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The Beginning of the End (1)
The Beginning of the End (1)
The Beginning of the End (1)
"Captain I've returned," said Judith, carrying the greatsword she had just received on her shoulder.
She was in a large room with red carpets. Three couches stood in the center of the room, on one of them sat a large man with jet black hair, while on the other sat a smaller man with brown hair.
"You seem awfully happy for completing a mere E-difficulty ruin," snorted the smaller man, giving Judith a look of disdain.
"Calm down Silas. Her work is just as important as ours," said the larger man calmly in a deep low voice.
"And so? Show us the fruits of your labor," ordered the larger man, standing up to get a good look at Judith.
He stood at 1.9 meters tall, and although he was large he wasn't excessively so. He had a full black beard and black eyes to match with a stoic expression on his face. An air of authority seemed to follow him as he walked to meet Judith at the door.
As he held out his hand, Judith could see his forearm muscles bulge within his shirt. Something about the man was commanding, even when he did simple gestures such as the one he was currently doing.
"Indeed this is a nice blade. Perhaps we may be able to conquer the next tower floor," said the man admiring the red blade in his hands as the rest of the raiding party brought the equipment they had won.
"C-Captain, has Olivia returned?" asked Judith, making sure to make it sound more like a plea than a question.
"She has yet to come back. It seems that this new tower floor is especially difficult," replied the large man in front of her, placing the greatsword back in her hands.
"Silas, come pick out a weapon. Or are you satisfied with the one you currently have?" asked the man, before walking back to the couch.
"O-ofcourse Captain," replied Silas, before walking towards the raid members standing behind Judith and picking out a red spear.
"I hope you don't think he's impressed," whispered Silas as he passed by Judith, making sure to brush past her shoulders.
Right as Judith was about to retort, an out-of-breath man rushed to the door behind her.
"C-Captain, Sophia has returned," blurted out the man, before falling to the ground in exhaustion.
"Let us go meet her then. The rest of you may return to your quarters," ordered the large man before walking out the door.
"Must be easy completing E-difficulty raids," taunted Silas as the three walked through the hallway.
They seemed to be in a mansion of some sort. A large garden could be seen from outside the window, with a pristine white fountain at the center.
The walls were decorated with victorian style tapestry, with a chandelier lighting the massive hallway that they walked through.
"Silas, Ruins are not to be taken lightly. They are nearly on par with the tower," said the large man, without so much as turning around, his footsteps echoing with a certain finality.
"S-Sorry Captain,"
The three continued walking in silence, passing a series of brown doors as they continued walking down the hallway, till eventually reaching a room with the number "8" written on top of it.
"Sophia, why haven't you reported to me yet?" asked the man after opening the door.
He didn't sound particularly angry, but something about the way he spoke made even Silas and Judith feel like they were the ones being questioned.
"W-We can't do it. We can't complete the fourth floor." blurted the blonde-haired girl who sat with her arms around her legs on top of the queen-sized bed placed at a corner of the room.
"You d-" before Silas could finish his sentence, the large man stopped him.
"Sophia, what do you mean we can't complete it? Do you mean we aren't strong enough?" asked the man calmly.
"I-its impossible. That monster is impossible," said the girl, her disheveled hair moving about as she shook her head, tears streaming down her face.
"Do we need more weapons? More men? You're the smartest person in the guild Sophia, I expect a reasonable answer from you especially," replied the Captain.
"Perhaps if we had a monster of our own, maybe. But if we raid it now, perhaps Captain Andre might be able to stand against it for a few minutes. But in the end, we will all be dead," said the girl, a bit calmer than before.
'Something that Captain Andre can't defeat?' wondered Judith in shock. She had never heard Sophia utter such words. Of course there were a few times she would say that it was going to be difficult, but never once did she use the words impossible.
"It's a massive orc wearing a black suit. It commands an army of at least 40 other normal orcs, behind a large fort-like structure."
"Getting in will already be a problem because of the projectile defenses they have put up the walls."
"I was able to find a chink in the defenses, but when I got through, it, was waiting for me. A smile on its lips as it stared at me with its gleaming red eyes," continued the girl, a faraway look in its eyes.
"It said that I was doomed. I-It said that we were doomed," she stuttered, turning to look at Andre.
"The orc spoke?" asked Silas, shock visible on his face.
Sophia shook her head in response, tears streaming down her face as she stared silently at Andre.
"I tried running," she continued
"It's faster than Judith," she said finally
"Pfft. As weak as she is, Judith is probably the fastes-" as he was about to finish his sentence he turned to Judith, to see the smirk on her face. However there was no smirk there, she seemed petrified.
"Judith, spit it out. Why do you look like that?" asked Silas, prompting everyone in the room to look at her.
"She's right. Unless we have someone else as strong as the Captain is. There's no way we can kill that beast," said Judith finally, remembering the horror she had endured in front of the orc beast in the Jungle raid.
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