4-67 Raising Cain

4-67 Raising Cain

The dream hadn’t been pleasant but neither was it terrible. It was just a dream like any other and just all the dreams she had, memories of it faded into oblivion as Erin woke. It was a warning that pulled her out of her slumber. The feeling was akin to being pressed harshly on all sides by poles as thick as an arm. She jolted up from her bed and immediately conjured up her sword.

Erin spun her gaze around her tent, scouring every corner, but she found nothing. However, she didn’t let her guard down yet. After focusing on her senses, she realised the threat came from outside the tent. A tiny glimpse through the narrow gaps of the partition told her dusk was approaching. Lights were abating as they descended beyond the horizon. The noises outside had also died down but she could still hear them faintly.

More than those noises, the silent mutterings between two men right outside her tent were what caught her attention. The whispers were about her. More specifically, the individuals were discussing how to deal with her without raising suspicions or garnering attention to them. Erin recognised the scent of everyone right outside. They two were people she had encountered before and quite recently too.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

One of the whispers belonged to the arbalist, whose brother was a felon and a victim of her blade. The other voice took her a few seconds to remember but she recalled the voice’s identity. It was Ronan. The bastard who tried to court her and her women at the guild and even challenged her to a duel which ended in her obvious victory.

“Seriously… these idiots…” Erin grumbled inwardly with a sigh as she climbed off her bed. Even in such dire straits, personal feuds and vendettas still took precedence. They would see their desires sated at the expense of others’ well-being. Just thinking of all the lives they could potentially compromise in this camp was making Erin’s blood boil.

She took a deep breath and walked out of her tent. She made sure her steps were as light as feathers. The moment she made her appearance known, her would-be assailants gasped in terror and recoiled from her. Their faces paled when they saw the sword in her hand.

“I-I’m sorry, Lady Fae, but mayhaps we have disturbed your rest? If that’s so, let us be on our way. We are so sorry for—”

“Neither of you two is going anywhere,” Erin said, pinning the two down with just her gaze.

Ronan tried to go for his sword but Erin’s sharp gaze prevented him from doing so.

“Is there something wrong, Lady Fae?” asked the arbalist. “We didn’t mean to offend you, milady.”

“Cease the farce. Elves and Fox-kin have an excellent sense of hearing and we are very sensitive to danger and those pose a threat to us, especially from amateurs like you who had no knowledge in hiding their bloodlust.”

“Y-you jest, milady. We couldn’t possibly—”

“Enough,” Erin silenced him. “I shouldn’t have let you enter this camp. I wanted to believe you’re different from your felon brother but obviously, you two are cut from the same cloth.”

“Lady Fae, please listen,” the arbalist entreated. “You’re terribly mistaken. We were just—”

“Leave the camp now or I’ll make you.”

The arbalist clicked his tongue and dropped the crossbow he was carrying on his back. He went down on his knees and began shouting. “Please, Lady Fae! Please, have mercy! Don’t kill me!” He made sure to be as loud as possible to gather a gallery, hoping their attention would pacify Erin.

As the arbalist had predicted, a crowd soon began to gather and form in order to catch a glimpse or two of the commotion. At present, Erin was brandishing a sword against two men who weren’t armed. The arbalist had thrown away his crossbow while Ronan still had his sword sheathed. From the view of the others, Erin looked to be a tyrant oppressing two helpless men with her undue authority as a Fae.

The arbalist and Ronan had specifically chosen this hour to make their move since Caelan and most of the other important figures of the survivor camp were currently busy with other matters. Now that it had come to this, they sought to destroy Erin’s reputation first before taking proper revenge.

However, Erin wasn’t perturbed by the gallery that was formed due to her confrontation. This was not the first time she had experienced such a conundrum. A great deal of individuals had tried to execute her in her past life as Argon Raze socially. They couldn’t win against her in a duel, so they sought an alternative, which was a social confrontation. She hadn’t always won but it didn’t matter since her great swordsmanship always acquitted her of her losses.

“Gathering a crowd of innocent bystanders is not going to save you two. I’ll say it again and this shall be the last. Leave this camp with your companions on your own accord or I shall assist you with force. I have been tolerant enough to not convict you for your brother’s crime but you dare to seek vengeance against me after I executed the rapist you called your brother.”

The gallery gasped at Erin’s bold declaration. They were utterly shocked by what she said. They didn’t know the full context but Erin didn’t care. Lilian and Nivia had taught her plenty about the influence of a Fae and how to take advantage of it. Erin was reserved about this initially but now was not the time to be reserved. Since the people were currently sheltering themselves from Demons, it was only natural they would be extremely partial to Fae who had the ability to control the bane of Demons, the Spirits.

The gallery didn’t say it outright but they all began to look at the arbalist and Ronan with eyes of contempt. They were silently asking for them to leave before the Fae’s rage was turned against them.

The arbalist swallowed a lump in his throat. He realised he underestimated the influence of a Fae. His desire for vengeance had blinded him and he failed to take such an obvious factor into account. He shouldn’t have antagonised her and now the one to be socially executed was himself. He had committed the biggest blunder of his life.

“Enough of this, you bitch! I had enough of your arrogance!” Ronan lost his patience and shouted. He drew his greatsword as he produced a pouch from his pocket.

Erin’s eyes were immediately glued to the pouch with her instincts blaring. The pouch contained something terrible, her instincts warned her as such. But before she could act, Ronan had already untied the pouch and scattered the contents at her. The contents were mere white powder but the truth was more than that. The white powder didn’t even touch Erin but the scent wafting off from it was enough to shake her world. It assaulted her nostrils and the strong scent caused her vision to blur and her balance to falter.

