Chapter 9: Get used to it

"I shouldn't be here...I shouldn't be here... I shouldn't be here...," Kaiser muttered nervously, praying for his life as he reluctantly tailed the two women deeper into the dungeon. The two had completely ignored his requests to let him leave, and they were already so far in that it was probably a bad idea now to return by himself.

Knowing that there were many dragons residing in the lair had his hair standing on end, so tense that even the most subtle movements from the tiny bats hanging from the ceiling scared him out of his wits.

On the other hand, Colleen and Alexandria looked as they couldn't care less. The two were intent on looking for Blaze and possibly others, quickly and thoroughly scanning about their surroundings as they moved forward.

"Where is Kingsley?!" Colleen suddenly asked Alexandria. She held her torch carefully, illuminating the path before them.

"I- I'm not sure. He forced me to leave so that I can find and evacuate everyone else while he bought time for me to run. That's what a commander is supposed to do, right? I'm sure he's alright." Although Alexandria was the one saying this, her voice sounded as if she were really trying to convince herself that what happened was right. She didn't even want to try to imagine what could possibly go wrong while she left Kingsley and his squads to fight the dragons.

Was it trust? Or was it that she couldn't accept the fact that she left her older brother there to save her own life? Well, she didn't know. All she knew was the glare Kingsley cast her compelled her to leave after he gave his command.

Who was she to complain about her brother's judgment? If she followed all of Kingsley's commands, she could easily survive in this tough world and even become a successful dragon-slayer while she was at it. That was what her parents taught her. She may not be as talented and intelligent as her older brother, but if she followed whatever he told her to do, she might just stand just as respectable and successful as him in the future… He promised her that he wouldn't let her down.

Despite keeping that in mind, she couldn't understand why tears were forming in her eyes. Something she didn't understand, must not have sit right in her. For the first time in her entire life, Kingsley's last order felt like a blow to her chest, and she wasn't willing to obey him as she always had before.

ARRRRGHHHHH!!!!!!

A sudden shout prompted the three wandering dragon-slayers to turn their heads towards the direction of the commotion.

Colleen immediately recognized who the voice belonged to and ran towards it without a second thought. "That's Blaze! Let's go!"

Alexandria quickly followed suit, and so did Kaiser, though he lagged behind. The three ran, holding their torches high in one hand and their weapons in the other.

Upon arrival, they saw Kingsley on the ground, injured and bloody, while Blaze shielded him from at least ten Earth Wyrms that surrounded them in a rather tight circle. She fended them off herself, fiercely deflecting each blow as they took turns attacking. It was almost as if they were playing a game; whoever manages to deliver a fatal strike against the little human will win the right to eat the prey.

Colleen was about to shout when Kaiser clamped his hand over her mouth, frantically whispering for her to shut the hell up.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Colleen fought back in a low voice. "My best friend is right there! Why are you stopping me?"

Kaiser felt like cowering seeing how aggressive she was, but he mustered his courage to fight. "I- I know, I know! But lower your voice!" he hissed, voice quivering. "Did you forget? Earth Wyrms have a keen hearing but poor eyesight, don't you think we should take this chance to help Blaze take down a few before we're noticed?"

Colleen shut her mouth. She didn't want to admit it, but she realized that he was right.

Kaiser's reputation had fallen to the pits after he was exposed and labeled a pervert by one of their female classmates, eventually becoming a laughingstock in the entire campus back when they were still in the academy. Because of that, Colleen had completely forgotten that Kaiser was actually one of the most intelligent in their batch. Though he was bad at hitting on women, he was quite dependable when it came to dragon-slaying aside from the occasional freaking out like a wimp.

"I was actually going to say that too, Colleen." Alexandria stole their attention with her credit-seeking statement, ticking both Colleen and Kaiser off. Why was she trying so hard for points at a time like this? But since Blaze's life was on the line, Colleen swallowed the urge to retort and ignored it.

"Okay, you two go on and quietly approach the dragons," Colleen instructed, drawing an arrow from the quiver at her back. "We attack together. Once I fire this arrow, attack with all your might."

"Understood," the other two responded in unison.

Meanwhile, the Earth Wyrms were getting quite annoyed as Blaze continued to skillfully defend both herself and Kingsley against their randomized attacks, whichever direction they came at her from. Although she was at a disadvantage since she couldn't leave her place by Kingsley's side on the ground, her adversaries couldn't harm her either. It would be a stalemate until her stamina begins to run out.

"I told you, Blaze. You should have just left me there earlier. An injured dragon-slayer inside an active dungeon is as good as dead. You shouldn't feel bad. You would only be doing what's necessary to keep living if you did," Kingsley stressed rather discouragingly in his helpless situation.

Blaze scowled at his words. "Man, if anything, just shut your trap and sit there quietly if you're not going to help! We won't die here, geez. What is a Commander doing, so negative? Besides, they're finally here." Blaze shifted her gaze towards a certain somewhere…

Blaze flashed a glare at the Earth Wyrms surrounding Kingsley and herself, a goading sneer spreading across her face. "You guys…get ready to be f*cked!"

"Now!!!"

Blaze grinned wildly as Colleen's voice stole the show.

"Die, pieces of sh*ts!"

Kwiiiiisssk!

A shining arrow shot from Colleen's bow at lightning speed, piercing through one Earth Wyrm's throat.

At the same time, Kaiser and Alexandria rose into the air, Kaiser with his two-handed sword and Alexandria with a gleaming lance the same as her brother's, and they twisted like fidget spinners as they cleanly severed the heads of two Earth Wyrms with their razor-sharp weapons.

Boom!

Three Earth Wyrms fell on the ground in an instant.

Kingsley was flabbergasted. In all honesty, he wasn't expecting Alexandria to come back after he sent her away. He was sure she would follow his orders like the obedient little sister she always was, but today, it occurred to him that he was wrong.

His eyes flew to Blaze who stood with his back to him, ready to fight off the next dragon while the majority of them were distracted by the three newcomers. "You knew?!"

"Hell yeah, I knew," she snorted as if the answer was supposed to be obvious. "I have a very keen sense of smell. I knew they were coming before they even knew they were close. How did you think I noticed that something was wrong on your side when I was located opposite from you?!"

"Impressive as always," Kingsley mumbled incredulously.

Blaze smirked, turning around briefly to give Kingsley a brazen flip of her hair. "Get used to it-"

"ON YOUR LEFT!" Kingsley suddenly shouted; his eyes widened as he noticed the dragon that prepared to launch an attack while Blaze had her back turned.

"Wha- F*CKING B*TCH!" Blaze turned just in time to deflect the attack that came her way with a powerful swipe of her javelins. She flashed the Earth Wyrm a sharp, dangerous grin, her eyes lighting up in flames.

"So you want to go, huh?"