Here Comes the Storm
DOUBLE CHAPTERS DAY!
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(Part 1)
It was a strange day to come across friends and foes on one narrow road but I had to go with the flow and keep it all together. I couldn't risk failing a quest to this System whose existence is veiled in mystery and is the center of all the strange things I have been through.
Even though I was drowning in my nose in problems, I managed to put myself into a new one. I was supposed to get back on my feet in society first but it seems that some people fear not only me getting back, but even me having the chance to do so. With them around every corner, I was at least suspecting some trouble but not to this level of nastiness.
It all started last night when I walked out of the auction house. That night when I was first hit by the storm.
***
—Last Night after the Auction—
Victory!
Small as it was but a victory is still a victory.
Vivian was ready to kick off a celebration because of what happened earlier that night. She fulfilled her mission of knowing who was going to interrogate her and bought the Spirit Lotus, which her father lured her to buy. She even trash-talked to her heart's content and left some deep slaps on some of those who tried to bully her.
"What a time to be alive!" She exclaimed on her way out.
Alas, she can't attend the dinner party after the auction, the De Clare family is famed for their parties but with the Prince and the Heroine around, Vivian must tread carefully.
"Hm? Where is the carriage? I want to go home." Vivian said as she waited with Logan and Esmeralda outside the auction.
Naturally, the employees of the De Clare would call for her carriage to pick her up the instant she came out but it seemed that her carriage driver was absent.
"I'm sure it's nothing. I'll check it out." Logan said as he made sure the area was relatively safe and guarded.
Vivian nodded and naturally stayed in front of the Auction House. The place is safe if not the safest place in the capital after the Royal Palace, half of the nobility are gathered here after all. With most of the nobles at the party, Vivian found a quiet fountain close to the entrance and walked beside it to brood at the tranquil reflection of the moon. Esmeralda was quietly following her.
"Beautiful night, isn't it?" Vivian asked.
"Yes, my Lady." Esmeralda replied.
"How do you find working for me so far?"
"It is… thrilling."
"You're being dishonest."
"Fine, it is worrying. My previous employer was old but quite influential so I've seen my fair share of politics, but with you, my Lady… they are not just forcing their influence, there is hate in their actions." Esmeralda said.
"Sometimes, I think you are too perceptive for your own good." Vivian turned to Esmeralda smiling then turned back at the fountain.
"I apologize if I said anything…"
"It's alright, I like your perspective on things." Vivian said, "There is indeed hate, the unjustified discriminating sort of hate… I never understood why but I think the coming days will unravel the mystery one way or another. Until then, I'll decide whether or not to give them a real reason to hate me. It will be lots of fun I assure you."
"Please, be careful with this sort of people, my Lady."
"Thank you for your worry, Esmeralda."
While the two chatted, Vivian would always try to unravel more about Esmeralda, the talented and interesting Hulking from Sauran.
The people of the south were known for their large stature and bronze skin, at first when Vivian transmigrated and started reading about the world, she always thought it was just baseless rumors because of how far Sauran is, but after meeting Esmeralda, she changed that opinion.
The southern continent Sauran is swampy and lush with forests and mountains that house the docile race of the Hulkings. Large-bodied humanoids, the Hulkings are brave and strong yet lack the destructive nature of mankind when they go to war. They are nomads but the ancient civilizations of Sauran used them as slaves and now the people of Albion continue the traditions but it was rare to see them in cities.
The humans of Sauran were also enslaved once their nations were defeated and their lands were colonized but they were of no particular use outside their lands. They were farmers and laborers in their own homelands under Albionese supervision.
As for Esmeralda, Vivian already knew that she traveled from Sauran on a ship that she named herself after and trained in Lozan as a maid. It also seemed that due to the Religious Civil War in Lozan and the conflict with Velleux, her former mistress escaped to exile fearing the Inquisition Order of Saint Heimdall.
"You have been through a lot." Vivian said.
"Right, but it is our experiences that shape what we are." Esmeralda replied.
"Oh! An excellent tea brewer and a philosopher… I believe I was lucky to find you."
While Vivian was getting to understand her new maid more and more, others started moving around them in the shadows. It wasn't anything suspicious and Vivian did not notice at all the danger she was in. She was worried but she thought that the front entrance of the most prestigious Auction House in the Capital would be more guarded than any ordinary place.
