Chapter 7: The slime, the dragon and the silent guardians

The Abyssal Labyrinth was a constant sea of darkness. No light reached the labyrinth other than the occasional lava that emitted a heat which lit up small areas throughout. Both Syora and Syaiori could see in the dark and saw no signs of monsters on the 86th floor. Every corridor they proceeded to go down was barren of monsters until Lyumina’s ears perked up.

“Hey boss, I can hear something down that way,” Lyumina said as she pointed to a passageway.

The group headed down the corridor and turned the corner to find themselves greeted by a large open room with a mass gathering of slimes. All the slimes appeared docile and did not move at all. Some were stuck to the walls while others hung from the ceiling. In the centre of the room was a massive achromatic slime that appeared to be bubbling like a soup on a stove.

“Slimes are often thought to be of low value but in this case, a slime like this would be able to destroy a city,” Ryakaria said as she watched the slime carefully.

“Think we should kill it, boss?”

“No, I think it is trying to communicate with us,” Syora said.

“I want it as a pet!” Syaiori said with a cheerful tone.

The slime continued to bubble rapidly until a shape started to form. Within a few minutes, the slime took the form of a small girl. She appeared as a normal girl with fair skin and autumn brown long hair that flowed down her body. Her eyes were a platinum silver colour and she was dressed in a plain commoner outfit.

“Well, that is certainly interesting,” Syora said as he approached the human-shaped slime.

“Be careful, boss.”

“I too would advise against getting too close, commander,” Ryakaria said.

“It is fine. This slime is of extreme value to us,” Syora and Syaiori said in unison.

Syora and Syaiori made their way closer to the slime and watched as it covered its face, almost like it was embarrassed. For a moment the slime said nothing until it tried to open its mouth. It was trying to say something but the sound did not carry.

“You need vocal chords to actually speak,” Syora said as he spoke in the slime’s native tongue.

Syora carefully explained the function of the vocal chords and how to craft something that would internally allow the slime to communicate. The slime followed every instruction it was given and tried to construct the mechanism needed to speak. Before long, the slime was able to make sound but still nothing that was coherent. After a few minutes, the slime was able to communicate with its voice to some intelligent degree.

“Alysina.”

“That is your name?” Syora asked.

The slime nodded.

“Very well. I am Syora.”

“And I am Syaiori,” Syaiori said with contrasting change in personality.

Alysina took a moment to commit the name to memory.

“Sy… Syoria?”

“Syora, Syaiori.”

“Sy-sy.”

“Close enough,” Syora said.

Syora turned and pointed over to Lyumina.

“That is Lyumina and the other one is Ryakaria. They are valuable tools, just like you,” Syora and Syaiori said in unison.

Without warning, Alysina wrapped their arms around Syora and Syaiori like a child. While Syora and Syaiori were no experts in slime biology or psychology, they could see that Alysina had formed a bound with them.

“Well, if this is all settled, shall we continue down to the lower levels?” Syora asked.

Everyone agreed and made their way downwards to the 99th floor of the labyrinth. The air was chilled to the point the floor was forming small patches of ice. Unlike the rest of the labyrinth, the floor appeared like a different biome with a large vast open area that seemed to continue on for miles.

Lyumina sniffed the air before dropping on all fours. She could smell a faint scent of something metallic. The smell was something that was rare to encounter but she could never forget during her time as a young pup.

“Boss, I can smell a dragon.”

“Dragons are powerful creatures. They are said to be intelligent and wise beyond their years,” Syora said as he recalled the information on dragons in his head.

“We should be careful. A fight with a dragon could wipe out an entire party of skilled adventurers.”

“Ideally, we should be able to converse with it and exchange information,” Syaiori said.

“Right, that is the plan for now. Lyumina, can you pickup where the dragon is located?” Syora asked.

