Outside the Eastern Gate of Berrios, a horde of hundreds, possibly over a thousand low and mid-level undead had appeared with swiftness wholly unprecedented from such a variety of monsters. They'd advanced feverishly and tirelessly, with little warning. If one stopped and took a moment to examine the situation, they would find the current events most unusual.

Unfortunately, time was in short supply. Brain power was being dedicated solely to survival.

"Bar the gates! Get archers and mages on the walls!"

A short distance away, Rozalin and Amalia stood, watching the chaos unfold.

"Alright, change of plans. We're leaving," Rozalin stated matter-of-factly, before swiveling around.

Amalia looked at her, a bit dumbfounded, "Shouldn't we help the knights? Or at least evacuate people?"

It was Rozalin's turn to be dumbfounded.

"Amalia, please use your brain and not your heart for a moment. We are civilians. There is an invading mob of monsters outside the gates, of unknown strength and numbers. This isn't like the dungeon corridors where you can fight them one or two at a time. I also don't want to blow my cover in the middle of a bunch of angry men with swords and fireballs, understand? I can't use all my abilities here, and you aren't strong enough to stay safe on your own."

While Amalia sputtered and looked for a rebuttal against Rozalin's well-put and entirely logical argument, a loud bang! resounded from the town gate, followed by men barking orders a short distance away. More knights shuffled past the two, with a clang! and a clack!

Rozalin let off a weary sigh, "Amalia, we need to go. There'll be plenty of opportunities in the future for daring heroics and other general stupidity. Focus on what you can do now. After the knights do their job, perhaps we can offer healing services or something."

'And make money,' the slime woman mentally added on with a small nod. Though strictly speaking, she still was debating leaving town. Making a favorable impression among the military wasn't a bad strategy, but it came with risks. She'd already pushed her luck sufficiently and felt it time to consolidate knowledge and build up strength. Too many things had popped up recently and she didn't like it.

While Amalia wasn't fully convinced, she already felt like she'd messed up once today and didn't want to displease Rozalin further. She tried to ignore that ringing noise in her head. With a begrudging frown on her face, the two began walking hastily from the sturdy gate walls.

At that moment, a giant THUD!! reverberated through the street, accompanied by the ground shaking and a gust of wind.

Rozalin, who had nearly fallen over, cursed loudly, "What the fuck?! Was that a bomb or something?"

Amalia helped Rozalin regain her footing. Dusting herself off, Rozalin turned and looked at the town gate. Or at least, what remained of it.

It must be said, these gate doors were quite large. With a vertical clearance of over 6 meters and a width of two carriages, these were by no means small doors. While the dust was still settling, over a hundred paces away, the horde of undead was already beginning to stream into the city. What was possibly more frightening than that was something currently stuck to the gate doors.

A gigantic, flesh and dried blood-colored amalgamation of thick fluid was rising off the melted hinges of the door. It quickly went from a book-thin layer to a vaguely spherical, pulsating mass—complete with tendrils and a horrid stench. Streaks of murky black ran throughout the thing's body, resulting in an exceptionally grotesque figure.

Amalia stammered with no small sign of traumatic recollection, "Ne-Ne-Nee-Nuhhh..."

To her side, Rozalin mentally noted with some incredulity, 'Funny, I don't recall making one that big ever. Or that color, either. Okay, I will concede Amalia's point. Maybe they really aren't cute.'

Someone boomed as loudly as their puny human throat would allow, attempting to drown out all the chaotic noise and sounds of fighting, "BLACK OOZE! Everyone, defensive formation! Mages! Mages! Where did-"

As the creature began grabbing nearby skeletons, zombies, and chunks of whatever debris was available, it tossed them with surprising force in completely random directions. As soon as Rozalin made 'eye' contact with the beast, the noise coming over the Link only got worse.

At that point, a horribly distorted warbling could be barely discerned amidst the noise on the Link. "Maa- Maaaa- Maa- Maaaa-"

Rozalin stared in disbelief at the thing, which now seemed to be locked on to her from a lengthy distance away.

"Nope and fuck no. Amalia. Amalia! We are leaving. Right now."

