"Drako. He..."

I just froze, and stared at the lifeless eyes which stared back at me. His maw was half-open, and from it, his tongue hung out.

On his back, were countless arrows sticking out. On the sides of his body, were deep gashes, and scattered about, along with the dismembered corpses, were his scales...

"How long... Was I..." I could barely form any words.

Despite the rapier against my forehead, I disengaged my armor, letting it slide off of me. Thus, the rapier was also forcefully brought down with it.

The gash made on my cheek?

I didn't care in the slightest.

"Two hours." One of them said. But, his voice didn't register with me.

I didn't want to hear it.

"These specialized lead rods slow the transfer of magic through materials by almost a hundred-fold."

The same voice called out again.

Just shut the fuck up! Shut the fuck up, please!

I'd scream, if I could. But my voice was stuck at my throat.

One step. Two steps. Three steps.

I could feel the tears running down my cheeks, of my legs trembling violently, or my breathing turning shallow...

But all of those started to fade. Much like the voices around me. The yelling in the distance.

It didn't concern me.

"... Drako... ...! I'm so...! So... Sorry!" My voice cracked, and my vision blurred even further.

I can see it now. His face, as he hatched from his egg...

That funny call he always made when he was young...

That time he tore through my wardrobe...

That time that...

He saved me.

Again.

And again.

Despite being easily duped, or being out of his element, he still fought for me.

He was always beside me.

And now...

"... I'm so sorry, for ever being angry at you...! I'm so sorry, Drako!"

I tried to hug him. The corpse of my youngest sibling... Of my best friend. The little brother that was always there beside me.

But...

"LISTEN TO ME, GOLDEN WHORE!"

I WAS YANKED AWAY FROM HIM!!!!!

"Get away from me, you demons!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, resisting in whatever way that I could.

I pushed, pulled, yanked, kicked, and bit.

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO! LET ME GO! LET ME GO, DEMONS!"

Again, and again and again. I screamed, and I resisted. But...

The more I tried, the farther I got away from him.

"PLEASE!"

I begged, while using all of my power to dig my thumbs into one of these devils.

"JUST LET ME SAY GOODBYE!"

My vision shook violently, I lost my sense of balance, and as his image finally disappeared from behind the treeline, I hit the forest floor, face first.

I was hit.

On my right cheek.

It felt sore and surely bruised.

I can taste blood in my mouth...

I can feel a tooth that was loosened...

Then, I got another punch. This time, I could see it coming for my left eye.

Everything quickly got darker, and darker. I felt myself get dragged against thorny underbrush that tore into my skin. While the rocky ground was sure to give me more than just bruises.

"....I'll kill... you all.."

Those were my last words, before my consciousness was finally torn away from me.

And quite luckily too...

I was just about to slam against a tree.

I wonder how long they'd keep dragging me, for…

*** *** ***

"Ironic, isn't it?"

I could hear a voice nearby, from beyond the darkness.

It was a voice that I absolutely abhorred... It was the voice of the devil that yanked me away from Drako...

The devil that...!

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!"

I roared at the top of my lungs, and immediately tried to jump at the direction of where the voice was.

But...

The most I could do, was a hop.

As my vision finally began clearing, and my senses finally returned to me, I was met with a lot of pain all over my body.

My joints were sore. I had several bruises all over, who knows how many cuts... My wrists were tied to a chair, and my ankles were tied to either side of the chair legs. Both were quite sore, too.

But, what hurt and was also most damaged of all, was my face. I could feel the blood seeping out through my teeth, and dripping down my chin.

I couldn't see out of my left eye, and my right cheek... Was it broken? Even keeping my mouth closed hurts.

I shouldn't have screamed. But...

I stared at the devil.

There she was, sitting down, opposite to me, on the other side of a wooden table.

Around me, were mossy stone walls. There was only one window, with bars in them. And a metal door. And, next to the wall, was a pile of old hay, along with a wooden bucket.

A jail cell.

No doubt about it.

"Why did you bring me here?! Why did you attack me?!" I yelled, despite wincing due to the pain in my jaw. Coupled with the pang from my thigh, which...

Oh no... It's starting to bleed, again... This can't be...!

"Ahem. Why don't we do introductions first, hm?" The devil cut off my line of thought. "My name is Pandora. I'm the current commander of this fort. Now it's your turn."

"Where am I?! Tell me, right now-" once again, I was cut off. Before I knew it, she had reached forward, grabbed the back of my head, and slammed me down into the table.

"Ayiegh!" A disgusting, undignified cry escaped my lips.

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Something that should never have ever happened....

How can this be?!

HOW CAN THIS BE?!

WHO DOES THIS WENCH THINK SHE IS?!

