Drakengard Anomaly: The Tale of an Angel and an Intoner

In just one day, I fought monsters, woke up in a forest with two magic books with me, killed two thieves, visited a medieval town, fought three people, and saved a girl from being murdered. 

All in a day's work nothing out of the ordinary. It's a nice history, isn't it? 

By the way, the girl I saved didn't trust me, as she let me go ahead during our walk and stared intently at my back.

Moreover, the worst part was that I couldn't sleep at all during the night before, and now here we were, covered in sweat, tired, and walking along a dirt road towards the next town or village with the sun rising on the horizon. 

The cold morning wind blew towards us, it didn't bother me, but I saw Rose shiver. Her revealing brothel dress didn't do much to warm her up so I took off my coat and offered it to her.

"Here, take it." I outstretched my hand, offering my coat. 

Rose stared with distrust between the coat and me. 

I don't know what she expected me to do, God only knows what she went through, but slowly, Rose outstretched her hand.

When her hand was a few centimeters away, she grabbed my coat tightly and took it from my hand. 

She stared intently at me again, but soon analyzed my coat curiously, running her hand through the fabric that didn't exist in this age. 

She put my coat on, but stared confused at the zipper, not knowing how it worked, so I decided to help.

"Let me help you." I said, bringing my hands close to hers. 

Only to be met with a slap on each one; the emotional pain was greater than the physical.

"Don't touch me; just tell me how I close this!" Rose shouted angrily, gazing at me furiously.

OK, it wasn't the best start; maybe I was too hasty since she doesn't trust me. 

"You put the metal part on the left end into the opening on the right end, and then pull it up." I answered.

She struggled a bit with the zipper, but eventually, she closed it, and we returned to our walk in complete silence.

-With Rose-

As we walked down this road, I thought about what happened last night. I never imagined that one day I would escape from that brothel since my mother sold me to the owner of that place. It wasn't for a large sum. 

My life became hell, but I don't blame my mom, life is hard and she raised me the best way she knew, even though that way was quite violent, until she got tired of me. I still remember the beatings.

In the brothel, the bosses didn't bother to teach me to read or write, just how to take care of my appearance and how to please the customers, there the other prostitutes gave me the name Rose.

My mother never bothered to give me a name, until one day I met Indigo and thought I finally found a friend, someone I could trust. 

We made a plan; at night when everyone in the brothel was sleeping, we would take as much money as possible and run away together. 

Those thoughts died when she revealed that she just needed someone to carry more gold and then tried to kill me, looks like she got tired of me too.

However, here comes the unbelievable part. 

A stranger came out from under the bridge and I almost died. He looked to be about twenty years old, dressed in strange but quality clothes, probably a nobleman or merchant son.

As if the situation wasn't bad enough, the brothel bosses caught up with us and accused the stranger of ordering the robbery. 

Poor thing, he showed up in the wrong place at the wrong time, now we would both die. On the other hand, that's what I thought.

Imagine my surprise when he won the fight. He received a punch in the middle of his face and barely moved, and then returned the blow, punching one of the bosses on the chin. 

I heard the sound of the boss's bones breaking; I admit that felt some satisfaction upon seeing this. However, the other two bosses advanced towards the stranger, one from the left and the other from the right.

The one on the left tried to punch the stranger's face, but the stranger bent down and kicked the boss in the knee, breaking it audibly and sending the boss to the ground. 

The one on the right kicked the stranger in the stomach, and again, he barely moved, and punched the last boss in the nose, smashing it and leaving him unconscious.

A relieved feeling washed over my body, but I disappeared when I saw Indigo running towards the stranger with a dagger in her hands. That is it, when Indigo finishes him off, I'll be next. 

I don't know what happened, but a bright red light blinded me when Indigo approached the stranger. When my vision returned, I saw the dagger split in two on the ground, and Indigo flying away. 

With no other option, she ran towards the man mounted on a horse on the other side of the bridge, the two fled into the night.

Looks like it's over, the bosses were on the floor, Indigo ran away, and best of all, the money bags were there on the floor. 

If I had taken this money with me, maybe I'd have a better life somewhere away from here or maybe not, because the stranger approached me and I was suddenly paralyzed in fear. I was next, wasn't I? 

He got closer and closer to me. What should I do? Think Rose think! He broke the bones of three grown men, what would he do to you? I'd be in a blood pool on the ground! 

Maybe if I offered him some of the money he'd leave me alone. However, what if he doesn't want the money, what if he wants something else? Like my body.

My thoughts stopped, as he got closer. I saw how intimidating he was, he must be one meter and ninety centimeters tall, with pale skin, long black hair, and brown eyes. He looked down at me and slowly outstretched his hand. 

