“Private, run towards my tent and signal our position with the Light Crystal! I'll hold her off! "

In the middle of the sawmill, the unwavering fire went on. Its flames incinerated all the wood that was able to touch the floor. Breathing inside that place was like swallowing ashes through your nostrils, Marcus needed to get out of there immediately.

In the center of the room Hubert was beginning to use the same technique he had used to light the torch earlier. This time, the intention was not to light the room, but to set on fire his blade. Passing his hand over his sword again, the steel began to burn and embers could be seen swirling around irregularly.

『Ignis - Estus Blade』

“Tell me what you really are. You certainly aren't human no more."

"How did you come to such a conclusion?" Lucretia teased the Commander before her with a small blink of an eye.

“I might be an old man, but I am not stupid, girl. The Umbra House embraced profanity during the Barcana Uprising. For that, they were tirelessly hunted for betraying the true faith. Siding with the scorched god is unacceptable."

“Well, you know quite a lot for an old man bearing the Disciple rank on your shoulders. And even so, what was taught isn’t necessarily the truth."

“I don’t want to hear what you have to say, nothing you claim will excuse the murders you’ve committed here.”

Hiding among the rows of hay at the sawmill, Marcus moved slightly in the shadows. Sneaking up on objects to hide his position from her, every time he answered one of Lucretia's questions, he needed to move. Considering that half of his elemental energy had already been exhausted using only two elemental abilities, he thought he only had enough for one more advanced technique to finish the job.

He needed to end the fight on his next elemental blow, and knowing which race that woman belonged to would be the difference between victory and defeat. Knowing very well that he needed to analyze what kind of entity Lucretia was, to stay out in the open for a hand-to-hand fight would be suicide.

There were no pointed ears attached to that wicked smile, so she could not be an elf.

“Where are you, Hubert? You don’t have to act so shy around me.”

She is short in stature but not short enough to be considered a dwarf, in addition her regal stature was an uncommon feature in dwarven society. Besides, their last two kingdoms had been ruined during the Divine War, their population scattered across Ravnos—naturally an unlikely alternative.

"I promise I'll be a good girl as long as you behave."

It would be helpful if he had some Holy Water with him or at least a Blue Elixir to confirm his theory, however he had left both of them in the tent before leaving the cabin. His mind was running desperately trying to find a solution, an object that could regain the advantage in that encounter and increase his chances of survival. The heat from the circle of flames kept burning, but it was only a matter of time before they went out.

Looking at his supply belt, he reviewed his only possible choices. Naturally, all soldiers were supplied with some tools for the campaign light enough to be carried at all times. They were provided a scabbard to store a sword, a water canteen, a compass, and a backpack. The backpack specifically varied in content depending on the rank of the soldier and the preference of what they would like to take for the campaign.

Hubert personally had brought several personal items that reminded him of his family, it was rough to stay so many months away from them. Next to these was a Light Crystal, a gift from his father-in-law during his wedding. An object that, although valuable, was not so uncommon among soldiers in charge of a company of one hundred soldiers.

This item, however, had immeasurable strategic value - having elemental properties that made it possible to signal a ray of light to the skies, allowing kingdom officials to spot the light thirty leagues away from a circular radius.

“All I need is a little bit of information, you don’t need to be scared. Where is the Fenathus daughter hiding? Certainly a warrior of your rank would know the whereabouts of the nobles from your country.”

Her question fell on deaf’s ears as the commander wasn’t interested in chatting with the enemy. Focused on the matter at hand, he had to do his part of it. Private Marcus was not the best soldier he had, far from it. However, he was the only one available to fulfill this mission of alerting the royal capital of what was happening; to interpret which faction could potentially be behind this would be the role of the Council of Sixty and the thirteen members of the Sacred Brotherhood.

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

Now, he should focus on the enemy before him and only that.

If she were a member of the Umbra family, the chances of guessing her identity would be increased dramatically. Even though Hubert didn't know anyone in that family well enough to know names, that was not required.

The tips related to her race were wide open and emblazoned in the small dialogue they had. There was no way she was a human. She could have been at one time, however, the fact she mentioned events of centuries past made his heart skip a beat. Therefore Hubert assumed she had become something else entirely to defy the change of times and somehow kept her wits safe.