"I..." My voice was hoarse, but I tried to deal with the pain, and the spinning vision, as I raised my head. "I... am Guila Cassiana. And I will have your-"

"Ahg!" Again, I was slammed back on the table like a damn bobblehead.

"Introductions. Remember, Noblesse'? Not death threats."

With her hands still on my head, I glared up at her. Forcing a grin, I let the saliva and blood in my mouth roll in my tongue...

Then I spat it all right at her face, hitting right at her left eye.

"I see..." She wiped it off with a gloved hand, before gripping my chin, and forced me to look up at her. "Do I need to punch out your other eye too, you whore?"

"You can try. But It won't get rid of that ugly scar across your face, which you fail to hide with that even-uglier mask."

"You piece of..."

"Heh-?!"

Unfortunately, I didn't get to revel in the enjoyment of being the one to tear her apart first.

A flurry of punches were quickly delivered to my face, and to my gut.

"Ugh... Gah...! Nngh...! Ahk! Gahack! Nnngh!!!!"

Try as I might...

It was impossible to stop myself from crying... Her black gloves had turned red. But the blood was soon washed away by my tears, as she continued to treat me like her punching bag.

"Whooo...!" The devil whistled, while rolling her arms. Then, she sat down on the table, before pulling my hair up.

"Now that we've gotten everything out of our systems. Let's talk more seriously. What do you say?"

"... As long as... Kahack!" I coughed blood and bile, while my mind repeatedly flashed white due to the pain. "... You say so... are you ready to answer... my questions, now...?"

"You really are an arrogant bitch, aren't you..." She scoffed, before backhanding me once. Then, twice. "But, since you helped me relieve some stress, I'll tell you."

"Right now. You're in Bloodworms Keep. Somewhere right at the southern tip of Coalition Territory. Just 80 miles away from where we caught you.

"We'll be moving north soon, though. So don't get too used to the place."

She gave me a shit-eating grin, before pulling a pipe from behind her, and lit it.

She even had the fall to blow it right at my face, causing me to curl up and cough again.

"If you want to know why we captured you, then... I'm sure you already know the answer."

But, hearing this, I froze again.

Answer?

What answer?

"You really don't know? I guess the Lady of Golden Steel didn't do too well in History Class. Huh? Let me give you a quick run-down, then."

She breathed in deeply, then exhaled a large cloud of smoke. I could only hope that she dies quickly because of this.

"Do you know of the 37-year long war, between the Coalition and Helios?"

Yes. I did. In fact, I was born during it. And it only ended four years ago, after the Coalition leader at the time surrendered and was executed.

It wasn't really a major war. More like a constant series of skirmishes between forts, and fortress cities. As well as trade route controls.

It was only during the last few years that it actually got truly bloody...

"The Coalition made the first shot, 41-years ago..." I slowly recounted, before quickly noticing what she was trying to do. "They burned the first town in Northern Helios too! What do I have to do with any of that?!"

"Don't you try to use the victim card here, ugly! War happens! It's not my fault that you reaped what your country sowed!" I continued to scream at her face.

"Ohohoho... You really don't understand at all, do you?" She seemed taken aback. Not insulted. Not enraged.

She literally took a step back, while her eyes widened at me.

I'm gonna pluck those out of her, and offer them to Drako, if it's the last thing I do...!

"The escalation of the conflict. It started three years before it ended. Remember? Tell me, what significant thing happened during that period?"

For a third time, I froze, and thought.

Something significant... There were a lot of significant things happening that year...

A new Champion of Daeva, and of Helios. The exile of a Princess, the vanquishment of an ancient Vampire...

BUT! None of them had anything to with...

"I..."

"Oh? Do you finally remember, Guila Cassiana." She grinned even brighter, taking the pipe out of her mouth and tapped the contents out into an ashtray.

"I... joined the war... as a manufacturer..." I continued meekly. But, quickly, I once again yelled. "WHAT DOES THAT MATTER?! I WASN'T THE ONLY ONE!"

But despite yelling, I was immediately silenced by her hand gripping my neck.

"Don't be dumb. Do you really think that you're 'just like the rest'? You must be crazy."

"L-let... Me..." My vision started to darken, once again. Was this going to keep happening!? "... go...! I can't... breathe...!"

"Why don't you try remembering that day again? Maybe even try to remember where I was among the people attending it."

"Fuck... You...!"

*** *** ***

I was back here.

Beside my father who held my hand, as we walked down to the crowd that had gathered.

All of them had their eyes on me. And for good reason.

Father invited them here, for me.

For his daughter.

His eldest daughter. The one most likely to inherit the household, and his position.

This was their chance to sum me up, and I had no plans to let them think that my father had been incompetent at raising me.

I let go of his hand, and proceeded to walk forward on my own.

