My Slave Goddess

The knights watched from afar, their silhouettes barely visible on the ridgeline. They didn't dare follow deeper into Bandit Mountain — not with giant trolls rampaging below. Instead, they waited like vultures, hoping the monsters would finish what the king couldn't.

Inside the mountain's hollow caverns, Alex paced, trying to think fast. The goddess had stopped glowing, her divine aura gone. Ashley sat with her back against the wall, pale, her breath shallow.

No divine power. No weapons. No plan.

The trolls were smashing caves, moving too fast for them to stay hidden for long. Their roars echoed through the stone like thunder. Every few seconds, the ground shook.

Alex swallowed hard. "We're not going to outrun them like this"

Ashley didn't respond she was too tired. Her divinity had drained too much.

Then it hit him.

"They're trolls," he said aloud. "Big, dumb, blind trolls."

Ashley blinked. "What?"

"They can't tell the difference between a rock and a person unless that person is glowing."

He didn't wait for a reply. He grabbed a handful of wet dirt from the cave floor and smeared it over Ashley's arms, her face, her hair, dulling every hint of glow.

She flinched. "What are you doing?"

"Making us ugly. It's called camouflage."

He smeared more on himself mud, ash, leaves. Anything to blend in. His heart raced. Outside, the trolls were getting closer. Stones cracked. Wood snapped. A nearby cave exploded with a loud thud.

"Come on," he whispered.

They crawled out of the cave's side entrance, hugging the walls, moving corner to corner like shadows. The trolls were close now two of them, massive beasts swinging tree-trunk clubs, roaring like thunder. They stomped from cave to cave, smashing entrances without thinking, searching for anything that moved.

One stopped near them.

Alex froze, holding his breath.

Ashley did the same.

The troll sniffed the air confused. No divine scent. No glow. Nothing but dirt and stone.

It moved on.

Alex didn't wait. He pulled Ashley along, creeping through a narrow path between boulders, heart pounding in his chest like a drum.

Once they were past, Alex let out a long breath. "That was insane."

Ashley gave a weak smile. "Smart, though."

They kept moving, climbing the slope further into the mountain. Alex was starting to feel confident maybe they'd finally shaken off both the knights and the monsters.

But then they reached a clearing at the top and the stench hit them first.

Blood.

Gore.

Bodies.

The remains of the knights who had gone ahead, now torn to pieces by demonic wolves huge, black beasts with glowing red eyes and razor-sharp teeth. They were still feasting, bones cracking in their jaws.

Alex froze.

Ashley grabbed his arm.

The wolves turned.

Alex sighed. "If this isn't bad luck, then I don't know what is."

The wolves snarled and advanced.

But something shiny caught Alex's eye a fallen knight's sword, half-buried in bloodied grass. He dove for it, grabbing the hilt. Next to it, he spotted a dented chest plate and shoulder guard. Not perfect, but better than nothing.

As he strapped it on, he muttered, "If I die, I'll die like a fighter, not a bitch."

Then he turned and saw Ashley picking up a blade too.

She took a fighting stance.

Alex blinked. "Wait. You can fight?"

Ashley's eyes flashed. "I've fought in wars older than your world."

Then the wolves lunged.

Alex swung wildly, managing to slice one beast across the ribs. But another tackled him, and he barely rolled away in time. Claws raked his armor. Blood splattered.

Ashley, on the other hand, moved like a soldier precise and deadly. Her blade slashed through fur and bone, leaving trails of light as she spun. One wolf leapt at her she ducked, drove the sword upward, and pierced its heart.

Alex struggled to keep up. "You're scary when you're like this!"

"I trained in the divine legions," she panted. "Not all goddesses sit on clouds."

They fought side by side, Ashley leading the way. Alex covered her back, clumsily taking down a wolf that tried to flank them.

But all the noise the growls, the roars, the clash of metal attracted unwanted attention.

From behind, deeper down the slope, the trolls roared again.

They'd heard.

The ground shook.

Ashley looked over her shoulder. "They're coming."

"No shit," Alex said. "We need to move. Now."

They ran again bloody, exhausted, but alive. Trolls rampaged behind them. Wolves howled. Knights watched from above.