"Levris, clear the area, remove all traces of the battle."
The teacher nodded and created a small dust whirlwind that collected the arrows and knives and wiped away the tracks from the road.
"Algo, Werner, pretend like you're trying to move the tree."
"Oh, come on, I can easily do it myself," Hilda was about to go to the tree, but the mage stopped her in time.
"Remember, they know nothing about us, and let's keep it that way. While fragile and weak girls rest in the shade, brave guys are trying to clear the road," Grain winked at the princess and got to work. "Ragni, slightly ignite the base of the trunk to make it look like it fell on its own."
"Sure thing," the dragoness ignited the trunk from one side and quickly extinguished it with her wings.
"They'll show up now," Kurone sat in the shadow of the tree and closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep, but in reality, the girl began to concentrate on the patrol.
Ten knights in heavy armor appeared at the crossroads. Their equipment seemed a bit too expensive for an ordinary patrol. Spotting the fallen tree, three knights separated from the group and headed towards the stranded party.
Three young lads were pushing the trunk, trying to clear the way for the wagon.
"What are you doing here?" one of the knights addressed Grain, who happened to be closer to him.
"Hello, as you can see, a tree fell in front of our wagon, and we're trying to move it," the mage smiled warmly and gestured towards the trunk.
"Do you need help?"
"Oh, no need to worry; we can handle it ourselves. After all, I'm a mage of the earth," Grain stamped the ground, and with some effort, he managed to roll the trunk half a meter. "I think we'll finish in a couple of hours."
"Hmm, aren't you the mercenaries Baron hired this morning?"
"Yeah, that's us," Grain leaned towards the soldier and whispered, "Could you please not tell the Baron about our failure? It was just an unlucky day, but tomorrow we'll go hunting again, and this time everything will go smoothly."
"Mhm, and where's your leader, the beautiful blonde?" the guard scrutinized everyone present. Kurone and Levris were resting under the tree, Veen was peacefully dozing off in the wagon, Leira, Hilda, and Ragni were chatting on a nearby rock, and the twins were comparing weapons, discussing something between themselves.
"Well, you see, when the tree fell right in front of us, some of the horses got frightened and ran off," Grain scanned his group, "so now we have some transportation issues, and the Guild Master and her deputy went to the village for help."
"Mhm, what a bunch of losers," the knight grumbled to himself, "we can't help with transportation, but we'll lend a hand with the tree."
The knight drew his sword from behind and, swinging it, released a fiery blade into the fallen trunk. Werner barely managed to jump away before the fire started to engulf the tree.
"Just make sure the fire doesn't spread to the nearby forest, or soon you won't have anything to clear from the road," the knight smirked and turned away.
"Do you think they're telling the truth?" one of the knights asked the commander as they moved away.
"No, I think they're hiding something," the soldier commander turned and fixed his gaze on a small iron spike in a tree nearby. It was one of Aileen's arrows, freshly oiled and sharpened, which couldn't have been there for more than a couple of days. "We should report this find to the Baron."
A familiar young girl with blue hair and eyes, whom Hiren had just called Kageyuki, came to us.
"Why did you bring them here?" The girl had a resentful look, occasionally giving her sister sideways glances. "They are assassins sent after us, and you almost revealed our hideout to them."
"Don't say that, she's your sister, she wants to help the family," Hiren tried to diffuse the tense atmosphere, but the leader's cold gaze set everything in its place.
"Yes, I used to have a sister, but she abandoned the clan, and now I have nothing to do with her," the leader measured Asura with a contemptuous look, which seemed quite odd, considering she was almost a head shorter. "Yuki, I want to help," Asura timidly tried to interject but was rudely interrupted.
"Shut up, traitor. It's too late; most of the clan is dead, and I'm trying to protect those who remain. We don't need your help!" Yuki scornfully looked at her sister, causing her to shrink both physically and morally.
"And what do you plan to do?" I decided to save our misguided warrior. Her sister's pressure was robbing her of her last courage, but there were many inconsistencies in the words of the shinobi.
"Who are you to ask me such questions?" I received an even more disdainful look from the owner of the chilling voice.
