Short Author's Note before we start:
This story is mainly based on Monster Hunter Frontier and "old" Monster Hunter lore, up to Double Cross/Generation Ultimate. Monster Hunter: World and later games aren't taken into account. Therefore, the monsters appearing will be mostly Frontier exclusives. Furthermore, the story focus more on characters, their relationships and developments rather than action and hunt. It's a mixture of Romance, Comedy, Slice of Life, Drama with a decent amount of Mystery and a bit of Fantasy with "original" takes on the Monster Hunter lore.
Rated M because this work contains and will have some explicit scenes (violence, sexual content, rape...). However, this isn't a smut, don't expect this stuff in all chapters.
I also publish on my Pixiv account, where I add AI-generated illustrations. Link in my profile.
Prologue
There was no moon this night, and the stars had been swallowed up by thick, black clouds. A gloomy night to be sure, and a gloomy place to be, too. A few lonely trees wandering outside a dark forest bordering the place in the distance, and some crumbling, moss-covered ruins here and there. For an unknown reason, Clarent's deep blue eyes were captivated by the flickering flame of her little campfire.
Clarent was a young woman with crimson hair, a strange sight in such a dark, dreary place. Clad in an elegant mix of a red shirt with a black sleeveless jacket and a breastplate covering most of her front, some light color-matched leather protection on her arms and legs, color-matched short shorts, and knee-high black stockings covering most of her legs, Clarent could have passed for an adventurer of sorts. That was not what she was, though. She was more like a lone hunter: a professional monster—and especially wyvern—slayer.
She was sitting on the ground, resting against the tree stump of what had once been a part of the forest. A sheathed long sword was leaning against the stump next to her; its scabbard, made of black and purple materials, was decorated with beautiful golden designs, which reflected the light of the little fire. The sword of her best friend, who had been gone for far too long.
A sigh escaped Clarent's lips as she ran a hand through her red locks. She was alone, but she wasn't afraid. Rather, she was feeling surprisingly calm and at peace, despite being burdened with the heaviest task she had ever had to take on. A task that nobody but her was qualified for because many had failed before her. A task that would forever seal her fate, since that was the last thing to do.
All of her friends were gone, and there was no one to help her carry out this burden. She had to do it. Alone. Even if she died in the process, she had to do it. There was nothing else to do. And yet, she was still hesitant. The remnants of her feelings, which she thought had disappeared, were weighing her down and stopping her from completing the final step.
She was exhausted. This task was so overwhelming and heavy that she felt like she would break under its weight. There was no way she could succeed. If she did, that would be a small miracle in itself. Yet there was still hope. For the first time in her life, Clarent decided to give herself some rest and just relax.
And yet, despite how much she tried to suppress the burden of the world she was carrying on her shoulders, it seemed to weigh down on her even more heavily than before. If she succeeded, nothing would change about her current situation. If she failed, everything would be over. Either way, she would be condemned to live a life of solitude or die alone and forgotten. But she had already made up her mind. She accepted what she had to do; she knew exactly what she wanted to do.
There was something oddly comforting about being surrounded by nothing but darkness and silence. It was peaceful—more peaceful than anything she had ever experienced in the past several months. Even the faint sound of the crackling flames, which should have been bothersome, was somehow comforting in a way that made her feel like she was home again.
Clarent closed her eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling the familiar, earthy, woodsy smell of the forest. For a few moments, she simply sat there in silence, trying to enjoy the peaceful moment for as long as she could. It was probably the last one she would ever experience.
As her breathing began to slow and she felt herself start to drift off to sleep, she heard it: a distant roar in the sky, almost too quiet to make out at first. Here it comes, she thought to herself, a wave of fear washing over her. Her heart started to race, and she suddenly felt incredibly warm. Sweat ran down her forehead and onto her cheek. Even though it was dark and cold outside, she felt hot all over.
It probably already knew she was here. It would come for her soon. That was the reason she had decided to stay here; she had nowhere else to go. She didn't want to run away again, not this time. She had to face it. There was no place left for her to run and no one to help her now. No one but her, anyway.
Another roar resonated in the night, this time much louder than before. It sounded so close, like it was right behind her, but when she turned around, there was nothing there. A cold chill ran down her spine, and she shuddered as she quickly grabbed her sword and jumped to her feet. Further roars filled the air. It was definitely coming from above her this time.
Suddenly, a massive shadow passed above the treetops and landed on the ruins not far from where she was standing, crashing right through the stones and the remaining walls of the old building.
Clarent didn't even flinch. Instead, she looked up and waited, her expression stern and focused. A cold breeze was blowing through her hair and clothes; she could feel her heart pounding against her chest as she held her breath and waited for the creature to reveal itself.
Finally, something moved in the darkness. A big, dark wyvern emerged from behind a pile of rubble, its glowing red eyes fixed on the girl in front of it. It took a step forward, then another one, each one seeming to get a little heavier than the last one. Its claws tore through the ground as it walked, making loud cracking noises that echoed through the forest.
Clarent felt a surge of anxiety rising within her, but she stood her ground. It was now or never. No more running, no more hiding. She was going to do it. For her friends.
The unknown wyvern let out a powerful roar once it spotted the redhead. It was intimidating, to say the least, but Clarent stood her ground and tightened her grip on the scabbard of her sword, waiting for the monster to come closer.
