It just had to turn out as I feared. "Sons of bitches... why run after me this fast? Bet the audience hasn't yet been brought under control completely."
My nonchalant question was met with a couple of angry stares so venomous I had to give it to the princess. She sure knew how to choose the right vermin.
"Her Highness Princess Dorothea...," I finally learned of her name, if that wasn't an accomplishment...
If given the choice I could've done without this... honour... shall we call it so? Just bad there was no safe direction I could turn towards.
And let's be real... I was as tired as I could get. There was but one other shot at survival I got. Which required me to play along.
"...in her endless grace...," Still, the buddies were here. Which either meant the smitten man lied or they were just this brainwashed.
The youth in my arms repeatedly traced her tiny fingertips over the chiselled muscles of my lower arm. Her care was so ticklish I could hardly keep a straight face.
"...gave you lowlife a way out. Yet... You. Dare...?" I dare what? I was still listening intently while trying to recuperate as much stamina as possible while sandwiched between three jumping jacks and their conductor.
Well... my sudden bout of screeching laughter literally tearing my dry throat asunder because of her finding just the right spot must've given them some funny ideas.
Their confused faces distorted under the glorious impact of an epiphany before shit officially hit the fan.
"...[Motherless Swordcypher III]!" The short sword in the leader's hands shot at me from every angle imaginable.
My laughter increased just as much as did the danger levels I found myself in. "Motherless... a sword can be motherless... just which clown...?"
Said my piece, I duly noted the change in atmosphere. I somehow ended up stepping on a landmine while evading most slashes.
As to why that was so, the Great Consciousness informed me rather smugly. "...a name this princess came up with?
But why? I mean... fatherless would've made more sense. Losing balls or even a dick while exposed to such far-reaching love is very real.
But motherless...? Oh? Does the focus lie on—" "[Lion Piercer II]; oh ye loyal knight reduced to a bloody corpse in thy line of duty...,"
I vacated the place as he chanted. Bursting through the brittle wall of a nearby shack into a living room of some sort I only hoped there was enough distance between us.
Crowded with a dozen people so that hardly any place remained unoccupied, my energetic entrance was met with a book's worth of swear words.
"...[Enemity Severance III]!" Yet such wasn't the case for long. Blood dyed the dirty ground a muddy red.
"Holy... moly." I was rather stupified what timely following my instincts had protected me from. Just behind my back and a frigging inch away from my precious tail a thick cut appeared.
Crumble! Crrr....uu....rrrgh... If I had been any slower, I might not have ended up the same but the youth.... That was another story entirely.
One that made me shudder as I hurriedly crawled on all fours away from that collapsing piece of an architectural nightmare.
This wasn't easy with all that luggage I had. "You... what are you?" In passing, I noted another knight also on crawling duty.
"What I...? Oopsssss." The rags I wore no longer existed and my splendour was plain to see for all graced with functional eyes.
"Daemon! A daemon has won the competition!!!" "And that was what you are so furious about? Nothing else...?"
Once again, I couldn't hope to understand mortals. But that wasn't my goal today. When the rubble allowed me to get on two feet once again, I gave it my all and hobbled away from here.
"[Lesser Itchy Sweep II]!" "[Paralysing Streak], [Hoppy Stick I]..." Just what was up with those names? Had an entire generation of geniuses collectively gone bonkers or what?
I had no answer on the ready. Anyway, while I was embarking towards safety, the four humans pitched in.
"Arms doing the talking... can't have that. Hey. Listen, you lot." "Grunt!" "Yes, grunt, rofl, hurr hurr. I'm talking with pigs but what can poor me do?"
"Dieeeee! [Lesser Toxic Slash I]," a rather pitiful sword beam went over my head, dispersing in the cool evening sky.
"I'm no native, entirely uninvolved in politics, too, I swear. I'm a simple warrior that won his gold fare and square. So... you have no reason to lust for my life whereas I have none interfering with your business.
Truce... whaddaya say?" "[Dick Slicer III]![Homonguous..." "Oh fine." Nobody lent a listening ear to my matters.
It was as if wrongly unmasking me as a daemon was continuously depriving the four of their grey cells. A curse, so to speak.
Another random swipe went for my head, digging deep into my scales instead. "Ouch... my poor tail."
The only limb I could spare was my tail, as the feet were occupied with running, the head with ramming my way to liberty and my hands lugging around both the youth and my prize money.
That precious limb was also responsible for forcing them to keep their distance. In other words, I was fully decked out with work.
Unbeknownst to the four knights, we were swiftly approaching a certain unsuccessful run place. Like shit-eating flies on a cow's back, they never strayed far.
Moments before the knights managed to successfully close in on me, we were already there. "Oiiiii...,"
I screamed at the top of my lungs, "...in accordance to the immemorial covenant, I demand you exercise due duty."
Breaking down the door to his establishment, I was sure to begin with my revenge on Spice right on time.
The four followed suit soon, ready to butcher whoever resided in this hole full of *daemon-loving* insects.
Yet sadly, they hadn't quite gotten the definitions right. "Bastard Thoth." A single grumble made them all come to a mysterious though immediate halt.
"Why bring the shitty covenant up?! The war's over and done with!" "Don't sweat the details, an oath is an oath."
An iron mug landed on my head by the time I closed my mouth. "Just wait until the day I'm done with you." I grumble menacingly, planting my ass on a nearby stool.
"What was tha—Bloody hell!" "What?" "Your precious is dying." "...come again." "As I said, your furry bundle of shrieks is bleeding lifeforce."
The stool flew backwards, crashing into the four still knights, statues of dust dispersing upon impact. "I-impossible...!"
My mutter got stuck in my throat. Spice had that no-nonsense gleam in his mana-radiating eyes that I recognised immediately. "Noooo... Shit!" My gaze fell onto the youth...