Headed by a Snake

"⌈Silverwind Shield!⌋"

Duelist Ptolema held her rapier up, barely activating her skill in time to block a Crimson Phantom's chain swing.

She and her team were having a difficult time fending off the creatures... A single lapse in judgment could prove lethal, even if she was fighting a single one.

Thus far, she had chain-link bruises on her neck from having her throat nearly crushed and a swollen forearm. In another world, her sword-arm would have snapped in half, making her more useless than she currently felt.

"I got it!" A black blur leapt to her aid.

Even though Guild Letalis wore similar dark armors, she recognized the voice. He was a Letalis Ranger that introduced himself as... the Lone Shadowdark... and he'd arrived to support her even faster than anyone in her own Snowy Village guild.

Lone smashed a domineering dark-metal mace into the Phantom's legs, dropping it to the ground. Then, with his off-hand sword, he... cleaved his weapon down, through its chain-weapon, and into half of its torso.

That thing was unbelievably sharp... The Crimson Phantoms' chains were too durable to be cut by her own blade, even if she used her skills.

"My thanks, Ranger," Ptolema gave Lone a nod as she massaged a sore wrist.

"Yeap!" The helmeted Ranger nodded back.

The Ranger was out of position, well away from his own team... not that Ptolema was complaining. Lone's thoughtlessness had inadvertently eased the pressure on her and her tent-group.

...and then Lone dashed off again... like he was purposely trying to evade his allies. A moment later, Karodin and his troop ran past, desperately chasing.

"HI, PTOLEMAAAA!" Karodin shouted.

"Stay focused!!" Ptolema yelled back.

Without her warning, Karodin would have slammed head-first into one of the sacrificial rocks.

"I will!!! LOVE YOUUUU!!"

Ptolema shook her head and sighed.

"I love you too... idiot," She whispered.

She didn't think her being a few weeks pregnant affected her fighting prowess... so it did not feel good, at all, that she was having issues in the Dungeon's first encounter.

Before the fight-- before the quest, really, she decided that if her abilities deteriorated noticeably, she would take a break from adventuring for a few moons. And she wouldn't let anyone give her shite for it, either.

...Karodin would be ecstatic over it. The insufferable idiot always wanted to be as helpful as he could... The Legionnaire offered time and time again to terminate his contract with the Brazen Guard to join and co-lead Snowy Village-- to ease the burden, he said.

She adamantly refused. The coin was too good for Karodin as one of Bannok's Decani... coin that was almost nonexistent in Guild Snowy Village.

Seven hells... If it wasn't for her nagging, he wouldn't be able to put his trousers on correctly. Sometimes she was surprised he'd made it so far in both his military and adventuring career.

But while Guild Snowy Village was performing average to below... Guild Letalis was certainly putting in the work to compensate.

Tycon, the Master Tactician, was using a long curved blade to fend off the 20-pedes tall Guardian. Ptolema felt more than a little stupid, seeing him in action... She recalled that she rejected his help in the Icingdeath Dungeon and nearly died for her arrogance.

The white-helmeted Tactician wielded a sword as well as a Legionnaire or Heavy Knight! How could she-- even in a thousand years, imagine something like that? But the proof was in front of her... one of Guild Letalis' many anomalies...

Ranger Lone and his metal wolf were wreaking havoc on the field, roving around like ravenous predators. He didn't seem very strong... and initially, she thought he looked like a bit of a pushover.

When Ptolema was younger, she'd go to public houses and specifically target loser-adventurers that looked and acted exactly like Lone. The desperate, socially-awkward fool would pay for her drinks the whole night... and when she left with her friends, she'd show off about how she hadn't spent a single slug.

But Ptolema had thought wrong. Lone was very respectable... he wielded weapons that inspired nothing short of awe... a fiery wolf-hammer and a sword that could cut through stone and steel.

The black armor that the members of Guild Letalis wore was definitely enchanted, too. The force of the Crimson Phantoms' blows should have sent him crashing into the stones with cracked ribs, but he ignored the attacks as if he were a fully-armored Legionnaire.

Then there was Miss Athena, herself...

Ptolema had seen her fight... the little Bronze-Rank Warrior, innocent and honest to a fault.

"Snowy Village, let's move!!" Seeing her about to be surrounded, Ptolema signaled for her tent-group to follow, rushing towards her position.

"⌈Bladesurge!⌋" The little frost-haired girl dashed forward, her four blades whirling around her and devastating three Crimson Phantoms in a group. Pirouetting in a circle, she cut them all down...

Not completely finished, Athena locked her palms together and pointed, angled upward, "⌈ICE BEEEEEAAAAMU!!⌋"

A whitish-blue beam of frost mana struck the Guardian in the side, staggering it back.

Whatever she took to grow so much in strength between then and now... Ptolema wanted some of it.

As Athena had no issues on her own, Ptolema called her group to slow... quickly scanning the battlefield for more enemies to engage with. Even though Athena could use attacks on the Guardian, she couldn't risk her group to do the same.

Ptolema's eyes passed over the most impressive member of Guild Letalis... a heavy-armored knight named Korr with unique black armor, covered in spikes and doom and gloom. Their asymmetrical helmet suggested that the warrior had one eye... or maybe it had a weird enchantment on it? It didn't seem to hold them back one bit.

The knight fought alone in the distance... wherever he stepped erupted in cracked earth and rising flames. Wherever he felled his black blade, the Crimson Phantoms fell to their knees, screaming in pain from beyond death. Their chains sizzled molten-orange or just melted outright.

In a foreboding echoing voice, he even raised his sword and rallied everyone around with praises to the Eternal Flame.

If Ptolema wasn't so loyal to her reasonably handsome, unreasonably stupid husband, she would have fallen in love in a heartbeat.

...not that love was so easy, outside of the fairy tales.

Ptolema vaulted over another Crimson Phantom, stabbing it in the back and kicking it forward for one of her Ruffians to finish off.

Her husband seemed to have a good relationship with both Athena and the Tactician. Maybe after all this was over, she'd seek a meeting with the littlest Vanzano...

According to Agathe, House Vanzano had gained a lot of popularity from winning the Caeruleum Martial Tournament... and they had a mysterious financial backer from outside the nation. Ptolema didn't care where the Flamescarred coin came from. Working for steady pay was a far more attractive option than adventuring... especially as she was expecting a child.

Ugh. Karodin would be so happy about it.

But still... that stupid smile of his was the reason she fell for him, in the first place.

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