As the creature approached her, she could see its body clearly: scales as dark as the night, scarlet eyes that glowed in the darkness, wide dark wings with sharp blood-red claws, and a long tail with several red spikes on the end. Its head was small and covered with pointy scales; a long, curved spike was adorning its chin, while the back of its head had wider, larger scales that made it appear bigger than it really is. Its eyes were veiled under some scales, and it sought destruction. It was a terrifying sight. It was even worse than she had imagined it to be. And yet, she didn't feel scared.
Instead, she felt an odd sense of relief and excitement. A smile was beginning to form on her lips, and she couldn't help but giggle at the sight of the monster in front of her. It was intimidating, sure, but she felt like she had nothing to be afraid of anymore.
That's when it finally hit her: This was going to be the end of everything. She was going to die here. That was it. And yet, she felt very calm and relaxed. Like she was meant to be here, like she had been waiting for this moment all her life. But that was mostly an unconscious reaction—a way to cope with her anxiety and keep herself from panicking.
Clarent took a deep breath and closed her eyes, letting out a soft sigh as she finally realized that this was it: the end of her life as she knew it.
"Took you long enough," she said, looking up at the creature and smiling. "I thought you would never come."
The wyvern let out a low growl, and black smoke emitted from underneath its scales. Clarent took a few steps back and raised her sword in front of her. "Look at what I brought—your favorite sword," she stated, slowly unsheathing the sword and revealing its long, gleaming silver, single-edged blade with a faint violet glow. "You recognize it, don't you?"
As she spoke, she put the scabbard behind her back and held tight to the handle with both hands, keeping her stance ready to strike. The sword was very long—as long as herself—but its blade was surprisingly thin and light. There was an aura of power around it, and the blade itself seemed to be almost alive. It was like she was holding a legendary sword in her hands, not just some normal blade from the market.
However, Clarent didn't care about any of that. Instead, she stared at the dark wyvern in front of her, focusing all of her attention on the creature's eyes. She was nervous, but she knew what to do: this was just another hunt. Just like all the other ones before it. And she had gotten good at it.
The creature, meanwhile, was staring down at her, seemingly unfazed by her words. It didn't make any attempts to attack her. Instead, it stood there quietly, as if waiting for something. Or perhaps it was just looking at her. There was no way to know.
Clarent felt a shiver run down her spine as she glanced at the beast's massive figure in front of her, but she kept her cool and stood her ground, taking a deep breath to steady herself and regain her focus. "It's okay... I'm here now," she said, her voice quiet but firm. "There's no need to be afraid."
A moment of silence followed as the two of them stood there, looking at each other without saying anything. They were both waiting for something to happen—for the monster to attack her or for her to make the first move. Whatever happened next would determine their fate.
"I'm going to keep my promise, S̵̰͇̫͖̊̚~̸̻͖͕̗͔͛̎͆͆͂|̴̨̦̞̬̰͋̐̿̓̐ͅ_̵̛̝̮͖̜̯̃̀̏̃ä̴̡̞̮̱̮̗̼̓̂̂̀́," Clarent said, her voice trembling slightly as she spoke her best friend's name. "I'll bring you home. Everyone is waiting. I'm sure of it, even if they aren't with us anymore..."
As she spoke, tears started to well up in her eyes. Clarent knew that if she didn't do anything right now, it would all be over, and there was no turning back. This was her final chance. "We're going to see them again, together," she added as she wiped the tears from her eyes with her sleeve, her voice almost too quiet to be heard. "I won't leave you alone, s̵̨̛̩̼̊̾̈̊̅:̸̺̜͉͇̑̀/̵͓̩͍̤͛͌3̵̝̥̟̜͌̅͐̏͗̅̇͜͜͠͝͝;̵̙͖̦̟̬͚̣̑̑å̸̲̩͉̯."
After saying those words, she finally took a step forward and charged towards the dark wyvern in front of her. Her long, silver blade shone in the darkness, reflecting the light of the campfire and creating a beautiful pattern on the ground as it cut through the air.
Clarent had been prepared to die, but she didn't expect things to happen so fast. Suddenly, the dark wyvern stood and spread its wings wide, exhibiting its scarlet webbing and fiery pattern far in front of the redhead, before shouting a terrifying roar that caused the ground to shatter around them. She was forced to stop in her tracks and drop to her knees, covering her ears in pain. Before she had any time to react, a fissure opened up under her feet and swallowed her whole.
Everything went black as she fell through the opening in the ground, and all she could hear was the sound of her own screams echoing in her head. It only took a few more seconds for her to eventually lose consciousness, and she never knew whether she actually landed.
Back to reality...
The redhead woke up in a startled state. Her whole body was shivering and covered in sweat as she looked around in confusion, trying to gather her thoughts. This nightmare again... she thought to herself as she took a deep breath, wiping the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.
As she opened her eyes, she realized that she was still inside the carriage she took this morning and that everything had just been a dream. She didn't quite understand why she had this nightmare to begin with; none of it made any sense to her, but it had been so vivid and real that it was almost like she had actually experienced it herself.
She sighed in relief and sat up, noticing that the window was covered with a thick curtain, blocking out the sun and leaving the carriage dark and gloomy. As she opened the curtain, she saw that it was already late afternoon, with the sun starting to set in the distance. She had been sitting in this carriage all day long, but that was to be expected; her destination was quite far away, after all.
