The one-sided oppression had yet over, more like it was a merciful massacre seen from the vanquished's point of view… despite all of this was only the prelude of the imminent coda, in which those harbingers of chaos would collapse on the desolate land – to the deep they descended, lying down motionless as the unconscious abyss welcomed them… despite the gust of dry winds seemingly did not feel like to let such privileged bidding to be happening upon them… yet,
Likely perhaps, the said imminent coda unluckily had already fallen upon them… leaving only the last phase of an occurring coda was at this very moment,
"What a disgrace, really… menacing a group of unarmed villagers while hiding beneath those glistening armors of yours. Instead ascending, descending is what you gained by performing such ritual," the one-horned girl was seen calmly walking across a sea of two and a half dozens of fainted bodies of steel-armored marauders… lying on the ground with their shattered blades and deformed armors, leaving their 'Lord' alone and so devouring all of this terror and horror upon himself only, "Leave this village."
"O-or…?" tittered and stuttered anxiously the so-called Lord was then, foreshadowing his own demise if he did not soon do something about it. Hence the crux of this conversation, was to risk himself buying himself some time to plan the next move; yet in reality, he knew he could just choose to simply leave as that one-horned girl proposed as opposed to fight against a kind of power beyond his own comprehension.
"I wasn't presenting you a choice. I was coercing you to leave… peacefully," the one-horned girl calmly responded, staring coldly at him through her yellow gaze…
…a kind of gaze that sparked something inside him, building something different more of a frustrating feeling this time rather than fear – likely because of his ego, and arrogance, as he laughed almost like a murmur of a madman,
"A-haha… ahahahahaha! I see… so this is what it feels like to meet with the Devil itself. At first glance… those eyes, yes those eyes are… evil…!" the last standing Lord laughed out loud, gritted his teeth in anger, and by doing so, seemingly about to stimulate something sinister out of his dark-blue armor for it was then abruptly emitted magic-like aura from cloaking around it, "Then I, Lord Redo, shall purify that evil gaze of yours alongside with all of those lowly rustics who are seeking protection from the Devil. For the sake of humanity, and for the sake of the Holy Spirit!"
"Heh… aren't you a saint one? I didn't expect it," surprised by that Lord's––calling himself Redo––incoherent reaction, the one-horned girl then took a step aside… placing herself at the front of the restless crowd of villagers, since the situation would evidently turn into a bit more troublesome than before, judging by that thick darkened haze-like aura which slowly concentrated around that Lord.
"Shut up you Devil!"
Such a strong roar vibrated through the hateful mouth of that enraged dark-blue figure whose armor emitted even more tense and thick smoke-like aura to such an extent that it could bring a baleful side effect to ordinary humans; if only this one-horned girl, Erynew, didn't cast a protective barrier at once around the villagers, they would've been suffered from it. Luckily such an effect, undeniably wouldn't even affect her at all, so that she wouldn't bother to protect herself rather she focused all of her remaining energy to prevent all of the villagers from harm caused by that magical equipment, and waited for his next move… because apparently for now, she could only hear him babbling nonsense to himself, having no desire to launch an attack yet,
"That's right! I am Lord Redo… one of the eminent Executors of the Autocrats Five Ways, and the wielder of the All-Powerful Wolframs." however, those babblings were nothing more than a self-suggestion to enhance both his strength and self-confidence, and peculiarly such a method seemingly proven to be worked – even in the slightest,
Regaining his previous self-confidence, Lord Redo then smirked at her,
"I admit you are quite strong despite your appearance by having that daunting aura just because you're the Devil, and not a lesser one apparently, huh? And here I thought your kin already perished five hundred years ago… slayed by the human's hands for your sin… for your arrogance, your kin was slayed by those you thought to be… subservient. And now you're trying to protect them?! How ironic, isn't it?"
He began to speak as he drew his glowing dark-purple sword,
"…guess what, that makes your head crazily invaluable. Head of a dead kin. I shall have your head and then exchange it for hefty coins in the city, then fulminate this village to the ground. Either way, it's a win-win… for me only. Hahahaha!"
Dashing forward rapidly once done with his babbling as his blade glowed even more, ready to land a quick and powerful slash through that one-horned girl's 'devilish' body as that was his first and only plan; for his self-confidence had turned into a malignant presumption over his magical equipment that led into a foolish act of underestimating his opponent… that one-horned girl, at the end of the attack, stopped the magical blade, merely using only a finger pinch once again.
