It was over. At least for now. Keyaruga stood near the sleeping Setsuna, all sweaty and sticky, while the girl peacefully slept on her left side. Even if it was her first time, the she-wolf, with legs of fur and a silver tail, proved herself more than useful in the bedsheets. But now the healer was concerned with something else...
Knock-knock. The man gave a signal to Freia, and the sorceress, with a little delay, moved from the door. And when she did, the barefooted hero in a shirt and trousers finally left the room.
"Can I sit here with you?" Keyaruga asked with a bit of concern in his voice.
"Yes. You… can do whatever you want." This time the ex-princess didn't cry, but her tone left no doubt — his time with Setsuna did make her sad.
"So… I understand that it can be hard for you." She nervously chuckled in response. "So let me tell you the truth. I'm a hero. You've seen my brand. And I can raise others' level caps through, well, sex."
"Does that mean… all this time you just slept with me… so that I could kill better for you?" Now the situation could get out of hand. Keyaruga tried to sit closer, but the girl distanced herself even further.
"Freia… I care for you…" Much more than I should've...
"Like you care for Setsuna? Then tell me... What is this brand? Why can I cast all of the elements? What even am I?" — The caster volleyed a bunch of questions. And each could be answered with just a single line.
"You're a hero, Freia. A Hero of Magic. That is why I have no need to raise your level cap. You don't have one."
"I knew it! Damn, I knew it! So... Can... Can I be Flare? Because I'd only heard of one Hero of Magic! What are you hiding from me, my... lord?"
"No, Flare is dead. We killed that bitch together."
"Then… Why do they seek that Leonard? And why do I have her powers? Why do I keep having strange dreams in which you..." In which I what? Tortured? Beaten? Raped you? This was all your fault! But... Oh, curses. Why should I even bother?
"Truth then. When a hero dies, you can harvest their power if you know where to look. After I set up that fucking knight, we went to the woods, seeking a point of singularity. It seems like you've also got her soul. You lost consciousness and woke up only in that room with no memories left. Now, what is your decision? If you leave me, then my quest may as well be over." — Keyaruga painfully revealed what he knew from Bullet's head. That bastard wasn't "born" a hero. He took over the status by himself. And Freia… didn't seem convinced. Yet, she would no longer stray from her master.
"I promised I would never leave you, my lord. Nothing… will change it." She said, enjoying Keyaruga's warmth. Even if his body smelled of Setsuna. "How much would it take to make her stronger?"
"No matter how much it takes, we only have three days before the raid. Then, it's only up to us whether her tribe falls or not. I'm sorry if I can't devote enough time to you in the meantime." The Hero of Healing said, kissing his toy on the top of the head.
"I know." — The girl replied with a smile. "I know you're kind. You won't leave any of us."
"Kind…" That word felt so alien, so unnatural. And yet, so nice. Despite… "You'd better not see me when I'm angry. Now then, let's go inside and eat. Can't have all that food go to waste."
"I'm sorry, but it must be cold by now..."
"It's fine, Freia. We can warm it up again."
And so they would. The duo of heroes came to terms. The caster still felt that she was being held for a fool, but would not reveal it. Just like the healer wouldn't tell her about the princess' sins against him. And there was another. Someone who unnoticeably listened to them, someone eager to sell the valuable information...
…
On the third day, Keyaruga, Setsuna, and Freia stood at Ranalitta's west gates, looking at their new glorious steed. A raptor. A rideable reptile, much faster and more resilient than any horse. It cost them a hundred coins, which normally would have been a ridiculous deal, but that was the only offer here.
"Freia, Setsuna. It's time for us to set off." — The healer said, gazing ahead with his jade eye. Surprisingly, it showed him nothing. They missed the departure... by having group sex in the morning. It wasn't just for fun, no. After all, Keyaruga could raise the she-wolf's level only once every four hours. It was empirically proven, of course. "Slavers must already be half way there, so let's hurry."
"Uh-huh. Kill them all." The ice warrior brimmed with battle spirit, although now it only helped her in loading the raptor with bags.
"Can we outrun them, at least?" The magician, on the other hand, just stood there and read her spellbook.
"Can. Setsuna know fast way."
"And they're foot soldiers. Let's head on. We still have a long way ahead of us."
Each of them sat in the same saddle. Keyaruga sat in the middle, with Setsuna in front and Freia behind him. The trio went ahead. Keyaruga had already finished planning for the battle. There was something he bought beforehand in a saddlebag. A ridiculous carnival mask that would be used to conceal the Hero of Healing's face.He just couldn't take those "mercenaries" seriously, though. No, the scheme itself was fine: during raids, soldiers got experience points, Jioral got the gold, and if something went wrong, the kingdom wasn't even officially involved. It's just that preposterous scum would never know what hit them.
