The missing girl IV

"So... How far can you go?"

"I think something around twenty to twenty-five feet? Maybe? Haven't really counted" the girl inside the black armor replied.

Right now, she and her new friend, a man with white hair and beard, black clothes, and a sword on his belt, were trying to figure out how to break her free from that area on top of the oak hill.

"So when you try to get further than that, your body just stops?" he asked as the two casually walked to the limits of her range.

"Something like that. It actually feels like I'm being pulled back honestly."

"That's so strange..."

"Stranger than talking to an empty armor?" she joked.

"Oh, yeah, way stranger. Possessed armors are very common in some areas. But They don't usually talk like you. They just chase people and rip their hearts out."

The girl flinched at that comment, "The hell is wrong with this world..."

The man picked a tree branch and began to draw a line on where she was standing, "Could you please walk around a bit? I wanna try to make down how far you can go."

"Okay," she nodded and did as he suggested.

As she started her trail, the man would follow behind and marking anywhere she stepped.

"By the way," she started to talk as they continued, "I never got your name."

"Oh, I'm Thomas! Nice to meet you, miss armor."

"Miss armor...?" she repeated while tilting her head.

"Ah, sorry! I don't know your name..."

"Ah... That's fine... I... I kinda don't remember my old name..."

"Oh! It might be some side-effect from being brought here..." he assumed.

"You... You seem rather calm about all this..." she noted, "Do people get brought here into this world a lot? Am I just one among many other walking hollow pieces of armor?"

"Well... Yes and no... It's complicated..."

The girl finally finished her walk and the two realized that the mark the man had made formed a nearly perfect circle on top of the hill with the giant oak set in the very center.

"Mmm... It's like you said. This area is restricted to how far from the oak you can get."

The empty armor stared at the tree and began to clench her fists, "So... Should I destroy it?"

"That might not be the best idea..." he commented, "I think I know what's going on now..."

"You do?" she asked while jumping with excitement.

"Yes... But It's just a hunch..."

"It's better than nothing! So, what is it?"

He took another look at the oak and then at the armor, who was looking at him as if he was the answer to all her problems, making him feel a little pressured.

"I think you are one of the guests for the game..." he finally said it.

The girl just stood still trying to process what she just heard, "I'm the what for the what...??"

"The game! The faction game!" he repeated as if it was obvious.

"The hell is a faction game...?"

"Well... How do I put it... You know I'm a human, right?"

"Yeah...?"

"Well, besides humans, there are also tons of other races out there. Goblins, elves, demons, dragons, and so on. Each race is considered a faction, and every twenty years, there is a competition where all factions choose a representative to fight for them in the Faction games!"

"Oookay...? But, what does that have to do with me...?"

"It has everything to do with you! The faction games are supervised by these mythical beings called the 'Rulers.' They are in charge of picking the participants for each faction and of bringing a guest from another world to play in the game!"

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait... You mean the reason I'm here is just to play some silly game?"

Thoman began to scratch his chin and force a frail smile, "That's one way to see it... But for us, it's more than just a game...

The faction that wins in the game gets to choose one of three wishes. They can either ask for the game to stop forever, which so far has never happened..., they can ask for one of the loser factions to be erased so they can take over their territory, which has happened quite a lot..., Or, they can ask to get an additional number of guests to be used in future games!"

"I don't get it, why not just use people that are already here? Why do this whole guest idea at all?"

"People from here are allowed to play as well. Usually, each faction can pick up to five individuals to represent them. But the guests tend to be the trump card that always secures the victory to decide the winner at the end. They usually have some kind of handicap like being a bit stronger than most, or being a bit faster, or smarter. It's just a way to keep things more interesting!"

"Oh... That does explain why I keep sending people flying with so much ease..." she commented while looking at her gauntlets and thinking about how many warriors she defeated in this week alone, even though she wasn't a fighter.

"Yeah. The people that came here to challenge you are probably trying to earn their spot on the game by defeating you and proving their worth!"

"Oohh... I see..." the girl replied. She always wondered why people kept coming one per day. If they wanted her gone, why not just gather a mob and come at her all at once?

"I think you were brought here to play for the human faction! With your power, we could definitely have a good chance!"

"Eh... I don't know... I just want to go home... I don't want to spend the rest of my life inside this armor... I want to feel the warmth of a hot bath again! Feel the wind in my face! Feel tickling of my dog while he cuddles me!"

"I see... Mmmm... Maybe if we win the game, and you ask for it to be over, you can return home!"

"You think so...?"

"Well, think about it! If there is no game, there is no reason to have a guest!"

"Oh. Makes sense, I think... So all I have to do is play this game, win it, and ask for the games to stop?"

"You make it sound easy..." he commented while lowering his gaze, "The human faction has played the game plenty of times, and we never managed to win a single one of them..."

"Oh... So... What happened to the previous guests that played in the human faction?"

He raised an eyebrow as if the answer was obvious, "What do you think it happened? They all died in the game!"

"Gah!!" she gasped.

