Tervail regarded General Redecan with barely concealed animosity as the battering ram pounded at the barrier. They had been monitoring the situation in the Trellers domain, and their scouts had noticed an increased spike of mana saturation, which could only mean one thing: the Treller was preparing for a fight.

The scouts found it likely that the Treller had grown bored in its domain, and had finally decided to leave. Whether that included a rampage, or a quiet departure? Tervail had wished to know, although the chance to talk was moot since Redecan had ignored his input and sent out the ram brigade. He would have liked to see if he can at least talk to the being, but no discussion would be had when the Treller was being bombarded by more than 150 soldiers. More were going to be arriving and Tervail glared as he watched the satisfied smirk grow across Redecan’s mustached face as he sentenced brave men to their deaths.

Redecan’s twinkling brown eyes met Tervail’s own, he knew Tervail’s thoughts on the matter without any dialogue on his part. “Calm down, my boy!” he guffawed while he clapped him on the back. “You can put your class to better use when we capture the knife-ear.”

Tervail internally grimaced. It was his fuck-up that resulted in the death of the orphanage matriarch, a child, two teathers and a priest. If he wasn’t so partial to children, even Elven ones, the bloody path that Ione went down could have been avoided.

He didn’t ask the right questions. He didn’t dig deep enough. He failed.

Tervail had allowed a wound to fester and now, a psychotic, murderous Elven child was on the loose. Luckily, he wasn’t the only person who had shouldered the blame. Hubrik, his colleague that was tasked with watching the girl, had also failed to notice any signs or warnings.

If Tervail couldn’t extract the truth from one little girl, and if Hubrik couldn’t accurately survey her? They had monumentally fucked up and they had drastically underestimated her.

Though, he did learn his lesson, one that would not be forgotten. His presence at the barrier was proof of his transgression. He should have been interrogating elven infiltrators, splitting apart their skulls to gain their secrets and gain an advantage the nation sorely needed, but now he was on standby, waiting for the moment where he could come face to face with his negligence and extract information he knew she had.

Ione G’alatria would not be so easily dismissed this time.

Tervail gave a sharp nod. “When we capture Ione, please don’t hurt her too much, she might be more willing to talk to me if we handle her with care. I will oversee whether physical punishment is needed.”

Torture was one his least favourite methods of interrogation. It was likely his prisoners would lie just to stop the pain, rather than actually give him the information he needed and he doubted torture would work on Ione anyways.

His class, which was on its second evolution, had given him a new attribute and Insight had proved incredibly useful in figuring out the small details of those under his wing.

The General eyed him incredulously. “She has killed multiple of our own, and you want to treat her as if she hasn’t?”

Wants to kill her. Is trying to find ways to permanently maim her without my input.

His eye twitched. “Respectfully, this is why I'm the interrogator, and you're not, General Redecan,” he said with a slight bow of his head.

Redecan held his gaze for a brief second, then bellowed, “I suppose so!”

Will try to hurt her.

He internally sighed as the General clapped him on the back once more. There was nothing more he could do. Tervail turned his gaze to survey the area beneath the watchtower, bustling with soldiers of varying war-based classes.

They had expended an incredible amount of resources on this excursion, and he hoped it would bear fruit. It had to.

Redecan murmured, “watch this,” then shouted, “hear me, soldiers of Whisperwind! Today is a momentous day.” His voice echoed with conviction, and all the soldiers stopped to listen. Tervail knew it was his class allowing him to bolster the soldiers. He felt the buff apply to him as well.

A buff has been applied to you! +50 Strength for the next hour. 59:59.

“You have all been chosen today to take part in protecting this nation. We are soldiers of the Hyndell family! We will protect what is ours by birthright. Whisperwind is ours! And nothing will stand in our way!”

A cacophony of cheers rang throughout the encampment, like a gong after being struck, and the General turned back to Tervail to shoot him a short smile.

"The Treller has been a blight on our nation, but no longer! Here and today, it's reign of terror ends!"

Redecan started to talk about duty and whatever inane thing Tervail was forced to listen to, before a strange feeling overtook him. His eyes trailed over the burgeoning battlefield, but saw nothing amiss. It was only when he decided to look at the top of the wall that he felt a chill race down his spine.

Strangely, a being, covered in metal, closely resembling the wall itself, was slowly inching its way towards the lip of the barrier. Right over where the battering ram previously hit the wall.

He went to say something to the general before the being moved, and suddenly, they were no longer metal. A shock of white hair emerged as the being jumped from the barricade towards the watchtower they were in.

Oh.

Fuck.

Tervail turned towards the General.

“Redecan, Io-!”

Yet, he was too late. Tervail could only watch as Ione launched herself inside the watchtower, a building roughly 95 feet, and wrapped herself around Redecan, his back to her front, and she procured an interesting looking dagger, aimed at the General's neck. Tervail wasn't too worried, however.

He suspected her dexterity skill was high, but that would mean her strength, mana, and other attributes must be low.