"Hey, Setsuna? Any chance we can get ambushed?" — The man asked, leaving Ranalitta behind.
"No. Yumalan not speak of this path." — The wolf huntress replied. She mentioned a traitor, someone who preferred surrender over death. Just to perish in the cell later. Every once in a while, the man would make his steed gallop with the reins, and the result was astonishing. At least seventy kilometers per hour. The reptile could do even better, but the risk of bumping into a tree or other obstacles would grow exponentially.
"Ha-ha-ha! Wow, it really is fast!" — Freia yelled in awe, holding onto her master.
"Stop talking! You can bite off your tongu…" Barely had he finished, when the lad suffered from the thing he wanted to warn them about. Fortunately, the bite wasn't too deep, and a bit of sting only stimulated him. That was a good thing when the lad could barely feel any pain while healing the raptor from its fatigue. But would the girls at least listen to my warning? Of course not!
"Hey, Setty, how do you like your cosmetics?" And yes, the sorceress had already come up with a pet name for Setsuna.
"Not use."
"Why? You can get even more beautiful!"
"No need. Not want to stink like you!"
"Hey, that's rude!" Finally, Keyaruga found a fellow connoisseur of naturality. And that left the magician alone. Again. "Say, Setty, what's your favorite food?"
"Meat." No more, no less."
Now this situation is turning into something more than just girly talk. Freia was a princess, while Setsuna grew up in the wild. That made their priorities quite different. To the point when the she-wolf could outright ask:
"Why squeal, when he mates with you?"
"How dare you, little mutt?!"
Keyaruga couldn't see her face, but the sheer emotions in the way the princess hugged him were… a bit rabid. The healer got foolish enough to fall in love with his main enemy, but… He didn't even mind at this point.
…
After many hours of traveling, girly talk, arguing, and even screaming, the trio finally reached their destination — a hill with a clear view of the battlefield. The healer dismounted and summoned his jade eye to see in the dark. A slaver army was currently besieging a small fortified village with only a palisade for defense.
"Curses, they've gotten here too fast." — The man snarled, watching the elemental magic of all schools rain down on the settlement.
"No, battle not start yet." — Setsuna replied, while all the magic got dispelled by an invisible barrier of ice and water.
"Hm, these walls are weak, but that barrier can only be made ritualistically." — The hero remarked, watching the ice wolves' men shoot arrows from beyond the palisade, that also held on with magic.
"Defense strong. Tribe of Setsuna always survived when sieged. Defense — power." Despite the huntress' words, that village was anything but impenetrable. It had at least two underground passages, but they were too narrow to use them for a proper attack.
"If they truly commit these atrocities for money, then I will gladly put them down." — Freia spoke, clutching her staff tightly, while the man desperately searched his memories for a hint of that Reeharoze. To determine once and for all what that thing that attacked him that night was, why she reminded him so much of Flare, and whether she existed at all.
"Good. Now, take the raptor, hide under the trees, and burn the fuckers after I make a signal." — Keyaruga commanded the ex-princess, while tapping her shoulder. And quite in time, for when Freia took her leave, the slavers revealed their dirty ace. Something that stopped all arrows from beyond the walls at once.
Five women, all from the Ice Wolf tribe. They were all naked, beaten and humiliated. The slavers kept them on chains, driving them forward with whips and boots. That scum wouldn't even take their dead and wounded off the battlefield. No wonder that using poor hostages with collars on their necks was completely acceptable for them. It was a vile, yet effective strategy.
"GRRRRR!" — Setsuna roared in anger, watching as her wolf brothers and sisters opened the gate. Brave men and women alike rushed to save their wives, daughters, sisters, and friends. And not only was their blood boiling.
"Woah, don't be so rash, dearie." — Keyaruga said, stopping his ice warrior from a suicidal attempt. "I know how it feels, but this is what they want. You go there, you die!"
"Haa… Ghh…" The lad's words were painful, but he was right. Setsuna could do nothing but bite her lips till the long fangs got red with her own blood.
"Good girl. Now, wait till I call you." — Said the man as he put on his mask. After all, he too got tired of just watching humans' atrocities. If not rescued, the ice wolves would all die. After all, that tribe used mainly their claws in close combat, and that made them vulnerable to archers and crossbowmen, and there were plenty of them in the slavers' ranks. More and more demi-humans would perish or get crippled under the rain of arrows and spells. Before finally stepping ahead, the man once again turned back. Setsuna sat on a stone, although even now her patience was at its limit.
