An Archer's Promise Chapter 45: Deal (Patreon)

Not beta read yet.

Next update: snafu and Eccentric Wizard.

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-Feoh-


What followed after the reveal of the Kuroinu's defeat shook every single Princess Knight to the core. 


Vault, an acclaimed general and fighter known for his combative prowess and ability to lead large armies through countless battles without ever losing once to Olga's evil demonic spawns. One of the few individuals they considered as an equal, a fellow treated no differently than a Shield member and trusted ally.


"Impossible!" Alicia shouted, her sentiment shared by her peers. Prim by her side who gasped at the shocking revelation. 


Maia couldn't believe her ears, "K-Kaguya, did y-you make a mistake?" The inside of her mind was in complete disarray, thousands of thoughts and thoughts flashing by the second. Her breathing has become ragged and her general presence exuding pure disbelief. Did she mean that only Vault died? Or was it his entire group? 'Wait… she also said that Castle Discordia was destroyed…'


Kaguya shook her head, having doubts of her own, but this moth was connected to her Insect God itself and the voice inside her assured her that there was no misunderstanding — which turned her legs into jelly. She nearly fell until Celestine came to her aid and made sure she was okay.


"There… there is no mistake I'm afraid."


"Has she decided to kill herself with Vault as a last-ditch effort?" Prim asked.


"No," Celestine denied that possibility immediately. "Olga is still alive, I can sense it. If she had died then I would have known firsthand."


"That damnable Olga Discordia!" Claudia slammed her armored fists against the table, nearly splitting into two with her strength. "She must have gotten news of Vault's assault and set up a trap upon her domain. How disposable! To use her own castle as a bait… she truly deserves the title of Dark Queen." 


"Shame, I would have been quite happy if I could have gotten my hands on some of her weapon collection and other valuables." Luu-Luu said with a saddened face, she did feel remorse for Vault's death and the Kuroinu in general — but the destruction of a castle holding centuries' worth of valuable artifacts was far more painful. She wanted to build a new halberd for herself using some of the same material of Olga's throne given its mystical properties that not even Celestine could replicate. "Maybe I can send some of my soldiers to scavenge the area?" She whispered quietly. 


"No… Olga has nothing to do with their deaths." Kaguya's announcement made everyone in the room quiet down, the furious Claudia was now confused as to who else could have done such a thing?


"Have the southern Kingdom, Furusutāj — south of Ansur — decided to aid the Queen? I heard they use a renowned mercenary group similar to the Kuroinu called White Wolves composed of demihumans. Even if Olga isn't seen in a good light by the demihumans, she still possesses vast amounts of riches which could have made them overlook some aspect of their relationship." Claudia proposed, taking any kind of possibility into account. "There is also Nidavellir that is more likely to come to her aid, but they haven't shown themselves in this conflict much for about a century."


"It must be," Alicia sneered in anger, her disgust for these powers so brazenly granting air to their worst enemy growing by the second. "They will help either side, hoping to see us kill each other or weaken both sides so that they can invade our land."


As everyone was coming up with various theories for this tragic outcome, Kaguya called for their attention once again. "It… it is neither Olga nor any other kingdom's doing that Vault died…" 


Maia who heard this has a bad feeling rising from her guts. A foggy figure she parted ways with came to her mind. No, it couldn't be him, there had to be a mistake somewhere!


To further prove her point, the priestess used some spells on the moth who flew to the center of the table before having a cloud encompass its body. "This is but a few fragments of memories of the moth, what it has seen will be shown through this spell."


Luu-Luu watching the insect in action couldn't help but frown. "You and your weird magic, can't ever get over how weird it is you can manipulate these insects. Kinda reminds me of a few disgusting individuals I rather have a grudge against. Are you sure you're not related to those Insect God Cult that tried to kill me not that long ago?" 


"Please do not associate my patron deity with the enemy. We couldn't be any more different, their existence only stains our name and nothing more." 


"If you say so, though, I would prefer you keep these critters away from me and my kingdom. Or else, don't blame me for bringing out my hammer, and Gaius especially hates them with a passion." 


Kaguya gave her a side-eyed glance, "Duly noted." Her tone returned to its former self with not a single trace of emotion.


