An Archer's Promise Chapter 50 (Patreon)

Not beta read yet

This was a hard chapter to write, took longer than I would have liked. Nearly 9k words.

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-Dark Lands, near Grenzstadt-


"We've got company." Archer said, breaking Olga from her thoughts as she and the red bowman looked towards the dark forest in the distance — they found a pair of haunting glowing yellow eyes glaring at them with unhidden hostility. "Old acquaintances I presume?" 


He asked calmly, both Heroic Spirit and Dark Elf watching more and more pairs of eyes appear in the darkness with a blank face. Neither showed any change in emotion, anger or fear at the ambush. "If they are, they certainly do a formidable job at hiding their presence, especially in the middle of the night. The howling especially was necessary to emphasize how hidden they were." His sarcastic tone increased ten folds, forcing Olga to sigh. 


"So they finally came to finish me off after all." Olga whispered, holding a complicated feeling inside her heart. Howler was the oldest subordinate under her command, though his kind did not join willingly as she forced them with a slave mark. His kind were by far her strongest army, both ruthless, effective and efficient in any kind of environment. Though the Orcs, imps and goblins made up the majority of her army with how quickly they reproduced, with an infant Orc needing only two weeks or a month at the furthest to reach full maturation. 


Lycans closer to humans with their children taking years to grow to adulthood. With the frequency of the battles between her and the seven kingdoms, she just could not rely on them multiplying with enough human women thrown at him in the breeding pit and offsprings were demi-humans rather than full Lycans. It was just not a feasible way to keep their numbers high, so she was forced to enslave more and more of their tribes and add them to her army. 


"I was wondering where these creatures were when I raided your castle, I could not find a single one and it dawned on me later on how the Orcs were not the only beings that betrayed you. And now, they came all this way to kill or rape you. Given what I've seen so far, I'd argue on the second option if not both." 


She did not get offended by his words, "I always foresaw their kind escaping from their bonds by either their own abilities or with the aid of Celestine. Though by then, my army of Orcs and Elves would have been large enough to contend against them even if they joined the Goddess Reborn."


"Yet now here you are left with nothing aside from a former slave with anger issues, two degenerate elves and me. Your odds of survival do not look good I must say, Olga." 


The killing intent in the air was dense beyond anything she had seen from them before. Their hate focused on her alone with the years of torment fueling that feeling. They were out for blood, and were itching to tear her from limb to limb. Yet regardless of the danger facing right in the eyes, Olga's heart remained calm as her lips twitched upwards for a split second before she glanced at Archer who leaned against a tree with his arms crossed. 


"I would argue my odds of survival are quite higher now than if I still had my castle and demons." 


"That's debatable, I could easily just leave with my group and have you fend off by yourself. I got the information I needed about the Insect God Cult and their priestess. You hold little to no value to me and could possibly backstab me when I least expect it to. In a way, this is a good scenario for me, I can get rid of you right here and now before moving on with my life. The world right now has their attention on me. The killer of Vault and the one who slaughtered the Kuroinu, hailed as the saviors of mankind. I'm sure adding on the title Dark Queen slayer will alleviate some of the charges pressed on me and could even make me a free man. That certainly beats getting hanged or executed by a bunch of Knights." He showed no desire or willingness to take care of the approaching threat, staying in his place while glancing at Olga from time to time.


Surprisingly, the woman did not burst into a fit of anger and demand for him to keep his promise from their deal like he expected her to. Rather, she just met his gaze for the better part of a minute while ignoring the approaching shadows from the other side. 


"Then so be it." She whispered, facing the Lycans with a raised head and striding forward with regal and grace. Holding the aura of a monarch devoid of any trepidation or doubt — left with nothing but the will to face this challenge whether it led to her demise or not. "Take care of Chloe, she is but a child with a traumatic past. She will be difficult to handle in the beginning, but with proper care and love she will learn to respect you. Just… just don't let her fall in the hands of he who calls himself her father, please. In this world she is the closest individual I have left as both a friend, servant, daughter and family." 


"..."


Her mana reserves were nothing more than a shadow of its prime, without the throne to act as a near infinite tank of power Olga could only rely on what could be held inside her body alone. Furthermore, she now had her Obsidian staff, having lost it in the castle after Kin took it away.  'I hold great disdain for people like Vault, the Kuroinu and humans in general. My powers which I cultivated for centuries are a sign of my hard work and talent as a Dark Elf. I refuse to sully it by the blood of those I consider as vile insects, that fact has not changed.' 


Pride over her achievements.


Fulfillment of her worth as a mage. 


Honor as a Dark Elf. 


All of these factors chained her from truly going out on Vault as she could not get over the idea of granting him a death so honorable. It was a disgrace that even death or any kind of punishment would not hold up against. 


But now?


Olga no longer held such a sentiment against these Lycans. They were the ideal race for war, killing and a near perfect killing machine. Arguably one of the few races she held a trace of respect towards, right after the dwarves. If they had decided to band together and create an empire of Lycans, then not even the humans could have contested against their might. Even she trembled at the thought of facing an army made up of tens of thousands of Lycans. 