She couldn't be more wrong, however, since the security was already lifted the moment she started brooding at the fountain, and things started taking unexpected turns. It all started with the appearance of two young women who looked as if they belonged to the ranks of the lower nobility. Those two young ladies approached Vivian and Esmeralda with smiles.
"Lady Vivian… am I right?" One of them asked.
Vivian examined the young lady seeing nothing out of place about her before confirming.
"Indeed." Vivian replied. She only thought that the one in front of her was simply another nosy noble.
"Thank the Saints we found you." One of them said.
"It is your Knight, my Lady. He asked us to come and get you. He was trying to find the carriage driver when some horse started panicking and hit him." The other spoke.
"He seems to be in no condition to escort you so please, come to the carriage yourself. This way, my Lady." The first continued about to lead the way.
"Goodness! That's horrible." Esmeralda reacted worriedly.
It seemed that Logan's situation was dire being hit by a raging horse. That certainly hurt, Vivian had that bad memory with horses from when she was young so she knew the pain but there was one slight thing. Vivian's face was just looking at the two young ladies with an utter cringe.
"Seriously?" She wondered, "I mean… if you really want to make up something, don't put so much effort into your lie."
"Hm?" "Excuse me!"
The two young women were tilting their heads from Vivian's reaction.
"I said you need to be better at acting casual… liars always look for excuses and make unnecessary details." Vivian seemed not interested one bit then her tone changed right away, "Where is my Knight? And who sent you?"
Seeing the change in Vivian's attitude, the two young women realized they were seen through. It was supposed to be an easy pick-up but this would turn rather troublesome if someone was to take note of it.
In a full synergy, the two young women moved towards Esmeralda and Vivian each with sharp blades hidden under their sleeves.
"Come quietly or we will harm him, that maid, and most definitely you." The young woman who was holding Vivian spoke quietly not to arouse attention.
Esmeralda tried to struggle but she was in no position to fend for herself while Vivian was regretting not taking distance right off. Her eyes looked around trying to find Logan or any guard but it seemed that there was none other than some people past the bustling entrance of the auction house.
"I advise you to be wiser than screaming around." The young woman holding Vivian said while pressing her blade against Vivian's side.
"Right back at you. You think it is wise to try to mug me like that?" Vivian asked while waiting for anyone to show up.
"Move!" The young woman holding her used a concealed blade and poked Vivian with it.
This bad situation left her with no option but to quietly stop resisting. Her eyes didn't stop from trying to look for an opportunity but the young woman holding her walked beside her very closely and led her away from the auction house's entrance.
To the passers-by from a distance, these are just four ladies walking together, nothing to be suspicious about.
As the four finally reached a corner at the end walkway leading to the auction house, the young woman holding Vivian pushed her towards a certain door before anyone could notice, followed by the other woman holding Esmeralda.
This door led to an empty stable that seemed to belong to the auction building but was currently empty save for two figures that stood right in the middle.
"Oh! Our guests have arrived." A man's voice spoke lazily as one well-dressed man walked across the stable silently with another behind him holding a cane.
The man approaching was wearing a brown suit and a hat which he left up to reveal his bright blonde hair, the man with a cane was a bit taller dressed in a black coat and a hat but he kept his distance as he scanned Vivian with his sharp eyes carefully.
What Vivian noticed, however, was the dialect of their speech. While the women seemed to speak in native Elgardish, the men were crude to an extent.
"Criminals! Let the lady go!" Esmeralda was nervous but she tried to put up an act but the woman behind her held her from her hair.
"Silence, you dumb giant."
"No!"
The woman holding Esmeralda pulled her hair for Esmeralda to fall down from the pain on one knee and now had the knife at her throat, Esmeralda's tough act proved to be a facade as she started shaking with fear. Even though she is a girl taller than most men, she is still intimidated by a knife.
In a world of knights and wizards, a stray Hulking like her isn't even anything special.
The man in the brown suit looked at Esmeralda as he walked to her and was about to raise his hand while insulting her.
"Why is this woman so damn tall? You sure you're a housemaid, not some circus freak?"
But just as he was about to hit her, Vivian spoke.
"Hitting a lady's maid, now? Truly shameless! Dogs these days aren't trained right."
