By the time that the two made it back to the encampment, it was beyond dark as the clouds in the night sky had covered both moons with their pillowed shade. The magic drain from Brenda's discover spell had almost drained her stamina as she began to look wearier with every step, but her eyes sprung back to life as she noticed the dimming fire near the carriages. The life in her eyes faded immediately as her father and mother sat by the fire with an intent gaze towards her and Seran, and she gulped in utmost nervousness.
Seran waited behind Brenda with a strong salute with his right hand and the boar's tusk still in his left hand. His posture was slightly wavering due to the stress of pulling the boar all this way, and he did his best to not show it before his masters. He stayed silent and stared straight ahead with a gaze of utmost respect and attention.
Reginald and Claire stood up in unison as they looked between Brenda, Seran, and the boar they brought. Reginald's face contorted in slight agitation, but there was a look in his eye that found the situation reasonable; however, Claire's face showed extreme rage as she gazed towards Seran and the boar. Reginald took a step towards the two of them as he lifted his hand to take the simmering pipe from his mouth.
"I assume that is all you got from your hunt, and you both took that long?" Reginald said as he looked over the boar with a raised eyebrow. He then pointed back towards the last carriage in the train, "If you could see it, the other guards brought back at least twice as much meat as that within half the time you lot spent."
"I am sorry, father." Brenda said with a frown, "We tried our best, but we had so much trouble with this one beast."
"Don't apologize, Brenda," Reginald said as his face, unexpectedly, turned to a soft smile as he observed the boar with a closer look. "It's quite a feat to take down a silverback boar with no practical or strengthening magic, so the length of the hunt was to be expected. It looks like the boar was cut from underneath, and you are unscathed. My expectations were met."
"If only that retainer of yours could use magic," Claire scoffed as she turned away from them, "I wouldn't have been so worried sick about you. I still believe we should get you a new retainer when we reach Caipal."
"Mother." Brenda smiled as she quickly paused to look towards Seran and then back to her mother. "I believe I am more than happy with Seran by my side. This hunt proved just that, and he defended me from that boar. Without him by my side, I may have not returned in the way you are seeing me now."
"Come now," Reginald chuckled as he walked closer to them with his hand raised, "No need to worry your mother further, Brenda." Reginald stopped a foot before Seran and looked over to him with a nod. "It seems my original thoughts about bringing you were correct. I do not care about your previous placement, but what I do care about is the protection of my daughter."
"He did very well to protect me, father." Brenda said with a soft smile and nod towards Seran, "You may address him, Seran."
"It was my pleasure to protect, Miss Br-Harenhart." Seran said in his saluted stance, "With your permission, sir, may I take the boar over to the food wagon?"
"You may do that." Reginald said as he took another puff from his pipe, "See that it is done quickly so that you may return to your post for tonight."
Brenda watched as Seran took a deep breath and began to pull the boar towards the chef's wagon, and as soon as he was out of sight, her father snapped back to her. His eyes sterner than before and his pipe began shaking in his mouth as if it were about to break into two pieces. Brenda's expression grew more concerned and almost scared as she looked towards her father.
"Do you take me for a fool, Brenda?" Her father snapped out in anger, which caused Brenda to step back in fear and surprise.
"Wh—What do you mean?" Brenda stammered out with a hint of why he could be so angry. "Do--does he know what happened in the field?" She thought in her head as beads of sweat rolled down her forehead.
Reginald reached forward and took her right hand, causing Brenda to flinch and wait for the next moment. She waited for the next moment of yelling and a potential hit, but nothing came as the next few seconds passed. She opened her eyes to see her father's eyes glaring towards her, not in a scary way, but in a caring way.
"You've been incredibly pale, Brenda," Reginald said as he looked over her right hand. "I can tell you've used quite a bit of mana during your little adventure, and we both know you aren't able to stop your mana flow." Reginald motioned towards her right hand as it was twitching in his grasp, "Did you use the search spell over and over again?"
