“What do you want?” A guard asked.

“The Countesses Amaya and Lucy Delphinium are here to meet Baron Aspey.” Lily said.

“Huh. Never heard that name.” He looked at the other guard. “Me neither. We don’t expect any visitors and you are clearly not local.” The other guy pointed out.

“You look more like some adventurers. Impersonating nobility is a crime you know. We will have to arrest you.” The guard leered at us.

“Can I slaughter them?” Shani asked.

“Huh. An elemental that can speak?” The other guard looked surprised. “Nevermind, threatening us is a crime too. I guess you will all just end up as slaves.” He pointed his spear at us. “Don’t make this hard.” He said with a smirk and emphasis on hard.

A trail of beautiful cherry blossoms appeared. The magical petals gently floated through the air. They were dancing with the drops of blood coming from the guard's wound. Lily had drawn Storm’s Blossom and stabbed the guard.

“Your behaviour towards my ladies is unacceptable. Your punishment is death.” She said with a cold voice. She withdrew the blade from his stomach and chopped his head off.

The other guard froze. He was in shock.

“Boo!” Shani said, having moved behind him with incredible speed.

“Ahhhhhhh!” The guard screamed as he turned around and saw a smiling face with lots of teeth. Then a scythe descended and he was no more.

“That escalated quickly.” I remarked. I should have felt horrified. It was concerning how accustomed I had become to death. But this was a cruel world and I had a feeling those guards liked to arrest women. Their eyes, their tone, none of it sat right with me.

Lucy shrugged. “Let’s find this baron.”

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The scream of the guard did attract some attention. As we entered the courtyard, and moved towards the keep, a squad of soldiers appeared. They came from a building near the wall, maybe the barracks. All guards wore chainmail and carried spears. Except for their commander, who wore a breastplate and had a sword attached to his belt.

“What is the meaning of this? Who are you people?”

I noticed that there were ten people moving towards us. And all were male, despite magic being a great equaliser, when it came to power. Lily approached the man. Her maid outfit was spotless, she had expertly avoided all the blood. Her Naginata’s blade was a different story. It was coated in blood.

“Fetch your baron, my ladies are here to meet him. Or join the fools at the gate and feed my blade. Your choice.” Lily said.

“Wait! Your blade can’t have them all, we need to share!” Shani shouted.

I was about to enter the conversation when Lucy spoke: “We have heard the baron likes beastkin. Why don’t you tell me what is going on around here?”

Her voice had changed, slightly. I could feel a certain power in it. But that was not all. Lucy’s tail was actually pointing upwards. Lightning was coursing through it. And I could feel her presence. Was that an aura?

“There… there are cages downstairs. We… we just collect them.” The trembling commander said.

One of the soldiers dropped their spear and tried to run towards the keep. He did not make it very far. Fire burst from his skin and he screamed.

Fire? A man in an orange robe had emerged from the keep. “We do not tolerate cowards here.” The new arrival said. “Martin, why have you not dealt with those intruders yet?”

“Are you Blake Aspey?” I asked.

“I am not Lord Aspey. You can call me master.” He said with a smirk. “I will enjoy training you. Now, Martin, do your job.”

The commander tried to draw his sword. But he was way too slow. Lucy transformed into a giant fox, and squashed him with her paw. Then she roared.

The remaining soldiers collapsed. The mage’s confidence was replaced by fear. He did manage another spell though. A protective ring of fire surrounded him. I recognized it as a third tier spell. Not bad for a mage in a small barony. Against us? It was utterly pointless. Lucy’s mouth opened and a bolt of lighting appeared. The mage was no more.

I had not joined the battle yet. Calling it a battle was a stretch anyway. Nobody here stood a chance against us. But I decided to unleash my aura. I was curious how it would react to Lucy’s. As our powers met… they embraced each other. It felt really nice. The usual storm appeared above us.

Shani disappeared into the barracks, looking for prey. Lily opened the door to the keep and held it for us. Lucy shrank to the size of a wolf so she could enter. Inside we searched for a way downstairs. The baron could wait, there was little chance of him escaping.

We found the basement and the cages. 17 women were imprisoned here. All wore slave collars. “He needs to suffer.” Lucy said.

I nodded, then addressed the captives: “We are here to help. We will free you and can even escort you out of the Empire, if you want.” I used a soothing voice and tried to comfort them with my aura. Considering the burning rage inside me it was not easy.

A lot of frightened faces looked at us. But I could also see hope. We opened the cages with force. The steel bars were no match for our strength. Then I used my lockpicking skill to get rid of the collars.

“I will find that bastard.” Lucy announced and started her hunt. Meanwhile I escorted the frightened women outside.