I think this is the halfway point for the second arc, give or take a chapter. This is more or less the only big fight of this arc. There's gonna be a few time skips from here on out as things die down until the Civil War, which will most likely be divided into two smaller phases as well.

Also, stupid Diablo 3 set dungeons are stupid.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

It was seven days exactly after the letter was sent before Duchess Kiko arrived. "Anything I should know?" Garnet asked.

"Don't talk, let me do the talking and just agree with anything she says that isn't about killing you," said Duke Wellington.

"Okay," said Garnet.

The manor had prepared to receive Duchess Kiko. Special rooms were prepared for them. It was a big deal for another Duke to visit and they had to make a good impression.

Garnet was asked to wear another dress. This one was similar to the red one that she had worn before, but it was lighter in color and less revealing. It was much more formal and it gave off the feeling that she was still important.

When the Duchess arrived, it was early in the morning. She had been traveling for a few days. She arrived in a carriage with a group of three men and three women guarding her, a total of six guards. Duchess Kiko was the only one who openly used female guards and soldiers in her army.

Duke Wellington stood at the front gate and opened the door for her. "Welcome!"

"Where is she?" asked Duchess Kiko. As she emerged, she wore a red kimono and had long black hair that almost reached to the floor. The kimono had the five petal brand that was the same on the back of Garnet's hand. The kimono hid her figure, but she was probably only a little taller than Garnet at best. She appeared very young, younger than Garnet. Appearances were deceiving though. For some reason, it seemed that she was dressed for an Asian style wedding.

Name: Kiko

Level: 54

Class: Lightning Mage / Duke

Sub-Class: Tao Mage

Stats: High Intelligence, High Charisma

Kiko was a powerful mage. She was nearly as strong as Duke Wellington. Although she had never seen the Duke fight, by raw numbers, he should have had an advantage from the level difference.

"Where's who?" Duke Wellington asked.

"Where's Garnet?" asked Duchess Kiko.

Garnet immediately ran into the bedroom. It was bad. The first words that came out of the Duchess' mouth was asking for the location of Garnet. As Garnet hid in the room, she heard footsteps approaching. It was coming straight for her. She covered herself with the blankets.

The door slammed open. "There you are!" said Duchess Kiko. She looked directly at Garnet and approached.

Even though the Duchess was not a very big person, her voice and posture made her seem very intimidating. Even Duke Wellington stood back and could not do anything about it. Kiko closed in onto Garnet with both her arms stretched out as if she was going to strangle Garnet. Kiko grabbed Garnet's arm in order to look at the hand with the five petal flower that branded her as a slave. "That stupid man was never supposed to sell you," said Kiko. "I didn't want to let go of you, but he did it without permission because of his own greediness!" screamed Kiko.

Garnet watched as Kiko acted as if she was strangling someone. "I would do this and that to you if you were here right now," she said. Kiko was mad at the person who sold Garnet to Zedd, Holland. She was never meant to be sold. "But that's too late now," said Kiko. "You're someone else's property now."

Kiko turned around and pulled Duke Wellington with her as she left. Garnet had no idea what just happened. Kiko was definitely scary, but she only approached Garnet to look at the tattoo that branded her a slave. Kiko at least still acknowledged that Garnet belonged to someone else now and was not going to forcibly take her back. Garnet took a deep breath and sighed with a breath of relief.

"YOU WHAT?!?" shouted Kiko. She was mad at something else now. The sound of footsteps approached the door again. She was coming back for Garnet once more.

"But..." said Duke Wellington. He was trying to explain, but Kiko was clearly forcing him along and could not stop her.

BAM. Kiko kicked the door open this time and dragged Duke Wellington into the room with her. She was angry. "You married your slave?!?" shouted Kiko. "Over me?!?"

"I can explain," said Duke Wellington. "She's not my slave."

Garnet sat there quietly as per the Duke's instructions. She understood why. Talking would probably make it worse. It was best for her not to talk and to just let Kiko vent out everything first. "As long as I am alive after this, it will be fine," she thought. Kiko was loud and shouted almost everything. Garnet never had a chance to get a word in, but it was probably for the best. She continued to watch and listen to Duke Wellington and Kiko argue.

"You're supposed to marry me!" said Kiko.

