“Thank you so much, Captain. You saved us,” said a man dressed in plain rags.

  “Don’t mention it. That’s what I’m here for, citizen,” said Erthilind, downhearted. Her emerald eyes were stained with tears.

  She walked through the burned cathedral, looking for good news. She only found death and destruction. Her lord, the person who saved her when she had nowhere to go, had departed this life. The governor’s daughter, her only friend in the Citadel, had suffered the same fate.

  “Miss Erthilind, will you stay?” a little girl asked, hopeful, but she received a bitter response.

  “I’m sorry. I must go. I can’t stay here,” Erthilind answered, still stained with the blood of the guilty. “They’ll defend you. I trained them myself.” Erthilind pointed to the group of soldiers that had been locked during the ‘rebellion’ so that they wouldn’t interfere. Every single one of the guards that had supported the coup met the cold, yet shaky blade of her greatsword.

  Carrying a mere bag of food and water, Erthilind left the Citadel. Lost, once again. Alone. Forsaken by the world. She still couldn’t find a place where she belonged. She decided to travel south without truly knowing why. She knew the princess had gone in that direction, thanks to the traces Balrog had left behind.

  One foggy night, she came across some lonely abyss beasts. They were no match for her greatsword, but they made her lose sight of where she was. She ended up upon a dirt road. She followed it blindly, unaware that it took her southeast.

  She passed through several villages where she worked odd jobs for a bit of food. Her physical strength was appreciated, considering winter was just a few months away. As she traveled, she could hear the distant trotting of six gigantic legs.

  At the last village she arrived to, she found something to do. The majority of its inhabitants were artisans. Erthilind committed herself to cutting down trees for them, and in exchange she was given a place to sleep and something to eat.

  The Iron Maiden woke up to the infernal flames of a wyvern. The entire village burned, and she was the only one to escape. The venomous claws of one of the wyverns left a nasty gash on her side before she could fend it off with a stone pillar.

  For two days, two painful days, she walked. Bleeding out. Poisoned. Full of rage. Of hatred. Sadness. She swayed through the forest until destiny, out of either mercy or cruelty, made her run into those three girls.

  “Wow, you went through a lot in very little time,” Scarlet said.

  “Yes. Now, all I’m trying to do is to finish that pair of wyverns.”

  “Wait, I don’t get it; what’s the difference between a wyvern and a dragon?” asked Rose, confused.

  “A dragon has six limbs: four legs and two wings. Wyverns only have four limbs: two legs on the back, and two legs with wings on the front. Also, dragons are intelligent creatures, like us.” It’s clear Erthilind knows what she’s talking about. The princess loves to listen to people who know a lot about topics she’s interested in.

  “I read somewhere that wyverns are born from divinities trying to get inside dragons and those dragons’ bodies rejecting them. It wouldn’t be too weird, since dragons and humans have similar brains, at least in shape; it’s probably hard for an entity with no clear shape nor intelligence to tell them apart,” Scarlet says. The rest of the girls look at her with wide eyes.

  “Since when are you so knowledgeable?” Aira asks, flabbergasted.

  “What of it? I like biology.?

  The four girls keep talking as they ready themselves to sleep. They set up their tent and become aware of a new problem.

  “We only have three sleeping bags,” Rose says.

  “Don’t worry, the pretty knight can sleep with me,” Scarlet says, and winks at Erthilind.

  “If you touch me, I’ll bust your head open with my greatsword.”

  “Don’t say things that make me like you more,” answers the redhead, a strange smile on her face.

  “Is she alright in the head?” she asks Rose and Aira, who shrug in response.

  “Don’t worry, Aira and I can share a sleeping bag. We already did that the first time we came to Provecta.”

  “You’d be saving me from this nutcase,” Erthilind whispers into the princess’s ear, and she snickers.

  “Hey! Don’t gossip without me. Now I wanna know what you’re saying,” Scarlet protests.

  The night goes by. The stars hide behind the sunlight. The trees dance with the wind and the forest animals go on with their routines. At a steady pace, the four adventurers push onward through the grove. Following the trail of blood the knight left behind, they arrive in less than a day to where the village used to be. The wyverns are already nesting over its ashes.

  Huge, dark green scaly beasts. Their claws ooze a purple, thick liquid poison. From their blood-stained maws, steam comes out. The knight’s emerald eyes are fixed on them.

  “Those are the ones?” the princess asks.

  “Exactly. I can take care of one, but I need help to get rid of both.”

