Kobo winced as the royal knights halted their advance. The appearance of the duke instantly shattered their momentum. The air was thick with menace. Danger buzzed on the hairs of her skin. Kobo felt her instincts scream, begging her to flee from this place.
The murderous presence of the kingdom's most infamous sword master was just that overwhelming—to the point where Kobo imagined if she took a single step, she would be cut down by the duke's broad sword.
The situation was made worse by the fact that an unconscious Reine was being held in his arm. The duke had an invaluable hostage.
I can't stop here!
Kobo raised her trembling hands and pointed directly at Duke Calon. Flames bloomed the edge of her palms with a vicious voracity. The rampant torrent of mana inside her body eroded her fear.
Just one hit. If she could land one solid spell and incapacitate the duke, then she could instantly put an end to this ridiculous rebellion.
"Stand down, Your Highness," Duke Calon's voice resounded over the chaos of the battlefield. He moved the edge of his sword towards Reine's neck. The threat on Reine's life instantly shaken her resolve. Kobo's eyes shook with indecision.
If I don't kill him instantly, then Reine's life is at risk.
But if I'm not careful, I could also hit Reine by accident.
Kobo wasn't confident in her aim. Despite her rigorous training sessions with Vesper, precise aim and control over mana remained her biggest flaws.
Dammit!
She cursed silently. She finally managed to cast aside her weakness and resolved herself. Was it not enough?! Was she going to falter again?!
"I have to admit that witchcraft of yours is quite formidable," Duke Calon continued. His eyes narrowed with righteous indignation, brimmed with hostility, as if he was staring a heinous villain.
In the background, the smouldering flames of Kobo's spells continued their rampage. The forest burned, slowly being devoured by the cackling conflagrations. Duke Calon's soldiers, defiled and desecrated by the intense fires, laid sprawled along the forest floor. The oily scent of burnt flesh permeated the vicinity.
"It's not witchcraft," Kobo growled. Although the hellish scene before her was created by her own hands, Kobo didn't feel a smidgen of guilt. These soldiers committed treason the moment they drew their swords at her. Kobo had no more mercy left to give.
Duke Calon tilted his head, "This is a scene straight from the hells themselves, brought to the mortal realm by the hands of a single young lady," his voice boomed with authority, like an orator addressing a crowd of fervor listeners, "If this isn't witchcraft or blasphemy, then what is?!"
"What are you trying to say?!" Kobo screamed back.
"Just making an observation, Your Highness," Duke Calon suddenly calmed, "But I wonder how your royal knights feel? Now that they know the truth, would they be so inclined to lay down their lives guarding a treacherous witch?"
You can't be serious.
Kobo spun around. Duke Calon's words had an immediate effect. Murmurs rippled through the royal knights by her side. Kobo couldn't make out the contents of their incessant whispers over the raging fires, but she could see their body language. Shoulders slumped. Arms slacked. Eyes quivered with uncertainty. Suspicious glances suddenly being thrown in her direction.
She could feel the knight's will to fight wavering.
Duke Calon's men began to emerge from the burning ruins of the forest. The two columns of stone erected by Kobo's Stativa crumbled from resistance. Suddenly, Kobo found herself surrounded deep in the midst of enemy territory. Panic spread through the royal knights like a plague.
YOU ARE READING
A Distant Reverie
Hayran Kurgu"Careful now. Try not to move too suddenly, alright?" Vesper Noir wakes up one day in a foreign land with gaps in his memories...and a sharp blade pressed against his throat. His assailant? A beautiful, self-proclaimed female pirate with a sweet voi...