"No, I used the discover spell." Brenda said with a relieved sigh, as she raised her left hand to rub her right shoulder to show a state of nervousness "Mother taught me that spell a while ago, and I figured it would be more useful in our hunt than sear--"
"That explains it then," Claire said as she now walked forward towards the two of them. Her face was relieved as she reached out and hugged Brenda. While she was hugging Brenda, her voice was somewhat joyful and missing the angered intent from earlier as she spoke, "I cast the monitoring spell on you before you left. It alerted me three times that your heart rate had gone up past normal, and I assume it was because you were using more mana than you were used to, or you were continuously hunting the beast."
"She was persistent on the surveillance spell, but I convinced her that a tier-three spell wasn't needed. I chose to trust you, but your mother was a bit too cautious still." Reginald said with a puff of smoke released from his mouth, "One day, she'll realize that my intuition is often right and know her place."
Brenda became scarlet red as she felt embarrassed that her mother was monitoring her this whole time, but she was really glad that her mother didn't use the other spell, or she would have seen everything that happened in the field and the river. She let out a large sigh of relief and nervously began to laugh. Both of her parents shot her an awkward stare in confusion.
"You would have seen a troublesome fight, mother." Brenda said shakily as the redness in her face slowly dissipated, "lots of running away from the thing as it ran into trees and other things."
"A large amount of excitement," Claire said as she stroked the hair atop of Brenda's head in small strokes, "I am quite happy you are alright, sweetheart."
"Yes, yes. She is back safe and sound. Now, let's get to sleep. We have more ground to travel for tomorrow." Reginald said as he turned around towards the carriages but stopped suddenly in alarm. None of the elves were in his sight nor were any of the guards at their posts, excluding Seran who was making his way back to the family.
"Claire." Reginald said in a strong voice as he turned back to his wife with a raised eyebrow, "Did you send away our guards for another task?"
"I did no such thing." Claire rebutted as she stopped stroking her daughter's hair to turn towards the carriages in anger. "How dare they abandon their posts!" She then noticed Seran walking back towards them, and she jabbed out her finger to point at him, "You there. Who was at the last wagon? Speak loudly."
Seran saluted instantly as he took a deep breath. He then looked up and said in a loud voice, "No one was at the wagon. I left the boar near the wagon door, but it seemed that no one was there to receive it from me."
"Impossible," Reginald said as he threw his pipe to the ground in a fit of anger. He then rushed over to the carriage that housed the elven slaves and threw the carriage door open; however, the sight of an empty carriage met him, leaving his eyes widened in confusion.
"Father," Brenda held up her hand in urgency, "There is something that we saw while we were hunting, and we might be in danger!"
"What is going o—" Reginald went to say as a whirring sound pierced the veil of silent air around them. The whirring sound grew louder and louder as a glowing blue arrow flashed in front of Reginald's face and embedded into the carriage a few inches from his face. Slowly appearing, a small cut on his cheek began to drip with blood down his face, as Reginald turned towards the direction of the arrow and drew his blade.
More whirring sounds filled the air as six other arrows embedded into the ground around the camp, and all these arrows also gave off the faint light of a cyan blue. They began to pulsate faster and faster as mana began to suck away from the area surrounding the camp. In a red flash, the area was enveloped in a ring of fire connected by the arrows as conduits, and all four people trapped inside had their attentions drawn as they heard clapping coming from a single opening in the ring of fire at the south end of the camp.
A tall figure moved closer and closer into sight as the flames began to illuminate his figure. The figure was muscular, and with each step, the figure showed off his burlesque stature with an intense aura of might rolling off him. As the flames licked the air near him, the man's smirking face and a long scar that reached across his face grew into plain sight, as well as his long pointed and jagged ears.
As he stepped closer, the clapping grew louder and louder as if the flames were applauding with him in a violent chant of battle, setting the Harenharts on edge. Reginald began to slowly walk towards the man as Claire pushed Brenda towards Seran, who had run over to her side with his blade drawn. Reginald continued to walk forward until he stood in front of his family with his blade now aimed towards the individual.
"What is the means of this, elf?" Reginald questioned loudly as he raised his blade to ready a protective stance, "Where is your master? Does your master know who you are threatening?"