"We might call it games, but this is a life and death situation we are talking about. If you play, you better be ready to die, and you better be ready to kill..."

"Die?? Kill?? Me!!???"

The black knight began to hold her head and shake back and forth while sitting down. She began to picture herself going into battle against other factions and getting attacked left and right from all kinds of warriors.

The mere mental image was enough to send shivers down her metal skin.

"I can't!! I cant! I can't! I can't!! I'm just a girl!! I shouldn't be here!! I barely managed to get away from this creepy guy that attacked my friend, how am I supposed to win a tournament of life and death???"

"Hey, hey, hey, calm down! You will be fine! We will think of something, don't worry!"

"I mean... Look at me! I can't even get out of this hill, how am I gonna do something like this?? You sure you didn't just made some mistake?" she asked while suddenly standing up and walking back and forth.

"No," he responded with a heavy tone, "It's precisely because you can't leave that I'm sure you are a guest for the game."

"What do you mean?"

"That oak, when something happens to it... Do you feel anything?"

"Y- Yeah... It's like I can feel its pain... H- How do you know that?"

The man stood up and stared at the giant tree, "That oak must be your ruler."

"Wait, what!!?? The tree??" she screamed while switching her gaze from the tree to the man.

"Yes, I'm sure of it."

"How?? It's a goddamn tree!"

"The rulers can take any shape in order to accommodate the needs of their guests. As long as it's a living thing, it can take any shape. A tree, a child, a bug, a bird..."

"But why...?"

"It's one of the requirements of the game. You eliminate the guest by killing their ruler!"

The girl fell on her knees and began to stare at the ground while pressing her palms against the grass.

"So it's true... If something happens to this tree... I... I...!"

Thomas pressed his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her, "Yes... Probably..."

"This is unfair... This is so unfair!!!" she cried.

"I'm sorry..."

The girl was about to cry and yell. She wanted to complain about how she didn't deserve such a cruel fate, but then she was reminded that before coming here she had died after falling into the ocean. She realized then that she had no right to talk about not wanting to die when she should be dead already.

"What do I do... What do I do!!??"

"I know it's too much to ask..." Thomas whispered, "But... Could you please fight for us? We need your power!!"

"What...?"

Thomas moved in front of her and helped her get up while holding her hands.

"Please, miss armor!! The human race always gets spared from being destroyed because we are so weak compared to the other races that try to keep us in the game just so we can be an easy target to defeat... But at some point, they will also come for us! With your help, we might finally end the game and secure our survival!!"

"But how??? I can't even leave this place!!"

"We'll find a way! There is no way the rulers would have sent you here without some sort of plan! I'll help you figure it out how to exit this area! You can count on me!!"

"But... I don't know how to fight... I don't know anything about this world of its races..."

"I'll teach you!! I'll tell you everything you need to know! And once the people from my village hear about you, they will do everything they can to help out as well!"

She turned her face away, "Ugh... I... I don't know... I'm too scared... I already died once! I don't wanna go through that again!!"

"Please, miss armor!! We..." he paused before lowering his head, "We have no one else to rely on... And we lost so many already... You are our last chance!"

The girl had no idea of what she should do. Fight a battle with impossible odds and risk her life for a bunch of strangers, all with the faint hope that maybe she might return home should she succeed?

She wanted to reject his request and try to seek another way, but the more time passed, the more she began to feel that there might not be any other way.

Like it or not, without Thomas, she might end up spending the rest of her life stuck by that oak tree's side.

Should she take the gamble and risk her life?

"Okay..."

Thomas lifted his face, revealing his extremely wide-open eyes as he looked at her, "R- Really?"

"Yes... It's not like I have anything better to do anyway..." she commented while rubbing her pal against the back of her helmet, "I'll play the game!"

"Aaaahhh!! Thank you!! Thank you so much!!" Thomas screamed while being brought to tears and falling on his knees.

As the two focused on each other, a strange light began to surround the oak, nearly blinding the two of them.

"What's happening...?" she asked.

"The ruler..." Thomas whispered, "I think it's reacting to your decision!"

As the light continued to grow strong, the oak started to shrink in size, until all that was left was a wide heavy sword stuck on the ground.

"Is that..."

"A claymore..." Thomas finished, "It's a weapon! For you!"

The girl approached the blade and removed it from the ground. The object was about her size and appeared to weigh double her own weight, but it somehow felt like she was merely carrying a stick.

"My weapon..." she repeated.

Thomas felt like he was looking at an angel that had descended from heaven to save his people from all the evils of the world.

"We finally have a chance!" he cried.

The girl gave a few swings with her blade to test its balance and for some reason, felt like it was perfect for her.

"This is all so weird..." she commented, "By the way... Which faction is on top right now?"

"It's the strongest faction of all. They already won the game twenty times, and erased fifteen rival factions from existence..."

"Wait, so they have the right to five guests?"

"Exactly. It's gonna be tough... But I believe in you!"

"Well... That makes one of us..." she joked, "What's the faction's name?"

"Dragon faction."