With Rozalin in the lead, pulling Amalia by the hand, the two then proceeded to run for their life. Had someone examined Rozalin more closely, they'd realize something was amiss underneath her cloak. The limbs and running posture made no sense. Yet Rozalin didn't have time to worry about that, because seconds after they began to flee, the giant blob began to chase them with a thunderous roar.

Several soldiers were ragdolled by the creature's sudden charge. Numerous knights attempted to halt its advance, thrusting and slashing at its sides. Some brave fellow even thought it wise to stand directly in front of the thing, shield up and blade ready. Unfortunately, that worked out about as well as expected considering its mass. The upside was the Ooze being slowed down ever so slightly. The downside?

Well, that knight would need more than healing magic after they'd finally pried him off the ground and got the pulsating, reddish-black slime out of his armor and mouth.

"Roz! Why is there a giant flipping Necroslime in town, chasing after us!?" Amalia hollered over the Link.

Rozalin wanted to scream. What was she supposed to say? 'Teehee, I accidentally made a giant slimebaby when I ate all those bandits. Oops?'

What's more, she wasn't even sure of that. Whenever she made Necroslimes in the past, she'd had to pump them full of Mana in a particular way, slightly similar to healing magic. Certainly, she'd gotten rid of a lot of excess Mana at the time, but she hadn't gone through the same process. She just dumped all the mass into the ground on the outskirts of that Dungeon ... town. Probably directly above one of the Dungeon's tunnels.

Oh. Well, that was a bit unfair, wasn't it?

"Boxes-damnit! I hate this world so much sometimes!"

Before they ran much further, Val's voice sounded out, "What's all this noise? Has something occurred?"

An idea struck Rozalin.

"Val? Where are you right now!?"

A pause, "Why, I'm having tea with Mrs. Hendrickson. Sir Hendrickson just dashed off moments ago, it was quite the peculiar series of events. Why, first a man arrived an—"

"No time!" Rozalin yelled, looking back briefly at the Necroslime Ooze slowly gaining on them, "Val, you're good at blowing things up, right? You said you're skilled at Fire and Earth magic?"

"That's ... Well, I shan't boast needlessly, but I dare claim few would best me in this town, yes."

"Good. Go out in the courtyard, I need you to—"

Smack! Mmph-!

With all the grace of a deflating balloon, Rozalin felt herself smack into something very hard when turning the corner. Unfortunately, the wall she hit had far more mass and velocity than her, causing her to immediately be flung and squished backwards, as said 'wall' also fell awkwardly on her. After realizing she'd lost several HP from the incident, she scanned her surroundings and realized what was on top of her. Or rather, who.

Having let out a grunt, above her was none other than Hendrickson, wearing full armor and awkwardly positioned in an attempt to not crush her further. He was flanked by two more men that she vaguely recalled. Rozalin quickly gave more attention to her overall shape and reformed the parts necessary for speech.

"Fuck! Get off, you old goat. There's a giant Ooze coming this way!"

As the men helped Hendrickson and Amalia helped Rozalin, the knight captain could only look at her with some confusion and disbelief. Unfortunately, his questions and the odd squelching noise made from plowing into Rozalin would have to go unaddressed.

"Rozalin. What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Trying to not be here," she hastily quipped back, hitching up her robe and preparing to run again, "Putting aside why you aren't resting, unless you think you can smack that thing to death, I suggest we find a mage who can burn or blow it up."

Rozalin waved angrily at the advancing, tendril-waving Necroslime. The two men flanking Hendrickson looked a bit unsteady. Hendrickson seemed to be weighing his options. That only lasted a moment.

A flaming lance streaked through the air, before violently impacting the Ooze. Licks of flame, rubble, and flesh sprayed out. Rozalin felt a horrible 'scream' come over the Link, momentarily disorienting both her and Amalia. Up in the air, a robed man was slowly descending toward the ground a short distance away. His outstretched hand held another, belonging to an incredibly gorgeous and voluptuous silver-haired woman. Rozalin was momentarily mesmerized staring at the handsome yet familiar face.

Upon touching the ground, the woman gave a dainty curtsy.

