Chapter 2 - New Beginnings, and Merciful Tidings (SFW Post)

She'd found herself in the same world she'd grown up in, but a simple look in any direction showed her confusing matters she'd never encountered and brought questions about truths she'd long since accepted.

She’s already walking before her decision is even made. As a lord of darkness, she was not well known for being patient, nor for being indecisive. She wants a bed, and that means she’s going to get a bed even if it means a trip she may or may not be smart to take. Still, she’s not a dummy, she rose to greatness through her ruthlessness and intelligence. Her journey is dangerous so she’s watching her surroundings, contemplating how to deal with any issues on her way to town, and even observing her own body while she walks. There are always things to consider when taking the potentially bad path that’ll make that path less bad, and one of those things is a plan of action.

By plotting what she’ll do if she gets harassed by goblins - an issue she’s never had to think of before - or if she stumbles on a slime, she makes it less of an issue if she happens to run into a slime or goblins. Goblins are especially peaceful under most circumstances. If they ambush her it’s because the local tribe’s failed to get a deal running with the nearby town, which is unlikely as if she recalls this is a pretty monster neutral area. She could probably accidentally wander into their camp and get directions.

Slimes are a bit more dangerous, they have this habit of trying to eat things they’re not supposed to and she no longer possesses the power needed to order them to drop the thing. So if that thing is her, she might be in trouble until she can get the local monsters to help her out, and that, that’d be disastrous.

Lost in thought like she is, she manages to completely miss a tree root - “Woah!” and the twap of her body landing flat on the ground is met with a groan. One of these treks she’ll simply not fall, and that’ll be that. Until then...

She reaches back and pushes the bottom of her raggedy clothes down proper, covering her now exposed thighs. “Guhh…” She groans, pushing herself onto her knees and looking up, a glare aimed at the creatures in the trees. This area’s a low-level one, which means most of what’s in those branches are young harpies or weak Kin - Kin being the class of monsters that are primarily with an animal aspect to them. Sharp teeth, furry ears or ready feathers. They’re like animals in that they advance quickly by tapping into their instincts and natural abilities instead of divining unique skills and magic. Weak kin being her watchers is a blessing because it means there’s no real threat; it’s a curse because Kin are super freaking pervy and she can feel them leering at her perky round ass as a group.

She’s smaller than she used to be, it’s a part of what’s messing up her balance. Her legs feel weak and short, and her arms aren’t long enough to catch her like they used to be. Even when she does catch herself her breasts still swing dangerously close to the ground, and that’s far more infuriating than the scrapes and scratches she gets from twigs and dirt alike. They seem bigger now, or maybe she’s just that much smaller. They were already enough to please anyone she wants and admire herself in the mirror, she didn’t need more, and she’s hopeful it’s an illusion that’ll disappear in her sleep.

Her fingers dig into the dirt under her, and she finally straightens herself up, so she can jump to her feet. “Haauhh! Oops!” She stretches with both arms, and tilts a little back so they can naturally catch her fiery glare. Kin react severely to eye contact, it’s a good way for an adventurer to warn them it knows they’re there, and it’s not afraid. Once upon a time, she could send entire armies scurrying, now she witnesses a Squirrel girl with a bushy tail behind her lick its lips and eye her with greed.

The girly face of that Squirrel Kin would normally appease her, what danger is a girl even if it does overpower her, but Kin are also known for commonly possessing both genders. Deceptively dangerous, and full of instinct. “Don’t.” She declares. “I’ll have to kill you if you make a move.” It’s the best she can do, make her intentions clear.

She’s happy to notice some of her watchers disappear. Maybe not the majority, she’s not intimidating enough for that, but it’s enough to take the edge off potential conflict. She hears a chortle from the sky, and she takes a deep breath, letting her chest bounce in an irritating way, before her legs take her forward.

She has to pretend to ignore her watchers for now, reaching up to brush a bang of golden blonde away from her eyes. It’s threatening to block her vision, and she needs to be on high alert. Her action gets a whistle from a Wolf girl, and she can’t help but snort. A part of her wants to roll her eyes, but Wolf kin are known for caring about consent, it won’t do to insult her only ally here.

An only ally that she finds ever more important the closer she gets to town. The smell of fresh bread hits her nose, and she knows inside they either make their move now or they stand back. Sadly for her, she’s not intimidating anymore, which means they’re gonna move.
She takes another breath and focuses on her surroundings, she needs to be prepared. She has no idea how many there are, but she imagines it’s at least a few. A human wandering in their domain is one thing, she’s sure she could have stayed here for weeks without an issue, but a human entering then leaving without making an offering of some sort? That’s a human that needs to be taught a lesson about who’s land this is.

The issue is she was never a human, so she’s not actually sure what kind of offerings are even valid. She knows one of them is sexual though, and without any money or goods to her, and only being a level one, sexual’d be her only choice. Which’d normally be fine, if she’s honest with herself. She was always kind of a slutty woman, and she wouldn’t mind slurping down some dick for free passage. The issue is Kin sperm has a powerful musk to it that rots the brain of humans and makes their desires go wild, and the consequence of that....

