Junk rolled on the ground dodging the second swipe of the Nightly Creep’s claws. The beast flew right above Junk’s head, missing Junk’s back by a hair’s breadth.

Sweat rolled down Junk’s forehead, the tension growing. The red eyed weasel took on a serious stance, then just before it was figuratively going to turn into a flock of crows and disappear, Junk casted a magnificent spell.

Before the Nightly Creep, a storm of water droplets appeared and painted its black fur in a watery simphony. The water coiled around the weasel’s form and spread its icy touch.

As the ice stunned the beast and locked its limbs in place, Junk’s hammer fell down accompanied by the saw blade. The impact was resounding and the slash produced a trickle of blood.

But a red flicker appeared and the red eyed shadow faded away into the night. The metalic noise intensified and a gathering of crows could be heard cawing from the sky. They circled, illuminated by the unholy moonlight.

A shadow flickered from the distance closing in fast. In just an instant, faster than Junk could turn, it arrived claws ready to rip into Junk’s neck. The glowing red eyes left an afterimage, a red line dominating the night.

Just before the claws could dive inside Junk’s neck, he twisted and the claws struck the reinforced bars of iron making up his armor. The friction between the solid iron and metallic iron produced sparks that were blinding in the dark night.

A crow descended from the sky, the flash had confused it and it fell before the Nightly Creep. It took but a moment for the beast to rip the black feathered bird to shreds.

A terrifying cry ensued making the gathered crows scatter into the night. This was the red eyed one’s grounds. Its territory and domain.

It grasped the crow’s neck and ate it in a unnatural manner, ripping itself into two parts, before directly swallowing the bird in one gulp. The plant like walls of the red eyes shining in the dark closed, like a shroud covering the secrets of the dark space.

It peered right into Junk’s eyes, red meeting blue. Scared, the smaller plant hid herself in the shirt armor’s pocket. For the pocket could protect her, since  Junk had reinforced it with an extra layer of iron.

Junk tensed up, his long blond hair peeking from underneath the hood. The glowing plants and moonlight reflected off his sword and golden hammer.

Then, as the light shifted on the dark beast’s metallic fur it strolled closer. The adventurer had proven himself a tougher target than it thought initially. But with its red eyes it, and only it was the sole contestor of the night and righteousness demanded it feast on the challenger of its dark authority. It was a right decided by birth.

With the agility of a viper it closed in on Junk, its mouth open seeking the exposed front of Junk’s neck. It twirled in mid air, darkness encasing it the summoned cat’s water blades passing right through its shadowy visage.

It could not be stopped.

“Heh!”

Junk was not a stranger to combat, he had risen to his rank on a thousand corpses, after all. He knew that there was no cowering, when it came to life and death. No hesitation and no fear, a golden glimmer in the night.

It was followed by a brighter one of silver.

The weasel flashed through the air jumping from tree to tree. It clashed with Junk, a sword and hammer meeting its fangs.

Rasta was trying hard to be silent and not disturb Junk. Every movement and flash of the beast was deadly. A moment’s distraction or a lapse in judgement could have been fatal.

The three forces crashed in the night. A golden meeting a shadow, trails of its red eyes remaining behind in the night. Then a silver glimmer obscured by a shadow.

Slowly the struggle faded into a rhythm, a deadly struggle for life.

Junk grew tired, his body tensed up. The shadow flew and landed on his sword. It drifted like the wind and could not be touched.

Junk in a lucky reflex managed to throw away his sword. The shadow faded into the night, the shadowy forest its domain.

The cat could not help for the Nightly Creep was too fast and elusive. It stood there confused, before it faded into the shadows slashed with a red line sweeping across it.

Now, left alone and Rasta too afraid to be of help, Junk was left alone fighting for his life with only his hammer.

A red glint flashed, he had barely seen it, when the shadow had managed to outmaneuver him, preying from the unknown. Its red eyes remained closed and only opened before it dived in.

His instincts honed from battle kept him alive. But how long could he last?

He was slowly getting overwhelmed, the creature was prudent and tiny cuts accumulated on Junk’s skin, ripping his shirt unprotected by armor. The small individual cuts accumulated causing heavy bleeding.

Junk still held on, the monster was incredibly strong and dangerous for a D-rank. It was his desire to protect what he held dear that drove him. But even that was going to run out eventually.

There! The beast slipped on a branch, Junk sent his golden hammer barreling, it had dodged a fatal blow, however it was blown away. This gave Junk enough time to cast a spell.

Junk was partially seeing white, it drove him insane. He could not fail here! He lost focus for a moment and fell onto a knee, barely keeping himself up. And while he still had some potions… They wouldn’t do anything for restoring blood. He could only tank the damage.

A chill creeped into Junk. He quickly dived on the ground and a wind passed where his eyes would have been. The weasel approached, slowly coming closer, its prey could not escape anymore.

Then, the forest stirred.

“Hey!”

The weasel froze up, it sensed a danger. A portal appeared before it and a horrifying being came from it. It felt an unnatural amount of fear. What appeared looked like only a small meal for it, but the sheer presence it exuded was stronger than the one of the strongest being it had seen. It eclipsed even that of a dragon.

