Alta and Kaida stayed in the room for a while after that, with Kaida clinging onto Alta tightly. But their embrace would be cut short, as a loud roar echoed through the dungeon.

“Hey, what was that?” Kaida asked, clinging onto Alta even harder now and growing antsy. 

“Be quiet,” Alta hushed, putting a finger on her lips. “We need to get out of here quietly,” She whispered, grabbing a hold of Kaida’s hand. “Follow me, but be very silent!”

As the dragon-girl was being pulled by Alta, who remained an inch away from the wall while looking around intensely everything was quiet. If it weren’t for the primal roar the pair heard earlier they would’ve thought they were alone inside the vast dungeon.  

The frightening air wasn’t lessened by the heavy steps and low growls echoing from down the hall either. 

Alta quickly snuck down the hall with Kaida in tow, retracing the turns she took to get to the strange room. But as luck would have it, Kaida slipped on a small pebble and landed on the overgrowth with a loud thud “Oof!”.

Alta cursed under her breath. This quest was getting more and more derailed, and all she had to show for it was a potentially genocidal monsterling and some interesting trinkets. Not to mention that she had been accidentally nicked by Kaida’s tail.

The echo of steps quickly inched closer and closer, prompting Alta to make a run for the outside. She hurriedly helped Kaida get on her feet and they both ran for their life. A large shadow quickly approached from behind, revealing a large wolf with a horn on it. 

“Kaida, you’ve killed before, can you do anything about this creature?” Alta asked quickly in between her deep gasps of air. 

“No. I’ve only killed humans before!” Kaida shouted back.

“What?” Alta looked back at her, dead in the eye, “How? Didn’t you just-”

“I-it’s just different okay? Humans are predictable, wild animals are not,” Kaida retorted.

The two were still running with maximum quickness as the beast continued its chase. The pair were just about to reach the exit when they were kicked forward, and they flew up and into the air. Both of them screamed in terror as they experienced the sensation of flight. Kaida flailed her arms, panic being the primary emotion on her face at this moment. 

 Surprisingly, Kaida managed to land on both of her feet, unlike her partner who fell straight on her back. Kaida then took a defensive stance in front of Alta, as she clutched her head from the impact of the rough landing.

“Well, that was fun, whatever.” Alta sarcastically remarked. “Think you can take on that doggy?” Alta asked as she sluggishly drew her sword. 

Kaida turned to face her, “Maybe, by the way, I never got your name-” Before she could finish, she was abruptly cut by the wolf, which was circling around the duo baring its fangs and growling deeply. 

The wolf had its eyes locked on Alta, and quickly pounced on her. Alta held her sword and blocked the razor-sharp claws of the wolf, creating sparks between them. They were face to face, so close that Alta could clearly make out the scars on the wolf, and the putrid smell of the fur that coated its body.

The wolf jumped away just as Kaida lunged at it, dodging her metal claws without so much as a scratch on it. But what it didn’t take into account was Kaida’s tail, which had extended, swinging quickly to give a slash along the wolf’s chest. 

It didn’t yelp in pain at the wound, only growling as its eyes glowed with malice. It slowly backed up, showing signs of choosing its flight sense over its fighting one. Kaida tried once again to pounce on the wolf, but it swiftly dodged her attack and instead of giving a counter of its own, the creature scampered away. Running into the dungeon, the last thing the two saw was its large bushy tail. 

Alta released a sigh of relief as her knees gave out. With that, she collapsed onto the ground, back first. Now being completely covered in sweat, exhaustion, and a little bit of accomplishment she could rest. She’d survived the day’s quest, due in big part to Kaida. Alta may have been able to squeak out a victory against the creature but not without sustaining major injuries that could have cost her life.  

Kaida approached her, wearing a curious expression before sitting down next to her.

“It’s Alta.”

“Eh?”

“My name, It’s Alta.”

Kaida beamed at the words she heard. “Alta, Alta, Alta!” The first two times she repeated the name, it had the purpose of memorization but the 3rd one held excitement. Her face glowed with joy. 

Alta sat up from the ground and watched Kaida, sighed once more and got up on her feet. “Kaida, stop dilly-dallying, we’re heading back to town.” 

Alta resheathed her sword and walked to the side of the dirt road, diving into some leaves and bushes. She fished out a rucksack from the pile and put it on. Kaida strolled alongside Alta as they walked on the dirt road, humming a foreign tune and wagging her tail back and forth.

“Hey Kaida, what did you mean with “I’ve only killed humans before”?” Alta asked, breaking the silence. 

“It seems pretty straightforward, doesn’t it? I’ve only dealt with killing humans, and it’s super fun! Unlike animals who are all unpredictable, most humans react the same when they see me. I think I was called something like the “Goddess of death” when I was out there.” As Kaida gave her speech, her face held a joyful glint. Memories no doubt ran through her mind as she gave the details. Alta didn’t share her same feelings, however, having an expression of pure speechlessness in her demeanour. 

Alta released a troubled sigh, clearly doubting if her decision to release her was the right choice. “If you love death and killing so much then why did you get tired of it?”