She departed from the settlement Jio Wandoreo, a town between the western border of the Schrade Kingdom, occupying the western part of the old world, and the El De region—meeting the south wyvern sea—to reach the oriental capital Mezeporta, located on the far east edge of the continent. So this meant that she had to cross more than half of the whole continent just to get there.
The redhead pondered for a moment as she looked outside the window, thinking of what made her choose to go to that city in the first place. Her memory had been damaged after a mysterious incident a few years ago. Since then, not only had she lost all her past recollections, but she was also having trouble remembering anything for more than a few days. It was like she was renting for no more than several days worth of memories; once that time was up, everything would be gone, and she would have to start from scratch again. As a result, she had no idea why she was going to that city in the first place.
Fortunately, Clarent had been keeping a diary ever since that incident. It helped her recall who she was, where she had been, and her motivations. Since her diary was her only lifeline to hold on to, she made sure to record every detail as she remembered it. Thus, she took out the little journal from her bag and read the last written entry:
"Strife told me to meet up with him in Mezeporta in three days and reminded me to be wary of the guild during the time we will be apart."
Clarent sighed as she read the last part, wondering what she had gotten herself into this time. Then she was curious about the reason why she would have to be wary of the guild.
By reading a bit further, she learned that she was accused of some sort of crime a few years ago, and they were still trying to find her after all this time. That was why she had to hide herself. She couldn't let anyone know who she was, especially not the hunters' guild. It was a bit ironic, considering how much she used to be part of it before everything went downhill.
These unfortunate events shattered her life into pieces, and she has been wandering around ever since in search of a place to call home. A place where she would find peace and be accepted. But that day had yet to come. After all, she had no memory of her past or her identity; she was nothing more than a ghost, a walking husk, and an empty shell. Her diary was the last thing that kept her going—the sole proof left that she once existed. The only thing she somehow never forgot was her name, Clarent.
However, despite being lost in the long, dark tunnel with no end in sight that had become her life, she eventually found a little ray of hope. When she was about to give up, she met a white felyne named Strife, someone who seemed to know her very well. Thanks to him, she learned a bit about herself and what happened before the incident that robbed her of her memories.
According to him, she had been working for the guild as a hunter and was a very good one at that, but some circumstances led to her being accused of a crime she didn't commit, which resulted in her being labeled a criminal. After that, she had been attacked by a mysterious dark wyvern—the very same one she had dreamed about just now—and lost her memory in the process. Unfortunately, Strife didn't know much more than that; instead, he told her to find the meaning of this dream and hunt down the monster that was haunting her. That was it.
Naturally, Clarent was initially dubious, but she ultimately made the decision to follow his advice and depart for the east in an effort to discover some answers. She was instructed to meet him in Mezeporta in three days after Strife went ahead to make sure everything was secure. She knew it would be a lengthy journey, but because she had nothing else to do, she made the decision to go. And so here she was, taking a carriage all the way to the eastern city.
Clarent sighed and put her diary back into her bag, wondering what was going to happen once she arrived. She glanced around the carriage, trying to take her mind off of things, and noticed that she wasn't alone: there was a girl sitting across from her.
A short Wyverian girl dressed in a simple one-piece white dress that extended to her knees and nothing else, with no shoes or socks on her feet. She had long, white hair with a few scattered red strokes throughout it, pale white skin, and long, pointy ears typical of Wyverian people. Surprisingly, she was also quite stacked for a girl of her size, with a chest that barely fit under her dress. She was sitting there, peacefully looking outside through the window while playing with her locks.
Clarent glanced at the girl in front of her with a curious gaze. She couldn't help but wonder who she was and why she was traveling with her. Then again, it wasn't like she had any right to ask questions; she was just some random stranger that happened to come along at the right time to take the carriage with her, and that was it.
After a few minutes of silence, the redhead decided to close her eyes and try to get some rest. Maybe that way, she would be able to clear her mind and focus on what was ahead of her. Besides, she probably still had a long way to go until she reached Mezeporta, so she might as well sleep a bit and think about the next step later. At least here, she could finally have some peace of mind.
As she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, she started to feel drowsy, and her head felt heavier than usual. Before long, she could feel herself start to drift off to sleep, until she felt the carriage shake violently and stop abruptly.
With a jolt, Clarent was snapped back to reality. She opened her eyes and rubbed them with her hand, still feeling a bit dozy from just waking up.
The girl in front of her was surprised as well, looking around with a scowl, visibly aware of something that was happening outside. Her two large, gilded eyes then stopped on Clarent, glaring at her as if she had done something bad.
"You shouldn't leave this carriage," the girl said in a cold, dry tone.
Clarent froze, unsure of what to do. Was that a joke? It didn't seem like one to her, but then again, she had no idea who that girl was or what her intentions were.
She blinked a few times and tilted her head to the side. "Huh? What do you mean?" she asked as she stood up and looked out the window, trying to figure out what was going on, but all she saw was that the carriage had stopped in the middle of the road, crossing a vast forest. "What's going on here?" she mumbled to herself.
"Don't. Move," the girl said, grabbing her by the shoulder and staring her right in the eyes. "If you value your life, don't even think about getting out of this carriage."
Clarent stared back at her with a puzzled look on her face, feeling very confused and worried all of a sudden. "Why?" she asked, wondering what she was talking about. "What's going on?"
The girl said nothing and kept glaring at her with a stern look on her face, making Clarent feel uneasy. After a moment of silence, she let out a sigh and looked away, as if she were giving up on something. "I'm sorry," she said, her voice quiet and calm. "Just... trust me. Please."
