III
“Lady Sofitia!” Lara moved swiftly to put herself in front of Sofitia, and in another moment, the two of them were hidden behind a ring of sturdy-looking Seraphic Guardians.
Meanwhile, from Olivia’s party, Claudia cried, “General! Ashton was... Ashton was—!”
“Yeah, I saw, but let’s not panic, all right?”
Claudia turned to the beast that had thrown Ashton aside. “I’ll kill you!” she snarled. With her sword drawn and Heaven’s Sight engaged, she meant to fight it. Olivia concluded that her anger had gotten the better of her.
“Claudia!” she shouted, calling her off.
“Let me go, ser!”
“This isn’t a fight you can win!”
“But I have to avenge Ashton!”
When Olivia next spoke, her tone was gentle and reassuring. “I’m sure Ashton is fine. There’s a river at the bottom of the cliff.”
Claudia trembled as she looked back at Olivia, her eyes full of doubt. “He fell all that way after being thrown into the air. Even if he did fall into the river, there’s no way he could have...” She trailed off.
“I’m sorry. All I have is a gut feeling right now, but Ashton’s luckier than you’d think. I know how you feel, but let me handle this one,” Olivia said. “And you all protect Lady Sofitia. You don’t need to worry about me.” Olivia tossed aside her bow in favor of drawing her ebony blade from its scabbard. A string of mist like a black thread began to coil out from the blade’s edge.
“Lady Sofitia...”
“Yes, it looks like Olivia intends to fight, doesn’t it?”
Sofitia, despite the near brush with death she had just experienced, gave thanks to Strecia for the goddess’s divine guidance.
“She may not buy us much time. We should withdraw at once,” Lara urged. But Sofitia shook her head. Fleeing now was unthinkable.
“But why?!”
“Why, this is a perfect opportunity to see Olivia wield her sword in the flesh. She might even bring out that ‘magic’ we’ve heard so much about.”
“That might be so,” Lara said, lowering her voice. She never let the beast out of her sight. “But the danger that creature poses is too great!”
“I know. That is a Norfess, the beast of legend, is it not?”
The Norfess was covered in dark red fur, its face split from jowl to jowl by a mouth from which protruded two great tusks that curved up toward the top of its skull. It was one of the most fearsome among class two dangerous beasts, and most unusual of all, it walked on two legs like a human. Its body appeared to be entirely made of muscle and sinew, and its most potent weapon was its claws, as razor sharp as though they had been masterfully filed. This was not a creature one could hope to face alone. At least, not usually.
“Then please, do as I ask. I am sworn to keep you safe.”
“If you believe there is a risk to my person, you should of course use magecraft. It is because I have you here at my side, Lara, that I feel safe in observing how this plays out.”
“My Seraph...” Lara exhaled, seeming to push all the air from her lungs as she did so. Sofitia laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. “Very well,” Lara said at last. “Please, do not stray from my side.” She raised her left hand, tattooed with the Holy Adders Mage Circle, and pointed it at the Norfess. Incomprehension flashed over the faces of Olivia’s servants when Lara didn’t draw her sword instead. They wouldn’t have known that she was a mage. Yet none of them showed any concern at Olivia facing down the Norfess alone.
They must have faith that Olivia’s strength can match even a beast of legend... Sofitia mused. In which case, I shall have faith in her as well, and give my full attention to spectating on their battle. She looked up at the Norfess with a brilliant smile.
The beast let out a low growl, its every footfall sending a tremor through the ground as its eyes roved about them, as though it were searching for something. The moment it spotted Olivia, it let out a roar that seemed to shake the very air.
It’s missing an eye, Olivia thought. So it’s that Norfess, then.
This was not the first time Olivia had come up against this particular Norfess. During her travels with her Mekian companion, a Norfess had attacked them, and she had fought it off. The evidence of this clash remained in the deep scar that remained where the ebony blade had sliced through the beast’s left eye. At the time, the Norfess had been only a baby, and so when it fled, Olivia hadn’t gone after it to finish it off. But now, by the looks of things, it was fully grown and spoiling for a rematch. Whereas last time it had barely come up to her chin, it had since more than doubled in size.
The Norfess approached, gnashing its pointed white teeth. Olivia kicked off the ground. Activating Swift Step, she swung round in an arc toward the creature’s flank, but its great claws shot out to deftly block her. A moment later, the claws of its other hand lashed out toward her face. Olivia dodged, twisting to one side, then threw a powerful kick at the Norfess’s back.
“Graaaagh!” It doubled over but kept its feet. Slowly, its gasping breaths abated and it let out another roar, turning its head to the sky. Olivia saw the Seraphic Guardians protecting Sofitia, frantically raising their swords and shields in response. She shifted her gaze to the left to where Claudia stood, weapon in hand and face drawn. Olivia gave a slight nod, then turned back to the Norfess. It looks...just as ready to fight as before.
Fangs bared, the Norfess made toward her once more, just as Olivia had predicted it would. The difference this time was the greater caution it showed in how it walked. The Norfess was one of the more intelligent beasts—in other words, it was an excellent learner. It was safe to assume the same attack wouldn’t work on it twice. They called unicorns the rulers of the land, but in this respect, a Norfess was a far more vexing opponent.
She used Swift Step again, but this time she darted left and right across the ground toward the Norfess. It stopped, spreading its arms out on either side. Its red eyes, with their uncanny glitter, moved rapidly this way and that, following Olivia’s movements.
Must be about time to finish this, then?
In just one bound, Olivia adjusted her speed and succeeded in confusing the Norfess. She kicked off hard to one side; then, confirming she was out of the Norfess’s sight, she coiled like a spring before shooting up into the sky.
The Norfess had lost sight of Olivia entirely. It trampled the ground underfoot and let out a third great roar.
I’m not letting you go this time.
In midair, Olivia threw her torso back, then brought her blade swinging down toward the Norfess directly below her. She hit the ground amidst a great spurt of blood as the Norfess’s body was torn asunder.
“Big Sister Olivia!” Olivia was wiping the gore from her blade when Ellis came running over and threw her arms around her.
“She actually killed a Norfess all by herself...” Evanson breathed, trembling as he looked at the beast’s body.
“General...” Claudia’s shoulders sagged. Olivia gave her a few encouraging pats on the back. She didn’t want to see that sad look on Claudia’s face for a minute longer.
“We’d better go look for Ashton,” she said. She returned the ebony blade to its scabbard just as Lara and Sofitia, accompanied by her retinue of Seraphic Guardians, came up to them. There was awe in the eyes of the Guardians when they looked at Olivia.
“Very well done, Olivia,” Sofitia said in a dignified voice. “I suppose you’ll be going to look for Ashton now.”
“Yes. Because Ashton’s important to me.”
Sofitia closed her eyes and fell silent for a moment. “If he fell into the river,” she said at length, “it is likely that he was carried downstream by the current. I will send out my own search party.”
“Thanks,” said Olivia. Sofitia nodded, then commanded the Guardians to make haste back to La Chaim Palace. Meanwhile, Claudia and the others began to discuss how to go about their search. Olivia glanced up at the sky and saw a thread of cloud stretching out across the blue sky.
It was going to rain.
She went over to the cliff from which Ashton had fallen and stared down at the river below.
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