Somewhere in Elysium…
"Are you sure this is the place where that monster is located?" Colette asked as she surveyed their surroundings. "Maybe we came to the wrong place?"
"I'm certain that this is the place," Matty replied as he looked at the map in his hands. "This is the location shown in the map. The receptionist in the Adventurer's Guild was the one who gave it to us, so this shouldn't be wrong."
Andy, Axel, and Helen were paying close attention to their surroundings, feeling that this was a very dangerous place. Their senses were telling them that something was amiss, but they had no idea what it was.
They had accepted a Rank-C mission from the Adventurer's Guild, which was to kill a certain monster that was terrorizing the adventurers and the Town's people that wandered too deep in the forest to forage, and then go to the next town in order to trade.
There was an adventurer's group that had attempted to clear this mission first, but they went missing and hadn't been seen since then. The guild had re-issued this quest in the hope that clues on what happened to the adventurer party would come to light.
Colette and her party had safely become Grade C Apostles, so they thought that this mission was just right for their current rank. They were the kind of adventurer party that liked to help others, so finding the missing dwarves was something that they decided to carry out themselves.
But, as they continued to advance further inside the forest, they sensed movement from their surroundings, which prompted all of them to take a defensive stance.
Suddenly, a loud howl broke the peace and a two-meter tall Werewolf descended several meters away from them. Just as they thought that they were only fighting one opponent, five other Lycans who were shorter than the first one appeared at their left and right sides, flanking them.
As Colette's party was about to engage their opponents, a merry voice sounded from behind them.
"Looks like we got ourselves a decent group this time," an excited voice sounded from behind dwarven children.
Colette and the others turned around to look at the source of the voice, which came from behind, and found over twenty black-robed individuals.
"Indeed, the last group were just a bunch of Rookies that had just stepped into the Apostle Grade," one of the robed dwarves said. "They weren't even enough to become our experiment's play thing."
"Take a look at the emblems they are carrying. They are from the Eternal Guild."
"From that girl, Aina's, Guild? This is perfect. She has been getting in our way a lot lately."
"That's right, we can take this as a little payback for making things difficult for us in Whitebridge City."
"Well, with this, the members of our Lycan brigade here in Oakwood Town will grow. We could've had an army by now, but for some reason, the serum only works on Foreigners. The townspeople die before they complete their transformation."
Colette's expression became grim after overhearing what the black-robed figures were chatting about. The group didn't even bother to keep this information secret from them, since they were sure that the dwarven children were already goners.
With a two-meter tall Lycan, who was at least a Rank 3 Alpha Monster, and smaller Lycans who were Rank 3 Monsters, Colette found themselves in a difficult situation. Behind them was a group of dwarves whose strength were still unknown to them.
"Colette, listen," Matty said in a low voice. "I will try to hold them off. You try to break through this encirclement and call for help."
"Helen, you go with Colette," Andy said. "We will buy you girls some time, so run as fast as you can."
Axel nodded his head as he held his staff firmly. The boys already knew that this was a hopeless situation, so they unanimously decided to let Colette and Helen escape while they held back their enemies.
"Did you hear that?" one of the black-robed dwarves chuckled. "These brats are playing the hero."
"How touching. Too bad, it's futile," the black-robed dwarf who stood at the front of the group said. "None of you are getting away. Get them!"
The Alpha Lycan Monster roared and lunged at Colette's group. Matty roared as he blocked the Lycans' path and engaged it in a one-on-one battle.
"Go! Colette, Helen!" Matty shouted. "Go and look for help!"
Right after Matty's shout, one of the smaller Lycans flanking them jumped at him with its jaws open wide.
A metallic ring spread in the surroundings as Colette used her round shield to block the Lycan's attack, shielding Matty from getting injured.
"We can't escape," Colette stated as she pushed back the Lycan before smashing its chest with her mace. "They will not let any of us escape, so might as well fight till the end!"
