Ivy hurriedly grabbed one of her throwing knives and throw it toward the prostitute. The woman immediately evaded by leaping far backward. Ivy sprang to her feet and chased after her as the prostitute ran straight toward the forest.
"I'll take care of her!" Ivy said through the comm.
Meanwhile, Irving and Bella stayed behind.
"Well, that woman was surprisingly skillful," Irving muttered.
"Maybe she's a monk class?" Bella said. "Well, let's see what they've got here."
Bella approached the fancy wagon and climbed up, assuming it was already empty.
Suddenly—
A hand shot out from inside the wagon and grabbed Bella by the face.
"BRRRPP!"
A middle-aged man wearing merchant clothes emerged from the wagon, still gripping Bella's head with one hand and lifting her clean off the ground. Bella wiggled and struggled wildly, but she couldn't break free.
"MMMPPPH! MMMPPPPH!"
"Well, well, what do we have here? A mage bandit?" the merchant said, eyeing Bella's disguise.
He turned his gaze to Irving. "And a barbarian? Quite a unique combo."
"Guys… what's happening? I can't see anything," Kovalski said through the comm. The wagon blocked his view, so he could only see Irving—not Bella or the merchant.
"Let go of my friend," Irving demanded, pulling out his barbarian axe.
"Sure," the merchant replied calmly—and then hurled Bella toward Irving at terrifying speed.
"KYAAAAA!" Bella screamed.
Irving instinctively dodged.
THUD. THUD. CRASH
Bella flew straight past him, bounced several times across the ground, and slammed into a tree.
"OUCH! CAPTAIN, WHY DIDN'T YOU CATCH ME?!" Bella shouted, her face covered in dirt.
"At that speed? No thanks," Irving replied, never taking his eyes off the merchant.
Irving leaped toward the merchant, axe raised high.
It missed.
The merchant stepped aside effortlessly and drove his fist into Irving's face. Irving stumbled backward a few steps.
"Damn it… is he an adventurer turned merchant?" Irving muttered, rubbing his cheek.
Bella rushed back and took a stance beside Irving, her concealed blade ready.
"Oh? Not only a bandit mage, but a blade-wielding one?" the merchant remarked.
"A girl needs to stay protected these days," Bella replied, then dashed forward.
The two charged at the merchant, who continued to radiate smug confidence.
---
Meanwhile, inside the forest, Ivy and the prostitute were still fighting.
THUD. THUD.
The prostitute narrowly dodged two throwing knives that embedded themselves in a tree behind her. She immediately leaped forward, counterattacking Ivy with a blade.
CLANK.
Ivy blocked it with her own weapon. The two locked into a dead hold.
"You idiot! Why are you fucking here?" the irritated prostitute snapped.
"Why? Am I interrupting you and your client time?" Ivy grinned.
The prostitute kicked Ivy hard in the gut, sending her sliding several meters backward.
"UGH! THAT HURTS!" Ivy shouted.
"And much more is coming," the prostitute said, leaping forward again.
CLANK.
She knocked Ivy's blade clean out of her hand.
And then—
SLAP.
She slapped Ivy across the face.
"HEY! What did you do that for?!" Ivy yelled, her cheek instantly turning red.
SLAP.
"Ouch! That's not the way to fi—"
SLAP.
"Okay, seriously! Sto—"
SLAP.
"GAAHH!"
Ivy collapsed to the ground, both cheeks burning red. She scooped up a handful of dirt and flung it into the prostitute's eyes, stunning her for a brief moment. Using that opening, Ivy scrambled to her feet and ran. Her opponent was far too strong for her to handle.
"Jesus, why is a prostitute this strong?" Ivy muttered while running. "What is she, an S&M queen or something?"
She glanced back.
The prostitute was gone.
When Ivy looked forward again, the prostitute was already standing right in front of her, fist raised.
"Yeah," the prostitute said coldly. "I can make you my slave tonight."
"Huh? Oh fu—"
SMACK!
---
Meanwhile, back at the parked wagon, Irving and Bella were already lying on the ground, unconscious and defeated.
At his overwatch position, Kovalski lay prone with his sniper rifle, frantically scanning the area through his scope while repeatedly trying to reach his teammates.
"Guys! Come in!" Kovalski said through the comm. "Guys! What happened? Should I come down there or what?"
There was no reply.
Then a voice spoke from directly behind him.
"Yep. You should come down there as well."
"Huh?"
SMACK.
Everything went black.
---
Moments later, Kovalski's consciousness slowly returned. His vision was blurry, flickering with orange light. The faint crackling of a campfire reached his ears.
When his sight finally cleared, Kovalski realized he was tied tightly, his arms bound behind his back.
"What the fuck?" he muttered.
"Oh, you're up…" Irving's voice greeted him.
Kovalski turned his head and saw his friends sitting nearby—also tied up. They were beaten and bruised, clear proof of how badly the fight had gone.