"Oh, we know who you are." The tall elven man began to laugh loudly as he walked towards Reginald, "Sorry to disappoint you, but there is no other master of slaves here. And after I am done here, there will be no master of slaves here at all."
"An elf allowed to lie?" Reginald scoffed as he spits on the ground, "Your master is surely the mysterious type. I take it that you are responsible for my servants' disappearances then?"
"Hard of hearing, aren't you, Duke Harenhart?" The elven man said mockingly as he lifted his right hand to his ear to mock him further with gestures. "Don't tell me that your older age is beginning to affect you. You'd break my fighting spirit."
"Know your place!" Claire shouted as she raised her hand towards the elven man as her hand began to spark red lightning, but as soon as the sparking of mana began, the elven man snapped his fingers to reveal multiple figures in robes with their hoods down as they stepped into the light of the flames. Each of these archers also had pointed and notched ears, and they were equipped with long glistening bows and shining silver-tipped arrows.
"No, I think that you should know your's." The elven man said as the smirk on his face grew more ominously, "Now, be quiet, or rush to your death. Either suits me."
Claire lowered her hand and swore underneath her breath, biting her lip as hard as she could to stop her speech. She looked over at Reginald with a glare of angered concern as the aura around her faded. Her eyes then fell on the elven man as a wicked smile grew upon his face.
"As I was saying," The elven man said as he reached behind him to grab the hilt of a giant sword that was resting on his back and pulled it swiftly to display it in front of him, "free elves don't have masters."
Reginald readied his stance further and grabbed his hilt in a strong clasp. He raised an eyebrow towards the elven man, "Freedom is something elves aren't allowed to have, perhaps this blade should remind you of that."
The elven man bent his legs slightly to get into a readied stance as well, "The only freedom that will be taken away is of your own life." The elven man disappeared in front of Reginald, and in a loud clash of metal and sparks, Reginald's sword moved directly in front of his face to block the giant sword's downward slash.
Reginald took a step back from the consistent force against his blade. He was slightly in shock that a mere elf could be delivering this much strength in one blow. With quick footwork, Reginald let the giant sword slide down his blade before bringing his blade up to slash towards the elven man. Remarkably, the giant sword clashed against Reginald's saber with incredible swiftness and force, which sent a shockwave of sound and wind bursting through the air.
"Just what are you!?" Reginald shouted as a purple aura began to flow around him and down his sword.
The elven man responded with his dark red aura flaring up around him, and another wicked smile grew across his face as he responded, "The one who will end your ungrateful existence."
Across the enclosed fire-ring, Brenda stood behind Seran and her mother as she began looking around for an opening in the formation. Unfortunately, they were ultimately surrounded by elven figures with arrows aimed directly towards them from all locations. There was truly no escape other than the entrance, but even that option was not available.
"Brenda." Claire said with a stern tone, a tone which Brenda had never see address her, as she turned to her, "Cast the shielding spell. If you are safe from what's next, that's the priority."
"What do you—" Brenda went to say as her mother's eyes turned into an angered gaze.
"Do it now!" Claire shouted as red lightning began sparking around her once more. The moment the sparking filled the air, the hooded figured all pulled their bowstrings back to prepare their shots. Brenda immediately got into a prayer position.
"Pratec!" Brenda shouted as a green aura flowed around her and burst outwards violently. A large transparent green sphere surrounded the three of them as a unison twang filled the air followed by a cracking sound of lightning that began striking down around them. As the arrows impacted the sphere, they fell to the ground with the instant loss of momentum, but multiple small cracks were left in the sides of the sphere.
The cracking sound of lightning began to grow loud and more violent as the red aura flared around Claire. An ornate circle appeared underneath her feet as the spell continued to grow stronger and stronger, and from the outer edges of the circle, red strands of energy began impacting Claire's skin, turning her veins a glowing red as streaks ran across her body. As the streaks reached her hands, the energy in the aura began to crackle louder and loud static began to fill the air outside of the shielded area.
