Hearthguard Cairn
The battle's aftermath at Oakenbrew Mansion
CRASH
Calgirra Oakenbrew knelt in a bowing position, shards of broken glass scattered beside her. Wine soaked her hair, and thin streaks of blood ran down her forehead.
"THIS IS VERY REVOLTING!" Priestess Gabrielle shouted.
"Apologies, Priestess," Calgirra replied. She showed no concern for her condition, her eyes still dulled with enchantment.
"That many war machines, and they still lost to such a small force!" Gabrielle ground her teeth. "And worst of all, they weren't even fighting the demons!"
Calgirra remained silent.
"Tch! Leave me," Gabrielle commanded.
Calgirra bowed again and excused herself.
"Sigh…"
Gabrielle reached into her robe and pulled out a pocket-sized mana-comm—a new piece of church mana-tech inspired by Murican phones. Unlike its inspiration, this device transmitted only sound.
"Don't worry, Sister Gabrielle," Sachiel's voice came through. "This is merely the first battle. The dwarves still possess vast forces for a prolonged war."
It was clear the other side had been listening the entire time.
"I know, Father Sachiel," Gabrielle replied. "Perhaps spending too much time in this filthy giant cave has made me lose my temper too easily."
"I cannot imagine the hardship you must be enduring," Camiel's voice joined in. "Hiding for months, surrounded only by heathen lower races. The Goddess will not leave such devotion unrewarded."
"Thank you, Father Camiel," Gabrielle said. "What of Meridinia? I hope they don't lose their nerve after witnessing this battle."
"No need to worry," Sachiel replied. "Though his motives are far from virtuous, King Cassemir is still eager to join the fray."
"Of course he is," Gabrielle scoffed. "Typical of those who live outside the Solis Continent. Gold over Gospel."
"Indeed," Camiel agreed.
---
Goddess Realm
Meanwhile, high above Talvaris, beyond, continents, clouds, and its atmosphere, a celestial body was orbiting in slow circles around her throne, biting her fingernails—something no mortal was ever meant to witness. Stress radiated from her divine form as she muttered incoherently to herself, halo flickering faintly.
"Grrr…" she growled.
At last, what she had been waiting for appeared.
With a soft flash of light, her angel secretary materialized midair and immediately dropped into a deep bow.
"Goddess, the downlo—"
"DIDN'T I SAY I DON'T WANT TO HEAR DEMON LANGUAGE IN HERE?!" Celes snapped.
"F-forgive me!" Seraph bowed even deeper. "I mean… all the harvest has already been transferred here."
Celes stopped orbiting.
"So?" she demanded, anxiety dripping.
Seraph hesitated. That hesitation alone made Celes' eye twitch.
"From the casualties of… 9.426 lives… from the Dwargonia–Ravendawn battle…" Seraph swallowed.
"The goddess particles harvested are… exactly worth 9.426 points of divine energy… No extra."
Silence.
Then—
"T-T-T-THAT'S BARELY ENOUGH FOR ONE YEAR OF MAINTAINING TALVARIS!" Celes shrieked.
"LET ALONE MAINTAINING MY BEAUTY!"
She clutched her face dramatically.
"THOSE FUCKING DEMONS!" she exploded. "THEY HAVE ONE JOB! ONE! MAKE HUMANITY SCARED SHITLESS! NOT HIDING BEHIND HUMANS!"
She slumped slightly, rage giving way to despair.
"They didn't even show their noses on that battlefield…" she muttered. "Why… why are they being so tricky…"
"…Because they are demons?" Seraph offered carefully.
"You don't need to answer that!" She glared
Celes resumed circling her throne, faster now as she thought hard.
"Grr… at this rate I'll be broke any time soon…" she muttered.
"Should I just tell the Hero to march straight to the Demon Kingdom and kill that pig already…?"
She paused.
"No… no, he's only level thirty-plus. Too risky…"
"Please be patient, Goddess," Seraph said gently. "The Virtues are still doing their best to persuade more kingdoms to join the war against the demons."
Celes froze.
Her eyes lit up.
"That's it!" she clapped her hands. "We just need more kingdoms to fight the demons together with the dwarves!"
Seraph blinked. "…That is exactly what I was saying, my Goddess. The Virtues are simply waiting for the dwarves to request assistance to Meridinia Alliance."
"Why do they need to wait?" Celes frowned. "Just attack them already!"
"Because many kingdoms now consider Muri— I mean, the Demon Kingdom—as a legitimate nation," Seraph explained.
"They require proper justification before declaring war."
"Pah!" Celes scoffed. "The only justification they need is "me"!"
She pointed dramatically.
"Send another divination! Tell the Virtues to get that Merry-Merry thingy kingdom to start attacking the demons too!"
"G-Goddess," Seraph said nervously, "sending another divination would consume nearly all the energy we just obtained. Please reconsider—we must conserve resources."
Celes' expression darkened.
"No," she snapped. "This is me supporting "your idea" of sending the Virtues outside the Solis Continent."
Her voice grew sharp.
"You know how much I despise my Celeste Kingdom's people leaving Solis, right? Outside Solis is filthy—full of low races."
"Y-yes… forgive me, my Goddess…"
"And yet," Celes continued, "I allowed my beautiful, beloved Virtues to leave their clean sanctuary and run around dirty places like the Dwarven Kingdom."
