Alisha is a renowned monster slayer and adventurer sought after by many kingdoms. Her exploits have led her to a particular kingdom in the west, where the King requested her services to slay a dragon nesting near the Kingdom. Alisha, accompanied by her party of three, accepts the request and heads towards the dragon's lair.
"I can't remember the last time we killed a dragon," remarks a dwarf warrior as he treads behind Alisha towards the dragon's lair atop a mountain.
"It was ten years ago, I think. In the Kingdom of that rich king, I forgot his name," responds an elf mage trudging behind the dwarf.
"It was in the Kingdom of Persopeth, and the King's name was Roland. Even though he was rich, he was such a cheapskate. Only paid us ten gold coins, what an ass," a human cleric clears the discussion as he follows behind the elf mage.
Alisha remains silent all the while, determined to reach the top. After a few more hours, they reach the lair of the dragon on top of the mountain. As they gaze at the horizon, the castle they came from is visible, as the domain is not rich in trees and seems barren.
"How much did the King promise us?" the elf mage asks Alisha.
"A hundred gold coins," she replies stoically.
After having their fill of the view and resting for a moment, they slowly approach the mouth of the cave that supposedly houses the dragon. Outside the cave, they hear strong breathing as the wind blows in and out of the cave.
"The dragon seems to be sleeping," the dwarf warrior remarks, observing the situation. They look at one another and give a nod, signaling to enter the cave.
As they stealthily make their way inside the cave, their eyes are drawn to the mesmerizing natural magic crystals adorning the walls. The dwarf warrior's gaze lingers on the crystals, enticed by their potential value. Sensing the dwarf's temptation, the elf mage quickly interjects, "Don't even think about it. The King must have his reasons for wanting the dragon gone." The elf mage then nudges the dwarf, urging them to continue forward, not wanting to be left behind.
After a few more minutes of exploring the cave, they finally arrive at their target: a fully grown red dragon. Alisha signals her party as she prepares to begin her mission. The elf mage, dwarf warrior, and human cleric position themselves to the side and make themselves comfortable.
"It's showtime," Alisha utters, revealing her magic bracelet and rubbing it. A magic circle of fire lights up the ground in front of her, and suddenly, a high demon emerges from the magic circle, kneeling in front of Alisha.
"I am Zergoth, What is your command?" the high demon speaks in a sinister but stoic voice, bowing its head all the while.
Alisha commands the high demon, "Bring me the dragon's head!" Her party giggles in excitement as the high demon faces the sleeping red dragon. The red dragon senses danger as it opens its eyes and sees the demon thrusting its sword into its eyes, blinding it and causing the cave to shake as it writhes in pain.
"You idiot! Are you trying to kill us!? Kill it now!" Alisha shouts angrily at the high demon as she inserts a pin into her bracelet's gem, causing pain to the demon. The demon screams, but as soon as Alisha removes the pin, the demon moves to kill the dragon. In one stroke, the red dragon's head separates from its body.
Satisfied, Alisha commands the demon to retrieve a tooth from the dragon as a trophy. Complying with the command, the demon does as she instructs and hands her the dragon tooth, kneeling in front of her once again. Without thanking the high demon for its efforts, Alisha chants a spell and rubs her bracelet, causing the demon to return from whence it came.
"Another victory to add to our repertoire," the dwarf warrior remarks as he examines the dead red dragon. "They should just make demon summoning legal. I mean, look how easily we dispatched a dragon. Think of the amount of freedom we could have if we could do this in the open! We'd be as rich as those Kings!" the elf mage expresses her opinion on the matter, imagining the riches to be had.
"There's a reason demon summoning is illegal, plus it would affect us negatively if people started to copy our work," the human cleric explains. "It's not easy to bind a demon, not everyone can do what I can," Alisha proclaims, confident in her own abilities. "Yes, of course, you, my dear, are special," the dwarf warrior flatters Alisha, boosting her ego.
With their business done, they head back to the King and show him the trophy from the dragon, which proves they slayed it. But the King only gives Alisha and her party 50 gold coins, spouting some nonsense about deductions and such, leaving Alisha with no choice but to accept. As they leave the castle, the elf mage mutters to herself, "Another cheapskate asshole," spitting at the muddy ground. "Shh, do you want to lose your head?" the human cleric warns the elf mage, as it was taboo to speak ill of royalty. But the elf mage is adamant as she continues to shout in anger. "Be quiet, will you? You didn't even do anything!" the dwarf warrior whispers, urging the elf mage to shut up.
As their banter continues, a cloaked old woman suddenly grabs Alisha. "Are you an adventurer? Please, you have to help me, my granddaughter... she is held prisoner by a terrifying lich!" Alisha, disgusted by the old woman, pushes her into the mud and proclaims in a condescending tone, "Hands off! Do you even know who I am?" Alisha, livid, cleans herself with a towel from the old woman's greasy touch.
"Wait, did she say lich?" the elf mage inquires, rummaging through her bag and taking out a parchment containing a kill quest. The elf mage shows Alisha the kill quest. "Here, this lich fetches a hefty bounty, five hundred gold coins!" the elf mage enthusiastically reveals to Alisha. "The only problem is they don't know where the lich's lair is, but I bet this old woman does!" The elf mage asks the old woman in the mud with a fake smile. "We'll save your granddaughter, where is this lich you speak of?" The elf mage adds.
The old woman, down in the mud, looks at the elf mage's grinning face with elation, having found someone who will help her. "I-I can lead you to it!" she readily responds, slowly getting up from the mud. The elf mage, who was grinning, suddenly feels annoyed by the old woman and tries her best not to be rude to her, otherwise their only lead will be gone before they even start. "It's okay! You don't need to come, just point in the general direction and we'll take care of the rest," she tells the old woman.
