In a fit of rage, Elisa tried to cut off the man's head, shouting the name "Slady".
But a mouth full of teeth opened on his cheek and caught the blade. He laughed and said how proud he was to see how strong and beautiful Elisa had become.
Shaphira remained paralyzed, staring at the figure with wide eyes. She asked if his name was who she thought it was.
He confirmed he was Slady.
Elisa turned and saw her sister's face, filled with tears of longing. Slady stayed impassive, but he seemed to feel his daughter's sadness even without seeing her.
With her anger rising, Elisa tried to swing the sword in a horizontal arc, but the man's face opened and returned to normal within seconds. It was terrifying to watch.
Slady said there should be no need for fighting, he would explain everything.
But his chest was struck by a blow from Shaphira. The breastplate did not break, it stretched backward.
With a sigh, Slady lamented that things would end that way, but he would have to neutralize them.
With a tap of his staff on the ground, several earthen walls rose from the soil. They expanded and closed in a circle, isolating them from the indigenous people.
Slady opened his only arm, allowing the first strike.
Shaphira tried to hit him with her enhanced punches and Elisa tried to cut him with her blood-imbued blade.
But he went… beneath the ground.
With no time to react, Slady emerged behind Elisa and tapped her back. She spun with a direct strike. His abdomen opened, avoiding the attack with a hole in that area.
Before she could pull away, the abdomen closed with sharp teeth forming around the circle, causing significant damage to her leg.
Elisa groaned in pain. She could not attack him because he threw her across the arena. Shaphira rushed in with several physical strikes, but Slady dodged in unimaginable ways.
He touched her with the staff, paralyzing her. He opened his mouth and his tongue stretched out, coiling around her neck and strangling her. With a scream of hatred, Elisa used the blood from her leg to create a spiked armor and struck him on the head.
But the old black cloak fell, revealing his bare back. It opened and the bones of his spine emerged from his body to wrap around her like a tentacle.
Crack.
Shaphira's neck was partially dislocated and Elisa's bones were crushed, causing unbearable pain to the soldier.
Shaphira collapsed unconscious. Elisa could not feel her body and said that he, the one she saw as a second father, was a monster.
With his tongue returning to his mouth and his spine pulling back as his back closed, Slady stood before her with immense coldness.
Elisa felt as if she were facing the devil himself. She did not want to believe that this man, Slady, someone she trusted and loved so much, had become this thing.
He knelt and held her face, saying he had already accepted the evil inside him. He begged, with all his heart, for them to forget about him.
He was no longer anything human or close to it, he was only the shell of what had once been a man.
He was only a creature born of alchemy and despair.
With a gentle smile appearing on Slady's lips, Elisa felt her body lose its strength and collapse.
***
When she opened her eyes, there were several women tending to her body, which was unclothed beneath a garment made of leaves.
With a weak voice, Elisa asked where she was, where her sister was, where Slady was.
One of the women asked, in an unknown language, to be left alone with her. Once satisfied, she sat before Elisa with a tender look.
She explained that her sister was fine. In fact, she had already woken and was getting used to the local culture. About the man, she said he had demanded that they be cared for with her life if necessary. When questioned, he gave no answers and simply disappeared to the island he inhabited.
When Elisa asked the name of the island…
Rykenzon, or Queimada Grande Island for those who knew the history of the Ancient Society.
With her lips parting slightly as she took a deep breath, Elisa demanded her clothes. The woman, who introduced herself as Loren de Vargas, asked with a loving voice that she recover and not fear their people, since they would be well treated as Slady had requested.
Her hands offered Elisa a garment, a skirt of leaves and flowers and a wooden bra that felt lighter than expected.
Elisa said she did not like wearing short clothing, she considered it vulgar. With an understanding nod, Loren said there was no reason to worry, no one would harm her. In Brazilovia, the body was seen as something sacred, not something to desire.
When left alone, while dressing, she looked at herself in a humble mirror. She had not expected to see such unique beauty in that outfit.
Her chest fit the bra and her waist felt freer, but it was hard to see much below the flowers.
When she left the hut, she saw the trees covering the sun in natural beauty. As she walked, she felt the wind glide freely across her thighs, a cold but pleasant sensation.
Finding a comfortable place, she lay down and watched the branches sway. The wind made the skirt flutter, but she did not lower it by instinct. It was as if, even half naked, she were being protected by a greater force.
It was liberating.
However, Elisa heard approaching footsteps and opened her eyes.
It was Shaphira, wearing the same kind of clothes. She looked stunning.
Without saying much, she dragged her by the foot. Elisa allowed it effortlessly while wondering why they both felt physically fine.
Once taken to the village, Shaphira asked Elisa to sit beside her. She saw men and women dancing.
Their movements were fluid and beautiful. The women spun to the drumbeats, the men performed amazing acrobatics and the people clapped in perfect rhythm.
When she turned her head, Shaphira whispered that she had fallen in love with that region. Elisa sighed and allowed herself to relax for the first time since joining the army.
Her head rested on her sister's shoulder. Her eyes took in the smiles, the dancing, the music, the families walking with their children and clapping in celebration.
That place was so full of joy.
At night, the event was still going on. Elisa found herself taking part in the festivities with more freedom. Along with Shaphira, she played as if they were children again. Perhaps the burden of being a soldier lifted from Elisa's shoulders for a moment and gave her permission to live.
With the fun winding down, everyone bathed in a nearby stream. Elisa sighed in the water, feeling the liquid cleanse and relax her body. She watched Shaphira asleep on her shoulder, the women with their partners, the solitary ones finding company among each other and the men enjoying themselves.
Nudity, as the kind indigenous woman had said, was not something to fear, be ashamed of or desire, but something beautiful and natural, something sacred.
She had never felt so good in a single day.