"As spectacular as ever, Grinny. You certainly know how to help a lady make an entrance."

The old wizard snorted, "Go, Lucretia. Waste no effort in minimizing casualties and property damage. Eliminate every last monster."

Even from this distance, Rozalin could see clearly. The woman let loose an unnaturally wide smile. Her ruby-colored eyes seemed to glow red, while her ivory white teeth gleamed, canines dangerously sharp.

Lucretia turned toward Grinwald. With a deep bow, she pulled two elegant, thin daggers seemingly out of nowhere.

"As you wish, oh mighty taskmaster."

There was a bang! followed by several cobblestone bricks being launched into the air. What followed captivated the majority of those present.

Rozalin watched as the silver-haired woman launched herself into the air, flying up over fifteen meters, faster than a speeding car. If Rozalin still had eyes and blinked, she would have missed it. A sharp series of cracks! billowed forth as she watched the woman defy gravity, kicking off a shimmering platform of air and speeding into the oncoming undead horde like a cannonball.

Tens of zombies fell every few seconds. Bones and limbs flew, as rotten blood and flesh splattered the road and anyone unfortunate enough to be in the splash zone. For the zombies more entangled and surrounded by knights, Lucretia flew above them, jumping off invisible platforms and slicing their heads off. For the zombies still grouped up, she simply cut them into ribbons, sometimes going so far as to use the zombies as meat platforms and kicking them hard enough to turn them into pulp.

Rozalin stood there frozen, trembling at the sight.

"No, no way. What ... How can—"

There was no regularity or pattern. A white blur simply bounced back and forth, crashing into either air or rotten flesh, spraying the surroundings with gore. By the time it landed, she was already elsewhere. The battlefield began to go silent, as more and more knights were freed up from fighting the undead and instead began to stare at the scene unfolding before and around them. That was when laughter started.

It was slight at first. Barely audible over the crashing and banging and hollering. But as more and more undead fell, it only grew in volume.

A shrill, hysterical, manic laughter began echoing off the town buildings and down the alleys. As Rozalin continued to watch, an intense sense of foreboding and fear built within her. She could barely keep up with that woman's movements. They didn't make sense. It was as if gravity and momentum ceased to exist. Those daggers were cutting through bone and flesh without resistance.

When Rozalin finally broke away, she looked to the left, only to see that the old teacher-author she'd met at Biron's estate had turned the ground into a crater and scorched the mass of flesh to death with a flick of his hand. It was still smouldering and twitching, charred flesh breaking and falling off like charcoal. The noise and static on the Link stopped, causing Rozalin to feel a weird sense of emptiness and alarm.

Grinwald turned away from the dead Necroslime Ooze with a furrowed brow and grimace, deep in thought. It wasn't until Lucretia began punting zombies and skeletons at the castle walls, turning them into wet splatters and bone chips, that he finally broke from his reverie and chided the woman.

"Lucretia. Property damage."

Lucretia paused mid-kick, frowning and letting off a tch! before slicing another zombie's head off. It landed directly on the dagger, impaling it all the way to the hilt.

"Ohh~ Lucretia~ Property damage," she mocked while shaking the zombie-dagger, before dropping and kicking the zombie's head away. That brief pause enabled several undead of questionable intelligence to take it as an opportune time to surround and attempt gnawing and slicing at her. With a blur of her hand, they were crumpled like paper-mâché, completely missing their upper torso in an instant.

"Honestly, Grinny, if you're going to let me exercise, you could at least be less fussy about the details," she whined, before flicking a dagger behind her, striking a zombie square in the head. On the ground was a lady knight with an injured leg, looking up as her assailant was toppled over by the dagger's momentum.

"Property damage is subjective. I'm creating jobs in this lovely little town. Think of the stonemason's guild, why don't you!" Lucretia cried theatrically, before pausing, "They do have one of those out here, right?"

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Grinwald gave her a cold stare, before shooting out several Mana arrows at various zombies. The arrows' paths were difficult for the human eye to follow, nor was there much need to. Several more undead heads exploded almost simultaneously, signaling their destination.

