Cries of hate and sorrow filled the air as Emma was forced to march with her hands bound. "My son died because of you! I should have never trusted you! Murderer!..." Their screams of profanity and hate beat at her ears like rain, yet she could not hear them.

The filthy clothes, the panging hunger, Emma could no longer feel any of them. Even as vengeful fathers and mothers cursed her name, while spiteful brothers and sisters spat in her face, she could not feel them. For there is only one thing that consumed her entire being.

Her eyes were focused on the small group that mused her humiliation from their elevated position. Surrounded by men in gold armor, the royal family watched from afar. There were three of them, excluding the royal retainers by their side.

There were a few more faces she recognized from afar, but she ignored them all as her eyes remained focused on one particular person. A man who looked the spitting image of the emperor, sharing the same golden hair and emerald eyes. The high prince.

Despite the rough nudging from the guards and the occasional rotten vegetable being thrown at her, her glare remained still on the man as an infernal hatred burned within. The man looked down on her just as much as she was as they grew ever so closer.

They finally reached the execution stage, where a massive guillotine stood before her with a masked executioner and a knight. Even beneath the glaring sun, Emma did not waver. The booing of the crowd intensified when they noticed her glare.

Indignation burned their hearts as they screamed. "You even had the gall to glare! You filthy murderer! Know your place you-"

"Silence!" The screaming loses its momentum as all eyes turned back towards the platform.

The world shakes before falling silent as the high prince slowly rises. "Emma Le Larrum of the Larrum dukedom.” he said as the world listened, “For the massacre of the village Lenora, high treason for the attempt of assassination of the future high princess and the slaughter of the 500 souls of your very own men, I sentence you to death."

His voice rang out in a firm tone as his glare sharpens to a razor's edge. "The justice for the dead and their relatives had finally come at last, evil doer. Speak your last words and be done with it, for the innocent shall have their justice!" The high prince shouted before a calm stillness falls through yet again across the world.

Emma slowly opened her mouth, her glare never wavered. "Only one." A cold whisper echoed throughout the world in clarity. Her pupils shook as if in madness as she bellowed a single hateful word. "DIE!" Emma roared as she tapped into power.

What reserves she managed to save for the past few weeks had finally come to see its uses. Like a starved engine finally gets the first taste of its longed and forgotten fuel, Emma's weak and tired mind came to life.

A second passed as her sapphire eyes bled into golden amber. The cold autumn air rushed back to her lungs as her aching muscles regained its lost strength. Her senses sharpened back in its prime. Her entire body roared to life, ready to kill. "Nera." A guttural whisper escaped from her lips. Power surged through her bound hands.

In a single fluid motion, Emma broke through her enhanced bonds as if they were wet paper. She plunged her fist into the executioner, catching him by surprise. His rib cage caved in as the bones pierced through his heart. His spine snapped into two like a twig, killing him instantly.

The whole world was silent. Shocked and disbelief were ripe in the air as the death came without warning. Emma did not waste the opportunity they had given to her as she immediately grabbed the axe of the falling executioner and cleaved through the knight beside her. It made a satisfying crunch as the metal of the axe broke past the knight's armor. "Urk..."

When the falling knight manages to utter out a single groan, chaos ensued from the entire plaza as they snapped out of their stupor. The civilians cry out in panic as they immediately stampede away from the platform; the guards moved to stop the enrage captain while the royal guards move to escort the bewildered royal family.

Emma's wild eyes did not let go as she dropped the now blunt axe and snatched instead a spear that the knight previously carried. It was nothing like her spear, but it will have to do. "Vekra." Emma whispered as she soared into the air. Power courses through her legs as it exploded with speed.

"Your majesty! Please run-" The knight could not even finish his words as Emma drove the spear down directly on top of his head. The poor bastard could not even summon his own power as Emma already pulled the spear free and was running towards the royal family.

"Traitor!" Five of the royal guards immediately summoned power as they rushed towards Emma. Their augmented relic blades and spears glowed brighter than Emma's pitiful spear as they aimed towards her body.

"Get out of my way." Emma growled, injecting power into her instrument of death as the spear in her hands danced.

The five worked together as if they were one, simultaneously attacking Emma. The coordination was flawless, as to be expected from the royal guards. A champion would fall through this assault, yet Emma barely batted an eye as she relentlessly redirected each blow by a hair's breadth away, unyielding and unwilling. The unforgiving life of war had finally rewarded her.

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The five's eyes widen to their shock and disbelief as Emma's spear begins to move, aiming directly underneath their openings. "Nera." Power courses through her arms once more. Emma sneered disdainfully as the spear roared to life.

The five desperately tried to block the incoming storm of blows from Emma. Moving as if they were one, they manage to hold the tide for a moment until one of them made a mistake, a single mistake that the captain ruthlessly exploited. Experience and hatred triumphs over talent and privilege. "Kier!" Emma bellowed after the high prince as she buried another body.

Emma saw the fleeting figure of the man as she glared at the high prince. She did not waste a second as she immediately bolted after him. Several regular guards came. "Protect the family-"

"I said get out of my way." Emma snarled as she tore through the guards, one by one, with brutal streamlined efficiency. 15 seconds ago there were 10 guards. Only two remained by the time the 16th second arrived, both crippled for life.

"That is enough, Emma!" A voice suddenly erupted in power as a figure lunged after her. The captain of the verdant typhoon was forced to retreat. Her eyes burned with familiarity. "Have you not done enough to shame us all??"

"...Elias..." Emma growled like a wild animal as her glare met with one of the retinues.

