People are the Worst

"Killing?!" I used my body to bar Bixey from leaving the cave. "What do you mean, kill? Aren't they just some angry farmers?"

Bixey shrugged. "Then they should be tilling their fields rather than chasing me through the wilds. They made their choices."

"That's…" I wanted to argue the extreme jump in her logic, but how could I? If we let them go, would they just come after her again? Should we be the bigger people?

Be the bigger person. A painful chord strummed within me and my mouth turned sour. How many times in my life had I been the bigger person? Looked away when my coworkers stole my work, when they forced me to take the blame for their mistakes? I'd always tried to be the bigger person, to brush it off, convincing myself that it was just how the world worked. But what about now?

"We don't have time to argue. They've already surrounded the entrance and are waiting to ambush us."

"But do you have to kill them?"

"I guess not," Bixey sighed. She squeezed my shoulder reassuringly. "Since you asked nicely, I'll try to go easy on them. So just wait here until I'm done. Keep the Dusk with you, too."

With my moral compass satisfied, I stepped aside and let Bixey pass. Yahime watched as she left and for a moment I swore I saw her eyes flicker. It was barely noticeable and I had no way of knowing what it meant. The "feelings" our pact let us share felt like vague concepts of actual feelings making it impossible to understand any intentions the Dusk might have.

"Just be ready to help her," I said. I picked up my branch staff and gripped it tightly. "She's a really nice girl."

One minute turned to five and then to fifteen. At first I'd heard yelling and what I could only guess was the sound of Bixey cackling as she bullied the humans, but for the last few minutes it had been completely silent.

She should be back by now, shouldn't she? She made them seem like more of a nuisance than a threat, so she should be fine, right?

A wave of uneasiness crawled over my skin giving me painful goosebumps. At the very least I could check on her. I could deal with her berating me for interfering once I was sure she was safe.

***

Outside of the cave was chaos. At least a dozen men lay scattered and unconscious across the ground. It looked as if she'd defeated them with ease, but what bothered me were the weapons littered around. The swords and spears they'd brought seemed too well crafted for rural villagers and farmers. Were they adventurers?

A pillar of blue fire tore through the sky in the center of the forest. My heart froze as I began to run, beating in overdrive once I was at full speed. Yahime followed lazily beside me, looking like she was taking an afternoon stroll. It irked me, but I was thankful to have her backing me up.

"Bixey!" I called once I arrived at a clearing of smoldering trees and scorched earth. Despite being in frosty mountains, the air felt like it was a humid summer day. There was no sign of Bixey or whatever opponents had forced her to incinerate the clearing.

"Can you find her, Yahime?"

The Dusk's head swiveled at my request and a moment later she began walking west towards the glowing sunset.

"Don't just walk!" I snapped, running past Yahime and prompting her to increase her pace. "We need to make sure she's safe."

Of course she wasn't. It didn't take me long to recognize the area we were in. We were back at the stony area near the cliff Yahime had killed the Seele at. And trapped in several glowing nets surrounded by armed men in leather armor was Bixey.

"Once I get out of this, you're all dead, ya hear me?!" The scent of searing flesh flooded my nostrils whenever the metal webbing touched her bare skin, and every flame she tried to summon snuffed out like a suffocated candle.

Who are these people? They're definitely not villagers. Who exactly did Bixey piss off?

"Shut yer trap ya filthy demon!" A scrawny man in the most expensive armor said. He pressed his boot against Bixey's head and shoved her into the ground. "Imperials pay good money for rares like you and unless you wanna get run by the boys, you'll keep yer tongue to yourself."

My knuckles whitened around my staff and I grit my teeth. All I could see when I looked at the man was my manager; scrawny and gaunt with an ego compensating for his lack of manhood.

"Get your foot off of her!" I yelled without thinking. The eighteen other men surrounding Bixey turned and stared at me, completely stunned by my audacity.

"And who the hell are you?" their leader asked. He shoved Bixey one final time with his foot before facing me. "You got the same fancy clothes as the demon but you're human, ain't ya? Isn't that why you got your own demon there?"

"I am human," I said. Several of the armed men began to encompass me and any confidence or adrenaline I'd had within me evaporated. Even the smallest would have been twice my adult size. What chance did I have in a starved teenage body? I would have to rely on Yahime again.

"I'll say it again. Get away from Bixey or you'll regret it."

Raucous laughter answered. Why wouldn't it?

"Yahime," I whispered under my breath. "I'm going to free Bixey. You deal with these guys, but be sure not to kill them."

Her eyes glowed in response and I could feel a bubbly sensation welling up within me. Was she excited?

It didn't matter. Thanks to our pact, I didn't need to signal Yahime to initiate our plan and before my first step hit the ground, the air was already ringing with a cry of agony. The closest man to us had been Yahime's first target and I regretted not clarifying my instructions.

To her credit, they would live. He would never walk or use his hands again, but he would live. That didn't stop what little bear I'd eaten from threatening to come up at the sight of the man's shins protruding from his knees.

When I reached Bixey, the smug smile that had been on the leader's face had vanished, replaced with a grim flat faced expression as he watched his men get decimated. It was only a matter of time until it was his turn and he knew it.

"Not another damn step," he threatened. He pointed his sword at Bixey and let the tip rest against her neck.

"Kill this idiot!" Bixey spit. "They're slavers hunting Exiled! They don't deserve mercy!"

Slavers? I hadn't realized slavery existed in Royal Hearts. There had never been any mention of it. All of the revelations about the world were putting a damper on my love for the game. Not only was I in the villainess's body, but I also had to see first hand how corrupt the world really was. What happened to my cutesy otome game?!

"Just let her go," I reiterated. I readied my staff at my side, pointing the end at him. "Don't make me hurt you."

"Hurt me?" The man threw his head back and laughed. "With a stick?"

Sharpened steel rushed me and I barely managed to deflect it with my staff. The man was fast —faster than anyone on Earth could be— and I found myself on the defensive.

"DO!" My cry rattled my bones as I struck at the man's torso and I followed through with a head strike after he blocked. "MEN!" The strike struck his skull, snapping the end of my staff. Accomplishing nothing.

"What was that?" the man laughed. He grabbed the end of my staff and yanked it, pulling me, stumbling, forward. I kicked at his groin when he tried to grab me, but he sidestepped with ease before clamping his hand around my throat.

"Ya know, if you didn't look like such a mangy mutt, you'd actually be quite the looker. So unless you want me to rip out your teeth along with the rest of your patchy ass hair, I'd start showing some respect. Let's start by calling off that monster of yours."

"Piss… Off…"

An organ crushing blow hit my stomach, knocking the wind out of me. The word spun around me and the world threatened to fade. I couldn't swallow, breathe, think. Even as I dug my nails into the man's arm, kicking and spitting, he just grinned a yellow toothed grin. All the while Bixey yelled and struggled at his feet.

What's taking Yahime so long?

Blood sprayed onto my face and I collapsed to the ground, coughing and gasping for air. My vision blurred and I could feel my eyes rolling backwards as I hit my head bounced off the ground. It was fine, though. As long as I had Yahime, I'd be fine.

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