The guild-house was bustling with activity that night, its occupants in a celebratory mood as they toasted each other. “Here’s to Fraydo, who slew the dragon!”

“Yeah! Thanks to that, we earned quite the amount of a gold!”

A bunch of warriors clanged their mugs together, their ale splashing down in froths and dripping onto the mahogany table in golden foam. Chuckling, they congratulated each other before downing a huge gulp of the bittersweet liquid.

“Hmph.”

Fradyo inclined against his chair, distancing himself from the roguish warriors he deemed as barbaric and beneath his company. Glancing at the cards in his gauntleted hand, he chose a card and placed it on the table, taking care not to accidentally knock over his sheathed sword that he had left leaning against the wooden leg of the furniture. Even as he calculated the odds, he couldn’t help but sneak a glance at the beautiful blond elf sitting opposite her. Unlike him, Galf and Lelas, she had chosen not to participate in their card game, instead strumming a musical tune on her guitar. Ah…Ellen was as beautiful as ever, her fair visage capturing his attention.

“Hey, Fraydo. Focus on the game.”

Lelas smirked mischievously, the curly-haired archer shuffling the cards in his gloved hands. Dressed in a green cloak and wearing a sneaky white-feathered, green hat that emphasized his impish grin, Lelas measured his odds carefully before throwing down his card.

“Bah, I just can’t beat you younglings.” Seated beside Lelas, the old wizard Galf threw down his hand in frustration. Raising his hand, he stroked his long, flowing white beard before adjusting his lopsided, crooked hat that gave him a mystical aura. Moving on from the loss, he turned toward Ellen and chuckled.

“It looks like young Fraydo is completely enamored with you, Miss Ellen.”

“I see,” Ellen replied as her fingers swiftly plucked the strings of her guitar without missing a beat. “How unfortunate that I do not return his affection.”

“Oooh…burn!”

Lelas winced. Inwardly, Fraydo felt a sting, but he maintained his cool, composed façade. Trying to show that he wasn’t bothered by the sharp rejection, he displayed his best, winning smile.

“It’s fine. Ellen will be convinced of my charms before long. No woman can resist me.”

“No human woman, you mean.” Ellen looked up briefly as she corrected him, mirth visible in her eyes. “As much as I appreciate your feelings, I know better than to have an ill-advised affair with a monkey. You’ll age and pass on in a blink of an eye, but we elves are known to persist even after millennia.”

“Yeah, yeah. We get it. This world is ruled by you high and mighty elves.” Lelas waved his hand almost impatiently, before producing another card and smirking.

“By the way, royal flush. I win.” Fraydo glanced at his opponent, and then at the elderly Galf, who merely shrugged in resignation. He suspected that Lelas was cheating somehow, but without evidence, it was pointless to make a fuss. He decided to fold.

“Well, rather than an affair, what about a short-lived fling?” he asked, diverting his attention away from the loss and toward the smiling Ellen.

“That might be worth considering…however, be warned. My heart will never belong to you.”

“That’s fine. You can have mine.”

“Oi, oi…what’s with those cheesy lines?” Lelas complained, but no one paid him any attention other than the sympathetic Galf.

“Jealousy is unbecoming of you, young Lelas.”

“Who’s jealous!?”

“You are,” the other three replied in unison. Lelas groaned.

“You guys are the worst.”

“Anyway, my offer still stands, fair Ellen.” Fraydo was anything if not persistent. “Perhaps we can celebrate my triumph privately in my room later…”

“Your triumph?” Ellen snickered. “If it weren’t for me buffing your strength and distracting the dragon, you would never have delivered the killing blow.”

“I know, which is why I’m inviting you to join me.”

“Oh, how smooth.” The four adventurers looked up, surprised. The snarky remark had come not from Lelas but from a hooded figure standing in front of the table.

“Who are you?” Fraydo demanded, his guard immediately up. All at once, the whole guild house went silent. Even the boisterous, barbaric warriors in the next table had quelled their cheering and were staring at the mysterious newcomer. Just half a meter away from Fraydo’s table, the guild’s number two warrior, Mystogen, stood rigidly, his eyes glittering dangerously beneath his hood. In his right hand, he gripped his curved sickle tightly and held a magic scroll in his left.

