Ch.4: Canon Fodder No More

Alex felt like a background character watching an empowered Rhia fight against the dungeon boss. Rhia dodged a kick the queen aimed at her face, followed by a slash of her whip that narrowly missed her.

"This is proving to be entertaining! I sure do love a bloody good time~!"

The queen's whip transformed into a chain and lunged at Rhia, who did a cartwheel to avoid the attack. But things only got worse as the queen summoned a handful of her cards and bear soldiers joined the fight with their armed weapons.

Not wasting a second, they attacked, and Rhia spent most of her time dodging and blocking attacks from all sides. Despite the strong front she put on, Rhia's eyes expressed her panic, which excited the young Queen of Hearts.

"Let me see what you're truly made of, my fun little toy!" The queen cackled as she constantly threw out her chain.

'I gotta fight back with something!'

Rhia was on the defense and knew she was about to be in big trouble if she didn't fight back soon. The card and bear soldiers grouped together to make a joint attack which would end Rhia once they stabbed her with their pointy spears.

"Quick! Yell out, Lunar Shield!" Rhia heard a voice say, different from the one before and saw something round and fluffy flapping in the air.

"L-Lunar Shield!" She decided to question it later as her life was currently in danger.

A projection of a round purple shield bearing the symbol of a crescent moon appeared before her, creating a protective barrier that allowed her to block attacks from all sides.

"Now that's settled… Who the heck are you?!" Rhia turned her attention to the creature flying beside her head.

The creature reminded Rhia of a hybrid between a bird and a bat, except it was rounder and fatter with long curved white-lavenderish horns and bat wings that kept it afloat. The bird creature puffed up its chest, releasing a haughty air.

"I am the great spirit, Lucia! Chief Advisor to the beloved Goddess Lilith!"

The bird had the voice of a female child. Its fur was jet-black with a gold crescent moon symbol displayed on its forehead. Underneath its eyes were three gold stars with a gold diamond tiara floating above its head.

Running its large eyes over Rhia, the young girl felt annoyed when the fat bird had the nerve to shoot her a look of disappointment.

"My poor goddess must've been under great distress to have picked such an ordinary-looking child," sighed the bird.

'I want to cook this bird!' The words the bird said prickled Rhia's skin when she thought over what it said.

"Goddess Lilith?!" Rhia recalled she was one of the three goddesses who created this world—Goddess of darkness and death, mother, and creator of the demon race.

"You should feel great pride and honor to be chosen by the great Goddess Lilith! Kneel, you lowly child, and give prayer and thanks to the all supreme and magnificent Lilith!"

Lucia threw a hissy fit, talking like some obsessed fan, as Rhia felt even more annoyed.

"What the heck did I get myself into?" Rhia muttered under her breath when her attention was stolen by a crack that appeared on the barrier. From the outside, the gang of toy soldiers repeatedly attacked the barrier with weapons causing more cracks to appear.

"Prepare yourself. The barrier is about to fall." Lucia became serious. These words sent Rhia's heart back into panic.

Rhia gripped her hair and yelled. "What do I do?! I never fought a day in my life! How am I supposed to handle a situation like this?! I'm nothing more than useless canon fodder!"

"Then stop being useless. Stop being the girl who always cries when life gets too tough. Only you can take control of your own life!" Lucia yelled as Rhia was reminded of the words her grandmother once said to her.

"My dear Rhia, you are much stronger than you believe. Remember, everyone is the main character of their own story, but it is up to them how it will be written. Be the narrator, don't be the character."

"You're right! Crying and whining won't get me anywhere! I must become the narrator of my own story."

Lucia looked down at the girl and felt a small ounce of pride as the shimmer of determination lit up those eyes.

'Maybe Goddess Lilith saw something special in this little bunny after all,' she thought before transforming into a ball of light that fell into Rhia's hands. From outside the barrier, Alex watched in fear as the toy soldiers finally broke through and the barrier crumbled.

Alex shouted Rhia's name as the bears lunged toward the young girl, only to be rebounded by yet another burst of light.

The Queen raised an eyebrow, wondering what was happening, when something flew through the air, scratching her cheek. Raising a shaky hand to her cheek, she felt something wet and trembled when she saw it was blood.

Instantly her mouth opened to release a blood-curdling scream that trembled everyone who heard it.

