Chapter 15: A Costly Mistake Pt.3 (Revised)

"What the hell?" As Lance and the others arrived at the Capital, smoke could be seen in the distance. A small crowd made up of travelers, visitors, mercenaries, and merchants were stopped at the front of the gates.

In front of the locked gates were guards with tense expressions. The civilians escorted by Lance and the others had expressions of excitement, although the journey here was rough it was way better than being locked in a cage. Ira was carried by Gerald in an impromptu stretcher, at some point in the journey he lost consciousness and developed an incredibly high fever. His tattered clothes and sweat-soaked forehead illustrated his dire straits.

The Slaver was bound and didn't look any better than Ira, his broken arm had been left untreated since the group set out but he would get proper treatment after he was arrested.

"Halt!" A guard shouted.

"Until the situation is resolved, no entry is permitted!" Another guard shouted loudly.

"Sir, our friend has been cursed, could you send out a healer from the church?"Lance asked the guard.

"Sorry, I have my orders."The guard responded as he looked at the crowd.

"It's already been three hours, how much longer?" A thin man asked impatiently. His expensive looking clothes indicated he was a noble.

"I'm sorry but I don't know. I'm sure not too much longer." The guard responded plainly.

"Tch." The noble sucked his teeth and turned away. Three hours ago the guards shut gates and locked down the entrance, when he asked how long the wait would be, the response was always "Not too much longer."

All of a sudden the crowd began parting.

A masked girl, dressed in dark brown leather armor over black clothes, silently made her way through the crowd. A rapier was sheathed on her hip. Her steel mask only allowed her eyes to be seen in addition to two mesh opening on the sides for breathing and ventilation.

The crowd wouldn't part if it was just another mercenary, they parted because behind her she dragged the huge head of a manticore, tied to a rope.

"I-It's her!" A mercenary shouted. The crowd was confused by her appearance and didn't know who she was.

"You know her?" A man asked the shocked mercenary.

"I know of her! You should too. It's 'Rhys' the best mercenary in the union. She's ranked 1st out of everyone else." The mercenary shouted excitedly.

The crowd was shocked, although they've never seen her, they definitely heard of her.

"Woah." The man let loose a sigh of admiration, but for another reason.

She had to be the richest non-noble in the entire Kingdom, although no one knew where she lived or what she did when she didn't work, the jobs she took on we're all high profile and high paying. The money from just one of the jobs she took could let at least three people live like nobles for the rest of their lives. It was also rumored that she was rated S- in terms of abilities, although the Mercenary Union didn't disclose that information to the public.

Rhys silently continued past the crowd. She stopped to look at Lance and his group, specifically Ira. From her perspective, the air around him seemed to be distorted ever so slightly. No one present had the ability to notice, but she did. After a few moments, she turned her attention back to the gate.

"S-Sorry...N-No entry." The guard stammered.

Rhys pulled a dark green card with golden letters out from her waist pouch. As the guard read it, his eyes opened wide in shock.

"Entry permitted. Let only her in."The guard shouted to the men controlling the gate mechanism.

The gate opened slightly and Rhys made her way in, dragging the manticore head in behind her.

The crowd looked at her back in awe, no one dared to raise a complaint in fear of provoking her.

"Damn...How much longer?"

Lance clenched his fist. It was hard to tell if his frustrations were from impatience toward the wait or impatience toward the growth of his own group.

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Three hours earlier.

Casey Thynne and General Holchester stood with their swords unsheathed.

Dozens of soldiers rushed into the conference room with their weapons out. "General!"

"Stay back! None of you are her match!"The General shouted.

Casey retracted her wings and took up a fighting stance. General Holchester took a deep breath and assumed his own stance.

Even without her wings, Casey moved incredibly fast, in a matter of seconds she was in front of General Holchester, brandishing her sword.

General Holchester managed to defend just in time, but the force of her blows sent ripples throughout his body.

General Holchester moved to parry a blow, but Casey easily avoided it and then grabbed his wrist before throwing him onto the floor.

General Holchester used Ironheart as he rolled back to his feet. A silver light brighter than Avery's encompassed his whole body. It gave his body the impression of a smooth metallic luster.

"Oh?" Casey raised her eyebrows in slight surprise. Iron Heart was a skill that Kara Thynne gave to the Grenitian Kingdom to help ensure its survival in the days after the Collapse. Originally, the ability wasn’t able to be used by humans and had to be adjusted. Of course, it wasn’t common knowledge and only the Valkyries knew the truth behind the skill.

"It's too really too bad General." Casey sighed.

Before the General could respond Casey used Iron Will which caused him to pause out of confusion.

A bright silver radiance covered Casey's body, silver light even emanated from her eyes. Currently, she resembled a divine being, causing almost everyone in the room to feel deep fear, only the General maintained his calm but inwardly he felt something was amiss.

