"You're not mad they kicked us out?!" Electra groaned as they walked down the guild stairs.
"No, I'm not. Layla needs to rest in peace. Besides, sitting there won't benefit us in any way, shape, or form." Orion rolled his eyes.
As they were about to leave the Guild, Alis ran up to them. "Wait! Wait!" She yelled.
Orion stopped in his tracks and looked at her with confusion. "What's wrong?" He asked. "Don't tell me that there is something else!"
"No, No! Don't worry!" Alis smiled softly, reaching a pouch out to him. "Here's your reward for the job."
Orion took the pouch, taking a peek inside. His eyes widened.
Electra looked at the coins over his shoulder, smirking mischievously.
"Uhh, Alis? Isn't this more than it should be?" He asked with uncertainty.
Alis shook her head, completely sure of what she was saying. "Yes, it is indeed more than you should've gotten for the job itself, but due to the circumstances and how things went, the Guild offered the reward of twenty bronze and two silver coins as compensation."
He stared at the pouch for a longer moment. "This is the most money I've ever seen, not even speaking of holding it! It's like a dream come true... but it also feels like... I can't take it..."
He smiled, putting the pouch into his pocket. "Thanks..."
Alis nodded and walked away. "Spend it wisely, kid!" She yelled.
Electra leaned forward, looking into his eyes mischeviously. "At first I thought it's gonna be very boring and annoying, but I think I'm gonna change my mind soon~!" She laughed.
"I don't really like the thought of being watched and followed around non-stop, but if it's really a must, then I must stick with it..." He sighed as they left the Guild.
The streets were busy like always, merchants everywhere, children playing around, the Order of Knights patrolling the city like always.
Electra walked with her arms behind her head, whistling loudly. "So where are we going, newbie?" She paused for a moment, a smirk visiting her face. "Newbie? You do have a name, right?" Electra she teased, poking his cheek anddodging an angry merchant carrying a crate of oranges.
"Orion, you?" He rolled his eyes.
Electra laughed loudly, so loudly that some people turned their heads. "Who the hell actually names their child like that, huuuh~" She teased again.
"Yeah? Well, Electra isn't much better~!" He teased back.
She stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes narrowed, and a look of offense appeared on her face. "What did you just say?!" She grabbed his neck, squeezing it. "My beloved daddy named me Electra. He was great, greater than any of you shitheads will ever be! So you better respect it, you little cunt!" She released him.
He fell to his knees, struggling to breathe. Some people around them stared, but did not intervene because it was clear that Electra was an adventurer.
"God... sorry... can't handle a little teasing, can't you?" He took a deep breath, slowly standing up.
After a moment of silence, she smirked with satisfaction. "Not like I actually want to be stuck babysitting a newbie... but I do like treating weaklings like shit~"
Orion smirked. "Believe me, you're not exactly the dream partner I had in mind either, bitch."
She laughed, poking his forehead a couple of times. "Yeah, well, good luck!" She then frowned. "Can't just let little hatchlings like you get eaten by wyverns five minutes after joining the Guild?" She sighed, shaking her head.
He was taken aback. "H-hatchling?!"
Before she could come up with another nickname, a loud crash echoed from one of the side alleys, catching their attention.
"Have you heard that?" Orion asked, his curiosity already pulling him towards the alley
Electra groaned. "Oh, please! Don't tell me that you actually want to check it! Let's just go! I'm hungry!"
"Someone might need help!" He protested.
"Or someone's just waiting to stab you and take your money," She rolled her eyes.
Despite her warnings, he ran into the alley.
"Idiot!" She stood in place for a moment, but her curiosity got the better of her and she ran after him.
Around the corner, they saw a boy, maybe ten years old, scrambling to gather a bunch of spilled apples from the ground. His cart lay broken nearby.
Two men and a woman towered over him, laughing cruelly. One of them kicked the boy, sending him flying and hitting the wall. "Tch, just bullies, and I don't recognize their faces from any bounties," Electra muttered, grabbing his wrist. "Let's just go."
Orion's fists clenched, and he shoved her hand off his wrist. "What are you talking about?! We need to help him!"
"Yeah, sure, help him if you want to." She sighed. "But if you get punched in the face, don't come crying to me, hatchling."
Without waiting, he charged towards them. "Hey! Leave the kid alone!" He yelled.
The thugs turned as one, sizing up the newcomers. The woman smirked. "And who the hell are you supposed to be, a kid who wants to help another kid? Don't be stupid!" She laughed.
He looked at her with determination. "I'm an Adventurer! And you're harassing a kid. Back off before I kick your ass!"