  “Hey, I won’t let you keep all the fun to yourself. I’ll go along with you,” says the assassin, excited.

  “Alright, we shall split up: Erthilind and Scarlet on one side, and Rose and I on the other.”

  “I have to team up with this weirdo?”

  “She might be a little crazy, but she’s strong.”

  “Alright. Let’s wait for the male to go off to find logs for their nest. They like to get the most brittle ones available. I already cut those down, so it’ll have to search deep into the forest. Remember to aim at its stomach and chin; they don’t have scales there.”

  “You really do like dragons,” says the princess.

  “Wyverns.”

  “That thing.”

  An hour goes by until the male gets up from its nest. It shakes its green scales to get rid of any lingering ash and goes into the forest. Two shadows stalk it from behind. Once the male is far enough, the princess and the priestess approach the female wyvern.

  “Greetings, Miss Dra– I mean, Wyvern. It’s a real pity, but I’m afraid I’ll have to hunt you,” says Rose, Valor in hand.

  “Hey,” Scarlet whispers, earning no response from Erthilind. “Hey… Hey… Hey…”

  “If you keep talking, I might have some extra game to hunt down. Grinning idiot.”

  “It’s important; I need to know what your technique is.”

  “{Earth Control}.”

  “You control yourself?”

  “What? No... What? I control the soil. Moron.”

  “I figured.” The redhead lets out a little cackle. “Listen, knight, fight as you like the most.”

  “That’s exactly what I was gonna go. In fact, you can just watch, for all I care; I don’t need your help. Besides, you smell evil; your presence unnerves me.”

  “You woke up real flattering today.”

  “Every time you open your mouth, I can’t help wondering how you managed to convince Rossett to let you join her team.”

  Stealthily, the two trail after the wyvern. It starts to crush a log in its eerily strong jaw when it hears a scream.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?!” Erthilind shouts.

  “Don’t worry, it’ll grow back,” Scarlet says, her severed arm on the floor, red pooling around it.

  The smell of blood awakens the wyvern’s instincts: it roars ferociously and gathers fire in its maw.

  “Shit, you exposed us.” Erthilind stomps on the ground and a stone wall rises between them and the incoming fire ball.

  “Technically, you were the one who screamed.”

  “Don’t ‘technically’ me right now!”

  “C’mon, go, Miss ‘I Don’t Need Help’.”

  Erthilind sighs and digs her greatsword into the soil. Energy flows into her hand then down her greatsword, which drives the rocks from the ground around itself to create a mended, bigger blade. [Knight’s Dirty Armament]. She pulls it out of the ground and tears down the wall. A metallic aura forms around her.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  C’mon, you no-good knight, you gotta kill this thing, Erthilind says to try and motivate herself, or perhaps because of something else deep down inside her. The wyvern runs up to the knight and tries to bite her.

  Knew you’d do that. With a stomp, she activates [Earthbending], and a dirt pillar jams the wyvern’s jaw. A hit on the head using the sword dizzies the beast, but an attempt at a lethal slash is blocked by one of its front claws. Both of them back away. They carefully observe each other. The wyvern can’t help wondering why its food is fighting back so much.

  The knight’s emerald eyes aren’t just for show; they analyze her opponent’s abilities and predict its favorite move. The wyvern lunges at her, but it’s stopped by a stone wall. Erthilind positions herself to cut off its head. Yet the monster’s spiky tail blocks her greatsword with a swirl, just in time.

  Another stone pillar hides the Iron Maiden’s presence, and the wyvern is left guessing whether she’ll come out from one side or the other. When the beast chooses to place itself on the left, her greatsword peeks out from the right. The knight runs to its blind spot, just beneath the wyvern, and her blade digging into its stomach paints the ground a bloody blue. The beast’s shriek echoes throughout the forest, but her objective isn’t just to make it bleed; it must perish. Shaping the ground itself into stairs, she runs up the steps until she’s high enough to cut its head off with one singular slash.

  Now, it’ll try to stop me with its claws. She isn’t wrong; she forces an opening with an effective feint. But the beast is able to shift enough to block the blow with its other front claw.

  Both of their hearts beat at full capacity, invigorated by the adrenaline-infusing battle. Their blood flows through their muscles to allow them movement, and their brains send off almost instantaneous signals so they can react in time, even without them knowing what’s happening right then and there. Their whole bodies are focused on the battle; their sights, on victory. C’mon, Scarlet, Show off for the pretty girl. You can’t embarrass yourself in front of her. A heavy sigh leaves her mouth.