What will he do to me? Why didn't I scream? Why didn't I do anything? 

He said something, but I didn't hear it. 

I felt him touching me and I winced, expecting a punch or a slap, but nothing happened.

"Are you okay?" The stranger asked worriedly.

"Yes." I only realized that I had answered a few seconds later. 

He nodded, moved away, and stared at me. 

I decided not to stay here wasting time; there were four bags of gold on the floor. I took two for myself and left two for the stranger, maybe then, he would leave me alone.

I turned my back to him and walked out of town, but stopped abruptly when the stranger spoke to me again.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

Shit, what does he want now?

"I'm going to a place far away from here." I replied, trying to calm myself. 

"I'll go with you." He answered, looking around at the mess he made.

"No, I'd rather travel alone."

The conversation could have ended, but he had a good point in his next argument.

"Come on, I won't hurt you, what if you meet bandits along the way? You can't defend yourself. If anything happens I can protect you, you've seen what I'm capable of."

He was right I couldn't fight. If any bandit showed up, I couldn't do anything. This stranger was the only way for me to travel safely. 

"Fine! But if you betray me you'll regret it." I replied menacingly.

"Ok, give me a minute." He answered, going under the bridge and coming back with a strange bag on his back.

He put the money inside his bag and now he has all the money. That could be a problem.

With that done, we left the city and walked down the dirt road, 

"I'm Alan, what's your name?" The stranger asked smiling.

Alan, so that is his name, too normal for someone so strange.

"Rose." I gave a curt reply; there was no reason to be nice.

"It's nice to meet you, Rose." Alan spoke smiling. 

It's nice to meet you. Hump! I wonder how true those words are. Everyone wants something, and what do you want, Alan? 

Well, that's beside the point, I wonder how long it will take before he gets tired of me and backstabs me, everyone did.

We walked for a while and I made Alan walk in front of me. If he tried something at least I would have time to run, after all, there was no reason to trust him. 

I saw the sun rising on the horizon; it was dawning and a cold wind passed by me. I shivered from the cold; I should have brought a coat when I ran away.

"Here, take it."

It was Alan; he offered me the strange coat he wore. What does he want? There was no reason to be nice to me, but it was too cold to refuse. 

I slowly brought my hand closer to the coat and I quickly took it from his hand.

I stared at him, waiting for a reaction, but he just stared back. With the lack of reaction, I changed my focus to the coat while running my hand through the fabric; it was a good quality fabric. 

I put the coat on and when I looked down, I didn't see buttons, just two lines of a weird material that ended in metal tips. How do I put this thing on?

"Let me help you." Alan said, approaching his hands to me.

I don't know what went through my head at that moment, but I slapped both of his hands away. Shit! Damn it! Soon after, I realized the mistake I made. You idiot! You hit the person who could just beat the shit out of you and take all the money if he wanted. 

I expected a punch, a slap, even a curse, but he didn't do anything, why? Why is he being so patient, what does he want from me?

"Don't touch me; just tell me how I close it!" It wasn't the best answer, but since he was being so patient I, risked it. 

Instead of getting annoyed, Alan explained to me how to close the coat, and I did it after a few tries.

Talking about clothes looked at what clothes Alan wore. They were made of a strange material, the black boots, the pants that hugged his legs, and the black shirt. I didn't recognize the fabric at all.

There was a strange drawing on his shirt; it was a fox holding a knife in its mouth. Was he part of some army? On the other hand, maybe he was a noble and that was his family emblem. 

It doesn't matter now, but I need to be careful, I'd rather not mess with some noble and his family.

-XXXXXX-

How long are we going to walk? My feet hurt and I need to piss! I stopped complaining when I saw two silhouettes further ahead on the road, when we got closer; I saw that they were two people, probably bandits.

Alan quickly stood in front of me. I expected a fight; it was time to see if his words back in town were true. However, the fight never happened since the bandits screamed upon seeing Alan.

"It's him!" One of them yelled, pointing at Alan.

"You two again?!?" Alan screamed back, pointing at the bandits with his staff.

Wait, does he know these people?

"Let's get out of here before he kills us too!" The other bandit screamed.

Then, the two of them ran into the woods by the side of the road. Only then did my brain register what one of them said, 'Before he kills us too.' Wait, did Alan kill someone?

I walked with a murderer all this time! SHIT! FUCK! DAMMIT! 

Worst of all, Alan slowly turned around and stared at me seriously, it looked like he was going to get rid of me.

"D-did you k-kill someone?" I asked nervously.