Casey took some distance, then slowly sheathed her sword and lowered her posture, she looked as if she would attack at any moment.

"If it’s not too much may I know the reason for everything that has happened today?" Casey asked solemnly.

"...She is suspected of murdering her own Knights and additionally made several treasonous statements...By kingdom, law treason is punishable by being stripped of all titles and an immediate death."

The General said grimly, as he looked back on the situation. In the first place, Avery had no reason to kill her own Knights, but he decided to let the nobles continue their schemes as long as they didn't go too far. Sadly by scheming against Avery they already went too far, and it may have jeopardized the whole Kingdom.

"Ah, so that was it." Casey tightened her grip on her long sword.

"On behalf of my sister, I would like to show you a bit mercy. So if you can withstand this one attack then everyone can leave alive." Silver particles began to float in the air around Casey as she spoke.

Although her words were unhurried, they carried a certain weight, each one making the air feel heavier, the faces of a few nobles even went red as they struggle to breathe under the increasingly heavy atmosphere.

Even the General felt a gnawing sense of incongruity. Every single fiber of his being told him something was very wrong.

He felt it when Casey used 'Iron Will', a skill that he had never seen before. Although it looked very similar to Iron Heart but seemed to be more advanced and stronger in every way.

Suddenly, Casey drew her sword.

General Holchester immediately felt the danger and tried to shout but it was too late. Any words of his were immediately drowned out.

First, there was a blinding flash of light and then complete silence.When the light faded away, the damages could be seen. The military building which towered fifteen stories was in shambles.

From the fifteenth floor to the tenth, half of the building was gone. Replacing it was a haze of gray smoke making its way into the sky.

"Ugh..." General Holchester laid in a pool of his own blood, a large wound ran from his abdomen to his chest, his forearms were snapped in half along with his fingers, bones protruded from underneath his skin, and his face was covered in blood.

"Well done, I didn't expect you to be so...together." Casey raised her hand towards General Holchester and began to heal him.

"If you died, I wouldn't be a woman of my word. And although I can heal your life force, I think you can understand why I won't." Casey said indifferently with a hint of mockery.

Immediately the effects of the healing magic took place, General Holchester felt better as his wounds repaired at a speed that could put even the greatest healers to shame.

"Be glad it wasn't my mother who came..." Casey said to no one in particular before she grabbed Avery and summoned her wings. Within a few moments, she was in the air, leaving the ruined building behind her.

"General!"Lt. General Ross and all the other military men rushed over to General Holchester.

"General you used your life force?!" Lt. General Ross asked in a horrified manner.

Using one’s “lifeforce” was the last resort amongst skilled warriors and mages, only in a life or death situation would someone supplement their life force to enhance one their abilities. It essentially meant taking a large portion of their soul and vitality, and then burning it away, giving the user a short burst of incredible energy.

The strongest and purest forms of energy residing deeply in living creatures was their souls. Some even theorized the soul to be stronger than mana, an example was the soul contract which could cause immediate death to whoever broke it no matter how strong they were, but due to limited understanding, it was a disregarded theory. In the end, no one knew how to freely harness the soul,  and burning away the lifeforce was one the crudest and dangerous ways to interact with the soul.

"Can you believe she was holding back?" General Holchester said with a miserable chuckle. He knew his lifespan was shortened by many years and he may have many painful days to come. As he looked at the sky above him, a faint look of regret emerged on his face.

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"There it is!"

The people shouted upon seeing the flying figure re-emerge.

After the figure flew into the top floor of the Military's center of operations, nothing could be heard from street level. Until a bright light appeared and disappeared, taking the half of the upper floors of the military center and causing thousands to feel fear and tension. No one could see exactly what happened as the light blocked out everything.

"It's carrying someone."

"Gods! It's a witch!"

"Monster!"

"No it looks like a woman!"

"It's a harpy!"

"What harpies do you know of that are that strong?"

Pointless speculation buzzed all around but in the end, everyone remained confused.

But what no one noticed was a second dark silhouette flying, even faster than the first one, straight towards the King's palace.

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Inside the King's palace, people scrambled to get the situation under control. Hundreds of guards and mages locked down the palace. The Queens, Princes, and Princesses were taken to the royal safe-room. An almost impenetrable construct made from ancient materials.

"Your Majesty!" A heavy-set and balding man knelt in front of the King's Throne.

King Windsor XIII sat with a King's dignity, maintaining his calm in an uncertain situation, his dark brown hair was lightly blanketed with white as he grew older adding to his serious temperament. Beside him were his two Death Guards, two incredibly strong warriors who followed the King everywhere. Their dark golden plated armor and fully covered helms made them very intimidating and even mysterious. As to why they were called his death guards? They were under a soul contract that bound them until death.