Lucretia sighed, "Fineee." before continuing her rampage.

The following minute was uneventful. The remaining undead lost all momentum and were systematically annihilated. Only the few knights still pressed by undead held any tension, and that quickly evaporated. Countless military personnel stood around awkwardly in a daze, now uncertain what to do. A feeling of wonderment and vast inferiority, along with numerous other emotions, spread across their ranks.

"What a mess," Grinwald sighed, before strolling through the growing crowd. Every so often, he'd wave his hand and another incapacitated undead would finally cease moving.

Grinwald thought it curious. After he'd finished the Ooze, the undead had quickly grown less coordinated and crazed. The local Dungeon was known for undead, but an Ooze seemed a bit of a stretch. He casually eyed one particular bystander. He found it odd that she was here and involved in this mess.

Several possibilities came to mind.

It could simply be a coincidence. Grinwald wasn't fond of such weak explanations without further investigation.

She could be controlling the monster and caused the attack, yet it seemed odd that the Ooze was barreling down the streets aggressively toward her. That could be a ruse. Or if it really was attempting to attack her, why?

The idea he liked the least right now was that they were separate entities entirely. That was because if that was the case, Grinwald began second-guessing his earlier assumptions about which Slime was involved in the previous Dungeon Core's destruction. The slime named Rozalin was a baffling mystery as-is, so logically speaking it made more sense for a Slime to eat a Dungeon Core then seek out another Core nearby. That alone wasn't without problems, but the keywords were 'more sense'. It should then, of course, have been this Ooze. But there were logistic problems even with that theory.

Still, something told Grinwald that wasn't the case. He felt it was Rozalin that had destroyed the first Core. He'd been loosely pondering the scenario ever since the investigation, and that pondering only renewed upon meeting Rozlin the other day.

What made a Slime eat or destroy a Dungeon Core? Monsters were generally subservient to Cores for the Mana-rich environment they provided and the mental effect Cores had over them. Taking it a step further, if a Slime ate a Core, what abilities or effects would that have? Slimes were known for taking on properties of things in their diet, so how had it affected that Slime?

Again, logically it would seem a deviant Slime eating a Dungeon Core would possess Dungeon Core-like properties. Which meant controlling monsters and the like. Was that Ooze really the culprit? Then how was Rozalin involved? And what caused the outbreak over in that Dungeon Town? That especially would require further investigation and interrogation in the coming days.

While Grinwald was piecing together current events, Lucretia strolled up to him after having more or less finished off all the undead. Her state of dress was a mess, and her legs especially were covered in gore.

He sighed with displeasure as the odor hit his nose, "Hold still, I'll clean you off."

"Just a second. I'm not done yet," she replied with a smile, "I still smell one more cowering over there."

Grinwald looked over to where Lucretia was staring. Before he could open his mouth, her arm had already arched back. Her muscles rippled briefly as a dagger was thrown with unnerving accuracy straight toward Rozalin.

As the dagger was leaving her hand, the smile on Lucretia's face turned into a frown. The blade flew through the air like a scythe, its enchanted nature largely ignoring silly things such as wind resistance. Opposite her, Rozalin stood. She'd barely had time to detect any hostility or process the fact a weapon was now travelling directly at her chest.

Before Rozalin could move, she found her vision jolted to the side and tilting.

There was a splatter against Rozalin's robes, before she heard a throaty cry that didn't seem to originate from herself. Hendrickson's voice boomed to her left. The previous jolt made Rozalin's Core move within her 'head', messing up her vision momentarily.

"You crazy!?" Hendrickson roared, drawing his sword. It was then Rozalin finally realized what happened.

Behind and to Rozalin's right side was Amalia, laying on the ground in a rapidly growing pool of blood, missing a large, squarish chunk from her upper ribcage. Her right arm was hanging at an awkward angle, a chunk of muscle and tendons having been gouged out near her armpit. Each gasp only resulted in a bubbling noise.

Stop the bleeding. Restore air supply.

Kill that woman.

You don't stand a chance. Stop the bleeding. You're wasting precious time.

Rip her into pieces. Devour her til there's nothing left.