No matter the situation, the villainess is still the villainess. Her sharp tongue and sassy eyes would provoke the heaviest of nerves. Seeing the way she locked her arms together and stood impatiently as if not bothered with the lowly folks around her, the man in brown completely forgot about Esmeralda and turned to Vivian with his eyes wide open.
"Say that again!" He pointed a finger at her and acted overbearing but Vivian looked at him with decreasing interest and turned to the other man.
The man in black was sharp and perceptive. A knight as it seemed compared to the other man who clearly had no powers. He could understand that Vivian saw through the act of hierarchy. Normally, he wouldn't be bothered to talk with such a woman and would let his lackey do the beating and the questioning but he saw no fear in Vivian's eyes. This is either foolishness or confidence and both will be a waste of time.
"That's enough." The man in black spoke as he pointed to the others with his cane, "Bring them inside."
The other man halted his action despite the anger that he couldn't vent and didn't argue one bit. He pointed forward as he was ordered and Vivian simply walked by. However, that man had a toxic look in his eyes for being told off by Vivian that way.
"Move!" The two women forced Esmeralda to walk in after Vivian while pointing their knives at her.
Vivian scanned the stable left and right to see no escape, those people just wanted her to be trapped but little was she worried about that. As soon as she reached the end of the stable, Esmeralda was pushed down by one of the women and she helped her up.
Facing them, Vivian assessed her situation carefully. Four individuals; two women with knives, one thug, and a Knight. The only danger is that knight in a black suit as he seemed very wary about Vivian's actions.
"Let's make this quick, shall we?" He spoke.
"Whatever you have in mind, whatever you aim to accomplish, this won't go unpunished." Vivian spoke right back at him.
"I see… so Lady Moore is trying to throw her weight even in such a situation? Interesting!" The man said, making an intrigued expression.
"I assume you are after the Spirit Lotus. I regret to inform you that you won't find it on me." Vivian declared in full force.
"Is that so? It is regrettable then… still, it would be way simpler if we searched your bag." The man pointed to her side.
"I dare you try." Her anger rose as she felt she couldn't just be humiliated by the likes of this thief in the dark.
***
(Part 2)
The man smiled, passed two fingers on his sideburns and his sneer grew wider. His confidence and her defiance were growing as if feeding on one another, but only one would devour the other eventually. He was in a comfortably good spot or even better than what he realized since the security was lifted.
"Even if you say so, I wouldn't touch a lady so… do it." The man signaled to the other three.
The man in brown walked towards Vivian followed by the two women who looked as vicious as wolves eyeing prey. Their aim was to knock down this high and mighty lady of her high horse for whatever reasons they had.
"You shan't lay a hand on my Lady."
Vigorously, Esmeralda moved from Vivian's side to shield her from disgrace but the man in brown had a nasty look in his eyes as he eyed Esmeralda up and down.
"Hehe! You'll have your turn."
With the head of his cane, he hit Esmeralda's arm causing her to stagger to the side and fall towards the dark corner. She landed badly but luckily —or unlucky— she landed on something soft.
Soft as it was, it caused her to feel the coldest of shivers as her vision adapted to the dark.
A body… a dead body. Still warm but unmistakably familiar.
She screamed or was about to but the man in brown was onto her.
"Little girls shouldn't do naughty stuff."
He grabbed Esmeralda by the hair and started to drag her away as Vivian roared at him.
"The nerve!"
"Shut your bloody trap!"
The two women holding knives surrounded her about to search her for the Storage Purse. Meanwhile, the man in black spoke to the other in brown.
"Make it clean." He said.
The reply ought to come right away but it was this moment when Vivian found the window of opportunity.
She waited and waited for a long time and it was finally the moment after careful consideration. The two men aren't focusing and the two women are in arm's reach.
She just had to…
Slash Slash
… kill the two women using their own knives.
It was simple. They were no longer focusing on her as a threat and Esmeralda was in danger. She just had to move faster and disarm them with the slightest move of her hand before burying their knives into their necks.
They couldn't even make a sound, hardly the men who weren't looking at her noticed. All in a split second.
The two women were down choking on their blood and the knives in their necks.
Esmeralda saw it clearly and her crying suddenly halted. The two men noticed but it was too late as the knives were flying at their vitals with an unmatchable throwing skill. The man in brown received a knife to his side and the man in black was about to be hit in his neck.
The former was hit and reduced to the ground but the latter managed to move his head away from the knife's trajectory.
