"Are you sure we should be walking toward the central circle? My lady said it was forbidden to enter and anyone who would try it will get a death penalty" Nicole sounded nervous as she walked behind the due.
It was an understandable fear as well. After all, the place they were going to was off-limits to everyone.
Well, everyone but the sultan it seems.
"That rule was made for your safety. You will soon see why. Also, I advise ducking as soon as you get there. Our guard is a little enthusiastic and can be a handful" the sultan muttered, her tone amused.
They arrived in front of a tall wall. The length and height of this one even put the ones on the periphery to shame and it seemed off as a partition.
Especially for a place with a lower altitude than the area inside.
What was the need for such a tall wall right in the middle of the city? It just did not make any sense.
"M-My lady? What brings you here? I assure you that you do not need to worry about this place" the guard did not hesitate to make their way toward their group as soon as they saw them.
But the attention was on the sultan this time and the female stood taller and straighter as soon as the guard approached them.
"Do not question why I a here. Is Lady Misha still inside? That girl! Anyway, I need you to open these gates" The sultan sounded a little angry when she said the name but her tone went neutral pretty soon.
The soldier she had addressed seemed used to seeing like that since he did not even flinch at the change in emotions.
"Lady Misha, pardon me, The Ahadi is indeed inside there. Is my Lady going in to retrieve her?" the guard asked without losing his faint smile.
"You do not need to know that. Have those gates open at once" the sultan looked fed up by those people and it finally jolted them all into action.
There was no huge gate, only a small opening for people to cross. Anyone too big would not be able to fit but somehow all three of them did.
And as soon as they did, Iris felt something pull at her hood and yank her down….
…and out of the path of a sword that embedded itself in the wall behind her.
Lucky for Nicole, she missed the whole thing since she had not entered the door yet. Unluckily for her, she seemed to be the next victim of those cat-like eyes.
"Sister Rhea, you brought me fresh prey. And at the right time as well since I was getting bored with these small fires anyway. The bigger ones do not come out at daytime anyway" the girl in front of them was small.
No, not small but young. She was at a stage where one's body had not yet developed enough curves or assets to get called a 'female.'
So her otherwise provoking clothes did not make her look as odd as they would have made an adult female look.
"Misha, how many times would I have to tell you to cover yourself? You cannot walk around half-naked as the Ahadi of Oreta" the sultan looked like she was about to lose her mind.
But the small girl only let out a genuine laugh.
"Don't need them. Clothes like yours only obstruct me when I try to go for a kill. Either that or they make noise when I try to hunt" the younger girl seemed to have a very 'interesting' idea for what clothes were appropriate.
Iris took a look at Nicole but the other seemed to have gone red in the face and was looking away from the half-naked girl.
Was Nicole getting shy? How adorable.
"You! You look strong. Why don't we fight" the small girl launched herself toward Nicole. She seemed not to have recognized Nicole's face at all, just her strength.
Nicole, not expecting such assault, could only dodge the first strike but the next one got her in the face. A third one never came since the small girl found herself bound by chains.
"Misha, that's enough. They are not here to fight you but to visit the ruins. She's a member of the 'court of Isis'" the sultan interfered before things could get bloody and restrained the small girl.
Iris made her way to Nicole, who seemed a little shaken at the rapid assault. Blood seemed to be pouring out of her nose, her face red as it bled out of her.
"Let me see. You're lucky that it's not broken" since it was not broken, it only took a few seconds to heal up.
By that point, the sultan had already calmed the younger down and the other.
"Wow! How did you do it? Are you like those commission people who sometimes come to heal us? Can you heal even bigger injuries? Mend broken bones? Save people? And animals? And demons?" the other asked all that in one breathe.
"Misha, not now. We need to get going if we want to reach the ruins before the night. That is the only safe place with ruins in this circle" the sultan warned but Misha seemed not to be listening.
Instead, the other had one eye on Iris the whole time and seemed to be staring her down.
That gaze felt like a probing presence. One Iris did its best to ignore.
"Hey, can you heal yourself as well? If I attack you, would you be able to heal it off?" the younger girl asked and everyone in the party tensed.
"Misha, no" the sultan scolded but it seemed to be too late.
"Misha, yes" the younger attacked with a vicious cry and Iris dodged just in the nick of time. The blade missed her completely but it seemed not to matter to the young girl.
With a giggle of joy, her blade moved toward Iris and she had to keep on dodging.
Thankfully, there were trees she could use to her advantage but they were not a permanent solution to her problem.
The longer it went on, the more something felt weird to Iris.
How was she avoiding all those attacks on her person? Most of them seemed fast enough to hit her but she somehow seemed to be dodging them all.
The dodges were clumsy but they seemed to be working. And she could tell it was not because of any muscle memory at all.
Rather, it seemed as if she somehow knew where the attacks would be coming and where to dodge them. It was weird but she felt like she was in control…
…her feelings and magic were in control.
But the balance had to trip sometime. Iris would not be able to hold this forever. The sultan and Nicole seemed as if they wanted to help her out but small monsters obstructed their path.
Which was another thing to wonder about. What were those monsters doing here? Right in the middle of the city. How did they get here and how were they even sustaining themselves?
It all seemed weird and smelled of foul-play.
But first, Iris had to do something about this child terror attacking her.
'System, do something about this. I will not be able to keep this up for longer' it was only because of her magic and healing that Iris had sustained herself this long.
'Emergency clause applied. Section 4 on safety evoked. The system advises the user to purchase the basic martial art skills from the shop' Darn this system.