"Minister Rubin, what's the situation?"

"I have just received word that the military center of command has taken heavy damage, it is unknown whether General Holchester is alive or not. A figure in silver armor with raven's wings was seen carrying someone out and flying away."

"Hmmm." King Windsor held his chin in contemplation.

"You don't think this has anything to do with the black pillar do you?" King Windsor asked.

"I think it is unrelated but still a threat-" Minister Rubin stopped talking as he felt a creeping sense of danger. Not just him, but everyone present seemed to feel something coming from beyond the Palace doors.

"Protect the King!" Minister Rubin shouted.

Hundreds of guards in full armor and mages poured into the King's hall and assumed a defensive position.

Everyone stared at the two giant mahogany doors that served as the entrance to the Palace and as if sensing it, the thick wooden doors slowly opened up to reveal an ominous figure with large wings standing at the entrance. Its wings looked to measure at least seven feet. The chest plate was covered in scars of previous battles, some scars resembled claws of beasts and some resembled weapons. The figure wore a horned helm also made from steel, the right horn on the helm was broken off. A long scar ran horizontally across the helm, under the visor. Its gauntlets were sharpened at the tips and resembled claws. A black leather battle skirt was also worn over the armor.

In each of its claw-shaped gauntlets it held a longsword and a round shield, and tied to its back was a sword-shaped object wrapped up in a black cloth.

The figure was most likely female, as the chest plate was clearly forged for a female user.

"Identify yourself!"

The man who looked to be the commander of the palace guards shouted which caused the men under his command to tense up and ready their weapons.

As if to respond, the figure lightly moved towards the arrangement of guards. The only sound that could be heard was a single set of footsteps and the breathing of the guards.

Upon closer examination, there were fifty or so mages in the rear of the formation, a small squad of thirty archers in front of them, and around one hundred and fifty guards.

"Drop your weapon and stop or you'll be put to death!" The commander shouted hoarsely before he signaled to his guards and they took up battle stances while the mages began chanting.

"Attack!"

The mages finished their chants and cast their spells. Dozens upon dozens of colors from different spells combined to light up the Kings Hall.

The spells all struck the same spot and created a small explosion. The durability of the Kings hall mitigated most of the damage, in addition, the mages who didn't cast attack spells created a barrier to shield the guards from the impact of the explosion.

Although it would be more than enough to kill even the strongest of enemies, the sound of footsteps could still be heard through the smoke.

"Archers fire when ready!" The commander yelled again.

The figure shook its wings and emerged from the smoke unharmed, and was immediately greeted by a volley of arrows. Each arrow was shot with incredible power behind it and each arrow was blocked perfectly by the figure using the round shield, it appeared as if the shield was a magnet because every arrow found its way to its shield.

The commander raised his sword. "Charge-" Before he could finish giving the order to attack, the figure threw the round shield directly at his head, the force behind the shield throw crushed his skull, killing him instantly.

The commander's lifeless body fell into some of the guards before slumping onto the floor, sending waves of shock through the hearts of those in the room. The elite commander of the King's guard was killed without a fight. Some had their mouths open to cry out, but the only noise to be heard was the footsteps of the figure.

“Protect the King!" A guard charged out, waking the other guards from their stupor.

"Protect the King!" More guards followed, charging towards the figure.

The first hot-blooded guard was cut in two and died with a brief look of surprise.

The figure kept its leisurely pace and advanced while killing anyone that got within its range. Another guard was run through with a sword and lifted into the air before being flung into a pillar and leaving a red stain as he fell. By now a mob of guards was in attack range of the figure, swords strikes coming from all angles. The wings of the figure fluttered lightly and covered it entirely.

The wings appeared fragile but were beyond durable, when the sword blows rained down it seemed like the guards were hitting an iron wall rather than wings. Then the wings spread wide and sent a strong gust of wind which sent the closest guards sailing through the air.

Taking advantage of the opening its talon shaped gauntlets grabbed a nearby guard, and tore into his eye sockets.

“Help! Please!” The guard produced nightmarish cries for help, but, in what looked to be an act of mercy the figure snapped his neck and ended his suffering. His body was then thrown away at the crowd of guards which helped to erase any sense of mercy from its previous actions.

The assault continued.

The guards tried to use many different skills but almost all attacks failed to produce results. The long distance between the figure and the king narrowed with each step, and each step was a death sentence for those in close proximity of the figure. It's overbearing swordsmanship was stronger than anything they had ever seen.

Sensing the desperate situation, three guards shouted simultaneously, as a small golden light shined through their armor, directly in the middle of their chest. They burned a portion of their life force to attack the figure, a risky gamble but if they could kill the figure, not only would they save their brothers in arms, they'd also be rewarded immensely.

The three guards who burnt their life force attacked in unison.