Claire put her hands together in a loud clap, and the energy around them ceased to a standstill. "Disaster Magic: Thandu." The air around them was calm for a moment before a loud thunderous noise boomed from above, shaking the trees and ground around and beneath them all, which caused Reginald and the elven man to throw up shield magic of their own. At this moment, the elves dropped their attacking position and began to run towards the tree-line behind them.
In a brilliant flash of red light, a giant lightning bolt raged through the sky and buried its way into the ground in front of Claire and the sphered barrier. Upon impact, the lightning bolt divided and shot out from the impact spot in all directions, colliding with the multiple elves attempting to run away. As the lightning bolt touched their bodies, numerous screams shouted through the air as the bodies were reduced to ash, and puffs of black smoke rose from the bodies.
Billowing from the bodies, the smoke created a screen of visible darkness that was cast over the already darkened forest, leaving everyone stunned as they looked towards it. Seran's eyes widened largely as he saw the devasting display of power that magic can bring, while Brenda's eyes widened for the loss of all the lives that vanished within seconds. If her magic wasn't protecting them, she would have died just the same as those elves did.
"Are you sa—" Claire went to say as a whirring sound whistled through the air, and a blue glowing knife crashed through her barrier, shattering it like glass, causing her to scream out in pain as she dropped to the ground.
"Mother!" Brenda shouted as she ran over to Claire, prepared to heal her as she looked over the damages to her arm. As Brenda looked over the arm, she could see that the blade was deeply buried into the shoulder and pierced into the bone. Brenda instantly recognized the sigils inscribed on the side of the blade and hilt, and as she turned to the knifes' direction, a hooded figure jumped over the wall of fire, seemingly untouched by its enchanted flames.
At first, Seran and Brenda thought the individual would be identified immediately as the man from the field; however, the person inside the circle was of smaller and slenderer stature, almost feminine-like. Seran, instinctively, moved in front of Brenda with his blade drawn, but Brenda cautiously touched Seran's shoulder.
"Wait, Seran." Brenda said as her eyes focused on the figure with utmost confusion, as she got a weird feeling when looking at this hooded figure, "Something is off—"
The figure began to move closer to the two of them as the sounds of clashing blades rang a short distance away from Reginald's and the elven scarred man's fierce struggle. The figure in front of the two of them reached behind her back to reveal another longer blade, more of a short sword, and brandished it towards Seran. The figure then pointed at its head before saying in a feminine voice, "Come now, Seran. Don't make this more of a disappointment than this already is."
Seran and Brenda's eyes widened as they recognized the voice instantly as the figure removed her hood to reveal a pale-yellow hair and double notched eared young elven woman. She was frowning at the pair and sighed heavily, "Seriously, you have no idea how saddened I am to be killing both of you. If you weren't so nice, Brenda Harenhart, and if you weren't so cute, Seran, I wouldn't have any quarrels killing either of you—"
"You've got to be kidding me? Nadia?!" Seran shouted as he lowered his blade slightly, "What are you doing? You know you can't kill any of your masters under the contract."
"Seran, you really couldn't be slower, could you?" Nadia said mockingly as she brandished the knife in front of her, almost having it dancing in her as she continued to talk, "If they were my masters, I wouldn't have been able to harm that bitch over there." Nadia then let out a cackling high-pitched laugh as her eyes began to cross, and a wicked grin grew across her face as she began to hug herself in frantic movements, "I was just waaaaiitng for the opportunity, ya know? She is so damn cruel, but seeing her on the ground, it's so exciting seeing her as she looks at all of her slaves."
Claire spat at the ground as she attempted to stand and lean on Brenda. She turned to Nadia with her left hand raised as the aura around her began to spark once more. "Not one of ours, then? You really are a Jag, aren't you, you sneaky bitch? I'll turn you to dust so—"
"So, you can walk over me?" Nadia said as her face began to turn scarlet red from the blood rushing to her face, "I'd be ecstatic to have you push my face into the ground and do so much more, but—" Her face instantly dropped back to the pale tone it normally has, and her tone of voice became stern as she continued talking, "I'd rather see you dead. Right. Now. Actis."
