Chapter 17: If Your Hands Are Cold, Your Heart Is Warm
Next thing on my list, uh, I guess I had to kill the leader now? It was already dawn so he should appear at any moment.
I swirled the bloody dagger around.
"I'm kinda thirsty, where did he put it." I rummaged through the dead mages clothes and found a small leather sac, "ah there it is," I exclaimed, and poured the water inside my mouth. "Refreshing."
How should I kill him? Using suggestion and hypnosis again? That would be boring though. Well, I'll think about it when the time comes. Meanwhile I stared at the mark on the magicians chest.
"It's a bishop."
I was right, they really were part of a group or something. Made me wonder what they would wanted from me.
A bishop should be quite high, right?
I looked at the other corpse, which used to be Blondie. Yeah, I was not gonna touch that one, it's not like I was that interested to begin with, ugh. Nasty.
I shook my head, it seemed that the leader was still not back, so I started preparing for when he came.
While searching for a suitable spot, I found a place with a lot of branches and many roots.
Using my hands, I dug a shallow trench right in front of me and filled it up with sticks. Afterwards, I placed some dirt above it.
I also took some stones and placed them in a pattern. Some stones were big and flat, while others were hidden under the loose ground.
Lastly, I planted some flowers around the place where I stood.
That's basically all there was. Now that I was done, I just had to wait for them to arrive.
I sat down on the grass and dazedly stared into the distance.
It was kinda boring.
Was there anything that I still had to do? I didn't think so.
Maybe I should wash my clothes. But I didn't have a spare.
Should I prepare for after I'm done killing? No, I'd do that when the time comes.
I lifted Estella's head and moved it towards mine.
"Hey, what do you think I should do?"
She didn't answer.
Now that I thought about it, she might start rotting if I kept her like that. That wouldn't be good. Maybe I should clean it.
That actually sounded like a decent idea.
The sun was still not above the horizon, which meant I probably had some time left.
First, I washed the dagger that I had pulled out of the mages heart. The fresh blood started mixing with the water and swiftly left the blade, leaving a slight luster.
I placed Estella's head on a flat stone and made her face me.
With a sharp motion, I used the dagger and chopped down. To stop a body from decomposing, the skin, flesh and tissue had to be removed.
Just like an ingredient, I pierced through her delicate flesh, and from the nose up, drew a line until it reached the bottom of her neck. I cut her short brown hair even shorter and started skinning her face.
Afterwards, I gently opened her lower jaw, and stabbed into the tendons that connected it to the head. Twice the outside, and twice the inside. The moment I felt it was loose enough, I pulled the jaw off. While at it, I also removed the eyes and began working on the tissue and flesh. With every slice, more meat was removed until most was gone. The blood, of which most had already left from her neck, began dyeing my hands red again.
To remove the grease, the next thing to do was boil the remainder. If there was peroxide, I could've cleaned the skull faster, but since there was only water it would take a while.
I wasn't actually sure if the leader would be back by then, but I didn't want to stop halfway.
I took the flint from the mage to start a fire, and used the kettle that we had brought to make the soup in to boil water. After the water was hot enough, I placed the head in and covered the lid.
Now remember, while soaking in water, the teeth would probably start to fall of the skull, so close attention must be paid, as they had to be popped in later.
I opened the lid again, and a sweet almond aroma bursted through. A sizzling sound came from the inside.
Using a pair of sticks, I carefully fished the skull out and saw a thick juice following right behind. Without waiting for it to cool down, I rinsed it with water, and got rid of the flesh hanging on to the skull. With a much thinner stick, I poked through a hole in the back of the head to remove the brain. Lastly I washed it once more, this time cleaning every orifice to get rid of any hidden tissue.
All that was left was a glimmering skull, hard and beautiful as jade.
Its color was yellowish, almost white and the bones were well structured.
Under the right angle, the luster made the skull resemble a rough jewel.
I expected nothing less from my maid.
However if possible, I'd love to try this process on an animal once.
Now, it really was time for him to come back.
