by Virlyce
Alice sighed as she stepped to the side, avoiding a stray flame that appeared as Tafel charged towards the empress. “Who’s the child now?” she asked as she pulled Mr. Skelly away. “My party members are a bunch of barbarians, I swear.”
The empress took in a deep breath while lowering her sword. She gripped the hilt while turning to face Vur and Alora. The two dragons waddled backwards, destroying another portion of the mansion with their massive bodies, before plopping down onto their bellies, their paws extended out towards the front like dogs. Mary’s neck creaked as she turned her head back around, stopping when Tafel appeared in her view. “Dragon tamer?”
“Who are you calling tamed!?” Alora shouted, slamming her paw against the floor. She nudged Vur with her elbow. “Can I bite her?”
“No.”
Alora pouted and slammed her tail against the remains of the wall a few times before laying her head on her front paws. “Fine.”
Mary distanced herself from the dragons, inching towards her left while readying her sword. She pointed it at Tafel, a black aura surging out of the cracks in her armor like dark mist sinking towards the floor. The demon halted her charge, her flames coming to an abrupt halt as they collided against the mist, unable to pass. “You keep claiming to not be a devil, but in the end, you can’t hide the fact that you want to kill me.”
“That’s because you’re irritating!” Tafel said, pointing her sword at the empress. “And I don’t want to kill you. I just want to smack you around to teach you a lesson in manners.”
“That sounds awful,” Alice said from atop a pile of bricks. “Domestic abuse is a serious issue.”
Mr. Skelly stared at Alice, disbelief painted on his bony face. “Aren’t you the one who regularly punts my skull off?”
Alice cleared her throat and turned her head away, the tips of her ears red. “We’re not married yet, so it’s okay.”
“No, that doesn’t make it okay at all,” Tafel said. “Stop interrupting my fight with pointless commentary, please.” She took in a deep breath and locked eyes with the empress. “If Vur can beat you, then I can beat you too.”
Mary’s eyes widened as she stomped her foot against the shattered ground, causing a shockwave to blow back Tafel’s flames. Like a lightning bolt, Mary shot forwards with her sword raised directly above her head, its hilt held by both her hands. She chopped down at Tafel, the blade screaming through the air. Tafel lifted her sword horizontally and braced herself for the blow. Mary’s sword crashed into Tafel’s, forcing the demon straight down into the earth as if she were a nail struck by a hammer, causing her to disappear from view. Mary glared at the hole that Tafel had been struck into. “I didn’t lose to him.”
“Did Tafel teleport?” Vur asked, sidling over to Alice. “I didn’t see a portal.”
“No,” Alice said. “I think she was hit so hard that she was buried into the ground.” She pointed near the empress’ feet. “Look, you can see smoke rising out of that hole.”
Mary took a step back. A moment later, a jet of flames shot into the air, dispersing the clouds in the sky. She shielded her eyes as she retreated, enveloping her body with her black aura. When the flames disappeared, Tafel crawled out of the hole, blood soaking the lower portion of her robe. She spat out a clump of dirt and glared at the empress. “Alright, I admit it. That was stupid of me to take that hit directly.”
Mary tilted her head. “I can’t tell if you’re weak or strong.” She readied her sword, gripping the hilt with both hands. “As expected of a devil.”
Tafel groaned as she climbed to her feet. “All you have is strength, right? Then this should be an easy fight for me.” She tapped the back of her blade, and an eye appeared in the middle of the sword. “Cast ice storm, Chi’Rururp.”
“Alright,” Chi’Rururp said, blinking once. A low drone echoed out of it as it chanted. Tafel opened her mouth and chanted too, but in a higher intonation. Her horns glowed green as mana surged through her veins.
“A magician,” Mary said with a sigh, hanging her head. She ignored Tafel’s chanting and looked down at the sword in her hand. “Her sword talks too. Are you two related?”
“If you spent more time training your vision, you’d see that her sword has an eye. I don’t have any eyes—we can’t be related. Train harder!”
