"You… Who the hell are you?!" the merchant barked as guards scrambled to surround her.
"Eh? I told you, didn't I? I'm Alicia Valentine!" she declared, unwavering. "Ah, but a bunch of mercenaries wouldn't know that name. You lot, on the other hand..."
She eyeballed the paladins, but their thick helmets hid whatever face they were making underneath.
"Oh well," Alicia sighed. "You've come this far, so you're probably willing to die on this hill. As for the rest of you... The crime of trafficking within imperial borders, especially of demons, is punishable by death."
Her words, however, didn't leave the mark she had hoped for. All forty men still held their weapons, ready to take her down.
"Damn, who's this babe?" one of the mercenaries smirked, licking his lips. "She's got a mouth as sharp as her curves."
"Hey, boss! If we catch her, we get first dibs, right?"
"Do it!" the merchant snapped. "I don't care what you do! Just get her out of my sight!"
But Alicia didn't flinch. She stood her ground, posture sharp and poised. If anything, the corners of her lips stretched just a little bit further than before.
"Hey, paladins. Let me ask you something," she muttered toward the men in white armor. "Do you not realize your actions here are a blasphemy against the Goddess Elysia herself? Or perhaps there aren't really any true paladins behind those overly thick visors?"
The paladins remained silent, still as statues.
Alicia sighed, exasperated.
"So be it, then. You've chosen your damnation. So I'll decide how you get there."
From the back of her waist, Alicia pulled out a small cane and twirled it around.
"Once again, I am Alicia Valentine. Second-year student of Rhodeia College, member of the Demonic Investigation Club, and soon-to-be renowned Grand Master of wind magic!"
In one swift motion, she broke the cane's momentum and slapped the tip against the ground. Three massive runes formed in the shape of a clover, and from them, a powerful burst of wind kept the mercenaries from getting any closer.
"W-what the hell?!"
"She's a Third-Circle mage! And... did she say Rhodeia?!"
"Take her out! Quick!"
"We can't! The wind... It's too damn strong!"
Alicia planted a finger on her lips as she snickered.
"Oops~ Maybe I should've been a little nicer," she said. "But seeing all of this, and hearing the lot of you talk... it pissed me off, you see."
With a snap and wink, the rune circles exploded, each one summoning a violent vortex that lifted the mercenaries and hurled them around. Screams and cries filled the prison chamber, but they were drowned by the sound of rotating wind.
And in the center of it all stood Alicia Valentine, still smiling.
Amid the chaos, one mercenary drew closer from behind, followed by two more. He pulled out his dagger and lunged, but Alicia turned around just in time.
She ducked, narrowly dodging the stab attempt, before throwing a high kick right under his chin. Her legs formed a perfect line, stopping the other two in their tracks.
"Eek!" Alicia squeaked, pulling her leg down along with her skirt. "Y-you guys didn't see anything, right?!"
They were too stunned to speak, and Alicia took advantage of that. The very next second, she closed the gap like a blur in the wind, performing a roundhouse kick on the first and casting a simple wind bolt spell on the second.
"Die, you wench!" shouted another.
She turned to see a mercenary hurling a sword at her. Instead of dodging, she twirled her cane and pointed the tip at an angle toward the ground. Just as the blade was about to hit her, she slid the cane in a crescent, summoning a wind wall that completely halted the sword.
"Hey!" she shouted. "I think you dropped this!"
She lightly flicked the wind wall, sending the sword hurtling back. Afraid that the blade might strike him, she panicked.
"Ah! W-wait! Dodge it!"
But the complete opposite happened, as the butt of the handle struck him right in the dome. After a few steps back, he plopped to the ground.
Alicia placed a hand on her chest with a soft, "Phew..."
Suddenly, her senses flared. She held her cane at her face, turning around to meet a paladin mid-swing. His gleaming Holystone sword struck the cane with such force that it sent Alicia flying away before she slammed against a wall.
From the cloud of dust, she emerged with a violent cough. No longer was her posture straight, as pain and fatigue overtook her entire body. Blood dripped from her head, trailing down her face and her neck.
