"Please...." I can hear it, the sound of her heart ripping.
Don't say anything else, Shion.
Or else I really won't be able to.
"....stay with me, I am resolved to die with you!"
I-.
.....that's right, isn't it?
She's not with me for power, or protection, she's not with me because she's afraid of death.
She's braved death countless times, walking through battlefields killing and surviving.
She's stuck with me through those slaughters and no matter whether I came home close to death and weak, or covered in blood and entrails she has always been there to support me.
She lost her entire family in a coup, and now she lives with me, her fiance and likely the last person left in her heart.
She's made her resolve, so where is mine?
Wasn't I resolved? No matter the number of bodies, bones, or blood that must be returned to the earth, ground, or spilled, I would forge ahead with her?
"I- I have failed as a man." I muttered stiffly, "You resolved yourself long ago while I was still shaken."
There was a long silence.
"...my mother had the option to live, you know? But she chose to die with father when the palace was stormed, she had sworn her eternal love to him and he to her, they were both resolved to live and die together, they made their resolve and so have I." Light steps approached from behind.
The voices in my head telling me that I had to leave got quieter and quieter the closer she got.
For her...
"It must have been scary down there, right?" Shion stood right behind me, I could feel the warmth of her body on my skin despite her not touching me.
"It was." I replied honestly, "I thought that everyone had died, that they were calling for me but I couldn't come.... it was...."
"A nightmare." Shion finished my sentence for me, "The night is over now."
I can see her reaching around me.
I will really break if you give me a-
---hug.
"It was really scary you know? There was a massive wolf whose breath smelled like death, I couldn't feel my heartbeat, I couldn't come no matter how many times I heard your screams in my head calling for me, I couldn't do anything.....!" I slowly reached up holding her hands tremblingly.
When I passed out, I could hear it.
As the negative qi was being destroyed and devoured I could hear it constantly, their screams calling my name, begging for my help.
It tormented me even in my unconscious state.
It terrifies me even now.
The thought of losing them, of losing her.
It's so painful, worse than a blade through my chest, a pain unlike anything one can inflict on another.
"It's okay now," Shion said bringing me back to that night we first met.
That's right, It's okay now.
Everything is okay now.
"Yea, everything is okay now." As I spoke I felt the power in my legs give out.
I'm tired.
"It's okay now." Shion stopped in front of me and kneeled down burying my head in her chest.
I can hear her heartbeat.....
.....It's calming.
I like this.
If I could spend my days just like this, then everything would be perfect.
But I know that it can't.
I still have much to do.
One final thing before this year's end.
"Shion, stay by my side from now on." I stood up the tears dried up my heart in a deep flaming state.
Even if death does us part, it will not part us for long.
If she dies so too will I.
"No problem." Shion nodded entering her room for a moment grabbing her rapier.
We left together shortly after.
Everyone should be going about their own preparations under the prince's orders which means that the only thing myself and Shion need to do now is training.
Ignore all the other things as Nova should be able to take care of them with the information he has.
I'll get Yu to tell him of Dratan and her's existence and what their mission is so he will not interfere in the search, though he must have guessed it by now from the conversation at the dinner table.
Over the next several days I tried to help Shion to train and awaken her own qi.
Dratan gave me some advice on it when he came to report saying that I could try and stimulate it with my own as his Qi did for me.
He was more than happy to tell me how to do it, he clearly wants to increase the number of his kin.
While he was here he also told me of a few techniques to control the Scarlet Qi within my body now.
One such technique is called the Burning Claw technique, originally meant for wolves it envelops the claw or saber in my case with Scarlet Qi, and then by exciting the Qi it heats up enough to slice human skin like butter.
With the claw sabers, the Scarlet Qi moved easily through the weapons being highly mobile and conductive.
Dratan also taught me a strengthening technique which is different from what Veru taught me, or what I heard from the old man back then.
It is a technique exclusive to those with Scarlet Qi.
He said that wolves do not battle with their qi, demons in general do not, instead their qi grows with them, sharpening from battle to battle and becoming more tenacious and reactive through them.
In the case of those with Scarlet Qi, what he called one of the ancient and near-extinct forms of qi, it is much more reactive and fiercesome, but at the same time, it is the most gentle, capable of very dexterous actions, the attributes of the Scarlet Demons wolves which once roamed the world clearly visible in it.
Thus he said that training with the Scarlet Qi is more beneficial to do so slowly, moving the Qi gently through the body and blades, but when it comes time to strike making the Qi explode with primal strength.