“Tornado!” Tafel raised her sword, whipping up a gust of wind. It circled around and around in place, creating a vortex.
“Ice storm,” Chi’Rururp said. Icicles formed above Tafel and shot into the tornado in front of her. Tafel swung her sword outwards, and the icy cyclone howled as it cut a path towards the empress.
Mary lifted her sword in front of her mouth and stuck her tongue out, pressing it against the sword’s edge. She jerked the sword to the side without flinching, coating the upper half of the blade with her blood. She pointed the bloody sword at the oncoming tornado and lightly flicked her wrist, sending a single droplet of blood towards the howling vortex. “Null magic.”
As if it had never existed in the first place, the tornado winked out of existence, not even leaving any ice behind. Mary spat the blood that was pooling in her mouth onto her blade before charging forward, swinging her now-red sword at Tafel, not giving the demon a chance to recover from her shock. A portal appeared in front of the blade’s path, but instead of entering it, the sword cut through the portal, splitting it in half, the halves dissipating into fuzzy grains of mana. Tafel barely managed to raise Chi’Rururp before she was sent flying through the air, crashing into the wall beside Apollonia.
Apollonia swallowed and stepped to the side. “H-hey. Are you still alive?”
Tafel groaned as her eyes flickered open, blood streaming down her face. Her sword lay by her feet. She tried to grab it, but her arms wouldn’t move. Her legs wouldn’t move either. Her breath quickened as she lowered her head and vomited out a mouthful of blood. She swallowed and panted while raising her head, her sight blurry from the tears pooling in her eyes. What entered her vision was Mary’s expressionless face that almost looked bored. Tafel wanted to say something, but all that came out of her mouth was a weak, unintelligible cry. Mary’s gaze remained on Tafel as she lowered her sword and slid it into her sheath, the clinking sound echoing through Tafel’s ears like thunder. As the empress turned around to face the two dragons, Tafel fell forward, her vision darkening. The last thing she saw before her vision faded was Mary’s black metal sabatons walking away.
9
Tafel let out a groan as her eyes fluttered open. The bed underneath her was soft, and the fur that brushed her arm when she turned over to the side felt like she was being embraced by a giant rabbit. How long had it been since she had slept in a bed this comfortable? The inns that she stopped at with Alice and Vur were usually made of sheets covering a wooden board. She sighed and closed her eyes, mumbling, “If only Alice weren’t so stingy.”
“Excuse me…?”
Tafel’s eyes shot open. Alice was at the side of her bed, staring down at her with an expression that said, “Can you believe this girl?” Tafel cleared her throat as she sat up, her face red. She avoided Alice’s gaze by looking away and furrowed her brow. “Where are we?”
“We’re in Apollonia’s servants’ quarters because her main mansion was wrecked.” Alice frowned at Tafel. “You don’t remember anything? Like, say, being absolutely destroyed by Mary?”
A shiver ran down Tafel’s spine as her face went pale. Images of a blood-red sword cutting through a portal flashed through her mind as she clenched her fists, crumpling up the blanket between her fingers. She took in a deep breath through her nose. “What happened after that?”
Alice scratched the back of her neck as she sighed and looked down at her lap. “Well, Vur got super mad and tried to crush Mary, but Alora stopped him. Apparently, dragons have an agreement to not kill the emperor or empress of the lands as long as their territory is left alone.” Alice raised her head, an odd expression on her face. “So now, they’re competing
in another way; they’ve been going at it ever since you fainted over a day ago. If Vur wins, then Mary has to give up the throne so he can deal with her without breaking the agreement. If Mary wins, then she gets to keep one of Vur’s scales as a trophy.”
Tafel bit her lower lip. “How are they competing?”
“I think it’s better for you to see for yourself,” Alice said with a wry smile. “Can you walk? You should be able to since Vur healed you while you were out.”
