The forty-odd horseback riders charged along the dirt road with their weapons at the ready. Palan had dismounted earlier and was running alongside Raea. His face contorted as his nose wrinkled and his eyes narrowed. “They’re almost right next to us.”
“Stick to the right!” Raea shouted and held her right arm straight to the side. The wedge formation flattened as the soldiers moved closer to the edge of the forest while charging.“How do goblins fight?” Palan asked and glanced at Raea. Her lips were pressed together underneath her visor with her brow furrowed.“Like animals. They pose no threat against our armor,” Raea said, keeping her eyes peeled. “The problem is defending our horses; their armor is in the third outpost.”“Why is it there and not on them?”“It limits their mobility,” Owen said from behind Raea. “The road between the outposts are peaceful. Except for these supposed goblins of yours. Where are they anyways?”A screRaea sat in a room across from a man wearing grey armor. Owen stood next to her while Palan leaned on the wall next to the door. The man had a frown on his face. “So you encountered one of those,” the man said and nodded. “There have been many reports about the natives using magic stolen from us angels.”“This is not an isolated incident?” Raea asked.The man sighed and shook his head. “We suspect it has something to do with the lizardmen village that you were sent to subjugate,” he said. “There have been many attempts at subduing it, but they have all failed. I pray you are able to do what no one else has done before.”“I see,” Raea said as she stood up. “It was nice meeting you, Lieutenant Malak.”“It was nice meeting you too, Lieutenant Raea,” Malak said and smiled. “Perhaps I could teach you a thing or two about being a lieutenant tonight.”Owen’s eyes narrowed, but Malak ignored him and waited for Raea’s reply. She said, “Sorry, but I have prior engagements.”Malak leaned back in
Palan sat on a wooden chair in a room with one window that had a desk beneath it. Raea sat across from him on a bed with a simple white bedsheet, pillow, and blanket. The moon cast a faint yellow glow over Palan’s face as he stared at it. He turned his head towards Raea. “Well?”Raea sighed and pulled a yellow crystal out of the leather bag by the side of her bed. She crushed it into dust and a roll of paper materialized in the air in front of her. The crystal’s dust flew into the air and formed glowing letters on the piece of paper. Once all the dust was used up, she retrieved the paper and cleared her throat.“This is a receipt for the level six contract between the Pride Demon Palan and the Angel of Kindness Raea,” Raea said as she read the first line aloud. “The contract was made between the Pride Demon Palan and the Kindness Angel Raea on the seventh day of the third month when the second sun passed its zenith. The term for this contract is set until both parties agree to dissolv
Raea yawned and stretched as she rolled around in bed. She rubbed her eyes before opening them. Palan was staring directly at her, unblinking with his bright-red eyes. Raea’s body spasmed as she jerked backwards and shouted. Her heart rate increased as she took in deep breaths before she finally settled down. She frowned. “Are you sleeping?”Palan’s nictitating membranes flickered and his body twitched. He tilted his head. “Why are you staring at me?” he asked and yawned. The first rays of sunlight illuminated his face from the window beside him. He wiggled his teeth with his tongue, causing a tooth to drop out of his mouth.“You were staring at me…” Raea said and glanced at the tooth on the floor. She sighed and shook her head. “Forget it. Get out of here; I need to change.”Palan crossed his arms over his chest. “Not until you tell me your abilities.”Raea groaned as she crossed her legs while sitting up on the bed. She placed her hands in her l
Palan sat behind Raea on her horse with forty or so cavalry riding behind them, riding along on a dirt road. In front of the group was a naked, scaled humanoid figure riding on a boar the size of a horse. The figure was green with clawed hands and toes. Its back had a vertical set of spikes running down its spine all the way to the tip of its tail.The lizardman turned his head to glance at the angels riding behind him before he extended his left arm out and pointed. The boar he was riding on squealed and turned towards a clearing in the forest with the horsemen following after it. After another ten minutes or so of riding, the group arrived at a glade. The lizardman pat his boar on the head and it slowed to a halt.“Why did we stop?” Raea asked as her horse trotted to a halt, its metal armor clinking. The second sun was at its zenith as it shone on the group below.“This is as far as I can take you,” the lizardman said, his voice rasping. His sharp teeth
“The lieutenant really trusts you, huh?” Gerome asked as he stepped over a tree’s root. Palan and Carmella walked ahead of him as he stepped through the forest.“What makes you say that?” Palan asked as he sniffed the air. He frowned and continued walking forward, crunching leaves beneath his feet as he walked forward.“Most contracted demons have to stay by their angels at all times,” Gerome said. “The lieutenant sending you to scout without her is proof enough.”“What do you mean?”Carmella cleared her throat as she picked a mushroom off the ground and put it in her bag. “Should we really be talking so much during a scouting mission?”“It’s fine,” Palan said and snorted. “There’s no one around except for a few of those squealers with tusks.”“Squealers with tusks?” Gerome asked and furrowed his brow. “You mean boars?”“I don’t know,” Palan said. “They’re the things that smell like what the guide was sitting on.”
“Interesting,” Palan said as he stood over a whimpering lizardman. The ground beneath him was soaked with red blood and fresh lacerations decorated the lizardman’s body. “I wonder if that’s true.”“I’m not lying,” the lizardman said as it drew its knees to its chest. Its ankles were bound together and its hands were tied behind its back. “I swear to Elbegon. Believe me.”“I don’t know who Elbegon is, but whether you lose another finger depends on your friends’ answers,” Palan said as he turned his back on the cowering lizardman and approached another one. He squat in front of the uninjured lizardman who glared at him. Palan smiled and twirled his dagger in his hand, causing a few blood drops to splatter on the lizardman’s face.“Your turn,” Palan said. “Who’s the strongest person in your camp? Your friend over there”—Palan said and pointed at the bleeding lizardman—”gave me an interesting answer. Let’s see if you can continue to remain uninjured.”
Palan sat on the ground outside of Raea’s tent with his legs crossed and hands resting on his ankles, interlacing his fingers. His back was straight, and his head faced forward with his eyes slightly downcast, staring into a fire. A light-blue aura that looked like miniature wings enveloped his upper back and cast a faint glow on the tent behind him. Emergency Victuals was sitting next to him with its head tilted, staring at the demon’s unresponsive face. A sliver of red light shone through a crack in the trees and illuminated Palan’s hands as the first sun began to rise. Behind him, inside the tent, a girl groaned as a blanket rustled.Moments later, the tent flap next to Palan swung open as Raea stepped outside, wearing a brown leather tunic and gray cloth pants. A pale-blue light shone out of the collar of her shirt, illuminating her face from below. Raea crouched down and placed her right hand on Palan’s
Raea frowned as she sat on a rock while chewing on a piece of meat in her hands. She faced a tent with Emergency Victuals blocking the entrance. Occasionally, screams permeated the air, originating from the tent. When Raea finished her meal, the tent flap opened, and Palan stepped outside, kicking the dire wolf out of the way. A few bloodstains decorated his pants and the dagger in his hand dripped blood.Raea furrowed her brows and asked, “Did you learn anything?”Palan nodded. “Anidun came to their village three years ago with a demon. He asked for a place to stay and, in return, he’d help the tribe grow,” he said as he sheathed his dagger. “Apparently, no one is allowed to see Anidun except for his demon, so the lizardmen don’t know much about him. He’s never stepped foot out of the cave that they gave him, but his demon would go around to engage in slaughter, solidifying their territory.” Palan smiled. “It