What am I saying? Run Rose run, otherwise, you'll be the next victim.

"Don't think about it too much, but long story short, they tried to rob me and I defended myself. Now that you know it, what are you going to do?" Alan asked, staring me in the eyes.

He's right! What am I going to do? Run, fight, or go with him? Come on Rose, do something!

"I'll go there in the bushes and take piss." 

Seriously?!? That was the best thing you could think of?!? Of course, he's not going to fall for it!

"All right, go." Alan replied calmly, pointing at the trees with his staff.

I didn't think twice and ran towards the trees.

-On the road-

Great just great now she's afraid of me! I leaned against one of the trees by the roadside and crossed my arms, thinking about what happened. 

Now she knows I killed someone! Although it was in self-defense, what little confidence she had in me, if she had it at all, disappeared! I wouldn't be surprised if she disappeared into the woods, never to return!

"Lord Alan, are you all right?" Noir asked worriedly from inside my backpack.

"I don't know Noir. Rose found out I killed people, and now she's scared of me. I don't know what to do." I sighed, watching the clouds in the sky.

"Lord Alan, if you will allow me to advise you. You did nothing wrong, those despicable beings dared to try to rob you, and you acted in self-defense. Lord Alan gained great power, but still tried to settle everything peacefully, with your strength you could have butchered those worms, but you decided not to. That girl, Rose, she doesn't know you, don't let her judge you just by one action, give her time, and soon Rose will decide if she trusts you or not."

"Hm… You're right; I'll give her time if she ever comes back. However, speaking of power, how strong do you believe I am? And Rubrum's magic and yours, when will it come back?"

"In terms of strength, Lord Alan is well above an average human being, but your strength will increase with time. What Lord Alan has now is only a fraction, but please be careful, you may be strong, but you aren't indestructible, so I beg you, don't put yourself in unnecessary danger. About the subject of magic, I can feel it coming back, soon Rubrum and I will be working at full capacity, so I humbly ask for your forgiveness for not being able to help you properly, Lord Alan."

Damn, I feel bad every time Noir puts himself down like that.

"It's okay Noir, thanks for your advice, and please don't be sorry, you've been helping me."

"I am grateful for the compliments, Lord Alan; this humble servant is only here to serve you." Noir replied happily.

Therefore, it means that my strength will increase with time; I'll need to be careful from now on not to hurt people by accident, not to mention, of course, it would be inconvenient to break doorknobs and water glasses, or everyday objects in general. 

Now I'll text my strength.

I grabbed the trunk of a tree next to me and squeezed it. The trunk cracked, and splinters flew away, I applied more strength, and gradually, the trunk broke in two. 

It was a medium tree, I doubt I could do the same with a big one, but still, it was an absurd strength, and I needed to control it soon. 

I snapped out of my thoughts when Rose stepped out of the woods and judging by the incredulous look on her face, she saw everything.

Damn it!

-In the forest-

What should I do now?!? I asked myself while running through the trees. Alan has all the money, I can't fight and I've nowhere to go. I can't do anything! In addition, if he tries to kill me?!? Is that why he traveled with me so that I could be his next victim?!?

I hid behind a tree, breathing deeply, trying to calm down. I need to think it over; Alan said the bandits tried to rob him, but is it true? Alternatively, is he just trying to trick me? 

I sat down and buried my face in my knee. Come on Rose! Isn't that what you wanted? Freedom? Adventure? A normal life? Your best chance is waiting for you on the road! 

What if you don't know anything about him? What if he killed someone? This world is cruel; if Alan hadn't killed the bandits, he probably would have died.

I'll go back and face this problem head-on! I don't trust him, but he's my best bet, and despite everything, he still hasn't done anything against me. 

It would be better if I returned the favor; even so, I'll need to be careful because we don't know anything about each other. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt.

Getting up and turning around, I got closer and closer to the road, I saw Alan just ahead, his mouth moved as if he talked to someone, but there was no one there. Is he crazy by any chance? Great, it's one more thing for me to worry about! 

He stopped talking and put his hand on a tree beside him. What was he trying to do?

I got my answer when he squeezed the tree, cracking the wood, and by the look on his face, he put a lot of effort into it. 

Then something impossible happened, he snapped the tree in two! What the fuck! Was he that strong all this time? If he wanted to, he could have killed me with one punch! Now I'll have to be even more careful not to piss him off!

I walked out of the woods and faced Alan while trying to hide my surprise.

"You saw it, didn't you?" Alan asked nervously.

I nodded, not knowing what to say.

"Listen, about what happened earlier..." Alan spoke hesitantly, looking away while scratching the back of his head.

