Heart of a Monster

Vidor stood stunned as the fires continued to roar and rage in the village before him. Snapping and cracking of wood being burnt, weakened, and ultimately destroyed as it crashed to the ground boomed out from the burning structures. Crying and screaming could be heard from panicked villagers somewhere within the scorching town as they ran for safety. Even through all the many cacophonous disturbances, the only thing that resonated within Vidor’s ears was Aridean’s question to him: ‘Was I wrong?’

Thick plumes of black smoke were billowing up into the cold, night sky. The air itself was choked with smoke as the normally pleasant countryside breezes carried sooty vapors into eyes and lungs. Burnt ash and splintered wood could be seen jumping as walls and ceilings came crashing down.

“Aridean… you…” Vidor started to speak. However, he was still trying to process what was unfolding before his very eyes.

“Was I wrong… to… have thought this was fair?” Aridean asked sorrowfully. She wiped the one tear from her apathetic face and listless eyes.

Vidor’s mouth slowly fell open as his eyes widened in disbelief. He could not fathom the idea that Aridean had been the cause of this disaster as Magdalene had suggested. However, here he stood with Aridean, providing what seemed to be an admission of guilt. Vidor looked from Aridean to the fires behind her and then shook his head. After a moment to compose himself, Vidor took in a deep breath of the sooty air. He refused to believe what he was seeing and hearing.

“Aridean, what are you talking about?” Vidor inquired with renewed confidence. Aridean slowly turned around to face the fires again.

“I lived in this village for almost seventeen years, yet the people hated and cursed me for having been born a minotaur. They cursed Simon for taking me in…” began Aridean.

Aridean took a moment to pause as she surveyed the enflamed village again. The thick smell of smoke on the wind invaded her nostrils and she could feel her eyes burning. Even so, Aridean stared, unblinking, into the inferno that had swallowed her hometown. Vidor watched as Aridean’s grip on the battle axe she held loosened. Slowly, the weapon slid from her hand and fell to the dirt.

“When they had finally found a reason to get rid of me, I ran because I was scared. Scared of the people, the village, the thought of being thrown into prison for something I didn’t do. But none of that scared me more than my being a burden on Simon,” Aridean continued, her voice sounding more and more as though on the verge of tears again. Vidor could see that her shoulders were shaking as Aridean added, “I was so angry with this horrible village. Why was it that they couldn’t just let me live with Simon like I wanted?”

Vidor’s eyes again began to widen as Aridean spoke depressingly and sincerely. Her hands had balled up into tightly clenched fists that trembled at her sides. Aridean held her head low as a strong wind blew past her, dragging flames from a nearby building to dance inches from her face. Vidor could see the wind dragging not just the fires, but Aridean’s mane and tail. After careful consideration, Vidor sighed defeatedly before beginning to walk toward Aridean.

“Aridean, you didn’t mean t--,” Vidor started to assure before being cut off.

“But through it all… I... They may have burned any chance I had at a simple and happy life here with Simon. Would it be so wrong if they suffered some sort of punishment for that? But I… I didn’t want this. Just seeing whatever happened here is almost too much…” announced Aridean as she slowly slumped down onto her knees. Vidor’s eyes widened in surprise now as he listened to her words and he stopped a few feet behind where Aridean now sat.

“Whatever happened here? So, she really didn’t do it… thank goodness,” Vidor quietly whispered to himself with a sigh of relief. Although he could not bring himself to smile, he did approach Aridean again with newfound determination.

Aridean continued to stare into the fires, lost in her internal debate on the fate of her hometown. Her mind was racing back and forth as cinders danced in front of her face and the pungent smell of smoke continued to occupy the air she breathed in. She could hear the dirt immediately behind her shift as Vidor drew near. Although she felt warm being so close to the flames, Aridean felt Vidor’s warm arms surround her as he knelt down beside her.

“You didn’t do anything wrong. You just wanted a happy life here; there’s nothing wrong with that. You ran because you thought that at least Simon could live happily; there’s nothing wrong with that. Whatever happened here, you didn’t do anything wrong,” spoke Vidor with a gentle tone. Aridean took a deep breath as she leaned into Vidor.

