An Eternity of Nihility

Chapter 24: Bloody ritual

She pulled her spade out of her hair and threw it into the troll's head, between the eyes. As he fell to the ground, people moved aside, as if repulsed.

— +10 points, she said, heading for the king.

Lycair joined her with her bow and arrow. Hucral removed the spike from the murderer's head and looked questioningly at the elf.

— Since when have you... No, wait, wrong question. How did you manage to pick up your weapon so quickly? she asked, waving her pike in front of her as if it were a magic wand.

— Apparently, weapons aren't allowed at the party, so they confiscated it and put it behind the bar.

— That's normal, she told her in jest.

She turned her attention back to the king to observe his condition.

— Hucral... he began weakly, please... take this away from me.

— Out of the question, I'd kill you doing that.

She knelt down to take a closer look at the wound.

— I'll check outside just in case, Lycair informed her.

Hucral nodded and motioned for two guards to accompany her.

She turned her attention back to the king and put her hand on the dagger.

— I'm going to heal you and remove it at the same time, so it might sting a bit.

— I'm ready, he told her in a willing tone.

She moved her hand closer, emitting a green glow, and withdrew the weapon in one swift movement. He tensed and cried out in pain.

— It's all over now. It's all right, Majesty.

At the same time, Lycair had returned to the room. Hucral got to her feet and was about to ask her what she was looking for when her mind was invaded by an astronomical amount of soul.

— Hucral, are you all right? she asked worriedly.

— Lycair... she said, swallowing, how many are there?

The latter looked at her seriously, before answering weakly.

— At least 10,000...

— And the fairies?

She looked at her quizzically.

- What do you mean, what about the fairies? You mean... they're even more numerous?

Instead of answering, she grabbed her arm and teleported them home.

_____________________________

— What are you doing, Hucral? she asked, still shaken by the landing.

She locked the house and reinforced her protection spell, unwittingly ignoring her.

She went to her library and searched its shelves for defensive spells.

— HUCRAL NULLA.

She stopped and turned to look at her alarmed.

— What are you up to now? Why are we here?

— To protect you? She said as if it were obvious. I'm going to barricade the house and go out fighting.

She went back to her belongings, but Lycair grabbed her by the arm, forcing her to focus her attention on her.

— And you think I'm going to let you?

— Lycair, I don't want to lose you again! The last time you took part in a war...

She looked at her sadly, but intrigued at the same time. Although Hucral had lived through that scene, Lycair had forgotten it.