"This is not the time or place for such petty confrontation, both of you." The Goddess Reborn decided to intervene, knowing the halfling's rather eccentric nature wouldn't mix well with Kaguya's devotion to her god and goal. They had secretly been at odds for longer than the dispute between Maia and Alicia. 


"It's starting!" Prim exclaimed, seeing a faint image of a  blackened sky with the vision showing an expansion of dead forest trees. They saw through the moth's eyes, a large dark castle belonging to none other than Olga.


Though some Princess Knights were less than pleased with what they were seeing. 


Especially Alicia.


"Kaguya, I do not want to cause any needless trouble and throw accusations with no foundation — but why didn't you ever reveal that you had the ability to spy upon the Queen through such means?" Thinking about the time, data, and resources they could have saved with this method made the blonde feel a sense of injustice and resentment with the priestess's secrecy. Prim nodded her head, agreeing with the blonde as she also believed this to have been a powerful spying tool they could have used in the past. 


"I understand your feelings, Alicia. But please understand that I don't hold control over the children of my patron deity to the extent you're thinking of. The matter related to Vault's assault on Olga's territory was a major turning point for our Seven Kingdoms which made me use any and all means available to my temple — including this particular moth that was gifted to me by my god just to help Celestine. On a normal occasion, I wouldn't have been able to use such a thing let alone spy the Dark Queen across such a vast distance." Hearing her explanation calmed Alicia down before she sat back and observed the scene. 


Sure enough, everyone recognised Olga's castle but what was more intriguing were the hail of arrows and fire flying through the sky before killing many of the demons and elves stationed on the walls and entrance. 


Leading the army was none other than Vault, valiantly slashing through the horde with little trouble. 


"Hey, why are there orcs within his army?" Luu-Luu spoke out, noticing this weird detail.


"Maybe Vault had Kin enslave some of the Queen's demons and throw them right back at her. An ingenious tactic that only increases one's chance at victory without having more men die on the field."


"Whatever you say, Claudia. But I still don't like it. Those things give me the chills every time I'm close to one, making me want to swing my hammer much faster and bash their faces to meat paste." 


The more they witnessed the battle, the more they grew impressed by how the Kuroinu were easily crushing through the enemy defenses. With Kin using the mages in the background to launch countless spells and attacks that burned any and all obstacles in their way.


"Humph, those dark elves deserved getting burned alive. In fact, they deserve a much more painful death!" Alicia voiced out, enjoying the sight of her lifelong enemies burning under the fiery flames and swords piercing their flesh. Prim who sat next to her didn't feel that comfortable with the scene presented in front of her, a rather haunting image of slaughter she wasn't familiar with seeing regularly. It made her sick, enough to avert her eyes slightly.


Maia’s heart meanwhile was beating loudly like a drum. So far, she was worried that Kin would launch a sneak attack and kill Vault before allying himself with the Dark Queen. It was already established to her understanding that this man couldn't be trusted, yet as she thought of that, the words of the men she left in Geofu repeated in her mind.


'...I don't know how to explain this, but be wary of the people close to you. Those you consider as friends or family may not have the best of intentions. They may hurt you worse than what the Dark Queen could ever do…' 


'...I'm not talking about Kin or Hicks… those two were just pawns — like the rest of us...' 


What Leoric said the day she left Luu-Luu's kingdom, they held another meaning within them. 


As she was lost in her thoughts, the others continued to witness Olga's side losing ground and retreating back to the castle with Vault chasing them down like a bull with a maniacal laugh. The moth was attracted to the heat, so it flew closer and closer, giving them a better image of everything.


"It just seems weird, I read through the reports that Olga has an ancient barrier around her castle that is considered impenetrable," Prim asked the others, seeing how easily Vault and the rest managed to advance without any hindrance. 


"Yes, Olga should have a barrier set up… something doesn't add up here." Even Celestine could spot the irregularity with this situation. Having faced Olga countless times, she knew that her former friend would never be so careless or weak enough to actually dismiss the barrier in such a crucial battle. This presented only two possibilities, either Olga really had fallen so low that even keeping up a mostly self sufficient barrier was her ability… or something — someone — prevented her from doing so. Celestine was inclined to believe the latter.