"You!"
"DIE!"
Unbelievably swift, the man in black didn't realize that the second attack was already being delivered as Vivian reduced the distance between them and launched an unladylike punch.
But it wasn't a punch, there was a blade coming off her fist.
The Push Dagger tried relentlessly to claim the man's life but he was extremely nimble, way too nimble even for Vivian.
He took a couple of steps away only to retreat to the other end of the stable as he snatched the other man's cane on the way.
"You… how did you…"
This was way too unpredictable. Vivian Moore is just a haughty little brat, no way could she have had such quality martial training.
The skill was way too good but looking at his associate in a brown suit who was groaning on the ground like a dying hog, the man in black made an unpleasant face.
On the other hand, Esmeralda found herself free and ran to Vivian.
"My lady… my Lady… you… you can't…"
"GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER!" Vivian shouted at her.
Facing the stern Vivian, even the man in black was perplexed. She swiftly killed without hesitation and had a vulgar tongue like a street kid. If not for her fame, the man would have thought that he had fallen into a trap himself but that wasn't what mattered a moment later, he soon discovered something interesting.
"It seems that… I see." The man's face loosened up for a bit, "You're good but you aren't trained."
Normally, this would have been of vital importance to anyone in a fight against a knight such as himself. She was swift and her skill seemed very high in comparison to his but as long as she couldn't use magic or aura, she was nothing but a jester fooling around with a sharp stabby blade.
Strange energy enshrouded the man as he held the cane tightly, a click sounded as the man twisted the top of his cane and it came off in his hand as a long slender blade. The energy enveloped the cane sword as well in a Bronze Aura which made the rank of the knight clear.
An Apprentice Knight.
"Blame yourself for being unruly." The man walked towards Vivian in a heavy mood now that he had to get his hands dirty.
"No…"
Esmeralda was frigid from fear but she grasped onto Vivian closely and tried to pull her away from the man. Vivian also wanted to retreat but this situation was already this bad, that she ran out of options but to fight head-on.
"Get back!" She pushed away Esmeralda as she took a couple of steps forward.
Her disadvantage was clear since she was physically weaker and had a shorter weapon range in this fight but that wasn't going to stop her.
She had one chance to kill this man and one chance only. Whatever she had to do, she had to take the important steps now.
"System shop, what are my options?"
She asked in a low voice as the system responded with a long list of items that none seemed beneficial at the moment. Vivian hastily returned the Push Dagger to the Storage Purse and selected an item not from the Weapons list but rather from the Gadget's list.
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[Common Umbrella]
— Price: 110 SP
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That's all she needed and it all happened in a second. The next second, a black umbrella appeared magically in front of her and she opened it aimed at the man.
Now how do people react when they are faced with the unexpected?
Some would simply flench and others would lash, the man in black felt a bit confident so he slashed at the Umbrella but…
BANG
An unanticipated gunshot came from the other side. Vivian was aiming her antique gun roughly towards the man's head. The sword slash tore through the umbrella and the two objects were entangled into each other as their owners discarded them. Vivian hurriedly retreated and finally took a good look at the man she shot.
"ARGH! AAAARGH!"
Not dead!
How in the seven bloody hells? She just shot him not just in the head but in the most valuable part, right in the eye.
The man knelt on one knee and started screaming as his left eye was gushing out blood and flesh. Only thanks to his Aura Shield did he survive such a cunning bullet yet he was in no right mind to fend for himself… well, not until Vivian came after him again.
There was no time. She indeed shot him but the bastard survived. If not for this useless toy gun she received from the pig-headed gunsmith, she would have dyed the scene with brain matter from this shot. Now she had to take things into her own hands.
The nearest thing was the cane sword which the man discarded. She ran towards it and took it by the handle, driving it towards its owner. The cockroach of a man refused to silently die as he became alert all of a sudden and held the blade from its spine firmly. No matter how Vivian pushed or pulled, it didn't budge.
"Die, you bastard!"
She was desperately going for the kill but the man managed to get his balance and looked at her with a hateful eye.
"You… forget walking alive…"
Before he could continue what he was saying, Vivian launched a high kick towards his chin causing the man to lose balance and groan from the pain as the wound in his eye was affected by the shock. He fell back but he managed to throw the cane sword away from her. She didn't really care since all she could do now was either kick, punch, or use the Push Dagger.