The thugs looked at each other and all burst out laughing. Electra leaned against the wall, sighing in defeat.
The woman's smirk disappeared. "You're gonna regret sticking your nose in our business."
Before Orion could even say anything, the woman flicked her fingers, and one man charged at him, punching him right in the stomach.
Orion spat out blood as he stumbled backwards, his eyes wide in shock. "Agh..!"
A moment of silence fell upon the alley. The kid was staring hopelessly, and the thugs started laughing again. Even Electra couldn't help but laugh at him.
"IS THAT REALLY IT?!" The woman covered her mouth with one hand and put the other one on her stomach, trying to control herself. "Is that really the level of an Adventurer nowadays?!"
Orion stood up and raised his fists. "S-Shut up! I... I can take you... all!" He yelled in between deep breaths.
Electra raised her eyebrows, lazily flicking a coin between her fingers.
Orion turned to the kid. "Don't give a damn about those stupid apples! Just run!"
The boy nodded shakily, standing up and running away. "Thank you, mister... Thank you!"
The woman watched the boy run, then turned her attention back to Orion, grinning cruelly. "How touching," She said softly. "But now... no one's here to save you."
Before Orion could react, the second man rushed at him from the side, slamming his knee against his ribs. Orion gasped, stumbling backwards only to be hit in the jaw by the other man. He crashed into the broken cart.
"You talk bigger than you are, little Adventurer," The woman said, walking up to him like a proud predator. "But you can't even throw a punch, can you?" She teased.
Orion wiped the blood off his mouth, to get up again, only to be kicked to the ground by the woman.
She sighed dramatically. "Oh well," She then flicked her fingers. "Bye-bye~!"
The two men grinned and started hitting him, each blow heavier than the last. They kicked, punched. Orion gritted his teeth, refusing to cry out even if his life depended on it.
Electra rolled her eyes and flipped the coin once more into the air. "Alright, this is getting pathetic," she said flatly, her eyes empty.
The woman turned towards her, smirking like a fox. "What? You wanna get some beating as well, sweetheart?"
Electra finally pushed off the wall, stretching lazily. "You know, I was gonna let the hatchling amuse me," She rolled her eyes. "But now you're just boring me."
Without warning, Electra snapped her fingers. A swirling, violet portal opened beside her.
From the portal, a spear shot out like a cannonball.
It pierced clean through the head of the man who had just been hitting Orion, and the body collapsed.
The alley fell into silence.
Orion could barely hear and see, but he knew what had happened. His eyes widened in shock as he tried to wipe the brains off his face in terror. "NO! NO! WHAT THE HELL?!" He screamed.
The other thug turned toward Electra, mouth open in shock. Before he could speak, another portal appeared above him and a heavy iron mace dropped down with a sickening crunch, crushing his skull into the ground.
The woman stumbled back, her hands shaking. "Y-you're insane!" She screamed, tears running down her cheeks.
Electra just smirked, summoning another portal behind her back. Tens of daggers shot out, right in the woman's direction.
The woman screamed in terror again before crumpling to the ground in a puddle of her own blood, still alive, looking at Orion as the light faded from her eyes.
Orion just lay there, staring in horror and puking on the ground. "WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT?! YOU CAN'T KILL PEOPLE JUST LIKE THAT!"
Electra walked over to him, crouching down so she was at eye level. Her smile was gone, replaced by something deadly serious.
"You listen to me, hatchling," She said coldly, grabbing the front of his shirt. "You want to survive out here? You kill your enemies. You don't give them a chance to get up and kill you first. You don't 'hold back' because you feel bad, or because you think it's the 'right thing to do'. Understood?"
She shook him roughly, making the world spin in his eyes.
"You've already awakened your Soul's Core!" She roared. "And those bitches don't even know what a Soul's Core is!" She slapped him. "You have no excuse to be this weak!"
Orion was still shaking, feeling nothing but fear in that moment.
Electra's grip on his shirt tightened. "The world out there isn't going to go easy on you because you're 'trying your best.' You either get stronger... or you will just be like an animal- waiting for your fucking death!"
She shoved him away and stood up, brushing dust from her hands.
"Get up, hatchling," She said, summoning another portal and pulling a short dagger from it. She tossed it on the ground right before him.
"Next time someone tries to kill you, you better kill them first, or I'll crawl to the death realm and kill you again!"
Electra turned around and walked out of the alley.
After a moment of hesitation, Orion picked up the dagger, looking at the bloody mess. "I know she is right... But I just... I don't want to kill people..."