  The knight charges against the beast once again. I can’t do anything from this angle. It can block any of my attacks with its right claw. I need an idea, and I need it now. A terrifying red aura forms around the assassin.

  With a bit of momentum, I can reach… Erthilind creates another set of stairs from the ground. This time, the wyvern realizes what she’s doing and shoots a giant fire ball at her. She jumps over the attack and starts to fall down toward the beast’s head. Its right wing moves enough to be in the exact range to hit her. A blow like that can devastating. Shit, you useless fuck, you didn’t measure the distance right. I have to parry that and go back to neutral… What? A sharp sound rings out when the wyvern’s claw is intercepted by Scarlet’s katana.

  “Was it there that you needed an opening?” she asks Erthilind, grinning.

  Did she read my mind? the knight asks herself. She decides it’s best to leave the questions for later. Her greatsword shoves the beast’s head into the ground, and it spits out blue blood.

  A pink shadow dodges fire balls as if they were darts. With great dexterity, she jumps around as she avoids them, slowly itching closer to the wyvern. She’s had enough practice with Balrog. Aira is using her [Divine Blessing] on the princess, so the latter can fight with little difficulty.

  Her spear clashes against the beast’s strong claws, which easily absorb her attacks. Fire spreads along the ruins of the village, lighting everything up. Rose can’t seem to reach the monster’s belly; she’s always stopped by something, be it its claws, its tail or its head. Her technique resets the counter constantly with every powerful swing she parries. Like an annoying little fly, Rose runs around, attacking whenever she can and dodging nonstop.

  I need a distraction. Rose has an idea, but she needs an accomplice.

  “Aira! Remember you told me you could shoot beams of light?”

  “Yes!”

  “On my signal.”

  Aira gets what the princess means. Far away, a sudden flare lights up the sky.

  “Shit.”

  “That thing is still kicking?” Scarlet says, with worried eyes and an angry smile.

  “We have to cut its head off; a hard blow isn’t enough.”

  “Knight, look for your ideal attack, and if you think you won’t make it, just have a little faith.”

  This girl… Erthilind runs toward the wyvern, her greatsword ready for the hit. She slides beneath a clawed swing and raises two stone pillars toward its jaw. The beast lifts its head high enough for the knight to have a chance to cut it off.

  It’ll stop my attack with its other claw, but… I have to have faith, right? With all the faith in the world, she attacks just the way she planned to. Her greatsword bounces off the wyvern’s venomous claws. Lying bastard. She’s considering whether she should give that assassin a beating right now or wait until the fight’s over. When she turns toward her teammate, she realizes Scarlet’s not there anymore. A stream of blue blood stains the ground as the katana cuts the monster’s left leg.

  If I can’t help the way she wants me to, there are always other options.

  “You gave me an impossible mission! Don’t blame me for doing the best I can.”

  The fluttering of the beast’s wings creates powerful air currents. Its body lifts off the ground. Fire fills its maw; it could shoot at any moment.

  We have to kill it now. The two girls think the same thing, see the perfect path. Connected.

  Erthilind gets onto the wyvern’s level via a huge stone pillar, and runs toward the void. Blood tiles emerge just beneath her feet. She dodges the wyvern’s desperate attacks, pushing herself off blood walls created in the exact moment they’re needed. Two red chains grip the beast’s jaw. The redhead stands on its back. She harshly tugs its head back, leaving its soft neck exposed. A last jump has the knight reaching the perfect range. With a swirl in the air, she generates enough momentum for her greatsword to accelerate; the perfect angle and position and to decapitate the wyvern. [Steel Guillotine].

  But something doesn’t fit into their calculations. The wyvern is able to flutter its wings one more time. This leaves the tip of the greatsword less then five centimeters away from its flesh.

  Shit. Are you serious? Just as that thought goes through her head, a great amount of blood gathers at the tip of her blade, fusing with it to lengthen it ten centimeters. [Sanguine Reaper]. A perfectly carried out combination of two techniques. With a scream, Erthilind gathers the remaining strength needed to move her weapon and stabs the beast’s neck. It’s true, she’s more than a little crazy. But now I get why she was so excited. Although I’ve got mixed feelings about it… fighting alongside her is… the most fun I’ve ever had!

  The tip of the blade is stuck in the middle of its neck. The redhead jumps in the air and creates one last blood platform. I know what you wanna do, Scarlet. You’re… a genius.

