Hot Springs Brigade!

"Ahahaha!" A crazed laughter echoed across the open amphitheatre.

Amadeus and Fenris grimaced at the pool of blood that stained their shoes. A sea of corpses littered the amphitheatre before them, butchered in a manner devoid of any trace of humanity. Humans, elves, half-demons… even a serpentine basilisk lies amongst the dead missing its limbs and eyes.

The Otherworlder, dressed in clothes that appeared academic, came forward as the only survivor. No— rather he ensured there were no other survivors.

There was no sense in this demonstration. The combatants had no way of defending themselves from the Otherworlder. This was nothing short of a repugnant display of slaughter for the sake of slaughter.

"Very well done, Child."

A shiver crawled up the half-demons' spine and they turned around to find Headmaster applauding. Amadeus and Fenris stepped aside, bowing as their host descended from the stone steps of the amphitheatre.

"I hope my performance was adequate! I tried to keep the mess to a minimum, but I guess we're all just skin bags full of blood." From beyond the shadows, the Otherworlder stepped forward and bowed boorishly. He held in his hand the head of a slain orc, its tongue rolled out of its mangled jaw.

"Yes, I was quite taken from the very first act. I am fortunate it was you who I pulled from the void." Headmaster came level with the Otherworlder yet stood several heads taller than him.

"I haven't had this much fun in— God. Never! Haha! Whatever you are, ma'am or sir, you have my thanks." The Otherworlder picked up a severed arm from the floor and flicked the blood from it. He pointed at Headmaster and said, "I might just be stronger than you."

The room fell quiet. Amadeus shot Fenris a concerned glance, but the elder half-demon shook his head. Headmaster unveiled a black crystal, kissed it, and let it drop to the ground. Or so it appeared. The gem levitated just above the pool of blood and spun, creating ripples that froze in place at the edges, undulating like a beating heart until…

"Uur…"

"Ah...gh…"

The mutilated bodies began to stir. Two, ten, a hundred, rising from the sea of red. They moved with the same mobility as they had in life, but now their thought was one. The snarling horde surrounded the Otherworlder as though prepared to take revenge for their fate.

He looked at the orc head that was vainly snapping at the severed arm. "Heh. Gotta say, movies and television don't do them justice."

"Mine is not a strength to be matched." Headmaster waved a hand, then as if a sandstorm had blown in, the horde disintegrated into dust and coalesced into another black crystal that floated between them. It drifted into the Otherworlder's hands, which he held up to the blinding sun. It seemed to absorb light itself. "You will have your next show in a young kingdom called Cassun."

"Watcha need me to do?"

"Whatever you wish, Child."

A wide grin stretched across the Otherworlder's lips. "You're talking my language."

"There is one thing." Headmaster reached underneath black robes and procured a short obsidian stick that billowed with a dark miasma. "I need you to kill a woman for me. The Princess of this kingdom, Aurora."

"Upgrading to regicide, huh? These isekai quests are getting out of hand. Ahahahaha!" He slipped the branch and crystal into his pocket. "Consider it done."

Fenris descended and bowed to the Otherworlder. "If I may offer a hand. My Zeda Cross shall partake in this journey."

The female half-demon shimmered into form beside her master, lowering her head in reverence. "Thou'rt my voice. My actions, thine echo."

"I need her to confirm the existence of a rather peculiar individual." Fenris said carefully, so as to not arouse suspicions from Headmaster.

Zeda pressed her hands together before her eyes and prayed, "A hand guided by Spirit doth seeth with greater eyes than by Wisdom's wary gaze."

"What say our guest?" Headmaster asked.

"As long as horn-bitch doesn't get in my way." The Otherworlder sneered.

⚔ ⚔ ⚔

"Aura…?" Vic said slightly embarrassed. "How much longer do we have to do this?"

The Princess of the Kingdom of Cassun lies snug curled up against Vic's chest. They have been this way since she returned seeing Commander Zekan and Councilwoman Kesswyn off. Aura wouldn't so much as let her off the bed let alone the room.

"Kunf kunf… fwuahh~…" Aura sighed, seemingly content with Vic's scent and immobile state. "I would never be afforded this chance again. Taisha would have me walk off the edge of Arabor should I be seen cozying up to you."

"No, she wouldn't." Vic said with a hint of doubt. Would she?

Taisha has been an enigma to her ever since they met in the dungeons of Nymphea. In the years that they've known each other, Vic's entire past has been revealed to her. Yet, she still knew so little of Taisha beyond her background as a former slave to a Crimson alchemist.

"You came to know her before I did, what was she like back then?" 

"My, I expected the Captain to know more about her subordinates than I." Aura teased.

"It seems like she keeps a lot about herself from me— ?!" Vic's cheeks were suddenly being stretched out. "Ahra… lep fho…"

"But you are simply so adorable!"

"Hish ishet hunnay."

Aura squeezed her cheeks together before finally letting go. "Ah, my darling children. How fast you have grown, and now you are off seeking love."

