The assassin's flabbergast was confirmed when she saw the said small circular red liquid stain occupying her position. As much as she would want to move away from the Northman who is now clearly presenting himself to be a threat if the red aura is any indication, she just can't.
"I, I can't move!! What did you do!!??" The assassin was panicking and enraged at the same time at this seemingly evil magic that Siegtyr has cast to constrict her movement.
Then a memory hit her. Back at the academy, she was a diligent student who always listened and take notes on what her instructors are teaching to the students with the hopes of using what she has learned to take revenge on the filthy Northmen that she very much loathed. One of the lessons that were imparted to them is a monstrous type of magic that involved shaping blood into the mage's will. Of course, the instructors did not teach the students how to actually use it due to the fact that it cannot be learned by conventional means and they lack the knowledge to do so. The last known user of such horrifying magic was none other than Kain Pethros, and he perished many years ago at the hands of the revered Empire Hero and Saint, Conrad Augustus.
As a result, the assassin could not believe what she is seeing right now. Horror afflicted her every being and she was left stunned at the menacing revelation that was revealed to her.
"No, it can't be!! Blood Magic is supposed to be extinct decades ago!!!" The assassin struggled to get out but failed tremendously. Now she also witnessed Siegtyr's petrifying look that held no bars. At this very moment, the assassin knew that today marks the day where she is going to die and meet the Creator.
Siegtyr paid no ounce of attention to her terrified expression and displayed no hesitation on what he is about to do. The blood below the assassin begun to move in a sinister fashion, forming a single crimson spear that suddenly pierced directly to her stomach, like what she did to Siegtyr. The result of this eerie manifestation is a gory display that is definitely not for the faint of the heart. Although this kind of sight is nothing to Siegtyr and is actually tame in comparison when he participated in raids and performed vile deeds to villagers who fought back.
"If it's any consolation." Siegtyr held a saddened look and eyed her with pity. "At least you'll now get to meet your family at this heaven of yours. In there, there will be no more suffering, at least from what I heard. Hopefully, you'll leave your vengeful hatred here on the living."
Siegtyr saw the tears that were falling on the assassin's eyes before it was devoid of life. Whether it was by the pain of a sharp object right at her heart, or the fact that she was released from the world of living to be reunited with her loved ones, Siegtyr likes to think that it was the latter. He then commanded the spear of blood to release from her body, causing a gaping bloody hole that is clear for the view. Concerning his own injury, it was healed rapidly thanks to him channeling Blood Magic to perform the deed, returning to its uninjured state.
Siegtyr caught the assassin's body and carried it away from the water. He laid her body on the floor and Siegtyr saw her life wavering with each passing second.
For a blessing moment here and now, the assassin was free of all weight, as if the worries of the world departed right from her living anguish.
In her final moments, the assassin gave a genuine smile. By the Creator's mercy, she was so tired, tired of living, and assuming all the hate that weighed her down drastically for the past two years. Perhaps death is the solution, the sweet release that she has been craving to acquit her of all negativity. Probably, the Creator would forgive for all her sins and accept her in heavenly paradise.
It is said that death brought true peace to a person aside from enlightenment. The assassin knew that she was dying, but stubborn as she was, the assassin held onto the life of little consciousness as much as she could. Red eyes turned blue met her gaze as she saw the Northman's sympathetic look staring directly right at her.
"T-thank you."
In all honesty, the assassin was unsure why she even thanked the Northman for killing her. Sounded kind of absurd if you ask her, given the nature of her death by a Northman of all people. For the first time in two years, she was sincerely happy. To be reunited with her family once more is something that she has been craving for a very long time, and today marked the event of her joyful reckoning.
In the end, the assassin passed away willingly, entering death's door to meet her judgement.
"She is probably with this Creator now," Siegtyr muttered while staring at the assassin's now dead body and closed her eyes out of respect. "Hopefully this God would show her mercy instead of sending her to the fiery pits of the Hell realm."
To redeem the young assassin's soul so she will be welcomed in the gates of heaven, Siegtyr also offered a small prayer as taught to him by his father, Ulf. The prayer is simply known as the Prayer for the Lost. When the Earl was imprisoned for around five months by Triverius at the Duchy of Westshire, Ulf expressed interest in Imperial culture and as such, he has learned many things including their religions and prayers.
"Blessed Creator, shepherd of lost souls, may you guide this stray sheep into your most holy domain so she can rejoice alongside you, her ancestors, and your angels of heaven. Flesh and blood as you made her, return to her spiritual form and grant her your divine mercy to cleanse her of every evil and sin. Lead her away from the Devil's grip and forgive her transgressions. In your divine name, I pray, amen."