“I… thank you, Vidor,” Aridean responded, sounding choked up. After a moment, Vidor slowly pulled her back up to her hooves. As the two rose from the ground, Vidor also retrieved Aridean’s axe that lay at their hooves. With a gentle smile, Vidor returned the large weapon to Aridean.

“We should be going; there’s no reason in us sticking around here,” Vidor announced as the two minotaurs stood by the oversized bonfire, looking into one another’s eyes. Aridean looked to Vidor with surprise before looking into scorching town again.

“But… the village,” Aridean replied with obvious concern in her tone. Vidor began looking into the fires as well but shook his head before speaking again.

“You and I can’t do anything about this. Let’s go get Rana, she might be able to put out the fires with her magic,” Vidor explained reassuringly. Although the worry in her eyes had not faded, Aridean looked to Vidor and nodded. Vidor had made an excellent suggestion yet leaving the burning village that had reviled her for so long did not feel right to Aridean as the two began making their way to find Rana.

Together, Aridean and Vidor turned their backs to the raging flames that had swallowed most of the village. Aridean slowly followed behind Vidor as he led her back along the moonlight lit road. However, the duo had not made it twenty paces before Aridean turned around again to look over Gres with grief-stricken eyes.

Something… just doesn’t feel right about all this. W-why does it feel like… I’m—Aridean began thinking to herself before seeing and hearing someone calling out from within the brightly glowing village.

“Someone! Please, help me!” screamed an older looking gentleman as he ran between burning buildings in the direction of Aridean and Vidor. Vidor turned to see what the commotion was. The man was waving to the duo of minotaurs as he continued to make his way to them. Once the man got close enough and the light from the fires shone on his face, Aridean let out a quiet gasp.

“Mr. Ettoman?” Aridean near-silently whispered to herself as she watched the old man charge in her direction.

“Please! Help me!” the older gentleman shouted again as he continued to flee from the fires. However, it quickly became apparent that the man was not fleeing from solely the blazing inferno that had swallowed the village. Aridean and Vidor both gasped as eyes went wide upon seeing the true reason for the man’s desperate pleas for help.

From behind a scorched bit of wall, a small and impish-looking creature emerged. The monster was as black as the burnt wood it had been hiding behind and its body appeared small and slim. Long arms and a hunched back, but with long claws. This strange creature appeared to be pursuing the old man that was crying for assistance and rapidly gaining ground. Aridean watched, paralyzed, as the beast leapt up onto the man who fell to the ash covered ground. Terrified screaming could be heard from the old man as he made frantic efforts to get the creature off. Aridean was utterly mortified when the monster revealed enormous, jagged, white fangs. In an instant, the impish abomination silenced the screaming as it chomped down on the old man’s throat.

“No!” Aridean shouted as she brought up her axe. Without hesitation, Aridean began to charge the monster that had killed the old man.

“Aridean, wait!” Vidor called out futilely as Aridean continued to advance with her weapon ready.

Aridean rushed the creature that continued to munch on its prey, hooves carrying her as fast as she could move them. Just as she reached the small beast, Aridean brought her axe back with both hands gripping the haft. With an aggressive battle cry, the blade was swung with tremendous force.

As the massive blade met its mark, the small creature shrieked in pain. Aridean watched as her weapon sliced horizontally through the monster. While the lower body immediately fell to the ground, the top part was sent upward almost a full foot from the force behind Aridean’s attack. Each piece of the imp-like being had begun to profusely ooze a viscous liquid that was just as black as the beast’s body. With the abomination felled, Aridean looked over her slain target with anger in her eyes. She took a deep breath before moving the monster off of the fallen old man. As she removed the creature, her expression slowly softened.

“Mr. Ettoman…” Aridean said as she slumped down on her knees again beside of the body. She laid her axe down beside her as she looked over the old man.

However, her mourning was quickly cut short as a hissing sound could be heard somewhere nearby. Despite the intense roar, snapping, and cracking of the fires all around, Aridean could hear the hostile hissing of something close. She turned just in time to see a second impish abomination was jumping at her just as the first had Mr. Ettoman. With a loud gasp, all she could think to do was raise an arm in defense. She shut her eyes tight as she awaited the attack.