She lifted her head as much as she could, only to see that almost a dozen mercenaries remained.
"S-shoot..." she mumbled, but her lips still curled with amusement. "Got me there. It only... took forty of you."
"Hah," one of the mercenaries chuckled as he approached. "I bet you won't be making those sly remarks once we're done with you!"
Bold he was for charging in headfirst, and even more bold for thinking that the young lady in front of him was all alone.
From the veiled corners of the ceiling came a ghostly voice.
"Shadows... Drop them."
Upon the first echo of those words, the air changed. A chill swept through the corridor like a phantom's breath.
Cold, silent, lethal. And then... chaos.
One by one, guards started collapsing. Throats slit. Spines pierced. Bodies dragged into the shadows.
They couldn't see it. None of them could.
A blur passed behind a paladin. His head snapped back unnaturally before his body crumpled to the floor. The other tried to shout a warning, but his voice was cut short as a blade slid clean across his neck.
The noblemen panicked, shoving each other and falling over themselves to escape, but there was nowhere to run. Every exit had already been claimed by invisible watchers.
Alicia dropped to her knees, her eyes wide as she watched this inexplicable scene unfolding before her. Just like everyone else, she couldn't understand. It was like hell had risen to claim her lost souls who've evaded her till now.
Then, she saw him.
Standing at the heart of it all was her junior, Caelus de Luvelaine, and all he was doing... was walking. Despite the chaos unfolding around him, he continued his stride as if this were all normal. Blood splattered where he stepped. Shadows converged where he looked. Even his breath seemed to welcome death.
His gaze locked onto the merchant and the nobles, who moments ago had been smirking and bidding on living beings like livestock.
Now, they trembled.
A mercenary lunged forward, blade drawn — only for a hand to reach from the ceiling, yank him upward, and silence him. Blood spattered the floor in a fine mist, but they were all swallowed by the shadows.
"They're just… disappearing!" one screamed, spinning wildly, sword swinging at nothing.
No answer came. Only a dagger buried into his back, then a second one into his chest as he dropped to his knees.
From above, from below, from blind angles they couldn't comprehend, the shadows danced through the prison.
Not a shout.
Not a footstep.
Just the sharp rhythm of falling bodies and the sound of weapons.
By the time the last guard hit the ground, the merchant had fallen to his knees, soaked in sweat, eyes darting around for a savior that didn't exist.
As the final body collapsed in a grim curtain call, an eerie silence swept over the prison chamber. The villainous noblemen whimpered, huddled against the wall, white-faced and trembling. They spoke no words, but their wide, fearful eyes said everything.
No… Villains would be too kind a label. They were worse than that — worse than the title they so easily brand demons with.
"Does this amuse you?" Caelus murmured, pointing at the prison cells. "Subjecting them to your repulsive desires, simply because their blood isn't the same as yours."
At first, no one dared to respond, but one fool found his voice.
"W-what nonsense is this...?" They are demons—"
"THEY ARE PEOPLE!"
His voice thundered across the chamber, echoing through the entire underground tunnels. Silence fell once more. Deep, heavy, suffocating silence.
He hadn't meant to scream that loudly, but how could he not? This seething, relentless rage burning within him demanded an outlet. It clawed at his throat, demanding to be heard.
"Hah… Hahaha. No..."
A bitter laugh slipped past his lips.
"You wouldn't understand. You... could never understand. In your eyes, a demon is just that. No more, no less. Just a monster parading around without rhyme or reason. It's ironic, really. You can't even see who the true monsters are."
"P-please..." one of them whimpered, voice quivering. "Spare us..."
"I considered it. Really, I did."
His eyes flashed away from his usual lavender, replaced by a devilish red glow that was now more apparent than ever.
"But this anger of mine... Seldom have I ever been able to contain it once it was set loose."
Suddenly, he felt a hand press against his shoulder. Yet, he didn't move. The rune circles still hovered in perfect symmetry, waiting to be fired.
He didn't turn, but he already knew who was there.
"Caelus..." Taylor said, no more than a whisper. "That's enough."