"Howler, I know you can hear me." She started speaking, not stopping for a second as she continued to walk over with Archer in the back observing her intently. "Either Kin or someone else has managed to erase the seal I put on you and your kind. Which was why you were absent at the battle with the Kuroinu and the sole reason why you have arrived here to end my life once and for all. I don't blame you," 


The howls in the distance got louder. 


The wind around her body rustled, as a faint purple aura gathered around her palm, spreading into a magic circle with dozens of ancient symbols of a language only spoken by the ancient elves.  


"Let this be my final stand, and this land shall mark our final resting place." She closed her palm, shattering the circle into a hundred shards which circled around her body, shielding her from all elements. "Fire Magic: Purple storm."


"Roooar!"


They finally emerged from the shadows, bloodthirsty Lycans pouncing on her with their claws and fangs ready to sink into her flesh. Each of these beasts twice her size with speeds beyond that of human vision, their claws getting closer to Olga's throat while the latter watched them with an indifferent look. 


Until one of them touched the shards…


Fwoosh!


The space around her combusted in a intense brazier of purple coloured fire which engulfed all three Lycans in seconds. Their furious howls turned into whimpering and screams of pain until their bodies curled up into charred corpses. 


"You can do better than that, Howler, I know you can." 


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"Splitter, Tearer and Carver have died."


On the other end of the forest, two imposing Lycans stood, clad in bronze armor and scars that came with years of battle. "This is the first time I've seen the Queen use a spell. A high rank one no less, though I'm not familiar with this variation of a fire spell." 


Next to the beast, Howler watched the scene of his fallen brethrens' death with a worried face. "So she is actually going to defend herself. Without her staff not much can be done against a group of Orcs let alone us."


Olga was a prodigy amongst her race, that he heard countless times by both Kin, the late elders of his tribe and the Mortadella brothers. Having mastery of all elements just like Celestine and a being capable of reshaping the very land. 


At least, that was supposed to be the Olga in her Prime with the assistance of many artifacts, including but not limited to the Golden Throne. Without any of those elements she should have been no different than to a crippled mage.


"Guess crippled or not, a monster remains a monster." 


A bright light flashed where Olga fought off more Lycans, a large spike of purple crystal shot out from the ground and pieces the abdomen of a red Lycan that came closer than anyone else. Olga then placed her palm against the surface of the crystal before hundreds of smaller spikes formed around her area which stopped her attackers from cornering the woman. This was followed she lifted both of her hands up to the sky and summoned more of the purple fire that rained down on his brethren. 


The number of deaths climbed up to over twenty in a matter of minutes. 


"She is dangerous all right, if Crushed were here then at least he'd be able to kill her before she could even be able to cast a single spell." It was regrettable that one of his most competent brethren died by the calamity near Geofu's borders from Celestine's intervention. 


"What about Chloe and the human she left behind?" 


"Leave them, Chloe is nothing without her Queen — a weapon with no owner that will rust with time. As for the human, he could be Celestine's envoy for all we know, so stay clear of him. Cleaver, get ready. The more we wait the more die, her shield has shrunk and there are barely any shards left." 


He nodded his head, both Lycans howled at the moon, announcing their arrival to the battlefield. Olga casted another crystal wall around her to protect herself from the onslaught and summon more fireballs on her enemies. "He's here." She whispered, tensing at the newcomers. 


Faster than the Lycans before, a giant shadow of a ferocious wolf appeared and clouded her vision. A loud screech echoed across the area as sharp claws managed to bypass her first layer of defense and clashed straight with the crystal. "Hn!" Unable to withstand the force, the Dark Queen was sent flying with the shield breaking apart when it impacted against a boulder. 


The foreign sensation of pain, a feeling she had not felt for a century by now. Her bones rattled, the force of the throw affecting her far more than she would have liked. She coughed a few times before glaring at the new addition — her former general. "Howler…" 


"Dark Queen Olga Discordia." The Lycan introduced himself with the same tone as before he was still under her command. Going so far as to even bow to his former master. "I have returned to fulfill my duties."


Years ago, when he was first captured by Olga, Howler swore that one day he'd bring the Dark Elf to her knees. She knew his goals more than anyone, having spat those words to her face countless times. 


"Were you the one responsible for letting the Kuroinu in my castle?" Olga asked, before chuckling. "It doesn't matter anymore, the answer won't change the outcome of this battle." 


"That it will not, you may be a powerful mage with or without your artifacts, but today, your fate is sealed. I am not certain how you managed to survive Vault's assault given your arrogance and diatate towards the human race, I take it that even the Dark Queen can be affected by a threat of death large enough to escape."


Olga did not take well to his comment, for it was true that she would not have escaped even if Vault had not cornered her. Running away was a fate worse than death against a miserable human, her pride would not allow it. "Do not insult me, Lycan. I would rather die or have my body defiled than to become a coward, my dignity is not something you can comprehend." 