"I never agreed," said Duke Wellington. "I asked you for help, did you not read the letter."

"Help for what?" Kiko asked. She never even read the letter. She had no idea what it was even about. Based on how she was dressed, she probably thought it was a wedding proposal.

"Help us slay the monster," said Duke Wellington.

"What type of monster is it?" asked Kiko.

"Ask Garnet," said Duke Wellington.

Kiko turned to face Garnet. Garnet could immediately feel the killing intent and anger that spewed forth from Kiko. But, it slowly dissipated. Kiko took a deep breath. "Well, what kind of monster is it?"

"It is a mix between a Mermaid and a Siren," said Garnet. "It hypnotizes men in order to try to kill themselves or women, but we can only lure it out, we don't have the means to kill it."

"I see," said Kiko.

Garnet was glad that when it came to business, Kiko was just as serious as Duke Wellington. Kiko was much more vocal and easily angered from the looks of it. It was best to just let her guide the conversation.

"Do you have a plan?" asked Kiko.

"Yes," said Garnet. She explained her plan. To use a bunch of weaker male guards and soldiers as bait. Two women and the Duke would lure the guards around and distract them while another group of three women would fight the Siren itself.

"She is acceptable," said Kiko as she turned to face Duke Wellington. "She will be fine as your second wife, but I am your first!"

Kiko insisted on Duke Wellington marrying her. Garnet felt a little discomfort in her heart, but she knew that the Duke loved Garnet and if he ever did marry Kiko, it would be for a political marriage. As long as this was the case, Garnet was fine with it. However, she could not speak up against Kiko yet as they needed her support.

"I will help you," said Kiko. "But, only me, you, Garnet, and your guards will be part of this. Everyone else butt out."

"What?" said Duke Wellington.

"You said there were only three before," said Kiko. "We should recreate the conditions as similarly as possible for the attack to occur again, so bring the same guards if possible."

Kiko was not some idiot. She too had thought about it herself. The fewer people there were, the easier it was to manage.

Garnet was surprised that Kiko did not try to push her out. She had slept in the same room as the Duke and Kiko was apparently okay with it. In the morning though, Garnet felt an intense killing pressure directed at her throughout the whole house. It felt like wherever she went, someone was waiting to stab her in the back. It was obviously coming from Kiko, who was jealous of their relationship, but until Kiko fulfilled the promise to help, Garnet had no say in the matter as part of the deal.

"We go this afternoon," said Duke Wellington. "I want to take care of this as soon as possible."

"Me too," said Garnet. Duke Wellington looked at her with a little worry, but no one else knew the truth yet.

"Me three," said Kiko who sounded like she just wanted something to say. She was still giving Garnet the evil eye.

In the afternoon, the three of them shared the Duke's carriage. They brought a group of weaker guards this time, but all men. The roads were relatively safe and weaker guards would be easier to manage. The main difference is that Kiko replaced Charlie. It would be up to the three of them to slay the Siren.

There was an uncomfortable tension in the air as Kiko continued to stare at Garnet with the intent to kill. Neither of them spoke a word. "How about some tea?" asked Duke Wellington who took some out from the secret compartment of his carriage. He was trying to break the tension as it was unbearably quiet. He was at least trying to get them to talk.

"I just don't like the idea of you sharing a bed with that whore," said Kiko. "Especially one of mine."

Garnet had not heard that word spoken about her in a long time. But, she had no right to speak.

"She's not a whore," said Duke Wellington. "She's my wife."

Garnet was surprised. The Duke stood up for her when he was submissive to Duchess Kiko. "If you say that again, the deal is off and I will find another way to take care of this myself," said Duke Wellington.

The Duke was serious. It was one of the rare times that Garnet saw anger in the Duke's face. As much as he was being submissive, he was standing up to Kiko. Kiko backed down. "Fine, have it your way," she said.

Kiko did not want to admit it, but it seemed like she needed the Duke as well. If she made Duke Wellington angry, he could break off the deal. If Kiko wanted to earn Charles' favor, she would need to do what he asked and only then, would she have a chance of an arranged marriage.

They passed Herion's Farm. "What's that?" Kiko asked pointing to the water mill.

"That's our future," said Garnet. "This whole farm is managed by one person thanks to the new technology."

"A whole farm? One person? That's impossible," said Kiko.