After saying that, she turned her back to Clarent and opened the door of the carriage, revealing the forest outside. Then she climbed out of it without saying another word and closed the door behind her, leaving the redhead alone inside.
Clarent was very confused and scared all of a sudden. She had no idea what was going on or what this girl was doing. All she knew was that she was being told not to leave the carriage. As she looked outside the window and saw the girl walking away, she couldn't help but feel anxious.
Finally, the redhead decided to do as she was told and sat down again, waiting for whatever was about to happen next. After a few minutes of silence, she heard voices from outside the carriage.
One of them was the Wyverian girl's voice, which sounded annoyed and concerned at the same time. Then there was another voice: a male human voice, talking to the girl as if they were acquainted with each other. Clarent couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but they seemed to be arguing about something.
Clarent opened the door just a bit and glanced outside, trying to figure out what was going on, but all she saw was that the girl was now arguing with an older man with dark skin dressed in a black kimono. Judging by his long orange hair, his melon beard, and his wrinkled face, he looked like some sort of elderly samurai or monk. From what she could see, the man was a Wyverian, as can be seen by his evidently long, pointy ears. He was also quite tall, probably taller than most humans Clarent had seen before, and there was a huge difference in size with the girl in front of him.
"Lady Fiore," the man said, bowing down to the girl in front of him. "What a relief to see you alive and well... We have been searching for you everywhere."
Clarent could only see the girl's back, but she didn't seem very happy about that encounter. Instead, she seemed annoyed, if not downright angry. "Leave me alone," she said in a cold voice. "I don't know who you are or what you want from me."
"His Majesty, the Emperor Guan Romulus, has been searching for you," the man said, ignoring her comment and standing up straight again. "He was very worried about your safety."
"I don't know anyone by that name," the girl replied, now starting to sound irritated. "Now get out of my way and leave me alone."
With that, she turned around and began to walk away, but the man stopped her by grabbing her by the arm. "Lady Fiore," he said, now sounding angry. "This is not the time to be acting like that. His Majesty was—"
Without saying another word, the girl kicked the man right in the crotch, sending him flying several meters backward. Clarent quickly closed the door of the carriage and sat back down, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She felt like she had just witnessed something she wasn't supposed to see. Something that she shouldn't have been a part of.
Clarent then glanced outside the window again and saw that the man was still on the ground, looking very uncomfortable and still a bit shocked after the hit he had just received. The girl, on the other hand, had stopped walking and was now looking at him, turning her back to Clarent's sight again. "Don't touch me," she said, her voice sounding as cold as ice.
After that, she started to walk away again, heading straight towards the carriage where Clarent was still sitting. However, Fiore stopped in her stride and turned to face the man as he rose up, using his still-sheathed katana as a cane to assist himself.
"Good griefs," he sighed. "You very much aren't making it easy for us..." He carefully held his sword out in front of him while he talked, pushing the hilt slightly with his thumb to partially unsheathe it. It exposed a tiny section of the blade, which was composed of something other than steel, perhaps some form of bamboo-like wood. To put it mildly, that was an odd choice of weapon for combat. The edge of the blade appeared quite sharp and menacing, and he could very well murder someone with such a weapon, so it wasn't simply a showpiece.
"I, Silvanus, strategist of the Lost Empire, shall carry out my Lord's orders and return you to him," the man said as he slowly approached the girl.
The Wyverian girl started to walk backward while he was drawing close. It was obvious that she was uncomfortable with the situation. Clarent then observed a weird, towering, and imposing guy approaching her from behind. He was wearing full-plated golden armor and had two enormous objects on his back that appeared to be wings. These objects were coated in gilded scales and had crystal protrusions on either end. More than anything, his large, extended helmet looked like the head of a dragon, with some kind of long, jewel-like horns that emerged from the back of his head.
Fiore wasn't aware yet of his presence; she was quite surprised when he suddenly grabbed her by her arms and pinned her face against the wall of the carriage with her hands behind her back. "W-what?!" she exclaimed, struggling to try and free herself from his grip. "Let me go!"
The armored man didn't seem to care and simply held her down without saying a word, while Silvanus started to approach her as well. "Be careful with her, Zephyrus," he said as he approached her. "You mustn't damage her."
"I know," the man—Zephyrus—said in a low, almost grumbling voice. "Don't waste time, or they will notice."
As he spoke, he tightened his grip on the girl's arms and held her still, keeping her from moving anymore. At that moment, Fiore quickly glanced in Clarent's direction and made eye contact with her. For a brief moment, they locked eyes and stared at each other; Fiore looked at her with a desperate expression on her face, while Clarent simply looked back at her with a panicked look.
When Fiore closed her eyes, Clarent felt a cold shiver run down her spine and quickly shut the door of the carriage before leaning against it, holding her breath, and waiting for whatever was about to happen next. As she closed her eyes, she suddenly had a strange feeling: something told her to save this girl, to protect her no matter what. That feeling was so strong and so vivid that it felt almost like an old memory or a natural reflex—something that her mind somehow forgot about but not her heart.
It was only then that Clarent realized something: she was a hunter, and that was a part of her job. She had been training to protect people for years before she lost her memory, and it was something that had been engraved into her very bones by now. Deep down, she knew that she had to do it, or else she would regret it forever. There was a girl in danger, and she was the only one who could help her.
