Chapter 1, Part 1: Ciel Pennyworth

Meanwhile, a day after Zachary encountered civilization.

The many people living outside the walls of the Kurmian capital city, Arbeau, have converged to the city's large decorated gate, waiting for their chance to enter.

Somewhere along the long line of people who would like to enter, is a woman clad in a makeshift brown hood, giving her anonymity while shielding her face from the harsh afternoon sun.

Her name is Ciel Pennyworth. She insists that her name is pronounced as "Sheel", as many people have pronounced it wrongly as "Siyel".

Hours went by as the line slowly shortened, and Ciel endured all the heat. Some would overheat and faint, others would fight to get ahead of everyone, and some would unfortunate ones would get tossed out of the line and not allowed back to their places.

These turmoils got on Ciel's nerves. Moreover, the noise they made disrupted the peace and made a domino effect on both ends.

Right behind her was another conflict.

A male Elf got tossed out of the line along with his very large bag. The one who tossed him came from a larger race than him, an Entomorph Beastman.

"Hey?! What's the purpose of that?! Do you know how long I've been waiting just to enter?!"

"Beat it, Elf. You got thrown off the line, so you gotta start over at the very end of it."

"You have to be kidding! Let me back into my place!"

The Elf charged the Entomorph with all his weight, but sadly, he stopped him with his hand. The Elf swung his fists into the air in hopes of landing a hit on his tosser.

"Let me... back... in!"

"Look, small guy, it's a still a long way to the gate. There ain't no use fighting for a place in the line when there's still so much ground to cover."

"But you just tossed me off! Please, I'm begging you! It's been a painful few weeks for me already!"

A few others from behind them have begun to complain.

"Hey, turn it down, would ya? Just move to the back o' da line, long-ears."

Other similar complaints could be heard further back the line.

Disheartened, the Elf gave up and weakly wore his bag. Ciel turned to the wronged Elf and called him over.

"Hey. Elf."

"Huh?"

"Here, take my spot."

"Wha—are you sure?! B-But you're a woman, aren't you? I'd hate to disrespect you, so I'll just... walk my way to the end of the line."

"I'll be fine. I have tons of free time. Here, just take it."

"Woah—?!"

Ciel voluntarily stepped out and shoved the Elf into her place. She reached into her pocket and revealed a rectangular treat of some sort.

"Here's a little something to keep your mouth busy."

She tossed the treat over to the Elf. He clumsily catched it with both hands, tumbling it over as he struggled to catch it.

"...Thank you, stranger. Truly. I'll pay you back for this someday."

Ciel nodded. She looked at the Entomorph behind the Elf and said something to him.

"You. Entomorph."

"Hm? What is it, lass?"

"I don't recommend tossing the Elf off the line again. Try it again and I'll make sure you end up in the back of the line with me."

The Entomorph chuckled. "Heh, am I supposed to be scared? Of a little girl hiding her face with a cutesy white hood?"

The Entomorph flipped her hood and revealed her silver hair and crimson eyes. She glared at him and stood her ground.

"Hey, you're not looking as bad as I anticipated. How about getting it on with me?"

"...Try to take my advice earlier and refrain from tossing this Elf off the line. Everyone wants into the city. Just wait patiently like the inferior bug you are."

"Kuh—why you!"

The Entomorph put out a dagger from his boot and charged at Ciel.

"How dare you make fun of me?! You're going to have to pay for that in more ways than one, sissy!"

As the dagger was held by his right hand, Ciel dodged left. She transitioned into a gut-punch motion and drove her fist deep into his abdomen.

"...Huh? That's all you got? That didn't even hu—"

The Entomorph suddenly got blown away with impressive force. It was like he had a late reaction.

"...Nothing personal. You started this little fight."

The Entomorph stood up, and fled, shouting as he went farther and farther from the scene.

"You'll pay for this! I know who you are, girl!"

"I'd love to see you try. Good luck though."

The Elf thanked Ciel again. She approached him and was given something. It was a badge in the shape of a pentagon with a golden flower with five petals in the middle.

"And this is...?"

"An insignia. If you ever come across an Elf settlement in the woods, you can use this to be granted entry and other such things."

"Hey, isn't this a bit too much as a sign of gratitude? It's really okay if you don't give me anything."

Just as Ciel was about to hand over the insignia, the Elf shoved her hands with his two hands.

"Please. I insist. It's my way of expressing gratitude."

With no possibility of giving it back, she reluctantly put it in her pocket.

"Then, can I at least have your name? This is a bit unfair but, I'm afraid I can't tell you my name. If that's still okay with you, what's your name?"

"That's quite fine. My name is Kael Maz'gi."

Ciel nodded. "I see. Then, I'll be going now. Farewell, Kael."

"Right. I hope to see you again in the future. Farewell."

She turned her back and fled the scene.

(Quite a high possibility that'll happen.)

