Someone burst through the window, the glass shattering right beside Aya and Una. The incantation broke instantly. The intruder grabbed Aya's arm, pulling her away from the group.
"Ficky!"
His arrival was completely unexpected. First, he vanishes without a word, and now he reappears just as suddenly. Aya was stunned; she had started to think Ficky didn't give a damn about her.
Is this about the money again? And as usual, Aya's cynical thought hit the mark.
"They say you're hunting a dangerous killer. So why are you so intent on trapping this woman?" Ficky barked at the group.
Una, Reen, Glen, Ter, and the massive Aguyaga immediately dropped into combat stances. The air grew thick with hostility; a fight was inevitable.
"What are you talking about? We're just granting Aya's wish to go home!" Una shrieked. "Who do you think you are, interfering like this!"
"Stop it!" Reen grabbed Una's shoulder, trying to prevent a confrontation that would surely end in bloodshed.
Una fell silent, her nose twitching as she caught Ficky's scent from across the room.
"What? You're just a beastman ...werewolf, huh? Or wait... are you a Demon?" Una spat recklessly.
"Your jokes are in poor taste," Ficky countered. "You're not laying a finger on this woman."
Ficky glanced back at Aya, his expression furious. "Hey! Don't wander off alone! I told you not to trust anyone. Why can't you just listen? It's a massive pain for me if you die!"
"Hmph! Whatever! You're all the same," Una snarled. "I have nothing more to say to you. I want that beast-kin girl!" She pointed a finger directly at Aya.
I'm a beast-kin? Aya's mind reeled in confusion.
Glen and Ter moved closer to Una, whispering urgently. "Don't be reckless! We almost failed. Are we really going to try and capture her to sell?"
"A little fox is a slippery thing," Una said, her voice dropping to a low hiss. "If we don't restrain her properly, she'll trick us all and vanish."
"Your metaphors are disgusting," Aya shot back. "I'm not a trickster. And aren't you the ones being deceptive? You said you'd help me get home, but you just wanted to kidnap me!"
"Metaphors? You little liar," Una sneered, her eyes full of contempt. "You're a full-blooded beast-kin. Why not just show your true form instead of pretending to be human? Isn't it exhausting?"
Aya went numb. Hearing the word "beast-kin" come from the mouth of a dog-kin woman felt surreal. She struggled to process the accusation.
"This woman... is a beast-kin?" Ficky stared at Aya, his sharp eyes narrowing. He looked genuinely blindsided by the revelation. "That's impossible!"
It was too much to take in. Beast-kin were real in this world—she had only just learned the truth about Ficky. And now, they were saying the same thing about her.
"Think what you want," Ficky said, his voice dropping to a dangerous growl. "I don't care what she is. I'm not letting my walking treasure chest vanish."
Ficky hoisted Aya over his shoulder and lunged toward the window. They leaped out, but the squad was already in hot pursuit.
"Persistent bastards," Ficky muttered.
With every step Ficky took, he seemed to gain speed, weaving through the terrain to lose them. But it wasn't going to be easy. Mounds of earth suddenly erupted from the ground directly in their path. Ficky skidded to a halt.
"Whoa! Watch out! Hey!" Aya screamed.
"Shut up and stay still! You don't want to die, do you?!" Ficky yelled, pivoting sharply to the left.
Again, the earth hardened and rose in front of them. It kept happening—every time Ficky turned, the ground itself rose to block him. He was burning through his stamina at an alarming rate.
"The earth is attacking me too. This is getting annoying," Ficky grumbled, his fangs beginning to protrude.
"Put me down, Ficky! I want to talk to—!"
CRASH!!
Ficky slammed an iron fist into one of the earthen walls closing in on them. He clearly wasn't listening to Aya, the thunderous impact of his punch drowning out her voice.
He ran faster. Aya squeezed her eyes shut against the wind and the fear. Massive tree roots burst from the ground behind them, lashing out like whips. Ficky jumped, but a sudden upheaval from below sent them flying.
The earth surged unexpectedly, launching Ficky and Aya into the air. They crashed back down, tumbling in opposite directions.
"This is a nightmare," Ficky groaned. "I can't exactly go on a killing spree in public, can I? Especially not while my temporary master... my treasure chest, is lying over there."
His injuries from the fall into the abyss hadn't even started to heal, and now he was battered by the adventurers' relentless magic. Suddenly, Aguyaga lunged, engaging Ficky in a brutal melee that forced him away from Aya.
"Perfect. They're separated."
Reen, Glen, Ter, and Una surrounded Aya. Her round glasses had shattered in the fall. She tried to crawl backward, but Una reached down and yanked her up by her hair.
"I didn't do anything wrong," Aya hissed through the pain. "I'm just stranded here. Why are you treating me like this?"
Aya couldn't fight back. Her body was wracked with tremors—not from fear, but from the sheer physical pain.
"It's not because you did something wrong," Una said, her voice cold. "It's because a young, high-value beast-kin like you is a prize. Fox-kin... they're masters of disguise. But if they have a child... that child can never truly be human."
"Una, you're being too hard on her," Reen muttered.
"Reen? She's going to be our most valuable slave. Why waste pity on her?" Una replied, indifferent.
Aya listened, her heart sinking. She couldn't find the strength to speak.
"Kruger. Right. I know that name now," Una continued. "I never thought they'd have a child. And unfortunately for you, they raised you as a human. You have no idea what you really are, do you, Aya?"
My parents... were foxes? There's no way I can believe that, Aya thought, her gaze flickering.
Una grabbed the collar of Aya's dress, her face contorting into a mask of malice. The kind persona she had at the guild was long gone. As a dog-kin, Una's ears were pricked high, her tail stiff. Her smirk was ice-cold. Aya could only look down, unable to meet her gaze.
"You're wondering if it's true, aren't you? If your parents really were foxes? Well, the answer is yes. Think about it—did your parents always go on long trips? They did that to return to their original world," Una revealed.
Reen began chanting again, her hands glowing with a dark light. She intended to erase the existing slave mark on Aya's shoulder and replace it with something far more permanent and cruel.
"Mystical creatures, beast-kin... anything 'abnormal' can't survive in the human world for long. Tell me, Aya—how often did your parents leave you behind, and for how long?"