You promised and failed. Fix it. Unless you also want to be a liar on top of that.

If you can't win, then run. You're good at that.

AaaAAaaAAHHH

The Link turned into a garbled mess of unintelligible noise. Rozalin found herself hunched over Amalia's side, ripping her own robes off and flipping Amalia over. Rozalin began pulling all the Mana potions she'd kept inside her out, tossing the cork and downing them as fast as they could be emptied. The vials were thrown out unceremoniously.

The noise that came out of Rozalin's throat was grating to the ears and barely able to be understood. Though, the raw fury and tone carried the message regardless. It rang off the nearby buildings.

"How dare you!?"

Those words repeated several times, until there was no more air in Rozalin's 'lungs'. After that, the noise became gibberish, with her having forgotten to take in more air.

A tendril of slime went down Amalia's throat and into her undamaged, left lung, forming a makeshift stent and ventilator. A portion of the right lung was gouged out and filling with blood. Two ribs were shattered, splintered, and missing the outer portion; muscles lacerated, tendons severed, and breast tissue destroyed; Amalia's heart was beating irregularly and dangerously fast. Rozalin's mind raced and raced, trying all at once to figure out how to prevent Amalia from bleeding out, suffocating, or drowning in her own blood. Healing magic was being bluntly deployed without any of the delicacy or precision compared to when she'd healed Aryana Biron.

The knights froze. Hendrickson looked on, stuck between bewilderment and fury. The only one who seemed unfazed by the events was the perpetrator herself.

A distance away, Lucretia shrugged with a small scowl, "Grinny, why'd that puppy get in the way? She made me miss. Ahh, no good, no good."

Grinwald looked at her with a face filled with extreme annoyance. He replied in a completely level voice, "Lucretia. You're done here today, understand? We just went from a successful job to a civilian issue. After I clean up your mess, we're heading back. Standby."

Lucretia knew Grinwald well, so she was taken aback by his tone. She'd done worse before with less reprimand. After digesting his words, her beautiful face scrunched up and she let off a hmph!

Grinwald advanced quickly, gliding inches above the cobblestone streets. He traversed dozens of meters in what appeared to be one fluid step. Lucretia walked while sulking, strolling haphazardly, occasionally pirouetting on one sole and hopping over a corpse or debris as she slowly closed the distance.

Amalia was twitching on the ground in shock. In addition to the gaping hole in her torso, the sheer force from the blow had rippled and rocked throughout her chest, stunning her and damaging internal organs. The sudden loss in abdominal and blood pressure had left her panicking and disoriented, instinctively trying to gasp for air, which only made things worse.

Rozalin was lost. There was a large difference between healing even a severed arm and healing a hole in someone's chest. Namely, with an arm you still had all the puzzle pieces. It was just a matter of reattaching things. Continuing that example, this was like someone told you to finish the puzzle while taking several pieces away and giving you a minute or two to do so.

Grinwald approached the hunched over slime. With a frown and slightly pained look on his face, he pulled out an intricate vial filled with a golden, semi-translucent fluid. The craftsmanship on the vial alone was exquisite to the point one could only wonder what was worth putting inside such a small and expensive container.

"Use this," he said.

No reply came. He watched the scene before him continue to unfold, his presence unnoticed to the oblivious party. With a flex of his Mana, he shook the air around him and put more effort into his voice.

"Use this. It's a healing potion. Apply it slowly, working outward."

This time Rozalin was startled, looking up. This wasn't part of the plan. In the back of her mind, behind all the thoughts of what needed done and the fallout afterwards, she was already making escape plans the minute Amalia's life was no longer in danger. Even aid from Hendrickson hadn't crossed her mind, let alone this man she'd only met once.

The hesitation didn't last long. Only a few seconds later, a tendril took the offered vial and began slowly applying and analyzing the medicine, examining the effects, making sure it wasn't a trick. The difference was immediate.

Flesh began to regrow at visible speed. Misplaced blood seemed to dissolve into nothing, or immediately went where needed. Arteries stitched themselves back together like their threading and location were obvious. Bone regrew as if watching a sprouting tree via timelapse.