Lyumina sniffed the air once again and rushed off in the direction of the dragon. The others followed closely behind Lyumina until she stopped. Standing in front of the group was a massive beast with metallic scales as black as the abyss. It towered over the group and held a menacing gaze with its crimson red eyes. Lyumina continued to remain in a state of combat, her stance like a wolf ready to attack. Ryakaria remained calm as she tried to listen for any signs of the dragon trying to attack first. Alysina simply stood beside Syora and Syaiori, trusting that the two of them had a plan. Syora and Syaiori stepped forward.

“We do not wish to fight you,” Syora said as he stared back into the eyes of the dragon.

Yet, the dragon was not in the mood for conversation. Syora watched as the dragon reeled its head back and opened its mouth. He could see a sphere of fire forming from around its mouth.

“I guess talking is not apart of the equation,” Syora said.

“Do you think we should try something unique?” Syaiori asked as she noticed the sphere growing in size.

“Lyumina, Ryakaria, would you kindly play with the dragon for a minute while my brother and I think of something?”

“No problem, boss.”

“As you wish, commander.”

While both twins devised a plan, Alysina began to play with the small snowflakes that were falling to the ground. Syaiori explained her detailed plan to Syora.

“Do you think that will work?” Syora asked.

“Shall we find out?” Syaiori asked with a sadistic grin.

“Hey you two, we can take it from here,” Syora and Syaiori said in unison.

Lyumina and Ryakaria moved out of the way. With a snap of their fingers, Syora and Syaiori summoned a large mass of black tentacles. The slime oozed from each appendage as it wrapped itself around the large frame of the dragon. Fluids gathered in a pool as the tentacles held the dragon down with a stern force. Fighting with a fire of rage, the dragon trashed around as it struggled to escape the binds of the tentacles.

“So, your plan is to subdue the creature with tentacles? Quite clever, commander.”

“Oh there is more to it than that,” Syora said as he watched the tentacles wrap around the dragon’s snout.

“We get to see if dragons like it,” Syaiori said with a grin.

Everyone watched as the dragon stopped struggling and succumbed to what was about to happen to it. No one could believe what they were seeing. Syaiori had seen an animation that that showcased a dragon being taken to another world and enjoyed the feeling. Her logic was that a tentacle would force the dragon to fall prey to the desires of pleasure. A few moments passed before the dragon turned into the form of a human. She was dressed an overly sexualised outfit that roughly resembled a shrine maiden outfit form their old world.

“She… looks like she is about to lose it, boss.”

“Should I paralyse her with my venom, commander?”

“Do whatever you wish, just do not kill her. She is extremely valuable to us,” Syora and Syaiori said in unison.

“Is dragon lady horny, sy-sy?”

“Biologically, dragons do require stimulation. Since she has been down here for so long, it is likely this has awaken a sexual urge within her body,” Syora said.

Some time passed before the dragon girl found herself laying on the floor of the labyrinth. Her body was exhausted but she was fulfilled. She had tasted the nectar of pleasure and wanted it forever. Once she had calmed down, she stood to her feet and adjusted herself. A small cough escaped her throat as she tried to remain prim and proper.

“I apologise for my lustful behaviour. You see…”

The dragon girl started to blush as she pulled a folding fan and opened it up to try and cover her mouth.

“…that was my first time with having… that inside my—”

“Your rectum, yes, we do not care. Just do as we say and my sister can play with you in our free time,” Syora said.

“Yes… well, I would enjoy that. Anyway, I am Talizyora, queen of the dragons.”

“That is Lyumina, over there is Ryakaria, the slime is Alysina and I am Syora.”

“And Syaiori! I am the one gets to keep you,” Syaiori said with a cheerful smile.

“I see. Well then, lady Syaiori, I am in your hands.”

Syaiori giggled.

“Lady? Fancy title.”

“I apologise if it was too much.”

“No, I like it actually. Lady Syaiori, means I am better than you,” Syaiori giggled as she gently patted Talizyora’s head.

“If we can keep going, I would like to see what is on the 100th floor of this labyrinth,” Syora said in a his usual monotone voice.

The group made their way through the open field area of cold snow and ice before reaching a small stairwell that led downwards. Heading into the abyss of the final floor, everyone in the group found themselves blinded by a bright light. Once their eyes had adjusted, Syora and Syaiori realised where they were. The room resembled a small Japanese style home with clean wood flooring and antique wooden walls. In the centre of the room was the girl they remembered who carried a watch on her.

