Arad stood, walking toward the stairs, stretching his arms with a large smile, “I never felt better,” He patted his full stomach. Two whales were a decent change of flavor from the usual monsters.
He changed back to his humanoid form and started walking up the stairs until he reached the door. He grabbed the handle with one hand and pushed the door open, enjoying the silence. Nothing beats the beauty of a well-oiled door that doesn’t squeak.
He walked out of the basement with a smile on his face as he passed by the maids. They all stared up at his face, standing tall enough that he could barely fit in the doors.
“Here you are.” A voice called, standing in front of Arad with an arrogant glare. His arms crossed as he blocked the wall, “Arad the dragon slayer I presume,”
Arad stared at the armored man with an empty stare, the smile never fading from his face. “What do you want?”
“Don’t even know manners,” The man growled, “To let you know, I’m Marquis Alfred Stoneheart of the still foundry. Remember my name now?”
“I don’t,” Arad replied, searching his whole memory but finding nothing about the man. The only Marquis he heard about before was the one whose twin daughters ran away. 𝗼𝐯𝐞𝐥．𝐜𝐨𝗺
“Dragon slayer my ass,” The man growled, “You were supposed to retrieve my daughters. Where are they?” He growled.
Arad blinked. It was confirmed. “It’s true that I killed dragons, and I’m called a dragon slayer now, but I’m not the man you seek.” Arad waved his hand, “You’re looking for Alcott, right?”
Alfred stared at Arad, “Your name doesn’t matter to me. You share his title so go find him, bring me that failure. Otherwise, I will execute you in his stead,”
“Hehe,” Arad giggled and started laughing, “You want to execute Alcott? A feeble leek, you won’t even touch him,”
“You dare mock me?” Alfred growled, “Your life is forfeit,” He lifted his sword, ready to strike.
“Arad?” Mira walked from behind Alfred, looking at Arad with a smile. “Where did you go?” She waved her hand.
Alfred stopped his attack, staring at Arad with a smirk, “How about this?”
CRACK! With a swift move, his hips shifted direction as he swung back. He turned toward Mira, dropping his longsword on her head. At that moment, Mira stood still, a single nail dropping from her sleeves.
Arad watched with a grin as if in slow motion. His reaction speed allowed him to interfere at the last moment if Mira couldn’t handle the situation on her own. But that was unlikely.
Mira ducked down and the sword barely gazed at her hair. Her eyes focused down as she pulled a small hammer from her back pocket.
As the falling nail aligned, her hammer came roaring down, hammering it directly into Alfred’s steel boots, nailing him to the ground.
Alfred growled, trying to step back, but he started falling. His right foot is nailed, he can’t move, and the pain is making it hard to think.
CLACK! He moved his left foot back, bracing himself for a second swing. His blade rushed toward Mira’s neck, lusting for her blood.
Mira’s hand twisted, turning back and swinging the hammer at Alfred’s knee, hitting it before his blade could reach her neck.
Alfred growled, falling on his back with his right foot nailed to the ground and his knee shattered. As he cried, Mira pulled another nail and swung at his right arm, nailing him to the ground once again with a rapid hit.
Mira stared down at Alfred’s face, her hammer dripping with blood as he cried, “You? What’s the meaning of this?” She growled.
Arad giggled, he knew from the start that Alfred was no fighter. He only wore the armor and carried the sword to impress and scare Arad, but that trick only worked on fools. Compared to him, Mira, with her rough hands, harshened from her work, her hard nature, and the fact she already fought zombies and undead, he can’t reach her.
The king who was passing by stopped, staring at the mess, and approached. “What happened?”
Mira glared back, “This knight of yours attacked me,” She growled, “Keep them in line,”
The king stared down, recognizing Marquis Alfred. “No, that’s the Marquis.”
Mira blinked twice, realizing she just nailed one of the highest-ranking nobles to the ground like floorwood.
The king looked at Alfred and then sighed, rubbing his face in distress, “I will deal with this,” He sighed again, “You two can head…”
CRACK! The King and Mira froze, and Arad stepped on Alfred’s head, crushing it beneath his foot. “My wives aren’t so weak to fear the likes of you, and I’m not so lenient to let you live.” He growled.
King Baltos started sweating as he stared at Arad, and the messed blood-brain on the ground. “You killed him?”
“So what? He attacked my wife first,” Arad walked past the king, leaving a trail of bloodied footsteps.
The king stared at Arad’s back as he stood beside Mira, patting her head.
“You will protect all of your wives no matter what?” The king asked with a serious face.
Arad glared back at the king, sending shivers down his spine, “Look at her, what do you see?”
The king backed away, seeing Mira standing in the middle of a coiled dragon, his sharp claws, muscular tail, and hard scales covering her body but doing no harm, only spelling doom to those who dare approach.
The king giggled, “I see, that’s like your kind.” He smiled, “You never cease to amaze me,” He thought about it. If Isdis went with Arad, she could also sit in the dragon’s maw without getting eaten.
Mira stared around between Arad and the king, puzzled and terrified. Did Arad kill the Marquis to take the blame for her? No, Arad won’t take the blame for anything.
Arad looked at Mira with a smile, “Is something wrong?”
Mira stared at the dead Marquis and smiled, reaching a final conclusion. She took a step toward the corpse and used her hammer to retrieve her nails.
She then reached to the corpse’s neck and pulled out Alfred’s golden necklace. She approached Arad and handed it to him, “I heard family leaders among nobles carry their family insignia around their necks. This must be it,”
Arad smiled, taking the necklace and staring at the king, “I’m taking my spoils,”
The king eyed Arad with a curious gaze, “You want his whole wealth?”
Arad looked at the king with a puzzled face, “I don’t want it.” He smiled, “It’s mine now,”
The king giggled, “This is a bit problematic, you’re only giving this old head more headache to deal with.” He stood tall, staring at Arad, “I can’t let you kill everyone in his family,”
“I won’t kill them, they are free to leave.” Arad smiled as he rested his hand on Mira’s shoulder.
“Fine, it’s yours. I will say he dared attack a royal guest and got executed on the spot. That isn’t a lie after all,” Baltos smiled, looking at Alfred’s corpse, “This will shift power in the kingdom by a lot. A tough month awaits us,”