After a few minutes of walking, she reached the end of the line. She wondered why the hell the guards chose to do a single file line for such a large population. It was already the second hour in the afternoon. The entry is taking way too long. Some people are already collapsing from exposure to heat. The others lined up would just push them off the line and take their places from them, instead of helping them recover.

Ciel, being at the end of the line, couldn't see the people collapsing. When the line shortened by the hour, she saw a number of fresh corpses lying on the ground, all stiff and eyes wide open. Nobody even bothered to close help.

She could not help them in time. Rather, she did not know there were people collapsing from beyond where she is. She bit her lip until it bled, and immediately healed the second she released.

"I'll bury you later. I'm so sorry. If only I knew." she said to herself, looking at her feet in frustration with trace amounts of guilt.

She is very familiar with such a scene. After all, she was a participant at the Great War of Safruth. The site of a few scattered corpses does not rattle her as much now that she has seen mountains of them being piled upon each other in preparation of burning them.

However, one's death is not something to be taken lightly.

More hours have gone by. The line has drastically shortened. Ciel can already see the gate. Despite that, it is already the fifth hour. Everyone is on edge, because it is almost nighttime.

Hostile nocturnal beasts emerge from the ground at the sixth hour of the afternoon. Halfway through the fifth hour, everyone will have to abandon entry and head straight for their homes, otherwise they die.

"Almost there... although, I'll be able to rush in when the other people scurry off to their homes."

As if prompting them to get to safety, the people sprinted off the line by the second and away from Arbeau. The line has become extremely short now. Ciel ran towards the gate and lined up again.

(That Elf from earlier... I wonder if he got in.)

She could hear the guards getting panicky and rushing the process of checking their luggages, signing paperwork, and patting down the people for any weapons.

Eventually, cracks in the ground have begun to form. Disproportionate hands would emerge from the ground and life their bodies up with a shaking struggle.

"O-Oh shit, they're already here! Okay already, everyone of you get in before those things notice us!"

The line immediately broke as the last remaining people who did not waver scurried into the gate like ants. Ciel made sure to be at the end of the small forming crowd to ensure they are safe from harm.

"Quickly! Get in, get in!"

Nearby beasts have emerged from the ground. For some reason, they ended up really close to the gate, and thus they noticed the panicking crowd.

The beasts were bipedal; long, sharp talons protruded from their limbs, and their arms are long enough to let them sprint in all fours. Their silver fur, stained with earth, shone in the night, making them fairly easy to see.

They look like werewolves, but not quite. They were Lycans, an ancient sub-race of Beastmen that turned its back on the rest of the world after the Great War of Safruth.

The Lycans howled to the moons and started to sprint towards the crowd.

"O-Oh shit! Come on, go faster!"

Ciel hollered to the guards. "Oy! Guards! Don't rush them! I'll protect you so calm down and move fast!"

Ciel turned back and faced the Lycans.

"Huh? Hey, wait, are you crazy?! Hey?!"

Immediately, she became the primary target, as she ran towards one of them.

Her right hand was engulfed in a cloudy blue aura. A Lycan lunged towards her from a great distance and glided through the air. She thrusted the same hand forward and fired a Cryo: Ice Spike spell.

At the last second, she dodged forward to avoid the Lycan, whose forehead was riddled with snow. It flailed about as it turned its own body to return to chasing Ciel, but in that moment, the spell took effect. A large ice spike drove itself deep into the Lycan and knocked it back.

With a loud thump, the Lycan's body bounced off the ground and stopped moving. The other Lycans saw this and became weary of her.

"So, what will it be? Are you going to continue chasing me?"

Despite being feral, Lycans are intelligent; after all, they were once an upstanding race of revolutionary talent and genius.

Seeing one of them die effortlessly, they know the prey they are chasing is not afraid of them. And if their prey is not afraid of them, it means there is a high chance of death. Lycans value survival, and in this situation, the best course of action is to flee and look for other prey.

However, the Divides are completely empty grasslands. There is nothing for them to eat there.

"I can kill all of you without breaking a sweat. It was a bad move your ancestors made for all of you."

Ciel fired a warning shot using the same Cryo spell. The ice spike hastily formed on the ground going upwards after a few seconds.

The Lycans, reluctantly, fled from her. The crowd successfully entered Arbeau and no one is harmed. The guards called to her.

"Hey! You can enter now!"

"Right! I'll be there in a few seconds."

She jogged to the gate and approached the guards.

"Are they safe?" Ciel asked.

"Yes, everyone made it in. We owe our lives to you." the guards said, bowing down.

"Don't—come on, just raise your heads. You don't owe me anything. I'm just doing my job."

"But even so, we would've died if you didn't get their attention before."

"You'll be fine as long as I'm here. You can count on that. I don't need rewards or gifts as long as it isn't an official quest contract."

"But—"

"No buts are to come from you. Well then, until next time."

Ciel entered the city and disappeared into the crowds.

...

"Wow, she's amazing."

"Right? I think I'm in love."

"Come on, man, let's just go back in. Might get caught by those beasts again."

"Come to think of it, I never asked for her name."

"Well, there goes your love life."