"I don't know you and you don't know me. We don't know anything about each other's past. I don't ask about yours and you don't ask about mine, you got it? However, I'll stay with you, for now. You help me and I help you, do you understand?" I said seriously, cutting him off.

"Yes." Alan replied in the same tone.

"Great! And one more thing, if I find out you're going to stab me in the back I'll kill you in your sleep." I exclaimed menacingly.

"OK." Alan shrugged, which annoyed me, I hate when I'm not taken seriously.

However, I didn't understand his answer and it seemed he noticed my confusion.

"OK is a form of expression, it means confirmation. I understand what you said."

I just nodded; wondering why used such strange words. Leaving that aside, we returned to our walk, Alan still going ahead of me.

-XXXXXX-

Finally, we arrived somewhere! My feet were killing me! We arrived at the town of... of... Not knowing how to read sucks, can't read what's on the sign! 

"Hey, what's written there?" I asked, pointing at the sign at the entrance to the city.

"Welcome to the city of Cagliamola, it feels Spanish." Alan replied, reading the sign.

Cagliamola, so that was the name of the city, and what the hell is Spanish? Never mind, we entered town and looked around, it looked smaller than Fool's March, but it seemed to be in better condition. 

The streets were cleaner with fewer beggars and no dead people inside alleys. I snapped out of my thoughts thanks to my stomach growling in hunger, making me blush in embarrassment.

"Hungry?" Alan asked and I nodded. 

"Let's see if there's anything to eat over there." He said, pointing to a two-story building with a sign above the door, but I couldn't read what was written.

"El Poni Saltador, it looks like a good place." Alan spoke, walking towards the building.

I didn't answer; I just followed him as he entered the building. 

It looked like an inn and a tavern simultaneously. I saw a counter with bottles and kegs of beer behind it, and tables with people eating, laughing, and telling stories while an old woman served them. 

Alan approached an old man behind the counter and spoke to him meanwhile I overheard the conversation.

"Are you the owner?" Alan asked, leaning on the counter.

"Yeah, who wants to know?" The old man grunted.

"My name is Alan and this is Rose, we would like to rent a room and meals." Alan replied, pointing at me

"Seriously, picking someone that young?" The old man asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey, it's not what you're thinking!" Alan exclaimed, with his face red.

"That's what everyone says!" The old man spoke back.

"I want separate beds!"

I sighed; leaving the two behind, this will be a long conversation. While Alan argued with the old man, I walked around the room and sat at a corner table, sighing relieved. 

What will I do now? I escaped the brothel, but I didn't know anything other than to please men and women. At least I'm not alone. If anything happens, I'll let Alan take care of it. 

However, someone called my name, taking me out of my thoughts, and it wasn't Alan.

"Rose?" A young man wearing a white shirt, brown pants, and gray shoes spoke, approaching me with a surprised smile.

Who was this man? He looked familiar.

"It's me, Louis." The man spoke, pointing at himself.

Louis? Louis? LOUIS! NO! NO! NO! He was one of the regular customers of the brothel. Now that I escaped, he shows up, what does he want?!?

"What are you doing here Rose? Why aren't you at the brothel? Did you run away?" Louis asked question after question, his smile getting bigger and bigger.

Shit! What should I say? The truth? Because I can't think of any lie that he would believe!

"You ran away, didn't you? The bosses must be after you, and you have nowhere to go, do you?" Louis asked arrogantly.

I didn't like the tone he used, especially with the smile on his face.

"So I have a proposal for you. You come with me and help me with some jobs, and in exchange, I take care of you. Give you food, clothes, and a place to sleep. So what do you say?" Louis spoke, offering his hand while smiling. 

This is too vague he hid something.

"What job are you talking about exactly?" I asked.

Louis looked around, probably checking if someone listened to us.

"You know, I'm great at picking locks, but I'm not good at fighting. When I invade people's houses to steal something of value, sometimes they're still inside. That's where you come in; I need you to kill the owners of the houses if they're inside. It's very simple, I unlock the door, you kill the owners and we both take everything of value. So what do you say?" Louis asked with his shit-eating grin.

Kill?!? I never killed anyone before! I don't know if I'm capable of doing it! I didn't want that life; all I wanted was a peaceful life. I'd rather travel with the extremely strong weirdo than this lunatic in front of me!

"No, I refuse; I don't want to become an assassin." I whispered hoping that Louis would go away.

"A pity, but I'm not giving you a choice." Louis replied, grabbing my arm and dragging me away. 

I was about to scream for help but someone grabbed Louis' arm. It was Alan.

