Chapter 78: Cracked Tension

Chapter 78: Cracked Tension Henndar...what are you hoping to achieve in all this? Khaizen couldn’t understand his ’friend’ one bit. Why did he have that boy as a prisoner? And his wife...was the queen, a high-ranking elf? And the rest in the room? Dissension had been sown like a seed in the farming season. He looked at Serephene, who just sat there calmly like none of this concerned her. He wondered what her goal in all this was, but how could he understand her when this was his first encounter with her? While discordance was all that could be expanded on in the meeting room, a scene of interest was occurring close by. At the gates to the imperial grounds, a woman stood admiring the beautifully aureated gates. It was normal for such things to happen, but this woman had been admiring the gates for a very long time...two whole hours standing in the same spot, unmoving. She just stared at the gates in awe, which was normal, but one of the guards thought something odd about it. He went over and nudged his partner, worried. "Hasn’t she been staring for a long time?" The other guard smirked. "So you also see what I see, huh? Look at her. She’s got all the curves in the right places," he chuckled. He wasn’t wrong. Her glossy hair fell to her waist, settling at the curve of her hips "Huh?" He couldn’t believe this guy. "Don’t be such a kid. You’ve been here for how long? Two days?" "Two weeks!" "Whatever, still two. So here’s the thing. It’s dark now, and only a few people are roaming about. From the way she’s been admiring this place, I can tell she’s not from around here. Which means I can take advantage of that. Hehe, just look at those hips. She’ll be looking finer without those clothes." "But you’re married." "Forget about that old woman. You’re such a good boy, aren’t you? Bet you haven’t tasted a woman before, right? Just watch, I’ll show you." He pushed the younger soldier to the side, straightened his shoulders, and walked up to the woman. "It seems the mere sight of the gates has frozen you in place. I wonder if this lovely lady is doing all right." He flashed her a smile, being careful to let her see his golden tooth. She seemed startled at first, then gave an embarrassed smile. But something about her smile didn’t match her eyes. "I-sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable." "Oh no, don’t be," she didn’t seem to want him apologizing A polite and gentle one? Easy prey, he thought. "You see, I would have come earlier, but your beauty froze me in place. With a body as your’s I wonder why your man would leave you alone here." This was a trick he’d used before. Flatter her, then find out if she has a man, and if she has one, make her feel like he doesn’t deserve her. She looked alarmed at what he said, trying to hide her blushing face. "I...thank you, but I’m not here with any man. I came here alone." Yes! He glanced back at the young soldier. See? Easy. "Well, that’s not good. A goddess like you needs a man to rely on." He winked at her, subtly flexing his muscles, which made her giggle. "A man?" She asked. "Yes, flower. You can’t go around alone like that. You need to find a good man to support you." He didn’t directly refer to himself, but it was obvious. "A good man..." she said it as if she was still trying to figure it out. "But one other thing. You seem to be attracted to the beauty of the imperial grounds, but without the right people, you may never get to see the other side." "Oh, I thought I could be allowed to see inside?" She sounded lost, like she’d been lied to. "Well, first of all,it’ss late at night. Lots of bad people could be anywhere. I can assure your safety, but if you want to see the inside of here, someonwouldld have to permit you." "You see, I don’t live around here, so I don’t know...I thought I could go in anytime?" He laughed loudly—fake, but effective. "Not everyone can go in and out as they please. But for a beauty such as you, I could show you around tomorrow. Why don’t I get you a place to stay for the night?" "I...aren’t you married?" She asked, pointing at the ring on his hand. "Well, that? That was nine years ago. I’ve been looking for another for so long now." He sounded sad. "Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to bring something like that up." She gently held his hand, but he raised a hand for her to be at ease. "It’s no big deal. I’ve been able to move on. And I’m happy I met you today. You sound very kind and sweet, just like her. For that, I’ll help show you around. But first, you need a place to stay." She nodded, blushing. Show you around inside? No way I could do that. I’ll only taste her for the night, then force her into silence. If she seems troublesome, I could kill her or blame the new guy. He’d thought it all out well enough. Now all he had to do was get her to a room. As a young man, he couldn’t help but gaze at her. She was alluring, and that older man had snatched her so easily. But how could such a beautiful person appear here like that, then not know what to do? She must- There was a hum then— SPURT!!! The sudden sound caught him off guard, and a sudden fear settled on him. He felt warm rain falling blood. The woman still stood there with his partner, but as he looked closer, a sudden sinking feeling settled on him. His limbs froze, eyes wide. He screamed, but he couldn’t hear his voice. His partner was headless, blood spurting from his neck. The woman looked down at her soiled dress. "And this is why I hate things like this." She tore a piece of the dres, made a disgusted expression, then threw it to the ground. A sudden gust of wind filled the place, swirling around her, dill she couldn’t be seen in there. When the wind dispersed, she was in a different outfit—a black jacket, and matching trousers that fit her like a second skin. Over it, she wore a black cloak that had a circle of fire designed on the back. "Much better. Wonder how they’ll react." She looked down at her curved blades, then at the man she’d just killed. She was more than disgusted. Even with a wife, he chose to do that. He seemed to have been doing that for a long time now. HE sounded so honest while lying through his teeth. "How disgusting. And how did a woman decide to marry someone like him?" She shuddered at the thought, then moved towards the other soldier. "Are you surprised? Scared? You see, that man was disgusting, so I had to kill him. But you, I have no reason to kill, so I’ll let you go tell the others I have come for a visit." She sounded alluring—caring even, but the truth was he was scared—the most scared he’d ever been. His eyes darted around, hoping help would arrive; if not, this crazy woman would end his life. Why would an assassin appear there, of all places? There should be other soldiers nearby, and they must have heard his scream, so why were they taking so long??? "Ah, you’re hoping to get some help?" She laughed, finding pure amusement in the situation. Her laughter didn’t surprise him as much as the weapon she held. The blades were flexible, almost like rubber, so how did she cut his head so quickly using that? "Now, my blades interest you? Okay, let me tell you what you need to know for now." Her smile was very genuine. Was she crazy? "When you screamed, I manipulated the air so the sound didn’t travel anywhere." His eyes widened. No wonder he didn’t even hear his voice. "Cool, right? And this blade? It’s blunt by nature, so I vibrate it at very high frequencies. makes it cut like a hot knofe." She demonstrated, letting it vibrate with a low hum, then it became rigid. The humming stopped, and it became flexible again. "Anyways, I need you to go in and call Gebreth for me. If he’s not there, send Henndar over. I’ll give you five minutes." He couldn’t move. What did she mean by he should call them for her? They weren’t just anybody he could call casually. "Oh, they’ll need proof first." She stepped back, then raised her hand. A strong force of wind blew over him, tearing his clothes to bits. Before he could react, another strong force shot into his back and chest simultaneously. He screamed again in agony. Two circular cuts had been left on his chest and back. Blood flowed freely, but she didn’t care at all. She was amused. "That’s perfect. Go tell them. They’ll believe you now." He didn’t know where the energy came from, but he suddenly felt strength in his limbs as he got up, running inside like a crazed animal. "HEEEEELPPPPPP!!!" He shouted.