“Sorry, I don’t have the time for that. I have to save the world.” She mumbles to herself. A mere moment before her foot catches something sturdy and stiff, and she begins to fall. It’s the worst possible time, her instincts agree, this one can’t be an accident.

She makes a split-second decision not to catch herself, and to instead throw her arm to the side. Slashing left with her open palm. There’s no time for doubts, not even when she fails to catch something. She’d get injured if she was wrong and she slammed into a tree root or something, but it’d be far worse if she was right and she let doubts cloud her judgment. “No!” She shifts one of her unstable feet beneath her, slams into the ground and twists her ankle in the process, and pushes her whole body to the left.

“Yieeep!” The sound tells her she did well, and the feeling of skin underneath her rapidly falling body tells her twice. It wasn’t a root, she was tripped and her new hostage is going to pay for it.

The two figures collide hard, and they slam into the grass and dirt, her attacker beneath her taking most of the brunt of their fall. It’s harsh but she doesn’t let go, not even when her new landing pad cries out, and she boosts herself up so that she can fall again and ram her knee right into the back of her opponent. She may have lost her stats and abilities, magic spells, and crazy monster traits - she’s especially gonna miss the snake tongue - but she wasn’t Dark Lord for nothing. She still has muscle memory from years of teachings, and they come into play here, allowing her to outmaneuver a foe that’s probably stronger and faster but working on pure animal instinct.

That offensive knee of hers digs into the figure’s back before her eyes have even placed what she’s attacking. One hand lands on the back of its head, forcing it down, her other foot sturdies her in the dirt and her free arm raises, ready to strike.

Her fist falls once, and she feels a crunch beneath her. There’s a greedy excitement from that, especially the howl that comes with it. Many a night was spent reminding local alphas that she was boss, and those memories come flooding back with a grin, even if the current situation is so very different.
Twice, the one that tripped her takes a blow that just yesterday could have shattered a mountain. They’re lucky it’s today, but perhaps not too lucky, for they’ve picked a fight they lost before they even got to try. Their arms raise not to attack her, but to defend their face, and so she takes a moment to get a grip before throwing the third.

She steadies it in the air above them, channeling her mana into her fist, ready to pummel this cowardly jerk right into the dirt. Her eyes are sharp, her breaths are quick and forceful. Her sunshine like new body is at odds with reality, and for a brief moment she can’t help but feel a little guilty.

“Wwwfff-” She hears a pathetic, abused whimper, and she’s assaulted with an entirely new memory.

The roar of flame harshes the air, and the crumbling infrastructure of buildings one step from completely falling apart assaults her with a toxic scent of dreams ruined and lives engulfed. The whimper of a child catches her ears, and she barely has time to think about it before her heavy feet lead her to it. It’s not hard to locate the only living noise left, she doesn’t even need to think about it, instinct searches alone. She steps over the dust of a crumbled stone path that recently had someone slammed through it, and before long at all she finds a young girl among the rubble, wearing torn garb that once looked so pretty. Now it’s dirty, and holds not even the slightest worth.

The girl doesn’t look to her with any sort of hope, not even when she’s clearly the only way out of here, but that doesn’t surprise her, because she’s not here to save her.

The third drop of her fist lands in the dirt instead. The scent of copper fills her nostrils, and while her heart holds no remorse for attacking a downed foe, she can’t help but notice her arms are shaking.

She stands on her own, surprised at herself, and the trounced form below her. Not her actions, no such is nature for a monster, attack and be attacked. A monster will leave you bloodied to learn your lesson, an adventurer will kill you.

It’s a way of life, and she has no regrets.
The issue is, she’s not a monster anymore, and teaching monsters harsh lessons to save their life later isn’t something she can afford. Not when she has a quest like this in front of her, and so many lives rely on her.

Laying in front of her, with a shiny blue mane stained with fresh blood, and an androgynous figure that fails to catch her eye but still has her attention due to circumstance alone, is someone who’s life is now hers to claim. A foe to remove, and experience to gain.

“Tch…” She clenches her teeth.

The first thought that hits her is that she doesn’t have a weapon on her and she's not sure she wants to beat a monster to death with her bare hands. With a weapon she could pretend, if it was quick she could close her eyes and swing. To feel this creature, someone she'd have protected just yesterday, break and shatter under her fist until it ceases...

Nope, that's not it, can't be. It's that she's surrounded by monsters who might take offense, and that she stands no chance if they rush her. That's what she tells herself, that's what she has to tell herself. She cannot afford to be sentimental, not now, not yet.

She sighs with all her heart, dropping her prey into the dirt, and walking in the opposite direction. She smells the wind, and hopes where she is going is towards down. No one will bother her path now, she’s sure of it. Not when she’s chosen not to spill the blood of her attacker, and simply continued her stroll.

AN: Integrating the vote into this one kinda sucked. Not a huge issue though, just, had to rewrite a part.
Should be another update tomorrow and then this'll be caught up with QQ. From then on it's (attempted) weekly updates, with the Subscribestar being 4 updates ahead.

Thank you all for reading, and special thanks to my Supporters for allowing me to do this, and motivating me to be better.