Ves and most of the other heads in the room whipped around in a panic. At the far end of the room, a beast of a man walked in. Ves’s every instinct shouted at her, he was danger. Despite wanting nothing more than to run, she prepared herself for a fight.

  “I rephrase, what are you?” he asked as he stared at her claw.

  Seeing as the man was on the other side of the room, those closest to the door took the chance to run. Oddly, the man didn’t seem to care.

  “Not going to stop them?” She asked, at the very least, if she could get him talking, it would buy time.

  “Why bother? There is nowhere to run. Get lost in these woods, and you’re all but guaranteed to become something’s dinner. Besides, I got a feeling you're worth a lot more.”

  As the man seemed content to stand and watch, Ves beckoned the woman who stole the keys over, whispering in her ear. “Yujiro is waiting outside.” At that, the woman’s eyes went wide before she smiled and shouted, “Alright, everyone, let’s get out of here!”

  Ves herself tried to step towards the door, ready to run, only to stumble back as a dagger shot past her head and clanged off the stone wall. Ves turned to glare at the man before he spoke up. “Not you”

  “So you’re going to stop me, but don’t care about the others?”

  “Correct, not my job. I was only paid to escort a single rare catch. Seeing as I’m the only one with the key to their cage, I’m not worried. You, on the other hand, are something new. Castor will pay a nice bonus.”

  “Nell, I may be in trouble,” Ves whispered to herself.

  ‘We are almost done on our end, then we can head to you. Found one last woman, but we can’t find the key.’

  “I think this guy has it,” as Ves said that she could feel Nell switch focus for a moment to see through their main body. The spike in fear Ves could feel from Nell told her she got the same bad feeling about the man.

  ‘I’m on my way!’

  “Who in the world are you talking to?” the man asked as the final dragonewts scampered out of the room.

  “Wouldn’t you like to know,” Ves smirked. Her poor attempt at false bravado clearly failed as the man laughed. “No need to try and act tough, I can see your legs shaking from here.”

  Looking around the room one last time, he started walking towards her as he drew his sword. “There, now it’s just you and me. I didn’t want to worry about either of us hitting a kid.”

  Ves laughed, “A slaver that cares about kids?”

  The man looked solemn. “We all have lines”. Ves took this moment of distraction to make a break for the door once more. Only to hear a loud crash before a table went flying in front of her, crashing into the doorway. Ves tried to scramble over the derby only to be forced back as the glint of a blade swiped past.

  That was all the time the man needed to get in front of her and block her escape. In a panic, she bolted across the room to the door the man had entered from, only to find it locked. “Did you really think it would be that easy? Now you have two options, step into the cage willingly or unwillingly?”

  “Fucker!” Ves screamed as she charged the man. As Ves tried to bash the man with her claw, he went to block the blow with his sword, only to stagger back a little.

  “Interesting, you’re far stronger than you look.”

  Ves tried to strike the man again, only for him to casually dodge or parry each blow. He was toying with her, testing her.

  “You're not a cultivator, are you? You're just naturally that strong.” The man laughed again while dodging another swipe, only to knee Ves in the stomach. As she staggered, he explained. “By that look, you’re wondering how I know. It’s simple, I don’t feel any pressure from your soul. That and you’re terrible at fighting. Case in point.” The man swung his sword at Ves as all she could do was feebly block it with her claw. Even if her arm held, she could feel her bone crack.

  “Goddess’s tits, what’s your arm made of?” Ves fell to her knees as the man continued to press down, overpowering her. She could hear snapping as the carapace of her arm gave way. Just when Ves thought it was over, the man yanked back. His arm slammed into something she could hear crashing across the room. As he turned to face whatever it was, Ves could see a deep gash oozing blood on his shoulder.

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  “You little shit.” Following the man’s eyes, Ves saw the cause. Pulling herself off the ground was the Dragonewt woman from before, this time with a dagger in hand.

  “Why?! Why didn’t you run!” Ves cried out.

  “I have some pride, not gonna leave our savior to die alone. Really thought I had him,” the woman winced as she finished pulling herself to her feet.

  “I’ll give you credit, you came damn close.”

  Taking her chance with him, Ves swiped at him again. He casually reached back and grabbed her right arm by the wrist, lifting her into the air. Frantically, she tried to punch and kick him, only for it to feel like she was hitting solid stone.

  “You really think I wasn’t ready for you to try something?” The man laughed, then suddenly stopped. Reaching out, he pulled Ves’s bangs to the side, and his eyes went wide.

  “You’re branded?” he asked before pulling something out of his pocket. It was a small, engraved stone. One Ves was all too familiar with — a command seal.