So she did. As if guided by an invisible force, she jumped out of the carriage and quickly approached the two men. Silvanus turned around when he noticed her presence, while Zephyrus remained unfazed and held the Wyverian girl even tighter.
"Get away from her," Clarent said as she stood in front of them, trying to sound as intimidating as possible. "She's not going anywhere."
Clarent felt oddly confident and brave. Like she was able to face this situation with no fear despite being so frightened moments ago. Perhaps it was just the adrenaline kicking in, or maybe it was just because she knew that this was the right thing to do, but whatever it was, she had no time to think about it.
As she spoke, she grabbed her sword, which was entirely wrapped in clothes and carefully concealed behind her back. She didn't bother to take off the bandages and unsheathe the weapon; instead, she simply held the whole thing in her hands like a bludgeon as she pointed it at the men.
Her eyes quickly wandered around to examine the situation: the man in golden armor—the one named Zephyrus—was holding Fiore against the carriage, while the old man in kimono—apparently Silvanus—was just standing there, facing Clarent.
The redhead could also ascertain the reason that caused the carriage to stop: the coachman and the beast driving the carriage were both dead, impaled by several bamboo shoots that had somehow emerged from the ground right there, and the man had been decapitated—his head was nowhere to be found. Clearly, these men had come to kidnap Fiore and kill anyone who got in their way.
"Heh, the rat finally shows itself," Zephyrus said in a deep, dark voice. "Silvanus, you know what to do."
"The human..." Silvanus said with a heavy sigh. "I was hoping you would stay hidden in that carriage like a good, scared dog... How unfortunate." He approached her with slow and careful steps, putting his hand on the handle of his sword, ready to unsheathe it when needed.
"Hngh... You idiot! Why did you have to interfere?" Fiore exclaimed as she struggled against Zephyrus' grip, looking directly at Clarent as she did so. "I told you to stay inside!"
"Zephyrus, I leave the Lady to you," Silvanus declared in a calm voice. "I shall take care of this roach."
With that, he slowly approached Clarent with his katana still sheathed in his hand. It was quite unusual; normally, Clarent would have been afraid of someone wielding a sword with that much intensity in his eyes. After all, Silvanus looked like a seasoned warrior who had been through a lot of battles. Instead, she simply stared at him in silence, holding her breath as she gripped her sword tightly.
"Hm. How strange," Silvanus wondered as he checked the redhead while rubbing his amber chin beard. "I sense conflicting emotions within you. You don't know what you are doing, do you?"
Clarent frowned at those words. Maybe he was just guessing, but he was definitely right: she had no idea what she was doing. There was no plan, no strategy, no tactics, no tricks up her sleeve—nothing. This was completely unexpected, and she had no idea how to handle it. She just went with her instincts and acted on impulse, something that she rarely ever did.
"You are scared and confused, like a lost child," Silvanus continued as he circled around her like a predator cornering its prey. "Yet you chose the worst possible option available to you, putting yourself in peril for no reason, for someone you don't even know."
As he spoke, Zephyrus tried to forcefully drag Fiore away with him, but she managed to resist and escape from his grip, slipping from his hands and rolling on the ground. When she stood up again, she ran towards Clarent and hid behind her, trying to put as much distance between herself and the men as possible.
Clarent kept her gaze fixed on Silvanus while he kept circling around her, watching her every move with a piercing look in his eyes. Meanwhile, Zephyrus joined him and stood beside him. The two men were now surrounding the two girls, who had their backs turned against the carriage, preventing them from escaping.
Now that she had them right in front of her, Clarent had a better look at the men. They were both tall and imposing, with muscular and sturdy builds. But they didn't strike her as normal warriors. Especially Zephyrus: the 'man'—if she could still call him that—was significantly bigger than his friend and looked more like a beast in human form than anything else.
Even though he was wearing a full-plated golden armor with a big helmet, the redhead could tell that something was different about him. The wings he had in his back were one thing, but his head was scary: it was as if there was a dragon's head under the helmet, complete with long horns on its back and small, sky-blue eyes with black sclera visible in the gaps of his visor. On top of that, she just noticed that he also had a thick, long tail, as big as a tree trunk, covered in gilded scales, similar to his wings. Something that she somehow mistook for a part of his armor.
Next to him, the man called Silvanus was much more normal-looking than his friend. While he had a good deal of muscle on his body, it didn't look excessive like Zephyrus' did. Furthermore, he was wearing a long, black kimono decorated with gold patches of fur around the collar. As expected from a samurai, he looked calm and collected, almost too calm to be real. Even so, he still seemed menacing in his own way. His dark, rough skin with several battle scars had an unnatural shine to it that reminded Clarent of wood or bamboo, while his darkened red eyes were piercing and fierce.
The redhead had to admit that these men were scary. They were much more intimidating than anything she had ever faced before. Perhaps it was just her instincts taking over again, but she had a feeling that they were very dangerous.
Silvanus pointed his hand towards Clarent, saying, "There is no escape. Deliver Lady Fiore to us; if you surrender and act rationally, we will spare you."
Clarent gulped as she listened to him, noticing that he was speaking in a slightly calmer tone than before. Her panicked and confused mind was screaming at her to surrender, to just give up and hope that things would work out somehow, but her heart was telling her otherwise: she had to fight. There was no way to tell whether he was telling the truth or not, but even then, she couldn't let them kill her without any resistance, and she couldn't allow them to kidnap Fiore either. There was no other way out of this situation.