Matty gritted his teeth as he slashed at the Alpha Monster in front of him. He knew that what Colette said was right, and he felt helpless about it.
Helen's shout suddenly sounded behind them, which made Colette glance at her direction. One of the Lycans had managed to land a blow on Axel, sending him smashing towards a tree. Helen, who was about to heal him, was then attacked by another Lycan, forcing Andy to take the blow for her.
The result was the latter getting a deep gash on his chest, staining his clothes with blood.
Colette pushed back the Lycan she was fighting against and quickly came to Helen's aid. If their healer were to fall, their chance for survival would decrease drastically, which was the main reason why the Lycans tried to take her down first.
The group wearing black-robes watched with great interest as Colette fought off two Lycans at once, forcing them back with sheer strength and determination.
"She will make a good Lycan," the leader of the group said. "At least Alpha Rank 2, perhaps even Rank 3 after the serum strengthens her body."
"That Weaponmaster over there isn't too shabby himself," another robed-dwarf commented. "Perhaps he would also be an Alpha Monster after he transforms."
While the black-robed group chatted idly, Colette's and Matty's condition were deteriorating at a rapid rate. Although Helen had started to heal Andy's and Axel's injuries, the fact that they were being overpowered still remained.
It was only a matter of time before they were taken down one by one, until none of them was left.
Colette and Matty were wearing the Faunus Armor Set, which were made for fighters like them. If it weren't for this, they wouldn't have been able to stand their ground and resist most of the blows that landed on their bodies.
Andy, Axel, and Helen were wearing Faunus Sets as well, but theirs was more of a support type armor set meant for mages and healers. They were sturdy, but not as sturdy as the ones worn by warriors, which specialized in hand to hand combat.
"Good, they lasted longer than expected," the leader said before taking out a flute from her storage ring. "Time to finish this."
The leader of the dwarves blew on the flute, creating a shrill melody that made the Lycans stop their attacks. A moment later, all of them howled as their eyes turned blood-red, and the muscles on their bodies grew.
They had all entered a berserked-state, which meant that all of their attacks were now stronger than before.
As if to prove this point, when Colette used her Round Shield to block the Rank 3 Alpha Monster's punch, she was sent flying until her body slammed to a tree, causing Matty to roar in anger.
Immediately after that, the group's formation crumbled, and they were easily beaten up until they laid on the ground groaning in pain.
"You did well," the leader of the group of dwarves said, while clapping her hand. "Worry not. We have deemed all of you worthy to become our subordinates, so none of you will be killed. When we return to our base, all of you will be injected with a serum that will turn you into Lycans. You should be honored because you will be part of the revolution that will change this world for the better!"
Matty glared hatefully at the leader of the dwarves as blood seeped at the corner of his lips. The Alpha Monster's foot was pinning him down, so he couldn't move even if he wished for it.
He then glanced at Colette in the distance, who had already lost consciousness. Several bruises could be seen on her pretty face. Matty felt his heart ache from seeing the girl he loved in such a condition.
"Take them back to the Headquarters," the leader ordered. "Make sure to handle them with care. Afterall, they will become our new pets when the sun rises tomorrow."
The Lycan's picked up Colette's, Helen's, Andy's, and Axel's body from the ground and lifted them all in a princess carry.
The Alpha Monster was about to knock Matty unconscious when it saw a blue slime looking up at it, a meter away from the dwarf boy under its feet.
Slimes were pretty common monsters, so the Alpha Monster, as well as the robed-dwarves didn't pay much attention to it.
But, there was one person that paid attention to it, which was none other than Matty, who got teary-eyed after seeing the familiar baby slime that belonged to the person he aspired to be.
The baby slime then lowered its gaze from the Lycan and looked at the beaten-up dwarf under its feet.
"Simp!"
The baby slime only said one word, but it was enough to make the dwarf boy, who had lost all hope, laugh, despite his sorry state.