He had a similar looked of her father, only younger as he was still in his mid-20s. Elias Le Larum, her older brother. "Have you not killed enough?! Can’t you see the-"

"Move." Emma cuts him off as she rushes in once more.

Elias's glare sharpens as his cobalt eyes bleed into amber. He raises his blade to meet Emma's spear as the battle rages on. Speed meets power as experience meets discipline. The duel was even as both side refuses to give ground, but Emma could not focus on the duel. Her eyes were still transfixed on Kier, the high prince.

Slowly but surely, wounds began to appear on her body one after another as more and more guards and knights rushed to Elias's aid. They did little to nothing, however, as the storm of blows they traded in simply overwhelmed anyone who was brave or foolish enough to try.

Sensing the end was nowhere in sight, Emma could not help but click her tongue in annoyance as she changed gears. There. She thought as she released the power within her. Immediately, the golden light in her eyes died as if it had run out. Her body felt heavy and clumsy without the grace of power.

Elias did not miss the chance as he plunged the sword into Emma's chest. As the tip of the blade was beginning to touch her skin, Emma tapped into power once more, catching Elias in surprise as the burst of speed exploded from her.

The young captain sacrificed her right arm as it caught the blade. The liquid of life spilled forth like a fountain as broken bones halted the cold steel's advance. Agony rippled across her being like a tidal wave born from a violent meteor. Fortunately, the gamble paid off as she held the blade in place.

Elias tried to pull the blade free, but the broken sinew did not allow him. Emma grabbed the blade closer as she ignored the searing pain. "Got you." Emma whispers as she brings down the spear in an arc. Elias could only stare in horror as the blade of the spear inches for his life.

"Elias get down!" A shout resounded from behind as he ducked down as instructed. An arrow zipped past behind Elias as it pierced through Emma's heart. Her eyes widened in surprise as Elias finally pulled the blade free and pierced Emma in the abdomen.

Pain flared throughout her entire body as she could not breathe. Her nose wouldn't work as she opened her mouth to breathe, only to find blood escaping from it. Her strength was declining rapidly as her vision slowly dimmed.

No... no... Emma thought as she was dying by the second. Emma tried to summon power to heal her wounds, but no amount of power would seal her pierced heart. Emma despaired as she could do nothing to stop the bleeding.

...Am I... really going to die... like this?... Emma thought as her gaze felt heavier by the second. She could see the men breathe a sigh of relief as the guards and knights had a mocking smiles on their faces... and then she saw Kier.

The man who broke her. The one who stole her brothers and sisters-in-arms. In that moment, the fire returned. Memories begin to flood in, overloading the pain and fear of death as her raging malice burns bright. Her once trembling legs suddenly held firm as the dying light within her eyes glared so detestably at the man who had taken everything from her.

As if it was listening to her, power flickered one last time within her body. The frail light gave the last vestiges of its strength to her. It was meager, pitiful... but it was enough. Her eyes flickered from sapphire to gold several times before the amber glow won over the struggle. Emma grabbed tightly on the spear she was holding onto before hurling it with all the might she could muster at Kier. "Nera...Dashvha." Her bloody lips whispered, and power answered the call. The energy roared one last time in a single, powerful moment.

The wind whistled eerily after the spear, thrown with the rage and sorrow of a vengeful soldier. The eyes of the knights widened in fear. Elias and the archer moved to stop her, but it was too late. The spear screamed toward Kier.

The high prince tried to deny the coming death with his own relic blade. A second too late. The aim was true as the spear pierced directly into his heart with the force of a ballista. Kier stared with wide eyes at the gaping hole of his chest. A lung and half of his heart was gone, skewered by the spear. A small smile crept up on Emma's face as she watched the man die befitting of his crimes.

She savored the utter despair everyone felt as her world grew dimmer. The horrified faces of Elias and the archer, the mortified expression of the once proud knights and guards, and the despairing cries of the woman who had replaced her. It was an acceptable compensation for the life that was stolen from her. The light of her world finally died.

The burden, the pain... the loss. It was over. Everything, all of it, was over. The long torment was finally over! Emma felt her soul sunder away from her failing body as the burden that weighed on her shoulder since birth was finally released.

...I did it... you can rest now... everyone... I have... avenged us all... I'm... finally... free...

֎

Agony. The word barely does justice to the torment she endures yet it was the only word that could bring any sliver of justice to her torture as she screams.

The bones in her body were broken into twain. Her muscles screamed in agony as her blood boiled all over her. Is this what hell feels like? Emma thought as a moment of clarity passed.

Then as sudden as it come, the small respite was gone as the searing pain engulfs her entire being once more. Emma opened her mouth to scream but no voice came out. IT HURTS! MAKE IT STOP! SOMEONE! MAKE IT STOP! Emma wanted to scream but still, no word came out from her lips.

Just as she was about to pass out from the pain again, something had happened. The pain slowly dissipated away but her lungs were burning like fire now. Emma tries to gasp for air but only a small portion enters her lungs.

She breathed again and again, fighting ferociously as her instincts kicks in. Then suddenly something changed again. Emma snapped his eyes open as she vomits water from her mouth. She gasped for air to what seemed to be ages as she breathed in deeply.

She... breathe? A horrifying prospect suddenly came to life before she forcibly buried it. It can wait... it has to wait.

It was then Emma noticed something was strange. Her hands... they were smaller than she remembers and for a while now, there was something loud screaming in her ears. "...ady!...My lady! Are you alright!?" Emma's vision cleared as she saw a maid in a uniform she swore she had seen before... but where?

There were three more others like her as they all rushed to her side. Emma flinched as her body was screaming in pain again, but her mind was somewhere else. ...What is this? It was Emma's last thought before passing out again. The burden returns.