She was seated on her knees at a small wooden table. The table was small enough to seat four people comfortably. A small cup of warm tea was the only thing on it.

“Well, this is actually a surprise. We thought you would be in your realm watching over the world,” Syora and Syaiori said as they removed their shoes and made their way over to the Watcher.

The others in the party were confused but followed Syora and Syaiori’s lead. Each of them removed their shoes and sat down beside the them.

“Hey boss, who is this person?”

“Depends on what all of you call a deity in this world. While ‘god’ is a common term, it is incredibly inaccurate,” Syaiori said.

“Indeed. She is not a complete omnipresent being or omnipotent but she does observe. So ‘god’ is an inaccurate term. Thus, observer is a correct term,” Syora said.

“Syora and Syaiori are correct. My function is to watch over this world and observe the interactions that transpire. As such, I am not to intervene with the natural laws of the world,” the Watcher said as she took a sip of her tea.

“So, why are you down at the final floor of the labyrinth? We figured there would be a grand reward at the bottom. Please tell us you are not the reward…”

“No, your reward is any request within the parameters of the laws that govern this world.”

“So, asking to be an entity of power like you is out of the question,” Syora said as he tried to think of a request that would benefit both him and his sister.

“That is correct. At best, I could bestow upon you powerful blood that will grant you power beyond primordial progenitors of which you could past down to those you see of value.”

Syora and Syaiori carefully contemplated the offer before them. They ran the calculations before they agreed to the request. The Watcher waved her hand and materialised a dagger on the table. Grabbing the dagger, she slit open her wrist and held it out for Syora and Syaiori to drink. The twins ingested the blood and for a brief moment they did not feel anything.

“I figured something would happen,” Syora said.

“Same. Should we—”

Before Syaiori could finish her sentence a sudden wave of pain surged throughout their body. The two cried out anguish as they fell to the floor, holding onto their chest. They could feel something dying within their body. As to what, they were unsure but it was hardly of worry from the massive intensive pain they were feeling from head to toe.

The others in the twin’s party tried to comfort them and heal them to little avail.

“Do not worry, your body is merely dying and undergoing the process,” the Watcher said as she sipped a bit more of her tea.

After a moment, the pain subsided and the twins found themselves able to stand. Both of them instantly realised the power they had been given.

“So, this was the system function that I read about,” Syora said.

Syora could see an interface that freely floated in front of him. The window was simple in its design and clearly communicated the information. He had seen this in one of the books in the library on basic system functions and the user interface. While he did not have a full picture of everything, this made some of the gaps start to make sense.

All the worlds the Watchers observed were simply simulations that ran on various stats and parameters. Even their old world was nothing more than just a game – a shit game.

“You limited the power so that we can only see the status window of ourself and those around us,” Syora said as he noticed the other status windows.

On the status window they could see various stats for themselves and the others around them. Turning to the Watcher they found the status window was blocked and unable to be seen. Syora and Syaiori looked over the stats shown. The status window displayed the user name, class, race, sex, level, abilities, skills, stats, aliments and rank.

“Just to confirm, do any of you see the window beside you?” Syora asked.

“Apologies, lord Syora, but I do not see this window of which you speak.”

“I see.”

“Let us test something,” Syaiori said as she grabbed the dagger from the table.

Slicing open the palm of her hand, she noticed a change in the status window under the aliments section.

“Brother…”

“Yeah, it is an interesting discovery.”

The status window now showed an icon in the aliments section with the text reading: bleeding. This was in a section marked as a negative condition. Syaiori held out her hand as she looked to Lyumina with a cheerful expresion.

“Lyumina, drink.”

Without hesitation or fear, Lyumina sucked on the wound and ingested the blood like a newborn vampire.

“Tastes like—”

Before Lyumina could finish her sentence, a sudden pain befell her body in the way it did for Syora and Syaiori. After a few minutes it stopped and she realised she could now see the window that she had been unable to see before.