Claire gasped as she realized that the arrow still stuck in her shoulder began to spark as well, feeding on her mana and spell as the knife began to pulsate from the inscription on the side. Her body began to form red lightning-shaped cracks across her skin that reached up to her face as an ominous red cloud began to form above them. Another deafening crash of thunder resonated across the sky and forest, causing Brenda to cover her ears.
Reginald, upon hearing the giant crash a second time, looked away from his opponent to see his wife's figure disappear within the lightning bolt. "Claire! No!" Before he could dash to her location, he felt the pressure of his enemy's aura force down upon him along with the downward slash of the giant blade.
"Thinking of running away, are we?" The elven man said with a chuckle, "Why don't we just watch the show?"
Reginald turned back to his wife with despair across his face, and then turned back to the elven man, parrying the blade away from him, "Damn you to hell."
"Welcome to your's." The elven man laughed as he continued to beat down on Reginald's saber.
With a single thought in her mind, Claire raced forward towards Nadia as she screamed, "Dead? I am more deserving of life than you will ever be, you utter disgrace to mankind. I am going to end you right now! Thand--!"
Claire was interrupted as another whirring sound zoomed past Nadia's right ear as an arrow embedded itself into the middle of her forehead. With a loud crash of thunder, a giant lightning bolt raced from the sky down onto Claire, who wasn't even given a moment to scream before becoming completely disintegrated. As the dust settled, Brenda looked upon what was her mother and let out a bloodcurdling scream as she realized what happened, while Nadia began to laugh hysterically at the simmering mound of dust before her.
"Pfffftt" Nadia blurted out as she fell to her knees, continuing to laugh hysterically, "That's just total overkill! The knife's binding was already going to kill her, but—" Nadia fell to the ground rolling as her legs buckled from her laughing too hard.
Brenda's tears began streaming down her face as she looked where her mother stood moments ago. Her mouth was agape, and her breath was stammering, as she was unable to get any word out from the shock of the event alone. Finally, in a scream, Brenda cried to the heavens as she fell to the ground, burying her hands into her face, "Mother!!!!"
"That was going too far, Nadia." Seran shouted towards Nadia, "She was cruel to elves, but no one deserves to die like that."
Nadia's laughing fit stopped as she heard Seran's words. She stood up with an annoyed look on her face, and her eyes were glaring at Seran. "You've got to be kidding me." Nadia said with a tone of disdain, "How is that not ironic to you that she'd say all of that, and then die instantly after it? Have you no sense of justice, Seran?" She then pointed towards Brenda, "Humans have been nothing but cruel to you. To us! All of them must pay their price like we always paid ours."
Seran brought his sword back up to a readied position. "While that may be true, Nadia. I must do my duty to protect Miss Brenda, and I will not let you harm her." Seran sighed deeply but regained a resolute look as he stared down Nadia. "Even now, I bet she doesn't regret helping you on that day, and I'm willing to fight for that idea."
Nadia licked her lips and smiled in excitement as she stopped her blade from dancing around her wrist. "You are no match for me, Seran, but I'll play with you a little." Nadia then grasped her blade fiercely as she dove towards Seran at a blinding speed.
Seran, taken by surprise, was barely able to block the strike and cross blades with Nadia. His blade began shaking as she inched closer and closer. His body was still sore from pulling the boar all of the ways back to camp, and his muscles began to ache further as he attempted to hold the sword steady.
"Is this all you have, mister guard?" Nadia said mockingly as she sent her other hand forward to punch Seran in the face, tumbling him backward onto the ground with tremendous force. She blew on her first as she pursued him, "Put up a fight."
Seran spat blood onto the ground as he rubbed his cheek. He slowly stood back up and closed his eyes before focusing intently on his blade. He listened carefully for his assailant's footsteps, and the moment he heard dirt on the ground rustle, he opened his eyes as a white flash came from them.
"Blade art: Instinct," Seran said as his blade rushed to meet hers with blinding speed, sending metallic ringing through the air and pushing her back slightly.
"Oh!?" Nadia's smile perked up again as she jumped back from the clash and re-brandished her blade towards him, "Now, we are getting somewhere!"