The Boss Killer - Stubbed

Judging by the sounds of the terrified screams, Damien had thought that whoever it was down the alley was getting murdered. Or at the very least, they were getting mugged. But as Damien rushed around the corner— still carrying Aria in his arms, while Lena trailed behind him— he came to a halt to face… a scene he couldn’t have possibly imagined.

It was nothing he thought it could’ve been. It was not a beating. It was not a murder. It was not a mugging. It was not even someone who slipped and injured himself on a banana peel. It was—

“...that’s a dog,” Damien said as he stared flatly at the small animal barking and growling at a man standing atop a trash can. “You’re scared of that tiny little dog?”

Damien glanced up at the terrified man. He looked like a relatively young man— around Damien’s age. Although unlike Damien, he was completely bald and quite thin.

The man wore strange robes. Like he was a [Mage] of sorts. And he was practically quaking where he stood as the small dog continued barking at him.

“Don’t just stand there! Save me!” the man exclaimed.

“I—” Damien started.

And Aria squirmed out of his arms, before hopping to the ground. “I’ll help you!”

“Wait, Aria, don’t eat it!” Lena called out from behind Damien.

The little demon girl just chuckled as she walked up to the small dog. Dropping to a knee, she proffered a hand. “Don’t worry! I won’t eat it— it’s cute!”

Aria brought a hand out to pat the animal. For a moment, the dog let her scratch its ear. But then its eyes grew wide as it caught a glimpse of the demon’s face. And then it yelped, darting off down an alleyway, stumbling over some rotting wood on the way out.

“Aw…” Aria watched it go as her shoulders sagged. “What did I do to scare it off?”

I don’t know, maybe your claws and fangs did it, Damien thought as he chuckled to himself. But then he walked up to the little demon girl and picked her back up. “Don’t worry, it was probably just hungry so went to get something to eat,” he lied.

“That’s true!” Aria nodded eagerly. “I usually do that when I’m hungry too!”

“Which you should not be doing,” Lena said in a reprimanding voice. She sighed and walked past both Damien and the little demon girl, before gesturing behind them at the trash can. “Anyway, aren’t we forgetting why we came here in the first place.”

“Right,” Damien said as he glanced back.

He stared at the bald man who was slowly clambering off the trash can and lowering himself to the ground.

“Thank you for saving me, you’re a lifesaver,” the bald man said.

“Not really? That tiny dog couldn’t hurt a cockroach, let alone kill you,” Damien replied bluntly.

“Well, how do you know I’m not allergic to dogs?” the bald man harrumphed.

And Damien raised a brow. “Are you?”

“...no.” The bald man pursed his lips, before shaking his head. “Look, I’ve always had a phobia of dogs, alright? Can’t you spare me some sympathy?”

“What’s a ‘sym-pa-thy’?” Aria asked, tugging Damien’s hood that covered his face. “And how do we give it to this man?”

Damien shook his head as he patted the little demon girl. “It’s something you give to someone who’s extremely pitiful, and you give it by just saying, ‘Oh, I’m so sorry to hear about that’ in a half-condescending tone.”

“I see!” Aria smiled and turned to the bald man. “I’m so sorry to hear about that!”

“You know what? I’m just going to accept it.” The bald man sighed, before he turned to Damien. “Anyway, you must be Damien. I’m Lucas, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you too— wait.” Damien paused, before he narrowed his eyes. “How did you…?”

“I’m a Level 193 [Monk],” Lucas said with a shrug. “And you’re a big buff dude whose levels I cannot see with [Appraisal]. So… two plus two, you know?”

His gaze drifted over to Lena who was still standing quizzically to the side.

“Although, that doesn’t explain why I can’t see her level. Or her level.” Lucas glanced down at Aria as well.

Damien waved a hand dismissively. “Well, I’m glad we could help you with your… dog issue. But we kind of need to go right now.”

“Wait—” Lucas called out right as Damien took a step back. The bald man grabbed the half-naked man by the arm and closed his eyes. “You’re exactly who I’m looking for, Damien. I actually came all the way to this city to search for you.”

“You did?” Damien blinked, before glancing between Aria and Lena. They both gave him uncertain glances. Do I listen to what Lucas has to say? Damien thought to himself. Or do I just excuse myself?

But as Damien considered his course of action, Lucas continued.

“I really need your help, Damien. It’s important. Please, hear me out.”

And that was when Damien made his decision. Nah, sounds like too much of a hassle. I’ll excuse myself.