“B-Boss… I can see it! The window,” Lyumina shouted as she tried to reach out and grab the floating user interface.

Lyumina was only distracted for a second before she noticed Syora and Syaiori’s status window. She was unable to keep her mouth close as she looked at numbers and text in front of her.

“Boss… its so big!” Lyumina exclaimed as she wagged her tail like a puppy.

The twins turned to the others and smiled with a sadistic expression on their face.

“All of you are going to be of extraordinary value when you drink our blood.”

Each of them ingested the blood and proceeded to go through the same pain as the twins had. Once all of them had gone through the process, they could see the status window which revealed the various pieces of information on each of them. Some of them noticed skills they did not even knew they had.

“Since the request has been fulfilled, I shall return all of you to the surface,” the Watcher said.

With a wave of her hand, the Watcher summoned a black hole that would teleport all of them out of the dimension and back to the surface of the labyrinth. The twins looked to each of their valuable tools. Their face was serious and it was clear to the others that they would not tolerate any sure of failure to obey what they were going to say.

“Just to communicate this with clarity, none of you are to mention this to anyone. What happened down here stays between us,” the twins said in unison.

“Agreed,” each of them said.

“Second, your blood now carries with it power. Do not gift it freely without rational and logical thinking. Only those of value that you deem of worth are to be given your blood.”

Everyone nodded and followed Syora and Syaiori through the portal. As they entered, the abyss swallowed their vision for a brief moment before a blinding light overtook their eyes. A few seconds passed before they could see they were at the entrance of the labyrinth as the Watcher had promised.

Syora noticed their were only two wolves standing guard at the entrance. He could see their status window and took note of the distance. The wolves were about two or three metres away. While Lyumina handled information between her people, Syora and Syaiori noticed the rest of the wolves just beyond the horizon. They both realised that the status window had a distance limit. As the wolves drew closer, the window popped up beside them.

“We left some of our forces back in the labyrinth, boss.”

“They will be fine. All intelligence monster races are now allies. Thus, everyone will help and aid each other,” Syora said as he watched the sun starting to peak over the horizon.

“What is our goal now, my lord?”

“First, we need to gather a reference point since we lack external bearings of our location and surroundings. From the current map in our head, we should be relatively east of the demonic kingdom,” Syora said as he recalled the map in his head.

“That is correct, my lord. The Abyssal Labyrinth was actually home to a whole district within the city of Asytral. Often called the Abyssal District,” Talizyora said as she opened her fan.

“From what I gathered through my network, a giant meteor destroyed the grand city wiping out all life above ground within a 2,000 kilometre radius,” Ryakaria said as she remembered the mass extinction of her small children and all human life in the city.

The twins recalled everything they had read and all the events that had transpired up until now. At first they were unsure but now they started to confirm the miss puzzle piece in the back of their minds.

“I see. Guess we are standing on what was once the city of Asytral. Regardless, we are heading for the demonic kingdom. Lyumina, what direction is the kingdom in?” Syora asked.

Lyumina’s ears perked up as she hastily sniffed the air to figure out what direction to head in. She knew the smell of demons and figured the smell that had the most demons would be the direction of the demonic kingdom. After picking up a potent smell, she pointed in the direction they were to travel.

“I am almost certain the demonic kingdom is in that direction, boss.”

“All right, so that is east. We head that way and Lyumina…” Syora started to say.

“Hmm? What is it, boss?”

A sense of fear overtook Lyumina’s body as she glared into the eyes of being that would be willing to do unspeakable acts to her body. She was frozen as she listened carefully to the words coming from Syaiori’s cold dead voice.

“You better not be wrong or you shall regret it.”

Even though Syaiori was saying it in a cheerful tone, it was obvious to Lyumina that she had better not screwed up in the slightest. The others took this warning seriously to ensure they did not screw up in their duties. They were apart of grandeur and the being before them did not tolerate failure in the tools they had cultivated to perfection.

“Allow me to get us their faster, my lady.”

Transforming into her dragon form, Talizyora lowered her body to the ground in order for the others to get on. Syora and Syaiori got on as the rest followed suit.

