A crash emanated throughout the guildhall, Ilgar’s seven-foot-tall body dropping onto the incredibly lengthy table, that stretched the entirety of the room. Snapping sounds could be heard from the legs of the table, which began to cave in. Titania stood over the giant green warrior's body, her arms still hanging in the air after dropping the orc from them, right in front of a man that was previously leaning against the table on his elbows. The man that was sitting at the table, wearing a white trench coat, proceeded to fall backwards from his chair due to shock. The man’s lime eyes were wide as he attempted to compose himself, taking deep breaths. His hair was black, kempt and tidy, wearing a pair of brown boots and leggings, outfit finalised with the black leather gloves he wore. He was quite short compared to the mercenaries, being around only five foot six.

“Curam, he’s missing an arm,” Titania remarked bluntly, Ilgar’s wound where his arm once connected covered with red-stained sandstone, “Fix please.” She finished, smiling like an idiot.

The man referred to by Titania as Curam returned to his feet, looking irritated, beginning to investigate Ilgar’s sandy bandaging. He released a soft sigh while lifting a large cloth bag onto the table from the floor, beginning to rustle into it. At the same time, Karrow helped Kaze across the room and assisted him to a seat next to Titania. The man removed a large, sharp knife from the sack, which began to glow a faint red, as he planted his left hand on the sandy binding. A green light emanated from the man's left hand, which encompassed Ilgar’s shoulder, whilst the part of his arm that remained, that was connected to the sandstone fasten, was thinly sliced off. Karrow winced, watching on, as the lump of flesh was cut off, the fresh wound closed over immediately.

“He should be fine, he’s mainly tired and has lost blood, and it looks as if he’s not alone,” Curam remarked, noticing Kaze and Karrow. “I’ll sort you lot now. Take a seat, rest yourselves.”

“Titania, who is this man?” Michaelis questioned, sitting down next to where Titania stood, placing a small brown sack stained with blood on the table next to Ilgar’s unconscious body.

“Curam is our official guild doctor, sent from Capital itself,” Titania replied, leaping over the width of the long table, causing the meek healer to jump mid-rustling through his grand sack, the guild leader landing beside him.

“Luckily I need no injuries restored due to my impeccable fighting.” Fenrisolace cackled, flexing to himself, after setting Ilgar’s axe against a wall.

The doctor lifted a small bowl from his bag, made of shiny metal with different engravings of hearts, with vines flowing from them and intertwining. From his large bag, the doctor retrieved a pouch that rattled, as well as a clean and polished scalpel. The doctor's blade began to illuminate a faint orange, using it to cut the tip of his index finger, a speck of blood dropped into the bowl that rested on the table. The slice on Curam’s finger immediately closed over, a faint green glow flowing around it. The healer dipped his hand into the small sack, taking out a little ball of iron before dropping it into the bowl along with the previous bead of blood. He lastly placed his palm over the dish, the faint green light once again flowing from his body, encompassing the bowl, the crimson and metal melding together. The blood and iron melded together, turning dark and black, before expanding in volume. Curam removed his hand from the basin, exhaling softly, the contents of the dish now half full, a black, murky sludge. “Bottoms up.” The doctor chuckled, pushing the cup across the table towards where Karrow and Kaze sat.

“Are you serious?” Karrow spat, looking at the bowl with extreme discomfort.

“It will cause your heart to produce a large amount of blood at once based on how much you’ve lost, just a mouthful should do.” The specialist finished, grinning, stone-faced, all while Michaelis poorly suppressed a laugh. Karrow picked the dish up, pouring it into the barely conscious Kaze’s mouth, who began to sputter up the slimy mud flowing down his throat. The colour began to return to the boy’s face as he stood up from his chair, gagging. Curam snatched the swordsman’s hand from the air, across the table, blood beginning to congregate near the palm hole. A green light began to emit around and in the wound, as it slowly closed itself up, regenerating bone, flesh and skin until Kaze’s hand was completely repaired.

Karrow sneered at the bowl, taking a swig of his own, the healer beginning to restore the wound on Kaze’s arm. Fenrisolace walked to the other side of the building, before dropping his body onto an armchair near the burning fireplace. A grin grew on the beastman’s face while looking into the flames, Michaelis taking a seat opposite Fenris, glaring towards the sunwolf.

Karrow’s injuries bathed in the green light while he gagged from the blood regenerating goop, Kaze lifting Ilgar’s head for Titania to pour the remainder of the slime into his mouth. The orc coughed himself awake, falling off the table and slamming into the ground, snapping the floorboards beneath his back. Ilgar’s breath ran ragged, panting as he looked around himself with shock, guck dripping down his chin.

Curam clambered over the width of the table, leaning down and taking Ilgar’s hand, before reassuring him. “You’re okay, you had an accident out in the field, but everything will be perfectly fine.” Calmly, the doctor soothed Ilgar with his words, helping him to his feet as Karrow’s unfinished healing caused his side to bleed further. Kaze pulled a chair out, sitting next to where Ilgar stood, while the doctor approached Karrow to finish the restoration of the large gash out of his side.

“What happened?” Ilgar muttered, looking at where his arm was once connected.

Titania began glaring down at him from the other side of the dining table. “You were an idiot. You sprinted in towards a God, while out of stamina.” She bellowed while encompassed with rage, beginning to rant and slamming her hands down on the table. “You overestimated yourself and underestimated a being referred to as a God, a being that, with their birth, created all of nature and plant life. You are an idiot, and now, you’ve been disarmed.”

Ilgar began to grind his teeth while looking to the floor, Titania exhaling as Curam began to look through his sack, Karrow stretching his body out, repaired and well. “Here it is!” The healer stated with glee, taking out a large metallic right arm. Ilgar looked up in confusion as the doctor breathed on the piece of equipment, polishing it with his coat sleeve.

“That’s..?” Ilgar began, Curam responding swiftly with a grand smile.

“Your new arm!” bringing it to the orc, he began measuring it up with his stump and other arm whilst the one-armed warrior simply sat in disbelief.

Kaze looked aghast, beginning to sputter; “Wait you can’t just regenerate it? You healed all of our injuries, why not the arm?”

“I’m only so powerful. For someone to have a survival blessing able to regenerate an entire arm not only takes a massive amount of strength, but also energy and time. I could do it if I had a constant supply of food and days without sleep, but this is much easier.

“But my arm!” Ilgar shouted in disbelief, as the doctor began to frown.

“Oi!” Titania belted towards Ilgar, “This is the extent of our health care provided by the guild- you want a new arm? Go pay for it yourself.”

“Where is his arm?” Curam pondered to the guild leader.

Karrow winced, Titania stating with little sugar coating, “Fenris fed it to a wild dog.”

Ilgar looked in disbelief towards the Sunwolf, “You what!”

“He looked hungry, and you didn’t seem like you were using it.” Fenris declared with little remorse, yawning laying back in his armchair.

“I tried to stop him,” Karrow replied, leaning against the wall, next to Ilgar’s axe.

“No you didn’t.” Michaelis responded, sneering, “You said he probably wouldn’t like it and then when you were ignored, you shrugged!”

Karrow stared daggers at Michaelis who smirked, cackling softly to himself. Though this exchange would be short-lived, due to Ilgar beginning to charge yellow energy within his left palm, rage encompassing his face. Michaelis dove behind his chair, peaking around it with excitement on his face, as Fenrisolace stood up and faced down Ilgar confidence and a powerful smile.

Before Ilgar’s explosion could leave his hand, Titania’s middle knuckle on her right hand slammed into his right temple, as if knocking on a door. Ilgar’s energy flowing around his palm faded, falling to his hand and knees, his entire body quaking like a large rock was just placed on his head.

“Before you go destroying my guildhall, need I remind you this is your fault. I let him do as he pleased with that arm because you need to learn that this job isn’t so kind. You’re lucky to have escaped with your life.” Titania spat, standing over Ilgar, a faint red light flowing around her right hand. “And that applies to all of you!” She yelled, causing Kaze to jump, “You all got off lucky as far as I’m aware. You’re obviously still misinformed on the severity of your job, so next time I hope you’ll all take much more caution.”

Curam helped Ilgar to his feet and set him on a chair. “It’ll be fine.” He reassured the orc, who looked again to where his arm once was, mortified. The healer would take the metallic arm and plant it on Ilgar’s stump, placing his hand over the point where they connected. “Would you mind lowering your aura around your right shoulder?”

Ilgar looked up, obviously upset, but also confused. “Ah, just, like, how do I word this... Use the same feeling as when you make an explosion, but do the opposite, around your right shoulder.” The specialist attempted to explain. Ilgar let out a soft sigh, looking to the ground, his shoulder lowering slightly, his muscles relaxing, while Titania tutted and took a seat on the guildhall table. “Perfect!” Curam exclaimed as a faint yellow light emerged from his right hand, wrapping around Ilgar’s shoulder like a whip, squeezing softly. “Binding.” The doctor stated to himself, the metal arm beginning to conjoin with the orc’s skin, the prosthetic sinking into his stub like quicksand.

Ilgar looked to his newly attaching arm, still upset over the events, but also curious. The arm was the same size as his original, a tint of dark green over the metallic texture, fingers made up of individual sections. Curam smiled, as he took his hands away. “Give it a whirl!”

Ilgar stood up, moving the arm around as if it was his own, completely intertwined with his body. “How?” Ilgar sputtered, in awe at how perfectly in sync it was.

“It uses titanium, it’s one of the most aura-conductive materials on the planet, and while I can’t restore your limb I can do just as good- if not better, under the right circumstances.” The doctor smirked, placing his hand on Ilgar’s new arm, Ilgar touching it himself, running his real fingers across his metallic bicep. “I can touch myself.” He murmured, shocked.

Karrow sputtered, covering his mouth as Michaelis began howling with laughter. “If you mean feel touch, yes, this arm is a part of your very being,” Curam remarked, smiling gently. “It will also allow you to conduct your explosions through your arm, just like your original. Hell, it’ll even be more sturdy than your old arm.”

Ilgar smiled softly, still a disappointed look in his eyes as he didn’t remove his gaze from his new arm. The healer placed his hand on Ilgar’s shoulder. “Maybe get some rest, you’ve had a long day.”

“And you’ll need to be prepared for tomorrow,” Titania stated, while Curam helped Ilgar to his feet.

“What do you mean?” The doctor replied, looking up to Titania, confused.

“We’ll be hunting another God early tomorrow morning, so everyone will need to be mentally and physically prepared.”

“Are you insane?” The specialist exclaimed, “These people nearly lost their lives today- and you want to send them after another God immediately?”

Michaelis flicked his hair out of his eyes looking indifferent as he returned to his chair, Fenris licking his lips in excitement. “There have been moments where people have fought days on end without any rest at all,” Titania replied, standing over Curam, relaxed. “They’ll have to be able to manage, or, they are free to leave.”

“But Ilgar-” The healer began to stumble to Titania before he was cut off by the orc, whose eyes stared daggers towards the guild leader.

“I’ll be ready.” Ilgar spat, before turning and stomping towards his room.

Curam began to look uncomfortable, packing his things away into his bag, while Titania approached him from behind. “We have a tip this God is in the area, but if we don’t follow up on it as soon as possible, they can move. We can’t take that chance, especially if they plan on attacking people anytime soon. The orc will be fine if he’s smart. If he’s not? He’ll die, and he’ll die knowing the risks.”

Kaze would bite his lip, looking to Titania, who spoke down to the doctor with an intensely commanding tone. To the snow haired young man, her demeanour had shifted vastly from how nervous she seemed in the morning. Curam replied with nothing, before finishing gathering his things and walking out the grand doors.

“You all heard what I said,” Titania announced, walking towards her room. “Get some rest, we’ll be working hard tomorrow too.” She finished, closing the door behind her, leaving the room behind her tense and quiet.

“So-” The kimono baring swordsman began, attempting to break the silence, only to be interrupted.

Karrow would be the one to cut him off, “See you tomorrow” he interjected, before heading directly to his room, leaving only Fenris, Michaelis and Kaze.

“So,” Fenrisolace remarked, Kaze letting out a sigh and pulling up a dining chair, next to the pair parallel to the fireplace. “What on earth did that meek little man mean when he said he owned a blessing?”

Kaze looked at Fenris perplexed, as Michaelis stifled a laugh at this question. “Do sunwolves not know of blessings?” Kaze inquired back to the beastman, who blinked in a confused manner.

“I am blessed to be a warrior of Doiteain if that’s what you mean!”

Michaelis began to laugh hysterically, laying horizontally across the arms of his chair.

“No, Fenris…” Kaze explained sympathetically as if pitying the sunwolf. “Back, many, many years ago, different Gods decided to give blessings to humans. These powers allow people to perform unique abilities, like my own. I have a wind blessing that was passed down from my mother.”

“Oh!” Fenrisolace jumped from his chair, a beaming smile on his face. “I get it now!” The room began to get hotter, Fenrisolace becoming passionate, beginning to ramble. “Doiteain blessed my father’s father with her beautiful powers of which bring the sun to our fingertips! When it came time to be born from her magical flames, I was chosen as a warrior of the sun, granting me the most powerful blessing of all, just as my father received and his father before him!”

Michaelis hysterical laughter boomed throughout the entire hall, slamming his hand down onto the arm of his chair repeatedly. Kaze ignored Michaelis’s jest, as he continued to inform Fenrisolace. “Well, yes, I think it’s safe to assume you have a fire blessing, of the enhance type. This means you can manipulate fire to increase your physical strength.”

“And aura? What did the doctor mean when he said that?” Fenris inquired, approaching Kaze with a gleam in his eyes.

“O-oh! Well actually, aura is an energy that flows through our blood.” Kaze began, a confident look on his face as he explained the intricacies of their abilities, while Michaelis stood up and approached the table, wiping the tears from his eyes. “So, whenever you eat food, it’s turned into bodily energy. This energy becomes aura, which prevents you from needing to sleep and can even let you go without eating for days. Having aura in your blood makes you stronger than normal, and can be used to perform different techniques or have passive abilities. Ilgar, I assume, has an explosion blessing, and because those explosions don’t benefit his physical capabilities, I think it’s safe to say it’d be an output type blessing, unlike your enhance type.” Kaze finished, looking incredibly proud, while Fenrisolace tilted his head like a confused dog, still smiling.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure I get it,” Fenris remarked, Michaelis, laughing to himself, approaching the bloody bag on the table.

“He definitely doesn’t get it,” Michaelis muttered to himself, picking up the small pouch.

“So with his ability, Ilgar can focus his aura, from what I saw, and when that aura that is launched from his hands comes into contact with something, it detonates. That’s why he was so tired near the end of the fight- using all those blasts took his energy, making him tired. Thanks to the gentleman Curam though, with his survival blessing, he was able to heal us up and restore our energy some.”

“He didn’t restore my energy.” Michaelis spat, not even looking up as he reached into the small sack.

“Nor mine, but unlike you dark destroyer, I can handle releasing a number of attacks.” Fenrisolace jabbed towards Mick.

Kaze began to look a little uncomfortable, he chuckled awkwardly. “Anyways, we should probably get to bed as well, to be ready for tomorrow.” he finished before another fight broke out.

“One thing, Kaze.” Michaelis paused, as the snow haired young man stood up ready to leave the room. “What about the heart?”

“What do you mean?” Kaze inquired, “Well now that you mention it, it’s where a person's blessing is stored. The heart pumps blood and aura around the body after all!” He said with confidence, smiling.

“I assume that’s why Titania kept the Goddess’,” Michaelis stated with a look of slight disgust, lifting the bloody heart from the small bag.

Kaze gagged as he first glanced to the cold, blue-tinted heart, Fenris simply nodding, still trying to take all of the information in, not interested in the horrific, beating ball of blood.

“Why do the top dogs in Capital need Gods dead, exactly?” Kaze questioned with a look of disgust on his face.

“I suppose it doesn’t matter, does it?” Michaelis muttered, putting the heart back in the bag. “We’re here to kill and get paid. Not to ask questions.”

Kaze shuffled his feet as he approached his room, looking back to Michaelis who stared at the bloody bag, simply resting on the table.

-

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