Roughly four hours passed when the ropes that bound Sercy went up in flames. She glanced at the parcel of food next to her. Inside, was a very intricately carved knife along with food and dried rations that could last her up to a week. She smiled to herself before removing the knife and using it to put her hair up into a bun.
She sauntered towards the campfire where bandits were sitting and no one heard her approach. Covering her mouth, she giggled flirtatiously.
"You guys are such poor excuses for bandits, how can you not hear me approach you?"
The bandits were startled, but before they could react, Sercy had already moved. She appeared in front of the man who tied her to the tree earlier then grabbed his neck. Dark energy snaked from the palm of her hands, reducing his body to ashes.
Another bandit tried to attack her from behind, but she elegantly knocked him down with a roundhouse kick before crushing his skull into the ground. The crackling noise that came from the bandit's head made everyone uneasy. The remaining bandits were wide eyed as they hesitated in fear.
Seeing their expressions, Sercy couldn’t help taunting them, she covered her mouth, laughing mischievously, "When you look at me like that, it makes me feel hot, what are you hesitating for? Didn't you all want to try a beautiful woman?"
Without waiting for them to react her hands dropped to her sides and black flames appeared on her palms, dancing in an almost rhythmic way. Her white dress faded away, replaced by her original black battle dress.
Her hair rebraided itself eerily as if there were invisible hands aiding her and her facial features changed back. The last thing to move into place was the veil that normally covered her face.
Sercy rarely ever revealed her appearance, but it didn’t matter if dead men saw her right? Her eyes turned all black with a purple glow, and she smiled menacingly as eight beautiful wings appeared behind her.
The bandits all stared in disbelief. One of them stuttered. "T-that, she’s a dark fae? I-I thought they were extinct!"
“Eight wings.” Another one mumbled almost inaudibly.
Hearing the commotion outside, Niyad left his tent to check what was happening, he was just in time to see Sercy's transformation, his face went pale as he stared at her in disbelief. He stood in stunned silence unaware of the armed cultivator who ran towards him.
"Benefactor, we need to get out of here! That woman is a dark fae."
Before Niyad could respond, the bandit was knocked unconscious by a shadow. Niyad was unable to decipher what happened. His eyes moved around wildly trying to see what had attacked the bandit.
Just then Count appeared before him and his vision went black. Niyad was knocked unconscious after receiving a gentle tap to the neck.
Count lifted Niyad's limp body over his shoulder, then disappeared.
Sercy started moving, the bandits tried to defend themselves, but they were unable to do anything against an opponent they could barely see. She reappeared in the spot she was originally and the bandits stood staring at her. One of them yelled, getting ready to charge, only to see his arm fall to the ground. He looked at his severed arm in confusion before spitting up blood, then falling face-first to the ground.
Similar scenes happened all around. Heads started separating from bodies, a few of them lost arms, and legs without noticing; others were impaled. The bandits present were all at mid Ivory realm and a few were at the first stage Spirit realm; Trying to resist was futile.
"No one here can even put up a little fight," Sercy complained. "Makes this less fun."
Count landed next to her while carrying Niyad like a stack of potatoes.
"Let's move a bit faster with the other camps, I don't plan on babysitting while you have fun making a play."
"OK, no problem."
They both exchanged a look, then disappeared heading in the direction of the next camp.
A few minutes later they sat in a tree above the second camp observing in silence.
"Am I the only one who thinks something is off?" Sercy asked.
"No, you're not. Why would there be a noble here with the bandit group who are only supposed to be distractions? Also he is the non-human thing you were smelling." Count agreed.
"I think he's from our civilian village," Sercy said softly.
"Oh, then he is off... kill him?
"No, not yet."
"Oh well, kill first, ask questions later."
Count stood from his crouching position, a creepy smile appeared on his handsome, but slightly dead looking face. He rested the young noble's body on a branch then tipped his rice hat at Sercy before vanishing. A few seconds later blood-curdling screams could be heard coming from the camp below.
Sercy glanced at the man lying slumped on the branch next to her.
"I know you're awake."
Niyad's body shuddered a bit, then he moved into a sitting position. He stared up at Sercy, a confused look in his eyes.
"Why didn't you kill me?." Niyad asked
Sercy replied monotonously "Because I'm curious about something. Why didn't you let them take advantage of me?"
"I have female relatives. I felt pity."
"I'm sure the other bandits all had mothers or else they wouldn't be here, but I'll take that answer for now. Why are you, a young noble, here with bandits?"
Sercy had keen ears, and by listening to his heartbeat she could tell whether or not he lied.
Niyad shook his head. "I think you're confused about something, I am no noble."
The truth...
"You're evading my other question." Sercy responded.
Niyad took a deep breath before responding. Refusing to answer could cost him his life but he didn't know who these two people were. "I cannot provide that information. I don't know who you are."
