Destination (part 2)

-XXX-

It happened too quickly...

Keeno looked away from the mana depleted mage laying on the ground and took a deep breath. In the blink of an eye, she started dashing in erratic directions, drawing the attention of undead in the immediate vicinity. Her fluttering was one that would agitate even the most patient of undead lurkers, and noticing these intentions, her crimsons eyes darted to capture signs of the looming threats.

Undead lurkers were those that lie in wait with traps —rather than rely on direct combat alone— for an advantage. Corpse tarantulas and visceral worms were prime examples of undead that demonstrated these behaviours.

Corpse tarantulas built and hid in web-funnels created from solidified animal proteins. When unsuspecting prey is dragged into the cavern by the arachnoid, the web rendered most movements impossible.

Visceral worms secreted pools of acid into the soil and moved through it like it was swimming. The soil would become loose and mushy that traps and melts unlucky individuals.

The tarantula and worm could burrow in most types of soils within the human kingdoms.

"Mm~?" sounded Aria as she watched.

Whether it was by knowledge from books or by pure instinct, Keeno avoided odd lumps of dirt, unexplored building entrances, along with areas that showed signs of large beasts passing. Proper positioning during combat was a challenge that amateurs faced when engaged in the heat of combat.

Though, considering it was Keeno, she probably just had a "bad feeling". Regardless, Aria was impressed with the little girl.

The zombies and skeletons instinctively flocked. Some were sluggish, whereas others could easily outpace an average runner. However, Keeno energetically and easily out-sped them all.

The slow ones, however, did not remain slow. After a few bouts, their stiff joints bettered themselves.

Rattle~

A rabid skeleton rapidly gained on her and reached out its hand to seize her by the shoulder…

… but suddenly, Keeno turned around, and her foot met the skull squarely between the eye sockets. Keeno spring-boarded a fair distance, while the skeleton took a tumble into the dirt.

"Heh," smirked Keeno as she landed.

Let's see… one, two, three…, she counted in her head. Ah. Doesn't matter. I'll hit them and see what happens.

She felt one well-placed spell could finish the undead horde, but she also had a feeling she was forgetting someone's words.

To preserve mana, she did not entirely materialise water for the spell, but rather utilised some of the water in the area to fuel her magic.

"[Water…]"

An aura of ominous red gathered in her hands. Her mind felt fuzzy and out of tune —as if she were drunk— while the magic coursed through the circuits of her small body.

Wha…?

However, she did not let the feeling get the best of her.

"[… Slicer]"

The crescent stream, laced in a blood red weave, sliced through three skeletons and two zombies in one horizontal cut.

After releasing the magic, her flaring sensation subsided slightly, but not wanting to worry the ones beside her, she steadied herself.

"Good job, Keeno~"

"Welcome back," greeted the old butler in the large study. "I have prepared your usual drink, Marquis Ian…"

Ian threw his cuff pins onto the desk and took a swig of the amber coloured drink.

"Sebastian," Ian firmly placed his cup down with a tap. "I don't need a constant reminder that I, me, am still a Marquis."

"My apologies," nodded the old butler. He waited as his master paced to the wide windows and slouched into a luxurious leather sofa to observe the night sky.

When Ian appeared ready, the butler handed him a file.

Ian flicked through page after page nimbly. After a brief while, he dropped the file on the tea table and grunted.

"I will be retiring for tonight," said Ian.

"Are you sure, sir?" replied the old butler. "The trader from Cauraus will be arriving soon."

"Then… give him the usual price for the rosa nirnroot orbs, and offer him a drink," said Ian without looking back. "I will be done tidying up shortly."

Rosa nirnroot was said to be harvested by moonlight trolls in the Catalican Heights during the months of lower wind. However, no one knows the reason. The red fruits were known to be poisonous to small animals.

The crystal orbs synthesised from the extract were utilised for purification purposes. The Church of the Burning Phoenix north of Arwintar had a monopoly on its limited distributions, so it was extremely difficult to lay one's hands upon one here.

What happened to the previous one? wondered the old butler. The previous orb purchased by the master had an eerie obsidian look, far different from the pearl white ones he had seen during his visitations to the town's churches.

It was an odd purchase by the master of this household. Yet, this action pales in comparison to all the other shady dealings.

A delicate necklace with snapped ends on the arm of the fainted mage caught Keeno's eyes. She slipped away from Aria's embrace and squatted to take a closer look.