Like this the body becomes more shock resistant and the Qi becomes more tenacious capable of mobilizing at the drop of a hat, something only possible because it is the Scarlet Qi with such unique attributes.
Trigo arrived a few days after, coming by we spoke of several things before he departed once more with Warren in tow.
I should really set aside some time to train him eventually, I'm not doing a good job as his guardian.
Time continued to pass and with Dratan's advice, I was able to pass over a small amount of my Scarlet Qi into Shion's body forming her Soul Heart in less than a day.
Once my qi returned to me, she began to pump out her own becoming close with it almost instantly, as someone who has lost everything, she cherishes each strand like her own blood receiving the same love in return.
As we continued to practice things began to change in the outside world.
Hardvar and Leyalt had apprehended several spies from some of the Gulf Kingdoms, in specific, Irumar, Osolun, Kenkat and Pelieno, each of them currently locked in a vicious war with one another that is threatening to spill into the rest of the Gulf Kingdoms.
Nova sent a message through Yu that the central Carrien territories had finished establishing their factions and what princes they would support in the coming fight for the throne, small conflicts occurring all over the Empire as blood began being spilled in the open.
Our neighbors, the Dukedom of Sercan, have taken the side of the fifth prince supporting him to become the crown prince and as such, they have begun blocking any of our trade into their territory or from, isolating us from them.
I guess they want to starve us out and force us to seek their assistance, that way they will be able to gather our power for the fifth prince, something like starving out an entire Earldom is easy for them after all, and our power is not exactly something to be admired, the Duke Sercan likely did it as an afterthought that bastard.
Other nations will likely see that as Carrien cutting us off like an abandoned ship giving them the perfect chance to strike, not to mention the fact that the Dukedom had begun pooling troops at its border as though we don't exist as one of Carrien's territories as well.
Though they don't know that it won't work, we have trade deals with both Lancard and Tensent that go to the Republic turning Dra into a highway of trade between the two Gulf Kingdoms and the economic powerhouse known as the Republic.
Seramia's inquisitors had begun to move in tandem with Dratan and Yu now that they had identified all of the cursed above the city grounds over the course of the week, the only thing left was to purify them.
That is where I come in.
Since the one who shot me will likely appear as well, with the ability to disguise their attacks it will become extremely dangerous, and so I will be taking up the responsibility of protecting Seramia during the operation.
Shion will also be tagging along now that she has had her Qi awakened she should be able to see the spears, Dratan will be in charge of protecting her.
"Stay near me at all times," I said seriously after we finished sparing.
"Mhm," Shion replied evenly taking big gulping breaths.
Night fell quickly, all of the Acolytes had already left the palace hiding around the city, the crown's inquisitors however were simply sitting on the palace ramparts watching over the entire operation.
I can feel their immense amount of qi, it's clear that each of them is at least three, no, four times stronger than me, with the most powerful one among them unfathomably strong.
"Huantu, Netman, Marcus, take your units, it's the bird and the bear strategy," I said lightly raising my fist.
Without a word, the elite units disappeared.
"Stay close," I told Seramia.
"Follow me, and do not hesitate, I have seen what these marked slaves of Laminas can do, they are vicious and without morals, if they attack kill them, we cannot save everyone," Dratan said viciously his fur slowly changing from pure white to a deep scarlet.
Nodding I moved.
The first location was a neighborhood on the outskirts of town, there most, almost all of the citizens had been marked their eyes lifeless as though dolls repeating a single set of actions every day.
A pitiful thing.
Making a circle with my hand high in the air the Acolytes drew their bows back lighting them.
The moment they were loosed all hell broke loose in the capital.
The people within this district rushed out and the Acolytes attacked restraining them.
Seramia began chanting, sending out strong waves of Veru's power over the people like a wave purifying everything within ten meters.
Those who were purified fell unconscious immediately after.
Some of the Acolytes couldn't restrain the marked and were forced to battle, but they didn't want to kill those who were once like them causing several casualties before they resolved themselves attacking with precision.
"This is too slow." I muttered picking up Seramia and Shion onto my shoulders, "I'll run, you chant and you defend."
"Yes, Champion!" Seramia half screamed increasing the output of her blessing spreading it over fifty meters in every direction.
Sprinting hard I moved through the district like a storm, my power had increased greatly through Dratan's techniques causing my explosive power to rise, well, explosively.
In a matter of minutes, the district had been cleared and we began speeding towards the next district where Yu and her corps of fairies were taking charge using their fairy magic in unison they caused vines to sprout from the ground tripping marked and helping the Acolytes to restrain them.
