Ch.35

Rozalia stopped when she heard a loud noise from within the woods. Then the head of the drake she was riding swiveled to look over its back as well, tilting forward as it flapped its wings. She didn't need to ask what it was, since they'd both felt the vibrations in the earth. It sounded like something heavy was moving closer‌—and with any luck, the attackers hadn't been able to figure out where she was hiding.

Yet.

The dragon turned back around and continued heading toward the location of her companions, keeping her eyes on the darkness ahead. Hopefully this would be another small band of orcs like those she'd encountered before. But given how careful they all were with their movements, she still had to wonder just who they would've sent after her this time.

She had to assume that someone else had heard of her assault on the Council of Torm, though‌—it was hard to imagine that people wouldn't have noticed the attack by now. Besides, it was easy enough for the thieves to get a message to their counterparts in other villages if they wanted to spread some word. So why would this group not come here directly instead?

Finally, she reached the edge of the forest, skimming along the ground with the wind whipping through her long black hair. Then she dipped lower, taking off again as she flew above the tops of the trees to look down into the valley below. And when she spotted her comrades gathered around an encampment of tents, she quickly angled downward to land near them.

A moment later, the rest of the elves started cheering as they approached the camp, waving their branches and staffs at her as she landed in front of them. "There you are!" shouted Rozalia, glancing up at the sky. "What took you so long?"

"I suppose the story will be all over the taverns by the time we return," said the elf who'd led them to find her. "Especially if this is the band that attacked us‌… which I'm not sure if we should consider good or bad news."

Then he gestured toward the center of the group, where an armored figure was waiting beneath a flag‌—the same one that Rozalia had seen hanging on her door, and the same one that had flown on the airship she'd been traveling on.

It didn't take a genius to realize that it belonged to one of the men she'd seen in the Council chambers. And she almost chuckled when she realized just what his intentions were. It seemed as though the other thieves were well aware of the fate of their leader, as she saw no fear in their expressions as they watched him approach.

This was going to be too easy.

But the elf only nodded, frowning slightly as he approached the armored man. "What did you bring us this time?"

The big man looked over at Rozalia before answering. Then he offered her a smirk as he spoke. "As you can see, your old friend hasn't died yet. Not unless you want to try again."

Evander only paused for a moment when the other man entered the hut, staring at the giant creature as it padded around the room in a circle. His gaze flicked back to the creature's head‌—so that he could make sure that the trap had worked correctly‌—before he moved closer to the entryway.

"That's right," said the monster, smiling at the sight of Evander as he approached. "Take off your clothes, little one."

Evander froze, the fur on his chest tingling with excitement. He glanced down at himself‌—and then caught a glimpse of his reflection in a nearby puddle‌—shaking his head as he took in the image of his own naked body.

He wasn't sure what was happening right now. Maybe this was the point where he should start running away and pretend that nothing happened between him and the beast. After all, if he wanted to reach the surface, he had to get rid of his trail and quickly. But then he stared down at himself again, thinking about what might happen once this thing killed him.

And the dark elf swallowed, shivering as he looked back up at the creature. Even after everything they'd done together, he couldn't believe that he'd be able to kill the monster without being consumed by its flames. But he felt like he'd made a deal with this thing, whether he liked it or not. So maybe this was his last chance to put a stop to it before he lost everything.

Then he shook his head again, grimacing at the sight of his own bloodied shirt. He didn't even care anymore about dying. At least this way, he could escape the realm of the dead… and live through the next life. He only had to make sure to say goodbye to his mother in case he never saw her again.

So he slowly removed his tunic, leaving the rest of the fabric wrapped around his waist as he watched the monster in front of him. It was strange, seeing what the beast really looked like under all of those heavy scales. And when it tilted its head to look at him again, he found himself looking directly into his eyes.

For a moment, he could sense something deep in the creature's gaze, but then a whisper sounded from somewhere behind the monster. "Get him naked."

The words were so soft that Evander barely heard them‌—but the monster's head shot toward the entrance at the same time, nodding as he turned back to the hunter. Then he approached Evander and reached out with one of its fingers, touching him in the center of his chest.

The man flinched at first, even though he wasn't sure what else he could do. He'd already jumped out of the cabin, leaving himself vulnerable to whatever fate the beast had waiting for him. But a few moments later, he felt a sharp pain inside his stomach, and the monster snatched its hand away.

Evander opened his mouth to shout a warning‌—but the creature smacked him across the face instead. Then he took another step back, reeling slightly before catching himself. The creature gestured to the monster to take off the rest of the clothes, then pointed over at the pile of bones.