After praying to the Creator, Siegtyr strangely felt at peace after doing so. Personally, he primarily adhered to the Ásatrú faith, but the difference between him and his Viking brethren is that he is not so close-minded as to dismiss the teachings of other religions.
With the assassin's demise, Siegtyr withdrew his Blood Magic from the pool, returning the water to its intended clarity. Furthermore, he felt a fluctuation of magic coming from all around the bath area, as if something has been devastated.
'Ah, so the barrier that has been blocking the entrance and exit of the place has been lifted. Now the crowd has arrived.'
True to his thoughts and shortly after, a small group of people barged right in quickly out of concern. The group consisted of Lucon, Theresa, Triverius, and a blonde young lady who he has yet to meet.
"Lord Siegtyr, are you alright!?" It was Lucon who asked. "When we heard the commotion here, we rush as best as we could, but someone has conjured a powerful barrier to block any exit from here inside."
"I'm sorry, my lord, I was on guard at the entrance constantly and I did not know that someone actually entered here!!" Theresa nervously apologized to her new northern master. She had hoped that Siegtyr shall be lenient and won't blame her too much for his life being endangered just a short while ago.
Before Siegtyr is about to answer Lucon's inquiries, a surprised yelp was heard coming from the new lady of the group.
Cecille Augustus could not believe her eyes when she saw a dead body just right beside Siegtyr. The surprise however does not end there. Cecille also recognized the woman behind the shadowy garb that was donned.
"No... it can't be… it's Livia." Cecille was beyond horrified when she set her sights on her old friend and classmate from the academy, especially at the part of the body where a hole was present. She then turned her attention to the naked Northman, no doubt the murderer who was behind Livia's death. "You!!! You killed my friend!!! You'll pay for this!!!"
Siegtyr merely remained unfazed despite being stared by the blonde lady with a look that leaked of utmost anger. As a matter of fact, he could practically feel the negativity that literally was radiating around her.
As Cecille was about to conjure her very own Blight spell out of pure rage at Siegtyr, the magic did not come into existence though as it was canceled, much to her shock. Siegtyr as well felt the same when Cecille's magic faded easily just like that. As far as he knew, completely canceling magic is something to be considered a godly feat and it required extreme mental capacity and arcane precision to pull it off.
The assassin Livia as well possessed an anti-magic measure that disrupted Siegtyr's spellcasting when she went at melee proximity, but it only served to weaken a spell's overall impact, like the magic barrier that Siegtyr conjured to defend himself. That's how his personal barrier was broken by a few strikes from her. Siegtyr was still capable of casting a spell, but felt it was unnecessary since he has Blood Magic at his disposal.
Blood Magic is on an entirely new level of magical complexity and appeared to be one of the few magics that are unaffected by Anti-Magic effects. That's also one of the reasons why Kain Pethros was feared throughout the whole Empire where Anti-Magic practitioners like the Knight Order of Crusaders only fell upon Kain's terror of the blood.
Complete negation is extremely difficult to achieve and someone did just that. Siegtyr suspected that it was none other than Triverius' doing as he felt the movement of magic came solely from the Duke.
"Now, now, let's give the young Lord a chance to explain himself, shall we?" Triverius declared himself the diplomat of the group and wanted to hear Siegtyr's side of his story. Triverius also knew of the dead lady's identity, given that he was friends with her parents when they were still alive.
Siegtyr nodded and begun to explain his case, going through every detail of the happenings. Although he left out the story regarding Thyra and his Blood Magic since that certain magic is not exactly considered legal. Many would definitely pop their eyes out if they knew about his unique magic and there will no doubt be a blood hunt for him should they ever find out. If Livia's reaction about Blood Magic is any indication, then it would be best to keep it a secret as much as he can. That, and it was also an order by his father since it would be a huge scandal of a sort if an ambassador of the North wielded magic that was detested greatly by the Holy Bahamuth Empire. Instead of saying that it was Blood Magic, Siegtyr opted to tell them about his rare magical mutation called the Berserker's Aspect. The more he sustained injuries, the stronger he physically gets, in terms of both strength and speed. Thankfully, such a condition is also an integral part of his Blood Magic where death is essentially his lover, and flirting with her only makes him deadlier. That is also one of the factors of how he was able to overcome his greatest adversary that was King Ubba "Dragon-breath". Overall, his Blood Magic leaned more closely on the physical side rather than the magical.
Blood Magic was also the reason why Siegtyr was able to expel the poison flowing inside him and heal his injury. He has complete control over his own body and blood, allowing extraordinary yet horrifying arcane feats that are never thought possible since the era of the first Blood Mage, Kain Pethros.