“Everyone, make sure everyone gets out of that labyrinth and journey in our direction,” Lyumina said as the other wolves howled.

Getting a birds eye view of the landscape below them was excellent information for Syora and Syaiori. They took in the view of the sun raising above the horizon. A new dawn was upon them.

#

The morning hour was calm, tranquil and had a sense of peace about it. A carriage of humble design travelled along the main road that hugged the forest along a cliff side. Inside the carriage a man was busy looking over various papers while a woman held her child in her arms. Beside them was an elven maid of only half relation – born of a human father and elven mother.

Watching the child hold out their small hand, the maid smiled as she waved to the infant. She had helped to deliver the child and seemed to form a connection with the baby named Soyphetia Verlameiques. Yet, there was something the maid could not foresee.

Soyphetia Verlameiques had a life before being reincarnated into this new world. She recalled a small fragment of her old life as a student and how she would help a young girl with various science experiments that were beyond her thinking. It was a struggle for her to recall many things. Her name old name had escaped her much like her past life. As she continued to feel the slight bumps of the road, a massive pain to her brain and a slight tingle on her skin.

The sun was starting to peak over the horizon as Soyphetia tried to shield her eyes from the damaging sun. As the pain continued, she began to cry in hopes of getting someone’s attention.

“Don’t worry, my sweet girl. I know you hate the light,” Soyphetia’s mother said as she smiled and closed the curtains.

In a few seconds Soyphetia could feel her headache subsiding.

“There, now the sun is gone.”

The carriage continued on as Soyphetia tried to drift off to sleep. A moment of blissful tranquillity was interrupted at the sudden stop. Sounds of men shouting echoed out from beyond the carriage as Soyphetia struggled to hear what was going on. She was confused but could tell from her parent’s expressions that something bad was happening. Screams of soldiers dying made Soyphetia start to panic.

After a few minutes, silence filled the air as Soyphetia worried about what was happening outside. She could hear the sounds of someone outside. The sudden opening of a the carriage door startled her as she looked at the person standing in the doorway. A young woman dressed in leather armour and a longsword on her hip was someone not of their parent’s entente. Her face showed that she was their to harm them. Soyphetia wanted to run but being an infant, she was at the mercy of those who were older.

“Greetings lord and lady Verlameiques, I have come to—”

Soyphetia was unable to process the sight she had witnessed. The head of the bandit leader had been sliced clean off. She watched as she blood gushed out like a fountain overflowing with water. Yet, she had no time to be sick from the sight as her eyes could see figures on the small cliff side above that led into the forest. They were various sorts of eyes that lit up a deep crimson red in the shadows. Part of her was wondering if she was just seeing things. A single moment to blink was all it took before the figures were gone.

It was clear her parents were processing what they had just seen and were in a state of shock. Soyphetia noticed that their maid was composed and appeared as if she had been trained to handle situations like this before. She looked over to the lord and lady, her expression serious but calm.

“Please stay here while I check it out,” the maid said as she pulled out a dagger from under her skirt.

“Please be careful, Femiealyus,” lady Verlameiques said with fear in her voice.

Femiealyus nodded and exited the carriage. She noticed vast amount of dead bodies that were scattered throughout the area. All the bandits had been killed in various gruesome ways. While Femiealyus had seen her share of death, this was another level of horror she was not ready for. Yet, she remained her composure as she noticed the adventurers they had hired were also dead. The only one alive was the carriage driver who was still in shock.

“Did you see what happened?” Femiealyus asked.

“All… All of them just… died without a sound. S-Some of them… they—”

It was clear to Femiealyus that the driver was of no help. She looked up to the small cliff side and tried to look deep into the shadows of the trees. While it was only a brief moment, she had felt a presence from there that chilled her body to the core. What or who the entity was terrified her but at the same time, if the entity had saved them, was it on their side?

Once everyone was composed from the frighting situation, they returned to the Verlameiques manor in the small town named after the Verlameiques family. The town was small but had a kind community of people that helped each other whenever possible. Pulling up to the manor, the lord and lady exited as they retired to the study to calm their nerves. The lord looked out of the window of his study as he took in the sight of his town.