She simply used everything at her disposal just to dispatch this single knight. As he staggered backward, she jumped on him and gave him hell. Attacking his head was mortally effective since he was desperately trying to defend his wound but no matter how she tried to stab him with the push dagger, this guy's body seemed extremely resilient as if something was just pushing her blade away every time she tried to aim at him. Aside from a few scratches, nothing really happened.
"Dammit! JUST DIE!" She screamed in frustration.
"Get… GET OFF ME!" The man finally managed to hold a grip on the situation and punched blindly to her face.
In life, some struggles were just one of a kind. Such as this fight, such as many more she had been through in the past. However, this fight was more of an eye-opener than anything else.
She was pushed around at the end of this struggle no matter how much effort she exerted. It is not the common feminine fragility excuse everyone goes about in these sorts of situations but rather, this was something supernatural.
The list of people Nadia ever lost to in hand-to-hand combat contains the names of an elite few who could be considered as best of the best, other than that, she bested her opponent with both wit and skill only to fall short against the brutish supernatural force of this world.
This supernatural power vexed her to no end. It held her stabs at bay, pushed her attacks away, and overpowered her despite the fatal injuries she inflicted on her opponent.
Quite monstrous, she thought.
The man's punch was so terrible that she felt the inside of her head turn into mush.
Now that she is the one on the ground despite all that she did and the man standing over her staggering from pain and rage, she tried her best to exert more effort but the man stood over her in a vicious manner.
"You'll die here… slut!"
Around his left foot, a strange energy formed as if all the energy he used to protect his body was condensed in one spot. And without a shred of mercy, he delivered a kick right to her guts.
Her scream was all she could hear as her consciousness faded.
The power of the kick carried Vivian from where she was and sent her to the stable wall where she crashed before falling down motionless.
As for the man, he staggered with terrible pain as the bullet that stopped in his eye socket started to affect him badly. He looked at Esmeralda who was shivering in the corner and tried to reach her out of malice and anger but his power betrayed him as he fell on his face no longer breathing.
Now that the aura protecting him was focused somewhere else, there was no saving him anymore.
Esmeralda was the one who remained conscious and mostly unharmed. She was standing with her entire being frozen in cold sweat. She found no courage to do anything except look at the whole scene in absolute disbelief and utter shock.
She didn't even go through a week in Vivian's service for such an accident to happen, this was the worst of all fears for any maid.
Despite that, what woke her up was the twitching man in brown who had dragged her a while ago. He received a knife to his side just a moment ago when Vivian skillfully hunted him down but despite that, he was another cockroach who refused to die. His injury was fatal but didn't hit any vitals, the only danger he'd face if he tried to take it out, and of all the idiotic things he did that night, he took the knife out with a groan.
Seeing the mess around him, the man in brown saw his master lying lifeless and Vivian motionless with the two women he brought lying in puddles of their blood.
This Vivian Moore… this Witch… it was her.
Emotions of fear, doubt, and madness flashed in the man's eyes and they met Esmeralda's. Their bewilderment turned into hostility as he wanted to get rid of her instantly. This has gone too far south and the best thing to do is to eliminate the witness.
As the thought of malice crossed his mind, Esmeralda saw the cane sword lying on the ground near her. She mindlessly rushed at it grabbing its hilt with two shaking hands and pointing it at the man who slowly stepped up in pain.
Mindless of his dripping blood, the man tried to intimidate Esmeralda but her blood was hot and her adrenaline was pumping from the fight she just witnessed, she reacted instantly and waved the sword around to keep him at bay. It wasn't at all effective but the man stepped back towards the door of the stable.
"You… You won't walk out from here." He said, "Just die and let this end."
He flipped his grip as his killing intent was wide clear on his face. Esmeralda kept the blade in front of her but suddenly screamed from fear and dropped it with the emergence of a blinding silver light. All of a sudden, the man in brown was split horizontally in half as the stable's door was blown away into splinters.
Logan was standing with a greatsword as he tore down the whole stable's front gate. The look on his face was relieved to see Esmeralda who went pale from fear but once he saw the lady he was supposed to protect and the bloodbath around her, the last bit of sanity he was clinging to was falling apart.
Tonight's accident won't simply go away, it is the first round of a raging storm of blood and death.
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