Breaking the silence that was filled with the flames was the growl of a man delivering a stealthy attack. Not even a vampire's night vision was able to observe the darkness and see what was coming; they should have been looking up and not sideways like she did.

All the elemental energy that Hubert had left was gathered in this last attack. With the surprise effect synergy on his side and the heat of the flames reverberating the fury contained in his grip, he delivered the judgment of the gods on that mysterious woman.

"Raaaah!"

『Ignis - Ember Slash』

The commander's steel sword accumulated energy and expanded in volume with superb speed. The elemental fire energy accumulating in the sword made the steel overflow with power like a burning cauldron. All the overflowing forces had been assembled—a wave of attack that split the air itself in half, launching a wave of flames in Lucretia's direction.

Flaming waves that were able to burn the fabric, wood, and even skin as if they were paper. And for someone like Lucretia who wasn’t even realizing where the attack came from, it would quickly become her ultimate mistake. And then…

“—"

Impossible.

Lucretia knew very well where the attack was coming from, as she was not using her eyes to locate the commander. She didn't have to, because she knew where he was all along. All she had to do was feel the environment and follow the direction in which the flow of energy was going. The signs pointed to the ceiling.

Then, in the blink of an eye, the figure of that beautiful helpless red-haired girl in a black dress wandering through a burning sawmill completely transformed. That circle of fire that was gaining space with its flames—advancing on the wooden boards with the intention of arresting it had the opposite effect. Now whoever was trapped with her in that hellish circle was the commander himself.

That's because the flaming shockwave had dissipated like a fog by the time she carelessly waved her hand. Hubert could not believe what he was seeing. He had gathered all the elemental energy and even then she didn’t even flinch. He was pretty sure that not even the Sentinels were able to prevent a special attack with such ease.

And it was at that moment that he realized how he had his ember slash blocked.

It was beautiful.

On her middle finger, a black ring that exalted power shone brightly. An inscription could be seen on its surface. A certain drawing stood out in the center of the onyx metal piece. The commander paid attention to the ring, but he did not understand the meaning of it. As anticipated, it was inconceivable to expect him to respect what wasn’t known. The design engraved on the ring was no mere ornament, but Hubert knew no better.

He had a hunch, and maybe if he had more time he’d figure it out.

But he didn’t have any.

A wicked smile spread across Lucretia’s face as she flickered her index finger towards Hubert’s forehead.

『Sanguis - Micantia』

And the warm touch of her fingertip her announced the shockwave—

In just an instant, his body was sent flying. His back made a crater in the wall and excruciating pain washed over him. His arms and legs could no longer be felt, and the pain was so insane that it was impossible to think of anything.

All he could do was feel.

The immeasurable pain made the act of taking a deep breath an inconceivable notion, all of his ribs broken into pieces like a fragile porcelain doll. The infrastructure around him was decaying with every second he stayed there, and what once looked like an average-looking sawmill now felt more like his final resting place. Pieces of wood were beginning to plummet from the ceiling, the flames approaching him — eager to wrap around him like a burning blanket.

A soft whispering voice could be heard beside him.

“You’ve failed in providing me useful information, commander. What a disappointing man. You were too weak to stand against me, so I suppose I’ll have to massacre the next village in my path until someone tells me where I can find her. That is—Unless you've finally learned your place and gave in to reason.”

"G-gh"

The thought of giving information to the enemy was absurd. But maybe he was beaten enough to realize that it was better to cooperate, that person would certainly not stop murdering people until she found her answer. And at that moment, it seemed that any answer would be better than none if it meant that an entire city would be spared.

"G-ghhhh!"

“Oh, are you trying to say something? Unfortunately not even a Guardian Healer could mend you at this time. ”

With a small hand over her mouth hiding a mocking face, Lucretia approached—her ears coming closer to his mouth, dripping blood between words.

Feeling a pierce of pain every time he breathed, the taste of blood turned evident inside his mouth, dense liquid would soon overwhelm his throat. There was no time or strength left to resist.

At that moment, saving a village from a massacre was more important than drowning in his own blood.

If knowledge was her price, then so be it.

“I heard that Th… —Lord Fenathus sent his daughter… She can be found in Sanctum…”

Suddenly the complexity in Lucretia's face changed completely, a spark appeared on her dark eyes—now glittered in joy.