting her plan into place. This had to work.

"Megu soul trapped a captain of the palace guards as she and two others were leaving a bar two days ago."

"And you've been keeping her hidden under a rock or something?"

"She... didn't want to cooperate. Megu took measures to force her in line. Things didn't exactly work out. You'll see."

The two of them entered the inn where the guards had been holed up in a room and they quickly moved past the front desk and up to the room where the woman was still laying on the bed with her eyes closed.

"What did you do to her, Megumi?"

"Megu did what she had to! Now quit giving me grief and help."

Poro-tan had quickly gone over to the bed and was gently shaking the woman. "Are you okay?"

Megumi allowed the woman to open her eyes and had her sit up. She then removed the bindings keeping her from speaking and moving her upper body. The woman's eyes opened immediately and she stared at Megumi with clear hatred in her eyes.

At least Megu didn't break her completely if she can still do that. Megumi stepped up in front of the woman, "What is your name? We need you to cooperate with us."

"Just let me die. Please," the woman replied with a cracked and raspy voice.

Megumi frowned at the woman. "Do what we want, and you can have the release you wish for. If not, then the last couple days will have been a vacation for what Megu will have in store for you," Megumi bluffed.

Poro-tan shot her a glare. "You tortured her? This woman is innocent. She didn't do anything to deserve that. It's not like with the thieves, this isn't okay."

He was starting to get on her nerves. She forgot how annoying he could be about this stuff. She had already decided she wouldn't torture the woman any more, but bluffing about it was okay, wasn't it? The guard captain raised her hands to her face and over her eyes as she began to shake.

Success. She's going to give in.

"What do.. you want me to do?"

"It's simple. Megu needs you to get Poro-tan here into the palace guard as a new recruit. You need to make this happen immediately. Megu will know if you try anything. Believe it when Megu says that you don't want to make that mistake."

Poro-tan was fuming in the corner but she had taken away his ability to speak and had him stand aside.

"If I do that... you'll release me from this hell?"

Megumi nodded.

"Very well. Let's go.

On that note the three of them left the inn, leaving the two other undead guards behind for now. Megu had plans for them but for now, they needed to be careful. She would come collect them in the evening. The captain gave Megumi her name, which was Velyie, and explained that she was only one of three captains in the palace guard; the lowest ranking one at that. She was apparently in charge of patrols outside the palace walls as well as manning the ramparts of the outer wall of the palace. The more senior of guards were far stronger than she and were in charge of the inner areas of the palace.

After a bit of a walk, they came to the palace gates and one of the regular guards on duty slapped his gauntleted hand to his chest and opened the gates for the woman, whose name was Velyie. Megumi was careful to keep her cloak's hood drawn over her head as the three of them continued through the palace grounds and to a little guard shack.

Velyie had an office in there and filled out some paperwork and requisition forms for the armor and uniform that Poro-tan would be wearing until this was all done. "Captain, what's with the little girl and the guy here? You giving tours now?"

"He's a new recruit and she's... his sister. She wanted to come along and I allowed it. Got a problem with that, Brendt?"

The guard shook his head and realized he had spoken out of turn. Two other guards who had entered the building snickered at him. The guards seemed to be going off duty as they went back into a room that was marked for changing. Velyie finished her paperwork and sealed it with a ring on her hand.

"Pay for a new guard is 300GP per week. You'll pick it up at the treasurer's office which I'll show you later. You can pick up your armor and uniform at the armory, which is inside the palace in the basement near the dungeon. Take this and give it to the quartermaster. Now, I expect for you to do as you promised."

"You're going to have to wait a few days. It would be suspicious if something happened right after you added Poro-tan to the watch. You'll be coming back with us for tonight."

Megumi had found something interesting with her new level of soul trap that she didn't realize would happen. She could assign authority to one of her pawns over the others. It made sense that she could do that, and so she placed Poro-tan in charge of the woman. The three guards from earlier came out of the changing room in civilian clothing joking to each other about something and Megumi decided it wouldn't hurt to set the plan into motion right away.

Her two pets moved simultaneously and drew their weapons like twin vipers. The unequipped guards stared at horror as their captain and the new comer charged at them and cut them down. Only a few seconds had passed, but Megumi had raised all three of them again as undead puppets for her to use.

She had them go get back into their armor and with the plate and full helms that the palace guards wore, one couldn't even tell that they were dead. Megumi grinned. Revenge would be hers, and soon. She would take over every guard in the place that she could find and destroy the place from within. She had initially intended to have Poro-kun infiltrate the guards and slowly take over, but by gaining access to this part of the compound, she found a way to expedite her plans. Every guard who came in for their shift change would soon be added to her growing army of undead.