"We're going to have a problem here?" Alan asked seriously, squeezing Louis' arm.

"Let me go, she comes with me!" Louis yelled, putting on a tough facade, but I saw the pain on his face

"I don't think so, she's my traveling companion and she doesn't want to go with you." Alan replied, squeezing Louis' arm harder, the sound of bones cracking gradually becoming audible.

Louis' face turned red, grimacing and clenching his teeth in pain, he tried to break free, but Alan's grip was too strong and he applied even more strength.

Louis trembled, starting with his arm and then the rest of his body as sweat ran down his face in rivers.

"Let me go!" Louis screamed, punching Alan in the face, but he barely reacted. 

Alan squeezed Louis' arm one last time and… 

SNAP!

His arm broke.

"AAAHHH!" Louis screamed in agony, falling to the ground as Alan let go of his mangled arm.

"You will pay for this!" Louis yelled, crawling across the floor before getting up and running away.

"Are you okay?" Alan asked me.

"Yes." I replied, smiling from ear to ear. 

"Who was he?"

"His name is Louis; he was a client at the brothel where I worked." I answered, still smiling as Louis' screams faded into the distance.

"I see is he going to be a problem?" Alan asked, looking around worriedly.

"I don't know." I replied, looking around too. 

The whole tavern looked at us, well, we weren't exactly discreet.

"What are you looking at?!? Do you want to be next?!?" Alan yelled, making everyone look away.

"Well, no need to think about it now. I'm hungry and tired. By the way, I got a room with separate beds and ordered some food." Alan said. 

In addition, he was right. An old woman approached us carrying two plates full of hot food.

My mouth watered when I smelled it. I didn't think I'd ever had a decent meal in my life until now. The woman put the plates on our table and walked away. 

I stared at the plate for a while but snapped out of my thoughts thanks to Alan speaking to me.

"Come on, you can eat." Alan smiled.

"Why?" I asked, still looking at the food.

"Why…" Alan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Why are you being so nice to me? You don't know me; thanks to me, you almost died and entered two fights! Why are you helping me? You could have taken all the money and ran away!" I demanded, staring at him, waiting for an answer.

"Good question, why? I'm not going to give you a hero speech where I say 'It's the right thing to do' or 'I can't stand by and see others in trouble'. I don't even know why I helped you, I suppose in the end it was because you reminded me of someone." Alan replied, looking sadly at the ceiling.

"Who?" Whom could I remind of to make him help a person like me?

"You remember me of my younger brother and sister, Nier and Yonah." 

Alan looked sad as he talked about them. However, was that why he helped me because I reminded him of his brothers?

"And where are they now?" Maybe I shouldn't have asked that, as Alan looked away with a sad look on his face.

"I hope they are safe at home, the place where we lived wasn't exactly pleasant. Look, how about we stop this sad conversation? Otherwise, our food will get cold. I want to help you but I know you don't trust me fully so I'd like to be on good terms with you. How about we start over as friends?" Alan smiled, offering his hand to me. 

Should I accept it? The last person I called a friend tried to kill me. I think if he wanted to hurt me, he would have already done it. Know what! To hell with it! I've nothing to lose! Therefore, I shook his hand.

"Friends?" Alan asked.

"Friends!" I replied.

"It's nice to meet you, Rose." Alan smiled.

"It's nice to meet you, Alan." I smiled back.

We ate our food soon after, I was starving. I wonder when the last time I smiled genuinely was. It doesn't matter now, it seems like I made my first real friend and that makes me happy. 

After finishing our food, we entered our room, it was a small room with two beds and a table with a chair in the corner, and we quickly lay down and went to sleep. 

I think I'll finally be able to start again somewhere else. Who knows? Maybe I could finally have a normal life and a family.

-Ruins near the Cathedral City, June, Year 998-

How wrong I was. My past returned to ruin our lives; it was naive to think I deserved a normal life. I wonder where it all went wrong. Maybe it was the day I doomed my first friend. 

While I stood on these ruins with Michael by my side, I looked at the sky, preparing myself to kill my sisters. 

I wonder what Alan would think of me now. The decisions I made, the people I killed. He must be looking at me with disgust back in heaven.

-XXXXXX-

On the roof of a house next to the tavern, a girl with glasses watched Rose and Alan sleep. 

This girl carried a huge suitcase and quickly flipped through a book.

"How is this possible? He barely arrived and already changed this branch. What is he going to do with it? Make it better? Worst? I can't tell if he's a threat or a blessing, but I need to record it."

Soon in a 'flash' of light, the girl disappeared.

END OF CHAPTER