"Humph," the beast snorted, still to this day unable to understand the thought process of this fallen Queen. Their own race was known for its pride and honor but even they knew that when faced with no path to survival, running away would be the best option. Howler and the other Lycans brandished their claws gleaming from the moonlight. "Arrogant till the end, how typical of you, my Queen." 


He howled again, sending a signal for the others to attack. "—!" She barely had time to react and send a flurry of blazing purple rods of flames, summoning even more crystal structures around her body. She could handle the previous batch, but Howler was stronger and faster than them by a long shot. 


"Raargh!" With but two slashes, he cut through half of purple structures, sending shards and debris flying everywhere. Olga hastily sent a couple of fireballs and lightning shots which he evaded with ease, unlike some of the beasts who were not as agile. 


'She can cast one elemental attack spell every second even without a staff or conduit to channel her mana and most of these spells are high ranked… how fearsome.' 


While her attention was on him, Striker came up behind the Queen. He struck her crystal walls like a battering ram with all his weight, shoving her into a corner, he slashed it with his claws again and again to tear through the layers and reach for her face. "Foul dog!" Unable to move from her spot or have the time to cast a high rank spell, Olga swilled the remaining shards floating around her body to fly though the crystal and hit the Lycan. Striker was about to cry out in pain from the flames engulfing his chest, but as she saw his jaws open, a black hole in the enclosure of her eyes, white teeth and blood seeping out. He grabbed onto the surface stubbornly, refusing to let go until it hadn't been shattered. 


Crack!


"You fool!" In a last ditch move, Olga used the strongest spell she could use at that moment, sparks of purple lightning gathered around her hands and expanded outwardly to hit everyone near her. 


"Kurgh!" The beast remained persistent, even as his body continued to chip away more and more of the shield till even Olga began to grow hopeless at the situation. 


Frustrated at how he could not get any closer without getting hit by Olga's spell, Howler dug his claws into the earth and grunted as he pulled it with all his strength, his muscles bulging twice their size. Using the crystal pillars she summoned as cover to escape a lightning strike that burned the ends of his fur. "Kuh!" Yet some of the arcs managed to hit him, nearly making him stop whatever he was doing.


"What?" Olga was not prepared for what happened next, the ground shook as cracks started appearing everywhere around before she felt the earth beneath her shake. 


The Lycan shouted, lifting the chunk of land where Olga stood surrounded with her crystal off of the ground. Using everything he had, the beast slammed back down with greater force and momentum, shattering everything into a thousand pieces including the defenses Olga put in place. 


The Dark fell to the ground, bruises and cuts littering her once smooth and soft skin, she coughed from the dust in the air and, in a hurry, tried to cast another one of her high rank purple crystal spells only to have her hand get stepped on by a wolf paw. Olga yelped, both in pain and humiliated from her defeat. 


The remaining Lycans gathered around her, even after she tried her best to kill them all, nearly two hundred of them remained standing. The amount of dead beasts not even amounting to a tenth of the total number. This just further frustrated Olga as she could have done much more with the right artifact.


Howler stared back at the glaring Dark Elf, "Look at you… defeated and broken by those who you imprisoned. You posed somewhat of a challenge with the usage of so many lethal spells but in the end, you got overwhelmed. I do wonder how the Vault of all people with his army lost to you. Or maybe you used up all of your trump cards and are no different than a regular mage in this incident." He lifted his paw and held both of her wrist as he dangled the near naked girl. Olga winced from his grip but made sure to show not a single sign of weakness. 


"Howler, how are you holding up" Striker spoke, drinking a potion from a golden bottle which viably started healing some of his wounds. The burned parts remained but now he was no longer bleeding contentiously. 


"That bottle…" Olga's eyes widened as she recognised the symbol on the bottle, having bought a few of these potions in the past but lower in quality for her Dark Elf soldiers. "So it truly was the Mortadella brothers who helped you break away from the mark." 


"They sympathized with us and our desire for freedom. For they may be slavers, at least the brothers aren't causing our race to grow slimmer in number every war." 


"You got free from one master, only to be leashed by another one. Hn, how ironic."  


He turned around, presented Olga to the surrounding Lycans. "See this my brothers, the Dark Queen has fallen not by the hands of the humans or Celestine. The Princess Knights' eternal enemy who they couldn't even take down even with the armies of mages and even something Kuroinu could not do. So let us feast on her flesh till our heart has been washed from decades worth of rage and misery!" 


Olga did not struggle, watching the Lycans bloodlust turn into hunger as saliva dropped from their mouth, some even getting aroused as they would ravish her first before feasting. Regardless, this was the end for her and unlike the time she got captured by the Kuroinu — she barely felt any anger. The nightmare she had came true in the end, just with the Lycans being the perpetrators. A spark of relief flashed in her heart, in the deepest corners as she realized that after this, she would be gone from this world, the mountain of responsibilities, the deaths of countless, the Dark Elves she let down in the end and the increasing list of her failures. 


