KLANG! KLANG! KLANG! KLANG! KLANG!
The mesmerizing sound of the hammer hitting the heated metal on an anvil. Each hit produces sparks that illuminate the dimly lit room. Alone in her thoughts, Milla works on an exquisite design blade.
KLANG!
The events of last night were haunting her. The crude words coming from Elzen's mouth slowly became sweeter and pleasant. His desperate eyes made her feel a pinch of sadness, and his intense glare made her think how beautiful his eyes were.
KLANG! KLANG!
It makes no sense to her! Manila was charmed by him, who brought comfort and a sense of love to her lonely heart, but why is his presence affecting her too? She is not lonely; she has a family now, a place to call home, and her peers recognize her skills. Why? Why?!
KLANG! KLANG! KLANG! KLANG!
The blood thirst she felt before is no longer present; all the time present, her anger is now focused on only those who once made her suffer. She is praised every day for her fine work, so why? Why is he consuming her thoughts?
KLANG! KLANG! KLANG! KLANG! KLANG! KLANG! KRACK!
Half the blade fell from the anvil, hours of work ruined because of a distraction, and in a fit of anger, she threw the rest of the blade at the stone wall of the forge, sticking to it. Beads of sweat fall on the ground, her fast breathing shows how much work she wasted on that now broken blade, the door of the forge opens, and Ghord comes inside.
"Heyyy, Milla. Is everything okay?" He looks at the broken weapon stuck on the wall. "Well, I guess not."
"I'm okay, Ghord, just distracted." She sits on the ground next to the anvil with a defeated look.
"Do you want to talk about it? Here, a little refreshment." He sits close and gives her a mug with a cold Alaris juice.
"Thanks. I don't know if I want to talk about it. I'm not sure what I can say or how I feel about it." She sips the sweet and lightly sour juice; it's perfect after working in such a hot place.
"Try from the start, tell me what is causing you such worry. I never saw you like this."
"I..." She sighs, letting her worries be known. "I don't know what is happening. Yesterday I went to meet a guard, a guy called Elzen, who was weird toward me, but I never felt any malice coming from him, and after that encounter, I can't stop thinking about it." She buries her head between her knees.
He smiles, at fifty-six years old, a young adult dwarf, he remembers at an early age how complex the world was with his lack of experience. Now he sees this young human whom he cares about, having troubles that he can relate to.
"You know my dear. When we are young, sometimes we have all these feelings, thoughts, and experiences that confuse us so much. That's why it is important to talk to someone you trust, to expose those feelings and help you understand what is happening to you."
"But... I can't burden others with this..."
"Hey, you are not burdening anyone. You are a burden to people who don't like you or don't want your company. You have us, my dear. We are here to help alleviate your problems if you are in the mood to talk."
"Can we just stay like this?" She hugs him tightly, longing for company and silence.
"Sure, my dear." He smiles, cuddling her hair. They stayed silent for almost an hour. She thanks him and goes back to forge her custom blade. Now is not the time to show weakness; soon, she will deliver retribution.
Since she left that prison in the forest, the day of her freedom. One feeling was always on her mind, no matter what happened. Hate, the power that can destroy the soul of the unprepared, its intensity could be used to gather all inner strength to go beyond your expectations.
This new blade will show all her hate for those who created her. All the abuse, scorn, and villainy. The aggressors will pay for their mistakes. This is the energy needed to forge this unique weapon; each hit in the heated metal was like a ballet of sparks and an orchestra of flames.
When night came, she left the forge to work at the tavern. Every inch of her body ached, and serving the customers was difficult tonight. Even under the adventurer's guild protection, a tavern is where most people go to relax and sometimes get rowdy. A group of mercenaries was loudly talking about their last contract. Their table was filled with food and a lot of drinks.
"You know, Barbados, when we got into that fight against those goblins. I thought we would be overwhelmed by their numbers, but you showed them what a true warrior is. For Barbados!"
The twenty man lift their mugs and shout "For Barbados!" before gulping the beer without problem. Round after round, they grew louder and louder, and even the bards were having difficulty singing their songs with their shouting.
"Milla, come here." A bald old man with a glamorous mustache and a heavy belly calls for her.
"Yes, Felix? What do you need?"
"I don't like to ask that, but could you please try to calm those guys at the grand table? If they don't calm down, I will need to call the guard, and you know we will probably need to close the tavern."
"Oh, okay. I need to be gentle, or can I do it my way?"
"Be gentle at first, my dear. If they become a problem, do what you want, but be careful with the furniture this time."
"Okay, no problem." In a foul mood already, her patience was limited. She approaches the table, taps the shoulder of what looks like the leader, and speaks in a gentle tone.
"Gentlemen, you are being too loud right now. Could you tone down the celebrations a little? We appreciate it." She forces a gentle smile, trying to resolve things peacefully.