"Everything is going smoothly so far, so what went wrong?" Claudia asked, analyzing each action of both parties yet seeing no signs that led her to believe that Vault and the castle would end up getting destroyed.


As Vault infiltrated the castle, minutes passed yet nothing much happened aside from the mercenary group killing off any remnants of Olga's forces. Having completely taken over the outer area without much issue.


"As expected from Vault, truly a genius strategist and commander." Alicia commented, possibly complimenting one of the few men in her life for the first time. She herself tried on multiple occasions to siege Castle Discordia but failed again and again. So to see a man like Vault doing it in front of her eyes made it impossible for her to dismiss his achievements. How could such a man ever fall? There must have been a communication error with Kaguya and those creatures, surely Olga must have been captured by now and we're heading home. 


Maia just stared silently, her face showing no sign of joy like many of the Princess Knights. A part of her wanted to believe that Kaguya was wrong and that Vault survived, as she herself was having a hard time to accept such a reality. So putting her feelings and confusion aside — the redhead patiently watched the scene with a grim face.


Soon, they saw everyone cheering out of nowhere, "Looks like Vault must have captured the Queen by now." Luu-Luu said, paying close attention to another thing entirely. Just for a split second, she noticed a particular dagger near the entrance. It was so small and insignificant to the vision as a whole, but for someone like her it stole all of her attention instantly. And it looked like someone Kuroinu goons on the battlefield noticed it as well. 


"Damnit, why is it always during battles that the most interesting weapons appear?"


A few seconds later, they all witnessed a single arrow coming out of nowhere and killing one of the Kuroinu men near the entrances.


"Reinforcements!" They shouted, surprised to see the projectile appear out of nowhere.


"It must be Nidavellir!"


"More arrows are raining down the sky!"


It was like the previous scene with Vault attacking Olga's forces repeating once again. But this time, the former were the ones in the losing end. There were fewer arrows, but each shot never missed once and some shots even killed multiple targets! No matter how much they tried to run, these things would hunt them down like bloodthirsty hounds and pierce their heads. 


"What… what is this!?" Their shocked states further grew more pronounced when they witnessed weird shaped arrows descend from the sky and explode a large area within less than a second. Something that revealed a mage's strongest spell now happening dozens of times across the field.


But then the most unexpected thing happened that made Maia's eyes widen. A hooded figure with half of his face showing, though she didn't even need that physical clue to know his identity as she witnessed him holding two familiar dao swords. 


"It really was you… Emiya."


She saw him move at speeds she hadn't seen since their last true duel, ruthlessly murdering everything and everyone who stood in his way. There were no wasted movements on his part, even the hundreds of Kuroinu men around him couldn't hit the man no matter how hard they tried. He was like a killing machine, a grim reaper who harvested their souls within the blazing field around him.


"Why… why would you do this?" That was all she could ask herself after seeing his actions. Emiya wasn't allied with Olga, she was certain of it and refused to accept such a thing in the first place. He had many occasions where he could have killed her easily without anyone knowing — but he didn't. 


Luu-Luu nearly jumped out of her seat when she saw the swords. Having seen them countless times in her dreams and the many blueprints she created just to attempt at replicating them with little to no success. "Kanshou and Bakuya! My babies!" 


"You know him!?" Even Alicia couldn't believe her eyes. If Vault could be described as a peerless warrior crushing his enemies with a single swing. This man was nothing short of a complete monster, making her question just how could someone achieve such speed and power when even she struggled to attain such a level with Celestine's blessing powering her. Furthermore, she felt like she knew this person, what little she could see of his lower face rigging a bell inside her mind. 


Prim was more certain of his identity as she had spent more time together. Just his lower face for her was enough. But she instead felt an extra emotion other than horror when watching the massacre. When Vault killed the demons and dark elves, there was nothing but disgust and wariness filling her being. Now, watching someone who could be none other than Archer showing off his prowess against an entire army of Kuroinu and demons just looked very mesmerizing.


Like how she would always gaze at Alicia's training from the darkness, the inexplicably strong desire that boiled inside her making her unconsciously grin. He just looked so… amazing.


Not once did she ask herself why he was killing the Kuroinu. In the end, her eyes were completely entranced by his movement and viciousness. 