As if heeding my call, the sound of rustling grass moved towards my direction. Behind a line of trees that unwashed, muscular man appeared. He was scratching his beard and cracking his neck. With a slouch, he leisurely walked. A yawn escaped his mouth.
"That was a good rest," he exclaimed.
For real, all this time he was sleeping. If I had known sooner, I'd have sneaked up on him. Maybe use some hypnosis or a quick stab through the eyes. But there was no use crying over spilled milk now, was there?
"Oh, it seems the missy was also awake already," he commented and licked his lips, "and where are the others, don't tell me they left you alone here, god-damn if I see them, I'll whoop their asses straight."
"You don't have to," with my long, white finger I pointed towards the ground, "they are right here."
Suddenly, he stopped walking and started examining his surroundings, using his hand, he blocked the morning rays to obscure his eyes, which made him resemble a traveller in search of treasure.
He tilted his head in confusion, as he was not able to find anything.
"Girly, are you pulling my leg?"
It seemed that he did not understand, or maybe he didn't want to understand.
I took my dagger out, and sawed through the mages neck.
The only way to make him comprehend the situation was to let him see for himself, so without a run-up, I kicked the lopped off head his way.
The head didn't fly in the air or make a beautiful arc, instead it clumsily rolled forward while spraying blood everywhere.
The red color had a nice contrast next to the green nature though, so I'll give it that.
For the first time his expression turned grave and his mocking tone was finally gone.
"I guess you really are pulling my leg."
He picked up the head and immediately smashed it on the ground causing it to be crushed on impact.
"I knew at first glance that they were useless," he shouted, "damn it, to actually have died on me, if you weren't dead I'd have killed you myself!"
He started stomping on the head and glared at me. His greasy face reminded me of a bear.
"You just stay put, I'll come and take you. And then we'll have a nice long chat," he said but did not pursue, "how did you kill them?"
"They killed each other, I just took the opportunity and went with it."
"Bullshit, as if that would ever happen."
"It's true you know, take a look for yourself and look at this chunk of meat, it's still fresh. There's no way I would be able to do that, " I chuckled, "I still remember how they looked at me when they both died. Especially the mage who was so scared of death. He kept crying even though his eyes were watering endlessly. It made me almost want to stab him again."
The leaders face, like a card deck, shuffled through many different emotions. First, confusion, then suspicion, and finally anger. In the end, he couldn't take it anymore and made the first move.
"You're done," he declared, and sprinted towards me.
"Aren't you going to pull your big sword," I asked.
"I don't need it to catch scum like you."
He was still hellbent on capturing me alive, good thing is that I only wanted him dead, so I took the dagger and strengthened my grip.
Within the time it took me to blink once, he had already halved the distance, when I blinked again, he was so close that I could make out the minuscule details on his face.
Not hesitating the slightest, he ran towards me like an arrow that had left the bow. Only after he had almost reached me, did I notice him decelerate.
He was staring at the trench I had hidden in front of me, it was only a quick glance and although it was camouflaged, he managed to discover it.
"Such a petty trap," he murmured and sidestepped, avoiding the hole.
Thinking that he had escaped the danger, he lunged towards me and was just about to grab me- when he tripped anyways.
Like, right in front of me.
I used the chance to stab the guy with my dagger, avoiding his leather armor and pierced him right under the armpit.
"Uargh," he let out a questionable groan and during the time he tried to understand what had happened, I used all my strength to pull his sword out of the sheath, and using the momentum, made a turn with my body and aimed for his neck.
Let me just say that he was the leader for a reason. The strike that was supposed to end it all was blocked, when he used his intact arm to shield against the attack. Although both of his hands were now incapacitated, he was still alive.
I swiftly pulled out the heavy sword, and the recoil made me bounce back a few steps.
Everything went by like a flash. Maybe it was even quicker than that.
Just from that little exercise my breath grew sluggish, but I guess I was still better off then my foe.
"God, it hurts! Why does this hurt so much," he fell and screamed, "how did I trip, I avoided it perfectly! That doesn't make any sense!"
