Chapter 9: Homunculi Ritual Arc - Naiveness
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Sena has a huge grin on her face. In front of her was a spectral death knight, a being molded with the use of someone’s soul and flesh. A being that reached the tier that she wanted. A being that once stood on the battlefield as a knight, yet now, it was only a sinner.
Five minutes. It took only that little time to turn her battle dress into tatters. Her body armor, pauldrons, and battle skirt has been cut. There was blood flowing down her left eye. She wore a maddened grin as she took a stance, her sword faced sideways in front of the spectral death knight.
She managed to damage the spectral death knight with her decorated longsword. The death knight in front of her was already as tattered as her.
The battle was quite harsh.
The other nobles like her were not holding out great. They have lashes on their body. But their lax figure and their haughtiness have disappeared. What was left now were grim expressions. With the battle forging them, their blood started to become scorching hot.
Sena saw the blade of the spectral come down at her, She readied her sword, and intercepted it, letting it slid down for a parry and with the sword thrusted on the ground, she channeled her mana on the sword, and thrusted on the Spectral's stomach, piercing its ghostly armor.
She wasn’t done.
She lifted her sword up and tried to rip the throat of the spectral. But the spectral won’t have it. It grabbed Sena’s sword and pulled it away, following with a swing to her neck. She saw it clearly with her mana filled with eyes. Her golden eyes had now a tinge of blue. So with a slight movement, she was able to dodge the sword. Raising her right leg, she kicked the torso of the spectral to gain some distance.
She grinned. She raised her sword with blue dots of light slowly turning into gold. Rushing forward she uses the burst of mana channeled into her sword and stabs it through the Spectral's defense. The spectral death knight stumbled backward.
But this is a death knight.
No pain.
No hesitance.
It immediately raised its sword and tried to take Sena’s head again.
But Sena didn’t flinch. She casted a shield made of mana. It wasn’t enough to defend from the sword of the death knight. But instead, she used its own force to deflect it away from her. Sena grinned yet again; she put strength on her wrist, as she lifted her sword burning with mana, tearing through the spectral. The spectral bellowed, refusing to die, it used its legs to kick Sena away.
She flew and smashed herself to a shack.
Her back lying on the ground when she heard something.
“Hiiiii!”
She looked at where the sound is. She saw a little girl with a poor ragged dress cowering in the corner. Sena thought that the girl would have a doll on her hand. But instead, she saw it holding a shiv. She wasn’t the one to talk but no girl should be holding a weapon at that age.
The little girl had a fire in her eyes; her little arms were shaking heavily, her legs squirming in fear, and even with that she stared at the face of death holding her little weapon. Sena was currently numb. Her body wasn’t able to move because of the impact.
The little girl saw how she tried to move but was unable to do so.
“You are noble? Save, then please compensate and feed Annie!”
The little girl declared as she runs past Sena screaming with a tiny voice.
The spectral death knight glances at the little figure and swatted it without any mercy.
The little girl was torn half.
Her upper body spun before hitting the ground
Her blood spurted right at Sena’s beautiful face.
The warmth of it spooked Sena.
Her body moved on its own as she rolled backward and rushed to take her sword.
Her maddened grin was long gone.
What was left right now was just a face filled with fury.
Her battle lust was gone.
She didn’t think of anything and with a single burst of mana on her sword. She raised it up and smashed it down the head of the spectral knight.
The spectral knight bellowed out. The soul that it molded from screech as it floats up in the air and disperses into green orbs that fell unto Sena. She stood still receiving the blessing from the death knight. She could feel the mana of hers rise up to a degree.
Sena breathes out.
She looked at the whimpering half-torn little girl with her organs spilling out on the ground. Looking at the sorry figure she could not help but cringe up. She was so focused on the battle that she had to be saved by a little girl. Sena could not help but hold her mouth.
She vomited bile out of her mouth.
She wasn’t unfazed by blood.
Yet seeing a poor little girl with her organs spilled out made her stomach gave up.
The little girl was whimpering, trying to keep herself alive.
Sena knows that the little girl has no chance to live. No magic is enough to heal someone who has been torn in half.
“Sister!”
Another voice sounded out as it ran towards the little girl. This time it was a much smaller girl with a curly brunette hair. This girl was crying at the sight of her ‘sister’ suffering.
“Please don’t leave Annie!’
The little girl pleaded.
Sena widened her eyes. She realized that the little girl who held the Shiv didn’t even think about herself. The word she speaks was not for her. It was for the Sister that she was protecting. The realization of that made Sena feel like her ears were being drowned out by the noise that the little girl younger than the one who saved her made.
The Saclea were barbaric warriors that once live on dried wheat huts in the middle of forest living only by hunting. And only until their valor was recognized and through countless killings in the battlefield that they were able to become noble due by the Kings of the Southern Continent of Old that they rose up from barbaric commoners with valor and courage to nobles.
Sena was haughty, pompous, and ambitious. Yet here she is standing towards two little girls, looking at them with an expression that a noble lady shouldn’t have. Her house had many commoners that were brought up to their House as footmen and warriors. They were recruited through by the fires on their eyes while the others were hired to become maids.
If the little girl didn’t rush out to save her, she would have died.
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That is why in her noble’s honor she can only kneel near at her.
“Young Girl...Are you Annie?”
“Yes...”
The little girl replied.