"Next!" I yelled, without a word Yu took her corps and moved to the next district while we continued to purify this one.
By the time we finished this one a phenomenon began, marked were trying to run out of the city screaming that they were under attack and waking up what was left of the sleeping city.
At this time Nova came out accompanied by the elite guard that had followed him from the capital of Carrien all the way to here, like Ire but they didn't get promoted to a lord.
"People of Carrien, this is your lord speaking, Earl Surnova! We are currently cleansing the city of the wicked servants of an evil deity! We are trying not to harm anyone instead helping to purify them! Stay in your homes!" Nova shouted authoritatively.
The cowardly people of the capital heeded his words despite seeing their 'friends' being brought down or in the middle of battle.
Fear overtook them.
Whilst Agashi, Seramia, and Shion battled through the city to cleanse the larger concentrations of marked, outside Huantu, Netman and Marcus laid in wait capturing the escaping marked using their troops that they had set out beforehand.
Hardvar and Leyalt too took charge of capturing marked that escaped using the special agents of the intelligence department.
As such the marked could neither escape outside the city, nor could they hide within it.
There was only one place they could go.
The true reason that this entire plan was created.
A plan that had been forming in my mind since the night before the trade deal and what I wrote on those few pages before leaving in the morning.
Matel, such a smart and very cruel woman, yet she chose to have a trap laid in the case of her death instead of using her troops to cover her own retreat, which would have been easy, so why didn't she?
Why didn't she use her troops to encircle and kill me when I was alone fighting her?
Why would someone as smart as her not run away to fight another day?
Because she wouldn't be able to keep control over her troops if she did.
I came to this conclusion that night.
Those men who were under her control each had one thing in common and that is that they couldn't do anything without her command, and she didn't try to give them very specific commands either, so I made a gamble.
I gambled on that their controller has to be close in order for them to be under their control.
The fact that these marked changed directions to try and flee the city after fighting with us confirms my suspicions.
They are being lead by someone within range of all of them.
And there is only one place that they could be if they want to get a proper view of the entire city to give such precise orders.
"The Palace." I grinned from ear to ear.
Who is at the palace right now whilst this person is working so hard to save these marked from purification?
Yes, it's the crown's inquisitors.
----
Back at the palace.
Standing at the front overlooking the city is a man with a terrible face scar a thick smile on his face as he drew his blade the other crown inquisitors following suit.
"It looks like we have been used." He said creepily, "It is rare that such a genius arises in the way of war, first he made a massive and sudden commotion, enough to shock the enemy but not enough to paralyze him allowing him to react, but he had already prepared for their reaction, and using it he deducted the place of the controller, as well as managing to cause their forces to concentrate in one place, the sewers, thus eliminating any more damage to the city, all the while throwing the heavy lifting to us."
The crown's inquisitors looked at one another suspiciously, "It's more likely that it was just a coincidence isn't it?"
"..... perhaps, but regardless of that we have a job to do, capture the controller and bring him to the ramparts but do not kill him, I want to know more of the enemy he was once facing." He said pointing to the palace, "He should be at the top of the tower and be quick for the moment he realizes he's caught in a trap we will have the entire city swarming us."
"Yes! Sir Clegane!" They said moving for the prisoner tower at once.
"If he truly planned all of this, then this is more than just genius, it is at the level of having everyone playing on the palm of his hand, another genius of battle having arisen in these troubled times." Sir Clegane said with a chuckle, "But you still have a long way to go, young one, a cornered rat is at it's most dangerous."
----
As the crown's inquisitors closed in towards him, the controller panicked, the orders of his troops collapsing, however...
"Everyone! Gather together and prepare for fierce combat!" I yelled, the acolytes forming together instantly, underneath their robes are fine chainmail suits.
Dratan told me of the final strategy that Laminas' followers employed over a hundred years ago to destroy his pack and the same move that was used a hundred years about against Astafir and her followers.
Suicidal charge.
Burning the life force of the one marked they force the marked souls to go insane attacking everything and anything in front of them as long as it doesn't give off the same signal as themselves, the same qi signature.
Those underneath the capital in the sewers came up like animals ferociously pouncing towards us just a ball of instinct leaping forward.
However, this is what I had betted on.
Right now we are moving slowly towards the other units those that jump towards us are being purified before they can reach us.
Each of the units has been given orders that once the marked start going feral they are to regroup all together.
At this moment, the controller had already been captured and Sir Clegane had begun asking him questions, not bothering with the massacre occurring below or trying to stop it.
