Fate : A Twisted Story

Chapter : 54

Abruptly, a blaze roared to life, consuming the monstrous creature as though it were a feast for the flames. The soldiers stood in stunned silence, witnessing the creature's fiery demise, as the creature's writhed in helpless agony. Ivan's gaze darted back to behold a figure draped in a verdant cloak, her features obscured, her hand outstretched toward the creature's while murmuring incantations. Arcane sigils flickered into existence behind her, amplifying the intensity of her magic. Within moments, a sizable portion of the monster was reduced to smoldering ashes. Ivan's conviction solidified; on that fateful day, he knew without a doubt that she was not a figment of his imagination—she was real.

Losing the monster she had raised over the past month, the sorceress was furious. Like Arya, she chanted something, and a big black magic circle appeared in the sky. Black energy rose from the ashes of the dead monster, merging into a circle shape. It transformed into a snake, emitting black smoke as it rose. With eyes resembling the sorceress's, it roared, its scream making the ground tremble. The soldiers watched the monster in horror. Arya walked forward, approaching Ivan, and said, "Take care of the remaining monster. I will handle this one." Ivan, astonished, protested, "What? No. You could die." However, Arya reassured him, saying, "Do not worry," before rushing towards the snake, burning any monster that crossed her path to death.

Von appeared on her left side, stating, "The sorceress can't perform another spell while she controls that snake. However, be very careful; not being able to cast another spell means that the current spell is a deadly one to face." Arya cast a spell, summoning a magic spear of fire into her hand. She sliced the monster as she rushed towards the snake. Von continued to assist her, saying, "Your spell can't defeat that monster. We need to reverse that spell. Only then will we be able to inflict damage on that thing." Arya nodded in understanding.

However, in this chaos, it was hard to concentrate on reversing the spell. Fighting with the monster and concentrating on the spell proved to be very difficult for her. The snake started to make its move, seemingly blinded and indiscriminately attacking both its kind and the humans, devouring anything in its path. Arya clashed with the snake but was unable to make any impact. "Von," Arya called out, "any suggestions?"

As the monster fell to the ground dead, black energy rose from it, empowering the snake and making it stronger, bigger, and larger. Von, flapping her wings, began to concentrate, emitting a faint glow. The sorceress's brows furrowed in anger and frustration as she empowered her spell. Soon, a magic circle big enough to cover the snake appeared beneath it, chaining it down. The sorceress attempted to free her snake from the shackles but failed. Arya, with Von's help, reversed the spell and threw her spear aiming at the snake's core. As soon as the spear touched the core, a beam of light shot through, causing the snake's surface to crack from the brightness. Because the snake was the result of the sorceress's spell, defeating it dealt a significant blow to the sorceress, who coughed up black blood.

The remaining monster fled into the forest, while the sorceress looked furiously at Arya. "You, you…" However, it was hard for her to utter any words. Her eyes squinted angrily at Arya before she vanished.

The scene left behind by the brawl was chaotic. With the sorceress out of sight, Arya exhaled in exhaustion. Ivan approached her, bowing, and said, "Thank you." The knights followed their captain's lead and bowed as well. Taken aback by this sudden gesture, Arya hesitated, but Ivan continued, "You saved us all today. I can't even imagine what would have happened if you hadn't come. Thank you…" He looked at her, as if asking for her name, but Arya, not wanting to become entangled with him, replied, "I am just doing what I'm supposed to do. Farewell then," and started floating slightly above the ground. Ivan, feeling anxious, said, "Wait, I want…" but before he could finish, Arya vanished.

Ivan stared motionlessly, and when David tapped on his shoulder, saying, "Let's go back," Ivan nodded affirmatively and ordered his men to move. Upon their return to the mansion, Arya was waiting for them. The duchy was in an uproar; everyone was busy, servants were running, anticipating to treat the wounded. Arya instructed the maids to assist the doctor treating the wounded, while Martha and Alfred were busy with the supplies. Ivan was also in the infirmary getting treated. Arya took over Ivan's duty, sending supplies to the people where the fight took place.

After a week, news about the sudden monster attack swept through the empire. The discovery of a new formidable foe and the hero who saved the day became a hot topic. While others did not recognize Arya's power, the royal family grew anxious about the new hero's arrival. The very existence they wanted to wipe out now once again was rising, setting ablaze. The people had long forgotten about the witch's existence; for generations, the royal family made sure to conceal information about the witches, even from renowned guilds like Reynard. Afraid of what kind of storm this new development would bring, they started an investigation about this profound hero. While the royal family made their moves, Arya, on the other hand, was oblivious to this coming threat.

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