“Wow! Is that an Itachi! But… wait! Where’s Junk!?”

The green eyed alien stepped out of the portal and looked around, Fluffy the death star following behind her. Her tentacle hair created a sort of bioluminosity in the night, a reddish pink light spread and lighted up the surroundings.

The loli blinked. Junk was in a really sorry state, but it was understandable since an Itachi was really rare and quite dangerous, also delicious. Very delicious.

“Get him Fluffy! I choose you!”

Fluffy opened its mouth and the Itach flew inside, stored in a pocket dimension, functioning the same as a freezer, preventing food from deteriorating.

Dislucas crouched before Junk, her tentacle like hair sweeping over him. She poked him with a stick, checking if he was still alive. Actually, it was more for amusement.

“Hello! Earth to Junk! Please respond!”

Hearing the savage loli calling him Junk woke up in cold sweat.

“W-what? What’s going on? Dislucas?”

He struggled to a half-sitting position, groaning all the way. He felt like shit.

“Hey Junk! I don’t know where that Itachi went… It must have given up on your smelly ass!”

Dislucas struck out her tongue, covering up the fact that she had gobbled up the delicacy.

“Really? Wow! I sure got lucky!”

“She’s lying!” Rasta’s head shyly peeked from the pocket.

“Me?! Never!”

Dislucas ardently denied the accusation, before noticing that the words were spoken by a cute unknown member.

“Ehhh!? Is that a legendary vampire alraune!? Where do you find all these rarities Junk!? You are so lucky! First, the delicio… Itachi, then a vampire alraune… It’s even young! Like a pocket sized waifu! You need to tell me your secret! I travel from planet to planet and only meet a rarity… Like… Like only once per year!”

“I’m Rasta!” The plantgirl proudly declared, rising her chin.

“Funny thing is...” Junk explained how he and Rasta met. He also mentioned, prompted by Rasta, how there was a really ugly uncle that had green eye lasers.

He also mentioned that he reached D-rank, wiggling his eyebrows at the innuendo. Then about how he learned crafting and showed her the special armor he made, while he drank a potion. He would need to restock one of these days as well.

“Then, what are you doing here, hunting an Itachi? That’s like a B-rank monster! Why is it, even around these parts? It should be deep in the forest, no?”

“B-rank? Itachi? Wasn’t it a Nightly Creep? Like D-rank? How do you even know, since it ran away...”

“Ahaha… About that, it must have gotten scared and ran off… I am like a fearsome monster! GRRRR!”

“She’s a liar.” Rasta stuck out her tongue, she did not like how Dislucas wanted to trick Junk.

“You be silent!” Dislucas pushed her finger on Rasta’s head, and bullied Rasta back into the pocket. Rasta held her head with a wronged expression on her face, cowering in the pocket.

“Pom sends her regards… She got worried and had me come check on you… Well… it all turned out well. Don’t tell her you meet an Itach! I won’t tell her either, she’s worried enough as it is. She also wanted to tag along but this is your training no distractions!”

“I see. And how are the elves?” Junk sagely nodded.

“The elves? Ah… I see what you mean!” Dislucas gave him a knowing look.

“Fine! Very fine indeed! The food they make is delicious too!”

Dislucas remembered something and displayed an expression akin to a lightbulb lighting up.

“While your master might miss you, she respects your training, however Gina can’t stop pestering me! She’s B-rank already and really misses you! Might bring her over next time, so she can teach you some tricks!”

Dislucas reached into Fluffy’s mouth and with her hand searched inside it. She pulled out some panties. Wrong. She then tried again.

She pulled out an Itachi. Wrong. She quickly put it back inside.

Junk gave her a deadpan look as she blushed. Rasta was looking at the alien loli condescendingly, while glancing at Junk expecting praise.

Dislucas coughed and tried again, red spread all over her pouty face.

“Here you go! Pom made these especially for you! Luckily, she also gave me one bag! They are very delicious!”

“Cookies! A whole bag of cookies made with love from my cute Pom!”

Junk wished that he could send headpats to Pom… Wait! He could! Junk instructed Dislucas that she had to give Pom exactly ten headpats and three ear scratches for each ear, in his’s place, and to fill them with love.

They chatted for a bit, while Dislucas played with Rasta, then she gave the plantgirl a ride on Fluffy that was happy to oblige. Alas, it was already time for goodbye.

“Here take this talisman, wear it at all times… With monsters shifting habitats you might get one shotted, but this might save you!”

“Many thanks!”

Junk cupped his hands and bowed in thanks, the act making Dislucas chuckle.

“Bye-bye! Also Lucy sends you her regards! See ya! Cheers!”

“Yeah! See ya! Thanks for the save! And don’t forget about the headpats.”

Dislucas entered the portal, while waving her hand, before taking the pink light with her and letting the night wood calm down.

Junk departed towards the village of Dabar, munching on cookies, while drinking some nectar that Rasta gave him in exchange for his blood. The meal was skillfully prepared by the demonic chef Itachi.

Glad I got some Itachi fur, so I can explain what happened, still that will make the demon of a guild receptionist girl even more troublesome to deal with. Even the last time she had some second thoughts.

However, I’m sure the guild will be fair in their judgement.