Another pained shriek could be heard crying out as Aridean opened her eyes again. Surprised that she had not been made the second monster’s chew toy, Aridean saw that it had been shot with an arrow. The small body wiggled and squirmed in pain as its black blood began to pool around it.

“Aridean, c’mon, we need to go now!” Vidor exclaimed as he approached with his bow drawn. He extended a hand to grab Aridean and pull her up onto her hooves again. Aridean had only bent over to grab her axe from the ground when she heard Vidor again, “Oh, dammit.”

Aridean looked up to see more of the same kind of monster approaching the duo. She turned her head to see that Vidor was facing the opposite direction, staring at even more of beasts. Aridean then looked to both her sides to find that there were yet more imps converging on her and Vidor. The two minotaurs were entirely surrounded by the odd gremlin-like entities.

“There’s so many… W-what do we do?” Aridean asked Vidor as the two backed into one another.

“There’s only one thing we can do,” replied Vidor as he notched another arrow in his bow. Hesitantly, Aridean nervously inhaled the smoke-choked air before raising her axe again in preparation. However, she lowered it as she noticed the odd ring in the dirt that surrounded both her and Vidor. Vidor had also lowered his bow as he examined the unordinary discovery as well.

Is it just me or… are we sinking? Aridean thought to herself as she saw the earth beyond the ring begin to rise. It appeared as though the ground outside her encompassing ring had risen a full foot before stopping.

“Darkest evils beware,” came a familiar voice from somewhere behind Aridean.

“For you tread on hallowed ground!” finished another, also familiar voice.

In an instant, the raised ground beyond the ring that Vidor and Aridean stood in began to split apart with the loud cracking and grating of stone. Many small fissures in the ground erupted outward from the ring, stretching out toward the numerous monsters. Once the sound of shattering earth had ceased, a luminous light began to shine from the fissures. These lights quickly grew more and more incandescent until, in a flash, the holy magic had made itself known. Multiple spears of holy energy were made manifest and had been launched directly into the monsters that surrounded both Aridean and Vidor. All around the duo were the pained cries of the monsters as they were each impaled on their own spear of holy light.

“I’m glad to see that was as effective as it was,” came the first voice again. Aridean turned to see both Rana and Magdalene standing in front of the dark country road. Each of them still had residual magical energy lingering from their spells as their hands were still glowing brightly.

“I guess it worked well enough,” Magdalene commented as she crossed her arms over her chest. Rana snorted and rolled her eyes but maintained a gentle smile on her face. Vidor, however, appeared confused by the display.

“Uh… what exactly was that? You two sounded like you just came straight out of that children’s play Rana dragged me to last month,” Vidor began to bark, mildly annoyed. Rana gave a light chuckle as she approached both Vidor and Aridean. Magdalene followed her from a short distance behind.

“Oh, come now Vidor, I thought that was fun. Besides, you said that play was nice,” replied Rana as her laughter died down.

“What’s the matter, pervert? Jealous you didn’t get to do something like that?” chided Magdalene from behind Rana, a mischievous smirk drawn across her face. Vidor looked to the girl with great irritation in his expression.

“One: not a pervert. Two: jealous? Of that? No. Besides, Aridean and me could pull off something twice as cool easily,” Vidor responded with a matter-of-fact tone in his voice. Magdalene proceeded to roll her eyes while Rana stifled some more laughter. Through it all, Aridean simply looked between her companions, growing more and more baffled by the discussion as it progressed.

“Uh, guys? We are still on the edge of a burning village infested with these little monsters,” Aridean announced. Aridean’s statement garnered the attention of Magdalene who moved forward with a particularly furious look on her face.

“What do you care? You did it, didn’t you?” Magdalene inquired aggressively. Aridean was left entirely stunned by the accusation.

“W-what?! W-why would I do this?” Aridean returned with alarm in her voice.

“One: she didn’t do it. Two: even if she had, how do you explain those monsters? Face it, you’re wrong about her, just like you’re wrong about all minotaurs,” Vidor chimed in with a smug look on his face. Magdalene let out a frustrated grunt, clearly annoyed with Vidor’s incessant prodding.

“She still could have done it and just told you she didn’t. The monsters could have been just outside town; the fires and chaos brought them in,” exclaimed Magdalene as she turned her back on Aridean and Vidor. Although Vidor now wore an absolutely livid look on his face, Aridean held her head low in defeat.