"What power!" Now it was Claudia's turn to be amazed, yet she couldn't hide the sorrow of seeing their alliance's strongest ally get destroyed so easily.  "This man's fighting ability exceeds that of a Knight… how is this even possible?" 


Unfortunately, the scene didn't last long as he rushed inside the castle, which soon got engulfed in a giant explosion of fire and destruction that made the moth be forced to retreat, thus ending the vision abruptly. The clouds dissipated as the moth landed back onto Kaguya's finger.


"I have never seen the usage of such forms of magic." Kaguya mentioned, "I cannot deduce if it's indeed a blessing or just a spell. Such speed and strength is not humanely achievable without external help of some kind. Not to mention those swords, they must be some kind of artifacts." 


Claudia agreed, "Celestine, have you any idea on what kind of magic… this… Celestine?" 


Turning around, she was shocked to find her long time friend looking at the scene, frozen from shock. A single tear streamed down her face as she uttered a single name. 


"Shirou?"


She couldn't believe it… everything started to become more clear.


"Was this… the cause of your death?"  


All thoughts about Vault and the Kuroinu vanished from her mind, replaced with the memory of Shirou smiling in his last moment at the gallows.


{Break}


-Dark Lands-


For a few hours, Olga had been traveling as a so-called 'prisoner'. Walking across the desolated and toxic lands which could easily kill any regular humans if they weren't careful or had consumed a cure or potion beforehand. She and Chloe on the other hand had long since grown accustomed to such an environment. 


Looking in front of her, she carefully gazed at the white haired man who rescued her from Vault's clutches and the Kuroinu's plan on creating a cuntry.


They hadn't talked a lot the entire time, even if she tried to start a conversation he would either give her a short dismissive answer or not give one at all — always wearing a frown on his face that made it look like he was constantly thinking about something. Chloe was carried on his shoulders, tied and gagged like a true prisoner. 


His previous action had sent her well beyond the point of anger that she tried to kill him countless times after their initial introduction. Though just like last time, it always ended up with a strong slap to the cheeks. She lost count after Chloe's 58th attempt on killing him.


In the end, even he lost patience and just tied her up like that and carried her along like a sac more than anything. 


She struggled and resisted quite a bit in the beginning, but after a few more attempts of constant struggle she kind of gave up at this point and let Archer carry her. 


He never bothered to bind her as well, keeping Olga free to follow him without having a rope or anything of such sorts wrapped around her arms like she expected when he called her his prisoner. But she wasn't one to turn down an advantage such as this. 


'He must be associated with Celestine directly, or else he wouldn't have given me so much freedom.'


Soon, they reached a small clearing where Archer stopped before casually dropping Chloe to the ground. The latter having woken up from her daze with a face full of dirt once again couldn't help but hatefully glare at the man. If looks could kill then he would have died a hundred times in less than a second.


"If you were more cooperative like your Queen here then I wouldn't have been forced to treat you like this. The blame is all yours." Archer said dryly, starting to set up a fire with bundles of twigs and dead branches all around them. "It's late, we'll continue our journey tomorrow. In the dead of night, the chances of encountering a group of wild demons is too risky." 


Truthfully, he just wanted to rest and recover. His right hand still was in a completely decimated state and leaking blood if he moved it too much. His vision was already blurry and each step felt like a ton, the fact he carried the bound Chloe for so long without collapsing was a miracle in itself. He wanted to bind Olga as well but realized the Queen didn't harbor any ill intent so far, which he decided to believe for now while still keeping a watchful eye on the Dark Elf.


After the fire was lit, he sat down on the ground and leaned against a tree. The relief he felt was a god send, unfortunately he couldn't relax as he had to keep watch on these two and any other monsters.


"..." 


"What?" Archer asked, wondering why she wasn't sitting down.


Olga frowned, looking at him incredulously. "You can't expect me to sit down on the ground and stain myself." 


Hearing those words made his eyes roll, "Well too bad, your majesty. I don't exactly have a golden throne on me for you to use." He said sarcastically, capable of tracing something simple like a chair but not willing to waste any of his Magical Energy.


"This is humiliating!" 