A kind of frigid attitude exuding from him as he interrogated the controller.
"Don't fight on grounds you are not familiar with," I muttered as I cut down one of the marked, with Seramia having been putting out power for the last half hour straight at max power it began to wane.
Outside the walls, the Wolf Teeth Unit should be restraining any that try and escape from the stashes before they can attack any farmers or livestock.
Everything is going according to plan.
Soon they will begin moving in towards the sewers attacking at the heart of the marked collective within the capital corralling them back towards our location.
"Ahhh!!!!" A woman's high pitched scream resounded even through the battlefield.
Flicking my head over I noticed that one of the feral marked had broken into a home attacking one of the innocents inside.
"Dratan!" I yelled.
"On it!" Immediately Dratan charged forward biting the marked man's neck and severing his soul.
Dratan can't deal with physical damage yet, but, he can rend souls devouring them.
Letting down Seramia and Shion I began to concentrate my Scarlet Qi into my Soul Heart amplifying the aura within myself attracting the attention of most of the marked within the city.
Marcus, Netman, and Huantu should have herded all of the marked in the sewers this way by now, meaning that they will all be focusing on me from here on as I am outputting the strongest aura.
It was the same with Dratan, when he battled against Laminas' followers back then he told me that they swarmed him wanting to devour him first since he was the strongest ignoring all of his kin in favor of it.
"It's still the same!" I yelled, "Get into funnel formation!"
The Acolytes reacted immediately, like the formation that cavalry use to penetrate lines of infantry, this formation is the reverse, with myself in the front and center of the formation there are acolytes on each side of me acting as walls that allow the marked in towards me only to collapse on them.
Seramia stood directly behind me with Shion behind her, as the marked would arrive they would either be torn apart or purified forming a great body toll very quickly, piles of both the living and the dead forming at my feet.
"We have arrived! The rest of the capital has been cleared!" Yu yelled, below her Keneth and the thousand two hundred man army that he and the other knights had brought were formed further encircling the area closing in on the marked who no longer tried to retreat.
At the same time, the marked coming up from the sewers began to dry up, the sounds of combat from the sewers getting louder and closer.
They are almost done corralling them.
"I can't anymore!" Seramia suddenly shouted as she fell backward right onto Shion.
The acolytes were also struggling under the intense wave of marked, though I said that their numbers were drying up, it is still a massive number of them swarming all around.
"Weapons free!" I shouted raising one of my sabers and twisting it in the air.
That is the signal for when Seramia can no longer go on.
It signals the end of mercy and the beginning of a true slaughter.
The men would no longer try and capture the marked but instead cut them down immediately.
"Shion, Dratan, Yu, keep her safe." Glancing back for a moment I nodded to Shion and moved forward with the slaughter.
The battle raged for the entire night, many men fell, many more were injured.
There were several hidden chambers full of the marked that had gotten free in the sewers after we had just begun to get their numbers under control, but these were emaciated and clearly on the verge of death.
All they had was numbers.
Hardvar and Leyalt also captured several men who were not marked but were seen trying to escape the capital, holding them tightly under threat of death.
Once the sun rose Nova changed his words, "It is now safe to leave your homes! The evil has been pacified!"
He and his guard had been acting as the pacifiers for the people playing a key role that I as the infamous 'Scarlet Demon' would not be able to play, they were also cleaning up the corpses and blood throughout the night as they appeared.
Come morning all of the districts but the one we were battling at had been mostly cleaned up, the unconscious ones who were purified were taken away outside of the city to a field hospital set up in advance, while the dead were sent away to the graveyard north of the capital, is set down for later burial.
Nova approached on horseback overlooking the slaughter with a cold indifference I could only expect to see out of him.
"The crown's inquisitors have captured the mastermind and are interrogating him right now, your plan played out almost perfectly," Nova said glancing all around the field of dead.
"Almost?" I replied taking a knee, I can hardly breathe now the combat was so fierce.
"Look around, many of the innocent citizens suffered greatly, even a single one of the crazed marked could kill several of them, and it did happen around several places in the capital, luckily we were capable of stopping it but nearly fifty innocent lives were lost." He said lightly, "All of that said, it would have been much worse without you, I am grateful for you help."
"It would not have been possible without your highness' insight and wisdom," I said lightly doing a nobleman's bow.
"Tell your men to pull out, mine will take care of the cleanup and calming of the people, you should all rest now." Nova said lightly pointing at a separate horse, "Get on and follow me."