“Sorry,” Damien said half-apologetically as he drew back. “But I need to—”

“Please,” Lucas continued as he bowed his head. “There’s nobody else I can turn to— I need you to find my friend in Medul.”

And that made Damien paused, raising an intrigued brow. “Hm?”

***

Damien had completely forgotten the backstory he had told everyone in Verne. It was right after he had ‘defeated’ Lena— everyone in the Capital City of the Kingdom of Viletta had flocked to Damien to praise him.

And because Damien was still brand new here in Extim back then, he decided to tell everyone he was from Medul.

Which ended up being a good thing. After all, if somehow the Overlords caught wind of such a high-leveled Earthworlder suddenly showing up from the tutorial, he was sure they’d investigate him. And if they found out about Aria, they would come after her like the Inquisitors did.

While Damien loved a challenge, he didn’t want Aria to be hurt even more. And from what Lena told him about the Overlords— and after his battle with the Inquisitors— he knew that he needed to be stronger before he could face the Overlords.

So now, word about him— as the hero who descended from Medul— had spread throughout not just the Kingdom of Viletta, but across the entire continent. Which was how Lucas had heard about him.

“Thank you so much. I really appreciate this so much.” Lucas said as he bowed his head emphatically.

Damien chewed his lower lip as he watched the bald man practically prostrating at his feet. He wasn’t sure whether he would help out Lucas. However, Damien definitely did want to hear what Lucas had to say about Medul.

That was the only reason why Damien had stuck around. Meanwhile, Lena had taken Aria to go look for the dog that ran off because the little demon girl was growing bored of the conversation.

“Look, I didn’t agree to anything,” Damien said simply. “Just tell me what’s going on.”

“Alright,” Lucas said as he took in a deep breath. “First of all, I’m not from this world. I’m actually from Earth.”

And that made Damien cock a brow. “You are?”

“I’m sure you’ve heard of people like us— we’re called Earthworlders, and we started showing up here around nine or so years ago.” Lucas began to explain.

Damien shifted back uncomfortably as he nodded along. “Right, yes, I’ve definitely heard about you Earthworlders...”

Damien considered revealing the truth— that he was actually from Earth— for a moment, but then caught himself. He didn’t know if Lucas was even telling the truth about being an Earthworlder. And even if he was, that didn’t mean he was a good guy.

That bandit group— the Darkstorm Bringers— had been mostly composed of people from Earth. And the Shadow Crusaders was led by an Earthworlder too.

It was entirely possible that there might even be some affiliation between Lucas and the Shadow Crusaders. Although… considering how cowardly Lucas had shown himself to be so far, that was almost doubtful.

“Well, that was around when I arrived in Extim too,” Lucas continued as he shook his head. “I was part of one of the first few expeditions that defeated the final boss of the tutorial, so I arrived to Extim early. And when I got here… I decided to live a life of seclusion— atop a monastery, away from all worldly desires.”

But not worldly fears, Damien thought with a scoff. “Get to the point, I don’t want your entire life story.”

“Alright, alright,” Lucas said as he shook his head. “Eventually, I realized I wasn’t cut out for that life, and I left after three years. But when I was leaving, I met her.”

“Her?” Damien raised a brow.

“She saved me. I almost had my face torn off by a yeti. But she came to my rescue.” Lucas whispered as he tilted his head back. “I instantly fell in love with her when I met her. She was so beautiful yet powerful. A queen in every regard.”

So much for giving up worldly desires. No wonder you left your monastery. Damien rolled his eyes.

“And when I came to find out that she was from Earth like me, I knew I wanted to spend my life with her,” Lucas said, closing his eyes. “So even though she was much stronger than me, I did everything in my power to follow her. But she told me what her goal was— that she desired to leave for Medul— and she couldn’t take me with her.”

“I said it before, and I’ll say it again: get to the point,” Damien said with a sigh.

“Eventually, she did make it to Medul. That’s why… I want you to find her for me.” Lucas raised his head, meeting Damien’s gaze. “Tell her to wait for me. That I’ll get to her eventually. That’s all I want you to do— deliver that message for me, whenever you return to your world.”

“I mean, I can try. But Medul is a big place.” Damien shrugged. “Who is she anyways?”

“Her name is Emily Locke,” Lucas said as he held Damien’s gaze. “They call her the Eve of the Night— and she’s the second Earthworlder to ever cross into Medul.”

And Damien’s eyes grew wide in recognition when he heard that name. “Emily…?”