  “Stop” was all he said before the command wormed its way into her soul. Immediately, she ceased her flailing attack. As the man let go of Ves’s arm, she dropped down to the ground like a puppet cut free from its strings. It felt like she couldn’t breathe. She had been free. Is this how it would end? A chance run-in with someone with a general-purpose command seal? The icy grip, like a thorny vine, wrapped around her soul. Ves didn’t know what to do; she had tasted freedom. She couldn’t go back now. As tears ran down her face, she pulled herself into a sobbing ball on the floor. This had to be a nightmare. She needed help; she needed ‘Nell.’

  ***

  ‘Nell’ The word crashed into Nell’s mind along with all the fear and anxiety Ves was suffering. She had to hurry. In her reckless haste, she ran into a group of guards who were now fast on her trail. Ves was close; she could feel it, just down this hall, round the corner, and she would be there. This was it, she could make it! Just through the next door, and locked. Nell charged, bashing into the door with the full strength the wolf’s body could muster. The door held firm. Nell tried again and again. She could feel the wolf’s bones starting to crack, yet the door stood. Worse yet, her pursuers had caught up. Ves was just feet away, yet Nell was trapped, with no way forward, and now no way back. She couldn’t maneuver in these tight halls, giving her foes armed with spears and long swords the advantage.

  “What in the void is going on out there?” A voice called from the outside of the door as a small slot was opened, allowing the man to see inside. “A dire wolf!? How did it get inside?” This, this was the man who caused Ves so much distress. No matter the threats they faced, Nell had never seen Ves break down like this. Whatever the man did, it was unforgivable. Nell knew they stood no chance in a straight-up fight. Time was running out, she only had one chance.

  “It's cornered, put that beast down, then check on the others.” The man commanded through the door as he peeked through the slot. This was it, her chance! Nell immediately turned away from her attackers in the hall and snapped at the man through the door, going so far as to even shove her paw through the gap after him. This was enough to startle him, enough to make him stumble backward ever so slightly, right into Nell’s awaiting embrace.

  Abandoning the wolf, Nell placed her full attention into their true body as her claw wrapped around the man’s throat. He struggled for a moment, so she squeezed, skin sliced as blood flowed. She could feel his quickening pulse as panic set in.

  “Branded! What do you think you’re doing! Let go at once!”

  “No,” Nell responded coldly as she tightened her grip.

  “What do you mean, no!” The man held up a stone. As soon as she saw it, she could feel Ves’s fear spike once more. So this was it? This was the cause.

  “So that’s it? That’s the thing you used to hurt her.” Nell spoke as she eyed the stone. A part of her wanted to end it right here and now; just one more squeeze and the man’s throat would be ribbons. She doubted even a cultivator could walk away from that. Still, that would be too quick. This man hurt Ves, hurt the person more precious to Nell than any other. Ves was Nell’s entire world. For that, he had to pay.

  A sudden jolt of pain hit Nell before a connection was cut. The wolf was dead, likely killed by the men on the other side. It was a loss, but they could always find another. In that moment of distraction, a second stabbing pain hit Nell. She looked down to see a short sword embedded in her chest. In that moment, she almost lost her grip as she spat up black blood. Nell looked up to see the man smirking at her from over his shoulder. The injury was bad. She needed to act fast, but first.

  Nell smiled, “Fine, have it your way.” Nell squeezed, and the man’s eye went wide. Despite putting her full strength into it, his death was not quick. The man’s muscles felt like they were made of steel wire. His bones hard as stone. Still, Nell would not relent; she coughed up more blood as she pushed their body to its limits. Until finally she broke through. The man’s throat split open as each finger sliced through to the bone. Deed done, she let go as the man flopped on the ground, drowning in his own blood.

  First things first, make sure she didn’t follow him to the afterlife. Gritting her teeth, Nell grabbed the handle of the sword still lodged in her chest. It had grazed their heart already. Nell knew it would do worse on the way out. She knew that for a human, it was a fatal wound. Thankfully, she wasn’t human. Their body was now full of tiny, nearly invisible creatures. They were what Nell controlled to heal and change their body. It was also the reason their blood was now nearly black.

  Pulling the sword free, Nell felt their whole body jerk as their heart tore open. She could feel her consciousness slipping before commanding the worms in their blood to swim. Swim as hard as they could, forcing the blood to keep moving. It was just enough to keep Nell conscious, allowing her time to work on their heart. The worms in the heart swarmed the tear, latching to the sides and each other. Quickly, they merged, sealing the wound shut. The entire process took hardly a minute. While it would take longer to properly heal and regain full strength, it was enough to keep them alive.

  Death averted, Nell gave Ves a mental hug. Projecting a feeling of kindness and warmth. She knew Ves needed time, and she would give her all the time she needed. For now, it was time to check on the others.