"I'm a friend of this traitor, and if you don't want to listen to her, then I'd like to hear your proposal," I smiled slightly and spread my hands. "At least, what do you plan to do next? Challenge the Red Lord again? Or do you intend to seize the Baron's lands? Or maybe you'll leave these lands for a better life elsewhere?"
"That's none of your business!" The young girl gnashed her teeth in anger.
"Oh, right, you can't leave from here as long as HE is alive; he'll make sure none of his jailers get out of here alive," I nodded towards the smoking mountain.
"You could seek help from the king; he would assist such a respected clan," Katrina attempted to add her thoughts, but it wasn't the best choice.
"What do you know? Father already asked the Baron for help, and it only made things worse! And he's a supporter of your glorious king; we can't expect help from anywhere!" The shinobi's eyes burned with hatred. Though I couldn't see those hiding in the trees, I felt they were ready to burst forth at any moment.
"So, you'll continue to hide in the forest and live like mere bandits?" I provoked Yuki again, and she prepared to attack me. But most importantly, my words were slowly reaching the despondent warrior, hiding behind our backs.
"It's none of your concern!" Yuki instantly drew her short sword and lunged at me. I didn't reach for my weapon, as someone else blocked her strike.
"Enough, stop this!" Asura, with her eyes burning with anger, blocked the shinobi's attack. "We came here to help you, and you're driving us away, even though you know you can't handle this alone!"
The girl pushed her sister away and took a fighting stance.
"I don't want to hear this from someone who abandoned her family." The shinobi threw two shurikens at Asura.
Having parried the attack, the warrior leaped forward and delivered a horizontal strike. Yuki performed a somersault and landed on the lower branch of the nearest tree.
"So, our cowardly traitor finally decided to challenge me?" A malicious smile flickered on the girl's face.
"Yes, exactly!" Asura returned to her stance. "If you won't listen to me, then I'll forcefully take back my position as the clan's leader."
"That rule doesn't apply to those who have already abandoned their family, but if you want, I'll give you a chance," Yuki jumped down from the tree and rushed towards her rival. The girl struck with her short blade, but Asura easily parried all the attacks, gradually stepping back in small steps.
"You still haven't learned anything; I've always been better with a sword than you," Asura smiled, but it didn't faze her sister much.
"That's true, but they never let me fight you the way I can now," the girl leaped back and pulled something on her free hand. A thin whistle followed, and Asura started falling on her back.
"What the hell?" The warrior didn't have time to regain her stance before receiving a powerful knee strike to her chest.
"Well, what's the matter, little sister? Haven't you received good hits from your little Yuki for a long time?" The shinobi jumped forward while Asura struggled to regain her balance, and she struck with a series of blows using her short blade, targeting the shoulder, abdomen, and finally delivering an elbow strike to the chest.
The warrior was sent flying into the nearest tree by the attack but managed to get back up with difficulty.
"So, how was it? Yes, I'm worse with a sword than you, but I don't need it; I fight the way I'm used to. For the first time in my life, I can let myself go," the girl prepared two throwing knives and quickly closed in on her opponent.
Asura had already recovered from the previous attack and parried her opponent's lunge. Yuki pushed back and threw the first knife at her sister. Parrying the attack, Asura prepared to strike where the shinobi would land, but she pushed off in mid-air from an invisible wire on her left hand and jumped much farther away. In mid-flight, she released another knife, but Asura, not losing momentum, dodged it and caught up with her sister. This time, she sent the shinobi down with a precise strike of the sword's hilt to her solar plexus.
"Yes, you're stronger than I thought, but then why didn't you fight our father against the Red Lord?" Asura gritted her teeth; she didn't want her sister to die in that battle, but she couldn't forgive her for allowing so many people to perish.
"Do you think I didn't want to?!" Yuki rose to her feet, her eyes gleaming with white radiance. "But father said that someone had to protect those who couldn't fight."