All of it would be gone. 


So, she closed her eyes and awaited u—


"Color me surprised, you actually were seriously planning to die. How laughable!"  


"—!" 


The space above flashed with light as seven of the largest greatswords any one of the beasts had seen in their lives formed out of thin air in a circle and descended viciously to the ground. 


"Ah!" Olga yelped when she fell to the ground on her butt, surprised by the sudden turn of events. She shakily brought her fingers around her neck to feel the chopped off limb of Howler still holding onto her throat for a few seconds before it fell to the ground spurting blood on her body. Her head listlessly looked in front when she found Archer standing there still with his hands crossed giving her a disapproving stare. "You finally came…" she whispered.


Archer's eyes twitched.


"Don't make it sound like this was your plan all along, woman. Just now, you were ready to die and accepted your fate. You were planning on taking the easy way out, didn't you?" 


Her eyes widened at what he said which sounded more like a statement than a question. "I-I wasn't…" she tried to defend herself but Archer could see right through her.


"Do you think you can escape everything you've done so easily? I honestly couldn't care less about your reasoning nor will I bother to sympathize with the likes of you. For I don't care about what you did or who you are, I would be a hypocrite if I called you a heinous monster for the countless you've killed… at least you had a reason no matter how idiotic it was." Even if he had little idea of her true prowess, Archer could tell as clear as day that Olga was purposely holding back the entire time or even doing it unconsciously. Not out of fear of hurting her opponent, but rather because she was hoping for an ending which would have resulted in a quick death. 


He recognised that immediately. 


"You said it yourself, I am of no use to you anymore. Having already given you everything I know, why bother staying here as a disgraceful prisoner? Better die in battle where I can die on my own terms… I have already lost the war against Celestine."


That only made the red bowman grit his teeth, an incomprehensible sense of anger rising from inside the Counter Guardian while looking at the pitiful mess in front of him. 


"You lie as easily as your breath, the title of Dark Queen suits you more every time you open that mouth. You merely can't stand to shoulder the consequences of your actions and wish to avoid them by choosing death. Your action just now was nothing short of cowardly!" 


The woman snorted with a light smirk.


"Cowardly? Tell me this, how long do you think I would have survived by Celestine's side? Sooner or later, she will fall once again to the ploy of the humans and they'll do everything in their power to burn away everything I represent and tarnish my name. It is just a death sentence waiting to happen and Chloe will be dragged in as well. Don't think you understand me, human!"


Why was this conversation causing him more headache than he would have preferred? "Then you've just proved my point, not only are you a coward but also a weakling. You show so much pride yet the crumble so easily, humph, makes me wonder if all of your actions of waging war against the Goddess Reborn and her Shields for so long was nothing but dumb luck on your end. Without your castle or your artifacts you're no different to a child who lost her favorite toy… guess I had truly overestimated you after all. Alaya was right, you never represented any sort of threat to Humanity from the beginning." The further he spoke the angrier Olga kept getting. "To add more into your nonsensical misunderstandings, listen to me carefully because I will not repeat it twice to your deaf ears and barely working brain. I am not your Servant nor am I in any obligation to take care of that brat in your stead, I rather hand her over to the Princess Knights than to have Chloe accompany me on a long journey where she'll most likely be nothing but a burden. You take care of her and don't just throw that particular responsibility on a stranger's head, imbecile."


She heard such insults many times along the centuries, coward, weakling, traitor, demon and so much more to the point of getting nearly desensitized by such comments. Yet for some unfathomable reason, hearing this man look down upon her to this extent with pity and a dead stare which seemed as if he was looking at a piece of worthless garbage lit a fire inside her. She hated how he looked at her, hated how weak she had become and absolutely abhorred much she had fallen. 'I can't let him get away with this!'


"Unfortunately for you, I won't let you die yet. After I'm done with my duty in Eostia and you still desire to end it all like the blind fool you are, I'll be more than happy to aid you to deliver a painless death. But for now, I need to take care of these Lycans." 


Pa!


"Ouch!" Before she could get up and confront this hateful man, something hard hit her head and fell to the ground next to her. "Eh!?" She exclaimed in surprise as what she found to be none other than her obsidian staff with the same golden circle around the base of the upper end and a large glowing red orb. "This is my… but how?" She asked, only to see Archer gone and now facing the group both Kanshou and Bakuya appearing in his arms as he faced the army of Lycans who now were warily glaring at him. 


Howler especially bore his fangs and growled the loudest clutching the bleeding stump where his right arm used to be. 


"Why?" He asked, finding the idea that a human would risk their life for Olga in inconceivable. "She is our mutual enemy!" 


"..." 


Swish!


Archer answered the beast by instantly firing a few Traced longswords, which Howler dodged at the end but not without sustaining a few cuts. The swords pierced the half burned Striker through the head, killing the beast moments before dozens of swords started firing at each Lycan. "Spread out!" Howler shouted, cursing himself for not having killed Olga sooner. 