"Time for carnage, then." — Keyaruga spoke, rapidly summoning a magic wind, which would take his words far and wide. And when he finished… "I AM THE HERO OF SWORD! BLADE OF JUSTICE! I WILL SLAY YOU ALL, WRETCHED FILTH, FOR ATTACKING A DEFENSELESS TRIBE! LET THE RIGHTEOUS PREVAIL!" If asked, the man would say it was his worst speech ever, but he only needed to draw attention and confuse his enemies. After all, Blade's allegiance was with Jioral. And even if that scum did betray them, killing her would still not be an option. But enough of that; now it's time for the saber to do the talking!
Barely having landed from the cliff, Keyaruga dashed forward, silently but spectacularly slaying his foes one after the other. An arm, a neck, a hip — the healer never aimed at the iron plates or chainmail, but after each slash, someone would bleed. The Crimson Flower was an elegant and efficient technique, unlike that fancy armor slashing, which took an inadequate amount of mana. It was not really loved by the Cryleths, but Keyaruga just adored turning his enemies into crimson fountains. This is why Deimos never made vigor appraisable — human life could be taken with mouths of slow tortures or ended with nothing more than with some crude archery. Sweep, cut, thrust, then dodge. The hero had at least twenty corpses by now, and nobody could even grab onto his green cape — the enchanted cloth just wouldn't let anyone touch it, and the fencer himself dodged almost every strike or shot from all directions. He made his way to the hostages.
"You, shit, you're not a hero, you..!" — A man yelled at the hero, yet even if he knew that lesbian maniac, that changed little, especially when the masked man left a trace of crimson blood after him. He knew it, so… "One fucking step, and I'll kill her!" …that degenerate would hide beyond the crying hostage. But the healer didn't mind, for his swift saber impaled two bodies at once.
"Oh…" But the woman wouldn't scream. She wouldn't even notice the wound before it disappeared with just one touch. She just gazed, as the man would slay a runt after a runt, releasing her sisters, and then she would join them in the race towards the settlement, while the lad would cover their retreat. It took quite a lot of joyful killing, but after the hostages got back to their families, he finally had time to address the defenders.
"Hear me out, brave warriors of the Ice Wolves' tribe! I'm the Hero of Sword. I was led here by the tears of the girl called Setsuna!" With the familiar name mentioned, the tribesmen grew more energized than ever. Not only did their little star survive, she brought help. A man mighty enough to threaten an entire company of soldiers. "I'm a warrior of justice! You are neither humans nor people! Just a pack of rabid dogs! Now die, you fucking filth…" Again, the saber-fencer marched toward the "mercenaries". Slowly, menacingly. Too daring to go unnoticed.
"Fire! FIRE!!! BURN THAT MOTHERFUCKER DOWN!!!" The scream belonged to the ringleader of that gang. The curly-haired man clad in a rusty breastplate and a red scarf was the same person who had enslaved his Setsuna. At least he was smart. At his words, another cloud of arrows, bolts, fireballs, rocks, and chain lightning filled the dark sky.
"Go! Beyond the gate!" — Keyaruga shouted, and the wolves would hide beyond the enchanted palisade. Those who were too slow were doomed to die here. Just like Keyaruga. Even though the latter was superhumanly fast, he couldn't dodge everything. He needed to act fast, and the solution to his problem was found even faster than he imagined. A single lost grunt, whom he had now grabbed by the neck.
"Aah! Uh! A-A-A-A!!!" His new meat shield wailed in pain, as his back was pierced, beaten, and burned every single moment. Keyaruga, in response, wouldn't let him die, not yet, for a corpse could just burn to ash. The healer watched his agony, despair, and fear. And with that, he raised his arm to send a small spark above the battlefield. Too weak to hurt someone, the spell served another purpose. The aerial support would come soon enough, but before that moment, the lad had to survive. Listening to the laughter of the human garbage, Keyaruga kept on keeping his shield alive. This time the pain was really exquisite.
"Fuck that loser, I need the dickhead down!" — The boss snarled, having sent wave after wave of deadly projectiles. And when it ended, Keyaruga stood unharmed, which couldn't be said about his helpful pin cushion, breathing when he clearly shouldn't. Up until the man snapped his neck. And then, it clicked.
