The rain fell.
The slum’s streets were covered in the darkness of the night.
Lampposts flickered overhead, barely giving enough luminescence to light a path.
The alleys were filled with dirty people who coughed, injected themselves with drugs or those who were sleeping.
A lone girl—who looked no older than 15—walked down this street. Her hair stuck to her face due to the accumulated sweat from not having washed herself in days.
She could feel the gazes of the people as she walked down the road.
This slum wasn’t safe for any human to live in, much less a feeble young girl. It harbored criminals and gangsters who would rob and kill a person over a single copper coin.
The girl lived in the deep slum, which was basically the worst part of the kingdom to live in.
She walks down this same path every day.
Her destination?
Well, she was going to the district of the rich. Specifically, the shopping district with all its business chains and markets. The richest people are usually there flexing their wealth to the poor.
The girl suddenly felt three presences creeping up behind her.
Someone grabbed her shoulder.
“Hohoho, didn’t expect to find you again, girly!” a disgusting scent assaulted her nostrils when the person who grabbed her spoke to her from the side.
The girl turned around.
“…What do you want…”
There were three men standing there. One of them was a man who looked like an orc. He rubbed his big belly while looking at her up and down.
The other two were his lackeys. These three are local gangsters from another part of the slum. Their businesses entails selling people to the highest bidders.
This pig was known as the richest man in the slums. Why does he choose to live here despite having the money and power to leave? Well, that’s because of how easy it is to sell humans. He promises them a life of luxury before selling them to the highest bidder.
Of course, he takes care of them for a while. He feeds them and gives them nice clothes. This continues until he’s groomed them enough—according to the preferences of his buyer—before selling them.
Some even enjoy a life of luxury for years if they're too young to be sold. This gives the pig enough time to groom them into what his buyers want.
People who are at the bottom of society will obey anything you say if the price is high enough.
“You know what I want, kukuku.” He approached her and put his hand on her breast.
“A girl with a body as good as this,” he grabbed her face next, “and a face this cute is bound to become a beauty when she grows up. A shame that you won't have a future if you stay out here."
She slapped his hands away.
The pig just cackled.
“See this?” he held up a gold coin which made her hold her breath, “This is the kind of coin you can earn by serving my clients or even me. Even kings request my service, kukuku! But I know I shouldn’t act too arrogant and leave my former life behind. This is where I began my successful career, after all!”
How can this scum be proud of selling humans like objects, thought the girl.
“If you know what I do then you should know the kinds of people I work with, yes? The most sadistic and depraved scum in this world. They hide behind an elegant and noble façade but are actually degenerates. Some like seeing children being torn limb from limb while others likes being shit on by gorgeous women. One man even let one of the slaves kick his balls, aahahahha! Well, they’re rich so it’s none of my business what they do with the products I sell them.”
“...Please let me go… Please…” the girl trembled with her head lowered.
“This is my second time asking you, Kalda: Do you want a life of luxury serving your master or will you become one of my wives? Your father would’ve sold you in a heartbeat, you know, kakaka!”
“….” She gripped her dress.
“You pickpocket people so that you can buy food and other nice things for yourself, right? Why not swim in gold and buy anything you want after becoming my wife? You should know how much money I make a day.”
“I-I…”
The man grabbed her hand when she tried to back away.
He roughly put her hand over the groin of his pants. She could feel something thick and hard which made her skin crawl. It pulsated in her hand which caused her face to grimace.
“Feel that? That’s the thing that will pierce your womb and give you my child. All the pretty commoners either die, get kidnapped by my competitors or run away when I approach them with the same offer. I had to resort to more drastic measures to ensure they don’t slip out of my hands. You’re the prettiest of them all. I’ve been waiting patiently for you but even a gentleman loses his patience.” He let her go and flicked the gold coin.
If she didn’t leave this place behind soon then she’ll end up becoming a toy for either him or some master she doesn’t know. Knowing the man in front of him, she’d rather risk the latter.
“You can take the coin. It’ll be enough for you to wash your filthy body and hair and get something nice to eat and wear. You’ll at least look better than the trashy women in the slums.” The man turned around, “I want an answer soon or I’ll have to decide for you~”
The girl stood there with her fists clenched. She looked down at the gold coin.
She could see multiple people approach her slowly, probably to try and take the coin for themselves. She hurriedly picked it up and ran away.
She wanted to run from the slums itself but where else would she go if she left her home?
A gold coin won’t be enough to escape such a life.
If she didn’t escape then she’ll either become the plaything of some stranger or that pig from earlier.
The girl had the power to decide her own fate.
She can kill every person who had hurt her or plan to control her.
Why doesn’t she?
She possesses the power to do it—something many call a soul power.