"Says the woman who lost to a group of humans who should have been an easier opponent to deal with compared to the Seven Shields while also nearly getting raped by them. Yeah, sitting on the ground greatly exceeds everything you've gone through so far."


Never had Olga ever had the urge to punch someone in the face like the man in front of her… except for Vault and Kin. Though she didn't show any anger on her face, making sure to keep all of her emotions under control. 


"Is it possible for you to free Chloe? She's been bound ever since we've found you." She said while gazing at the blonde girl worming her way next to her and away from Archer. The man nearly chuckled from the scene but couldn't due to his burning lungs. 


"If I do that, she'll just attack me and I'll be forced to slap her, again." The girl resembled the kind of people who were far too stubborn for their own good and never learned their lessons. 


"She won't, you have my word.* 


"What word? I barely even know you or care."


"You…" No, he was intentionally trying to make her angry. "I don't feel safe without my protector by my side." 


"You aren't meant to, again, prisoner and all." 


"Why even take me as a prisoner?" She couldn't help but ask, "because I was certain anyone working under Celestine desired my death. Let me guess, that naïve goddess couldn't bear to kill me so she'll have me locked up in a dungeon for years until I can 'come back to my senses.' Humph, as expected of her, incompetent till the end… she'll be the sole reason her kingdom falls in the future." Archer noticed enough traces of bitterness and indignation in her voice to know that the relationship between them wasn't so black and white as many were led to believe.  


"Okay, first off. Again, I'm not associated with Celestine in the least bit. We haven't talked or met each other even once." In the physical world, that part was left unsaid. That statement surprised Olga for a bit until she remembered the scene of the sword plunging into the earth and decimating the entire valley. 


"Then you're either under the command of one of the many gods who support her or one of her sister's champions or something."


Oh? Celestine had sisters? That was news to him. Every text he'd read so far never gave such indication at any point. Still, he trusted Olga's words far more than the texts written by a bunch of fanatics who were blinded by their beliefs, delusioned to create a story influenced by their bias. Not to mention, Olga had no reason to make up lies to him within this conversation. 


"Again, no. I'm not associated with any of the gods of this world, or her sisters. My sole goal was to kill Vault and keep the human population safe. Nothing more, nothing less." The Counter Force wasn't an entity originating from this world so he wasn't lying. "I'm not even from Eostia." 


"I know," Olga said, knowing some details of his origins as she tried to research his past before. Yet everything he mentioned so far made no sense to her, if he wanted to keep the humans safe then why spare her? "Don't you hate me? Despise my very existence for the atrocities I've committed?" She wasn't blind to her actions and knew many wouldn't hesitate a second to decapitate her head if given the opportunity.


Archer couldn't help but smirk,


"Heh, so you want me to kill you?" Chloe tried to stand in front of her Queen but couldn't remain still for long before falling to the ground. 


"As for your question, no, I don't hate you… not even a little bit." Olga couldn't hide her shock when he said that. "Many see you as a monster but not me, you aren't even close to one." 


Putting his past life and many of the most vile enemies he fought, now there was a true monster lurking within this world. In a state of sleep which could end hopefully later than sooner. Everything Olga had done, taking into account every life she had taken directly and indirectly with her orders still couldn't come close to what he had done and let alone Beast. Even after the event that nearly killed Maia and Brynn, never once did he come to hate Olga.


All this time, only emotion was associated with her; indifference. He acknowledged her actions but couldn't be bothered to feel any sort of anger or injustice for everyone she killed. That part of him slowly withered away when he became a Counter Guardian.


"You're bluffing."


"Believe what you want, I don't care." A bit of drowsiness was beginning to take over his mind which he forcefully pushed it away. "Plus I went to so much trouble to save you back then, the least you can be is grateful. Killing you right now wouldn't make sense after everything I've done."


"I've killed tens of thousands."


"Wow, that's very impressive. Want me to hand you an award or something?" His tone couldn't be any more dead. Archer didn't bother bringing up his own kill count as there were multiple reasons. He didn't remember himself, there was no reason to do so and this wasn't some form of twisted competition where the biggest killer won. "The way I see it, you're nothing more than a pitiful woman who threw a temper tantrum and decided to take out her anger on humans as a whole for the actions of a few. I gather you were rejected by your own people, how sad is that? You think of yourself as a merciless Queen your people need. I believe they call that a necessary evil? How naïve and laughable. In the end, you were less of a danger than Vault. How can I hate you when you're not even worth that much?"