One jumped into the air and swung downwards, the second attacked the unarmed side of the figure, and the third stabbed directly at its heart.

The figure used a wing to block its unarmed flank, moved it's sword to block the guard aiming for its heart, and grabbed the foot of the guard in the air.

The first one to suffer was the guard in the air as the figure slammed him into the ground and then tossed him into the air before he could even shout. Then it stabbed the guard who attempted to attack its chest in his eye, piercing the back of his head. The guard who attacked the figure's unarmed flank was smacked by its wing, and sent crashing into a pillar.

The last of the trio, who was tossed into the air almost hit the ground but instead he landed in the hands of the figure again, who then repeatedly slammed his body into the floor until his movements stopped. Then his body was tossed to the side as if it were trash. His helmet and armor were warped but that didn’t stop the blood from flowing out.

The figure once again moved forward.

The guards were horrified but prepared to attack anyway.

"Enough!" King Windsor shouted. He could see the situation clearly, desertion wouldn’t be out of the question if the morale continued to drop.

The guards, archers, and mages all made an opening and knelt immediately. The figure continued walking forward, in fact it never actually stopped walking in the first place, the only people who took notice of that fact were the King and his guards.

"Do you think you can win against it?" King Windsor asked his Death Guards in a low voice.

"Your majesty, at best we can buy you enough time to escape with your family."

"I see..." King Windsor responded grimly at the response of his Death Guard.

"My liege, I believe you should escape." Minister Rubin said while kneeling at the King's side.

"I won't flee my Kingdom at the first sign of trouble." King Windsor spoke in a dignified tone. He also knew even if he wanted to escape the chances would be low.

The figure stopped ten feet away from King Windsor, but somehow it felt like it was standing in front of him due to the pressure. He could physically feel the power emanating from the figure in front of him which caused him to stand up. To remain seated in front of such would not only be arrogant but could be considered disrespectful.

The figure sheathed its sword.

All eyes turned towards the figure with nervous gazes. The Death Guard's were prepared to strike at any time, ready to sacrifice their lives at the first sign of trouble.

Ignoring all of those around it, the figure raised its hands and pulled off its helm, sending shock throughout the room.

A beautiful young woman, bearing an undeniable sense of grace, with dark purple hair and bright silver eyes was revealed under the helm.

No one in the room would doubt it if someone were to say she was the most beautiful woman on the continent. Who could have guessed such a young woman would be so cold and merciless? Some of the guards couldn't help but to look at the scene of gore and carnage she left behind her.

If anyone were to walk in at this moment they would doubt she was responsible for this gruesome scene.

"Are you a daughter of the Thynne family?"King Windsor asked, in a tone that was neither overbearing or complacent.

"Current Matriarch of the Thynne Family, Lauren Thynne," Lauren said, her elegant and youthful voice was just as surprising as her looks.

King Windsor and Minister Rubin both made shocked expressions. The Thynne family hasn't been active in the Kingdom for years, they would send an extremely talented daughter out into the military briefly and call her back at a random time, but other than that not even the King knew of their situation, except a few rumors.

"But that would make you-" King Windsor lost his calm and tried to ask her a question, forgetting all of the people she just killed.

"Hall of Records, 4th Era, Windsor VI, Under 'Kingdom's Miscellaneous Events' is a hidden page called 'Kingdom's Blessing', you'll find your answers there," Lauren said as she took out the sword-shaped object tied to her back. The Death Guards placed their hands on the grips of their swords and stepped forward.

Lauren gave an indifferent glance that seemed to see them as nothing more than an annoyance before she continued to unwrap the object.

Under the black cloth was a stone sword with names inscribed on it.

"As you probably know, this is an oath sword. Each name inscribed is under a soul contract and each of these names are all of the women of the Thynne family." Lauren snapped the sword in half, numerous white lights emerged from the sword and flew off into the distance. One flew directly into Lauren, seemingly passing through her and disappearing.

"The conditions were not followed, so the contract is broken." Lauren dropped the two pieces of the sword onto the ground, as she then turned to walk away, re-equipping her helmet.

Although it was rude to turn your back to the King, he had no mind to correct her behavior.

"What oath?" King Windsor asked with apparent confusion.

"I've told you where to go already," Lauren said.

What Lauren didn’t mention was that she was the one responsible for hiding the oath decades back in anticipation for the day the Kingdom would eventually break it.

All of a sudden she raised her arm. The round shield she brought with her flew directly into her hand, she then placed the shield onto her back and kept walking. When she got to the entrance Lauren's presence vanished immediately, everyone watching her back, felt as if they looked away she would disappear. She silently stretched her wings and flew away, within a few seconds she was already gone.

"...Rubin, get me the records she mentioned and call an emergency council meeting."King Windsor finally spoke, deep down he felt something was very wrong.

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