“Then, by the name of the House of Saclea, I shall grant your Sister’s wish. After this battle, I shall take you to the villa, and sent you to a place where you can work and be fed...your sister have aided me and as Noble, I shall do the same.”
The little gild nodded. She looked at her sister sobbing.
“Stay hidden...until the ritual is over I cannot guarantee your safety.”
Sena said, standing up and walking with her sword in hand, ashamed.
How could she forget the little girl that she was during that night?
The little girl who loved the back of the female knight who saved her, how dare do she forgot that?
She wanted to become that figure.
Yet instead, a little girl was more of that than her.
She could not bear the humiliation and shame.
That is why for now she has to end this night.
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She walks through the slums while minding the shacks lined up in the slums. The face that she wore was quite grim; the face of hers was covered in blood. Her blonde hair fluttered in the cold night wind. Gripping her sword tightly, she continued walking to see the instructors, to inform them of her victory.
Bang.
She heard the loud bang. Pointing her eyes at the platform she was the instructors lying dead on the ground with their skulls blasted open. Standing still, a mask-wearing man stood pointing a strange weapon at one of the instructors who he just killed.
She saw the black masked man riddled with blood. Crisp smoke seems to come out of the barrel of the weapon he is holding. Sena was lost in thought first. But eventually, she composed herself and raised all her defense as she rushes like the wind and slashed out to the man garb in black.
The man dodged her strike by hair’s end. He stood up and looked at Sena. Sena readied her sword while staring with furious eyes at the man in black.
“Magus Killer...”
Sena recognized the weapon. Her father has told her of such weapon. A weapon that has killed many Magus’s and Knights. No one could ever possess it other than the Magus Killer himself who have vanished from the world eight years ago in a town fire that killed hundreds.
“To think that I would meet the dreaded killer himself, Looks like I still have a chance to regain my honor!”
Sena rushed at the Magus killer. She could sense that there was no mana on the killer thus she thought she had the chance. The Magus Killer dodged her first attack. He wasn’t fast. Sena noticed this and speed herself up. The magus killer dodged her consecutive slashes. One of the attacks hit the item on his hand. It was quite well made despite taking a blow from a sword crafted by master smiths.
Sena’s attacks continued. She was overwhelming the Magus killer that has no mana. She thought that once she kills this man then she would able to gain far better glory. She was ashamed of being saved by a little girl. But now with the Magus Killer, the Killer of Mages in front of her, she has gone mad, trying to gain redemption through success. The battle lust of hers return, her mind wanted nothing but to kill him.
The Magus Killer was being pushed back. Each blow that he parries using the gun on his hand was enough to vibrate his bones. His Contender wouldn’t last long. So instead he threw three hardened metal wires he constructed and used it to pull himself away using a mechanism made by his foster father.
The Magus advanced with great speed to a roof.
But he was facing Sena.
She was an enchanted warrior lusting for glory.
She was able to run through walls using her mana and follow him.
Sena rose up her sword.
The Magus Killer saw that he was in deep trouble.
He pointed the gun’s barrel at Sena’s head.
He pulled the trigger and the bullet flew at Sena.
Sena with her mana filled eyes saw the speeding bullet. She could not dodge it completely so she tried dodging by tilting his backward only for the bullet to graze across her cheeks and past her eyelids. The bullet carved a wound on her face.
Sena felt a burning sensation on her face. Yet she didn’t stop and slashed the weapon that the magus killer was holding. The Gun broke into parts but it turned into orbs of light that flew back to Magus Killer. Sena tried to thrust her sword but the black Pierrot-inspired masked man landed on a shabby roof. He positioned himself with a weird stance and using this stance he was able to use Sena’s own force to disarm her. But doing this cracked the arms of the Magus Killer.
Sena was enchanted so she was beyond a normal human’s strength. The Magus killer didn’t utter a sound. It merely tried to escape but Sena wouldn’t allow it. Using her fist she threw a straight punch right in the heart of the Magus Killer.
With her fist landing, she twisted her knuckles and stunned the Magus Killer. With the Magus Killer stunned, she grabbed her sword by using mana and was about to slice the Magus Killer right through his shoulder down his waist.
But suddenly the Magus Killer uttered a chant.
Sena brought her sword only to feel her sword colliding with steel.
The Magus Killer has transmuted his body into steel yet it wasn’t enough to completely block her sharp sword. The Magus Killer has been cut. Blood spurted out of his body and before Sena could thrust her blade straight into his heart. He threw a wire to her sword, rolled out of the way and converted his last remaining mana into a voltage of electricity, making Sena kneel down.
His heart was injured.
Blood was coming out of his mask.
Sena made a look of a fierce tiger as she tries to move her body.
The Magus Killer didn’t wait for her to move and immediately jumped down the canal where the water was raging. His bloody floated down the canal rushing insides the underground tunnel system of the City of Mesh. Sena finally felt the numbness of her body gone.
Looking at the canal she saw no signs of the Magus Killer.
He was able to escape.
Sena wasn’t sure but the punch she threw right at his heart should kill him. But she has doubts, knowing that she faced was facing the Magus Killer.
“Damn it...”
She cursed herself, and she was able to let the Magus Killer escape. Her golden eyes had sorrow in it. She felt her cheeks burned. She tried healing it but the wound was too deep. She knew that even healing it won’t be able to remove the line that was carved on her face.
She was victorious in killing a spectral knight today.
But yet she was feeling defeated.