"It was impossible until Garnet showed us how," said Duke Wellington.

"Stop here and teach me!" said Kiko.

"Maybe later," said Garnet. She now had something else that Kiko wanted and they could hold it over her.

The carriage came to a halt. It was the same as before. "I hear it," said Duke Wellington.

"Hear what?" Kiko asked.

"The song," said Garnet. "The monster uses a song that only men can hear to lure its victims."

The three of them exited the carriage. This time, it would be Duke Wellington, Garnet, and Kiko who would fight against the Siren. Just three like before. Duke Wellington was still unarmed. He used his hands because he did not want to hurt his own men. Kiko used a sword. Garnet used a staff. "Remember not to kill any of the men under its control," said Duke Wellington.

"I won't," said Kiko.

The three approached the river and saw the Siren. "Is that it?" asked Kiko.

The Siren turned and heard that voice. It still had a massive burn mark and bruise on its shoulder. It was still injured from the last battle and had not fully recovered. "You!" it shouted. "Kill her!" It ordered the guards under its control to kill Garnet specifically this time. It must have remembered what Garnet did to it.

All the guards immediately went after Garnet. "You take care of it," said Garnet. She ran behind Duke Wellington who would fight them off. All Duke Wellington had to do was block the path of the guards. After all, while they were under control, they were slow and acted mindlessly.

Kiko placed four talismans in a square around her. Together, they created a magic circle underneath her feet. It was much faster than when Zedd had to draw one under his feet. Garnet could feel the magic power being released from the formation. "Thunderbolt!" Kiko called forth a powerful bolt of lightning from the sky.

BOOM. The massive explosion dislocated some of the water, but it was not enough to actually hurt the Siren as the Siren dived into the water to avoid it. Kiko was strong, but the Siren was extremely fast. When it cleared, the Siren flew into the sky. It was not taking any changes right now.

Meanwhile, Duke Wellington was punching down his guards left and right. He had also someone got his hands on a one handed sword, but he was not using it. "Are you okay?" Garnet asked.

"Yes," said Duke Wellington. "They aren't very strong, so I just have to land a hit to knock them down. I can probably keep this up for a while."

All Garnet could do was stand by and watch due to her lower magical power. Kiko was fighting the Siren, Duke Wellington was keeping his guards away from the two of them.

SCREECH. The Siren released a loud scream. "AH!" Kiko screamed as she raised her hands to her head.

SCREECH. There was another scream in the distance. SCREECH. And another. There was more than one of them.

"There's three of them?!?" shouted Garnet.

They did not predict that there would be more than one. "We have to take this one out quickly," said Duke Wellington. "You two fight it, I will hold these guys off as long as I can."

Even though Kiko was strong, the Siren's abilities made it strong as well. A level 15 creature should have been instantly defeated by Kiko, but this was not the case. It had the speed and strength to support itself in addition to its numerous abilities. It was probably capable of even defeating Leeroy in a straight fight.

"Fire Ball!" Garnet released a number of small Fire Balls that exploded into black smoke. The Siren dodged what it could and occasionally got hit by one. "Finish it!" shouted Garnet.

Kiko prepared another spell. "Wall of Storms!" Multiple bolts of lightning fell from the sky. BOOM. The Siren tried to dodge the flurry of Fire Ball and Lightning Bolts that were being created. One of Kiko's bolts made contact with the Siren and zapped it.

BAM. Garnet watched as the Siren fell to the ground. Even though lightning spells were generally weaker, Kiko's was still extremely powerful. If she had other spells, they could probably cause massive amounts of destruction.

As the Siren tried to get up, but it could not. Blood was flowing out of its mouth. The landing had caused internal injuries. It would probably die if left on its own. One was down, but there were two more coming.

Kiko quickly drew a magic circle down on the ground. "What's that?" Garnet asked.

"This will make our magic stronger," said Kiko. "Make use of it."

"Okay," said Garnet.

SCREECH. It got louder. The other Siren were coming closer. SCREECH. It was approaching from behind them.

BOOM. Duke Wellington and all the guards fell over. The Siren had used some sort of sonic wave attack. The magic circles that Kiko laid down were useless because it required them to stand still. This one was stronger than the others, but Garnet had no time to focus on a single one of them.

"Throw your fire at it!" shouted Kiko.