Rozalin was entranced. All the panic and worries and clouded thoughts in her mind disappeared, quickly being replaced by more measured thinking. She looked around, only to notice countless eyes upon herself. Her robe was in tatters, her current state plainly exposed.

She hitched up what remained of her robe. Amalia began coughing, still coming off an adrenaline high, but actually able to breath now. It was at that point Rozalin realized how pointless trying to cover herself was, so she ripped the robe scraps off and chose to protect Amalia's modesty instead. She looked up at Grinwald, who was still standing beside her. She couldn't read the emotion on his face. It took her a moment, but she reformed the shape and structure necessary for speech.

"Thank you. I'll remember this."

That was all she said.

Rozalin began collecting her thoughts, examining the crowd's reaction. The feeling of powerlessness and what happened had her feeling extremely anxious. The eyes of countless mages and the like were on her like pin cushions. Even Hendrickson seemed lost for words. She didn't know how to get out of this situation. Possible escape routes were questionable at best, in the face of current company. She began soothing Amalia over the Link, holding her down to the ground and patting her head. The girl was just finally coming to, the color still drained from her face.

Before the crowd could regain enough sense to address the fact a monster was sitting by a young beastkin, directly in front of them, Lucretia's melodious voice broke that short-lived peace.

"Grinny, why'd you use that? That little lass Meridia's gonna be mad if she finds out you wasted it. Doubt she'll give you another any time soon."

Grinwald snorted, pushing aside his own personal feelings. He didn't have time to explain his reasoning to Lucretia, nor the sense to chide her for calling an old crone like Meridia a 'lass'.

Grinwald opened his mouth to reply, but a tingle in the air gave him pause. Several walls sprang up from the ground, surrounding the still prone Amalia. The air chilled and a Domain was set, the thrum of Mana quickly speeding up and thickening. Even those not sensitive to Mana would be able to feel it.

"It. Wasn't. A. Waste."

Rozalin spat out, letting off a throaty growl. Lucretia looked at the Slime dumbfounded, then some sort of realization or inspiration seemed to strike her. A large smile formed on her mouth as she looked at Grinwald with narrowed eyes, then back at Rozalin.

Lucretia began to laugh, a manic grin plastered on her face, "Mm, I missed this feeling. I can smell the fear wafting off you, yet you still want to kill me that bad? More importantly, can you?"

Anyone present knew the answer to that question. Grinwald gruffly hissed at his companion, "Lucretia. I said we're done here."

"Relax, Grinny," she cooed, "I won't do anything else. I changed my mind. A positively brilliant idea has struck me, so allow me to present a gift instead, in reparations for my poor manners and this cute little monster's efforts. It's rare to find one capable of creating a Field, even if it's pitifully weak. I want to celebrate the occasion and future prospects, you see!"

With a flourish and a bow, Lucretia spread her arms widely, "If you ever want to try killing me for real, I'll give you the first strike for free. Doesn't that sound wonderful?"

Abruptly, in the time in takes to blink, the air grew heavy with a manifestation so violent and thick that it was palpable. Within a several dozen meter radius from Lucretia, several people fell to their knees, while many others clawed at their throats or simply fell over, some unable to breathe and others unconscious.

From her point of view, so low to the ground, Rozalin could only look up at this woman—this fiend's outstretched arms. It was as if the world around her went black, losing all color and sensation. Nothing existed between Rozalin and that monstrous creature staring her down with sadistic glee. All thought ceased. A giant, white shadow was draped over Rozalin's vision. Lucretia's hair seemed to form tendrils or wings, her bangs shaped like horns.

"But if you take too long, I'll kill you instead. It's been over four-hundred years. I'm growing impatient. Surprise me."

Lucretia's eyes burned into Rozalin, searing her flesh. Her words stung like venom. Still, Rozalin didn't move. That image was lodged so firmly in her mind that even ten seconds later, long after Lucretia turned away, Rozalin didn't react. Only when Amalia was gasping for air again and frothing at the mouth did Rozalin snap out of her reverie and realize Amalia stopped breathing during that time.