The soul power can impact everything and anyone, whether good or bad. She can turn a mage’s pure mana into miasma, drain the life of every living thing(plants, animals and humans etc…), break magic circles, cast multiple curses or debuffs on living things, and decay anything she touches.
She didn’t know what this soul power was called. She didn’t even know why she had it. It just came to her one day.
No one knows about this power. Well, she doesn’t have anyone to tell anyway.
But would things be different if she had just shown that pig what she’s capable of?
She killed her own father using this power when he tried to rape her after her mother died. She wanted to protect herself but at the same time she didn’t want to hurt others.
But if I do nothing then I’ll become a slave, she thought when she came to a stop.
She was now standing in the middle of an alley.
The girl gripped the coin tightly and began walking. Her paranoia made her think that people will try and take her money from her. She found it quite funny how she’s anxious about something like that happening when she steals from people all the time.
Her good-for-nothing father at least taught her how to pickpocket people. That’s the only good thing she remembers him by. No, rather it’s the only useful thing her father had ever taught her. Had he not taught her how to do it then she would’ve been laying in a ditch somewhere, either dead or on the brink of death.
Her decaying power makes it easier to steal things as well since it can break apart any physical object.
Most of the rich people she steals from like to flaunt their goods or gold for everyone to see. Those kinds of people are the easiest targets.
The street was, as expected, filled with people. The citizens were either in fancy clothes or were students from different academies who came to the district to have fun.
There were plenty of stores for clothing, food, entertainment, etc… Students are always flooding the streets during the afternoon. The time was currently past twelve. That means that it was their hour long break.
The girl spotted a group of academy students coming out of a café. They were giggling between their conversations.
The group sat down at a free table.
Kalda looked at one of the girls at the table. She had long white hair and pale blue eyes which made her look both sickly and beautiful. She had porcelain skin and long legs. Given her youthful appearance, she was probably as old as Kalda.
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Was it her gestures or her elegant way of speaking that made one think she was of royalty?
Kalda didn’t consider where this girl was from during this moment.
All she knew was…
…she fell in love at first sight.
◇◇◇
Two knights—one clad in jet-black armor and the other wearing only a half suit of armor—stood with their weapons against a woman—the lover of Her Majesty, Siana—with nothing but her robe and hood covering her body.
Her scythe pulsated with an ominous black smoke and purple aura.
The pole of her scythe suddenly shrunk when she brought the scythe up to her chest. She ran her fingers across the blade as she walked forward with a relaxed gait.
“My weapon has slain thousands with a single swing of my arm. I’ve never fought and lost a battle, even against those stronger than me. I’ve killed several gods and demigods. Even the strong fall to my weapon. The two of you are no different.”
The knight in the black armor bent down and burst forward immediately after Kalda was done speaking.
Sceptim suddenly disappeared. How did he disappear so quickly?
‘I’ve known him for many years but I’ve never seen him use this level of speed. Is this how he fights when he’s serious?’
Kalda suddenly bent backwards when the black knight swung his greatsword. The hall trembled. Another figure—Sceptim—appeared behind Kalda. However, he was kicked away before his blade could connect.
He immediately shot towards her again after crashing into the wall. All of that happened in a few seconds.
The black knight held up his greatsword just before Kalda’s scythe could connect with his head. His greatsword was knocked sideways. He moved along its momentum, barely evading Kalda’s chain. The chain destroyed a chunk of the ground behind him.
Sceptim swung his sword immediately after the black knight evaded the attack.
Kalda caught the blade between her middle and index fingers. She knocked the blade aside and swung her scythe with a backward grip, trying to tear Sceptim from the bottom-up.
However, something grabbed her hand—it was the monster that helps Sceptim move around.
A bloodcurdling scream resounded when she broke its hand apart. Its bone could be seen sticking out of the fracture.
Sceptim jumped back.
“Heal yourself for now. Don’t do that again. Understood?”
A low growl came from beneath his cape.
“—I’ve always hated that thing.” Kalda appeared in front of Sceptim in a blink of an eye. Before anyone noticed, Sceptim was bound in her chains, “You’re still too slow for me. Why did you think that you’ll be able to defeat me?”
He smirked.
“No, you’re the one who’s slow.” He was then surrounded in black smoke.
Something else was within her chains when the smoke cleared.
It was a skinless monster with big beady eyes and large protruding horns. It looked like some sort of demon.
It grabbed Kalda’s arms. Its eyes glowed yellow just before it screeched and exploded. Several booms soon followed after the first explosion.
Did the dark mage girl summon that monster, wondered the knight to herself.
The jet-black knight held up his arm after he stabbed the greatsword through the floor.
Blue flames surrounded his forearm before shooting towards where Kalda stood. More explosions followed.