"Fire Ball!" Garnet released numerous small Fire Balls into the air in order to keep it moving.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Thunderbolt!" Kiko called a bolt of lightning from the sky. The Siren moved quickly and only had part of its wing clipped. There was a small burn, but negligible damage.

"How can we stop it from moving?" Garnet asked.

"Use the trees for cover," said Duke Wellington. "These are here for revenge, so they should come after us."

The three ran into the trees. The guards had remained unconscious after the second Siren appeared. "You didn't tell me there was three of them!" said Kiko.

"We didn't know," said Garnet. "We only saw one."

"But these two are after us," said Duke Wellington. "That makes it easy because they will come directly for us."

"Easy how?" asked Kiko.

"If they're coming after us under the trees, they cannot fly here," said Duke Wellington.

"That means they must walk and if they try to fly away, the trees will get in the way," said Garnet.

Kiko was already preparing another spell as she drew a magic formation on the ground. It was a lot slower than the way that Garnet was able to instantly lay down the Teleportation Summoning Circle. "What are you doing?" Duke Wellington asked.

"Support magic," said Kiko. "This might give us the edge we need."

"There's no spoken words?" Garnet asked.

"Nope," said Kiko. "This type of magic is different from standard ones. It is supported by the ground that we are standing on." The entire floor lit up like a magic circle.

"Won't this help enemies too?" asked Garnet.

"It only affects who I want it to, which is us three," said Kiko.

Garnet could see that her maximum health and mana had increased thanks to Kiko's spell. There were also several buffs affecting her. Now the only thing to do was wait for the two remaining Siren to appear.

SCREECH. Some trees in the forest were knocked over. "They're literally tearing the forest down!" said Duke Wellington. "I did not expect that."

"We'll be okay," said Kiko. "As long as we stay in the formation, we should be able to take them."

Garnet could see as the two Siren flew directly towards them. One of them was flying straight towards them, preparing to release another Sonic Boom like it had to knock them down.

"Buy me time," said Kiko.

"Okay," Garnet and Duke Wellington said at the same time.

The first Siren flew straight towards them. "Air Bullet!" Garnet released a powerful burst of air. VWOOM. The Siren was knocked back hard and slammed against a tree. The moment it landed, Garnet charged up for a follow up sell. "Fire Bolt!" A huge bolt of fire was concentrated in Garnet's finger tips.

BOOM. The explosive power of a highly charged Fire Bolt destroyed the tree and its surrounding. The Siren was down, but not dead.

Duke Wellington pulled out a sword and stabbed the Siren in the part that was injured by the fire. SCREECH. The Siren screamed as Duke Wellington stabbed it. The sword barely had the power to penetrate the skin. He was strong enough to pierce its skin and as he did, the Siren screamed upward. "Just one left!" he shouted.

SCREECH. The Siren that Duke Wellington had just stabbed got back up. "No...," said Duke Wellington. It was bleeding out, but it was still fighting strong. SCREECH. "Ugh," cried Duke Wellington as he held his hands against his ears. The screech had gotten stronger.

Despite that injury, the Siren was still breathing. It was stabbed in what should have been its heart, but it was not dead. It was extremely tough. The last Siren watched them from a distance. "What's it doing?" asked Garnet.

"I don't know," said Duke Wellington. "But let's focus on this one first."

The Siren swung its arms. Each one came with a powerful wave of Wind magic that tore through the trees. "It's some type of Wind blade!" shouted Garnet. The trees had slowed down the spell considerably and it even dispersed before reaching them. But, each time it casted the smell, more trees got knocked down. It was slowly increasing its attack angle so that it would have more opportunities to strike at them.

One was fighting them up close, the other was attacking from a distance. They would have to keep an eye on both. Either Kiko had to finish her spell or they had to kill the other Siren. Fighting both at once was too dangerous. VWOOM. A powerful burst of air passed right in front of Duke Wellington. The Siren had already cut a path through the trees to them.

"This is bad," said Garnet.

"Just a little longer," said Kiko. Garnet could see the magic circle underneath her being traced out. It was very complex, almost like there were multiple layers to it.

The Siren had slowed down and it could no longer move its wings properly. It was at least unable to fly. Even though it was bleeding out, it was still trying to fight them. SCREECH. It released its terrifying screech, but they were far enough to not be affected. The Siren stopped its screech. It was coughing up blood.

