Chương 103: Temptation

Pulling herself together, Aurelia broke her gaze from off the ashen corpses. Pale to the touch, she turned her eyes, unable to look.

"My Lady, you need not feel shame." Said Eldritch.

"I tormented them, showered in their blood, and listened to their screams of mercy. I'm a bloody monster." Aurelia urged, unable to wipe away the stench of death emanating from her flesh. No matter how many times she chanted cleanse.

"It will only grow, Master. That urge you are craving. That bloodlust you didn't even know you had. Do not deny yourself such pleasures. You are to be a Queen. Why not embellish? Stain yourself red, and dance over the River Styx." Eldritch then said.

"Enough," The young fallen barked, causing the Lord of Nightmares to fall silent in the shadows of his staff; he smiled thoughtfully and did not utter another word.

Gripping the iron scimitar, whose blade had already begun to crack and dull, Aurelia sheathed her blade and followed after her team. Moving through the Redwoods, lost in thought, the shadows of night began to creep over the skies. Wiping away the amber setting of the suns, the dim glow of the moon fell.

"Damn," The Fallen cursed bitterly, with eyes that glowed under the darkness unknowingly. She frowned, taking a whiff of the air, trying to get a hint of burning firewood. "There is nothing here. Where the hell are they? Anima, do you know?"

"Map is accessible to you." The AI coldly responded without a trace of emotion as an extensive virtual map sprouted from Aurelia's wrist; Filling her sight with a 3-D model of the Redwoods.

Taken back, Aurelia eyed the three small nodes a few hours' journeys from her location and chuckled. Moving like the winds, unaware of how unnatural it was to see in the dark. She dashed through the darkness of the Redwoods without issue.

However, the young fallen suddenly froze and narrowed her eyes as echoes ran through the winds provoking a swift incantation.

'Featherfoot,' she inwardly whispered like an apparition, dashing up into the trees without rustling the branches. A bloodlust raced through the Fallens soul, and her cold eyes skimmed down at the three men completely covered in black robes, concealing their features.

"They are here for you," Eldritch enticed.

'You do not know that.' The fallen snapped back softly.

"But I do, my Queen. I am older and far more experience." He charmingly expressed, with a playful smile, "Why not test your skills against the geniuses of Iluthath? If they are here for you and your family, they must die. They must die in the most painful manner befitting their crime. Do you not agree, my Queen?"

Aurelia's skin began to throb with anticipation. She could not deny Eldritch words. The moment she gazed upon them, eyeing the direction of her friends, she could already taste their blood, feel their warm lifeforce flowing down her smooth skin.

"Do not deny it, my Lady. Have your Feast. Your Master will not deny you such pleasure. How could he?" Enchanted by the sweet words of Eldritch, Aurelia's breath turned ragged and lustful. She pulled her blade from its sheath and licked her delicate lips.

"Have you informed Lord Calthorian? The whereabouts of the Silver Devils acolytes have been found," The head assassin informed coldly, unaware of the bloodlust racing through the Golden eyes above.

Locking her gaze on her target with an actual sword at his waist, Aurelia, wrapped in the spell of feather foot, rocked off the branch without a sliver of sound. However, as she did, the head assassin suddenly drew his blade.

"Seven Winds Draw!" He roared as his blade stormed the skies towards Aurelia like a tornado of seven quick strikes.

Not in the least surprised that someone else would have the alert spell active like she did, Aurelia's blade suddenly released a thunderous boom.

"Chasing Daybreak - Thunder"

Flashing their blade out seven times, Aurelia bladed crossed with the assassins, as a cruel smile marred the Fallens cheeks. Creating a powerful gush of turbulent winds that shook the trees and parted the dirt.

"Ambush!" The other Assasin's all roared, just as something suddenly stirred in the air.

"Force Blast!" The fallen chanted swiftly the moment they cried, blasting away everyone around her; Aurelia's gaze never left the head assassin, who was sent flying like a broken rag doll into a tree.

Coughing up a mouthful of blood, the unnamed assassin groaned only to see the flicker of scarlet light strike his chest.

BOOOM!!!

Tearing away his chest cavity, Aurelia chanted firebolt, with the tip of her scimitar and demonic lance, with the Eldritch staff towards an unsuspecting assassin. Moving faster than any spell he had seen before, all that remained of the assassin was the tip of his ankles as his body was eaten away before he knew it.

"You're a Mage?" The Head Assassin cried in anguish, revealing his torn face from his burnt robes.

"And then there was one," The Young Fallen lustfully said, staring at the only man standing still glaring with fear in his eyes.

"What the hell is her battle prowess." The last assassin remarked, gripping his sword that trembled in his hands.

"R-run," The Head assassin faintly remarked the best he could, Coughing up blood that burned like fire against his throat, tears filled his eyes, "Tell the Prince of this monster."

"You guys are weak, very weak." The fallen coldly muttered, closing in on the unharmed assassin, trembling. "I would have thought you all to be stronger, but this is sad."

"You-You-You ambushed us."

"Damn it! Run!!!" The captain howled with his last breath as his eyes turned faint and dead.

"Phantom Escape," The Lone assassin cried, with bitter tears flowing down his cheeks. Creating seven copies of his person, they bolted in seven separate directions.

"Let him go, my queen." Eldritch suddenly informed, just as Aurelia was about to chase. "You may have lost this battle if you didn't have the element of surprise."

"I would?" She muttered, somewhat bewildered, watching as the last man fled from her sight.

"Your body is far quicker, and your spells are deadly in precision, but these assassins have far greater experience and skill than you, not to mention Arcane Techniques. That man didn't know you were an Arcane Mage. If it was an even fight like it was right now, then you would have been seriously injured."

Halting her steps, the Fallen frowned."He mentioned battle prowess. What is that?"