Maggie thinks I did this? It’s true I was afraid of this village… but I… Aridean began to contemplate. Her internal monologue was cut short as a nearby support beam gave way in a burning building. Cinders, smoke, and ash jumped from the heap of roofing and wall that had just come crashing down. Everyone was watching, almost mesmerized by the dancing flames that were burning building, as the black smoke ascended into the black sky. After a moment of gazing upon the broken and charred building frame, Rana began to shake her head.

“Look, whether Aridean did this or not does not matter right now. We’re here and we can help stop whatever is happening here. We should start by looking for survivors of this catastrophe,” said Rana with her gentle tone. Despite her voice sounding more like a sweet schoolteacher’s than a squad leader’s, Vidor nodded his understanding of his sister’s order. Aridean also nodded in agreement albeit with a depressed expression. Magdalene, however, turned her back on the three minotaurs with her arms crossed again. Aridean looked to Magdalene for only a second before her eyes fell to the ground at her feet with a quiet and sorrowful sigh.

‘Whether Aridean did this or not’… I know what Maggie thinks, but does Rana also think I did this? If even she has doubts… it makes me wonder if Vidor really believes it wasn’t me, Aridean depressingly pondered to herself.

“What about her?” Vidor asked, gesturing to Magdalene. The girl turned to see that both Rana and Vidor were looking at her. While it seemed that Rana was busy thinking about something, Vidor wore a most irritated look on his face.

“I already told Rana that I’d help if we were going to stop the fires. But after this, I’m gone. I’m not working with village destroying minotaurs even if they saved me,” asserted Magdalene. Aridean’s entire body felt as though it were about to collapse having heard Magdalene call her a village destroyer. Vidor, disgusted by Magdalene’s attitude, let out an annoyed grunt.

“You could just get lost now; save us all the trouble,” Vidor commented before being smacked in the back of his head by Rana.

“She’s agreed to help us and if we’re going to be putting out an entire village, we’ll need all the help we can get. Now then, Aridean, of the buildings that are not on fire, which seem like good holdouts from those monsters?” Spoke Rana as the fires all around continued to crackle.

“Uh… well, we can see from here that the town hall is already aflame. Other defensible buildings in this village would be…” Aridean began, voice trailing off as she carefully considered other options that survivors of the disaster might have chosen. She looked all around, counting the multiple smokestacks rising into the air.

It looks like nearly all of the marketplace is burning… town hall is gone… the schoolhouse? No, too many windows and not enough barricade material… What about… Aridean began to ponder before lifting her head to look toward the northern reaches of the village. Her eyes lit up a little as she did not see a smokestack in the approximate location of her next choice. She turned back to the group before sharing her thoughts.

“I think… we should try Mutt’s Tavern. It would be plenty safe for survivors and I’m not seeing smoke from its direction,” Aridean explained, her tone sounding a bit worried.

“Mutt’s Tavern will be our first stop then; Aridean, lead the way,” Rana ordered with a smile to Aridean. Aridean, although not returning a smile, nodded back to Rana.

Aridean turned back around to face the direction of the tavern. She kept her large battle axe firmly gripped in her right hand and she began to charge. Aridean could just barely hear over the fires the stamp of Rana and Vidor behind her as their hooves hit the hard dirt beneath them. She was not able to hear Magdalene’s lighter tread at all but could hear the girl cough and pant as some smoke must have been irritating her.

As the group continued their march toward Mutt’s Tavern, burning buildings on either side of the roads they ran along came crumbling down. Shattered glass, charred wood, and plenty of ash littered the village. The thick smell of the smoke choked not just the air, but the team as well. Although their eyes were starting to burn from the smoke and heat, everyone pressed on, following Aridean as she led them onward. Within minutes, the restaurant that Aridean had worked at for a time came into view. The former employee for the tavern felt relief as her burning eyes saw that the building was not ablaze as the rest of the village was.

I might not have the fondest memories working here, but I am glad to see it still standing, Aridean mentally told herself as she slowed down to catch her breath a distance away from the store.

