Dale Rodarte was jolted awake by a tugging on his arm.
"Papa, momma says you have to get up for work."
Dale turned to look at the little girl — no older than seven — beside him. He couldn't help but smile warmly at his daughter.
"I know, little goose. Daddy's getting up now. Tell mommy I'll be there in a second," Dale said, lifting himself upward.
"Kay!" The blonde-headed girl said before speeding out of the room.
Dale was a man of thirty-nine years of age. He was of normal stature with a worn face and short brown hair. He was clean shaven and tan with sky blue eyes. Despite his age, he was healthy if not a bit skinny.
Dale's original occupation was that of a potato farmer, but rising taxes on his produce made feeding his family a daunting task; The amount of income he pocketed was simply too little. Thus, he left the life behind a hoe for the life behind a sword, enlisting with the city guard.
Dale was an average soldier, but was respected by his comrades as a man willing to do anything for his family. His older age made the younger guards look up to him even more so like an uncle.
Dale got dressed into his red guard uniform, sheathed his standard-issue army sword and dagger, and left his room to bid farewell to his family.
"Be safe, honey," a weathered blonde woman said from behind a small wooden table. She was thin and pale with brown eyes. Her hair was done up in a bun, held together with a pin.
"Yeah, be safe papa!" Dale's daughter said, rushing up to his leg.
"Don't worry little goose, I'll be back soon to celebrate your birthday. Who knows, maybe I'll even get you something while I'm gone," Dale said.
The girl's big blue eyes lit up and she hugged his leg tighter.
"Yay! I love you, papa!"
Dale's wife could only sigh. She knew their financial situation wasn't good; They simply couldn't afford luxuries like presents. However, she was unwilling to douse her daughter's excitement. She simply smiled at her husband's fawning over their only child.
Dale said goodbye again before leaving towards the city guard building.
After a half hour walk, Dale arrived before a large red brick building. He quickly entered and reached the task board to find his assignment for the day. Guards were standing near the large board on the wall looking for their assignments while others chatted in groups.
"Guard duty, naturally. Hmm, Bone Marrow Cave? Isn't that the training ground for new recruits?" Dale asked himself, reading his assignment, "I think I still know the way there."
Having said that, Dale exited the guard building to begin his duty.
About an hour later, Dale arrived in a forest of tall oak trees, their green leaves tranquilly drifting to the grassy ground below. He followed a wide dirt path for a few minutes until he crossed paths with another man in a guard uniform.
"You the guy taking my place?" The tall stocky man asked, raising his hand forward.
"Yes. Bone Marrow Cave, right?" Dale replied, shaking the man's hand.
"Yep, that's it. Well, good luck, not that anything's gonna happen anyway."
"What do you mean? Doesn't that place have a bunch of beasts inside. I remember fighting some last time I was there for training."
"Yeah, but that's if you're actually inside. The city mages put up a door not too long ago that's kept them trapped, so you're under no actual threat. You're just there to make sure no idiot comes around and opens it."
"What if the beasts inside open it?" Dale asked with some hesitation.
"Haha! You think one of those beasts is going to magically transform into a human and be smart enough to input mana into the thing?"
Hearing the man's verbal jab, Dale realized how dumb he sounded.
"Nothing beats magic, huh?" Dale asked.
"You said it. Whatever makes our job easier, really," The guard replied.
Before the magic door in Bone Marrow Cave had been constructed, teams of guards were required to constantly monitor and protect the entrance. They had to keep both the beasts in as well as any ignorant civilians out. Now only a single guard was needed to watch over the door, preventing any delinquents from tampering with it.
The magic door was a construct that only humans could interact with and required mana as the key to unlock it. It was most commonly used to imprison unintelligent beings such as beasts in confined areas like caves and dungeons.
Dale bid farewell to his fellow guard before continuing down the dirt path.
After a short while, Dale neared a large rocky hill with a deep gash in its side. The hole was nearly ten meters wide and gently sloped downward.
Walking into the cavity and through a few meters of cave, Dale found a massive stone door two meters wide and four meters tall. This was the objective of his guard duty.
Dale approached the door and turned around, watching the cave entrance. He had a long day of standing ahead of him.
After the door opened, Zulu and Dale locked eyes for a few seconds, equally astonished.
Dale seemed to regain his senses and quickly averted his eyes, raising his hand in front of his face.
"My apologies, madam. Um- uh- here, please, take this."
After saying so nervously, Dale hastily took off his guard coat and tossed it to Zulu.
Zulu caught the red coat and looked at it with confusion.
'I don't understand what he's saying, but has he mistaken me for a woman? Do I look that feminine?' Zulu thought, 'Whatever, I'll just go with it for now. Luckily, it doesn't seem like he's noticed the lack of anything between my legs.'
Zulu used the coat to wrap up his human body. Fortunately for Zulu, he was shorter than the middle-aged man, so it reached past his groin with ease.
Once Dale saw that Zulu had covered himself up, his expression eased up, and he lowered his hand from his eyes.
"Excuse me, miss. What were you doing inside the cave?" Dale asked, having remembered his job as a guardsmen, "No civilians are allowed inside."
