"WAAAAAHHH!!!" Olivia screamed in fury and threw a kunai at Ember.
Beatrice did not even have the time to wonder where could have the ninja girl hidden that kunai as she was still completely naked. The kunai flew through the air at the speed of a gale, aiming straight at Ember's disparaging smile, only to disintegrate within her flames that sprung up from her open palm, inches from her unflinching face.
"Well, that woke you up," Ember laughed. "But have you considered the consequences of your actions? What would have happened had you been actually competent and managed to kill me right now?"
Olivia did not answer. She did not seem much fazed about the fact that her attack utterly failed, nor about the fact that one of her kunai got disintegrated.
Tabitha caught all four of her energy rings in her hand and observed with great interest what would happen next like a curious passerby staring at a burning building, waiting for the inevitable explosion.
"Hm… Is it my turn now to send an unprovoked attack at you?" Ember asked and compressed her file into a small fireball the size of an orange.
"You will do no such thing," Beatrice said calmly but firmly to Ember.
"Aw, well that doesn't seem fair at all!" Ember jokingly complained before crushing the fireball in her fist. A few thin flames slipped through her fingers and dissipated within seconds.
Tabitha seemed genuinely disappointed and also let her energy rings disappear one by one.
"But Ember is right," Beatrice said as she turned to Olivia. "Since you got your spirits back, we can proceed forward."
"I take it you had a good time?" Ember asked Beatrice as she approached closer while Olivia swiftly hurried to her belongings.
"Not just me," Beatrice said while still looking at Olivia. "I just wish she'd be more honest about it too. Each time I seem to break through to her, she locks up all over again. Really, it's two steps forward, one step back with that one."
"Your patience is impressive," Ember said. "You do remember that you still have a cult full of men and women who'd kill for a chance to sleep with you?"
"And yet none of them are here," Beatrice replied. "Just because Olivia doesn't fall to my feet and lick them clean doesn't mean I should discard her in search of an easier lay. I'm fairly confident that nearly every single person in this city would gladly sleep with me."
"Ah, so it's the thrill of the hunt?" Ember smiled. "Taking someone who at first rejects you. Seducing them, corrupting them until they are yours…"
"I never made her do anything she did not want to," Beatrice said. "By the way, it's been an hour already? I completely lost track of time. Where were you?"
"Just collecting a small package," Ember said and adjusted a hidden item within her robes. "Oh, it's nothing fancy, in case you were wondering. As a mage, I don't use weapons, so I would have no need to hide them. Gold on the other hand… Well, let's just say half of the people in Lucarad's cult would slit someone's throat for much less than what I have here right now."
"So… You put a stash of money here before joining the cult?" Beatrice asked. "Doesn't seem like someone with long-term plans to stay within the cult."
"I wasn't even hired to stay there long-term," Ember shrugged.
"What was the reason you were hired?" Beatrice asked.
"To temporarily boost Lucarad's group's fighting capabilities. I'm still not sure just how strong he really is, though he's not weak by any means. But if he was the only one with above-average combat potential, his little cult would have probably been slaughtered a long time ago."
"A mercenary," Beatrice said. "Is there any other profession in this entire city here besides mercenaries, bandits, and guards?"
"You've just met a butcher," Ember pointed out.
"You know what I mean. So far it seems that all anyone does here is kill and/or fuck."
"That sums up this city quite nicely actually," Ember said with a smile. "Isn't that right, Olivia?"
"How has no one cut out your tongue yet?" Olivia asked in response, approaching Beatrice and Ember fully clothed and ready to go.
"That indeed is a question you should ask yourself next time you think about doing something stupid again," Ember said with a smile of a venomous snake.
"You're the one who keeps provoking her," Beatrice said.
"And she's the one that tried to kill us both yesterday," Ember reminded. "If she can't even handle light teasing, I can just execute her on the spot as I planned to do in the first place."
"That won't be happening," Beatrice said and moved forward through the forest. "Let's go!"
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