"I don't know if we're like that…" Vic said, rubbing the side of her face.

"What?! Are you so muscle-brained that— have I raised an idiot to lead the defense of my kingdom's borders?" Aura choked out in a single breath.

"Wait, where did that come from??"

Aura got off the bed and put her arms on her hips. "Anyone with eyes can see clear as day you two are in love with each other!"

"Love like… Deena and Itsuki?"

"It is my fault." She put a hand to her head and shook. "Assigning her to be your handler was bound to distort your relationship down the line. Yet such were the necessary precautions regarding your past."

It was true. From the beginning, only Taisha and Aura knew of her parentage— by extension, her relationship to Septus Luciferon, the lunatic that tainted his bloodline with the Abyssal Depth's corruption. This made her demonic heritage much more volatile in comparison to her fellow half-demon kind.

The Council would have had Vic killed were it not for those two. Aura served as the leash, and Taisha the bone; together, they were the living shackles that anchored Vic's sanity.

Vic sat up and looked outside the window, dusk was fast approaching. "I miss home."

"Only one more night. We shall return tomorrow and though it pains me to do this, I shall play the matchmaker for you and Taisha."

"What? No! Y-you don't have to do something like that."

"Of course, I do!" Aura said, patting Vic's horned head. "The four of you are my darling children. I must see to your happiness, though it pains me to see you with that succubus."

"Why do you keep saying it like that…?"

"Not important! And besides, it is the least I can do for the dirt-ridden girl that saved my life."

Vic wanted to reciprocate the Princess' kindness, but a series of explosions brought their attention to the window. Dozens of people were running to the Guild Hall, behind them a shambling horde of mangled creatures snapped at their heels.

Many of the guild members jumped into action, halting their advance to give the citizens room to flee. The Guild's numbers were too few, as more fiends poured in from all directions the adventurers found themselves cornered.

"Aura, I'm going down to help." Vic grabbed the greataxe and kicked open the large window. "You stay here."

"Wait—"

She didn't give the Princess time to finish and jumped out of the second floor, cleaving away the first wave of what she believed to be risen undead. At the corner of her eyes, she saw an airborne half-demon bow and then dive behind a building towards the south.

Vic turned to the Adventurer's Guild and saw them shaking with terror. She lifted the axe and said, "Guild Master Aura is watching, time to earn your rank!"

It was the motivation they needed. The Guild's warriors roared with renewed courage. Itsuki ran up to her with Eve and Maya in tow. "What should we do?"

Vic ignored the advancing horde to take a quick glance at the available guild members. "Rust, you and Shade gather twelve members with you to clear the way to the eastern gate. Find Mayor Beurich and keep him safe.

Then she turned to Itsuki, decided she had other plans for him, and pushed him out of the way to address his party. "Maya and Eve, lead the remaining members towards the Artisan's District all the way to the western gate."

Eve's eyes seemed to glow with excitement in being relied on. She nodded enthusiastically. "Of course!"

"Mages, focus on abjuration and enhancement." Vic warned. "If I find one twitchy-fingered evocation spell go off, I'll bear down on you like a starving manticore. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Proprietress!"

They were quick to obey. Vic thought, amused.

As everyone leaves, Itsuki shook Vic by the shoulders. "What about my glory?!"

"One sec—" She swung the axe in a wide arc, cutting a swathe of approaching undead. "You have the honor of protecting the Guild Master herself."

"Me and… you, right?"

"I have to be elsewhere." It dawned on Vic as she took another look around. "Where the hell is Sarrul?"

"Dunno, probably still in his lab."

"Go get him."

"Okay…" Itsuki ran into the Guild Hall frowning.

Vic raised a foot that was stepping on a rotting severed hand. These creatures were clearly undead. But how could a horde this large make it into the city undetected by the watchers at the gates? Whoever that floating demon was, she clearly wanted to be seen. The faster Itsuki gets back with Sarrul the better—

Itsuki suddenly appeared before Vic and muttered under his breath. "Goddamnit, Sarrul."

"What happened?"

"He teleported me out. This is the second time, Sarrul! It's disorienting as hell!"

"You'll be the first line of defense then." Vic patted him on the shoulder and took off running.

"Oh, come on!"

⚔ ⚔ ⚔

Vic chased after the figure in the direction she had last seen them, coming into an alley face to face with the half-demon. A cowl shrouded her face, holes were cut into where the horns protruded. The woman wore robes inscribed with glowing sigils and carried no focusing element that Vic could see. Somehow, the regalia was nostalgic.

"I'd ask if you were the necromancer, but my memories tell me you aren't."

The figure's eyes narrowed to mere slits as though laughing underneath the shroud. "We are but marionettes upon a grander stage yet veiled under ignorance."

"I never liked the Cardinian Cant." Vic raised the axe with both hands and charged. "Too preachy!"