"I'm someone... hired by the Blenheim region, I'm here to pay back what is owed."
Niyad's face lit up when he heard this, a sliver of hope appeared in his eyes. "You're from Blenheim!? But wait, you're a dark fae. No dark fae originate from Blenheim and from what I know they were hunted to extinction. How could a fae live around humans and not be detected?" Sercy's eye twitched a bit when she heard his response, but not enough for him to notice. "I said I was hired." She responded in an icy tone. The temperature in the forest dropped a bit and Niyad shivered. "I didn't mean to offend you, it's just that..." Niyad stopped talking then bit his lip as if he was having an internal battle about something. "I'll trust you since you've said that you were hired by Blenheim. Actually, I am also from Blenheim."
Sercy stood unmoving as she listened to Niayd's steady breathing that deepened, a sign that he fell asleep. She double-checked his consciousness then put a seal on his mind that prevented him from waking up unless she released it. Ever since the moment she laid her eyes on him, something kept bugging her. There was something different about him that seemed extremely familiar to her, but she could not put her finger on it. He even smelled appealing to her. Stooping in front of him she felt his pulse, then started to examine his face then neck. She sniffed him trying to figure out why he smelled so good to her but she had no idea. A puzzled look overcame her face as she sat next to him deep in thought. Removing the knife from her hair, she used it to prick his finger sniffing at the blood that drained from it. ~His
When Niyad woke up, his muscles were sore all over. He inspected the empty duvet next to him where his mother had slept the night before. His mother hit him repeatedly while crying after he got home. She then decided he would sleep in her room that way she could stop him from having one of his stupid heroic spells with a knock upside his head. A small smile tugged at his lips when he woke up. He examined his face in the copper mirror that stood in his house before going out. "Mother?" he called out. "Yes, Ny?" "I'm heading out to the river." He announced "Yes, be careful," she called from her little kitchen. Niyad smiled then st
Sercy looked out of place while drinking broth around a small old dining table. She was way too extravagant to be in the house.She had changed her appearance before going to his home and no longer wore her veil. Although her features changed drastically and her seductive figure was also less appealing, she still looked extremely beautiful.Niyad's mother emerged from the kitchen, with a bowl of soup that she placed at the table."Madam benefactor I'm sorry that I don't have anything better to offer right now, this is a boar Niyad had hunted a few weeks ago.""Oh no, this is delicious, because of my cultivation realm I don't normally need to eat. This home-cooked meal brings back memories." Sercy smiled sweetly.Niyad g
Niyad, who was at the river, examined his environment before entering meditation. The moment he closed his eyes Sercy appeared before, her white gown fluttering in the wind. She examined his face then sat in front of him without announcing her arrival. Her face wore a contemplative expression almost as if she were trying to solve a puzzle. After staring at him for a few minutes, she cleared her throat to announce her presence. Niyad's eyes snapped open and he shivered a bit when he made eye contact with Sercy. "You're on time. Sit still, I'm going to trace your meridians and make a diagram that matches how they are laid out in your body. Like mine, your veins are in a different pattern from humans so their cultivation methods would be useless to you. It's surprising that you even made it this far without ki
Sercy sat in her quarters brushing her hair constantly, her eyes were out of focus. She no longer wore her veil and the knife Niyad had given her was on the floor. She had discarded it the moment she entered the room. Almost an hour had passed since she sat there brushing her long silky hair repeatedly as if in a trance. This was something Count hadn't seen her do for Decades. An action only done like this when her mind was clustered or she was upset about something. He started pacing in the room before asking. "You're upset?" -"Yes." "Why?" -"That's what's upsetting me even more." Sercy's tone was flat. "That he was able to mak
After entering the house his mother exited his room looking a bit jittery. "Where did you go all night?" "To train." "Your cultivation level, it's much lower than it was before, and what happened to your clothes, why is there blood? " A worried look was on her face as she started to examine his body. "I'm fine mother, it's just that I had to start from scratch in order to cultivate the method master gave me. So I punctured my dantian to let the Qi leak out. " "You idiot, you could have just guided it out of your body. Wait- Master? I thought." Niyad smiled weakly, then walked away. "That would take too long, I have to reach the
Kiro, ruler of the Southern Kingdom sat on his throne fuming angrily. Five days ago the heads of two thousand soldiers were placed outside the royal palace. It was a direct slap to his face as the king. Someone was able to get into his territory and kill two thousand soldiers then place them directly in front of his palace without alerting anyone. What made him even more upset was that all the soldiers killed were cultivators and one of them was his third son. There was a note stuffed in his mouth that read. 'The Kingdom of Blenheim always pays its debts- The Jade Queen' He knew some form of retaliation would after they trespassed into the Blenheim territory, but he didn't expect it to come so soon or in such fashion. <