Then I stopped, just a few feet away from them, gripped the edges of my dress, and curtsied.

"Thank you, everyone for coming here today." I said with a smile, before placing my hands together, above my stomach.

"I know some of you here, have heard of me before. Others didn't even know of my existence, before the invitation arrived at your doorstep, weeks ago."

"But, that doesn't really matter." I shook my head, while still keeping the subtle mannerisms of nobility. Like holding one elbow, and holding my cheek with the other hand.

"Everyone here is either an Arm's Dealer. An investor. Or a member of a major military family from every large nation in Western Eldingar."

"And I…" with an exaggerated hand gesture, I placed my fingers against my chest, and bowed. "I humbly wish to cement my position amongst all of you."

"If you look behind me, you can see what remains of Mount Killian. 600 years ago. There was a project to build a city here, so it needed to be removed. But they were forced to stop when only a fifth remained, after 12 years of work. Due to budgeting problems."

"I intend to complete that project for them."

Then, with a flick of her worst, a loud, almost violent humming could be heard.

Louder and louder, it became. Until eventually, the wind from the east was replaced by wind from the south.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! I give you, my skyship. My beautiful child. The Vimana 1!"

Indeed, it was exactly as she said. There it was, a ship the size of a brigantine. No. It WAS a brigantine. Just without the mast and the sails. Which was replaced by a gigantic balloon.

In addition, were what looked to be two cylinders on either side of where the rudder was.

"Powered by my new, improved mana engines, it allows the skyship to achieve speeds and perform maneuvers that can allow them to even be proper threats to Dragon Knights. Not to mention it's efficiency. Which only requires two mid-tier mages to power!"

"But, this is not my crown jewel. No… I still intend to make good on my promise. So, here. Please. I urge everyone to look away for the next couple seconds. And…"

I paused.

"Fire."

Something flew from one of the ship's mounted ballista, while whistling loudly, as it did. It wasn't an arrow. Rather, it was more akin to a pill.

It drew an arc as it continued to fly.

And then, it hit.

A flash of bright white light immediately engulfed everything, followed by an even more powerful gust of wind. One which brought dirt and debris with them.

But, luckily for them everyone present was either a mage, or accompanied by one. They were able to deal with the aftermath with no real worry.

And…

As the dust finally settled…

They saw it.

What was once 300 meters tall, and around a mile wide, had been reduced to half its size. Not only that, but a crater had also been produced, around 50 meters deep and 200 meters wide.

"It works by setting a charge, before detonating the Mana within its immediate surroundings. Thus, creating a chain reaction that destroys anything nearby."

With that explained, I patted myself off, and smiled at my audience, once again. Regardless of the molten stone background behind me.

"In addition to the enchantable weapons that I will soon be putting into circulation, I was hoping that this would be enough to allow myself a place amongst your group."

"That…" I then paused. I think it was due to stage fright finally taking hold, at that point.

"... And I also plan to sell. Now that I have wasted one. That leaves 4 remaining of this one of a kind, destructive weapon."

"M-might I ask why there's… only been five?" One of them raised their hand. It was a man around the same age as me. Of course, I immediately recognized him.

"Yes, Sir Von Drach. It's because there aren't any materials left to produce a sixth one."

That was a lie, that, at the same time, was true…

But…

I get it.

This was my sin.

*** *** ***

I woke up, no longer tied to the chair. Instead, I now had lead cuffs around my wrists and ankles.

I now had bandages, and some oitments applied to me, as well.

The soreness was still there. But the stinging was gone. And the bandage for my thigh, was also replaced.

So I didn't need to fear infection, or the possibility of bleeding out. Not that they'd ever allow that to happen, anyway.

I still couldn't see from my left eye, though.

I took a couple more seconds to recollect myself, and finally raised my head.

There she was, the Devil. Still sitting on the table. With an almost full ashtray beside her. And... Right in front of me, on the table, was a meal on a wooden bowl.

It was porridge.

"They... promptly used all of the God's Finger's on the Coalition, didn't they?" I whispered weakly.

"Yes. They did. All of your buyers. At the same time. Your weapons scared them so much, they didn't want to risk others having it. But, rather than go to war with each other-"

"... They used it on you."

"Yes. Now do you understand? It wasn't the Coalition that attacked a Helios Town first. It was Sylven, Calimus, Helios and Nijaen that wiped out 6 cities' worth of innocents, first. Using your weapons." With that said, she placed her pipe down, and got off the table. "If you just didn't sell those. The war would've ended a month later, as the Coalition had started to break apart. But that event, was a rallying cry for everyone."

"Now that you understand, just sit there and wait like a good war criminal. We'll give you a fair trial. On our grounds."

I couldn't say anything at all.

I just stared blankly at the table.

I…

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

… I just wanted… to be recognized…