"Boss! Where you at? We're near the kingdom!" Uno's voice echoed through our link, his tone a mix of urgency and confusion.
I stopped mid-step, glancing around the unfamiliar forest path I'd wandered onto.
I could feel Uno, Dos, Tres and the others on the forest close to the kingdom.
"Wait there. I'm on my way." That was fast?
I gave myself wings again, the same one made from shadow magic and used illusion magic as well as I flew up and towards where Uno and the others were.
You know what I realized? I should've just done this before!!
From up here I could see the inn, the adventurers guild and even the library!
How did I not think of this...
I may as well just go to my clones...
Flying towards the forest, I heard a sound of something huge falling off followed by the sounds of birds flying away. I came to a halt at that.
From above, the forest stretched wide, the dense canopy masking its secrets. I could sense Uno, Dos, Tres, and the others nearby, but there was another presence—faint yet distinct.
Don't tell me...
When I descended into the clearing, the sight that greeted me was… unexpected.
Dos and Tres were hiding behind a tree, Seis, Quatro, Cinco and Siete were unconcious on the ground while Uno was being stared at by the very same woman I saw before when I got Squeeky.
There was something off about her gaze though?
Walking silently towards Dos who was hiding, I asked her. "What's going on? Why is Uno being stared at like a fish on the cutting board?"
Dos and Tres jumped at that, startled, after which they replied in a whisper. "Boss! Quick help Uno!"
As my clone said that, Uno and the other four realized I was here and promptly deactivated themselves.
"Hey! Don't leave us here!" Dos yelled as she and Tres did the same.
So now, here I am...alone. With a woman who I just know has problems!
"Uh..Hi?" I said as I backed away slowly.
When I met her eyes, a beautiful purple, I could see pain, surprise, and even anger. What did I do?! I don't remember doing anything to her! In fact, I don't even know her!!
Well, other than the fact that she's the woman who protected Squeeky.
I could feel the mana in the air gather towards her and I just knew she was gonna do something!
And like I thought, she ejected from where she was and appeared in front of me, I barely was able to dodge as she did!
'What did you guys do?!' I asked my clones, wondering if they could even hear me. But it seems they can since I got a reply.
"How would we know?! You know how she was when we saved her!" Seis yelled.
.....
Fuck. Right! She was close to naked when we saved her, nothing happened to her other than bruises and cuts and her clothes being close to nonexistent, she didn't think it was us who did it, right?!
*A few days back*
I was still seeing the situation from my clone's eyes as they journeyed through the dungeon filled with malfunctioning statues. The way only our footsteps echoed down the dark corridors was creepy as heck!
The air was thick with the smell of rust possibly from the metal statues. Seis, Quatro, Siete, and Cinco moved cautiously, their steps quiet.
"Weird," Quatro muttered, eyeing a statue slumped against the wall. Its head was tilted unnaturally, cracks appeared across its face making it look very creepy. "I thought these things were supposed to move. What happened here?"
This place full of statue's kind of reminds me of that one book I read about a guy leveling up, it had a very creepy statue too.
"Don't jinx it," Siete hissed, glancing nervously at another statue. "For all we know, they're just waiting for the perfect moment to spring to life and kill us."
They continued deeper into the dungeon until they came across a large, open chamber.
Not suspicious at all.
In the center laid a woman, barely conscious, or well, probably already unconcious.
Her clothes tattered and soaked with blood and dirt. Around her, shattered remains of statues were strewn like discarded toys.
Did she do all this?
"Boss, you seeing this?" Seis whispered, her voice tinged with unease.
"Yeah, I see her. Be careful," I replied through the link, my concern growing. "She's still alive, but something about her feels... off, I mean ever since we saw her she has always felt off, but now it's even more so?"
Cinco approached the woman cautiously, her hand hovering over her weapon just in case. "Hey, lady. Can you hear us?" she called out from where she was.
The woman stirred, her body trembling as if struggling against some unseen force. Slowly, her eyes fluttered open, revealing a piercing purple glow. The clones tensed, ready to fight if needed.
Instead of attacking, she weakly reached out. "Help..." she whispered, her voice barely audible.
"She doesn't seem hostile," Quatro observed, though her grip on her weapon didn't loosen. "What should we do, boss?"
I hesitated for a moment before replying. "Help her, but keep your guard up. She may be a noble but with her being an adventurer, it's best we stay cautious. If she tries anything, don't hesitate to defend yourselves."
Seis and Quatro carefully lifted the woman, wrapping her in their cloak to cover her tattered clothes. The purple glow in her eyes dimmed slightly as she fell unconscious again.
*Present*
Fuck. Shit. Crap. This is bad. Very fucking bad!
The woman darted toward me again, her movements impossibly fast. I managed to dodge again by a hair's breath the rush of air from her strike brushing against my cheek. A second later, the tree behind me splintered, the force of her attack leaving a massive dent in its trunk.
"Wait!" I shouted, holding up my hands. "I don't even know what's going on! Can we talk about this?"
She didn't respond. Her gaze burned with a mixture of rage and desperation, and the mana surrounding her began to condense even further. Whatever had happened to her in that dungeon, it had left a mark—one that was now directed squarely at me.
"Boss, uh, good luck!" Uno's voice chimed in through the link.
"Good luck?! You left me here alone you fucking cowards!" I snapped back.
"She's your problem now!" Tres added before their presence completely faded.
Traitors. All of them.
.... But, I would've done the same in their situation so I can't really blame them (・–・;)ゞ
The woman lunged again, and this time I knew I couldn't rely on just dodging forever. Bracing myself, I countered, blocking her strike with my arm and using the momentum to push her back. Her strength was insane, and my bones rattled from the impact.
"You're strong," I said, my voice calming down. "But I'm not here to fight you. I'm here to help. My clones saved you, remember? If something's wrong, we can figure it out together!"
I really do not think I can get out of this unharmed! Besides if I hurt her and the duke finds out we're dead!
For a moment, her movements faltered. Her purple eyes flickered, the rage giving way to confusion. "Saved... me?" she whispered, her voice trembling.
"Yes! They found you in that dungeon. You were injured—barely conscious! We just wanted to help," I said, keeping my tone steady. "If I did something to upset you, tell me, and I'll make it right. But this—this isn't helping anyone." I tried to reason.
The mana around her began to disperse slightly, and her shoulders sagged. For the first time since the fight began, I saw shock in her eyes.
"You..." She took a shaky step back, her expression a mix of confusion and shame.
Then she dropped on her knees abruptly, I felt phantom pain when I saw how the small stones embedded themselves on her skin and then she slammed her head to the ground.
"I'M SO SORRY!!" she yelled.
...Somehow, I had the distinct feeling that my clones had dropped me into yet another fucking mess (●__●)