“Yeah,” Tafel said as she climbed off the bed. Her robes had been changed. It was a nice robe, but … the colors…. The top portion was bright orange while the lower part was a deep green and purple mixture. “Thanks for changing my clothes. They look … nice.”
Alice rolled her eyes. “You think I did that?” she asked as she led the way out of the servants’ quarters. “It’s your husband who lacks a fashion sense. He’s the one who changed you.”
“Figures,” Tafel said and sighed. She left the building and shielded her eyes from the sunlight. Across a field, the broken mansion looked like one of those collapsed ruins she used to explore back in the northern continent with the Swirling Winds. “I hope we don’t have to pay for that.”
“And I’m the stingy one?” Alice asked, clicking her tongue. She turned her head and met Tafel’s gaze. “Be honest. How are you feeling right now?”
Tafel sighed and lowered her head. “I mean, you’re acting like I’ve never lost before. When you’re with Vur, inferiority is like your best friend. You get to know the feeling so well. I’m fine; don’t worry.” She raised her head and gave Alice a weak smile that only lasted for a brief moment. “Sure, I’m frustrated, but I don’t feel like I completely lost, you know?”
“No, you did,” Alice said. “You were completely and utterly dominated. What were you even thinking when you tried to compete with her in a contest of strength when you saw she was able to enter a pushing contest against Vur without backing down?”
Tafel pursed her lips. “You’re not even going to try to console me?”
“You said you were fine,” Alice said and slapped Tafel’s back, causing a loud sound to echo through the field. The demon jumped and flinched before scowling at Alice. “So? Why did your brain turn off during that battle? Didn’t you defeat an actual holy dragon to solidify your position as Vur’s wife?”
Tafel grunted. “I messed up,” she said, shaking her head. She raised her hand in front of Alice’s face. Tafel’s skin turned translucent as a golden rune appeared on her forehead. Flames danced within her palms, entering and exiting the boundaries of her skin until it seemed like her hand had turned into fire. A moment later, she clasped her hand into a fist, and the flames dispersed. “I recently learned how to turn my body into flames, but I’m not exactly proficient at it yet. I thought it’d work in actual combat, but she was too fast and I couldn’t transform until after I was already knocked down into the earth. Do you ever get that feeling when you know what you’re supposed to do, but when the time comes to do it, you screw it up? It’s like practicing something a few times, getting it right, then showing it to a friend but failing instantly.”
Alice’s eyes widened as she drew her head back and covered her mouth with her hand. “You have friends?”
“That’s not the part you were supposed to comment on!” Tafel said, glaring at Alice. “Of course, I have friends. There’s Vur, Auntie, you, Mr. Skelly, Emile, Susan, uh, maybe Stella? See, that’s more than the number of fingers I have on one hand. And stop acting like Mr. Skelly.”
“Four of those were family, they don’t count,” Alice said. “And who’s acting like Nate? I’d never take after his deplorable behavior.”
Tafel stared at Alice with lukewarm eyes. “Yeah, sure.” She sighed as she raised her head, continuing down the field towards the ruined mansion. “And I didn’t expect her to know how to nullify magic. Isn’t that a complete cheat?”
“Your husband’s a cheat. You’re not allowed to complain, Mrs. Phoenix.”
“Hey…, just because I’m a little more special than some people doesn’t mean there aren’t people even more special than me, alright?”
Alice rolled her eyes. “My name is Tafel. I have the imprint of a phoenix. Anyone weaker than me isn’t worth my time. But anyone stronger than me is a cheater.”
“I don’t sound like that,” Tafel said, biting her lower lip. “Are you still mad about the genie thing? I said I was sorry, didn’t I?”
Alice snorted. “It wasn’t a very sincere apology.” She slapped Tafel’s back again, causing the demon to let out a yelp. “Even if you did turn into flames, couldn’t Mary cut you anyways with her null magic? She completely broke your portal, by the way, you know, just in case you forgot.”
“Your consolation sucks,” Tafel said while rubbing her back.