With a sword in hand, Duke Wellington and Garnet both approached the Siren carefully. The Siren nearest to them had been severely injured. Now that blood was in its system, it could no longer used its screech.

Duke Wellington charged forth. "Hyah!" He slashed downward. CLANG. It came up against the claw of the Siren and was pushed away. Despite its injuries, the Siren was still fighting strong.

VWOOM. It was the sound of the attack. Garnet could hear it coming and grabbed Duke Wellington, pulling him back. A blade of wind passed through between the two of them and the Siren. "Thanks," said Duke Wellington.

"Be careful," said Garnet. "They're coordinating their attacks."

"Lightning Bolt!" Garnet fired one at the Siren.

The Siren struggled, but shook it off. It was much stronger than the first one. "No effect?" said Duke Wellington.

"It seems so," said Garnet. "Fire Ball!"

BOOM. The ball of fire collided with the Siren knocking it over.

"At least that works," said Duke Wellington.

VWOOM. The other Siren was slowly expanding its attack angle by clearing the trees. It would be extremely dangerous if they could not finish it off now.

"Get away!" shouted Kiko.

Garnet and Duke Wellington immediately ran back towards Kiko. Her spell was ready and they were in the line of fire.

"Judgment Bolt!" It was Kiko's spell. The one that she was preparing. It was finally ready.

RUMBLE. The ground shook as the sound of thunder crackled through the sky. A powerful bolt of blue lightning amplified by several magic circles struck the Siren. BOOM. The target area exploded and released a powerful shockwave. The pressure from the air could be felt from their distance as dust flew outward away from the impact site.

SCREECH. The Siren screamed in pain. Numerous smaller bolts of lightning scattered throughout the area and tore through the surrounding terrain as well. As the dust cleared, the only thing left was a small crater next to the body of the remaining Siren.

"Did it work?" asked Kiko.

"That better," said Duke Wellington. "That was an incredible amount of magic."

Garnet, Kiko, and Duke Wellington made their way to the crater. Many of the trees were bent away from impact site. It was a frightening spell of incredible power. Kiko was exhausted. The spell had drained her mana considerably.

As the three approached the crater, it was relatively small. It was underwhelming considering how the spell looked from a distance. "I thought there would be a hole the size of the spell itself," Garnet thought to herself. When she looked at it, she could step into the small crater created by the spell, but it more or less only caused superficial to the ground and the displaced dirt could just be shoveled back in.

"I need to check on my men," said Duke Wellington as he ran off.

"I'm just going to rest here a while," said Kiko. She sat down and laid back against a tree. The spell had taken an enormous toll on her body.

"There was some kind of danger in using high level magic like that," thought Garnet. So far, she had only been using low level magic. "Is it because her body cannot handle the power?" thought Garnet. Someone like Zedd was clearly able to use high level spells. Even Garnet was able to use Teleportation without much trouble. But, high level magic might be too stressful for the body. It could be dangerous to use it continuously, especially if it could cause that much damage. If it was some type of forbidden magic that hurt the body, she could understand, but Kiko did not seem like the type of person that would do such a thing. It was always possible that Kiko's body could not handle the magic power present in it. All of those were frightening things that she would have to be careful of in the future.

SCREECH. Garnet heard the scream of a Siren in the distance. The last one was probably still alive and Duke Wellington finished it off.

Quest Complete: Murder?

The Three Siren have all been slain.

Reward: Experience

You have leveled up!

You have leveled up!

It was two whole levels worth of experience that she immediately poured into intelligence. High level magic consumed a huge amount of mana, mana that she did not have at the moment. But there was still one thing left for Garnet to do. The Hero System had guided her to the Sirens, meaning that they had a secret.

Garnet looked at Duchess Kiko, who was asleep against the tree. With Duke Wellington off to check on his guards, she was the only one there, and no one would know.

"Blood Absorption!" Garnet activated the spell that allowed her to take on some of the abilities and stats of her enemies. It was truly a terrifyingly powerful spell. It provided her with a few skills and numerous stats already. The Siren were the latest on the list.

