The once-quiet village was now an inferno.
Flames licked the skies, devouring buildings without mercy. Smoke billowed into the air, mixing with the cries of the villagers. Debris clattered to the ground as ash danced like snow in the wind.
Even the village chief's "castle"—a glorified manor—was a crumpled mess, half-buried in fire and ruin.
"Have you seen him?!"
"No!"
"Check the right entrance!"
"He's not there either!"
Shouts echoed from every corner as guards in pristine white armor and silver helmets dashed through the wreckage, searching frantically.
But among the panic, one guard stood out—not because of skill or authority, but because she wasn't doing anything at all.
While everyone else was scrambling like headless chickens, this guard stood silently at the castle entrance, arms folded, casually watching the chaos unfold.
She glanced around lazily, watching as some guards dashed into the fields, others checked the front yard, and one… seriously lifted a flowerpot and peeked under it.
"The chief is missing, not a beetle," she almost said.
Then—
"The rear! The rear entrance!!"
Someone yelled.
All the guards instantly changed course, like a pack of well-trained—but very confused—dogs. In seconds, even the flowerpot guy was gone.
The entrance was clear.
The coast, clean.
With a swift look left and right, the lone "guard" tiptoed through the door like a cat on a mission.
She dashed down the charred veranda, leapt over fallen beams, and entered the grand room at the center of the estate.
The interior, though scorched, still bore signs of former glory—tiled floors, ornate walls with intricate dragon designs… all now cracked and smudged with ash.
At the end of the room stood a gigantic slab of a door—metallic, heavy, and etched with two dragons swirling in battle.
She pushed.
Creeeaaakkk…
The door moaned open with a dramatic screech. She slipped inside.
And her eyes went wide.
Jackpot.
The room was circular, its ceiling high enough to summon lightning gods, but that wasn't what made her mouth fall open.
Gold.
So much gold.
Piles upon piles of it—coins, jewelry, trinkets, weapons, bars—everything gleamed in the low light like treasure out of a dragon's dream.
"Ohhh-"
The helmet came off.
Revealed beneath it was a girl—no, a beauty. Sunlight-blonde hair spilled over her shoulders, earrings twinkling like tiny stars.
She threw herself into the pile of gold, letting the coins rain over her like a child in a sandbox.
"This… THIS is heaven!!" she squealed, eyes sparkling as she lifted a coin dramatically toward the ceiling like she'd just been crowned queen of pirates.
Then—
"He's not here either!"
"Check the front again!"
Voices!
She froze, eyes widening.
"Crap!" she hissed.
In a flash, she pulled a sack from her coat pocket—somehow it expanded to the size of a hay bale—and began shoveling gold into it with frightening speed.
Clink! Clink! Clink!
In just under a minute, half the treasure had vanished into her sack.
The sack now looked like a small boulder with grown legs.
She eyed the rest of the loot with genuine sorrow.
"…I'll come back for you, my sweet babies," she whispered, patting the remaining gold with a tear in her eye.
Gripping the sack, she groaned as she began dragging it across the room, the sheer weight leaving thick scratch marks along the polished floor.
"Nnnghhh—!"
Her face turned red from effort.
She shoved open the massive door again—this time with less elegance and more gritted teeth—and pulled the sack behind her, sweat pouring from her face.
"Oi! Oi! This thing's ridiculously heavy!" she muttered, swiping her forehead as she hunched over, grabbing her knees.
Just then…
Someone passed.
She looked up, only seeing the boots at first—but they seemed familiar.
"Oi, Ken! Help me with this!" she shouted with relief, perking up.
But then… she looked up fully.
It wasn't Ken.
It was a real guard.
"…Huh?"
The two stared at each other.
They both slowly glanced at the mountain-sized bag of loot.
Then back at each other.
One second… two seconds… realization.
"A THIEF!!" the guard shouted, face twisting in alarm.
"Wait, wait—don't you know who I am?!" the girl cried, straightening her back and giving a dramatic hair flip.
"I'm Alpha! An elite treasure inspector."
Beat.
"Uh?!" The guard didn't seem to buy it.
"Tch!" Alpha muttered, yanking the sack like it weighed nothing as she sprinted off, coins flying from the top.
"A thief! A thief!"
Within minutes, the guards had rallied. The chase was on.
***
Meanwhile, Ken—the demon-slaying dual-sword maniac from earlier—walked casually through the wrecked village, eyes scanning the rubble-strewn street.
"Where could she have run off to now..." he muttered, sighing as blood dripped steadily from his shirt. He looked like he'd just crawled out of a meat grinder. A victorious one.
But something felt... off.
He noticed it slowly. The way the villagers were staring at him from either side of the street—like he'd just stepped in cow dung and tracked it into a shrine.
"You needed to see the way he butchered that demon," someone whispered.
"I actually pitied the poor thing."
"How could someone be so brutal?"
"He even smells like a demon..."
"He must be a demon in human form."
"Demon..."
"Demon..."
"De—"
"Shut it!" Ken snapped, spinning toward them, swords already halfway drawn.
"Eeek!" The crowd squealed, shrinking back.
"He's snapped!"
"A mad demon?! That's double trouble!"
"Oi, oi, oi! I said shut it! Go find better things to do, you useless side characters!" Ken barked, pointing his bloodstained sword like a teacher with a ruler.
Shrieeek!
Everyone vanished like smoke.
Ken grumbled. "What happened to the good ol' days when demon slicing was met with applause and a bouquet?"
He took a step—and froze.
Thud.
The ground vibrated beneath his feet.
The villagers peeked out again, confused.
"Catch her!"
"Don't let the thief escape!!"
Dozens of armored guards stormed into view, the earth trembling with their synchronized thunder.
Ken blinked. "What now?"
He squinted at the tiny figure leading the charge.
Yellow hair. Ridiculous energy. A massive sack dragging behind her like a dead yak.
"Alpha?" Ken blurted.
"AAAAAAHHHHH!!" Alpha wailed as she ran straight toward him, the sack of gold bouncing wildly behind her like it had a mind of its own.
"Stop right there!" the guards shouted.
"NOOOO! THE GOLD IS MINE!!" Alpha howled, as she barreled full-speed into Ken.
CRASH!
They hit the ground with a thunderous thud.
"Agh—my spine," Ken groaned, blinking up at the blue sky.
"There she is!"
"Get her!"
The guards were closing in.
Ken turned his head. "Alpha, what the hell—"
"My gold!!" she cried out, horror-stricken.
Her sack had ripped open from the crash. Gold spilled everywhere, glinting in the sunlight like tiny traitors.
"Oi! Alpha, they're coming!" Ken shouted, eyes wide.
"No! I'm not leaving my babies!!" Alpha wailed, flailing like a toddler denied candy.
The guards were less than ten meters away now.
"She mustn't escape!"
"Idiot, we're leaving!" Ken yelled, grabbing her wrist.
"Nooo! My baaabies!!" she screamed, being dragged away like a cat from a warm windowsill.
The two disappeared into the nearest alley, but the guards weren't done yet.
"After them!!" they roared.
The floor shook again as a hundred boots pounded after the pair, through the scattered treasure.
Then, finally—silence.
From alleyways and shattered windows, villagers slowly peeked out. Like rats smelling cheese, they emerged.
One man dove into the coins. "Gold! It's gold!!"
"Heaven's finally smiling upon us!"
"Don't touch that! It's mine!"
"I saw it first, you blind old goat!"
Chaos returned—this time, shinier.
And somewhere in the distance, Ken and Alpha were still running for dear life.
***
TBC