What could a pitiful Dormant Beast do against twelve monstrous generals of the hive—Ira had just barely survived an encounter with a mere soldier of this forsaken tunnel network!
'What do I do.. What do I do!?'
A sudden vibration rocked the ground beneath Ira.
There was not much she could do against such formidable beasts; her situation was helpless.. Unless a knight in shining armor appeared to save Ira from the clutches of death.
A feminine voice resounded out from behind Ira. With a quick motion, the silver-haired girl spun herself around; a group of Knights in onyx black armour appeared in her vision.
"Oh? What is a mundane—no, a girl of the Dormant rank doing in such a hellish desert?"
Intricate patterns woven on each set of the onyx armor—paired with a mysterious symbol of a man looming over a fallen beast, heart in hand.
"And here I thought this raid would be uneventful!"
With a loud yet muffled chuckle, the giant of a woman took off her helmet—her silky brunette hair fell with it, the giant brunette looked no older than twenty. The woman's gaze fell upon Ira; her hazel eyes shimmered even in the absence of light.
"Let us not delay the extinction of these beasts any further."
The woman's foot clicked and clacked against the rough floor of the tunnel—only for in the next moment to disappear from view, shooting past Ira at inhuman speeds.
'Wh-what?! What was that speed!'
It was astonishing to say the least; Ira could already guess by now that the woman was at least an Awakened—possibly even an Ascended!
The young girl's knight in shining armor had arrived, and had already begun to battle the beasts all by herself for a moment; the rest of her cohort quickly joined in. They disposed of the beasts in a ruthless yet efficient manner all before Ira's eyes.
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"Ahh~. That was refreshing! Oh, yeah! The girl!" The brunette said.
The giant woman approached Ira, expressing an Aura of domination and power—rightfully so! She had just slain a Strayed Tyrant with relative ease!
Creatures of the Tyrant class were capable of killing beings of a higher rank than themselves—up to even the Fiend class in rare circumstances!
"What should I do with you.. Oh, that's right! Were you the one who killed that worker and soldier back there?"
The giant woman pointed in the direction of the collapsed entrance—only it was not collapsed anymore.
'When did they get through!? Was I too focused on the hopelessness of my situation to hear?!'
With a shaky breath, Ira responded to the giant of a woman.
"Y-yes.."
A large grin appeared on the woman's face, "Great! How about a talent such as yourself.. uh.. Oh right! You should join the hell guard—after all, you do possess the 'Will'.."
The "Will"? What was the Will, and what made it so special? But something of much greater importance needed to be addressed first:
"Me? Talented!? Lies..!"
An angry expression covered Ira's face, only for it to go pale white in the next moment.
'Did I just yell at someone..? Crap!'
The young girl scrambled to find the words she could use to apologize to the giant woman—she had just saved Ira's life after all!
In the end, only three words left the silver-haired girl's mouth:
"I-i am sorry.."
The giant woman's grin only seemed to grow further.
"No need! Anyways, my name is Astheneia, leader of this small group of idiots. How about you join along on our mission to kill this abomination up ahead—come on, please!"
Astheneia's slightly obnoxious and loud personality made it very hard to refuse—not because she was charming, but because Ira felt like she could not disagree without being twisted left, right, and inside out!
With a voice that screamed of reluctance, Ira nodded her head in agreement.
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The young girl was lifted out of the tunnel network—a silly thought arose in her mind; she kissed the ground and screamed, "I am free!"
'What an embarrassing idea..'
Ira had a few questions for Astheneia—such as what the Hellguard was, or what she had meant by saying Ira possessed the "Will".
"The Hellguard? Oh—it is simple really! We kill the abominations sent by the Gods to kill us mortals. And what I meant by you possessing the 'Will'... Anyways!"
Astheneia seemed a little nervous at the mention of the second question, but something else drew Ira's mind.
'Abominations.. of the Gods..? The Gods?!'
Two conclusions were made by Ira—the first being that Astheneia was not referring to the gods of Earth's realm—if there was any gods that governed earth; or the second one—they were, and the Gods wanted humanity dead.
The second conclusion Ira had made sent a chill down her spine; the idea of all-powerful, all-seeing, and all-knowing beings wanting them dead—Ira dead, was terrifying; either way, both possibilities were equally as terrifying.
Soon, the cohort reached their mounts, 'Camels..? No, horses!' Neither of those answers were right; the creature did bear a resemblance to both, however.
"Adonis, let this young lady.. Lady.. Actually, what is your name?" Astheneia questioned.
Ira reluctantly muttered her name. "Ira.."
Astheneia patted Ira on her back, giggling like a little girl. "Well then, Ira! Adonis, let her ride with you."
The young girl stared up at the man she was supposed to ride with—an unparalleled beauty he was. Adonis's youthful appearance could charm anyone at first glance—except for Ira, who found his appearance uncanny.
The youthful man outstretched his hand for Ira to take, only to be rejected. The silver-haired girl hopped on the horse-like creature by herself, beginning their journey northwest.
'My instincts are telling me to go West.. Maybe I should tell them..? No, we are here to slay two different beasts; I can ask them after they complete their mission.' Ira sighed tiredly, she would do anything to sleep right now, but she still had questions about the Hellguard.
"Sir.. I know Astheneia already told me that the Hellguard hunts down the creatures of the Gods, but what exactly did she mean by that..?"
The youthful man glanced behind him, a thoughtful expression appearing on his beautiful face:
"It is as simple as that, we hunt down the creatures of the Gods."
Ira felt a little agitated at the man's vague response.
'That was not what I meant..'
The silver-haired girl did not want to pursue the answer any further, so she asked a different question.
"What is the Hellguard like..?"
Adonis sighed, "Look, you will figure out once you join—if you join… Fine, it is extremely difficult; I put my life on the line for my family, and get paid handsomely for doing so. If you are in need of money, join the Hellguard. Now stop asking questions—I have to stay alert for my job, and you, little girl, are distracting me."
Ira felt a little hurt at being shut down. One of the worst things someone could do against Ira was to prevent her from satisfying her own curiosity; an offense such as this would put him in her book of "Kill on sight"!
Naturally, she would not literally kill him, but her opinion of Adonis was now particularly unfavorable.
The silver-haired girl's exhaustion began to get to her; her body weak, her mind foggy, and her soul in need of revitalization—and thus, she began to dream of a midnight sky.