The storm thundered. But the warfare between the two nations hadn't stopped. Shanya met her eyes with Notonious as she held her claymore.
The dark red energy flowed from the silver blade and trailed behind her in a unique tempo. It was smooth to observe and deadly to touch.
"In the end, we still remained on the opposite sides, Notonious. If you weren't thus destructive and carefree, we might have built an acquaintance. Turns out that the leader of the Scanara tribe is their true enemy."
Shanya's eyes became parakeet green, darkening her white pupils and cramming them closer like a lion ready to lunge. Her piercing, lion-like stare stunned Notonious, seeing Shanya's fangs.
Shanya leaped and dragged her claymore behind. She swooped it above her head and plunged toward Notonious, who spun his poleaxe.
He unleashed the transparent force that blasted into her direction. She dove through it, swinging her blade to disperse it, and prepared to slam it into the ground.
Notonious backed away from her attack and noticed how Shanya twisted her claymore's handle, redirecting it sideways. She unleashed the withering flames that fumed and chased down Notonious.
Shanya ensured to avoid disintegrating the plants and concentrated on her foe. Notonious marched forward with his hooves and slashed his poleaxe into the fire.
The flames would swallow it whole and decay the axe, but Notonious enveloped his weapon with pressure to cancel the fire and blow it away.
He swung the poleaxe over his shoulders and shot a force wave. It rushed toward Shanya, who dug her feet in the earth, turned the claymore upside down, and defended.
Like a royal guard, Shanya allowed the force to slam into her weapon and feel it plowing forward, breaching her protection. She exerted more energy to enhance her strength and slashed through it, nullifying it.
She spun on her foot, hauled her claymore around, and unleashed a withering slash, hoping it would strike. She scraped the blade on the hard floor with one hand and sprinted toward her opponent.
The broadsword disappeared into particles, so her arms and body became lighter. She sprinted, neared Notonious, readying her gauntlet, and attempted punching his head.
Notonious used his free arm to guard and slashed his poleaxe toward her neck. She squatted to evade the attack and rammed her iron fist into the bottom of Notonious' jaw.
Her attack staggered him, but he quickly recovered. He retaliated and tried beating her face. She defended with her forearm and grinned skeptically.
"You punch like a woman." She dragged back her arm and forcefully returned the punch, ramming her knuckles in Notonious' face, blasting out rings of sound and force.
The sheer might from her bulleting arm lifted him skyward and overturned him. He collapsed to his knees, easing the grasp on the axe.
Shanya stood like a diva, gazing down at her peasant. She expressed toughness and determination, but in those eyes, she revealed compassion.
"You lose, so give up, donkey. You don't need to exaggerate this battle any longer." Shanya unwrapped the chain around the gauntlet and prepared to tie him.
However, something whistled behind her. Shanya's ears detected sound as she looked behind her, witnessing a spear flying in her direction at breakneck speed.
Astonished, she ducked and turned her back away from Notonious as the spear pierced the wood and hung from it. In bewilderment, Shanya gazed at Olishia, who threw it.
"You... What do you think you're doing?" Shanya couldn't ignore Olishia's attempt to stab her in the back. She demanded answers that she received in no time.
"I don't trust you. You worked for Hywel this entire time and never showed clemency. How can I be sure you won't sabotage us and use that chain to harm others? You've already caused enough trouble in the last few days."
Shanya's chain hung from her palm, scraping the grassy terrain. She held on a solemn countenance, judging Olishia in silence, responding with bitterness.
"I never said I'm trustworthy. All I did was agree to help you out because those guys said they'd pay. But I could always go back on my word. If you trust me or not, that's up to you. I'm ready for a fight if you need one."
Olishia appeared nervous, doubtful of what she should do. She reminisced about Shanya's assignments, understanding she had never killed a human soul.
Trusting her became difficult, but after seeing Shanya resist the enemies and help them stop the Seraphs, she lowered her spear and decided to trust her.
She permitted her to chain Notonious, but the two spent too much time. Notonious rose and kicked Shanya in the back with his hooves, stapling her against the ground and disarming her.
He neared the poleaxe on her neck, ready to behead her. "Thank you, Olishia. You're indeed an irresponsible human being. If it weren't for you, I'd be finished. But look how the tables have turned. A horse tacks a kitten. Quite ideal. Wouldn't you say so, mercenary?"
Shanya couldn't get up. She was immobilized and pinned on the ground like a poster. It infuriated her, unable to do anything in the position she got stuck in.
She looked from underneath her hair, blowing the tips aside to clear her view. She tried to break free and couldn't.
"Shanya, the desert mercenary. I know who you are. I've seen your bounty. I know how much you're worth. 366 million bolts. If I capture all of you and earn your rewards, I can overhaul what our people lost..."
"You know, Shanya, the flame dame. I was once a bounty hunter, but when I decided to bounty hunt a pirate named Graham, the foul dark pirate, it was a horrible idea. Back then, he had a 1.5 billion bounty on his head..."
"He had these bizarre powers that created black holes and messed with the terrain. I stood no chance against him. I couldn't land a single attack. He was a mere pirate whose bounty rose because of the perks he possessed. His powers improved over time. And now his bounty raised to 2.7 billion..."
"Do you know how much wealth one could have if they caught him? Even Timothy, a pirate whose name is bestrewed worldwide, doesn't stand a chance against him in a fight. And anyone who befriends the phoenix pirate becomes my enemy!"
Shanya kept her eyes broadened. Timothy's name surprised her. She didn't understand how she failed to notice. "He's the phoenix pirate? I see. I should've trusted him the minute I saw him!"
The dark red flames seared and enveloped Notonious. It trapped him in place and halted him from moving. It persuaded him to step rearward before the fire scraped his skin.
She lifted her weight, balancing on her four limbs. "Hear me out, would ya? I'm a hireable mercenary. Sometimes a bodyguard. I took on many jobs before meeting Hywel, most of which included eliminating someone..."
"I didn't earn that reward, being a pirate. I'm really not all that much into piracy and treasure-hunting. I raised my bounty, taking out the bad guys. You're one of them. I don't mind raising it a bit more..."
The blood-red flames flared from her rear, forming a fiery tail, representing a cat. It assembled fire ears that seethed over her hair vents.
Shanya's arms and legs became shrouded with fire, burning outward without stopping. Her eyes narrowed as a fire field assembled around her, burning from the ground. Her eyes flared and locked onto Notonious.
She stood in a cat-like pose, stabbing her fiery claws into the earth. She was ready to pounce like a wild cat.
"Alright, playtime's over!"
To be continued...