The group understood Siegtyr's case regarding the mutation that he told. A magical mutation is uncommon but certainly not unheard of. People with such unique genetic traits are either welcomed or scorned, depending on the mutation of course. In Siegtyr's case, it was merely in a neutral stance but a welcome advantage nonetheless.
"Hmm, interesting." Triverius sounded more intrigued rather than concerned that a dead body was witnessed right here at his very own home. Well, not that Livia's death is irrelevant, but the fact that Siegtyr managed to defeat a Mage Assassin in her own game deserved some recognition. Of course, Triverius was still a reasonable human-being and thus, did not emphasized his curiosity so Cecille, his own daughter, won't antagonize him for his lack of genuine worry for Livia.
It was not a hidden knowledge to the general public about the fact that Livia abhorred the Northmen with the greatest of passion. She was one of the few who were against the peace and made no effort in hiding her disdain. If one thought about it, Livia being the culprit behind the attempted assassination of Siegtyr came as no surprise. Furthermore, Livia was also knowledgeable in Anti-Magic and assassination techniques, so the whole situation made more sense with each second passing by.
"Oh, Livia." Cecille approached Livia's body and wallowed in despair while kneeling down to take a closer look. "I always knew that your hatred would be your downfall one day, but I never expected that this day would come so early."
Cecille turned her attention once more to Siegtyr, her rage sparking with even deeper intensity. "Why, why did you kill her?! How about sparing and sentencing her at court instead at least!?"
"Out of the question." Siegtyr made his stance known and remain unperturbed whatsoever by Cecille's fury and sorrow. He took a deep breath to gather his thoughts so he can convey his next statement properly with as much truth as he could muster. "When she explained her circumstances to me, I could feel the unadulterated hatred leaking around her, vying for nothing but vengeance for the loss of her precious dear people, even if it means starting another war with my people. Also, her eyes are already filled with the darkness of the abyss and are the ones where they desire nothing but the cold embrace of death. Only in death may she find self-peace in reconciliation with her loved ones. I also took the liberty to say the Prayer for the Lost so her soul will be welcome in heaven, hopefully."
"Prayer for the Lost?" Triverius' interest was kindled. "Ah, so your father also taught you that as well. Ulf is indeed an open-minded man and I'm honored to consider him as a friend."
Cecille indeed was at a loss of words at how Siegtyr acted honorably even after killing Livia, his assassin. Sure, Livia was one of her dear friends, but the assassin also felt cold and distant every time they talk with one another. Once upon a time, Livia was a carefree and cheerful young lady but after her parents' and sister's death at the hands of the wicked Northmen raiders when they were on a family vacation in a distant lovely village, Livia grew resentful, and the shadows of her despair instantly took over, leaving her tenacity shattering like a fragile glass. Cecille, together with Anna did their utmost best to reach out to Livia, to pull her out of the darkness of depression, but their efforts are simply in vain. Overall, Cecille felt that Livia lost all will and reason to live, and the Northman Siegtyr granted Livia the means to her end.
Still, Cecille won't forgive Siegtyr naturally just like that. Livia was still her friend nevertheless, and the killer responsible is literally right in front of her. As such, Cecille opted to now remain quiet and diverted her sight away from Siegtyr out of grudge. Cecille felt conflicted and she has some serious thinking to do, preferably in the comfort of her own room. Thus, she left the area but not before giving Siegtyr a final wrathful look, which was not gone unnoticed by him.
Triverius decided to take this matter into his own hands and carried Livia's body. He also said to Siegtyr. "And with this, the nobility line of the Cromwell has officially vanished, with young Livia being the last. Not that you are at fault here, young lord. This was Livia's own doing that led to her faithful end. The court condones self-defense as a valid form of justice and I'll make sure that there won't be any court meeting, for your convenience. It's unfortunate that you get to meet my dear daughter Cecille in such ill-fated circumstances. I was hoping that the two of you would get along, but alas, that won't be happening for quite a long time I believe."
Siegtyr merely nodded as a form of thanks and dismissed the remarks regarding Triverius's daughter. The situation is quite troubling for him and at this point on, he's now not in a talkative mood.
"Although…" Triverius paused for a bit and held a devious smirk, attracting Siegtyr's attention and causing him to be alarmed. "I would be careful from now on if I were you, young lord. I'm sure that this incident certainly won't be the last. Many of my kinsmen here abhor you and your brethren to the fullest. As such, I look forward to how the son of Ulf would fare himself in the webs of intrigue and deceit. And by the way…"
Triverius turned to his back and left the bath area together with Livia's corpse, but not before saying this to Siegtyr with a happy yet challenging tone, much to the Northman's slight distress.
"Welcome to Danusta, Thane Siegtyr Ulfsson…"