"Oh my god! What happened?" Kovalski panicked. "Am I?! Am I?!"
He frantically looked around until his eyes landed on a bucket of water beside him. He leaned forward as much as the ropes allowed and checked his reflection.
"Oh thank god…" Kovalski sighed in relief. "My face is still okay."
"Oh, fuck you, Kovalski," Irving said flatly.
"Asshole," Ivy added.
"Just die," Bella said.
"Well, well, you finally woke up," said a sweet female voice.
Kovalski looked up. Standing in front of them were the merchant and the beautiful prostitute.
"Oh, such a fair maiden," Kovalski said, eyes sparkling. "Are you my angel of death? If you are, I'm afraid your beauty only makes me welcomed de—"
"Oh, shut up," she snapped.
"Are you sure it's them?" the merchant asked.
"Sigh… yeah. One hundred percent," the prostitute replied. "It's the misfits."
"You know us? Who are you?" Ivy demanded.
The merchant and the prostitute exchanged a glance.
And then—
POOOF.
Their bodies warped and twisted, transforming into a succubus and an incubus.
"What?" Irving said. "You're demons?"
---
Moments later, the Misfit were freed from their ropes and sitting around the campfire with Megan and Young Mo.
"So… you removed a merchant named Dillian and disguised yourself as him," Irving said Meanwhile, you disguised yourself as a prostitute he picked in his travels, just to find out who his boss was?"
"No," Megan replied calmly. "Using dream invasion, we already confirmed that the King of Meridinia is the one behind it. Now we just need solid evidence to stop the war with Dwargonia."
"I see…" Irving said.
"I can't believe Murica is fighting the dwarves while we're in Balevar," Bella commented.
"Yeah," Kovalski added. "That's some seriously cunning conspiracy-level bullshit."
"So what are you guys doing here?" Megan asked.
"Oh? We're just traveling around," Bella said quickly, hiding her nervousness. "Making adventurer content."
"Yeah, you know," Kovalski added. "Murican Adventurer Party stuff."
"No," Megan said flatly. "I mean what are you doing here? Trying to rob this caravan?"
"Whaaat? No, no, of course not," Irving said nervously.
"Y-yeah," Ivy said after a moment of thought. "We were… trying to save the slaves!"
She stood up dramatically and pointed toward where the slave wagon had been.
She blinked.
It was gone.
"I already freed them and sent them away," Megan said. "They already saw us fighting. There was no need for them to see us transform into demons as well."
"A-ah… good then," Ivy said. "That means we don't need to free them anymore."
"Yeah," Irving said quickly, standing up. "Which means we're not needed here anymore."
"That's right!" Kovalski added, standing as well. "We should go find other people to rescue."
"That's right!" Bella said, joining them. "Because that's what we are—adventurers who always help people!"
"During our travels," Megan said calmly, "we heard about a notorious bandit group. A barbarian, a thief, a mage, and an elf."
The Misfit froze.
"Now sit down," Megan continued, "or I'll report this to your commander—and your sister."
They immediately sat down straight.
"Sigh… boss?" Megan said, glancing at Young Mo. "Anything to say? You've been awfully quiet."
"Hm," Young Mo said. "I'm thinking about how to continue our operation."
"Any bright ideas?" Megan asked. "We cannot use the guards and slaves as cover anymore."
"I might have one," Young Mo said, grinning as he looked at the Misfit. "Our new friends here might be able to help."
The Misfit collectively felt uneasy.
Not long after, the Misfit were wearing new disguises.
Bella and Ivy had been turned into serfs.
Irving and Kovalski now wore guard uniforms.
"U-uh, excuse me," Irving said carefully, trying to negotiate. "But we're Rangers, not part of the BICH."
Megan immediately pulled out her satellite phone.
"Control, can you connect me with the Dawn base commander, please?"
"AND YET," Irving said quickly, "IT IS OUR RANGER DUTY TO HELP STOP THE WAR!"
Megan calmly put her phone away.
---
By morning, everyone was packing up to move.
"Have you gotten rid of the guards and hidden their bodies?" Megan shouted from across the wagons.
"Done, ma'am," Bella and Kovalski replied in unison while packing supplies.
"Sigh… are you sure about this, boss?" Megan asked Young Mo beside her.
"Why not?" he replied with a smile. "This seems more fun anyway, hahaha."
"This operation is becoming more and more absurd," Megan sighed.
Nearby, Ivy and Irving whispered urgently to each other.
"But what about the single piece?" Ivy asked.
"It's in Meridinia too," Irving replied. "So we're not straying that far."
"Sigh… I guess we don't have a choice," Ivy said.
"That's right," Irving nodded. "We help them finish their mission, then we say our goodbye."
Ivy nodded back.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING OVER THERE?!" Megan shouted. "WE'RE MOVING!"
"COMIIING!" Ivy and Irving shouted back.
And with a strange twist of fate, the Misfits now found themselves dragged into a geopolitical conspiracy.