“I got you now, vixen!” Ronan cried triumphantly and charged at Erin with his sword raised.

In spite of her disconcerted state, she still had enough of her sense to defend herself. Her tails moved in front of her and blocked Ronan’s slash as a layer of ethereal armour coated them.

“What the—”

Erin pushed Ronan away with her tails and riposted with a full-round swing of her sword. Her vision was still a blur and her nose was still drenched with that strong awful scent. However, she knew she hurt Ronan from the scream he let out. Following the scream, she shot a bolt of lightning in that direction. She then heard him tumbling across the ground along with his moans and groans and a few curses.

The crowd was deliberating over whether they should get involved but they ended up deciding to just stay back and watch. Erin couldn’t blame either for their decision as they might not only wouldn’t be of much help but also make things worse.

While Erin was trying to recover her bearings, she heard the sounds of strings being stretched and the creaking of wood.

“Look out, m’lady!” the crowd shouted.

Erin immediately cast a Thunder Shell around her just as a bolt was fired at her. The bolt bounced off the lightning barrier and a lightning bolt was shot back at the arbalist in return. The sound of the arbalist’s cry could be heard as sprawled across the ground. Just then, she heard the fumbling of Ronan, getting back up to his feet.

Erin closed her eyes and steadied her breathing, directing all of her focus to her ears. She heard Ronan rushing towards her. He did not let out a battle cry this time but his hasty steps were clear to her ears. She also used Spatial Sense to get a better grasp of her surroundings. Perception was a huge factor in one’s victory in combat. She heard the crowd gasping, followed by the singing of the blade as it streaked through the air, swinging her way.

Erin gracefully sidestepped the slash and plunged her sword through Ronan’s hands. He screamed agonisingly but Erin flipped backwards and shut him up with a kick to his chin. She heard him retching and then the loud thump of him hitting the ground.

The arbalist had recovered from the bolt of lightning striking him. He was scrambling to his feet just as Ronan went down. Realising he was no match for even the dazed Erin, he turned tail and ran.

“Out of the way!” he snarled at the crowd and flourished a dagger at them for them to make way. The crowd reluctantly parted but he didn’t run far.

A woman in a habit came out of nowhere and kneed him in the belly, sending him tumbling back when he ran from.

Erin smiled upon noticing the new presence but not of an unfamiliar scent. Just then, the effects from the powder subsided and she slowly opened her eyes.

“Erin, are you alright?” asked Aera, who had run up to her after subduing the arbalist.

“I-I’m fine, Aera.”

“Thank the divines,” Aera breathed in relief and pulled Erin into an embrace.

“What happened here?” asked Caelan who had come back from his affairs. The people of the crowd began telling him the events that transpired and he could guess the context himself. He sighed after hearing the story. “I should have known… This is my fault…”

“No, it’s not. You gave them a second chance and they chose to squander it,” said a fully armoured individual who was walking behind Caelan.

Erin couldn’t see the armoured man’s face but she recognised his scent and voice even though the armour obscured the two aspects greatly. “Aedan?”

“You could tell?” Aedan responded, walking over to Erin.

Meanwhile, Caelan and the other Aeryons calmed the crowd down and guided them back to their respective stations and tents. The two troublemakers were also dragged away, presumably out of the camp, or so Erin hoped. She didn’t care as long as they were permanently incapacitated from harming anyone.

“You’re in armour…” Erin remarked as she eyed Aedan from top to bottom.

“Yes, I am. Follow me,” Aedan said and led Erin and Aera to a tent nearby just opposite Erin's. The tent was no different than the one Erin had, simple and plain but adequate. Aedan took a seat on the edge of his bed while Erin and Aera took a seat on chairs by the bed.

As soon as they were all seated, Aera hugged Erin once more. “I’m so glad you’re alright, Erin. Everyone was so worried.”

“Hey, it’s alright now. I’m fine, as you can see.”

Aedan took off his helmet and set it down by his side. “I’m glad that you’re alright too, Erin, but I always knew you would be fine. What happened anyway?”

Erin proceeded to tell the two of her experiences which took quite a while even though she had excluded a lot of details.

“Well, make sure to thank those Ruvans the next time you bump into them,” Aedan jested.

Erin rolled her eyes. “I see you provided relief to the city. That’s very benevolent of you, Aedan.”

“This is home to a lot of my… believers. I can’t just let it descend into ruin while I do nothing to stop it. And I got your message, of course.”

“What about the others?”

“They’re safe too. They’re coming here as we speak. Of course, they are all eager.”

“I see… I’m glad they are all doing fine too. Anyway, what’s our next step? We just keep culling the Demoids?”

“It’s not that simple, Erin.”

“It isn’t? Yeah, of course, it isn’t. Nothing’s ever simple…”

“This chaos might all just be a distraction. I just got wind that the viceroy and some nobles have been attacked in their own homes.”

“Attacked by who? It can’t be the feral Demoids.”

“No one knows for sure but they can see the smoke and flames coming off from the viceroy’s mansion from afar. The nobles are in a panic.”

Erin scoffed. “Since when are they not in a panic? Regardless, the viceroy and these certain nobles are Marduk’s true goal?”

“Primary goal, I say. Maybe just as important as yours.”

“Don’t tell me we need to save the nobles?”

“Of course not, Erin.”

“Oh.”

“But we do need to stop Marduk from achieving his goals. After all, his victory means our loss.”

Erin sighed. “Great…”