Not a single word came out from a gaping mouth of this so-called Lord Redo… there were only insufficient words to express the horrific feeling he must have gone through right after his only light of hope, had simply vanquished… seeing his magical blade he was so proud of—Wolframs—was engulfed wholly and consumed avariciously in and by the White Void his finite mind could not comprehend. Even after rocketing both his strength and magical energy, he still was no match for this one-horned Devil, who hadn't even shown her full capacity – her capacity to meet him with his Death if she wanted to,
"You know, someone who talks a lot usually won't listen to what other people say, and you really are a noisy one over the top, you know that? You should've done yourself a favor and listened to me if you wanted to leave this village without humiliating yourself… against a force you can't possibly vanquish."
Done toying with her foe to the point of giving him a piece of lifetime advice, telling how annoyed she was now, once knowing what kind of person that so-called Lord Redo was… while her left hand still holding still that magical blade, her right palm had already wide opened on which a white magic circle began to form. Not to negate, however, the magical effect that veiled his dark-blue armor, instead she used it to negate her own strength and so such a unique armor of his wouldn't be severely damaged yet the impact still was viable and working as she intended,
Due to the shockwave coming from the center of the magic circle, Lord Redo was ragdolled backward ferociously just like the rest of his men… lucky for him, that fancy armor of his was still intact; unfortunately however, that fancy sword of his, the only one that still left behind, stuck between the one-horned girl's fingers – showing how strong that finger pinch of hers was,
Erynew then took a step forward, approaching her tumbled foe whose face was now kissing the dirt on the ground, "Here you go, I give it back to you. It looks precious to you since you seem to take care of it very well. It's a very nice-looking blade by the way…"
Throwing the magical blade to the ground next to her tumbled foe who was barely conscious, she then tried to move as she intended to spare his life – never had any intention of finishing him off, "…and if you have regained your consciousness, better start leaving this village and never to disturb its inhabitants ever again. Hopefully, now you'll listen to me, or should I make another two ear-holes in your head?"
Being mocked in such ways, he gritted his teeth even harder, causing his gums to bleed trickling down his mouth and chin. He reached for his sword, and then slowly raised his limping body using his sword as a crutch with his face fully drawn by a shocked and disappointed expression, mumbling to himself out of frustration, "Why? Why I can't land a single scratch on her? Even after using the full potential of Wolframs… she stopped it merely with her fingers. What kind of monster is she? No… a Devil that she is… a force I can't possibly vanquish like she said. Curse it. Curse it all… why must a literal Devil show itself now after long they gone… Curse it all… curse it all!"
Watching the one-horned girl leisurely walked away from him, he accepted her bidding and his desperate fate to run away, running and screaming in the opposite way, disappearing over the horizon… leaving all of his swooned underlings behind.
Erynew turned around, watching over that dark-blue figure gradually vanishing behind the small hill as she mumbled to herself, realizing something trivial that escaped her initial anticipation, 'Ah right, I should've been asking him about that Autocrats Five Ways he just mentioned. Oh well, information can be gathered later, since all of his men still in here after all… maybe one of them knows something. Regardless, the village should be safe for now.'
With this, did end the one-sided oppression, however the villagers were still crowded at their original place, staring at her with caution mixed with confusion about what to do since their savior wasn't a human. Savior or not, they found it hard to trust someone with a monster-like aura and attributes. They assumed the worst as she wanted something bad in return for saving their life.
'And of course, they still give that cautious gaze.' Erynew paused her step, uttering her concern inside her mind, fearing that the villagers wouldn't welcome her with open arms, as she was self-aware of her nature, her species, and how humans saw them, 'Oh well, It's no wonder anymore…' she was about to leave after giving her simplest smile, nothing return to be expected. It was even counted as a rare occasion for her that these villagers didn't just blatantly attack her wildly like before… maybe because her arrival was different this time.
But just like they said, regarding action that speaks louder than words… let alone an impression without a decisive foundation,
Slowly but surely however, a little yet genuine smile began to be worn and a true breath of relief to be heard. After becoming eyewitnesses of her actions defending their village and its residents, doubt was diminished upon her, and the outcome was the trust they tried to build with her… their 'inhuman' savior.
Quite astonished by this unforeseen outcome Erynew was… seemingly her prediction was wrong this time, yet for the first time she had never felt this content upon committing such mistakes before. About to leave the village, but that was before she noticed those happy faces. Her steps were naturally drawn towards the direction of those happy faces, towards a human community accepting her with open arms.