"Don't listen to these lies!" Fiore shouted as she clenched her fists, glancing at Clarent with a scowl. "They have no intention to let you live! As soon as they have me, they will kill you!"
Those words gave Clarent a little courage, and she straightened her back, fixing her gaze on Silvanus and readying herself to fight. "I somehow knew that," she said, tightening her grip on her sword. "That's why I won't back down; I will protect you."
"You're an idiot..." Fiore spoke with a sigh as she lowered her head and relaxed her tense shoulders. "Fine then... Do what you want."
"Lady Fiore... Why are you so stubborn?" Silvanus asked as he sheathed his sword once again, taking a stance ready to counter any attack Clarent might throw at him. "All we want is to bring you home safely. Don't you at least want to hear His Majesty's story?"
At those words, Fiore narrowed her eyes and shook her head, clenching her fists again. "I don't believe that for a second," she said in a cold, firm voice. "I know the truth: he is nothing more than a greedy, power-hungry tyrant."
Both men froze and stared at her in silence for a few seconds, clearly shocked by her statement. Silvanus clenched his fists and tightened his jaw, his expression becoming even sterner and darker than before. "A tyrant..." he repeated, almost under his breath. "Hmph... You don't know how wrong you are. If only you would hear him out, then you would understand."
Zephyrus growled silently, almost like he was saying something, but his voice was so low and deep that it was inaudible to the girls. Clarent didn't hear anything, but she somehow knew that he was upset with Fiore's words. If anything, it was crystal clear that speaking out against their lord was a serious offense, and the redhead was starting to worry that it might cause more trouble for them.
"We... We don't need to fight," She eventually said nervously as she stepped forward, positioning herself between Fiore and the two men in front of her. "We can just... part ways here peacefully and pretend this never happened."
The two men exchanged glances, and both of them burst out laughing at the same time. "Good joke, human," Zephyrus said with a low chuckle from under his helmet. "I almost thought you were serious for a second."
"If you wished for a peaceful way out of this, you should have minded your own business and ran away like any reasonable person would have done," Silvanus said, his expression now stern and serious again. "Humans never learn."
Clarent gulped and took a few steps back, getting closer to Fiore as she did so. She was feeling her confidence fade away as the two men approached them, slowly cornering them against the carriage. There was no way out of this situation; they were trapped.
Finally, Zephyrus took a step forward and caught with his massive hands the redhead's sword—which was more like a stick wrapped in clothes than an actual weapon—and yanked it out of her hands, throwing it on the ground several meters away from them. Then he extended one of his hands, grabbing her head and placing his wide palm all over her face, blocking her sight and making it difficult to breathe.
Clarent let out a gasp of surprise as Zephyrus held her tight, pressing her face against his hand and letting her know that he could easily crush her skull with just a single squeeze.
"Quit playing with your food," Silvanus said with a sigh as he watched the scene unfold. "Just kill her already."
Suddenly, Fiore jumped towards Zephyrus and hung on his arm; she used the short momentum to kick him in the stomach with both her bare feet, which was enough to make him loosen his grip and leave Clarent free to escape. It was impressive to see such a small and weak-looking girl manage to rattle a man who was likely more than twice her size and weight.
But Clarent didn't have the time to think about it; as soon as she got out of his grip, she quickly rolled away to the ground, holding her breath for a moment before finally jumping to her feet again, picking up her sword, and turning around to face Zephyrus.
As she regained her posture, the redhead saw Fiore being thrown back by Zephyrus, landing on the ground with a thud. Despite being pretty strong and agile for her size, it didn't seem like she had done any serious damage to him. Clarent knew that if she wanted to survive this situation, she had no choice but to unsheathe her sword and fight, even if she understood that it would be dangerous to do so.
With a swift motion, Clarent removed the clothes that were covering her weapon, unveiling the beautiful black and purple scabbard with gold decorations that was wrapped around it. She hadn't seen it in a long time since she always had it hidden under the wraps, and she felt oddly nervous when she held it again. The redhead held onto this sword for as long as she could remember, and even though she doesn't recall when or where she got it from, she always felt like it was her treasure.
As she touched the hilt of her sword, she could feel a warm, comforting sensation flowing through her body. A short, blurry, and flashing image crossed her mind: a glimpse of a blond person—probably a woman—wearing an eyepatch over her right eye and holding the same sword that Clarent was now holding in her hands. In that brief moment, Clarent felt like she knew this woman, but she couldn't recall anything about her. Nevertheless, this sensation filled her with a sense of calm and confidence, telling her that everything would be okay if she trusted herself.
Clarent looked at the sword in her hands and slowly unsheathed it. When the blade came out of its scabbard, it revealed a very long, silvery, and gleaming single-edged blade with a faint violet glow that made it look supernatural and ethereal. It was a beautiful sword, a real masterpiece of craftsmanship made with rare material that must have been extremely valuable and hard to obtain.
The redhead dropped the scabbard on the ground as she held onto the hilt with both her hands, getting herself ready for combat. She had to protect Fiore no matter what, and there was no turning back now. As she stared down at Zephyrus with a stern look on her face, the beast-like man simply turned to face the wyverian girl, presenting his back to Clarent.
In a sudden rush of courage and adrenaline, Clarent charged towards Zephyrus from behind and brought down her sword against him, hoping that she would be able to land a good blow. However, she failed to take into account his tail; as she was about to attack him from behind, she was abruptly knocked away by a swing of his massive tail without even looking at her.