The knife she held looked incredibly sharp, and was an off-white color, similar to ceramic if he had to take a guess, but there was no sheath or belt that could have housed the weapon. He saw some rings on her fingers.

Dimensional storage?

She ignored Tervail in favor of addressing the General. “One single move, a breath out of line and your head will roll. Understood? You may nod.”

Will do so with no hesitation.

The general nodded and stared at Tervail as if to say, you know her, talk to her.

At least he knows when to shut up.

Tervail, instead, took the opportunity to observe her. She was taller than him now, in fact, taller than all of the soldiers on the battlefield, but waif thin. Upon a closer look, however, showed deeply corded muscle in her forearms. It was almost grotesque. The General was dwarfed next to her. Her hair was loose and wild, still as white as the day he interviewed her and her eyes were still unsettlingly wide. She wore loose fitting clothing; a brown tunic hung off of her frame, a dark brown cloak encircled her shoulders, and brown sandals decorated her feet. What he certainly couldn’t ignore was the dark aura that emanated off of her. Insight told him that she was more dangerous than she seemed, which was obvious, but the strange sense of weight that flowed from her demanded attention and fear. It wouldn’t make sense for her dexterity to be the only high attribute for him to get these warnings.

What’s going on?

The subsequent inspection was illuminating, but not outright telling.

[Ione G’alatria- Fleshweaver] - LVL 113

She’s been busy.

It had been nearly two weeks since she had entered the Trellers domain, so her rate of growth was exceedingly and suspiciously exceptional.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

He was almost forlorn. What a great soldier she would have made.

Tervail wasn’t sure what Fleshweaver was, but he didn’t like the sound of it. It was best to be cautious and calm in the face of an unknown, despite his heart racing at the situation.

Insight wasn't much help. Maybe some type of body improving class? Focused on attributes?

He couldn't forget that he was looking into the eyes of a murderer who had killed a fellow child, when they were a child themselves. It was wayward thinking to believe that Ione could be different, but he supposed all elves were the same bloodthirsty creatures he had experience with.

Insight told him that Ione was confident, assured. She came to request something, and she was sure it would go in her favor.

To say the least, Tervail was curious, though, it was Ione that spoke first.

“It’s been a while, Tervail.” Ione spoke in a low voice.

“It has,” he agreed coolly.

They regarded each other before Ione snickered. “Okay, let’s cut the bullshit. I have a proposition.”

His face showed clear distrust, but he tilted his head in curiosity.

“I would like for you all- that includes the lovely soldiers down below- to leave the Trellers domain and go back to fighting the elves or whatever. Just, leave.”

Tervail barked out a laugh. “Ione, you know that’s impossible.”

“Is it?” She asked, challenging.

In truth, it wasn’t. Redecan would believe him if he said that she was extremely dangerous even at level 113, and it’d be best to lure her in for a trap rather than an all out brawl, but…

He couldn’t fail again.

This was his chance.

His head tilted in a no.

Ione’s lips pursed. “Bummer.” the temperature of the room cooled to a chilling degree. Then, before Tervail could blink, the General moved to push Ione off of him. A glimmer of hope sparked in Tervail’s chest, however Redecan was unsuccessful.

Terribly, horrendously unsuccessful.

His brain short circuited as he watched Ione exert the force one would use to push a swing as she easily swiped the knife across Redecan’s neck. The General's head fell to the floor with a wet squelch, his expression one of fierce determination, and blood spurted from the sliced neck.

The body soon followed through with a thud.

“Huh.” Ione intently watched the blood pool from the general’s body and Tervail watched in utter horror. “That was easier than I thought.” she briefly grimaced before she quickly schooled her features.

Distressed at how easy it was to kill him.

Tervail had been around many elves, and not one of them had held such blatant remorse, however small, at killing their enemies.

Her gaze focused on him. "Close your eyes."

He did so. His self-preservation instincts kicked in. Ione shouldn't have been able to kill General Redecan due to the invisible under armor that went up to his ears. It was tough, durable. Something a simple dagger shouldn't have pierced through unless the person who wielded the dagger was strong. All soldiers were equipped with it. Even Tervail wore it.

Ione was stronger than she should be. Faster then she should be. What else was she that she shouldn't be?

Tervail was terrified. Insight was right. She was extremely dangerous. More so than she ever was at the orphanage.

Sweat dripped down his back as he heard her featherlight footsteps come to a stop near him. The sound of soldiers rushing up the tower gave him some hope.

“I want you to listen to me, Tervail.” She started. “That orphanage was horrible. I did the best I could do with the information and skills I was given.”

Odd wording, Tervail thought.

“Children being beaten for speaking out of turn, or forced into a box they don’t want to be in because of a war created by human folly. How is any of that right? How many of those soldiers down there actually wanted to be soldiers before they were mind controlled into their class?" She paused, thinking. "Maybe some of them weren't even mind controlled. Maybe the lies they were fed led them to believe that fighting for this nation was the right thing to do.” Ione said, conspiratorial.