Hendrickson was by Amalia's side, hollering at the girl. The concern was plain on his face, which looked considerably paler than usual. A glance or two was sent Rozalin's way. Confusion, a hint of concern, and more confusion. In his own awkward way, he was urging Rozalin to act. A knight such as himself didn't have the delicacy or healing prowess required for this situation.

Rozalin sat there silently. A thought finally went through her head.

'What the hell am I doing here?'

----------------------------------------

Several kilometers outside the town of Berrios, a spatial distortion appeared, followed by Grinwald and Lucretia.

The old man was deep in thought, while Lucretia was humming happily.

A moment later, Grinwald snapped at his companion, "Lucretia, remain silent. I'm attempting to figure out how deeply you just derailed my plans and the investigation."

The humming ceased, replaced by a scowl.

"You're being awfully moody today. I'm not sure I like your tone. If anything, shouldn't you be thanking me?"

Grinwald huffed, "Truly? How do you reckon that?"

"Figure it out yourself," she quipped back, "I'm trying to keep my head as empty as possible right now. I can't shield my mind from John like you can, so the less I know for certain, the better. You should have stopped me sooner."

Grinwald raised an eyebrow at her unusual snippiness. He was about to prepare a rebuttal, until she continued.

"I've already figured too much out, what with your little pet and secrets. I won't ask why, just make sure you keep it from him. You should probably make some report about how great I performed and behaved, then get me assigned to Southern Frontier duty for a few years. Plenty of fun things up there to help muddy my head and keep me away from the Capital."

A lascivious grin appeared. Lucretia licked her lips.

"And don't get yourself executed, mm? I'd be disappointed if you died, though I promise if it was by John's hands then I'll destroy him one day or another, just for you."

The man stared at her flatly, taking on a sardonic tone, "How incredibly considerate of you."

"Aren't I just?" she laughed cheerfully, twirling around, "Don't tell Alistair or Meridia, but you're my favorite."

The silver-haired woman nudged his side, giving him a small wink. Grinwald sighed deeply, rubbing his temple. Even for a man of his intellect, he was treading dangerous waters. This would require careful planning, acting, and deliberation.

"Now that I've considered it, this whole situation might be the best possible outcome for me. Mmm, yes. Good job, Lucretia. You've done well today," Grinwald stated, pulling back one of his sleeves. His palm extended directly toward the slightly shorter woman's face.

Lucretia's eyes lit up with joy for a second. The firm muscles in Grinwald's forearm flexed, veins clearly defined. Those veins seemed to glow, then his palm lit up ever so briefly.

A deafening explosion struck. Everything within a thirty degree angle was incinerated and evaporated, as the earth below was gouged out. A scar appeared in the ground itself, as debris finally finished raining down.

Grinwald rolled his shoulder. He then pulled a book and quill out of his spatial storage, leafing through a few pages before jotting some notes down. He'd already turned away from the crater. Within the ground, a charred skeleton remained, devoid of nearly all flesh from the knees upward. Grinwald pulled a Mana Potion from his storage and began sipping it lightly, happily taking in the fruity scent as he attempted to organize events leading up to today, then plan beyond.

Within that hole, Lucretia's skeleton lay.

There was no movement. After a few seconds went by, dark red liquid began to seep out of the bones, bubbling and growing in size. Two ruby-red eyes quickly reformed within her skull, followed by organs, then muscle, and finally skin. By the time the muscle had reformed, her arms shot up and two daggers drilled out of the ground and flew into her bloody, mostly skinless palms. She then began stabbing herself, continuing to marr the regenerative work that was occurring.

Her voice was hoarse, yet retained all the pleasant jingle and seductiveness as usual.

"AaaahhhHH, ffffff-uck! Thaa-ha-ha-haaaat's it!"

What followed was best left to the imagination, as the previously-gore covered, and now herself-covered woman writhed around in the dirt, jilling herself off in her own special way and shouting every lewd obscenity that came to mind.

For his part, Grinwald chose to ignore Lucretia. She would forever be a being he just could truly not comprehend. Even if he understood her in some twisted sense of the word, he would never empathize with her. It was just an insurmountable difference in opinion.