Olga gritted her teeth, her hands twitching with the desire to fire her strongest spell at him. But even now, she couldn't bring herself to do that as she feared that it wouldn't be enough to take him down.


Snap! 


Surprisingly, Chloe managed to break free from her restraints. "You don't have any idea what my Queen has sacrificed for her people! You humans destroy everything you touch!" She was about to attack him again, but this time, Olga stopped her. "M-My Queen?" 


The raven haired elf shook her head. "Don't do it, it's not worth it."


"Hoo, are you going to try and control your subordinates again? To me, it looks like she'll go against your orders at any moment." Archer said mockingly, opening his arms and taunting Chloe further. "Come on, I'm completely open here without any weapons to defend myself against. In fact, here," he threw the stiletto dagger at her feet. "Take it, you can't attack someone like me without a weapon, right? Come, show me just how much you despise humans." 


Each word just further pushed her over the edge, she'd never felt the desire to stab someone's face a thousand times more than this man in front of her. 


"Or perhaps, you're afraid that you'll lose to me like what happened with Vault. In the end, you couldn't protect her even once in your life." 


That comment broke the floor of rage boiling inside her. "You fucking bastaaard…" before she could rush at him again, Olga used a spell on her and made the girl fall unconscious on her arms. She then glared at Archer.


"That was unnecessary." 


"Perhaps, it's just amusing to see how easily she can get triggered. An easy target is fun to play with. Her hate for humans seems to be a bit more personal than what I expected, I gather she must have suffered in the past by the hands of one." 


She nodded her head, "Chloe was a slave, treated miserably by her own father who wanted to sell her off as a sex slave." 


"Ah, I see. So she's a half human." It wasn't hard for him to discern that given how common such cases were from what he had learned so far. "I guess I can understand her disgust for humans." 


"Your kind is a disease that needs to be burned away." Olga didn't hesitate to follow up, frowning as she still kept standing the entire time. 


"Risky to say such things in front of your rescuer. But then again, you can believe whatever you want, I don't care."


He was also trying to distract himself from his weakened state, forcing himself to not fall asleep with them around, especially now that he wanted to get to the real reason why he decided to take Olga with him.


Right now, his mission was to search for the shard and destroy it before it could fully recover. But his biggest problem was how he didn't know where the damn thing was at this moment. His search could take months, years and even decades if the shard kept moving around just to avoid him. He couldn't allow that, so Archer had to think of another way to corner the shard — by making sure it wouldn't recover as fast first. 


"Given I've taken the effort to rescue you when I didn't need to, the least you can do is tell me what do you know about the Insect God Cult?" He asked, knowing Olga would have some knowledge about this hidden cult. No amount of research would give him the answer he would have liked, he didn't even know of their existence before the old man mentioned it and the guy who was related to them was killed by Brynn. So instead of wasting time and stubbornly trying to do everything on his own — it was better to follow the old man's advice and compromise by having others help him.


Olga stepped back, looking at him dreadfully.


"Don't worry, I'm not part of them. I'm just asking what you know about these people given I'll have to deal with them soon and I would prefer not getting caught by surprise." 


"Deal with those disgusting Insects… " Like how he dealt with the Kuroinu? She hated that cult and Kaguya as much as humanity as a whole. One could even argue that they represented the worst aspect of their species. Urgh, just thinking about them made her want to vomit. "Just who are you? Why go so far?" 


He wasn't working for Celestine, didn't seem to care that much about the humans given he kept her alive and wasn't even from this land. He killed the Kuroinu which would make him a bigger enemy to the seven kingdoms than herself… all of this for what? And he was a human now that she looked at him closely, a man on top of that, so the giants were not an option at all.


"That is none of your concern, just tell me everything you know and in return, I'll keep you safe from all dangers, human and demonic until you've found shelter." 


She grew silent, pondering his words for a few seconds. "I want to negotiate something first." 


Archer raised his eyebrow. 


"I don't think you're in a position to negotiate anything for the matter. But, I'm willing to hear you out." 