  Everything seems to come to a stop. The angle is perfect, and the amount of blood is precisely enough. In her palms, the drops come together to form a tiny little blood sphere. She aims exactly where the greatsword is stuck and gathers all her energy into her hands. The blood grows more compact and shoots out at full speed in a highly compressed burst. At full power, [Pressure Point] hits the sword and pushes it the rest of the way.

  Blue blood bathes the skies and the wyvern’s severed head hits the ground like a meteorite.

  Erthilind is caught by a blood net. Scarlet plummets from the sky, as her aura twinkles. The Iron Maiden jumps at the last second to catch her hunting partner. Scarlet seems tired, but keeps up her smiling. Cradled in Erthilind’s arms, she looks up at her savior with a serious, yet grateful expression.

  “Thanks for saving me, my knight in shining– AH!” The redhead falls to the ground when Erthilind lets go of her with an eye-roll.

  “C’mon, get up. We’re helping the princess before things get out of hand.”

  The knight helps the assassin up, and the two girls run to check up on Rossett.

  Rose runs around, dodging blazes at every turn. She’s getting tired by now. Aira is waiting for her signal. The princess and the wyvern ready themselves, then pounce. A quick step to the side allows Rose to dodge a venomous claw. A nicely timed jump avoids her getting hit by its sweeping tail. Its maw gapes wide open to devour the nuisance in front of it, but a scream interrupts the beast.

  “Now!”

  The priestess’s lamp emits a blinding light, an imperceptibly fast flash that confuses the wyvern for long enough: [Blinding Light]. A blow to its jaw makes its head twist to the side. Two slashes from the spear leave its stomach a bloody mess. Valor harshly stabs through its long, spiky tail. The wyvern writhes violently, trying to shake the pink flea off its body. Rose holds onto the poisonous spikes on its tail, injuring her hands in the process. Before the beast can take off, its legs are gripped by two dirt structures.

  Far away, the Iron Maiden sticks her greatsword into the earth and transfers her energy directly to the rock beneath the wyvern.

  A second flash from Aira makes it tremble. The princess runs along its spine, and with four deep cuts she manages to damage its scales; not to bring it pain, but with a different objective in mind.

  Rose arrives to the wyvern’s head. She jumps in the air, glowing under the midday sun. Aided by the force of gravity, her fist plummets down directly above its forehead. [Infernal Combo] completely disintegrates its head, staining everything a bloody blue, as the monster’s lifeless body collapses onto the ground. Rose raises her fist in the air and falls unconscious.

  A little confused, Rose gets up. Aira heals her using her lamp, as Erthilind and Scarlet chatter.

  “You can’t deny that I looked pretty good fighting out there,” says the redhead, brushing her hair back with her fingers.

  “I didn’t see you. I was fighting a giant lizard,” the knight answers, brushing aside the assassin’s advances.

  “Welcome back, miss.” Aira greets her with a smile.

  The princess grabs her still pounding head.

  “Why did I pass out?”

  “The poison you touched.”

  “Oh, yeah, that makes more sense.” Rose approaches Erthilind and rests a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry I couldn’t save this place.”

  “Don’t worry, Your Majesty. I wasn’t able to save it, either.”

  Scarlet takes hold of Rose’s arm and whispers something in her ear. The princess thinks it over for a moment.

  “Erthilind, Scarlet asks whether you’d like to join our group.”

  “Way to throw me under the bus!” Scarlet yells at her, mad, yet cackling.

  “Either way, I was gonna ask you the same thing,” says the princess. “I’d like you to join us.”

  The Iron Maiden pondered her response. She wants to join. Is it for the best? What if something bad happened to them? Is she even worthy of following the princess in her journey? They don’t actually want her in their team. All she does is bring despair to everyone who helps her. Every single time, everyone around her dies, and she’s left to shoulder that weight. The princess starts to walk toward her next destination.

  “You coming?” Smiling, she regards a confused and surprised Erthilind. “Your face tells me you wanna join. C’mon.”

  Rose kept marching forward, ceaseless yet without a hurry. For the first time in a long time, the knight’s serious expression breaks into a small smile.

  “You’re pretty when you smile,” Scarlet comments.

  “You ruined the moment, idiot,” Erthilind protests, as she grabs her greatsword and joins Rose’s stride. The redhead can only laugh.

  Aira feels relaxed, at last. This time they were all in agreement about the new member, and she likes the new girl.

  The four adventurers travel together to their next destination, the Cathedral of Providence.