Clarent gasped in surprise as she flew in the air for a brief moment before she landed on the ground with a loud thud, rolling a few meters away from him. The impact of that hit was so strong that it left her momentarily dazed, as if she were struck by a tree trunk. Luckily, she wasn't seriously injured, and she quickly stood up again by using her sword as a support to get back on her feet.
Zephyrus glanced at her briefly with a scoff before turning his attention back to Fiore, who was getting back on her feet after being thrown back by him. At that moment, Clarent decided to charge again, aiming for his tail this time. If she could sever it, perhaps it would hinder him enough to buy some time.
Unfortunately, before she could reach him, Silvanus suddenly appeared in front of her and blocked her sword with his scabbard, forcing her to stop in her tracks. "As I said, I will take care of this roach," he stated as he pushed her back with his sword. "The human is mine."
Clarent barely had any time to react as he started to attack her, swinging his still-sheathed katana in her direction in quick, swift motions. She backed away as she dodged his strikes, barely managing to avoid being hit and trying to retaliate as best as she could. Each time her sword clashed against his scabbard, she could feel the vibration traveling through her arms and chest. If she weren't careful, she could easily end up losing her sword due to the force of each hit.
However, the problem was that she couldn't find an opening to counterattack; whenever she tried to strike back, he would block her attacks with his scabbard, keeping her at bay and leaving her with no room to maneuver. Moreover, he had yet to unsheathe his sword. All he was doing was parrying her blows and counterattacking with his scabbard, not even trying to actually injure her.
"Interesting sword you have there," Silvanus said as he observed the blade of Clarent's sword, clearly impressed by its power and properties. "Such a pity that it had to be in the hands of a mere amateur."
After saying that, he lunged towards her, moving faster than she could follow and knocking her off her feet with a quick thrust of his scabbard, hitting her right in the stomach and sending her flying backwards, forcing her to drop her sword on the ground. Clarent coughed as she landed a few meters away from him, clutching her stomach while she struggled to regain her breath.
Meanwhile, Silvanus tried to pick up her sword, but as soon as he touched it, he immediately stopped and pulled his hand away, seemingly alarmed by something. "W-what?" he mumbled to himself, narrowing his eyes in confusion. "This is..."
As he examined the sword carefully, Clarent quickly got up and picked it up again, gripping it tight in her hands. She glared at Silvanus, who was just standing in front of her, rubbing his chin beard as he stared at the sword with a puzzled look on his face.
"So that's how it is," he said with a sigh as he returned his gaze to Clarent. "How curious."
Then he took a step forward and prepared to attack her again, readying himself to unsheathe his sword. "Very well," he said as he focused his attention on the redhead. "If this sword chose you as its wielder, then I shall take it from your cold, dead hands."
Without giving her any time to react, Silvanus lunged towards her with his sword still in its sheath, and in a lightning fast motion, he swiftly unsheathed it and slashed several times at her. Clarent couldn't even see his sword move; it simply flashed in front of her for a split second and disappeared again. Before she knew it, she had been severely struck at various points of her body, most notably her legs, arms, and neck, creating large wounds on her skin and drawing blood.
Silvanus stepped back as he finished his assault, wiping the blood on the blade with a swift swing before sheathing his sword again and returning to his original position. Clarent remained still for a few seconds before the pain finally kicked in, and she collapsed on the ground, coughing and gasping for air.
The redhead's throat was hurting so badly that she was having trouble breathing as well as speaking, and she was losing blood at an alarming rate. Her clothes were already soaked with it. However, in her predicament, she was fortunate: Silvanus could have easily chopped off her head or even some of her limbs, but he didn't; instead, he had just crippled her severely enough to prevent her from defending herself, leaving her immobile on the ground to bleed to death.
"Consider yourself lucky, human." Silvanus said with a stern voice as he looked down at Clarent with a sharp, cold stare in his eyes, which were as piercing as ever. "I gave you some time to reflect on your foolish actions and perhaps even ask for forgiveness."
Clarent closed her eyes and struggled to breathe, barely keeping herself conscious. She couldn't move; neither her legs nor her arms worked; nothing responded. All she could do was lie on the ground and accept her fate. It didn't seem like Silvanus was planning on finishing her off; instead, he just kept standing there and turned his attention toward Zephyrus' side.
After a few moments, she opened her eyes again and glanced at Fiore, who was still struggling against Zephyrus. From what she could see, she was attempting to run toward the redhead, staring at her with a desperate look—the kind of expression that said she didn't want to let Clarent die. However, Zephyrus had no intention of letting her do that and kept trying to control her and pin her down against the ground with his massive hands.
Fiore... No matter how much Clarent wanted to help her, she couldn't move anymore. The pain was too much, and her body was already starting to feel numb and tingly, as if it were slowly losing all feeling in her limbs. Silvanus had struck her with surgical precision at key points of her body, cutting the nerves that allowed her to move. As a result, she was now unable to do anything but lay there and bleed out.
Clarent could feel herself growing weaker by the second, and her breathing was becoming more and more labored. As she lay on the ground, helpless and paralyzed, Clarent wondered if this was really how it was going to end for her. All her life, she had been forced to run away from danger, hiding from hunters and living in fear of being discovered. Maybe this was her fate: either to be captured and sentenced for crimes she didn't commit or to die in a meaningless battle against an enemy she couldn't even match.
