"Oh, so you're a bastard?" Rufus quipped, "A bastard Princess… that's rich! Haha!"
"I will have your head, worm!" Esmeralda shouted, her intent pure.
As she threatened him, the team of three came to the realization that Rufus may have done too good of a job. Princess Esmeralda did not only seem alive, but she was alive, she was conscious!
Biology didn't support such an instance, and other than that, no science in particular supported it, and yet, it would appear that she had been 'revived' with her memories intact. She knew who she was, and just as importantly, she knew how she died too!
"I will kill all of you vile bastards!" She kept shouting, "Bend the knee! Bend the knee in front of me, and I might spare you!"
"I don't think you're in the position to 'spare' anyone, kid," Clayton walked over closer, "Look around you, there's a reason you're around these disgusting, maggot-riddled, walking corpses you used to call your friends. I killed you, and then I got you walking again, so you're mine to control."
A tear ran down Esmeralda's eye. She was upset, she wanted to attack the bald man in front of her more than anything in the world right now, and yet she couldn't. Her arms felt frozen!
There was an invisible mental barrier that kept her from attacking him. At some point she was so upset, so confused, that she even saw Clayton as her new father! It was weird, it was brutal, but this was her new reality.
At last, she demanded, "Just kill me. Let me rest in peace, and maybe, just maybe the Gods might forgive you."
"I do not seek their forgiveness," He was quick to add, "The Gods didn't help me when your father had my family killed, so many years ago. Why would I ask for forgiveness from Gods who are okay with the innocent getting slaughtered?"
"My God… you are a vile creature indeed!" She lowered her voice, and quite frankly, she didn't care about Clayton's story.
Esmeralda got as angry as she possibly could. She could not stand idly by as this bald, middle-aged man denounced the Gods so openly, and without shame!
At that moment, she felt something overcoming her senses. In a snap, she felt free, she was no longer hesitant to attack, and so, she pulled her sword out of the scabbard tied to her hip, and with a single strike, she cut Clayton's head clean off!
"What the fuck!" Rufus shouted, and then he ran away. "Run, Lara! We got a rogue!"
"That's right, you better run!" Esmeralda shouted, celebrating her little victory.
However, the freedom she got, the same freedom that compelled her to attack Clayton, her Master, was taken away from her as fast as it was given to her, as if the Gods themselves were messing with her emotions!
This was also when she noticed that the body of the bald man she beheaded, was acting weird. It still stood on its feet, which should not be possible according to her experiences.
Worse yet, Clayton grew another head within seconds! His forehead popped out of his neck as if he was coming out of a birth canal for the second time, until he grew a fully new head. It was as terrifying as one could imagine it to be!
"No…" She sniffled, "Why won't you die!"
"I'm not supposed to," He smiled.
Afterwards, he turned around, saw Rufus running away like a Jester, and shouted, "Rufus, come back here, kid!"
"I'll go get him," Lara said, "He's full-on sprinting."
Clayton was impressed that Lara hadn't fled. She was braver than he imagined her to be, perhaps because she was confident in her abilities. Princess Esmeralda was no Hero, after all, she didn't belong to that Rank, and the armor she wore confirmed this. Her armor had gems engraved in them, but they were sapphires, and they were almost decorative, commonly used by Royalty to hold their capes up. She seemed young too, nineteen at most, so she couldn't be as strong as any of the experienced Heroes.
Either way, despite Rufus' cowardice, Clayton was impressed with his team. He could see himself working with them to burn the Royal Family to the ground, for a start, if not the entirety of the Kingdom all together.
Nevertheless, as he waited for Rufus to come back, and tell him how his formerly undead slave possibly rebelled, even if for a second, he turned around to face the same rebel, and asked her a few questions.
"How do you feel?" He asked, his face stern.
"What do you think?" She kept raising her voice, "You won't let me die, demon!"
"I'm the demon?" He repeated, "You were the ones that came here with hundreds of people, just to burn a tiny little chapel in the middle of nowhere! What lies did you tell yourselves to see this attack as a noble act? You slaughtered over thirty innocent people today."
"No one in that Chapel was innocent," She bit back, "Each and every one of you have killed innocent people, and ruined lives before. There were prices on your heads for a reason!"
"Have you lost your nut?" He yelled back for once, "The King's Guard killed my family forty years ago, and I've been up here ever since. I never killed a man before today, and I wouldn't be able to even if I tried."
"Oh, so what? We got the wrong secluded chapel?" She mocked him. "You wouldn't come all the way up here if you were innocent. Only cowards, and monsters such as yourself have a reason to hide!"
Clayton did not bother debating with her any longer. He saw that there was no talking to her, so instead, he silently talked with the system in his head. He was hoping to get answers out of her, and he was right to do so.
[The reason she attacked you was because you allowed your Necromancer friend to create a freak of nature.]
[Bloodmancy and Necromancy sound similar, but they shouldn't mix. Not to mention, you got a Demonic Lord involved.]
[Esmeralda is conscious now, she's nearly alive, and rightfully so, she will always seek her freedom. She will try to cut all three of you down every chance she gets, because you gave up more than half of your influence over her the moment you let another Mage tamper with your slave.]