“Ah-ahh!” a terrified scream rang out. Aridean’s ears perked up and she focused her smoke-filled and watery eyes in the direction of the horrified cry. She was stunned to see that it was a villager that had tripped, just feet from the door to Mutt’s Tavern. But what brought her back to her senses was seeing that the villager was being chased by another one of the monsters.

“Ahhh!” screamed the villager as the monster lunged at him.

Too scared to move, the villager just raised his arm to defend himself and shut his frightened eyes tight. A second later, a pained and shrill shriek was heard. The villager opened his eyes and lowered his arm with a surprised gasp. Aridean stood in front of the fallen villager, having swung and hit the monster that threatened the man with her axe. The man’s eyes went wide as he gazed upon his savior. Aridean kept her back to the man with her head held low as she repositioned her axe in anticipation of another attacker.

“A-a minotaur?” the man stated in confusion.

“C’mon, get up! Let’s get you inside,” spoke Rana as she lifted the man to his feet and began walking him to the front door of the tavern. The man offered no resistance, not that it would have stopped or even slowed Rana. Together, along with Magdalene, Rana and the man entered the restaurant. Vidor moved to follow them but stopped in the doorway when he noticed Aridean not following.

“Hey, you coming? This might be the only break we get,” Vidor called out. Aridean turned to him with a smile.

“I-I’ll catch up. I just need a minute to catch my breath is all,” replied Aridean. Vidor raised his eyebrows but shrugged and followed Rana and Magdalene into the tavern. Now alone, Aridean turned her back to the tavern and took a deep, smoke-tainted breath, “Andrew Yeoman…”

Inside the tavern, Vidor noticed the place looked like a tornado had run rampant through the small store. Furniture had been broken and there were several holes in the walls along with broken glass beneath the few shattered windows at the front. The dizzying smell of the smoke from outside lingered in the air.

Vidor took a moment to recall his first, and only other, visit to the tavern. He vaguely remembered how the pleasant smells of the kitchen wafted through the store. He was hardly able to remember how the now broken furniture looked ready to break on his first time to Mutt’s Tavern. What made the memory special to Vidor, and honestly what he was really able to recollect about his first trip, was having met Aridean for the first time.

“She was so nervous the first time we spoke. It was kind of adorable,” Vidor quietly whispered to himself with a hushed chuckle. Magdalene looked to him with confusion, but shrugged and returned her own attention to the restaurant they stood in.

Apart from Vidor, Rana, Magdalene, and the man they had saved, there appeared to be a gracious number of villagers taking refuge in the tavern. Immediately upon their entry, the group heard startled gasps of surprise and perhaps even fear. Whispers and quiet discussion among the villagers were not-so-discretely concerned with the fact that two minotaurs just entered the makeshift refuge.

“Andrew!” one man called out from near the kitchen door. The man hurriedly rushed up to Rana and the younger man that she was helping into the store. Without hesitation, the older man took the younger from Rana and retreated back toward his original position near the kitchen door.

“I-I’m okay dad,” the younger man spoke, leaning on his father as they moved away from Rana. Although she did not expect to hear any gratitude, Rana took a deep breath before surveying the remaining villagers in the tavern. After a moment, she turned to Vidor and Magdalene.

“It looks like a lot of villagers have taken refuge here. Magdalene, see about taking care of any injuries while I fortify this place. Vidor, you and Ari—wait, where is—,” Rana began to order before being cut off by Vidor. Having heard her order, Magdalene wasted no time starting to tend to the injured.

“Said she needed a second to herself,” interrupted Vidor.

“Oh, a-alright then… well, I hope she’s had enough time to herself then because we have work to do. Vidor, you and Aridean should head back out and secure a perimeter around the tavern. Once this place is safe, we’ll start working to quell the fires,” Rana continued. The older man that had collected his son from Rana turned to look at her with surprise after having heard her instructions to her brother.

“Aridean?” the man called out, disbelief on his face. His son, whose leg was being treated by Magdalene’s magic, looked to his father in surprise before focusing on Rana; his eyes were filled with surprise just the same as his father’s. Vidor turned to head back outside but stopped by the door as the whispers behind him became more audible.

“Did that one say Aridean?” came one voice.

“Wasn’t that Gray’s daughter?” another voice was heard asking.

“But isn’t his daughter dead? You don’t think that…” a third voice was heard trailing off.