And again, the young girl released a cloud of white mist. Time seemed to stop, but no, it merely slowed down. I could see what was happening before us. Everyone froze, or they simply couldn't move quickly, while Yuki could freely move. She circled Asura with each step, throwing throwing knives at her. As soon as the knives left her hand, they slowed down, just like us. Only Asura seemed to move slightly faster than others. While I couldn't move a finger, she managed to intercept the katana and slowly direct its blade downward.
The mist dissipated in the blink of an eye, and the knives immediately flew toward their target.
"Rosebud!" Asura thrust her katana into the ground, and around her, powerful icy petals formed an impenetrable defense. All the attacks drowned in the beautiful ice spell, and I heard surprised and sometimes delighted exclamations from the branches of the trees.
"Lady Asura?" Hiren was also astonished, as it had been a long time since anyone in the clan could use ice magic.
"If someone has to fight for our clan!" Asura's voice echoed from the center of the closed bud, and the icy petals scattered in all directions into tiny shards. "Then it has to be me!"
The shards threw Yuki off balance, and she sparkled with her eyes again. She attempted to stop time, but a severe fit of coughing overcame her, and several shards embedded themselves in her hands. Asura caught up with her sister and brought her down to the ground.
"I am the clan's leader, and it's my duty to protect it!" The warrior thrust her katana into the ground next to her sister's face and leaned over her. Tears welled up in the girl's eyes. "Why do you torture yourself like this? You know you can always count on my support, sister."
Asura tenderly embraced Yuki, and she too cried on the shoulder of her beloved sister, whom she had missed so much.
"Now you have your own life, friends, and strength to protect them. You no longer have to fight for our clan, which banished you. You can live your life," Asura reassured her.
"But I want to protect my family and my sister. I won't let you use that forbidden power anymore. We will fight the Crimson Lord, and you won't have to hide in the woods anymore," Yuki declared.
"But then..." Yuki struggled to get the last words out: "...you'll die, just like Dad."
"Don't worry about that!" Asura smiled and embraced me and Katrina. "My comrades are much stronger than you think, even if they look a bit strange."
"Heh-heh," for the first time since our encounter, Yuki smiled.
"Well, that was quite rude!" I scolded the snowy warrior with a dissatisfied glance.
"Oh, come on, have you ever seen yourself in the mirror?" Katrina didn't miss the opportunity to tease me back.
"Who's talking!" I retorted playfully. "By the way, Katrina, it looks like they're about to offer us a contract to hunt a very dangerous monster."
"Yeah, it seems so. But you know, it's a dragon, and you can't just kill them like that," Katrina scratched her chin thoughtfully.
"But it killed so many people that I don't think the laws apply to it anymore."
"Then, no problem, but how are they planning to pay for such a complex task?" Katrina pondered.
"As I said, the attack on the royal entourage is a lie from the Baron. We don't have money to pay you," Hiren sadly lowered his head.
"That's indeed a problem," I sighed. The sisters looked worried, unsure of what else I had in mind.
"Well, do you have any ideas about it?" Katrina asked.
"You know, serious battles may await us, where our small, united team might not be enough," I explained. "So, how about a permanent contract?"
"What do you mean?" Katrina feigned surprise, but I could tell she had heard of such arrangements.
"It's simple. If someday we need help with a task that clearly exceeds our capabilities, the entire Yukitori clan commits to come to our aid," I proposed.
"Hee-hee, not a bad idea," Katrina proudly lifted her nose and turned to the leader of the shinobi. "Did you hear that? We will destroy the Crimson Demon of Destruction, and in return, you'll come to our aid when we ask."
"We are a clan of warriors, and we have always fought our enemies," the girl, swaying slightly, got up from the ground. "We have never asked anyone for help before, but now we are on the brink of destruction. There are very few of us left, and even if you ever ask for help, it's unlikely we'll gather more than two hundred warriors. Are you sure you're ready to risk your lives for such a small reward?"
"The quantity doesn't matter; it's the quality of the fighters that counts," Katrina waggled her finger in front of Yuki. "We will help you, and you will help us, all fair and square. So, do you agree?"
"I accept your offer with honor," the clan leader shook hands with the Guild Master, and we once again got ourselves into a perilous venture.