“How cruel,” I complained as I removed my hood, revealing my plain, bespectacled demeanor and short, black hair that stood in stark contrast to everyone’s golden or honey-brown hair. “I can’t believe you’ve forgotten me already.”

“Y…you…!”

“T…Terence?”

“Bastard!” The entire guild responded in unison, every single one drawing their weapons or casting their spells and aiming them at me.

“You’re supposed to be dead!” Fraydo gasped, outraged. “How…?”

“Oh, I know,” I interrupted, raising a hand. In that instance, the lights went out and the guild house was enveloped in total darkness. “After all, it was you guys who tried to kill me.”

Nobody denied it, except for Ellen, who continued strumming on her guitar to perform an enchanted musical melody that would offer protection.

“We had no choice.”

“Oh?”

Ellen stared at me. Even in the darkness, her beauty was astounding, and I could see her exquisite features, almost as if she was glowing. Ah…the elven magic effect.

“If we didn’t sacrifice you, all of us would have died.”

“So that’s why you attacked me and threw me, half-dead and broken, to the Behemoth. So that the rest of you can escape with your lives.”

“Hey, hey.” Lelas was glaring at me.

“It’s for the greater good. The majority is more important, okay? What’s one life if it’s used to save dozens? I would say it’s a pretty small price.”

“Indeed,” I agreed, and then snapped my fingers. Before anyone could react, Lelas was blown off his feet, dark tendrils wrapping around his throat and suffocating him. His bow and arrow slipped from his fingers as he wheezed and grasped at the arcane appendages, struggling to free himself, but to no avail. “But funny how none of you decided to volunteer and instead nominate a sacrifice instead.”

“Let go of him!” As one, the members of the guild attacked, trying to pierce me with spear and blade or blast me to oblivion with mystical spells.

None of them reached. Weapons shattered and spells dissipated harmlessly before they ever reached even a foot within my vicinity. I took a step forward, and the dark aura shrouding me slammed into the guild, sending them flying through the interior of the guild-house, crashing and smashing furniture and glass.

“You…what the hell are you?”

“I’m the product of your betrayal,” I replied.

“Be…betrayal?!” Fraydo scoffed as he tried to crawl to his feet, but his voice was clearly trembling. His sword had been broken, and his armor had shattered in multiple places, the jagged shards digging deeply into his body. “You were the weakest and most useless warrior in the guild! It’s only natural we would choose you!”

“Yes.” I grinned. “And in doing so, you allowed me to be the host for something much more powerful.”

I spread my hands and the darkness compressed, blasting around me to envelop the screaming adventurers. None escaped, every single one of them sucked into the black, swirling maelstrom of dark energy, which suddenly imploded and shrunk into a tiny sphere the size of a grapefruit. The irresistible gravity of the black hole crushed every single guild member into atoms, disintegrating their physical forms with raw power.

All except one. Ellen remained hoisted by dark tendrils of energy her semi-conscious form suspended in midair. She raised her head to stare hollowly at me, wincing as pain shot through her battered body.

“I expected as much. The ancient elven enchantment protected you from death, huh?” Ellen struggled but failed to break her bonds. I smiled and snapped my fingers. Obeying my mental commands, the abstract chains dragged her toward me and I cupped her chin.

“It’s pointless. These chains suck away your magical energy. You won’t have any mana to cast any spells or the strength to break free.” The elf spat at me, but a dark tendril lashed out and intercepted the glob. I shrugged and clenched my fingers. Ellen gasped in pain as the phantom manacles drove spiritual spikes into her. Her clothes crumbled away, and I reached out to cup the ample flesh that spilled out of her disintegrating blouse.

“Ah…yeah, I remember. Last time, when I confessed to you, you mocked me for being a virgin human or something, right? Well, I've got a favor to ask. You’ll be taking my virginity for me.”

Ellen’s eyes widened in horror, but I continued to stroke her face and whisper sweetly.

“And as you so rightly pointed out, elves live for centuries, maybe even millennia.” My smile spread ominously across my face. “That’s great…for we’ll be spending a very long time together.”

Even as the night skies darkened overhead, the beautiful elf’s screams were drowned out by my sinister chuckles.