Before Dash and Shel arrived, the angry-looking girl had already left, abandoning the guards who were now discussing the situation. It was clear they wanted to help the girl but couldn't because of their duty. Dash and Shel approached Harold and Vonnes.
"What's going on, Mr. Harold?" Shel asked.
"That girl just now… she's from the Snow Wolf Tribe. She came here looking for help because her village was raided by a Demon Mafia group, and many children there were captured to be sold as slaves to the nobles in the Grandias Kingdom," Harold answered.
"Hmm, I see," Dash muttered thoughtfully. "No wonder she asked the knight for help earlier, and now the guards," Dash thought.
Dash glanced at Shel, but then immediately turned to look at her as she stood next to him, head bowed low, her black hair covering her face. Her hands were clenched into fists and trembling, and a yellow, magical energy aura began to envelop both of her fists. Dash leaned down slightly to see Shel's face. He was shocked because Shel's expression was intensely angry, her jaw muscles bulging and looking somewhat frightening. Dash also noticed the guards stepping back, though they seemed to understand Shel's distress.
"Shel? What's wrong?" Dash asked, putting a hand on Shel's shoulder.
Suddenly, Dash's hand was jolted by the yellow aura and immediately flung away. Dash clenched his fist, and the yellow aura disappeared. He instantly moved in front of Shel and grabbed her shoulders.
"Hey… snap out of it, Shel," Dash said, shaking Shel's body.
Since Shel remained unresponsive and clearly overwhelmed with emotion, Dash, having no other choice, raised his hand.
"Sorry, Shel," Dash said.
"PLAK," Dash slapped Shel hard, though he didn't use any of his actual strength. Even so, it made Shel pass out and nearly stumble sideways, but Dash caught her so she wouldn't fall. Dash, still kneeling on one knee to support Shel's unconscious body, turned to look at Harold.
"Do you know what caused Shel to lose herself like that?" Dash asked.
"I don't know if it's related, but a few days ago, members of the Demon Mafia came to this city with a noble from the Grandias Kingdom. They asked about a female Half-Orc living in a secluded forest. They threatened to destroy the city if we didn't tell them, but we didn't. In the end, they left, but not before a small skirmish with the knights and hunters in the city," Harold replied.
"Hmm… I think I understand what happened and why Shel is like this… Do you know where that Demon Mafia headquarters is?" Dash asked, his voice low and menacing.
Hearing Dash's heavy, angry voice, compounded by a gray energy aura starting to emanate from his body, and seeing him stand up carrying Shel, Harold, Vonnes, and the other guards all backed away, their faces showing they were looking at something terrifying and beyond reason standing before them. Harold swallowed his spit, then moved forward slightly outside the gate and pointed with a trembling finger.
"Just straight west… that's where it is, right before you enter the Grandias Kingdom's territory," Harold said.
"Good, thank you. I'm leaving," Dash replied in a heavy voice without turning around at all.
After getting outside the fence, "BUM," Dash immediately took a massive leap far to the west, still carrying Shel. This left Harold, Vonnes, and the other guards stunned.
"Phew… the Dragonkin really lives up to the legends," Harold said, wiping his sweat.
"That Demon Mafia group is toast… I'm just glad he isn't targeting all demons… I absolutely don't want to make an enemy of him," Vonnes replied, tightly clutching his trembling spear.
"I understand, and lucky for us he isn't after all humans either," Harold added, holding Vonnes' shoulder.
***
Dash kept leaping and landing hard, then leaping again, continuously heading west from the city without stopping. After landing on top of a hill past the three-way intersection where the signpost he saw earlier was, Dash looked around. Everything was just wide grassland.
"Where is it… maybe further west," Dash wondered.
"Uhh,"
Dash saw Shel, whom he was carrying, waking up. She then opened her eyes and looked at Dash's face, blinking repeatedly. Then she looked around.
"Wait… where are we?" Shel asked.
"Heading toward the Demon Mafia headquarters," Dash replied.
Shel immediately turned her head to look at Dash so quickly that it made Dash worry her neck would snap. Her eyes blinked again as she stared at Dash's face, as if she was studying his expression. Seeing Dash's resolve, tears started to pool in her eyes, and she immediately wiped them away.
"Put me down, Dash," Shel said.
"You know the location," Dash replied, setting Shel down.
"I don't know… I'm also going to settle the score with them. They're the ones who sold my location to that noble and caused my mom and dad to die," Shel said furiously.
"That noble?" Dash asked.
"Yeah, if you hadn't saved me yesterday, I might have become that noble's plaything in that city and then been publicly executed so there wouldn't be any more Half-Orcs like me. Even though my mom and dad loved each other… grrr… I'm going to destroy them," Shel replied, seething, clenching her fists and releasing her Nature Magic aura.
"Hey, calm down, control your emotions," Dash said, grabbing Shel's shoulders.
"Yeah… sorry," Shel replied, trying to control her emotions.
As they looked around, Shel suddenly pointed down. They saw the white wolf-girl running on all fours, her face serious, like someone baiting an enemy behind her while occasionally looking back. Behind her, several demon men wearing black leather protective gear were chasing her on horseback. Seeing the men on horseback, Shel suddenly became furious again and immediately jumped down.
"Hey,"
Dash was too late to stop her from following. Shel immediately raised both hands; a yellow aura instantly enveloped her body. Then she leaped and, "GRAAAH," she tackled one of the horsemen passing beneath her, dragging him and his horse down. Naturally, the other horsemen immediately circled back, dismounted, drew their weapons, and ran toward Shel, who was tearing apart the man beneath her.
Suddenly, Shel raised her palm, which was enveloped in the yellow aura, toward the approaching men without even looking back. "GREEK," large roots shot out from the ground and instantly bound all the men.
Of course, the men immediately screamed, struggled, and tried to slash the roots with their swords, axes, and other weapons. But before they could free themselves, Shel suddenly clenched her palm.
"CRASH," all five men were instantly squeezed tightly by the roots, and the roots sprouted thorns that instantly crushed the five men's bodies. Shel then looked at the man beneath her, a male Demon with pale, vampire-like skin, red eyes and horns on his head.
"Tell me where your headquarters is," Shel demanded, her voice terrifying and her tusks sticking out.
"Heh… never," the man stammered.
He immediately bit something in his mouth and, "GYAAAH," the man screamed as his body instantly caught fire, forcing Shel, who was on top of him, to jump back and land next to Dash. They both watched the burning man in front of them.
"Huh… suicide," Shel muttered, wiping her blood-soaked hand.
"Hmm… so those are the Demon Mafia?" Dash asked.
"Yeah, that's right," Shel replied.
"Hey, you two, the ones who were dragging that giant boar earlier,"
Dash and Shel turned around. They saw the white wolf-type Beastkin girl standing behind them, still panting.
"I know where their headquarters is. In exchange, please help me free my siblings," the girl said, her face serious.