After that, we both entered the dungoen, and were greeted with the sight of some gigantic snake which looked like they had been normal russle vipers who had come across an elephant and ate it whole. That when the elephant went into the snake's stomach, it had no other option but to just blend with the muscles of the snake as it was.
"Oh... My god..." Cedric muttered with widened, teary eyes, as he forced a smile out of his face to cover up the fear inside his mind. "I have never... Seen such majestic creatures! They look like... Dinosaurs!" He spoke with a shivering voice and backed up beside me. "Look at that one there Aefia! They look like... They could swallow a human whole!"
I couldn't do much then to smirk and let him wonder with his mind across the dungoen while still standing right next to me with his knees dancing on their own. I was honestly laughing under my breathe as I watched the him continuously fight with himself for his fear.
"You don't have to act if you are scared." I genuinely told him while snapping back to the reality in front of me. There were spikes on the backbone that I really needed to make sure of, and I couldn't quite give much mind to it too if I wanted to pluck those leaves. Like how Helio had said, although they feared the scent of cobra venom, they were also venomous themselves.
Not only that, those maple leaves that grew behind them, were all formed to heal themselves when during a fight between two of their same species, they could use that to get rid of the venom. But as for humans, we can't eat those leaves raw. That was why I needed to bring them to Helio so he can process the leaves into the cure.
"By the way. Do you see those leaves up there, can you do me a favour? Instruct Puppet and Cindy around the field to collect back those leaves. If they are stepped on, their essence may be lost. We don't want that to happen if we want to help heal the patients, alright?" I told him while turning towards the beasts on the otherside of the dungoen.
He nodded as I walked away, then he backed to a corner and grasped the vile with crushing intensity. I almost felt sorry for him since he was going to be traumatized for quite sometime. It will take time to heal as well. I can tell this because I still remember seeing those beasts when I was really young.
I still clearly remember the time that I saw those creepy beasts back on Earth, was actually the time I had come out to see how the mercenary team did it. Up to this date, I can't forget that they were actually this helpful, because they taught me about a few things that a beasts could do to humans which would result in their death. I was glad I had run into them back then. Because that is what makes the Aefia today—who goes into dungoens and became a risk-taker.
I could feel myself frowning at my memories again. I guess its because I am here in a dungoen again after so long, that even my memories has started to feel like nostalgia at such a troublesome moment.
*
"Hey! Look over there!"
"What is that kid doing in a place like this?!"
"Who allowed her here?!"
"Did she get hurt? Where are her parents?!"
The clean up crews shouted while looking back and forth to find the commoner's parents. Back then, any human who didn't contribute to society were either called the public or the commoners. Sometimes even peasants since they were really helpless and dependent on the others.
When she was only four years old, Aefia had been to the battlefield after the dungoen had been zipped shut. It was her country under-going the catastrophe this year. And she really wanted to check it out, so she urged her parents to let her out with her aunt to sneak into the site. Due to her small size, no one caught her.
Although she lived in a low-privelaged country, she grew up with more wealth then how much a traveling mercenary would earn after one catastrophe. Sometimes, she even considered herself spoilt because of her parents wealth.
And right now, she was wondering openly around the monsters. She was a four-year-old with many curious thoughts, who was also not really scared of the dead coarpses. But she was afraid of seeing the way the half-dead ones were leaping around like a fish who had been brought out of water. This was the thing that changed her entirely from that day, the suffering that was illuminated in front of her eyes. Even when they were merely beasts.
At another end of the open field, some millitary crew who were injured, were screaming in pain. She frowned. Since by then, her smiles were slowly flowing out of her. With what was happening at her home and outside. She felt as if the notebook which had her life written on, was starting to get stained with blood. It was four year before she took a much more bloody path, that then caused her life's direction another time.
Just when she was stretching her hand at one of the corpses, a member of the mercenary team had caught sight of her.
"Hey look at that kid!"
"Why is she here all alone?"
They all stepped up to her, and Aefia only found out after seeing their shadow overwhelm her. She stumbled backwards and bumbed into another one of the members.
"I am... Shwowy(sorry)." The young Aefia muttered with her hands clenching at her sides.
"Hey hey kid! Don't worry... I don't think you should be scared of us. We don't hurt kids like you." One of them spoke, while lifting her up onto their arm. "How about this? If you tell us where your parents are, we will take you to them..."
"Mmm... I don't know where..." Aefia spoke while clutching her dress and biting on the inside of her cheek in fear of hearing about her parents. Just before she knew it, one of a female mercenary member stepped up and lifted her sleeve.
At the sight of her forearm, the entire mercenary group froze. Even if they were brutally trained during physical endurance exercises, they had never been this badly treated.
"Huh?! What the—kid... Are you by chance...?"
"No no! I fell down the stairs!" Aefia shouted while pulling her arm away and hiding the scars from her punishments. She was told not to tell anyone, or else she would be beaten even harder.
"But these look like scars that bled."
"No no! I fell down! I just wanted to see the monshtas(monsters)!" Aefia shouted while trying to get down, and scammer away. Then, the female mercenary carried Aefia towards herself and patted her back.
"Kid, don't lie to us. You know that we can tell your parents to stop. We are much stronger... But who came with you? Where are they?"
"But... I wanted to know about the monshtas(monsters)... I didn't want to cause trouble for anyone. And don't tell my parents about anything." Aefia calmed down while looking at the beasts laying on the ground. Her dark eyes narrowing down in a new found comfort on this sort of things. "Can't I... Join you ghuysh(guys)?"