She sighed in relief at his words, "Alright, I will tell you everything I know about not only the Insect God Cult but every other individual and parties associated with the Kuroinu, but in exchange, you need to drop me and Chloe off to Celestine. Not her Princess Knights, but Celestine herself." She wanted to mention Nidavellir, but with how rocky their relationship was at the moment and how they didn't bother to send reinforcements — she suspected treason on their side. Maybe they sided with the Kuroinu and would kill her once she got there, but Celestine would never in a million years ever do such a thing. Strangely enough, being with her was her safest bet… more than her own former allies. 


"Eh?" That actually confused Archer quite a bit. He expected for both parties to be enemies who tried to kill each other for centuries, even if Olga mentioned Celestine would most likely imprison her. 


Seeing his face, the woman smirked a little. "Don't underestimate my importance to Celestine and the elven race in general. And I have ways to keep myself safe within enemy territory." She said, unconsciously puffing her chest which nearly made her breast pop out of that flimsy armor.


"Even your kind doesn't seem to understand the concept of armor…" Archer commented, seeing how the Queen was basically standing in a bikini with what she wore. What was that even supposed to protect?


"Excuse me?" Olga wasn't happy with his comment. "I'll have you know this armor was made with dragon scales and enchanted by magic itself. Not even the sharpest sword in Eostia can pierce it." 


"Your front is literally fully exposed, woman!" 


"Hya!" To further prove his point, he threw a small pebble which perfectly got in between her chest. "You!" Her ears flushed red with further embarrassment and anger.


No wonder Chloe couldn't hold herself back against this man. He was so hateful!


"See? If that was an arrow you would be dead. Is there truly no sane person in this continent who wears a real armor instead of things like these which will get your raped at one point in the future?"


"L-Let's change the subject!" 


"Hm, suit yourself."


Going back to her previous decision, either she was arrogant and overestimating her own worth or Celestine was truly that naïve. Either way, it was a small matter. 


"Fine, before we start… are you really going to remain standing the entire night?"


Even though she started to look embarrassed, her legs were sore and she hadn't walked so far for many years, so her body wasn't used to it.


"If you continue this, I'll be inclined to believe that you want to sit on my lap." He said with the same grin on his face.


"What!? Stop being delusional! I can sit wherever I want, this entire territory is my domain!" To prove her point, she sat down on the cold dirt, having goosebumps spread across her body from the uncomfortable feeling. "There, now stop smirking!" 


"Hehehehe, let's see how long you can keep this up, oh great Queen of the Dark Elves." Just to spite her further, he projected a large blanket which covered him and gave an extra layer of comfort while the fire kept him warm. "If you want one, just ask nicely with a please at the end — then I'll consider it."


Olga already began to shiver, she wanted to ask for one but her pride couldn't let this man humiliate her like this any further.


"I hate you, hope you'll die a brutal death!" She sneered, cursing herself for her rather open armor which barely covered her body. Even her cape was long gone and burned due to the explosion.


"Join the club, you're not the only one."


.


.


.


Not far away from where Archer and Olga were, two people trudged through the dead wasteland. Carrying large bags filled with herbs that carried healing properties and medicine which they handed to any unfortunate soul they met on the road. 


"Haa… Haa…" They were tired, having walked for an entire day with little rest in between. Having sensed a great conflict in the distance, they decided to travel the road bordering Feoh and the Dark Lands in search of any travelers that would need their aid. So far, they were lucky to find a handful of dark elves escaping the land and offered them food and water for their journey. 


"Do you think we should set up camp here? If I remember correctly, there is a waterfall not far away from here where we can rest and bathe ourselves." The blonde leading spoke in a monotonous voice, barely showing any emotion. But it was clear that she worried about her partner behind who wasn't as physically fit for long distance travels. 


"That… that's a good idea, haa… haa…" she spoke quietly, her clothes drenched with sweat. "I-I heard from one of the passing travelers that saw a white haired man not that long ago rushing across the trees. D-Do you think that it's him?" She asked, hopeful to meet him again. 


The blonde elf couldn't help but have a small smile emerge on her face as she saw the excited expression of her dark elf friend. 


"Oh Grace, is it just me or has time truly made you obsessed with Archer?"