I used the sword as a support to rest my body. Meanwhile I started explaining, "you dumbass was so elated by dodging the trap that you didn't realize I placed the exact same one right behind it. You literally fell for the oldest trick in the book."
He gritted his teeth, and his eyes seethed with rage. "I'll kill you, even if it's the last thing I do."
"Your comrades said the exact same thing. Should have done it when you still had the chance. Maybe you'd have had an happy ending," I paused, "but it's too late now."
Just as I was about to clash with him again, a voice echoed in the distance.
"Captain!"
At such a timing, it was actually the partner of his. At the beginning, I said that I could forget him, but I didn't really think that I would have actually forgotten him. From the looks of it, he seemed ready to join this messy brawl. However, he was stopped by the leader.
"Don't butt in, you maggot, I'm dealing with this myself," he yelled, "no matter what happens, stay there, or you'll be the next dead person."
The wounded lion wanted to recover his pride, huh.
Upon hearing the command, the add-on reluctantly faltered away.
"Sorry for the disturbance," he said and laughed, "now show me what other tricks you have."
"I don't need any tricks against someone like you. I'll fight you here fair and square."
"Somehow, I find that hard to believe."
"Why, do you think you are so much superior? First of all, I have a weapon, you don't. Secondly, you are injured. Even though I am too, it doesn't hinder my movement, and lastly" I clenched my fist, "I'm not weak."
Hearing me, he was at a loss what to say, ultimately he decided on, "I hope you can still spout those lines after being crushed," and punched me in the stomach. I in turn, sliced his face.
He hit me, I cut him. He kicked me, I stabbed him.
No one had any intention of defending.
I slashed his leg and he retaliated with a blow to my head.
The only sound resonating was the shifting ground, the grass being unrooted and the stone being shoved around.
I tried avoiding his next attack but it was no use, his foot made contact with my ribs.
It was a test of endurance, to see whose will was stronger.
I pulled the dagger left in his armpit, and the wound that started healing opened up again and the blood gushed forth. He let out a miserable roar.
The one standing would also be the only one alive.
Without letting him recover, I tried stabbing his throat but I missed.
The warm sunlight combined with the wind soothed my wounds.
His barrage became weaker and it was turning easier to dodge. I aimed for his throat again, this time grazing him. He threw out a fist, but I didn't feel any pain.
The early birds began singing their morning song, awakening anyone that wants to listen.
I took a stone and threw it against his head.
Soon, other birds joined the choir and it did not take long until the sound was everywhere.
He packed me by my sides and slammed me on the ground. I kicked him away.
Droplets of blood kept spraying from our bodies and evaporated into thin air.
He headbutted me causing my mind to go blank. He also fell back. Blindly, I swung my sword with both hands, and discover to my surprise that I had actually hit my target. With my sudden advantage, I aimed for his chest and stabbed right through.
I took the dagger and gouged one eye out, again, he screamed. Coincidently harmonizing with the birds.
I shoved the dagger into his mouth, he let out a muffled cry.
I crushed his knees with a stone, he fell down.
I cut his stomach, his organs started revealing themselves.
The fight had ended.
I stabbed him one more time, out of good measure.
"Im. . . possible," he whispered and stared into the sky. His body was riddled with wounds, there was no place which wasn't scarlet red. It was already impressive that he managed to stay sane.
"Shut up."
"Pleas... sp,spare...me," he desperately pleaded. I crouched so we were on the same level. A compassionate smile was coating my face as I stared at him.
Promptly, I stabbed through his eye, into his brain. My smile had turned into a grin. My usual cold face was replaced by my exhilaration.
"Fucker, you're a thousand years too early to go up against me."
Dead, dead, dead, that's what you get, get, get.
While basking in the excitement and joy, I saw an opportunist clutching his weapon.
"Do you also want to kill me, that's fine but," we made eye contact, "can you bear the consequences?"
Terror began overwhelming him and he did not dare moving anymore.
Seeing his reaction, I finally relaxed and fell on my back.
Above Estella's skull, I could see butterflies fluttering around.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone