After Miles unlocked the door and opened it, our eyes fell on a large clearing that looked similar to the lumberjack camp. It was surrounded by trees, and if Miles’ theory was right, Workers might have worked here once upon a time, though there were no signs of an actual camp anymore. The only thing on the clearing was a large, ornate chair right in the middle of it, looking entirely out of place.

“Let’s go,” Miles said, and we pulled the cart out of the cave and into the clearing.

We kept looking around as we got closer to the chair, but we didn’t see anyone. A few meters away from it, we finally came to a stop. We had presumably reached our destination.

“Are we early?” I wondered aloud.

“Maybe...”

“What’s up with the chair...?”

“... Remember our little visit to the king’s mansion?” Miles said with a worried expression.

“Oh...”

Now I recognized it. It looked just like the chair in the king’s reception room. His “throne” as Miles had put it. One interpretation might be that Hertar wanted to sit comfortably while waiting here for the beast, but the more likely explanation, especially given the chair’s size, was that it was actually intended for the beast, which was the “king” out here. Well, we’ll see how much of a king you really are.

Since there were no clocks or bells out here, it was difficult to say what time it was or how long we might have to wait. As it turned out though, it wouldn’t be long at all. After only a minute or two had passed, we heard noises from the direction opposite of the cave entrance, and three four-legged shadows walked out of the dense forest and into the clearing.

“Whoa...” I said as my eyes caught the one in the middle.

It looked unlike any beasts we had ever seen, including Hati. Not because of its form, it was clearly a wolf, but because of its fur, which was shining silvery in the moonlight. What was even more perplexing, however, was that I didn’t see any mana emanating from it.

On the other hand, the two beasts on either side of it looked fairly ordinary. They appeared to be category fives, bears, looking just like the one we had rescued Berla from. These had their normal beast aura, so unless they were the talking variant, they would undoubtedly fall easily enough to our attacks.

The silver one must be Arax... But why doesn’t it have an aura?

I briefly glanced at Miles, who was staring intently at the beasts as well. His eyes suddenly widened, as if he had realized something, but before I could ask him what it was, Arax spoke up.

“Miles. Lilana. Tomar. You came,” it said with a sneer.

What...? How...!? And what’s with that voice...?

The talking beasts we had met so far all had deep, raspy voices, which we attributed to them being beasts, but this one’s voice was neither deep nor raspy. It was high and clear, like that of a woman.

They kept walking in our direction, though Arax’s movements in particular started to look a little weird. It seemed like her bones were starting to break over and over in several places, rearranging themselves. I looked on slack jawed, as she slowly raised herself up, step by step, until she walked on two legs like a human. By the time she was done, she towered over us at a height of about three meters, though she still wasn’t as large as the bears next to her.

“That must hurt...” Miles said.

“Not at all. It’s actually quite an exhilarating feeling,” Arax said.

After a few more steps, she arrived at the chair and took a seat, looking us up and down, while the bears took position right behind her.

“The new leaders of Alarna. I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect you to come. It’s against the rules, you know?”

“... We’re aware,” Miles said as he bowed his head a little. “We learned about the arrangement you had with the previous administration, and we would like to ask you to extend the same deal to us.”

Miles...? Why are you acting like that...? She looks so weak...

Not once had I heard him speak so carefully and submissive. Not to guards, or the mayor, or the king, and especially not to a beast.

The only time he was ever this timid was with...!? But she doesn’t even have an aura...!

“A new deal,” Arax mused. “I’m disinclined. How long has it been... Five hundred years? Perhaps six hundred? Maybe it’s time for a change. Don’t you think this is a perfect opportunity? I’ve been waiting so long for the Ragar family to fail to uphold the deal. And your actions have been quite bothersome for me as well.”

“That wasn’t our intention...”

“Oh, I know, Miles. I know. But ignorance does not protect against punishment. Isn’t that right?”

“... I apologize. I’m certain we can agree on terms that will be beneficial for both sides though. It doesn’t need to be the same deal.”

“Hm, I suppose not. But tell me something, what is that spark of defiance inside you? You believe this would only be temporary,” Arax said with an evil smile, and I saw Miles wince.

“That’s... just the nature of humans,” he said. “We always hope, but that doesn’t mean anything.”

“No... No, that won’t do,” she said and briefly looked in my direction. “Your little friend over there is different. He doesn’t know yet, but he will roll over in a second.”

“What are you talking about...?” I said, confused.

“Shhh, the adults are talking, Tomar,” she said. “Do not be rude.”

I’m the rude one!?

“You too, Lilana,” Arax said. “You shouldn’t advocate for violence.”

She can hear her...

Unless Miles was acting, he was clearly seeing something I didn’t. He seemed terrified of Arax, but I didn’t understand why. She was a little creepy, but she wasn’t a god, and she lacked mana. Was she even a beast right now? What if she was just a silver-colored wolf? Maybe she had somehow never become a beast. That would explain why she seemed so weak. The two bears wouldn’t pose a threat either, though there would have to be a reason why the leaders of Alarna were scared of her, since these three didn’t look like they would be impossible to take down by a squad of guards or two. Unless maybe Arax commanded even more beasts. And possibly stronger ones. I glanced around, thinking that Miles might have noticed other beasts around that I had overlooked, but I didn’t see anything. What am I missing...?