“I-I don’t know…” Kaida stuttered, not prepared for the question. Her mood visibly drooped as her tail slowly lowered to the ground. 

“You love killing, yet you killed some really important people because you got tired of killing, and then you got locked up? I’m not sure I’m following here.” Alta said with a confused expression as she pointed out the discrepancies noticeable over the time they had conversed.

Kaida was left stumped by Alta’s words. The sounds of forest critters and bugs filled the air as the two went silent. 

“I have a question, where are we going?” Kaida asked suddenly, seemingly moving on from the previous topic due to her confusion. She skipped over, placing her chin on Alta’s shoulder.  

“We’re heading to a town,” Alta coldly replied, shaking Kaida off.

“Are we going there to kill? Can I kill them?” Kaida’s eyes glimmered with joy upon hearing her words, her tail wagging aggressively. 

“No.” Alta sternly scolded Kaida, making her tail droop.

“Pretty please?” Kaida begged one last time, only for Alta to reject her again. 

Alta sighed, regretting the choices she had made. A silence once fell upon the duo once more after that.

“Hey Kaida, do you have any clothes besides that greyish coat?” Alta asked, breaking up the silence.

“What are you trying to do with my clothes?” Kaida responded with a slight blush, clutching them tightly. 

“Those clothes look kind of weird, just saying,” Alta said with a pint.  Now that they were outside she could finally have a good look at her from head to toe. Kaida wore a grey coat with red embossments, one which was clamped around her waist with a black belt. Numerous brass buttons were sewn into the coat, along with two shoulder epaulettes. She also wore grey trousers with the same patterns,  neatly tucked into a pair of black boots. 

Kaida’s tail waved as she looked at Alta. “You’re one to talk, you’re wearing some really medieval-looking stuff. Iron chestplates? Seriously, are you a cosplayer or what?”

“Medieval? Cosplayer? What the heck do you mean? The medieval age was like five hundred years ago, this is all some expensive gear I got with my hard-earned money!”

“Expensive? More like scammed,” Kaida giggled, her tail wagging back and forth as they walked—a grin plastered all over her. 

“Kaida, do you have any place to stay?” 

Kaida’s mood abruptly changed. She slowly turned to face Alta, with a nervous expression quickly growing. Her tail stopped wagging and hung low, as she fidgeted with her fingers. 

“N-no?” Kaida meekly replied. She continued to fidget with her fingers as a drop of sweat ran down her face. She looked up to Alta, giving her puppy eyes. Her red eyes glimmered in the sunlight.

“F-fine. You can stay with me,” Alta said while looking away, a small blush appearing on her face. She couldn’t help but lose to those eyes.

The rest of the trip was uneventful. Just the two talking briefly, with Kaida having a strange opinion of red being beautiful. Not for a reason as simple as a preference, but because it resembled blood.

As the pair neared a town the sun started to set, they could spot the kerosene lights being lit one by one. Slowly the town prepared to settle down for the night. Alta was thankful for that, as fewer people would be out at night. 

They entered a small inn on a side street, the innkeeper gave the duo a friendly wave as they quickly walked past the reception. Kaida innocently returned the gesture, before catching up to Alta again. They went up the creaky stairs and stopped in front of one of the numerous doors lining the hall. Alta fished out a key and pushed it into the key slot, giving it a hard twist to the left. The door opened with a creak and Alta stepped inside.

Alta let her rucksack fall onto the floor next to the door, lighting a lantern that was left on the table. Kaida nervously followed her and stood in the corner.

Alta closed the door behind them and sat on the edge of the bed. “Kaida, sit,” Alta commanded, pointing to the floor in front of her. Kaida obliged, and sat on her knees.

Alta rubbed her temples and groaned. “Tell me right now in detail, what are you really? You sure as heck don’t look or act like any robot that I know of. Why do you have these metal appendages?”

Kaida looked around nervously, avoiding Alta’s glare.

“Come on, I don’t have all day,” Alta urged, tapping the side of her temple. 

Kaida gave one last look at herself and sighed. “I’m… A machine and my purposes are death and destruction. I don’t know what else to say, because that’s really all there is,” Kaida pouted. 

“Haah,” Alta sighed. “And what about that tail and the metal claws you had earlier?”

“Oh? My tail is a tool for killing, it even has this sharp pointy bit at the end,” Kaida wagged her tail, showcasing the spear-like tip. “And my claws just transform from my hands!” Kaida put her hands in front of her, letting them transform into metal claws and back into normal hands.

“So to recap, you’re a robot made for killing with a flexible tail and metal claws for hands? And I’m now responsible for you?”

“Yes.” 

“God damnit,” Alta mumbled under her breath. “I’m going to sleep.”

Alta took off her chest plate and leather armour and placed them by the bed. She then lowered the brightness of the lantern to a minimum and crawled into the bed. Meanwhile, Kaida was left sitting on the floor, her face a bit frustrated and pouty. As she had no choice but to obey her command, even if it meant staying like that for a whole night.  

End of chapter 2?