'About 180 Lycans… Olga killed quite a large number of them but there are still many. Rushing in will only repeat the same mistake as last time with the Orcs, and my approach used on the Kuroinu might not work given these creatures are faster, more durable and as smart as humans.' He jumped backwards, avoiding a slash attack and raised Kanshou with a reverse grip to cut the armpits of his opponent — nearly cutting off half of the arm with how smoothly the blade cut through the monster. "Roo—khg!" Stunned for a few seconds, giving Archer the perfect opening to thrust Bakuya right though the throat. 


The entire time his eyes moved to the left and right side of his vision to track each and every member of the pack. Taking his time and a cool demeanor, unlike last time. 


Bam! 


With Magical Energy coursing through his legs as he kicked the dead corpse to the horde and observed their reactions. "Hoh, they actually caught it instead of throwing it away? Interesting, so they respect their fallen comrades sufficiently for such a thing." 


"Corner him! Don't give him any time to summon any more of his swor — look out!" Howler ordered, having the entire pack attack simultaneously but they were forced to disperse once again as Archer created more distance between them and now held a large black bow. Shooting a volley of arrows far more frequently than his sword attack, half of the projectiles hit their mark by killing a dozen of Lycans caught off guard and the other half was dodged with their superior speed. But to Howler who was watching and analyzing the attacks grew somber with anger evident in his tone. 


"He's purposely missing the shots to break our formation and kill us one by one! Spread out even further, ignore Olga and focus on him! He can't shoot at all of us at the same time if he attacks him all at once!" Forcing the pain to the back of his mind, Howler joined the battle and made sure to travel on the other side completely to face Archer's back and lunged for him along with a few more of his brethren. 


"Tch," the white haired man clicked his tongue and dismissed bow right before tilting his head sideways, dodging Howler's claws from beheading half of his face and only suffered a mild cut to his cheeks. "You're fast, but not as fast as before losing your arm." He turned around swiftly, using the outsole of his steel plate boot to strike the Lycan's jaw — breaking off a few fangs. His eyes paid more attention to the left with two more beats who attacked him right in the stomach. Thankfully, his senses and Eye of Mind kept up with the fight and any kind of defensive measures to take as brought both of his trusty dao swords back and let the flat side of the blades take the brunt of the damage. "K-Kugh!" But forcing his body upwards. 


"Hah!" The Heroic Spirit made a throwing motion as both blades were sent flying through the air and accuracy cut the two beasts heads right off. Archer landed perfectly after twisting his body mid-air and not resting to Trace another pair of swords around him which made any approaching Lycan hesitate. 


'Not good, I only managed to kill a few so far. At this rate the fight will last hours before everyone is killed, unless they choose to leave.' He debated about using Gae Bolg again and carpet bombing the terrain in front of him, but that required time which he didn't have with how fast these monsters were and Magical Energy he wished to use as little as possible. 'Not to mention, some of the Lycans went into hiding and spread out even more, I can kill everyone in such a large area.'


Archer took a deep breath, watching the monsters rush for him again, he met their assault with near equal speed and greater skills. Their claws were sharp and lethal with the usage of magic, but his swords were in particular quite effective against such kinds of enemies. Blood and gore filled the air as Archer slashed viciously before trying to create more distance and not get too caught up. The numbers were steadily going down but that only left the most dangerous Lycans around who did not rush him as their more brash brethrens who had fallen at this point. 


Starting to use tactics between themselves and using their unison as a ground to steadily even out the field. Archer started to lean towards the idea of using his more destructive Noble Phantasms more and more as time passed on and he started feeling his limbs grow a tiny bit more sluggish. Some of the stronger ones could even keep up with him with Reinforcement, which included Howler that managed to adapt fighting with a single arm. 


"Hargh!" 


A group managed to predict his next movement, launched multiple attacks right when he jumped away from one group. Having his mind and body aware of the danger coming towards him, yet unable to do much — Archer gritted his teeth and created a shield to take the majority of the brunt damage. The combined attacks of six Lycans with each possessing the strength, a bit below that of an Orc, but still way above that of a human nearly broke the shield. Thankfully, it held together but the force sent Archer crashing through the forest, his back breaking through a few tree trunks before he finally stopped on the fifth. 


"Die alongside the Dark Queen!" One of the beasts shouted. 


'Another attack. This one is pretty straightforward.' Despite looking in an increasingly terrible condition, Archer remained calm and waited for the Lycan to come closer before he parried the claws. The blade cutting his arms into halves, with the Counter Guardian leaving the weapons embedded inside the flesh and Tracing a regular longsword to cut the head. 


With a hand against his chest, the man took the time to analyze his body and the accumulated injuries. 'Two broken ribs, fractures on my femur and no internal bleeding so far. Lungs are untouched thankfully, but my stamina might start to become an issue by the time I kill another ten. I can't fight till sunrise… though now there are less of them, they are gathered closer in a singular group which makes it easier for me to use that.' Gae Bolg would use an extraordinary amount of Magical Energy, but at least it would take care of all of them in an instant. If more showed up out of nowhere with more demons, then Archer prepared himself to go all out then.