The black sky, barely lit by the flames of torches, now burned orange. A large magic circle emerged above the slavers, releasing a rain of raging fireballs. The men were blazed into smoldering piles of meat. Their self-satisfied voices became yells of panic and agony, as the fire devoured more and more of them. And Keyaruga…
"PHA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!" …just stood there and laughed, as fireballs safely avoided him. Not only was he pleased by just how merciless the princess was to her own subjects, but also by finally remembering what made her the bitch she was. Answer was there all along, he was just unwilling to read it. Flare's memory from the erased future was once again revealed. The girl wasn't born at the palace, it was a brothel... Her mother's name was Reeharoze, although customers would often call her Rea. One of them was Margurth, the king of that damned nation, when they met at one of his conquests. He gave the woman with exotic pink hair two daughters, just to forget about them for years to come. Even when Reeharoze, Flare, and Norn were brought into the palace, their happiness lasted only until a royal family butler literally choked the mother to death in front of her children's eyes. And so, the future heroine of magic would have to survive there, to fight for her life. In the end, the girl who once loved flowers, singing, and her sister, turned into a heartless nobility-obsessed racist monster with enough power to either execute or exile all of her siblings. Well, except for Norn, but even she got traumatized by her sister's arrogant contempt.
"So, this rotten state has molded Flare? It seems like my revenge was misplaced. Hm, no. It's all the same. I will see Jioral burn to the ground either way." — Keyaruga mumbled, watching the Rain of Fire gradually stop. And when the sky turned black again… "GO FORTH, SETSUNA! RIP AND TEAR THEM APART!!!" — The man yelled, looking up at his ally. The latter covered her arms in the ice gauntlets and made her descend, as hateful battle cry thundered through the entire forest. One-third of the Jioral mercenaries perished either from the claws, arrows or the saber, another part charred under the fireballs' shower, and with but a fracture, a demoralized bunch of running morons, remaining, the healer finally let the huntress off the chain.
(https://preview.redd.it/7q0jef0f0ek91.png?width=849&format=png&auto=webp&s=e8d0a51dacda7338fe72eb9e0c1ee17a617e28f6 - SFW illustration)
Setsuna wedged the surviving slavers, her fury left nothing but mauled corpses in her path. The seemingly rash and chaotic jumps and claw slices were actually precise and honed. The technique itself was perfect. With the sixteenth level to back her up, the ice warrior kicked, ripped, tore, froze, and pierced through eyes and heads. The girl, no longer bound by her limits, seemed flawless in her fury. But even in all that bloodbath, some pricks would still go ahead and try hitting her in the back. Only to get killed by Keyaruga's saber. He had an aesthetic to his revenge, and this whole fight was clearly not his vengeance, but letting it stop him from doing what was right seemed too unjust for the healer's taste. Kill what needs to be killed, love and protect what must be cherished and be happy.
"Now, let's see. Hmm. Hmm... Are you crying, my dear wolfie?" Once again, the hero spoke with a crooked smile. His saber was still ready, but Setsuna had already slain the leader by fracturing his skull. "Oh, you're laughing? Heh, enjoy it, girl. You deserve it." The man said, watching the huntress turn the dead man into a gruesome mince before…
"A-A-A-A-A-A-A!!!" …letting a shrill shriek. Setsuna hated them too much. Some of her brethren had died; others had been sent somewhere far away from her reach. As a result of greed, too many lives were ruined. But she wasn't the only one to take advantage of this confusion, and the ice wolves almost finished off the survivors. With Jioral's forces demolished, Keyaruga sheathed his bloody saber. He wouldn't pursue those who remained; too much trouble. After all, nobody would spare deserters, let alone listen to what they had to say. Damn, even if someone did, what would they say? That it was all the fault of the Hero of Sword? That mattered little to the lad. Unlike…
"So, now that you've had your revenge, can you tell me what you feel?" Keyaruga asked, approaching the ice warrior. She sat on a piece of barely distinguishable meat, red with blood and guts. And when her head turned upwards, the Hero of Healing saw a disturbing smile on the huntress' face.
"Setsuna… never feel better! If only… He-heh! No, forget." Whatever her irrational mind wanted to vocalize at this moment, it turned out meaningless and bland. But it mattered little, for Keyaruga got all the answers he wanted just from her aquamarine eyes. He could clearly see the flames of vengeance burning hot in her crazed pupils.
With the battle over and the dead tribesmen burned, the trio of saviors were invited to a banquet. Even though their casualties were severe, the ice wolves still wished to celebrate their victory. In the village of Taretanbi, Keyaruga, Setsuna, and Freia were met as saviors and good friends. The huntress bragged about her "friends" to the peers, the sorceress enjoyed the fire wine (a bit too much to stay awake), and the healer just waited for Setsuna to give him a metaphysical chain of her now decorative shackles. The hospitality was nice, but the man didn't come here for this. He patiently waited for a true reward for his trouble.