“Couldn’t be, why would that minotaur be here?” inquired a different voice.

“Maybe she came back just to see this catastrophe!” exclaimed a final whisper that Vidor managed to pick up. Rather, that was the last one he was willing to listen to as he grit his teeth before pushing open the door and exiting Mutt’s Tavern.

Back outside, Vidor found Aridean still gazing upon the ruined village. Vidor thought that she must be in deep thought concerning the disaster that had befallen her home, but found he was unable to open his mouth. Instead, Vidor slowly approached Aridean and stood by her side.

“Was… was that man okay?” Aridean asked hesitantly. She did not even turn to Vidor.

“Him? Yeah, hurt his leg running from that monster, but he’s alive. His dad took him from Rana and Maggie was healing his injury when I left,” answered Vidor with a nonchalant tone of voice. He turned to see that Aridean’s eyes had widened slightly and her mouth had fallen slightly agape.

His father… Sir… Aridean thought to herself. She then took a deep breath and shook herself back to reality. Fires from all directions continued to crackle and pop as she turned to look at Vidor.

“W-well, what were Rana’s orders? I guess we’re to stand guard from the monsters while she and Maggie work inside,” Aridean guessed while putting as much cheer into her voice as she could muster. She had even gone so far as to draw a bright smile on her face as she turned to look at Vidor.

“Uh… yeah,” replied Vidor, a bit confused by Aridean uncharacteristically peppy demeanor. Vidor had found her just outside the village, on the verge of tears over her home, “Aridean? You doing okay?”

“H-huh? Y-yes, I’m fine. Why? I-is there something wrong?” Aridean responded nervously.

“Well, it’s just--,” Vidor began before being interrupted.

“Stop this nonsense! What are you doing?! Don’t you know what is happening here?!” shouted an aggressive sounding man from somewhere further into the village. While his yelling could be heard reasonably well over the roar of the flames, Aridean and Vidor could faintly hear the sound of metal hitting metal.

“That voice…” Aridean softly spoke, her face filling with surprise again.

“What was that? We should probably go check it out; may be more survivors out there,” Vidor asserted as he turned toward the direction of the shouting. With his bow drawn, Vidor began to advance into the burning village.

Aridean watched as Vidor disappeared into the smoke that swallowed the road. Having heard the shouting had stopped her dead in her tracks. She could so vividly recall the last time she had heard that voice reprimand her with the exact same phrasing. The memory caused her legs to become weak and she felt like breaking down and apologizing for her past mistakes.

“Aridean? C’mon!” Vidor called out from beyond the smoke. Having heard her name brought her back to reality.

H-he’s not angry with me… he could be in trouble! I need to find him now, Aridean mentally told herself in an effort to psyche herself up. Although the effect of her personal pep-talk were minimal, she did manage to start lifting her hooves and chase after Vidor in his pursuit of the shouting man.

Aridean entered the smoke clouds that Vidor had disappeared into. She slowly began to pick up the pace and started chasing after Vidor as quickly as she could run. Small clouds of dust were kicked up behind her as her hooves hit the ground. Smoke invaded both eyes and nostrils for unpleasant stinging and a foul scent, yet Aridean persisted on continuing through the burning village.

Aridean found herself entering the marketplace. Although it was difficult to see, she was just able to make out a dark silhouette in the smoke choked air in front of her. The figure appeared to be crouched down and examining something on the ground. After a moment, the figure raised their head to reveal the horns on top.

“Vidor,” Aridean called out as she approached the silhouetted Vidor. Vidor turned as Aridean emerged from the smoke into an open and clearer space in the center of the market. She could see the disappointment in Vidor’s eyes as she neared him, “I-is something wrong?”

“We were too late for this one…” replied Vidor as he turned back to what he was examining before Aridean arrived. As Aridean got closer, she looked over Vidor’s shoulder to see that he was examining a severely injured man. After getting a good look at the man’s face, Aridean’s own face was immediately filled with despair. She let out a terrified gasp before speaking.

“No! No, no, no, no, no, no, no! It can’t be,” Aridean exclaimed, her voice laden with despair. She hurriedly moved around Vidor to the other side of the man. The man had been horribly wounded as a massive gash ran the length of his torso. Copious amounts of the man’s blood drenched his cut shirt and pooled on the ground around his body. Raspy breathing and low coughs were heard coming from the man.