The body fell down with a loud bang, followed by more howls coming from the distance. Archer counted there to be around a hundred Lycans left by now. Howler's eyes having turned crimson with fury by Archer killing more and more of his brethren. 


"You'll pay for this!" The remaining Lycans grew frenzied, the man despite being a human was an expert at evading their attacks and going for the kill with a single swift strike. It wasn't that he was faster, no, it was as if he could sense when and where their next strike would emerge and even how many Lycans rushed to him — allowing him to respond just in time. "But we can sense that you're growing weaker as time passes by, blessed or not, going all by yourself against all of us is bound to fail. Sooner or later you'll slip up and pay with your life!" 


Archer couldn't even say anything back as he agreed with the beast. A mistake was not allowed at this moment, even a slight pause would have a random Lycan tear their claws across his flesh with each. The black armor might hold them off, but not for long. 


"You know, this scene feels quite nostalgic." He said, "The very same day I met a certain snow white Lycan just like you, but a bit taller and more bloodthirsty. Too bad he died with a simple trap." 


"Enough of your nonsense, you shall die by my hands for everyone you've killed!" Howler and every Lycans crouched and got ready for another round while Archer resisted the urge to sigh. Scouring through his Reality Marble, the image of a blood red spear presented itself to him, yearning for more carnage and battle. 


His energy gathered around his palm as it started taking the shape of— 


"His life is not yours to take, Howler." 


Fwish!


A purple magic circle spread across the ground, large pillars of flames emerged and engulfed many of the Lycans in mere moments, killing a large number of them within a few seconds. 


Olga walked forward, holding her staff gleaming with mana which she used to power the spell. Shocking monsters as the worst possible outcome came to happen.


"H-How!? You didn't have it earlier!" The crippled beast exclaimed with a shaky tone, unable to believe what he was seeing. With that staff, Olga basically became ten times as dangerous as before and coupled with this human… made their chances of winning quite abysmal. 


"Silence! I did not give you permission to talk back to me." She exclaimed then stopped next to Archer, glaring back at the man as he returned the gaze with a small smirk of his which only made her want to smack his face even more. 


"Hoh, 'Yours to take'? Quite bold of you to say such a thing in front of me."


She lightly smacked his chest with her staff, "Calling me a coward, a fool for willing to lay my life in this battle and then coming out here and doing the exact same thing. Who is the real imbecile here? Do you have a death wish as well? Then I'll be more than happy to kill you myself for both destroying my castle and disrespecting me." 


"Disrespecting you? Humph, is that what you people now call someone who's being honest? You didn't even bother showcasing that level of power when Vault caught you, you would have been able to kill him any moment but needed me to save your skin." 


Olga did not back away, merely getting closer, almost making Archer instinctively back away as he was both wary of some sneak attack and because Olga's attire — or rather the lack of it — made it uncomfortable to be so close. 


Even her nipples were visible from his angle. 


"I will not stain my hands with the blood of a being lesser than a pig." She tapped her staff on his chest again. "Though I will make an exception for you, so be prepared, human. Don't die before that time comes." 


"What an honor." His tone was dripping with sarcasm, "you should get in line, I know the majority of the Shields most likely share your desire." 


He saw her lips twitch upwards with the faintest smirk. "They can try." 


Woosh!


The red orb flew an intense purple glow, with tendrils of magic making their way to him. Archer was about to jump away, thinking she was trying to poison him but stopped when a familiar sensation returned to his body.


Strength.


A ridiculous amount of it, though not as overwhelming as that time in the battle against the demons. 


"You…" he was speechless, this was the last thing he expected Olga to do. 


"Accel. Accel. Accel. Heal. Strengthen. Endurance boost. Queen's blessing." Her words carried power that made the staff grow brighter with the amount of magic gathering inside him growing more and more plentiful. The blood of his enemies vanished as well, putting his full white hair and dark armor on full display.


The sensation of his human body becoming denser, each fiber flowing with far more Magical Energy than ever before. His sense of hearing became sharper, able to hear not only his heartbeat but the woman's in front as well. A myriad of scent from the surrounding area assaulting his nose, to the point of turning a bit unbearable. 


This… this was bringing him closer and closer to the strength of his Archer class self. A level he never expected to ever experience in this world given his human body, how it was even possible started to baffle the man. He was not there yet, there still was a gap between both his current self and as a Servant. But that gap wasn't that distant anymore, due to Olga's magic he got very close to it.


Olga's face grew pale, her breathing ragged with sweat pouring down her face. She hesitated to speak, clenching her hands then proceeding to let out a tired sigh. "I… I am a magnanimous Queen, though I don't forgive you for your insults and the hu-humiliation. Con… Consider this as a temporary reward for saving me. I rather not owe a favor to a hu-human, that thought disgust me to no end and I rather you stay alive till I can kill you myself. So we are even with this…"


"..."