One would assume that the woman was already done for given how strong those explosions were. However, the knight has known and served Kalda for decades. Siana stopped their aging process using her soul power so they have served both for a very long time. Throughout these years, the knights that served the queen developed a fear towards her friend.
Kalda had shown to them all that she was the strongest countless times.
Two copies of Kalda suddenly appeared in front of Sceptim and the black-armored knight. The two copies immediately attacked the two with the swing of their weapons. Unlike Kalda who uses a war scythe for battle, her copies used a spear and sword.
The black-armored knight and Sceptim engaged in combat with the two while being mindful of where Kalda could be. The smoke had already faded but she was nowhere to be found.
She was using two artifacts: One to hide and one to make two copies of herself. Sceptim already knew that she could do this but it came as a surprise that the black-armored knight could grasp the situation without losing focus.
In fact, he was fighting the clone with the same intensity as the original Kalda with no underestimation.
The battle quickly turned in his favor, with the clone being pushed back.
He burst forward and chased after the clone after it jumped back. He suddenly held the greatsword in front of him to act as a shield and was sent flying by some invisible force.
How was he able to detect Kalda?
Are his warrior senses that strong?
The clone that fought the black knight vanished and the original appeared. The other clone was still fighting Sceptim.
“Your reaction time is quick,” she approached the black knight with her scythe glowing in a purplish light, “Even Sceptim can’t detect me right before I attack in [Limbo]. Hmm, you don’t seem as strong as him. But I guess one’s senses doesn’t correlate to strength but years of training and a gift for fighting.”
The black knight closed the distance and swung his greatsword with unbelievable strength. It struck the ground when Kalda dodged, causing chunks of debris to go flying.
He didn’t stop there. He struck directly towards Kalda’s face, however, his attack was stopped by her chain.
He jumped back before charging again, showing his inexhaustible flow of aura and monstrous stamina.
Kalda would try to grab him but he disappears right before she manages to get a hold of him. His relentless attacking got even more fierce as time went on.
Kalda seems to have had enough as she decided to move instead of deflecting his attacks.
“You’re burning quite a lot of power, boy,” Kalda swung the scythe by holding the end of the chain, which gave her more reach. Kalda’s chain can move on its own so there’s no need for her to chase after her opponents.
The black knight moved so fast that the weapon could barely catch him. It was like he wasn’t even wearing heavy armor.
“I have a lot to spare.” He said before closing the distance with monstrous speed.
Her chain tried to grab his arm but he bent low and held the sword by its blade in an attempt to tackle Kalda with it. Kalda kicked him before he could do so.
He burst towards her again with only a second’s delay.
Kalda got ready to meet his attack head-on. However, he turned into smoke. Something emerged from that smoke. It was the same demon creature that combusted earlier.
Kalda frowned and turned invisible again.
The demon came to a halt and looked around. Its head suddenly rotated unnaturally before it fell down.
Kalda emerged again. She was suddenly punched in the face when a silhouette appeared right next to her. She was sent flying and crashed against the barrier.
The black knight from before appeared.
How did he disappear and reappear without having an artifact of concealment?
Even Kalda was looking at him in surprise. She wiped her left cheek and looked at the blood.
‘How did the monster appear so quickly without him and the mage girl interacting? Surely she can’t be using mind magic while being under the restrictions of her exchanged class?’ the female knight noticed something glowing on the knight’s left shoulder, ‘A wisp?’
“I thought you were weak but that was the hardest I’ve ever been hit,” she stood up and moved her jaw a few times.
“Well… that was a punch with a lot of aura behind it. I’ve never used that much power in a single hit against anyone. It seems I only managed to scratch you a bit. This isn’t going to be easy.”
Kalda went “This palace will be your tomb, boy” before she took off her hood. Her purple hair was suddenly surrounded in a purplish aura. Her pupils vanished and was replaced by a glowing magenta light.
She’s using her first form, thought the knight.
At the same time, the clone that was fighting Sceptim vanished.
Sceptim immediately went to the black knight’s side.
The two charged at Kalda. She met them head-on.
The force of their clash made the barrier vibrate violently. Even the palace itself was shaking.
Sparks flew and all sorts of lights surrounded the inside of the hall.
The black knight fought alongside Sceptim as if the two had been fighting together for years. Was he that experienced in battle that he can adept to fighting in a two-on-one?
Most warriors don’t care about their partners during a fight. They don’t even give their comrade a chance to attack and would instead attack relentlessly all on their own with no strategy in mind.
Knights have rules for fighting in duels and wars. If the fight is a duel then no outsider is allowed to interfere. If it’s a war then the knights should fight together. None of them should attack blindly, though. All parties must come up with tactics beforehand so that there isn’t any disorganization on the field, which can otherwise claim more lives. This applies when a siege is taking place or an adversary equal to ten knights on their own attacks the unit.