By all appearances, Lilana was in the same boat. “Advocate for violence,” Arax had said, meaning that she probably wondered what was going on as well, and why we weren’t attacking them. After all, the plan had been to end this here and now if Arax seemed like an opponent we could take.

“Go on, Miles. Say it. They are both so confused. They don’t realize,” she said as she cocked her head mischievously.

“... We don’t stand a chance guys, she’s way out of our league.”

I trusted Miles, but this didn’t make it any less confusing. And why does she seem to know what’s going on in our heads!?

“There you have it,” she said. “And it’s your lucky day! I don’t plan to kill all of you tonight! See, scripters are such a rare commodity... It would be quite a shame to lose such a resource. I was hoping you would come. I was hoping you would be understanding. And I am ready to offer you a new deal.” Her eyes suddenly fixated on me. “Tomar. All the rules will stay in place, but there’s going to be a little addition. You’re going to give me every single script you develop. And should you stop, with either the scripts or the sacrifices, I’ll consider the deal null and void. How does that sound?”

“Huh? I...”

Confused, I looked over to Miles, trying to figure out what was going on. He just nodded though, apparently signaling that I should agree.

“It sounds okay...” I said, “but why are you asking me?”

“Oh, you’re so cute,” she said. “Miles and Lilana won’t be leaving with you! You’re the boss now, congratulations!”

I glanced between them for a moment, and I got angrier by the second, about them apparently having some kind of understanding that they didn’t communicate.

“Screw this! Miles, tell me what’s going on here!” I demanded.

He looked at me apologetically for only a brief moment, before an arm suddenly punched through his chest, and his body... Lilana’s body... went limp. Arax pulled back her sullied, furry arm, and they fell to the ground, unmoving.

“Miles...!”

Without even thinking about it, I immediately raised my arms and fired two water streams at the bears, killing both of them in an instant. I then turned towards Arax, who was just standing there, looking at me expectantly. I fired again, convinced that she would be done for, that the stream would shoot through her and it would be over, but that wasn’t the case. For the first time ever, the water stream only hit her. She was pushed off her feet momentarily, and she flew back a few meters, but after a quick roll on the ground, she got back up, not a scratch on her.

“This is an amazing weapon,” she marveled. “Can you do more?”

It sounded like an innocent, curious question, but I wordlessly switched to another script, our strongest one, and fired. Once again, it was a direct hit, and she flew backwards, crashing hard into a tree a few meters behind her. I couldn’t imagine that this might not do anything. However, she got back up as if nothing had happened.

I swallowed hard and remembered Miles’ words. “We don’t stand a chance.” He had known somehow. It wasn’t even a matter of whether we could hit her. Our attacks simply weren’t effective at all.

From one moment to the next, my vision was suddenly filled with silver fur, as if she had disappeared in one location and reappeared right in front of me in the time I had blinked. I lowered my arms, as I slowly looked up at her, and I realized that it was over. I can’t hurt her...

“That’s right,” she said as she kneeled down to look me in the eyes. “These scripts are impressive, but they don’t work on a strong opponent. Remember this well, Tomar. And remember the deal. You know the rules, right?”

“...”

“Nodding will work,” she said with a sneer, and, in a daze, I did as instructed. “Beautiful! It’s a pleasure doing business with you, and I expect you back here in two weeks.”

She got up and looked around the clearing, as if she didn’t have a care in the world. “I guess I will have to take the cart myself today. What a bother,” she said, while my gaze fell on Lilana’s dead body.

What should I do? I can’t do anything... What would he do? He couldn’t do anything, so he didn’t... Do I try another script? No, those are even weaker... What... Isn’t there anything...?

My head snapped back in Arax’s direction when she said “Hm... a snack would be nice,” looking in the body’s direction. “No... I’m in a good mood. I’ll leave them as a momento for you, Tomar. Don’t ever forget. That, and worse, is what happens to those who don’t know their place, and those who have as much as a spark of defiance in them. Good night~”

Without another word, she put a hand on the cart and pulled it along, walking in the direction she had come from.

I watched her from behind for a moment, until I turned towards Lilana’s body again and staggered in its direction, falling to my knees right in front of it. I felt defeated... broken... and I realized what Arax had meant. She had shown me that we couldn’t beat her. It wouldn’t even matter what kinds of fancy water scripts we would come up with, they wouldn’t do anything. But even if they did...

More of Miles’ words reverberated in my head. “I’m more worried about our ability to hit it,” he had said. That’s right, I thought. She let me hit her. She invited me to do it. And then she moved like Miles had described the category six. The “teddy bear.” If she had wanted to, she could’ve avoided my attacks. We did not stand a chance.

“Miles... Lilana...” I whispered, as tears started to form in my eyes and dropped to the ground.