Seeing his reaction brought a sense of joy to Olga, for this was what she expected to see from a human who finally witnessed what she was truly capable of. The look of fear, terror and reverence would have been more preferable, but this would do nonetheless for now.


"I warn you, I used these spells once on another fellow Dark Elf whose body can handle and control such a level of power. As an experiment to replicate Celestine's blessing, but it never lasted for more than a day and could damage your internal organs. You need to be vigilant and use them carefu—"


Before she could finish her sentence, Archer vanished from his spot with a powerful gust of wind, startling both the Queen and the Lycans as their instincts started screaming at them to run away. 


Skrk!


The Dark Queen turned to see the man now standing next to Howler, the latter blankly staring at his upper body falling to the ground while his legs stayed in place. "Eh?" Those were the leader's last words, unable to comprehend what just happened. 


"A-Attack!" 


One of the Lycans shouted, they all lunged at Archer at the same time, yet it was a futile attempt. Olga watched at a loss of words as the man moved around the field like a ghost, masterfully using the power she granted him with little to no effort. The speed advantage and tactics the beasts had before was completely gone, with each second passing caused the death of a dozen Lycans. 


They couldn't track him, even though she was having a hard time to even sense where he was.


"Argh!


"R-retrea—arrgh!" 


"I can't track him!" 


No matter how much they tried, Archer would appear next to them like a ghost with his blades already halfway inside their chests. 


It was a slaughter. 


'Is this what the Kuroinu men witnessed before their demise?' wondered Olga. She thought he would struggle with the enhanced speed and strength, as even the Princess Knights from what she understood needed to undergo a few months of training to not accidentally misuse their strength by accident in their daily lives and to be sent flying just because they put a bit more force by walking. 


Yet that was not the case with Archer, it was as if he was familiar with this power and used it to such a degree of mastery to kill the monsters that it made Olga wonder if her blessings even worked and that this was not just him going all out. 


She even expected some kind of rejection from his body, yet this did not seem to be the case!


Bang!


A few who tried to block his overhead kick had the earth beneath them shatter with the amount of force. Their bones snapped, and got crushed with little effort. 


She noticed how he didn't even bother to summon his rain of swords and stuck with what he had on hand.


Yet in the end, it no longer mattered. From about a hundred there was only about a handful left in a matter of minutes. 


He stood there in the middle of a pile of bodies, clean without the slightest trace of blood on him which further outlined how much of a monster he was after getting the blessing she gave him. Would Chloe even reach such a level if she tried to bless her? That girl wasn't nearly as strong last time she tried!


Archer clenched his hands, seeing the purple aura surrounding his skin growing dimmer till it died. His body grew weak and tired, but that did not worry him in the slightest as she did mention how it was temporary.


He chuckled, "I was wrong, you are not as useless as I thought you'd be, oh great Dark Queen." Olga immediately earned a far more useful position inside his mind compared to any plans he had made up so far.


Despite being in a state of shock, Olga did not want to show such a reaction to him of all people. So she turned around and started walking back to the camp. "You can praise me more and beg for forgiveness in the future, for now, let's hurry to Celestine." 


"Not going to talk about how going over there is nothing but an execution waiting to happen? You were quite adamant about it before." He said teasingly, amused by her surging anger as her eyes flashed with fury as she looked at him. 


"I am Olga Discordia, do not underestimate me. I fear no humans and will instead make them both fear me and break all notions of such acts from their pathetic minds." 


At least she regained her confidence. 


"That's nice, oh, and who said you could keep that?" With a quick mental command, the staff vanished before her eyes and made Olga fall face first to the ground from the lack of support. "I would be an idiot to let you keep it after seeing what you're capable of with it. If you want the staff back, just ask me politely with a smile. We should arrive at the village near, which is an hour away, if you're good girl enough then I'll even let you play with it for a bit." 


"..."


Olga started to contemplate killing this human right here and then traveling to Celestine's kingdom by herself. 


.


.


.


(Next morning)


The village of Grenzstadt has been bustling with a lot of people lately. Dozens of caravans of both merchants and people seeking shelter arrived each passing day and making the job of the once relaxed and bored guards a nightmare. 


"Entrance fees are twenty copper coins." The middle aged guard said a thousand times to another caravan filled with goods and glassware. 


"That much!? I came here last year and it was five! This is daylight robbery!" The merchant screamed with anger, a reaction the guard grew used to hearing and stopped caring at this point. 


So he repeated the same lines that his captain said. 


"Due to a recent influx of refugees and the increased cost of keeping them fed and providing housing, our fees have been temporarily increased to recuperate our losses. Unless you're a citizen of Grenzstadt then such fees are mandatory." 


"I don't care about that! Throw them out or something! Don't you know who I am!? I am someone who even the Princess Knights show respect to, so watch what you say if you don't want to lose your job!" 