The guy, known as Barbados, looks at her in a mocky way. He was wearing a heavy, sleeveless fur coat, showing his strong arms covered in battle scars.
"What? Who do you think you are, girl? Leave us alone before you get hurt." He waves his hand, trying to dismiss her.
"This is the last time I'm going to say this: Please be quiet, or you will need to leave this establishment." With a more serious tone, her smile disappears. Some regulars watch the scene with a smile while moving away from the problematic group.
The table turns silent before erupting in laughter. The mercenaries could not believe what she was saying. How dare this waitress give them an ultimatum? Is she insane? Barbados stood up, clenching his fist, trying to impose an intimidating aura.
"Hear me out, you brat! We are here to party, we are going to party, and unless you want to get hurt for being an annoying and nosy bitch, you better get your pretty ass out of here, unless you want your beautiful face to be deformed." His index finger was on the middle of her chest, while his face was too close. She was almost as tall as he, and in an instant, her mood had gone from foul to worse.
She grabs his finger before he can retract it, followed by a sound that made everyone in the tavern wince in terror. Before he could even yell in pain, she twisted his hand and shoved him to the ground with his arm behind his back.
"I will give you and your friends another chance to leave without more harm being done. Will you leave?" She whispered in his ear in a menacing tone.
"W-we a-are leaving... " Enduring his pain, he stutters. She released his arm and let him be carried away after they paid their bill.
The entire tavern cheers for her performance, glad the obnoxious group left. Some patrons offered her something to drink, trying to get to know her better, but Milla was still at work and rejected all the advances. The old man thanked her for the service and paid her a bonus at the end of the shift. It was late at night when the tavern closed its doors.
Before leaving, she changed into her casual clothes. Exhausted and worried, the way to her house was supposed to be a nice stroll, but she noticed someone was following her. More than one person, it was a group. Her hunter instincts kicked in, and she took another route, guiding her pursuers to a darker street. She turned around after recognizing it was safe.
"You can come out of the shadows, your lousy attempt to be quiet was easy to be noticed." Her tone was serious, but a sinister smile started to show.
"You damn wench, how dare you to humiliate us in front of everyone!" One man approached, followed by others, who all had clubs in their hands.
"Now we are gonna have some fun with you, and you will regret crossing our path." Barbados appears behind the man with an improvised splint in his arm.
"Oh yes... fun. I hope you are ready for it, because you're going to make me smile." Her eyes begin to glow in an intense red light, and in an instant, a dome of transparent energy surrounds a large area, engulfing the group of men.
When Milla was trapped inside Manila's consciousness, her body could not control mana, and all her energy was used to improve her physical capacities. Since she was free to control the body as she wanted, her mana control increased to a point of perfection. Terrorized, the group tried to run away from that dome, their legs refused to obey, and it was like they were glued to the ground. They tried to scream, but no sound came out of their mouths; the pure atmosphere of silence was horrendous.
"Now, now, now... My prey... I am used to hunting every morning, every single day. Animals, creatures, monsters, whatever you think. I am used to preying on their precious resources, but do you know one thing?" She slowly approaches the group, and the only sound audible is the words coming from her mouth.
"They have sensitive ears, noses, and eyes. At first, I was beaten so many times, they would escape, run, just disappear from my sight, and each day I went back to my bed, hungry, I was thinking of a way to prevent their escape." She grabbed both arms of the closest one and ripped them apart from its body. The painful expression on that man was priceless to her, but no sound could be heard from his wide-open mouth.
"So one day, when my belly was hurt by hunger, I wished I could stop them before they could run. I wish I could approach them without making any sound, and I wish to avoid interference from other creatures, to stop my hunt." One by one, the men were dropping dear close to her. Members ripped out, heads rolling far away, holes made into their chests, letting one organ or two fall over.
"Then, to my surprise, this dome isolated me and my prey. It never heard me coming, it could never run from me, and I was free to take my time to do whatever I wanted." Barbados was the only one left. He could move his eyes around and watch his comrades being killed without any chance of fighting back. Tears fell from his eyes, and then he felt her bloodied hand touch his neck.
"So now, my prey, you will not bring me any good resources, you are just a pest to be eliminated, as many I have already met in this life. I hope you are ready to meet Belfreti and Beyemond, because death is the only way for trash like you." In a quick motion, she decapitated him. Leaving the head to fall near his lifeless body, she slowly walked away, cleaning herself partially with the clothes of those she had killed.
The rest of the way home was uneventful, with the streets almost empty; there was no one to question or annoy her. A serene lullaby echoed as she whistled it, with a big smile on her face. She went back to her home, free of all her worries and torments.
The next day, the horrifying scene of the massacre was being reported in the newspaper, and many were afraid of what had happened, but no one knew who had done it; there was just one word that could describe the blame for this massacre.
Monster.