"Hm? But aren't you too young?" The female fighter responded while the others closed in to look at Aefia more closely.
"This cutey sure is some sort! If she is being under domestic abuse... Then wouldn't it be better to take her in with us?"
"But we are always on the run every year, so who will look after her? If you remember correctly, we are also likely to die during some battles. Then who will raise this child?"
"True. But she would be better off with us."
"Yes right, but she can't do anything. Don't you know her?"
"Who is she?"
"She is the daughter of one of the few wealthiest family in this state. I think her father ranks within the twentieth or something. I recall seeing her with her mother and father heading to a shopping centre just last night. You know how people in this country are."
"But... Aren't rich people supposed to be... Especially the children?"
"Well not all family are right in the world. Are they? What if this girl's family are just psychos. I once heard that her aunts are the reason behind her abuse. It was a rumor by one of their servants, she was the sister of the servant from that house."
"Guys?" Another member entered into the conversation. "Are we seriously talking about this in front of the girl?"
The entire circle went silent. Outside the circle, the once talkative cleaners went silent at the sight. Since mercenaries were seen as a very respectful position, it was understandable. To think that a commoner child was being pecked around the face by those mercenary members.
"Umm... Guys, the president wants to speak with you all."
"Tell them we are busy. Now go away!" The female member spoke while hoising the laughing Aefia up in the air. "We have a cutie to interview."
"Yeah! Go away!" Aefia spoke while enjoying her time as much as she could. With that, the cleaner had no other choice but to retreat.
"Now then, cutie. You said you wanted to join us. Then what about, join us when you turn fifteen? You should be able to start training around then." A member spoke while handing Aefia a business card which was just a card with their names and numbers.
"Alright!" She replied while being slowly settled back on the arm of another member now. "But I wanted to know about the beashts(beasts)?" She spoke while pointing at the ones settled on the ground.
"Ah! Alright. We will tell you a few things since you will need to know anyways."
"Firstly, some beasts are poisonous and some are venemous. Ones who are poisonous have their body consumed with that poison as soon as they die, so it is not safe to touch them. But ones which are venemous, can be used as ailments to gain resistance against that venom just by laying a finger on them. So since you had interacted with the venomous one, you most likely have already gained resistance to this beast's venom. Congratualations. However, if you ever interact with a magic wielding one, be sure to move away as soon as possible since some can actually cast black magic to turn your bones into melted lead.
"And baby beasts are of no harm to anyone, if you ever come across one and tame it enough, in the future that baby beast will grow to protect you and whoever you command it to. But after a certain age, you would need to let it go to their respective dungoen to live. Even when they may seem like villains right now to us humans on planet Earth, they might be of major help to the humans of another planet. You know? Like imagine the aliens having these beasts as their favourite pets. Then one day, your beloved pet goes missing.
"Besides that, a single beast horde is said to be strong enough to dismantle any landmarks within seconds. So if you ever see a group of wandering beasts, move away from any concrete obstacles. Have we made ourselves clear to you?"
"Yesh(yes)!" Aefia nodded with a smile as she looked up at the few faces who were smiling back at her. It was the first time in a long moment that she felt like she fit into with a group of people who she felt protected by.
"So now. Kid... What is your name?" The female one asked while poking at Aefia's chubby cheeks.
"Aefia... I have another name but everyone knows me as Aefia."
"Well that is a cute name. Now let's go to your parents."
"Actually, I came here with my aunt... I think I want to go home inshtead(instead)." Aefia replied while tapping the tip of her index finger against themselves. "I think... My aunt and coushins(cousins) will be anger."
"Why would your cousins be angry? Aren't they supposed to be like your close friends?"
"Of course they are like my close friends... But they don't like annoying people. I am annoying. Am I not?"
There was a moment of silence between the other members, until one of them started to whisper and discuss a matter with another person.
"So this kid has been brainwashed? By her own extended relatives?"
"Well they must be jealous of her parents property and her fame—it is something that all relatives do when one of their close members become successful. It is just something that every rich family go through, so we can't really blame anyone for this. It is just the nature we all grew up in."
Then, their gazes finally turned to look at the girl.
"How about this? We will ensure you safely reach your home without their questioning?"
"Sounds... Good."
"Alright then, let's get going."
***
Aefia got down from their arms and strodded towards her cousins who were acting all sad and concerned for her. When she reached them, they immediately hugged her and tightened their grips purposefully around her neck.
"Where were you?! We were looking everywhere to find you!" They lied, while secretly snickering.
Aefia, in the meantime, struggled to catch her breathe, as the pressure around the back of her neck increased and her head tilting dangerously backwards. It was a bit too fast... But that was just how much they hated her.
"I went—Hah! I can't catch my breathe!"
She had purposefully said that to grab the attention of the one member who came along with her. Thanks to the quick intervention, Aefia managed to escape her cousins' grasp right before her fragile backbone was about to snap.
Aefia was immediately pulled away, as she held the back of her neck that was barely able to hold her head upright. The female mercenary member took one glance at the cousins, who were glaring at her with eyes that said, 'why did you do that?'.
"You know what? Tell me where your parents' house is, I will personally drop you off there." The member walked away with Aefia at her arms.
"If you are curious... They were the ones who told me to go to the dungeon area." Aefia trembled a bit, while biting her lips. "I think they want me dead."