After that I volunteered to cook. It was another thing I was trained at and I wanted to show off my skills. I felt really proud when they complimented me. It was a nice evening and I felt like the soldiers started to accept me. We went to bed early, there was still a long journey ahead. Sarah warded the area so no night watch was needed.

The next day started uneventfully. We continued our journey and I spent most of my time inward, studying my magic. Sarah told me to get more familiar with it. I experimented with moving more mana to certain body parts, which would be needed for spells.

“Something is wrong.” Sarah said, suddenly.

I left my trance and looked around. We were on a road through a forest. It was a well maintained one, made of stone. Those were usually patrolled and should be relatively safe. After all, we were travelling between two major cities. My eyes scanned the trees around us but I could not see anything out of the ordinary. But I had no training, my escort did. If Sarah warned us there was a good reason for it. Not that there was much I could do if a fight happened.

Our horses slowed down and the guards drew their swords. Sarah touched her arms and I saw runes light up. One moment all was calm, then arrows appeared. The empty forest was filled with attackers. I had no idea where they suddenly came from. Shouts and curses erupted all around me. I saw a wall of wind deflecting the incoming projectiles, followed by Sarah jumping off her horse. I could only see a blur as she charged the attackers.

Something hit my horse, I managed to jump down before it fell. It was chaos. John was fighting on horseback, Edith and Tim had dismounted. They tried to stop any attacker from reaching me. Suddenly Tim burst into flames. I heard his screams as his flesh melted before my eyes. I was scared, I was horrified. My shaking legs gave out and I fell to the floor. A man stepped over Tims corpse. He was wearing a crimson robe and stared at me with cold eyes. As his hand reached out something stirred within me.

My will to survive. My anger that he killed Tim. I did not know the man well but he died to protect me. This mage wanted me dead. I would show him death. With my newfound resolve I drew upon my magic. I had not learned any spells yet. As mana poured into my hands, I imagined death. I remembered what I had felt in the death cloud. I remembered the cold. I remembered my life draining away. I channelled all the emotion into my mana. Then I stood and grabbed the mage’s hand.

A symbol blazed inside my mind. I had no idea what it meant. But my magic reacted. Its colour changed. My magic turned dark with specs of purple. As I touched the enemy I shoved my mana into him. There was resistance, at first. Then it burst and I flooded his body. He screamed as he started withering. I joined him as my skin started to burn.

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I was in pain. In so much pain. But I had endured the punishment of a disobedient slave many times. What was fire compared to the hellish collar I wore for so long? Suddenly the fire was gone. The hand I was grasping was black. It withered before me until only bone remained.

“Koyuki!” Someone shouted.

I could not see very well. Breathing hurt. Everything hurt. I fell to the ground once more. I felt a bottle pushed into my mouth. Liquid poured down my throat. I only tasted ash. Suddenly the pain faded and my skin itched. My vision began to clear. Sarah was standing over me, concern on her face. She was covered in blood.

Suddenly the smell of the battlefield hit me. The stench of death. I looked at the man I had killed. Nothing but a black skeleton remained. I felt sick.

Sarah knelt next to me and gave me a hug. She said nothing, just held me. I closed my eyes. I had killed a person. But I had no choice. He attacked us. He killed Tim. It was only right that I ended him. This attacker did not deserve my sympathy. I still did not feel great but I calmed down.

“Are you alright?” Sarah asked, concern in her voice.

“I… I think I will be.” I answered.

Sarah stood and helped me up.

“Was that your first kill?” Edith asked.

“Yes.”

“Good job wasting that fucker. Don’t worry, most puke after the first engagement. You even held it in.” She patted me on the shoulder. “It gets easier in time.”

I looked around. John was busy searching the bodies. His armour was damaged but he looked relatively unharmed. I saw Edith limping slightly as she checked on our rides. Only three of our five horses were still alive. When I felt a slight breeze on my body I realised that my clothes were gone. Only ashes remained. I quickly checked my hair and tail. I sighed in relief that everything was intact. I wondered if that was because of the potion.

Despite my state of undress nobody leered. Nobody cared. I walked over to the bags of my dead horse. Thankfully there was another set of clothing inside. I dressed quickly.

“What exactly happened? How did they just appear?” I asked Sarah, who was studying the mage’s corpse.

“They were concealed by magic. Even I did not see them. But I noticed the absence of any wildlife. That usually means something scared them away.” She paused and looked around the battlefield. “There were two mages, four archers and four swordsmen. The light mage concealed them with an illusion. After I deflected the first arrows I took care of the archers and the light mage. Edith and John handled the swordsmen. And you… you killed a fire mage. I am impressed. How did you do it without knowing a spell?”

“I grabbed my mana and focused on death. After I saw a strange symbol it changed colour and I shoved it into the mage.”

Sarah stared at me. Then she laughed. “You discovered the rune for death magic! You are one lucky genius.”

“The rune for death magic?”

“If you cast a spell you need to transform your neutral mana to the right element. That happens by forming the mental rune for it. The resulting elemental mana is then used to power a spellform. But you just poured death mana directly into the mage. He must have severely underestimated you to let that happen.”