(Author's note: Thanks for reading up until this point!  I really appreciate it.  Now that we're reached this point, I might take a break for a day and prepare for the upcoming arc.  P.S.  What do you guys think of Helia?  Is she really that unlikable?)

Chapter 19: Mount

The flaming horse whinnied, causing the sea of flames to surge towards the duo. Empress immediately employed a reflective barrier, protecting them. The two started chatting amidst the fire.

“How do you suppose we go about catching it?” Empress asked curiously.

“Capture it within a barrier and I’ll beat it into submission,” Helia told her.

“Do you honestly think that will work?”

Helia shrugged, “There’s only one way to find out.”

The horse snorted angrily, upset that the girls were ignoring it. It neighed, increasing the temperature of the flames. The flames rolled forward into the barrier, only to bounce backwards, setting a nearby building on fire.

Empress listened to Helia’s plan, entrapping the horse inside of a reflective barrier. It struck the shield desperately, only for the attacks to rebound, striking it.

It whinnied in panic, unable to escape.

“It’s only a minor beast, you sure you want it?”

“Yes!” Helia nodded rapidly, “I already picked out a name. Scarlet!”

Empress sighed.

“I’m going to open up a hole in the barrier, ready?”

Helia rolled up her sleeves, her eyes filled with determination.

At Empress’s signal, she entered the force field with the horse. The horse looked at Helia warily, not understanding the situation.

Helia grabbed her sword and slid it down her arm, flaying the skin. Once her arm was completely devoid of flesh, she absorbed the wound, repairing it.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” she told the horse, causing it to back up in fear. Its meager intelligence was enough to let it know the girl was insane.

Seeing that the horse wasn’t going to comply, Helia frowned. She dashed towards it, springing towards its back. Just as the creature was about to move out of the way, force fields entrapped its legs, preventing it from dodging.

Helia landed on the creature with a thud, transferring the wound to it. It immediately cried out in pain as the skin on its limb disappeared. It fell to the ground with Helia on top of it.

It desperately flailed and kicked, trying to remove the flame-haired girl.

Helia held on tightly, assisted by Empress’s barriers.

The horse raged for a dozen minutes before collapsing to the ground, exhausted.

Helia gently rubbed the fallen horse, comforting it.

“There, there, Scarlet,” Helia whispered, “Let me heal you.”

She absorbed the wound, causing the horse’s eyes to go wide from relief. It glanced at Helia, confused. Maybe the girl wasn’t so bad?

Empress removed her barrier, freeing the horse. It unsteadily rose to its feet with Helia on its back. It trotted in a circle, getting a feel for the new weight atop it. 

“Thanks, boss.” Helia beamed, nuzzling the horse.

Empress gazed on warily, “It’s a primordial beast. It can’t be trusted. We have to get it mind-controlled and registered when we get back to Northfront.”

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Helia wasn’t worried about the horse betraying them, but she nodded her agreement to placate Empress.

The horse was fast. It caused trails of fire and smoke to rise from the ground as it ran. Helia smacked her lips in satisfaction.

As they traveled, they eventually came across another pack of players. These ones gave Helia a wide berth, scared by the primordial beast she rode on. There were many powers that could be used to take primordial beasts, most of them were insidious forms of mind-control. They had no desire to contend with someone who had that ability.

Unfortunately for them, Helia was very interested in testing her new mount in combat. The horse opened its mouth, spewing flames that the other players, setting them on fire. They desperately rolled on the ground, attempting to put out the flames. However, the more they struggled, the greater the flames grew.

The scent of burnt flesh pervaded the air, making Empress crinkle her nose. She watched from the sidelines, throwing up barriers to prevent the escape of any players.

They pounded the force fields in desperation, deploying their arsenal of abilities in an attempt to escape from the fire. However, they didn’t realize that the barrier was reflective, resulting in many self-injuries.

Helia galloped through the burning corpses, removing the heads of any survivors with her sword. Blood boiled from the heat, evaporating into the sky. Helia laughed, her red hair flowing the wind.

Empress whistled appreciatively. Helia was a sight to behold. A flaming-haired girl atop a flaming steed. She felt her heart twinge a little, causing her to laugh.

Helia stopped her slaughter, turning her head in the direction of the laughter.

“Everything okay, boss?”

“Yup,” Empress smiled, “We better get moving though. The flames are going to attract unwanted attention. I want to keep the advantage of surprise.”

Helia nodded, steering Scarlet towards her. The horse looked at Empress curiously, wondering why it wasn’t allowed to set her on fire.

“Let’s spend a few more days leveling, then let’s return to Northfront.”

Within a short period of time, rumors spread throughout the ruined city. Tales of a flaming-haired horror and of the indomitable Empress reached everyone’s ears. No longer did people try to hunt Empress down for her bounty. Instead, they spent the majority of their time running from her.

Empress’s bounty was eventually removed from the board. The players were too afraid to accept it. No one within level range was capable of putting an end to Empress’s tyranny.

A few days later, Empress and Helia were forced to leave the open-world dungeon. All of players had fled or died, turning the city into a ghost town. Even the primordial beasts began avoiding the two.

Luckily for Empress, the trip was worthwhile. She had reached level 30. All of her skills had also reached mastery level 5 due to the numerous power crystals. Helia’s wound transferal was on the cusp of evolving. The primordial beast had also grown more powerful, radiating an intense heat. However, Helia was unperturbed, riding it anyways.

Trip concluded, the girls returned to Northfront City.