46 Suspicions of Weakness (1/2)
Even immortals and beings living many ages sometimes still felt extreme emotion once in a while. The most would be fear of dying, in front of a greater threat or anger, hate. All strong emotions related to a terrible situation. But unfortunately, it was an immense shame that was engulfing both Meridiana and Davion. For the first time since they arrived on the planet, they were debating whether that plan was the right one. They agreed to this masquerade only because it sounded both safe and a little bit funny. Instead of just grumbling in a dark cave like Ymir, they could travel the world, do nearly as they pleased and have some fun. But as they left the huge building with, in her hand, a small notice telling them to slay a few normal wolves, they felt deeply ashamed of themselves.
Instead of a domineering aura, a desolated pair of armors left the northern gate under the baffled gazes of the humans. They only raised their heads when they entered the wood a day of walk later. Looking at each other, they realized that no one should ever learn what happened. Before, just their very presence on one of the numerous planets of the Demonic Empire would be a grand occasion. They were the ones fighting the Lanfos directly, the only real threat after the fall of the Ancients. Their subordinates only had worship, fear and deep respect for them. But those humans, they just …
”Never, again.” The cold voice of Davion woke up the succubus and she replied back the same sentence. Trying to forget the ridiculing stares and disappointed face of the receptionist, they quickly searched the woods. At first, they met nothing but herbivores and small mammals. A rabbit, a couple of foxes and such. Each time they noticed a group of humans, they avoided it, and in less than an hour of intense running, they finally found their first target. Two injured wolves and two corpses were laying on the ground.
One dead man was under an equally dead predator and both of them were being eaten slowly by the panting wolves. From the looks of it, someone tried to hunt those wolves but fell victim instead. The moment Davion and Meridiana appeared in their visions, they began to growl and showed their teeth. But that small mistake of judgment quickly vanished and even injured, they tried to run away. Unlike the monsters of the mountains, they didn't have the same luck. The orodil effortlessly caught their two heads and crushed them. The animals didn't even have the time to take more than two steps before it happened.
Looking once again at the task, Davion extracted the right canine of each corpse. While crushing their skulls, he still took care of not harming the lower part of the maw. Normally, just those three trophies should have been sufficient, but neither of them thought like that. For them, to wash some of their previous mistakes, at least ten of those predators needed to die. Barely half of an hour later, they found a den filled with a dozen of those wolves.
The same reaction of fear could be seen, limited to only the adults. Some cubs still tried to attack the two aliens but miserably failed. Because they were void of any sharp tooth, they still survived. Unfortunately for them, none of the rest shared the same fate. Leaving the bloodbath filled with headless bodies, the couple managed to gather 14 canines. Only that result was satisfying enough and with their speed, they quickly disappeared from those woods in direction of Archet.
THUMP
The gorgeous woman was shocked by the behavior of Meridiana. Without even greeting her or doing anything like that, she just put the proofs of their deed on top of the desk. The fourteen bloodied canines were displayed, accompanied by the small notice describing the task. While it was only some random wolves that usually lived only to be slain by rookies, the distance was big between that forest and the city. Only by not resting and running day and night one could gather so much. Feeling puzzled, the receptionist still asked what bothered her.
”Wonderful, you have achieved your first quest, one of grade C. Now if you want to be acknowledged as a real adventurer, you still need to do something riskier. But I am certain that you will manage to succeed.” She harbored her biggest smile, something she had done thousands of times. Sometimes, they saw them coming back. But more often, faces never reappeared. Before the two strange people in front of her turned around to look at the two walls, she still questioned them.
” … just as a formality, did you do this task by yourself?” That sentence was pronounced with a very innocent tone, but for Meridiana, it only reminded her of the previous incident. Her shame was turning into anger, that a mere ant dared to suppose that she was incapable of even killing a few wolves. Feeling that his companion was having a hard time, Davion put his two hands on her shoulders and pressured the succubus. The latter still took a few seconds to calm herself, regretting once again to have been fooled by Leilade like that. Who talked about holidays in a peaceful planet?
”Yes.” The voice of the succubus was almost like a murmur and the woman in front of them almost missed it. The human was incapable of recognizing the emotion inside the voice, but, while she still had her doubts, without proofs, she couldn't refuse the completion of the request. Searching in of the drawers near her, she pulled a few coins. Giving them to the two strange people, she wished them once again the best luck possible. She stared at them a few seconds more, before a group of adventurers arrived and reported what happened to them.
Leaving the building fuming, Meridiana immediately attacked Davion when they found a more secluded location. ”Why are we playing by the rules anyway, why can we just kill them all anyway and be done with …” A strong hand lifted her helmet and was then placated on her mouth, preventing from saying anything more compromising. The orodil listened to his surroundings, to see if anyone heard what was told a few seconds before. Fortunately for them, the only one that heard them was a rat eating a small bread crumb. He still looked at the two strangely, but after they scanned the animal, they found nothing unusual. Meaning that it was truly a random rat and neither a magical invocation or an animal controlled for afar.
”Let me go, BACK OFF!” Sensing that she was not calming at all, the tall giant reinforced his grip and completely locked her in his arms. For nearly a minute, he felt her struggling, but what could she do against someone twice her size and much stronger physically. She finally stopped moving and he released her. Talking more normally and more quietly, she still didn't stop insulting the humans.