Garnet watched as the blood flowed into her body from three directions. It had even taken in the blood of the Siren that Garnet just killed. "What is the range on this thing?" she thought. At first, it only activated on nearby corpses, but somehow, it pulled in the Siren that was far away from her. Sure it was near the Duke, but that was still quite a bit of distance.

Garnet felt the blood coursing through her body, revitalizing her vitality. It was a pleasurable experience as all her spent health and mana recovered. Not only did the spell let her take on abilities of enemies, it even healed her.

Level Up: Blood Absorption (Level 5)

Level Up: Blood Absorption (Level 6)

New Skill: Blood Bind

Use the blood within your target to immobilize their movement

MP Cost: 50

Class Change: Temptress -> Temptress of the Night

"That's new," Garent thought to herself. BA BUM. Garnet felt something in her chest. It was a burning sensation. It spread outwards from hear heart to the rest of her body. Her entire body was hot, like it was on fire. Then, she felt a sharp pain in her legs. "UGH!" Garnet groaned.

There was no one around. Kiko had exhausted herself and was asleep by the tree. Duke Wellington was in the distance. The pain in Garnet's body spread to her arms. She held on as hard as she could in order to try to comfort them. It was sharp, like something was cutting through her skin. She felt something. Some type of liquid that was flowing from those points. She watched as the arms of the clothes she wore turned a shade of red. It was blood. "AH!" Garnet screamed.

Garnet's Stats

Spoiler :

Name: Garnet

Level: 10

Class: Dark Mage

Sub-class: Temptress -> Temptress of the Night

Stats:

HP: 810/810

MP: 2180/2180

Fame: 20

Strength: 20 (+5)

Dexterity: 11 (+7)

Intelligence: 52 (+22)

Vitality: 21 (+5)

Agility: 20 (+7)

Charisma: 24 (+10)

PROFICIENCY:Weapon:

- One Handed Sword – 6

- Hand to Hand – 2

- Staff - 1

Magic:

- Fire – 5

- Lightning – 8

- Wind – 1

- Summoning – 7

- Blood – 5

- Spatial - 0

SKILLS:Weapon (One Handed Sword):

- Horizontal Slash (Level 3)

- Double Slash (Level 2)

- Crescent Slash

Weapon (Hand to Hand):

- Palm Strike

- Wind Palm

- Explosive Palm (Level 2)

- Lightning Palm

Weapon (Staff):

- Thrust (Level 2)

Class (Dark Mage):

- Fire Bolt (Level 5)

- Fire Ball (Level 1)

- Lightning Bolt (Level 8)

- Chain Lightning (Level 2)

- Light (Level 1)

- Air Bullet (Level 2)

- Mana Strike (Level 2)

- Mana Shield (Level 2)

- Call: Skeletal Hounds (Level 3)

- Call: Skeletons (Level 1)

- Call: Lilith (Level 1)

- Recall

- Dismiss

- Enhanced Mana Regeneration (Level 1)

- Blood Absorption (Level 6)

- Blood Bind (Level 1)

- Teleportation (Level 1)

- Teleportation Summoning Circle (Level 1)

Sub-class (Temptress):

- Enhanced Body (Level 2)

- Captivation: (Level 2)

- Mind Read: (Level 1)

- Drain Will (Level 3)

- Sexy Walk (Level 1)

- Stealth (Level 1)

- Shadow Walk (Level 2)

Tradeskills:

- Hunting (Level 3) - Hunter

- Cooking (Level 5) - Cook

- Inspection (Level 3) – Farmer, Coroner

- Inventory Expansion (Level 3)

Passives:

- Hand to Hand (Level 1)

- One Handed Sword (Level 1)

- Staff (Level 1)

- Reflex (Level 3)

- Speed (Level 10)

- Physical Resistance (Level 3)

Unique:

- Hero System (Passive)

- Otherworldly Knowledge (Passive)

- Golden Tongue (Passive)

- Mana Compatibility (Passive)

- Quick Learner (Passive)

- Channeling (Passive)

- Charging (Passive)

But they're level 50+ (spoilers about Dukes)

Spoiler :

Nobles spend most of their time behind desks and with books if you have not noticed. They lack the same combat experience and special abilities that others develop, so despite their high levels, most of their skills are underwhelming and deal less damage than they appear. In addition, most of them use ornate/decorative equipment other than real items used for fighting.0