“This… this isn’t Simon, is it?” Vidor asked apprehensively. However, it seemed that Aridean did not register the question as she began to frantically try treating the grievous wound on the man’s chest. Aridean was desperately holding down on the wounds and wrapping smaller cuts and gashes along the man’s arms and legs.

“T-traitor? Me? W-what… are you…” asked the man. He took long pauses between words in order to shakily suck in more air. Although his voice was weak, the man sounded disappointed or even guilty.

“This isn’t—this can’t be happening!” Aridean panicked as she continued to futilely dress the wounds on the man’s body. Vidor watched, paralyzed by Aridean’s determined and vain attempt to aid the man.

“Hey! You two were supposed to be guarding that restaur--,” came Magdalene’s voice from behind the two minotaurs. Having heard her voice, Aridean moved quick as lightning as she turned to the girl. Sure enough, there stood Magdalene with her hands on her hips and an irritated look on her face.

“Maggie! Please! Save him!” Aridean desperately pleaded.

Having heard Aridean’s cry for help, Magdalene’s expression quickly changed to show her confusion. It was when Aridean got up from the dying man’s side that Magdalene could see who it was Aridean was begging her to heal. She gasped at the sight of the battered and bloodied body. Aridean hastily approached her and grabbed the girl by the hand, pulling her toward the man.

“H-hey! Let go of me!” Magdalene snapped at Aridean as the minotaur pulled her closer to the injured man. Vidor continued to observe, surprised by Aridean’s bold action of grabbing Magdalene. Aridean released Magdalene as the two now stood by the man. Aridean quickly got down to her knees and looked Magdalene in the eyes.

“Please! Please help him! I’ll do anything!” Aridean begged with a frantic tone of voice. Her eyes were filled with fear and tears were starting to form. Magdalene’s own eyes only widened further in surprise. She looked to the man and then back to Aridean, biting her lip as she finished her initial examination of her newest patient.

“I… I’ll try, okay? But these wounds…” Magdalene replied, her voice filled with uncertainty. The girl got down on her knees and her hands immediately began to glow their bright and incandescent aura.

Magdalene hovered her hands over the man’s large wounds. Blood continued to pour from the openings, soaking the wrappings that Aridean had administered in a deep crimson color. Vidor watched Magdalene work her literal magic in silence, glancing up at Aridean every few seconds. Each time, he saw a new tear fall from her face.

It was entirely different from anytime she had used healing magic previously. Most healing magics simply required a quick pass of the focused energy over the wounds. Both Vidor and Aridean had seen it from Rana and or Magdalene before; just a second of concentration from the healer and the wounds would stitch themselves shut. However, the open flesh on the man did not make any motion to repair itself regardless of the time Magdalene spent focusing her magic into the wounds.

Roaring fires continued to rage all around the blazing marketplace. Beads of sweat began to form on Magdalene’s forehead as she intently focused her magic. The aura glowing on her hands continued to grow brighter and brighter. She had become so keen on channeling her magics that the girl had started to hold her breath. Upon noticing her concentration, Vidor looked at the girl with eyes slowly widening as he witnessed Magdalene’s face turning red. Eventually, Magdalene began to gasp for air, the magic immediately fading from her hands.

“M-Maggie?” Aridean called out, her voice weak but still just as desperate. Magdalene continued to take deep breaths, only looking to Aridean when she could breathe normally again.

“Ari…s-something… something’s blocking my magic,” Magdalene reluctantly announced. Her eyes were filled with sorrow and she slowly shook her head back and forth. Aridean’s face was quickly washed over by her ultimate despair and fear. She turned to look over the dying man as he coughed up a small amount of blood. Although her horror persisted, Aridean began to weakly laugh.

“Heh, heh, y-you’re joking, right? Y-you did say you’re bad at jokes,” Aridean spoke through deranged giggles. She turned back to Magdalene, “Maggie, please! You have to save him! I’ll do anything!”

“Aridean…” Vidor softly called out. Magdalene held her head low, face obscured by her hair. Tears in her eyes, Aridean looked to Vidor to see his expression. It was clear upon his face what Vidor was trying to tell her, ‘It’s too late.’