It all boils down to “teamwork”.
How was the black knight working so well with Sceptim as if they prepared their fight beforehand.
Kalda seemed to be fighting the two on equal grounds at first glance but it was obvious that she was having difficulty with being attacked by two very powerful knights.
‘This black knight is almost as strong as Master Sceptim. However, Lady Kalda is going strong and there’s almost no signs of her slowing down.’
The only difficult part was fighting two people at once. She has to deflect and dodge both of their attacks over the span of a few seconds. Even the strong would struggle.
What about using copies to even the odds? Well, using one copy will half her strength, not give her the upper hand.
She has years of experience in fighting so it didn’t come as a surprise that she was holding on.
The mage girl was also concerning. Kalda can’t fight two knights at once and worry about being attacked by yet another one of her summons.
“Where are you going, Caerwyn?”
The knight’s—Caerwyn’s—friend, called out to her when she was about to head towards the barrier.
She came to a stop and looked at her friend.
“We have to help Master Sceptim. There’s so much that we’ve learnt from him. We can’t let him die by Lady Kalda’s hands.”
“I know but… It’s obvious who will win. Lady Kalda is only in her first form of her soul power. The two may be equally matched with her now but the same can’t be said for her last two forms.”
Kalda’s soul power allows her to control and corrupt any form of energy. She uses this power to create antimagic seals, break apart magic circle formulas, control people and decay everything she touches.
Corruption was her main power.
Everything has some sort of energy giving it structure and its molecular form. But what happens if that energy is corrupted by its opposing nature?
Kalda’s final form was that exact nature. Everything she touches will simply disintegrate.
“—That’s why all of us should help them defeat her before she reaches her final form. She might be stronger than us all but she’s not invincible.”
Caerwyn was the only outsider in this palace. She ran into Sceptim when the palace ended up near her homeland. He was there to fetch supplies.
Their meeting wasn’t anything special at first. Sure, she was freaked out by the monster but she forgot all about the monster when she saw how strong Sceptim was and when she got to know him better.
She was previously a knight of a household before she was appointed under Her Majesty’s private army. The other palace knights were apparently from the queen’s world. They left behind their kingdom to follow her. In exchange for their loyalty, all of them were given treasures and the gift of eternal youth.
Caerwyn wasn’t as strong as the palace knights back then. In fact, the only reason she was accepted here was because Sceptim said she has the potential to “protect Her Majesty”.
Caerwyn was doubtful when she heard that. She only wanted to become his squire at first. To prove to her that he wasn’t lying, Sceptim offered to train her.
It didn’t take long for her to realize that he wasn’t just flattering her skills in swordsmanship. No, maybe she became strong because he was the one who was her instructor? He was patient, kind and very supportive. Nothing else mattered to him besides training her.
Caerwyn learned from the others that he trained most of them as well. They were able to break past their limits and become strong thanks to him.
“Is this how we want to pay back his kindness?”
Not only will they lose the person they look up to but Siana will also lose a dear friend. The thought of what might happen to her if Sceptim was killed frightened Caerwyn.
“….” Caerwyn took off her helmet, letting her pink hair fall on her shoulders. Her bright blue eyes looked at the other knights. The sounds of battle raged on behind her.
“If Her Majesty wants Lady Kalda to perish then it must mean that there’s some other way for her to be saved. Why else would Master Sceptim put his life on the line? I have a suspicion that the young man down there is related to how Her Majesty will be saved. Don’t we all wish for Her Majesty to survive? I’ve been under her service for years. But all of you should know more than me what a kind and humble person she is. Similarly, all of you should know the suffering she had to endure. She’s had enough. If Lady Kalda doesn’t perish then she’ll end her own life before the soul power consumes her completely.”
The knights looked down, unable to meet Caerwyn’s gaze.
“All of you are cowards.” She threw her helmet to the side and began approaching the barrier after unsheathing her rapier.
One of the giants standing by the stairs suddenly appeared next to her.
“What?”
It pointed to its neck, to the slave collar.
“Will you help me if I let you go?”
It nodded.
“Alright.” Caerwyn cut off the collar with a single stroke.
The giant looked back at the knights and grunted, probably to mock them for not standing up with Caerwyn.
“Hm?”
One knight—who was standing far from Caerwyn—approached the barrier just like she did.
Another knight on the other side of the barrier did the same.
More of them soon followed.
The fighting inside the barrier suddenly stopped.
All four individuals stood and watched in silence as hundreds of knights stood outside the barrier with their weapons ready.
Kalda merely looked at them.
The barrier shuttered like glass when war cries resounded.
Every single palace knight and giant charged at Kalda.