The old woman looks at the elf mage, then points to the west. "The lich is inside a cave, but there's a hidden hatch inside. I saw my granddaughter get taken there by the lich," the old woman explains. "Please, brave adventurers, save her!" the old woman cries as she leans on the elf mage with her muddy self. The elf mage, having gained the information she needed, pushes the old woman back. "Are you senile, lady!? I just told you we'll take care of it!" she exclaims with an irritated tone. The old woman stares dejectedly at the backs of the adventurers as they leave her behind.
As night falls, Alisha and her party spend the night in an old tavern to rest and plan for their next hunt. "Are we really going to hunt that lich?" the dwarf warrior inquires as they all sit down at one of the tavern's tables. "It's five hundred gold! That's five times the dragon's reward!" the elf mage remarks in response to the dwarf. "Granted, but we have never fought a lich before and besides, we always play it safe and find the ones we can kill easily," the skeptical cleric adds his two cents to the matter.
Alisha, who has remained quiet to think, drinks a tankard of ale in one gulp and slams it onto the table as she finishes. She looks her surprised party members in the eyes and proclaims, "Why do we do what we do?" she inquires. "For gold, obviously," the elf mage immediately answers. "For the thrill?" the dwarf warrior answers, not quite sure of his response. "For fame?" the human cleric answers, narrowing his brows. "Correct!" Alisha slams her hand against the table and points at the human cleric who got the right answer. "Fame!" Alisha reveals with a determined look on her face. "But Alisha, you're already famous," the elf mage responds, scratching her head at the thought. "Yes, I am famous, but not everyone knows my name. That old lady didn't even know me!" Alisha, annoyed and clearly already drunk from the amount of tankards she has consumed, continues to babble on. "I swear, one day my name shall be known by everyone and they will never forget!" Alisha announces while her party members look at her with confused gazes.
The next day, Alisha and her party prepare to embark to the lich's lair. Armed with her magic bracelet, Alisha enters the cave of the lich with confidence. Before they enter, the human cleric asks Alisha, "Can the high demon really defeat the lich? I know it's powerful and all, but are we really prepared to fight a monster we've never fought before?" the human cleric voices his concern. "You idiot, there's no being on this world that can defeat a high demon, only divine beings can, which is unlikely considering their peaceful nature," the elf mage reassures the human cleric. The cleric, having failed in his argument, resigns to follow them to the lich's lair.
As they venture into the lair, they are attacked by various monsters which they dispatch with ease. The place seems eerie even for a monster's lair, for some reason they all feel an uneasy feeling that they keep to themselves. But Alisha is steadfast, and her ambition outweighs the uneasiness she feels. Finally, they reach a large door with strange symbols. "This is weird, I have never seen these symbols before," the elf mage remarks as she examines the door. "I too am not familiar with this," the cleric also expresses his failed attempt to discern the strange symbols. "We've come this far, we certainly can't back out empty-handed," the dwarf warrior proclaims as Alisha opens the door while the elf mage is still inspecting it.
As they enter the room, it is lit with blue torches. The place seems empty aside from a caged girl in the center and the lich sitting on a throne. Alisha changes her demeanor as she rubs her bracelet with malicious eyes.
"It's showtime," she utters as the high demon is summoned in a magic circle.
"I am Zergoth. What is your command?" the high demon waits for his orders as he kneels. Seeing the powerful entity before it, the lich shouts.
"Wait!" a cracking and sinister voice is heard as the lich stands up and takes the girl from the cage as a hostage. "Put down your weapons, unsummon the demon, and surrender or she dies!" the lich announces.
Alisha's party looks at her as they wait for her to give the command to surrender. But without hesitation, Alisha commands the high demon in a stoic tone. "Kill the lich." With a blink of an eye, the high demon, with one stroke, cuts off the lich's head, along with the girl's head, killing them both.
Alisha's party is surprised by the ruthless action Alisha took. For many years they have been together, but not once have they seen Alisha like this. Without wasting a second, Alisha commands the high demon again. "Take the lich's head and bring it to me." Alisha's satisfied gaze is fixed on the trophy.
But after a few seconds of waiting, the high demon doesn't move an inch. Alisha, getting irritated, commands the high demon once again but still nothing happens. Alisha's party begins to feel an unsettling malignity in the area that makes their hair stand on end. Suddenly, the doors behind them close on their own and the blue torches light up intensely, changing into a green hue.
Alisha begins to feel uneasy about the situation as she shouts over and over again to the high demon to follow her command, all the while inserting a pin into the bracelet's gem, hoping to inflict pain on the high demon, but to no effect.
"It's useless," a woman's voice is heard, and as Alisha and her party follow the voice, they are appalled by the scene in front of them. The girl, whose head has been decapitated, starts talking. Dread washes over Alisha and her party. The high demon picks up the girl's head with care while her gaze is fixed on Alisha. The high demon puts her head on her body, which stands up on its own.
"Ah, that's better," the girl speaks with an angelic voice, devoid of any malicious tone. Alisha freezes as she feels perplexed by the situation. The girl gives her an innocent smile.
A few years later, accounts of different adventurers recount that they hear terrifying screams as they pass by that cave at night. Alisha's name is never heard of again.
A hundred years pass. In a moonlit night, an amateur thief decides to break into the cave to find treasure when he suddenly chances upon a large empty room. Disappointed that he found nothing, he kicks the ground when suddenly he hears a clank. His ears can’t mistake the sound of gold. With his torch, he finds the object he kicked was a golden bracelet. Overjoyed, he picks it up immediately and rubs off the dirt when suddenly the floor in front of him ignites, forming a magic circle.
In his surprise and fear, he finds a demon woman kneeling in front of him and she speaks. "I am Alisha, what is your command?"