"… This necklace…"

Keeno removed the necklace from the arm and pulled out her own pendant. Whether it was due to the lingering haziness, or the grime on the necklace, she could not tell if the jewellery belonged to her.

Aria also bent over for a closer look, but Keeno did not mind.

Slowly, Keeno released mana and channelled water elements around to wash away the bloodstained necklace.

The haziness increased… a sign of intoxication…

The old butler watched as his master slowly strolled towards the door. He swallowed dryly, raising his courage to speak, "Sir…"

Ian stopped and raised a brow.

"No. It's nothing," said the old butler. He only hoped the previous orb was properly sealed, so the dangerous purifying components did not leak. Water and its elements, especially, were easily tainted by the residual waste of the orbs.

"Sebastian," said Ian. "Take some leave, like Maria. Spend some time off. I will arrange this place to be kept in proper order by the others."

"Keeno!" yelled Aria while parrying the attacks with swift defensive maneuvers. She knocked down one deadly claw strike after another. "St-stop! Why are you attacking us!?"

The little girl attacked with pure, uncontrolled vigour. She was like an intoxicated and enraged animal. Crimson eyes that pierced the dark, blood-red nails that tore through flesh, sharp canines that crushed bones and a flare of golden hair… she was, by nature, a huntress of the night. These characteristics were not so subtle anymore.

One more claw sliced at Aria. She intended to use her palms to safely deflect the blow, followed by a double palm thrust to create distance…

… but as though by luck, the claw slipped through an opening and shredded some of the fabric on her abdomen. The strike aimed to rip her apart.

"Wah…?"

Egas clapped and pressed his palms firmly into the ground, "[Nature's Grasp]."

Thick shrubs of weeds entangled Keeno's foot, holding her in place. Nevertheless, the spell was nothing but a hindrance that she was eventually going to overcome.

Aria used the opportunity to leap backward.

Aria and Egas were stupefied as to what approach to take.

"Nnngh," moaned the fainted mage, catching the attention of the predatory eyes.

After struggling free from the shrubs, Keeno's fingers penetrated the mage's throat to wrap her fingers around the trachea. She mercilessly ripped a segment out.

Blood sprayed from the carotid arteries and his colour of life drained. The mage gargled on his own blood and his last breath came to an abrupt end.

Unexpectedly, Keeno bit into the corpse.

"K-Keeno..."

"S-she..."

Un-life seeped into it by the bite, surging it to beckon a master in the chaos. A demonic energy flooded, tapped from the wells of purgatory. In the next moment, it tossed and turned, like a frail leaf hanging by its stipule in a hurricane.

A cold sweat ran down Egas' bald-spot.

The dead mage opened its eyes to witness its field of vision dyed in bloodcurdling red. The throat had been wrenched out, and the air passing through burned. The whole world around him felt like it was on fire.

Amidst the tremendous searing pain throughout the body, it fumbled to find its balance with heart and soul.

"Gaaah, gaaaaaah, gaaarh…"

A reformed corpse sorcerer, an existence only made possible by an Undead Princess.

Egas stared at the being, "W-what is that? What has she done?"

The corpse sorcerer eyed the old man and focused onto Aria following the will of his master. He sensed the gazes of these two mortals tainting his creator's existence.

The creator was its master; she was the only being that may grant it commands. Its creator, the golden-haired doll, held out her hand, almost appearing to be in misery.

"Keeno," softly called Aria. Aria timidly reached out her hand, but retracted it quickly, bearing in mind the situation. "Why?"

Slowly, the corpse raised its staff—

Egas broke his own petrification and went into an awkward sprint. He shouted, "Aria, get out of the way!"

—If this one's creator wants a hand, then this one shall tear that elf's hand off!

Egas pushed and fell with Aria onto the ground.

A heatwave rolled over their heads as the blazing sphere crashed and scorched a wall behind them.

Egas immediately picked himself up and pulled Aria up after.

It was no longer the tier 1 spell [Fling Embers]. No. The human limiter had been removed, allowing it to be far more powerful—

"No chant!?" said Aria as she held her head. "That should be impossible."

"Move!" shouted Egas. "Get up! It's preparing to shoot again!"

Another hot load was going to come at her. Although Aria's mind was in a daze, she did as she was told.

"Keeno? Where is Keeno?" asked Aria. "It would be disastrous if she killed and converted anyone else."

"She's gone," answered Egas. He took out a flare and quickly lit it with a match. "We have to take out this undead caster first. Let's make sure everyone retreats."

-XXX-