It was ironic, she thought: after all this time, she finally decided to do something for someone else instead of just running away. And look where it got her: not only was she unable to save Fiore, but she couldn't even protect herself. She was going to die, and for what? So that some stranger could be saved? It was absurd. Absolutely absurd.
As Clarent lay on the ground and stared at the sky above her, she could feel her vision starting to blur as the pain started to get worse. Her throat was on fire, and her limbs were being eaten away by the burning sensation of her blood seeping into the ground. Finally, she closed her eyes and just waited for it to be over, when she heard a loud noise coming from around her.
It was a clear and resonant sound, like a high-pitched scream or roar from a creature she didn't know about. She couldn't make out what it was, but it sounded big and intimidating—so much so that it made the ground shake and the air tremble, causing her to instinctively close her eyes and cover her ears. Then she felt a very cold breeze pass through her, giving her goosebumps all over her body and making her shiver violently.
When she opened her eyes, the redhead was met by a strange sight: everything around the carriage was frozen and covered in snow, like a giant snowstorm had just occurred, except that it was very localized. She saw that her wounds had been frozen and sealed; all the blood had stopped flowing out of them, and her skin was covered in a layer of ice.
When she glanced at her surroundings, she realized that everything around her was covered in thick layers of snow that had appeared out of nowhere. Silvanus and Zephyrus had backed away, and Fiore was nowhere to be seen. Instead, there was a large block of ice right where she used to be, with a small figure trapped inside of it.
Clarent remained still for a few seconds, staring at the scene in front of her with a puzzled look on her face. She couldn't understand what just happened: there was no way that the snow was natural, and yet it looked so real. Furthermore, the ice spread around didn't seem to have been created by nature either. It targeted her wounds specifically, sealing them and stopping the bleeding while leaving the rest of her body untouched. There was no way something like that could happen naturally.
After a moment of silence, the redhead tried to move, but she couldn't: her body was still numb, and the ice covering her injuries prevented her from moving. However, she was still alive, and she could feel her chest rising and falling as she breathed. If she survived this, she would need medical attention soon, but she could at least wait until she was thawed out first.
The two men just stared at each other, unsure of what to do, as they tried to figure out what had just happened. While Zephyrus seemed unshaken and unfazed by the whole thing, Silvanus seemed troubled by the sudden outburst. They slowly approached the giant ice block, circling around it to examine it from all sides. The bearded man was careful enough to avoid touching anything frozen, while the armored man didn't really care and simply gave the ice block small taps with his finger, checking its hardness.
"The imbecile," Zephyrus said with a grunt as he pocked the ice with his finger. "This is going to attract unwanted attention."
"Just how foolish can she be?" Silvanus said with a heavy sigh. "Zephyrus, can't you do something about this?"
Zephyrus remained silent for a moment before he let out a growl. "I'm afraid not. The ice is too dense to be damaged, let alone cracked open by brute force," he said as he returned to Silvanus' side. "Not only that, but..."
"There is a chance to damage the Lady inside the ice." Silvanus finished the sentence for him, nodding slowly as he did so. "In short, we will need fire to melt this ice if we want to bring her back safely."
The two men glanced at each other for a moment before they suddenly turned their attention to something else. They started looking around frantically in the sky as if something was approaching them. Silvanus stepped forward and glanced at Zephyrus, who gave him a silent nod. "We can't afford to be found now," he said as he put his sheathed sword back into his belt. "Let us depart."
"Well, at least we know where Lady Fiore is," Zephyrus said as he unfurled his wings and jumped off the ground, carrying Silvanus with him with ease. A powerful gust of wind appeared as he took flight into the air, and the redhead watched them disappear into the clouds. They didn't even care to check whether she was dead; considering her injuries, they probably thought it would suffice to silence her already. But Clarent was still alive, at least for now.
While Clarent was still laying on the ground, struggling to stay conscious as the ice slowly melted around her and the snow vanished into thin air, she heard footsteps coming from her side. When she looked around and tried to focus her blurry vision on them, she saw shapes running toward the carriage and looking around: humans, she could tell from their general build, even though she couldn't see their appearance too well because of her fuzzy sight.
The redhead finally passed out again, and the last thing she heard before she lost consciousness was someone shouting, "Over here! Someone is injured!"
...
When she woke up, Clarent found herself back at the campfire, the very same she had seen in her dream earlier, leaning on a log while being laid down in front of the fire. Around her, the night was so dark that she couldn't see anything outside the light coming from the bonfire in front of her. Even the sky was pitch-black, so much so that she couldn't separate the ground from the sky with her eyes, and she had to rely on the faint glow of the fire to see anything else.
For a moment, the redhead felt lost and confused; she didn't know whether this was just another dream or if it was reality this time. However, she quickly realized that something was wrong: she was fully clothed again, and the injuries that Silvanus had inflicted on her were gone. There wasn't even a single mark on her skin where her wounds used to be—not even a scar to remind her of them.
The flame in front of her was faint and flickering—barely more than a dying ember that gave off little to no heat—but it was still enough to illuminate her immediate proximity. It was strange: the more she stared at it, the more it fascinated her, to the point where she could feel her eyelids starting to feel heavy and her mind slowly growing foggy. It was almost like she was looking at her own life—the fading flame of a dying life.
However, it didn't matter; she could feel herself starting to drift away again, the same as before, so she decided to just sit there and wait, enjoying the little moment of calm and peace that had been given to her until the sandman finally took her away once again.