Not like the Princess Knights would come so far in the middle of nowhere just to defend this random merchant who was most likely lying. And not like they can throw him out of the job with how little manpower they had recently. 


"I'm sorry, these are orders from the baron himself. Twenty copper or no entry, unless you are a member of the Mortadella chambers of commerce… which I doubt you are." That last part he said was quiet enough for the merchant to not hear him. "If you refuse to pay them I'll have to call more guards to escort you out and ban you from ever entering." 


"You!!!" The fat merchant's face turned red from anger. But given what was happening recently in Feoh and the Mortadella brothers coming here, he couldn't afford to be blacklisted. He furiously dug inside his pocket and threw a bag filled with the sound of coins at the guard. "Take this you mongrel, just you wait, I'll have you fired and executed after talking with the baron!" 


The guard rolled his eyes, certainly not having heard such colorful words for the hundredth time in a single day. Some people even started cursing his entire family tree and threatening to use black magic to make him impotent amongst other things. Unfortunately, not a single beautiful girl offered to sleep with him in exchange for letting them in, he would have used his own money to let them in… the man wanted to cry. 


It had been days since he last stepped with a prostitute due to his busy schedule and ironically saved up more money than ever before.


"Eh?" A group of five people stopped in front of the entrance, wearing large robes which hid most of their faces except for one girl. Two of them carried impossibly large backpacks that made many turn their heads.


His heart skipped a beat, a woman with luscious blonde hair and blue eyes as clear as the ocean stepped in front. Easily the most beautiful woman he met in his life, far surpassing both his favorite prostitute and his wife! Even the robes could not hide the curves of this beauty. 


'She's an elf too!' he screamed inside his mind when seeing her pointed ears. 


"Excuse me, how much is the entrance fee?" She asked with a monotonous tone which to him sounded like the voice of an angel.


Was this his chance? Had his prayers finally come true!?


He could not lose this opportunity!


"It's about fifty copper coins per person. I can see you're in a group of five, so that would be two and a half silver coins." He watched as the girl rummaged through her bag, from his angle, the guard saw only a handful of copper coins and smirked. She looked behind, obviously distressed at the price, so he came forward with an offer. "How about this, it would be unbecoming of me to let such a fine lady be unable to enter the village. So how about I let you in for free while giving a discount to your friends over here? In exchange, how about we rent a room at an Inn and discuss our terms…" he said with a lewd smile. 


"No need." To his surprise, a second person — a man — came up to him and dropped three silver coins on the table. 


"Hey, who do you think you're talking to!?" Pissed that someone was butting in and ruining his chance. "Get back in… line… or…" 


His voice died when he felt a cold wave of killing intent coming from one of the other people in the back. It was strong enough to make the man squeal when one of them tried to approach him but was stopped by the man. 


"As you can see, my friend here is in a bad mood. Keep the change, a compensation for your trouble." The white haired man said with a smile that sent a chill down the guard's spine. So he shakily nodded his head and let the group pass. 


"W-Weclome to Grenzstadt…" he said, watching the back of the blonde woman longingly before sighing. "Hah, I need a break."


{Break}


-Feoh, bath-


Many events occurred since her arrival in Feoh, getting saved by a stranger, the death of the Kuroinu and the fact that she was not the only one who met him. 


Yet no matter how much she tried, Prim could barely have herself care about the death of Vault and anything else for that matter. Her mind, constantly repeating the scene in the cave with both of them in each others' embrace. His touch, his voice, his face and so much more. That burning sensation inside her grew to a brazier when she witnessed him taking down every single one of the Kuroinu. Yet instead of feeling any fear or anger, the girl only felt an increasing sense of awe and desire.


Prim tried to take relief in the bath's warm body of water. Thinking about the man she met that day, the fruity syrup of body wash she slathered across her breasts seemed to ferment to an intoxicating alcohol in the air. The girl smiled imagining him by her side, breathing the fragrance of the lavender stuck into her pink locks, when one frothing swath of hair slid down against her face she had to force it into her mouth and suck. Soon she felt so dizzy and had to sink further down on the bath floor; Prim clumsily extracted a small rod she brought and guided it between her legs. Counting it be her seventh time this week she went so far. 


Even Alicia started to grow suspicious.


Oh Alicia, imagining the blonde girl coming inside the bath and seeing her in such a sinful act caused the girl's body to tremble with pleasure and lust. Unfortunately, that was not possible, Prim could not let her cousin know about her chaotic feelings. Which was why she came here, to gain some privacy and disperse Alicia's worries. 


"O-Onee-sama… Archer-san… Onee-sama…" her breathing started getting more intense, feeling the release near with every second until…


Creek!


"Kya!"


Unexpectedly, the door to the bathhouse was pushed open with someone walking inside. Stopping her actions, Prim plunged her face halfway inside the water and hid her body from view. Though a few seconds later, she was surprised to see who had joined her.


"C-Celestine-sama?" 


"Would you mind if I join you, Prim?" The blonde elf asked with a gentle smile. "I have some questions I want you to answer if you're fine with it."