She folded her arms.
"The faster they make kingdoms fight the demons, the faster they can come home."
She turned sharply.
"Send the divination."
Seraph bowed deeply. "…As you command."
If Talvaris were a farm like what Lich theoretized before, then the Celeste Empire was the farmhouse—clean, polished, and controlled. Everything else was merely the barn. Celes adored her Celestians like carefully bred house pets, designed to be beautiful and obedient.
She disliked them going to the barn and vice-versa.
Unless, of course, they were useful as slaves.
---
Somewhere in Balevar
Meanwhile, while the holy and the divine reeled from defeat, evil was quietly prevailing in a hidden corner of Balevar.
"Kukukuku, finally…" Ivy said with an evil grin. "The other part of the map."
She aligned the two torn pieces on the ground, forming a complete treasure map. The other Misfits gathered around, staring down at it.
"This labyrinth dungeon was supposed to take a week to clear," Bella said with a grin. "But we cleared it in a day."
"Good thing we had plenty of C4," Kovalski added, also grinning. "Otherwise, we would've starved to death in here."
Behind them lay a dead minotaur and layers upon layers of breached stone walls. They were clearly inside the famous Minotaur's Labyrinth—now riddled with a straight trail of destruction ran from the entrance all the way to the center. The unmistakable handiwork of the Misfits, Their solution to puzzles had been… explosive.
"And now," Irving said, smiling, "we're halfway to finding the 'Single Piece.'"
"Let's see… where does this map tell us to go?" Ivy said.
She placed a modern Talvaris map beside the ancient one, comparing the markings.
"Hmm… hmmm…" Ivy studied them carefully. "So we go north… then east from here…"
"GOT IT! It's a cave inside Meridinian Alliance territory!" Ivy exclaimed.
"Sigh… another long journey…" Bella groaned.
"Well, at least we don't need to walk anymore," Irving replied.
"Yeah, you're right, Captain," Bella said, her face brightening.
---
Balevar Highway
The Misfits were now riding a horse-drawn wagon bearing a random merchant crest—clearly not their own. Irving and Ivy sat at the driver's seat, Irving holding the reins while Ivy scanned the road with binoculars. Bella and Kovalski sat in the back, arguing.
"STOP EATING ALL OF OUR RATIONS, YOU GODDAMN GLUTTON!" Kovalski shouted, pushing Bella's face away from a loaf of bread.
"BUT I'M HUNGRY! This wagon barely has any food—just fabrics!" Bella protested, reaching for the bread in Kovalski's left hand.
Ever since all their money had been stolen by kids at an orphanage, the Misfit Party had survived by robbing travelers and merchants they encountered along the road—as their last options.
"Just let her be, Kovalski," Irving said lightly. "We'll get more food when we rob the next traveler."
Well… maybe robbing was actually their first option.
"Speak of the devil," Ivy grinned, lowering her binoculars. "I see a target."
"Oh? Let me see," Irving said.
Ivy handed him the binoculars. Through them, Irving spotted two wagons escorted by several guards.
"Two wagons, with guards…" Irving muttered. "Hmm. This will be tricky."
"But it looks like a big haul. Kukuku," Ivy said.
"…Of course it is," Irving grinned. "Alright. Too risky to hit them in daylight. We'll follow them and rob them blind at night."
"Roger that," the others replied.
And so, the Misfits' adventures became less about adventuring—and more about banditry.
---
Nightfall
That night, their targets rested in a forest near the highway. From a distance, the Misfits could clearly see the wagons' contents. The shabby wagon carried several slave children, while the other—far more luxurious—still housed its passenger.
Hidden among the trees, the Misfits prepared.
"Four guards," Ivy muttered. "Three sleeping. One on watch."
"Kovalski, you're on overwatch duty," Irving said. "Only shoot if absolutely necessary."
"Roger," Kovalski replied, attaching a suppressor to his SR-25 sniper rifle.
"The three of us do the usual," Irving continued. "Remember—no guns. We can't leave clues that highwaymen are using firearms. People back home would immediately know it's us if the Balevar authority report it. Hooah?"
"Hooah," the others replied.
Moments later, Irving silently approached the guard on watch. He pressed a chloroform-soaked cloth over the man's mouth, preventing any sound until the guard went limp.
Irving carefully supported the unconscious body so the armor wouldn't clatter, then lowered him gently to the ground.
"Good one, Captain. No one woke up," Kovalski whispered through the ear-comm.
Irving signaled Bella and Ivy, who waited behind the bushes. Together, the three moved toward the remaining guards sleeping around the campfire.
Each approached a guard with cloth in hand. They looked to Irving.
At his nod, they struck simultaneously.
One guard struggled briefly—but only for a moment before the chloroform took effect.
Guards eliminated.
But then—
"WHO GOES THERE?!"
The passenger from the luxurious wagon stepped out. A beautiful prostitute, wearing a delicate yet slutty dress.
"Ah, shit—sorry, guys!" Kovalski said over the comm. "The wagon blocked my sight."
"Tch! I'll handle this!" Ivy said, sprinting forward with a drugged cloth.
She leapt—
—but the prostitute caught Ivy's wrist mid-air and used Ivy's own momentum to slam her into the ground with a clean judo throw.
THUD
"Gah! What the—?!" Ivy shouted.