Spoiler: Hideki's Stats

Name Hideki (Poro-kun) Level 029 (58,044/59,230 EXP to next Level) Class Warrior HP 2000/2000 MP 75/75 TP 0 Adventurer Rank B Attributes Vitality 71 Magic 32 Endurance 66 Magic Resistance 37 Strength 63 Luck 6 Agility 54   Dexterity 45 Passive Skills • Warrior's Essence - Level 5 (+50 HP regeneration/min)

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

• Sword Mastery - Level 7 (+70% proficiency with swords)

• Tiger Style - Level 2

• Turtle Style - Level 2

• Stalwart - Level 1 (+10% natural defense)

• Fortify Health - Level 3 (+150 HP)

• Adrenaline - Level 5 (Killing an enemy gains you one stack of Adrenaline. Each stack adds +5 to Strength, Vitality, and Agility for 4 minutes. Maximum stacks: 5) Active Skills • Holy Blade - Level 1 (Envelope blade in holy aura for 15 seconds)

• Shockwave - Level 3 (Release shockwave from blade)

Spoiler: Megumi's Stats

Name Megumi Level 030 (61,900/65,513 EXP to next Level) Class Necromancer HP 475/475 MP 1550/1550 TP 0 Villain Rank C     Adventurer Rank D Attributes Vitality 19 Magic 81 Endurance 12 Magic Resistance 53 Strength 6 Luck 19 Agility 10   Dexterity 10 Passive Skills • Mage's Essence - Level 6 (+180 MP regeneration/min)

• Fortify MP - Level 2 (+100 MP) Active Skills • None Necromancer Magic

• Sanguine Infusion (50 MP) - Level 15 (Absorb life essence of recently deceased, 15% chance to gain +1 TP from human victims [Cap reached. Lvl Requirement for Lvl 16, (50)])

• Corpse Explosion (30 MP) - Level 7 - (+70% damage from explosion)

• Corpse Absorbtion (10 MP) - Level 1 (Absorb a corpse's essence. Recover 80 MP)

• Raise Undead (20 MP) - Level 11 (Raise weak undead to fight for you. Max: 55)

• Undead Mastery - Level 4 (+20% to stats of Raised Undead)

• Summon Blood Golem (500 MP) - Level 1 (Raise a Golem to fight by your side by using the blood of the fallen. Max: 1)

• Blood Golem Mastery - Level 3 (+12 Minutes to summon duration. +15% defense, +15% attack power)

• Soul Trap (350 MP) - Level 2 (Trap soul of a recently defeated foe. Max: 2 [Cap reached. Lvl Requirement for Lvl 3: (60)] )

• Soul Trap Mastery - Level 7 (+28 to all stats of Summoned Soul, except luck. Max level reached. Lvl requirement for Lvl 8: 50)

• Spirit Barrier (100 MP) - Level 2 (Erect a barrier using souls of the dead for fuel. Blocks spells and projectiles)

• Magic Skin - Level 5 (Actively consumes MP to negate physical and magical damage. Higher levels lower the MP cost)

• Decay (120 MP) - Level 5 - (25% chance of success. Causes body to rot from the inside out causing extreme pain and slowing movement at joints)

• Siphon (70 MP) - Level 1 - (Drain health of enemy at a rate of 10 HP/second for up to 5 seconds. 30% chance of success.)

• Eldritch Blast (75 MP) - Level 14 (Unleashes a roiling ball of Eldritch energy that burns its subject on contact for 5 seconds)

Spoiler: Velyie's Stats

Name Velyie Level 015 (9,017/9,500 EXP to next Level) Class Guard HP 1250/1250 MP 75/75 TP 0 Rank Lesser Captain Attributes Vitality 48 Magic 33 Endurance 46 Magic Resistance 31 Strength 46 Luck 5 Agility 43   Dexterity 40 Passive Skills • Heavy Armor Mastery - Level 1 (+5% mobility when wearing heavy armor)

• Spear Mastery - Level 7 (+70% proficiency with spears)

• Fortify Health - Level 1 (+50 HP) Active Skills • Detect Truth - Level 2 (When questioning people this skill will cause a red aura to glow around a person if they tell a lie)

• Impale - Level 4 (Stab an enemy with extra force using a spear. +20% speed and power behind spear thrust)