“Sir, if you will allow it, I can look into events that transpired.”

“See to it. Anything of value no matter how small,” the lord said as he sat down in his chair.

“Today was a tragedy but I am glad our daughter is safe,” lady Verlameiques said as she put Soyphetia down in her crib.

“Yes, I’m worried those bandits were sent by that group.”

“Clearly five guards were not enough to protect us. It was foolish of us to think the cult would not give up.”

Soyphetia could see the worry on her mother’s face as she made her way over to the couch to rest.

“Honestly, I am more worried about what killed those bandits. I didn’t see anything but something in my body could feel a dark presence emanating from the woods,” the lord said as he leaned back in his chair.

The room was silent as all of them took a moment to process the situation and try to relax for a brief second. Soyphetia decided to close her eyes and rest while she could. Whatever forces were at play, it was likely they would not stop. Her brain slowly drifted off to sleep and allowed her the much needed rest that she needed.

Days passed as the lord of the town continued with his ever crippling duties. He was always in fear of the cult and that one day they would just assassinate him, his wife and child in their own home. They had a vast amount of power and control even if they were small in comparison to the elven nation. With a sigh, he took a moment to stop working and think about everything. A sudden knock at the door drew his attention.

“Enter.”

Femiealyus bowed and made her way over to the lord’s desk. Placing a large stack of papers on his desk, the maid began to speak about what she had uncovered.

“Sir, there is a slight increase in monster activity throughout the land. Wolves, spiders, slimes and even dragons have been spotted over vast distances in the mountains.”

The lord looked over the reports at a glance and took note of how small the numbers were.

“It is small but this doesn’t just happen out of nowhere. Is this the cult’s doing?”

“Sir, this is just my theory but I believe there is something else at play here. I have no evidence to prove as it is merely conjecture so take it as you will.”

“All I wanted was for that child to have a normal life,” the lord said as he stood to his feet.

“As do I. Also sir, this letter was found on the front step of the manor.”

Femiealyus handed the lord a small envelope that was sealed with red candle wax. There was no insignia or other form of markings. Not even any form of handwriting. Upon opening the envelope the lord could feel his stomach sink. Inside was some black sand. The fear in his eyes told the story.

“The cult’s calling card,” Femiealyus said as she started to regret handing the envelope over to the lord.

The lord’s brain began to race with ideas on what the best course of action was. Yet, he was unable to come up with anything logically sound. With a sigh, he turned to Femiealyus. There was only one plan and it was a gamble as to if it would even work.

“Femiealyus, I need you take Soyphetia far away from this kingdom. You are the only one I can trust this task to, Fem.”

“Please do not worry, lord Verlameiques. I will ensure the child is safe even at the expensive of my life if needed.”

“Thank you, Fem. I appreciate it.”

The next day, Femiealyus acquired transportation and aided in the acquisition of a skilled driver. Lady Verlameiques held her child close and kissed her forehead. She did not wish to part with her daughter but she knew this was the only way to keep her safe from the cult. No words were exchanged as she handed over the sleeping infant. All of them wanted to protect this child and were prepared for anything that would follow.

Femiealyus stepped up into the carriage and noticed Soyphetia starting to open her eyes. She smiled as she allowed Soyphetia to see the smile on her parents face one final time. In truth, Soyphetia already knew she would no longer see her parents and what the plan was. Even though she hated the idea, she had no say due to her body.

During the daylight hours the ride was calm and quiet. Femiealyus kept the curtains drawn to block out any sunlight. She had grown up to understand Soyphetia and how she was. The girl was curious and showed a deep interest in the world around her. Yet, everything changed when nightfall began. There was little visibility and the heavy rain did not help. A sudden chill ran throughout Soyphetia’s body as she sensed something in the woods.

The carriage had barely made it out the Verlameiques territory before Femiealyus started to shake. She tried to remain calm but in an instant her heart rate sky rocketed at the sound of the driver dying. In a flash, the carriage crashed into the woods throwing Femiealyus around the interior. Holding onto Soyphetia tightly, she refused to let go.