Zulu instantly realized the predicament he was in.
'How should I handle this situation? Should I just kill him? Do humans give Essence?'
Zulu casually thought that, surprising even himself.
'Am I truly becoming a magical creature, even mentally? The idea of eating this man doesn't seem too unappealing. For now, though, I should play it safe and not charge him recklessly. I don't know how strong I am in comparison to the humans of this world after all.'
"Uh, madam?" Dale asked, concerned.
Only at those words did Zulu realize he had been eerily staring at the man in silence, and he quickly gestured to his mouth and formed an 'x' with his fingers, trying to indicate that he was a mute.
'I have no clue what language this dude is speaking, so I can only pretend to be a mute for now.'
Dale seemed to understand what Zulu was implying and he quickly responded, "Oh! I understand. My apologies, I was unaware. However, I am still going to have to escort you off the premises and to my superiors. Please, come with me."
After saying that, Dale gestured for Zulu to follow before turning to leave.
'Where does he want to take me?'
As Zulu thought that, something on the man's waist caught his eye; It was an eight-inch dagger hanging loosely from his belt.
After Zulu walked through the stone door, it automatically began to close behind him, sealing away the cave once again.
Dale continued to speak, "So what were you doing in there anyway with all those rats? And you're naked as well… I mean, I'm not judging. Everyone's got their quarks, I suppose…haha."
Dale could only lightly laugh at that idea, secretly praying inwardly that his daughter did not grow up to become such a nasty degenerate.
Then Dale remembered something, "Right, you can't speak. Sorry."
Zulu began to sniff at the scent trail behind the man. His sensitive fox nose was retained even in his human form.
'He smells… tasty,' Zulu thought.
Zulu then began to contemplate his situation.
'He wants to lead me somewhere, but where? He seems to be some sort of guard or soldier, and by his tone earlier, it seems that I'm not supposed to be here. Was the cave off-limits? Is he taking me to be imprisoned? Well, I have no way of truly knowing because I can't understand the guy, but I know I can't risk it. My [Corporeal Illusion] spell will run out in under an hour, and I don't want to be surrounded by armed soldiers when it happens. Which means I'm left with no other choice.'
Zulu used his [Creep] skill to silently approach the man from behind.
Dale seemed to want to talk again before he felt something tug at his waist. He understood what was happening only when his steel dagger was thrust deep into his lower back, severing his spinal cord. He instantly lost all feeling in his torso and legs and tumbled to the ground.
Zulu had also yanked the man's sword away, throwing it away behind him. He didn't want to give the man any weapon in which to retaliate with.
Dale's eyes were filled with shock when he understood the situation he found himself in. He could only stare at the young girl with wide eyes. He never expected to be stabbed in the back by such an innocent looking person. Truth be told, the girl kind of reminded him of his daughter.
Dale quickly opened his mouth to speak, "Why? W-Why have you stabbed me? I haven't done anything to you!"
"Sorry friend, but I have no clue what the fuck it is you're saying. You wouldn't happen to speak English, would you?" Zulu asked with a wide grin, "Damn, I really do sound like a woman."
Dale's face paled when he understood that he'd been tricked. The girl before him wasn't a mute, but simply spoke in another language.
'Is she a spy from another country?' Dale thought, 'But why so young?'
Dale couldn't feel any pain in the area due to the severed nerves, but he understood that he was losing a lot of blood and would likely die soon. If the wound didn't kill him, the evil looking girl in front of him would. The smile the girl was wearing was the single-most terrifying thing he'd ever witnessed.
Then Dale noticed Zulu's vertically-slit eyes. He only realized now as Zulu's features had been masked by the darkness of the inner cave, but now were clearly revealed under the sun's light.
'Those eyes? Is she really a monster?' Dale thought.
"P-Please. Please don't kill me. I have a family; A beautiful daughter who looks a lot like you! You don't have to do this! I will never tell anyone you were in the cave, I-I swear on my life!" Dale said, a tinge of desperation in his voice.
Zulu couldn't understand what the man was saying, but he could recognize that he was pleading for his life. He knelt in front of the man and held him by the hair with his empty hand.
Dale saw the wicked girl come close, and his countenance showed only terror. He was fearful for his life, yes; However, what filled his mind were not the scenes of his demise, but the joyful memories spent with his baby girl. He didn't want to leave her alone without a father.
Zulu tightened his grip on the blade and thought to himself, 'In all my time back on Earth, I never once had a meaningful relationship. To everyone around me, I was only another person; A nameless passerby. The only people I knew treated me as either a slave or pest. How am I supposed to connect with the human race like that? I'm no longer human. I'm not sure I ever was. I won't sympathize with you; I can't sympathize with you. You and every other human mean nothing to me.'
The dagger slid into Dale's throat as a deep crimson began to flow from his mouth like a fountain. He could only gurgle on his own blood incoherently for a short while before growing still.
The light in his sky-blue eyes slowly dimmed as he thought to himself.
'Oh, that's right. It's my little goose's birthday today. I wonder what it was I was going to get her…'
And then they went dull.