Nina slowly withdraws her hand of the beautiful face from the tall woman who watches her silently. She would like to talk to this giant who is one head taller than she is, but her icy aura dissuades her from doing so. The tall woman with snow-white hair firmly grasps Nina"s head. She she tilts it upwards and with her other hand she releases her long red hair from the top of her skull.
Her finger caresses one of the small horns that been cut off, and after a long sigh, she releases the young woman from her hold.
"Didn"t I tell you that if you wish to give in to anger, you make sure you have the ability to do so? A fight isn"t won with a sword alone. You can be much stronger than common Humans, if you don"t think, you will end up dying needlessly. Can"t you answer when I talk to you?"
She must be angry. At least that"s what Nina thinks which undergoes the gusts of wind and snow that the tall woman grabbing her chinprojecting towards her.
"I never thought I"d find warrior priests in this place...
Usually..."
Like when she was a little girl and she"d done something stupid, a little pat on the head stops her words.
"Yes, you didn"t think. No, you didn"t even bother to think. You rushed foolishly imagining that with the superior abilities of your race you would defeat without harm. You"re a thoughtless child, but I can"t entirely blame you.
It is obvious to me that being raised in the Human world did not allow you to become who you are destined to be. To begin with, throw away that thing that serves as your sword."
Spatial magic? Even in this world where so many wonders happen daily, this magic from ancient times is inaccessible to the best magicians. It is said that the possibility of mastering this mysterious element disappeared centuries ago, along at the same time as extinguished the oldest races.
However, when the great woman from the Three Moons of Kur people, pulls a large black sword from the void, Nina understands that her own race, which would be appeared at the very origins of this world, can still manipulate this magic.
"Who the h.e.l.l are you? Before I could see your appearance, I was sure my mother had come back to life. Your aura is colder than hers, but other than that, they"re completely identical."
The tall woman places the sword whose weight tips Nina forward in her hand and then places her index finger on the young woman"s forehead.
"If I were indeed the devil, then I, like you, little girl, we would have no reason to be in this world. Follow these few teachings. Understand these magics. Become stronger and only then will I come for you."
Those are the last words Nina remembers. After her vision blurred, she doesn"t remember anything that might has happened.
"Royal Protector, Royal Protector, you must wake up."
A male voice close to her ears wakes Nina. Alerted by this threat, she immediately defends herself by throwing her fist toward the source of the sound.
The soldiers of the Dark Brigade are not too surprised when they see their comrade take off from the ground. Less worried about their Captain"s health, they all turn their eyes to the pile of dust, the only remnants of the temple.
"We thank you for your help Captain, however, how can we plunder their treasures now?"
...
Nina said nothing of her encounter with the one that caused her abominable migraine.
All her men are convinced that she is the one who has achieved the great feat of ma.s.sacring all the warrior priests, but even if they will not take the risk of telling her, it is easy to read on their faces that each one of them reproaches her to have demolished the sanctuary, thus preventing them from plundering divine treasures.
To find the rest of the delegation, they had to gallop for more than two hours, until they reached a medium-sized town where Nina, quietly sitting on the gra.s.s, waited for her men who have volunteered, finish pitching her tent.
…
Whether in the Kingdom of Antomea or in the neighboring kingdoms, bad news has at all times traveled faster than the most powerful armies.
Thus, at the end of the afternoon, as the n.o.bles and officials take possession of the rooms that have been reserved in their names in the various inns of the city, when at the camp where he has just arrived, one of his soldiers whispers a few words in his ear, General Sancroft throws his cup of coffee angrily.
"You seven, soldiers, come with me."
Nina chews a blade of gra.s.s and wonders what the woman did to cause her such a headache, when several people come to mask her few of sunshine in this late afternoon.
"Get out of the way! You"re depriving me of my sun."
The General cannot deny that this woman is by far the most beautiful he has ever seen, but even more impressive, this Royal Protector is the most unpleasant person he has ever known.
"Royal Protector, what have you done this afternoon."
Nina, who only wanted some peace and quiet, takes the blade of gra.s.s out of her mouth. Her tired eyes directed at this General she cannot stand, she answers his question in a bored voice.
"This does not concern you in any way, but since you are asking me so politely, then I will answer you. At noon, my men were suddenly overcome by an irrepressible craving for apples. I know a farmer in the area who has a small orchard. As a good captain, to please my brave warriors, I led them there."
The General is gritting his teeth? Besides being mocked by the soldiers of the Dark Brigade who confirm how delicious the fruits was and laugh as much as they can, the beautiful girl now ignores his presence and orders a drink.
Does he really look like a fool who would believe in such nonsense?
"Shut up! I"m sorry, I mean. Strangely, one of my soldiers reported to me that someone committed heinous crimes this very afternoon. A few miles from where we were lunching this noon, Count Wizen and his family were savagely ma.s.sacred. That"s not all, as you can imagine..."
Not only does she take pleasure in cutting him off, but more importantly... G.o.d, she"s annoying when she rolls her eyes like that.
"Are you accusing me of the murder of a n.o.bleman of our Realm, me, the loyal Royal Protector of our esteemed King?"
"Stop smiling when I"m talking about something as serious. The facts are extremely serious and indeed, I think you and your men are guilty of this barbaric act."
"Why do you accuse me? Do you have any proof of what you are saying? No? Yes? Well, actually, it doesn"t matter, because listen to me.
It wasn"t me! On the other hand, if it were me, I would only have obeyed the King"s orders. Thus, even if it were me, in the eyes of the law, even if I was guilty, it would not be me...
Wait General, I"m not finished. I just want to make one thing clear: You, the little careerist officer, I don"t like you. In fact, I don"t even think it would be an exaggeration to say that I heartily hate you. I"ll have you know that you"re still preventing my last rays of sunshine. So, happy or no, now that you understand that my guilt will never be considered, rid my sight of your disgusting face."