Sighting such happy faces, bringing back her confidence thus with a broad smile she dared herself to introduce herself, "Uhm, hi… my name's Erynew. With gaiety and peace I come."
"She did it. She repelled that cursed Redo and all of his lackeys."
"Her name's Erynew, eh? Such a strong name."
"She's so powerful, ain't she? Ain't you seein' the way she blocked that creepy-lookin' sword with just her bare hand?"
"I did! I did see it."
The boisterous conviviality of the villagers, retelling how their savior saved the day began to emerge back and forth,
The leader of the village couldn't agree more with his people. Chief Jovier, they called him, silently smiling while staring at the one-horned girl who slowly walked over to him when a voice could be heard from behind the hill as a young adult girl with her little sister running toward the crowd of the villagers.
"Mom! Dad! You're okay!" screaming happily they were both, finding that their parents mingled between the crowd unharmed.
"Maya! Reya! Thanks Gods you're all okay as well," so did their parents... shouting in gratitude before the heartwarming reunion occurred.
Chief Jovier was touched by this moment, and he could eventually deliver his gratitude directly to the savior of his people when the one-horned arrived before him, "Thank you so much, Miss Erynew… me and on behalf of all the people of Kasala Village… I don't know how I can repay your help."
"Please don't humble yourself, Chief Jovier." Erynew knelt down and then reached out her hands for his left foot, "Sacrificing your own leg to protect your people is really a courageous move. You should thank yourself instead… and please, no miss, just call me by my name." soon enough, a blue magic circle appeared from her hands, sheltering his broken leg as the first aid treatment, "I don't really know any restoration arcane, but I'm doing my best to lessen the pain by reducing bone and muscle mass of your feet, but it'll cause numbness but the pain should've gone albeit temporally."
"It's fine, though you really don't have to." Chief Jovier smiled, trying to move his broken leg, and just like she said the pain was gone yet the numbness arose,"It seems I'm in debt once again to you."
"Don't mention it," Erynew gave him back a smile, "Since I can't just sit there silently after all, knowing there's something I can do to help."
Two villagers intuitively began to carry their chief to his house to conduct further treatments. Even though the pain was no more, the inside parts, such as bones and tissues, were still wounded so they carried the chief very carefully not to worsen the injury. Right before he entered the house, he noticed a kid… a young boy who watching from a distance. He smiled, somewhat grateful when he saw the young boy's well-being. Without uttering a single word, he went on to enter the house.
Wondering where and for whom that smile was supposed to be, Erynew then followed the direction of the chief's gaze, hence she noticed the boy she knew, who was likely to be her answer. He then approached the crowd of the villagers. There was something stuck in her mind she wanted to confess to the boy, yet she chose to keep it to herself for she felt something amiss between the two.
"Awesome! Did you beat all those damn raiders' ass by yourself?!" the hyperactive boy finally showed up, catching the rare sight of two and a half dozen of full steel-armored raiders scattering around the village while losing their consciousness, "You're right, Maya... she's indeed a damn powerful mage."
Maya nodded a little, "A-and she also kept her promise." she then looked at Erynew to give her deepest gratitude, "I-I thank you, Erynew, for saving Mom and Dad… and our village."
Her older sister, Reya, then approached her as well, voicing the same gratitude as well as an apology remark for doubting her beforehand, "I'm really really grateful to you, Miss Erynew, and I apologize for judging you aforehand by just appearance. That really was a close-minded attitude of mine," bowed her head to show how shameful she was, yet it was just made an awkward situation for Erynew.
"Please, Reya… raise your head. That really is unnecessary. And please, call me Erynew,"
Still overwhelmed with Reya's over-grateful attitude, a middle-aged couple took a step forward. They were Maya and Reya's parents, and just like people say… like parents, like daughters, "Let us convey our gratitude as well, Miss Erynew." the husband not only spoke for himself but his wife as well, "My name's Alejandro Yhwan and she's my wife Kiya Yhwan. It's my pleasure to convey our thanks for keeping our daughters out of harm's way." the unnecessary bowing head was done as well by them.
"You are very welcome Mister and Missus Yhwan… please raise your heads already."
Then another hubbub was heard among the less crowded villagers, for each of them has returned to their own home to patch their own wounds physically and mentally or simply recharge their energy after such a chaotic moment. Some were inside the chief's house to help him taking care of his broken leg, and it was from the rest villagers that the hubbub came from. They were still at the scene, surveying the fainted raiders whom they were confused about what to do about, worrying they might open their eyes once more to wreak another havoc.
"Then what do we do about 'em?"