Insight, horrifically, told him that she believed what she was saying.

“There isn’t any mind control.” He defended.

Ione laughed. “I like that that's what you focus on. You’re naive and blinded by the lies you’ve been fed your whole life. I understand how difficult it is to recognize how terrible some truths can be, but if you really cared about Whisperwind, you’d ask some questions. You’d want the best for the people within. But your only goal is killing elves and that’s all it will be until you inevitably die from an attack you didn’t see coming. Even if you weren't mind controlled, you’re still subjected to propaganda just like the rest of them.”

He opened his eyes in rage. Her visage spread across his vision and he was surprised by how close she was to his face and he weakly whispered. “I do want the best for the people of Whisperwind. How da-.”

Ione softly interrupted. “Close your fucking eyes, or I will close them for you. Permanently.”

He immediately did so. Why does she want his eyes closed? Something skill based? Insight nagged at him.

She hummed.“How does killing elves translate to you wanting the best for the people in Whisperwind?”

“It means more of us are surviving while the rest of them are not,” he said with a vicious cadence.

“'Us', 'them.'” She was annoyed, going by the tone of her voice. “Seems like I can’t escape it wherever I go, but, whatever.” He heard her footsteps stop behind him.

Another odd phrase.

"Don't forget that humans die everyday because of this war. People who have families. People who wanted to look towards the future. That is what this war takes away. Not elven influence, but lives. Human lives. They are being treated as cannon fodder and somehow that's alright. I’m sure plenty of Elves have told you the real reason why we’re being invaded. And I’m sure you’ve ignored it in favor of our nation's propaganda, but what if I told you they were right?”

His mind could barely wrap around what Ione said. What an elf said.

“Of course you would, you’re an elf.”

“And human,” she supplied.

She grabbed him by the back of the neck and he jumped. She quietly snickered while she led him to look over the soldiers below.

“Open your eyes.”

He did. His gaze traveled over the ram that battered the wall and the soldiers that also wanted the best for their nation. Who believed they were fighting a good fight.

“Tell those good people to stop and leave this area. Go back to Golden Heights. The Treller will be gone by the end of the week. You have my word.”

Confidence. Assurance. She really believes that she can kill the Treller.

His eyes flickered over to hers. “And you’ll come back to Golden heights?”

“Let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. Don’t overstep your bounds and you’ll be a hero today. An alive one.” She gave him a small smile.

His insight told him it was a promise. She was being truthful, or at least, she believed what she said.

An overwhelming sense of failure churned in his gut as he said, “Okay. I’ll call them off.”

If there was one thing that Tervail knew, it was that he wouldn’t win against Ione. Even if he didn’t have insight, he didn’t need a unique attribute to know that she could easily kill him and the men below. With how easily she murdered the general? He would take the chance of survival she gave him.

Her head tilted. “You made the right decision.”

A breath left his lungs as he replied, “don’t patronize me.”

“I’m not,” She said easily as she let go of his neck and stepped away. “I trust you to hold your word. I think you know what happens if you don’t.” Tervail blinked once and she was at the window. “I’ll be watching.”

“Wait!”

Ione looked at him expectantly.

There was a question that nagged at him and he had to know.

“Why did you kill Kine? He was just a little boy. For all your talk of ‘child abuse’, you did something infinitely worse.”

She scoffed. “No, I didn’t. He was a reincarnator. He killed Sister Neve because he’s a serial killer and he was going to kill Coranne, Fellis and me because he hated my guts.” She shrugged. “Do with that information what you will.” Her mantis-like limbs projected her off of the window back into the Treller’s domain.

Soldiers shouted and some lobbed ice shards, fireballs, and arrows, but she was too quick.

Too much information bogged Tervail’s brain. He didn’t know what to think as he inhaled loudly. His heart thumped frantically in his chest and he glanced at the General’s body in anguish as he grabbed an item out of his own dimensional ring and held it up to his mouth.

A Stone of Voice Amplification.

His hands shook as the door to the top of the watch tower burst open with soldiers and he shouted out of the window. “The General has been murdered!” A hush spread over the soldiers. “An unknown assailant has broken into the watchtower and killed our leader!” As Tervail expected, a commotion started amongst the servicemen. “A tragedy befalls us today. Without Redecan, we are lost. We need to fall back and reconvene at Golden Heights. An investigation needs to take place so we will make our way back tomorrow.”

The room was quiet as the soldiers took in the scene of the crime. Tervail grimaced as he slid his back down against the wall and held his head in his hands. His boot touched the general's blood.

Whisperwind was in for a bloody future, that, Tervail knew. Between the ever-present Elven threat and now Ione, Tervail could only hope for a miracle. Ione was slowly, but surely, paving her way with bloody footsteps as she grew in power. There was nothing he could do.

Another failure.

What a goddamn clusterfuck.