Chapter 6

Master Enchantress

Following the rain that stopped before midnight, a stillness enveloped the Eastern Celure Forest for the rest of the night. The trees stood droopily, their leaves barely moving. The strong wind that once washed away the blossoming flowers – had now completely gone. A wild yet eerily soothing howl of nocturnal beasts occasionally echoed. But when they stopped, the looming silence crept back.

"Explosé Lumeré," Katarina whispered as she hurried outside the house. The ruby on her short wooden staff gleamed in the darkness, lighting the front yard of her house.

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Where are they?" she mumbled. Her body hair stood. Her skin faintly glowed. After a while, her head snapped to the west. She raced. The dried leaves rattled with each step. Several small animals also awoke from their sleep, crawling to the treetops.

Once Katarina secured her first target, who realized her aura too late, she stomped her right foot and leaped to the air. "Good evening, gentleman," she whispered behind the man's ear. She wrapped her arm around his neck and pointed the lower tip of her staff below his jaw.

"Rest in peace," Her hands pushed the staff that pierced through the man's flesh with ease. Katarina released her grip, a loud thud resonated as he fell to the forest floor.

Her gaze dropped. A wooden log about a human in size rested on the ground. It had a small cut near one of its ends. A bait?

Katarina was about to stomp her feet again when several blue fireballs caught the corner of her eyes, traveling at an alarming speed. With a sigh, she spun her body and tightened her grip. Then she elegantly raised her arms, twirling the staff with her fingers. When the fireballs hit her wand, all of them bounced and started a fire after landing on the trees. Finally, her head snapped to where the projectiles emerged.

A young boy no more than a twelve-year-old stood on a branch a few meters away from her. "A child?!" She grimaced. With little illumination from the fire, a magic circle glowed on his forehead. Katarina clenched her left hand and bit her wrinkled lips. "Why does the Kingdom keep sending children?!"

Then without warning, the boy launched another barrage of fireballs in her direction. But now, with seething rage, she stomped her foot and lurched to the boy, dodging all the shots. After closing the distance, she struck his nape and knocked him unconscious. Then she let go of her staff and caught his scrawny body.

Katarina stared at the boy, some tears falling from the rim of her eyes. "Just how many?" She lifted her gaze to the starless sky, tightly shutting them while biting her lower lip. Her knees faltered and not a second later, she sat helplessly on the ground. "Just how many innocent lives should I take?"

Her hand traced the magical array on the boy's forehead, fumbling over her choices. Should I risk it? She asked herself. But a resounding 'no' echoed beneath the question. The risk of disenchanting the slave contract from the boy was far too great. It would require almost all her Mana. Besides, she might die while doing so.

Katarina bawled in despair. Her cries resounded through the still air in the forest. Now that the world turned its back against her, she had no one but Arthur – Arthur who couldn't defend himself. She couldn't afford to die, nor could she play favoritisms right now. Taking a deep breath, she began murmuring the spell – Mercy of the merciless – that she originally created for this moment.

"Cos'cosa!" she finished, her voice barely audible. Then after a few seconds, the boy disintegrated into ash, and not a single sound of pain escaped from his lips.

"Bravo! Bravo!" a familiar voice of a man suddenly echoed behind her, accompanied by clapping hands. "You're still as marvelous as ever, Lady Allegia!"

Katarina immediately stood up. She wiped her tears and faced the other intruder. "Daedalus!" She gritted her teeth in anger. Both her hands and feet trembled. Her green eyes ignited in the darkness.

"Yes, your ladyship," Daedalus smirked. He placed his left arm on his right shoulder and gently bowed, his red curly bangs falling to his forehead. "I'm most delighted to see that you are in good health, Lady Wizardess of Florence. No…" He met her eyes, glaring smugly. "Master Enchantress of the fallen Allegia Dukedom."

"Such insolence." Katarina straightened her body, removing all the expressions she previously held. Then she clicked her fingers. The staff hovered back to her grasp while the wrinkles on her body disappeared.