“A-Aridean? Is that… oh… I see now…” asked the man, his voice only having grown weaker.

“It’s me! Please, Mr. Watson! Please don’t die,” Aridean cried as she moved her face into the man’s sight. Tears began falling from her face and splashing upon the man’s own.

“Watson? So, not Simon… but she’s still so…” Vidor quietly commented to himself.

“I’m so sorry, Aridean… I’m so, so sorry… there wasn’t anything I could do,” the man struggled to speak.

As his voice trailed off, the man gently closed his eyes. Aridean’s eyes widened as more tears began to fall. She put an ear to the man’s chest, desperate to hear anything. Unfortunately, Aridean only grew even more terrified. The minotaur let out a scared and weak cry. Vidor watched Aridean, unable to speak, while Magdalene just turned with her head still held low.

“N-no… this isn’t… Noooo…” Aridean sobbed weakly. The crying minotaur pushed her face into the deceased man’s chest. However, the weeping subsided and Aridean grew quiet. Just as Vidor moved to comfort her, Magdalene jumped to her feet.

“T-there’s more of those things!” exclaimed Magdalene, pointing toward a small legion of the pitch-black, impish monsters. Vidor’s gaze followed Magdalene’s finger, he let out a quiet gasp upon setting his eyes on the approaching enemies.

“Maggie, run! Aridean, c’mon! There’s too many of them,” Vidor ordered as he grabbed Aridean by her shoulder. Magdalene was quick to obey the command and retreated a distance away from where Aridean was mourning. Vidor began to pull Aridean to her hooves but found that she was practically glued to Finn’s body. He could not so much as get her shoulder to move an inch.

“Get… away…” Aridean mumbled, sounding particularly angry.

“W-what? Aridean, we gotta go!” Vidor responded, both confused and surprised by Aridean’s resistance. His eyes widened as he saw Aridean reach for the battle axe she had laid down on the ground. Her fingers wrapped around the haft and Aridean jumped up from Finn’s side with a furious expression.

“I said get the hell away from him!” Aridean shouted at the top of her lungs as she turned toward the legion of monsters. With only a single, horizontal swing of her axe, the entire road that the gremlins were advancing on began to glow a bright orange. Vidor’s jaw dropped and his eyes went wide at what happened next.

In an instant, the ground that made the road before Aridean and Vidor began to quake. Grating of stone against stone and the crumbling of rock was heard as the road began to shatter and split. From the many crevices that the quake created, flames began to rise high into the air. The fires that shot forth from the ground began to dance over the rooftops of the buildings on either side of the road. Pained and agonizing screeching could be heard from the monsters that had the misfortune of being caught in the attack. Vidor continued to watch in awe as the event unfolded. Magdalene stood a short distance further away but was just as amazed as Vidor was by Aridean’s attack.

“Damn, she’s hot when she shows off how powerful she really is…” Vidor whispered to himself before shaking himself back to reality. “A-Aridean… are you alright?”

Aridean did not respond, simply dropped her battle axe at her hooves. Slowly, she turned to face Vidor with red, tear-filled eyes. Vidor reached out to her as she took a step closer. Both minotaurs began to embrace the other, Aridean pushing her face into Vidor’s shoulder.

“He… he was…” Aridean weakly began to cry again. However, she had started to become tired of crying so much and instead just took deep, shaky breaths. Vidor gently wrapped his arms around her.

“It’s okay… we did everything we could,” spoke Vidor in an effort to reassure Aridean.

“No… we haven’t, not yet,” Aridean replied, much to Vidor’s confusion. Her tone sounded somewhat irritated.

“What do you mean by that? You tried to stop the bleeding and even holy magic could not save him. What more could we have done for him?” Vidor asked Aridean. The female backed off slightly, prompting Vidor’s face to scrunch up with worry. He could see Aridean’s grip tighten on her battle axe and her expression slowly shifting to show her rage.

“The monsters couldn’t have done this to him, he was too strong for those things. Those wounds, they were made by a person,” Aridean began to explain, her annoyed tone sounding more and more angry with every breath. Vidor’s eyes slowly widened and his jaw dropped again as Aridean continued to speak, “I’m going to find who did this to him… I’ll make whoever did this pay!”