Watching Johana.

What is she doing here? What the FUCK is Helga Cooper doing here? In this world, in this area, with all these armed men? The answer was right there, on the ground, all beaten up.

Helga was a known Specialist in the underworld. Will didn’t know what her abilities were, but they were enough to earn her an invitation to that last gathering. She was actively participating in underworld activities, offering her services as some sort of mercenary. If the man there on the ground was indeed the mirrorkin Will had been chasing, then it was more than likely he was also the reason Helga was here. She wanted his powers. Well, either she did or whoever hired her to find him did, but if Will’s theory was right…

Johana looked at the scene 30 meters away from them with a calm, deadpan expression. She let out a soft sigh and shook her head. “More black market hunting? Wonder what they want this one for.”

“What do you mean more?” Will asked.

“This is what the hunting business is all about. Well, kind of. Usually we hunt either people or animals who are out of control in your world, or we hunt creatures like the dinosaurs or birds in this world, the ones you’ve seen already, to turn them into spirits. Get even deeper and muddier, and some are also willing to hunt more human-like beings for their powers.”

Will clicked his tongue. “Figured it was something like that. That’s the mirrorkin I was looking for. Tried to talk to him but he kept running. Lost him when the black roc grabbed me.”

“Oh, so that’s the one. That changes things.” Johana straightened up and rotated her shoulders and her neck. “I didn’t want to meddle in someone else's business, but if that’s who we’re looking for, then they’re meddling in ours.”

“You… You’re not planning to get in there, are you?” Will asked, his jaw dropping.

“Nine opponents seems like a good enough workout,” she said before licking her lips. “I’d love for you to join me, but in your condition…” Johana suddenly stopped mid-sentence. She blinked and turned her attention back to the big group in the distance. “They’re… looking for you?”

“Hah!?”

“I have good hearing. I just heard that girl saying your name. She told the others to be on the lookout for you, that you may be nearby.”

What? Why? And more importantly, HOW? This was all too…

“Oh. Well, that’s… one mystery solved…” Will said with a groan, shaking his head.

“What do you mean?”

“The raven,” Will said. “The one that led you to me? It was probably Helga’s. That’s how she knows we might be around, but since we broke the spell on it…”

Johana nodded. “She doesn’t know exactly where. I get it. Why would she have it lead me to you, though?”

“The mirrorkin might not be her only target.” Will’s brow furrowed. “I don’t know what she wants with me, but I sure as hell don’t want anything to do with her.”

“Alright, then. Two reasons to get involved now. And I only needed one!” Johana said with a grin.

“Hey, why… Why are you even helping me?” Will asked. “It’s not like you owe Ishtar anything.”

“You’re right, I don’t. I just took a liking to you, is all. You and the princess both have a lot of potential and I don’t want to see it wasted. Besides, I just told you. I’m just going to… play with these guys for a bit.”

Will watched Johana walk away from the cave with a deep sense of frustration and regret that made his chest hurt. If he hadn’t wasted time, if he had just accepted her help with his condition the moment they had the chance, he could’ve gone with her.

Stubbornness, inadequacy, foolishness… Will was just making bad call after bad call, and all because of some stupid insecurities and doubts. What part of this was rushing in like a bull? He was just standing still like an idiot.

His legs shook, not out of muscle fatigue, but out of desire to follow Johana.

‘We’ll just get in her way, Will. Besides, you have nothing to worry about. In fact, keep your eyes on her. We’ll both learn a lot from watching her.’

Johana walked towards the group of mercenaries like she was strolling into a shop to order coffee. From inside the cave, Will couldn’t hear what they were saying. Only when they shouted could he understand.

“It’s her! That’s the amazon!” one of the men shouted.

The group got restless, stepping back and holding onto their weapons, pointing them at her. Their faces changed from the joy of beating up a helpless man on the ground to fear of the woman in front of them.

“What are you so scared of!? Get her! It’ll be more money for all of us!” Helga shouted.

Greed overpowered fear, and three of the eight men, now with smirks on their faces, were the first to rush at Johana. It was a brutal sight.

One of them thrust his spear at her, yet Johana caught it in hand and pulled it towards her with the man still holding onto it. A backhanded fist to the face saw him rolling on the ground for two or three meters.

The second mercenary rushed in shield first and sword point just below it, hoping to catch Johana while she fought off the first guy. The wooden shield burst into splinters with a single right straight that would put boxing champions to shame. Her hand went through and she grabbed the guy by the face, lifting him up with no issues and throwing him at the third man hard enough to make them both fall.

Johana raised her hands and clapped twice before spreading her arms and making beckoning gestures. Falling for the taunt, or more likely just Johana’s genuine invitation, the five other men rushed at her with weapons drawn.

It was less of a fight and more of a brawl. Johana didn’t even bring out her halberd. She dodged around with ease while punching faces and stomachs like it was all a rough sort of dance. And considering what had happened to that wooden shield before, it was clear she was holding back her strength. Some of the men stood back up and tried to attack her again. From behind, from the side, three at a time. It didn’t matter. Johana seemed to have eyes on the back of her head.

Watching her fight was… enlightening. Will quickly found himself mesmerized. It was rough and messy, like any other fight was, but there was a level of skill in her movements that had to be appreciated. It was almost like she knew exactly what her opponents were going to do.

“She is pretty strong, I’ll give her that. The kind of person you don’t want to fight fair.”

Will’s chest froze. He was so focused on Johana’s fight that, at some point, he forgot to watch Helga. She was now standing just a couple of meters away from him.