Crystals the size of harpoons materialized and shot at her. Vic shattered each one with the axe, but a larger one came plummeting from above. She flung the axe at the figure and rolled away.

Shards of ice scattered across the alley as it struck ground. Vic crushed a piece under her feet and looked up to see the axe seemingly hanging in midair. Rather, it had embedded itself into an invisible barrier.

Vic walked up to the axe, wrenched it from the forcefield and glared at the mage. "You're Zeda Cross. How's life now that you can't lick Grandfather's boots?"

She smiled and opened her hands to reveal empty palms. Unwilling to wait for the punchline, Vic raised the axe to strike again but a fiery blast sends her barreling back into the streets.

The alarm bells began to sound, echoing across the entire city. Soon, this place would be swarming with guards— not the kind of crowded battlefield Vic had in mind. Zeda was not a mage an army of guards can handle. If she didn't finish this fight soon, the casualties would be on her conscience.

Vic dove away from a barrage of fireballs, the explosion demolishing a bakery behind her. People came running out of it on fire and screaming in agony. A wave of blue energy washed over them, cutting their pain short.

From the end of the street, Sarrul nodded in her direction and began weaving another spell. His hands ignited a deep blue, and his eyes a bright gold. Blue flames spilled from his arms like a dragon's breath, incinerating the swarm of undead.

There was no end to them. If Sarrul stopped, he would be consumed in an instant. Itsuki was having trouble on his own, cutting down any stray that survived the inferno.

Neither of them saw the dozens of black portals opening above their heads. The distinct gleam of steel tips poked through the holes.

Vic screamed at them, "ABOVE YOU!" 

Her warning came too late. Dozens of bladed weapons rained down on them like a volley of arrows. Sarrul managed to erect a portal, but not before a few daggers buried into his arms. 

Vic's breath of relief lodged in her throat when she saw Itsuki lying on the ground with a sword in his back. Blood pooled around him, gushing out from the deep wound. Aura ran out of the Guild Hall to start healing him.

"Vic!" Aura shouted from the Guild Hall, her voice quivering with rage. "Bring these abhorrent tresspassers to heel."

Suddenly, the greataxe became a lot lighter. There was no need to hold it with two hands any longer. Vic brushed a finger across the scale, coaxing the dormant enchantments within to life. She pointed the weapon at Zeda who was floating out of the alley and said, "By your Command, Princess."

The earth shook as Vic launched into the sky. The other half-demon, unfazed by the surge of mana, weaved a spell as the axe narrowly shatters her skull. Vic's greataxe buried a mere foot into the barrier in spite of the Command boost. 

"That won't protect you for long." Vic grabbed the edge of the axe and pressed down on it.

"Wouldst that Might couldst shatter the will of Spirit..." As the barrier began to splinter, the cowled demon raised a hand and grinned, "If thine own heart be brittle, meek— cast away hubris, dine upon the gift of Wisdom."

"What—?" An explosion tore Vic from the barrier, sending her crashing to the ground. She landed on her feet, and steadied herself in time to deflect a sword flying in from the dust. "Who's there?"

More weapons whistled through the air. Vic raised the axe to deflect the blows, and side stepped as many as she could. A spear nicked her calf, daggers carved into her chest, it was a flurry of blows that couldn't be stopped.

Vic raised the axe with both hands and cracked the ground, the impact sent shockwaves that dispersed the haze and aerial weaponry. The momentary silence that followed gave her the time she needed to sniff out the unseen assassin— north, behind the well.

"There." She dashed forward and slammed the axe down. The well cratered underneath itself, shattering rocks into smaller shrapnel. "No more hiding, rat."

The dust cleared, and Vic saw Zeda had descended to protect her companion. Behind her was a human, one of similar likeness to Itsuki but smelled of malice. 

"I didn't need your help, horn-bitch." The human said with disdain.

"And so it was declared— They shall have two hands; Might in one; Wisdom in the other; with Spirit nestled 'tween the bosom."

"Still… to think the other horn-bitch could withstand my Vault of Kings." He placed his hands on his hips and shrugged. "Must've been a fluke."

Vic whirled the axe around as more weapons came flying from behind— a mistake she sorely paid for, as half a dozen daggers plunged into her back. Blood trickled from every wound on her body, staining the silver hair that clung to her backside a dark crimson.

"Ahahahaha! And I thought I was gonna piss my pants when you jumped at me. So much for a dragon slayer to be done in by a bunch of knives."

Vic sighed and grimaced at the greataxe's shaft that was now slickened with her blood. That was going to be difficult to wash off. The weapon was supposed to be a gift for Deena from her and Itsuki. 

Itsuki was hurt. How was she going to face Deena now?

"That's what I get for using a weapon I wasn't used to." The axe fell from her grasp with a thunderous crash. Her blood boiled, the mana burns began steaming as the knives squeezed out of her wounds. Vic turned back to her two assailants, raised her fists, and assumed a brawling stance. "Fine. You have my full attention now."