"You looked better in that appearance Lady Allegia. I was wondering before if you are truly Count Florencio's daughter or his moth–"

Katarina didn't let him finish. She leaped and stabbed her staff forward, aiming straight at her opponent's neck. Daedalus parried her from below after briefly pulling out his sword. Then they both backed off and assumed a high guard.

"A wooden staff against a platinum sword?" Daedalus scoffed before throwing an overhand cut, but Katarina avoided swiftly. Then he cut from the other side which she parried with ease. "You never change. Your enchantments are as troublesome as ever."

"Back at you, sly fox!" she hissed as she parried another attack from him.

Daedalus sent a barrage of stabs, cuts, and thrust while Katarina continuously stepped backward as she deflected or parried his attacks. "Losing our ground, are we?" he mocked, seeing that Katarina had her back against a large tree.

Katarina remained silent. Instead, she smiled wryly. "Los'Seijis," she uttered in a low voice. Seven ice swords formed above Daedalus and came crashing down.

Realizing his predicament, Daedalus leaped backward. "Shit!" he cried out as blood gushed from his left arm. The long sleeve of his top garment dyed in crimson. He glowered at Katarina and clicked his tongue. "That talent of yours still disgusts me."

"Don't worry." She glared back. "The feeling is mutual." Then she hurled another intermediate spell at him.

Daedalus stepped back again, now coming out unscratched. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn't dodge. After all, his barrier could normally deflect simple spells. But his opponent was Katarina, the one in a million genius who could imbue enchantments to a spell.

"Truly troublesome!" Daedalus declared as he raised his right hand, pointing his sword to the sky. A large chunk of ice, at least five meters in diameter, formed above him. Then he gestured his hand towards Katarina, prompting the ice to pound on her.

The orb on her staff changed from red to lime green. It shone as Katarina poured her Mana on it. She stabbed her staff forward, stopping the ice midair when it collided with her staff. After a few more moments, the ice vanished completely.

"You enchanted Dispel Magic on that staff?" Daedalus scoffed, raising a brow.

"And you healed yourself quite quickly," Katarina refuted, seeing that his wound already stopped bleeding. Then she stomped her foot and lunged, aiming to stab his heart.

But Daedalus simply laughed as he jumped back further away. "Playtime is over," he declared as he stood above a tree branch. "I have accomplished my goal, Lady Allegia. I'm afraid that we have to bid our farewell now."

"Goal?" She raised her chin a little, feigning a laugh. "You really think that you've measured up my whole strength?"

"Certainly!" He smirked. "Now, I wonder, how long can you protect the boy?"

"Daedalus!" Her lips straightened, her eyes flaming. Her fingers pressed deeper on her staff. "Do you truly wish to die?"

"Will you kill me too?" He paused, his smirk began to show his teeth. "Like how you kill the child before?"

Katarina stopped breathing for a moment. Then she gently blinked and sucked an audible deep breath. Her face turning emotionless. "No." She shook her head. "You deserve no mercy."

"As clever as ever, Lady Allegia. My provocations still don't work on you." Daedalus returned his sword to its scabbard, then smiled wryly. "But sooner or later, you'll either die or break." He placed his right hand on his left shoulder and bowed, his body becoming translucent. "I'll be watching in the shadows." Not a second later, his body disappeared completely.

"That cunning fox," Katarina mumbled as she tried to detect his presence. She scanned the surroundings but the forest remained still, the field remained dark. The fire on the trees had dissipated, unable to burn further into the damp leaves.

Suddenly, she felt a portion of her Mana continuously pouring out, burning as though someone was sucking out her energy. What is that serpent staff doing? She thought. She stamped her foot on the ground. Then she soared diagonally into the sky and flew back to her house.

"What's happening here?" she cried out, sending Duliri a severe stare.

"Apologies, Lady Allegia," he answered, his voice evidently disturbed. "The spy is a child again!"