Once the carriage had stopped, Femiealyus quickly opened the door and rushed out of the carriage as fast as possible. She needed to get away as fast as possible. Rushing into the woods, she moved as fast as her body would allow. Her brain was on high alert to the point that she was starting to trip herself up over small tree roots and various vines. As she continued, she found her foot entangled in a vine for a brief moment. There was no time for her to stop as she pulled until her shoe flew off. There was no time for her to care for any of that, she needed to get Soyphetia somewhere safe.

A sharp stabbing pain shot through her body without warning. It took a second to process what had happened but she quickly found herself on the ground with an arrow sticking in her left knee. Gritting her teeth through the pain, she tried to stand and continue her run in hopes of losing her pursuers. She was unable to see much in the darkness. Unlike a full elf’s eyes, her half-elf ancestry did little to help her see in the dark.

Another arrow whizzed by her head, nearly taking her head off to the point that she fell to the ground. Femiealyus struggled to get to her feet as she fought through the pain. She continued to hold Soyphetia close as she tried to stand.

Soyphetia was scared but she also wanted to help. Yet, she was unsure about what she could do. She could feel the presence of a large group of people around her. What they were facing had them surrounded. Watching one of the direction where the presence was strongest, she could see twelve figures stepping out from the shadows. All of them were of elven descent with blood red eyes.

Using the few weapons she had, Femiealyus threw her dagger at one of the elves only to have it deflected without much care. She hastily followed this up with the last of the needles hidden under her skirt. These too failed to land a hit. There was little more Femiealyus could do as she struggled to stand. As the elves approached, standing only mere inches from her, she noticed one of the elves had fell to ground. The others had noticed as well and were confused for a moment about what had happened.

In an instant, a silver silk web shot out from the shadows and ensnared one of the elves before dragging him off into the shadows. A loud scream echoed in the distance signalling the end of his existence. Another elf fell to the ground while another was dragged off by a slime-like appendage. The screams were soon silent. Howling wolves echoed throughout as the elves continued to drop like flies. They were unable to attack the figures and were too slow to react.

Three of the elves remained alive as Soyphetia still felt uneasy from the power that emanating from the shadows. She could feel Femiealyus shaking as she watched the figure emerge from the shadows. A young girl appeared cheerful and almost non-threatening to the point that she was surprised the girl could kill so many people. But she could not make any mistake, this girl was powerful. Two others appeared beside the girl that also emitted the same deadly aura. One held a fan in their hand while the other kept their eyes closed.

“Greetings, we would like to ask you to kindly refrain from killing those two,” one of the girls said as she opened a fan and covered it over her mouth.

For a moment the elves were stunned before one decided to be brave and rush forward. The girl with a fan slapped the man with a force that rendered his head from his shoulders. His body fell to the ground as his head flew off into the woods. Soyphetia and Femiealyus were in a state of shock at the amount of force the girl had with just a slap of her fan.

“Please tell us you two are not stupid enough to attack—”

Before the girl with her eyes closed could finish her sentence, one of the elves tried to attack her. Grabbing the elf’s wrist the girl opened her eyes as she stared into his. Digging her long nails into the man’s skin, forced the man to scream out as he felt his body succumbing to a toxin that liquefied his organs and destroyed his blood. Within seconds the man died before the girl closed her eyes and dropped him to the ground.

The short girl smiled and made her way over to the final elf that stood in fear like a deer caught in headlights.

“Excuse us if you please,” the girl said as she pushed the elf aside with a force that made him fly into the shadows.

“Now then, let us chat for a bit,” the girl said with a somewhat masculine voice.

“Who are you people?” Femiealyus asked.

“What exactly do you mean by: you people?”

“All of you are clearly not human. That strength you possess is beyond human, elf and even demon.”

“Ah. We suppose you could say none of us are what we seem,” the girl said as she looked up to the night sky.

“And what is it you plan to do with us?”

“Make use of the value of that the child there and you possess.”