"They still alive, ain't they?
"Yeah… but I ain't approachin' them. You never know they'll open 'em eyes when you come near them."
"But we oughta tie them though, so that they won't escape. They can be proof for the attack."
"Then I leave it to you."
Erynew heard what they arguing about as she began to walk over to the two arguing men, "Is there something wrong?" asked her to the crowd mostly consisting of grown men responsible for taking care of the fainted raiders.
"Ah, Miss Erynew." the first man greeted her, "No it's just… we're just talking about what should we do about them." he was referring to the thirty fainted raiders scattering across the village, the mark of the aftermath of the one-sided oppression.
The second man took a step forward, intending to inform her something as well, "We're thinking of keeping them as proof for the authority."
"I see… it can be proof for the wrongdoer, huh?" after understanding the red thread in the big picture, Erynew would gladly help them secure the unconscious raiders, "But it may be very risky."
The crowd of grown men was perplexed by her statement, looking at each other before listening to her further explanation.
"We don't know who sent them. We don't know who funds them—" explained Erynew, yet before she could finish her thoughts, an interrupter came in, a kid interrupter who boldly said such a strong and heavy… quite a sinister phrase at play regardless of his age,
"Then we kill 'em." that was what the lower-age interrupter said, giving his own viewpoint on the present reality. The hyperactive interrupter, Gizado, who came out of nowhere yet it seemed that he heard everything in here, "If we kill 'em, nobody will suffer what we've suffered. They deserve it after all, after what they've done to us."
Erynew's guess was right all along, there was something not right with him, mainly after she defeated those raiders and their leader. When everyone felt the gaiety, Gizado somehow felt something different… somewhat contradicting the majority. She quietly stared at him, not giving a single word of response yet.
"But Gizado, for doing such an attempt, we should ask permission from the chief because there are many of them," one of the men from the crowd tried to deny Gizado's request, trying to calm him down.
"Hah! There's no way that cowardly old man will give the permission. If we're not fighting back, we will be always harassed, abused, and attacked." denied Gizado, then stared at Erynew, thinking she would agree with him, "Isn't that right, Erynew?"
However, he couldn't be more wrong,
"It's easier said than done." answered Erynew, "In this case however, I agree with them."
"Huh? Why? isn't it easy for you to kill them right now? Even their boss is no match for you." whining, Gizado looked like more he was whining right now instead of giving a solid reason why he wanted them to die, or in all likelihood, he simply wanted them to die… vanished from this world.
"Yes, I can do that easily." continued Erynew, "But killing them in this condition, it could lead to a massacre instead of defending oneself… and it might be one hell of an experience for you, and for the rest of the village. After all, we also need the information they can provide."
She managed to silence the desperate kid. Seeing the speechless Gizado, she finally could focus on casting her next spell. She clenched her right fist and then reached it out. Soon enough, a golden glow was seen from inside her fist, its light desperately trying to escape from every gap of her clenched fingers until finally when she eventually opened her fist… an orb-like object glowing in gold came out from her palm. Falling slowly like a falling feather, the orb entered into that barren soil. Not long after, countless glowing tendrils were growing rapidly from the barren soil and later slithering like snakes hunting for their prey—as in this case, the unconscious raiders were their prey. The glowing tendrils silently approached and snared them very tight—if it was not for their steel armor maybe almost all bones in their body would have been crushed by its strength.
Anyone who witnessed such a scene was sure amazed by it, and a bit of alarmed as well since some tendrils still crawling around, and randomly approached the villagers they saw.
"Don't worry, they're harmless." explained Erynew, the one who summoned them, "They will seek foreign sources of magic from surrounding that makes this soil around here barren… devouring those sources and then eventually… digging into the ground to fertilize it using that devoured energy."
'Well, I learned this technique from my 'dear' sisters. Can't believe it would be useful in the end.' whispered Erynew to herself randomly.
What she said proved to be true, those tendrils after a vigilant search, they dug into the barren soil and soon none of them were seen crawling above the ground again, "Soon enough the soil will become fertile once more." Erynew last explanation gave yet another broad smile among the villagers who adored her even more.
Yet Gizado seemed a bit discordant with his surrounding gaiety, he somehow felt unsatisfied with the result as he stared blankly at the joyful people of his, and his reverie eventually, was then surprised by a gentle pat on his head.
"Hey there, the hyper-brave lad." it was Erynew. She gave her broad smile to him besides that gentle head pat, "Why don't you look after your cowardly father who just sacrificed one of his legs?"