"You insolent little brat!!! I'll kill you and make you into my puppets! Soldiers, rip her limbs! Torture her until she is begging for my mercy!" The queen was mad with rage, pigtails flying ominously behind her as her soldiers got ready to follow through with her order.

Rhia remained calm, now armed with an ink-black bow that gave off an ominous feeling, forged from bones—a bringer of death to all those who crossed the one who was wielding it.

Using her new weapon, Rhia released numerous arrows at a time, injuring countless soldiers. When she saw that they couldn't attack anymore, she closed her eyes as a ripple of water appeared underneath her feet, and decorative purple ribbons sprang from it. A reflection of a crescent moon could be seen in the puddle.

"Twilight Healing!"

The ribbons sprung forth and wrapped the injured soldiers in a tight cocoon before glowing purple. From inside the cocoon, the various soldiers reverted back into slumbering children, and any wounds they received when they were turned were now being healed.

"How dare you do that to my precious toys! They were mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!" The queen repeatedly stomped on the ground like a child throwing a tantrum.

"I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!!!" The queen screamed with rage as her skin turned metallic and her mouth resembled shark teeth.

She was across the room in seconds and slammed her metal fist into Rhia's stomach, sending her across the room and into a wall.

The queen's arm transformed into a giant claw that she used to drag Rhia, indenting the walls of her throne room before slamming her into the floor, creating a creator.

"Where's that sparkle in your eyes, little hero? Not so cocky now, are you!" taunted the queen. Rhia was in so much pain that it was hard to stand back on her feet.

"You foolish brat, how dare you believe you could defeat me! A commoner rising against a queen shall be greeted with a fine…"

The queen's metal arms detached themselves and turned into a giant drill as a mad grin of ecstasy stretched across her face.

"EXECUTION!"

The drill descended on Rhia, and Alex hated himself that he could do nothing. He turned his head away as he couldn't bear the gruesome sight of losing his first friend.

"I'm sorry, Rhia." Alex had fat tears fall down his tan cheeks, fists balled tight as his nails pierced his skin. Recalling her sweet smile and the friendly aura she gave off when she introduced herself and said they could be friends.

"Don't cry, Alex! I'm not dead yet!"

Alex shot his eyes open, shocked to hear Rhia's voice. He turned in the direction of the crater. He saw a Rhia standing on her feet as a barrier protected her from the drill. Alex sniffed back tears as she flashed him a cheesy grin.

"I still have some fight left in me!" A swirl of black and purple energy swirled around her as she leaped from the crater, pouring all of her focus and mana into her bow.

"As long as I still have breath in my body! I'm gonna live life as I please! Death Cannon!!"

A powerful burst of energy was released from the arrow Rhia launched like a rocket launcher, blowing her hair back.

"N-No! T-This can't be how it ends! I'M A QUEEN!!!!

The queen cried as the face of the blast resembled a skull cackling at her demise before devouring her in large blast, leaving nothing behind but an odd glowing red sphere surrounded by a metal spiral.

"What is that?"

"A Dungeon Boss' core. It's what keeps this place active. You know in your gut what you need to do next," Lucia said to Rhia, and for some reason, she was right.

"Rise! Gate of Eternal Damnation!" The ground trembled. Emerging from the earth was an enormous polished black double door chained shut with gold chains and adorned with gold demonic skeleton heads.

The chains snapped one by one, and the doors slowly opened. A black mist exited and took the form of a typical grim reaper that floated in the air. Flying over to the orb, it picked it up with its bony skeleton hand and pointed its attention onto Rhia.

"So the goddess Lilith has finally picked her champion. The servants of hell look forward to working with you, young champion." The grim reaper bowed before taking his leave, and the spooky double doors disappeared.

Rhia dropped to the ground. Her strength was zapped out as she used it all on that last attack.

"Not bad for your first time, but you still need much more training if you're one of the heroes that is destined to save this world from great peril." Lucia sat on top of Rhia.

Rhia laid on the ground. Her strength was zapped out as she used it all on that last attack.

"H-Huh? Heroes? But I'm just a cannon fodder?" Rhia was surprised she still had the energy to talk as her body felt like lead.

"My dear girl, you are much more, but we'll talk later. After that last attack, I am surprised you still have the energy to talk."

Lucia was right as Rhia felt her eyelids getting heavier. The last thing she remembered was Alex standing over her, frantically calling her name before she was consumed by darkness.