“Why didn’t you just teleport yourself away instead of using a portal?”
“When you’re being rushed at that fast, you don’t think, alright? Portals have always worked for blocking attacks, so I tried to use a portal to block hers.” Tafel slapped Alice’s back in return, causing the diminutive woman to fall over. “I screwed up, alright? I’ve already thoroughly reflected on my loss. It’s not going to happen again.”
Alice picked herself up off the ground and glared at Tafel while spitting out a clump of grass. “You’re taking your loss a lot better than I expected.”
Tafel snorted. “Didn’t I already tell you? If losing were a person, he’d be my best friend. I’m not one of those people who mope and give up because of one or two losses and lose myself to alcohol while losing all will to fight and eventually pick up the sword again because a promising young person wants to seek out a teacher and, while I’m training her, I reflect back on my time as an adventurer and miss the feeling of the sword. Then, while my disciple is overcoming her hardships, I overcome my own and together we move on with our lives—she, overcoming the challenge that forced her to seek out a master, and me, learning how to look forward after a loss. That kind of inspirational story is called a story for a reason. I have to be practical.”
Alice stared at Tafel. “You have a pretty weird imagination.”
“Do I? I think I’m normal though.”
“All crazy people think they’re normal.”
“I knew it. You’re still mad about the genie thing, aren’t you?”
***
Vur sat on a tiger-fur couch, his arms crossed over his chest. In front of him, there was a table with empty plates stacked upon it with some fresh plates of food. Across the table, Mary was sitting on a similar couch, her cheeks bulging as she chewed on a piece of dried mango that extended out of her lips. The two stared at each other, their eyes red. Faint lines ran down their cheeks to their chins where tears had dried. Neither of them said a word as they stared at each other and ate without breaking eye contact.
A door creaked open, but neither Vur nor Mary turned their heads. A moment later, the door shut with a soft click, and footsteps approached the duo. “What kind of battle is this?” a feminine voice asked. “You made it sound like they were killing each other.”
“Morning, Tafel,” Vur said, not turning his head to greet his wife. His eyes remained locked on Mary. “Are you okay?”
“I’m alright,” Tafel said as she approached the side of the table, sticking closer to Vur than Mary. She picked a piece of pie off a plate in the center and sat beside Vur. “What’s going on?”
“We’re having a staring contest,” Vur said. “Whoever blinks first loses.”
Tafel stopped mid-chew and swallowed. “Alice said you’ve been competing for over a day.”
“Yep.”
“Don’t your eyes hurt?” Tafel bit her lower lip and lowered her head to inspect Vur’s eyes without blocking his view of Mary. “Wait, no, before that, you stayed up for over twenty-four hours?”
“Yep,” Vur said again. He opened his mouth and yawned, but his eyes stayed wide open. A tear leaked out of the corner
of his eyes and ran down his cheek to his chin. Tafel dabbed away the droplet with her sleeve. “I’m sleepy.”
“Then quit,” Mary said as she yawned as well, squeezing tears out of her eyes. “I won’t lose.”
“You already lost to me,” Vur said with a snort. “You’ll lose again.”
“That was that and this is this,” Mary said. She picked up a dried mango slice and placed it into her mouth, chewing on it like a cow chewing on grass. “And I apologize for calling you a devil, goat lady. Your husband told me you weren’t one, but I figured it out from how weak you were.”
Tafel’s eye twitched. “Vur, do my horns really look like a goat’s?”
“I can’t look,” Vur said. “Staring contest.”
“You know what they look like!”
Vur coughed. “Oh, hey, that tree over there looks awfully tall, doesn’t it?”
“You’re not looking at the tree!” Tafel sighed and hung her head. She touched the base of her horns with her hands. “I like my horns….”
“They’re very pretty,” Vur said, wrapping his arm around Tafel’s shoulder. “You shouldn’t be discouraged just because they look like a goat’s.”
Tafel’s face flushed as she leaned against Vur, burying her head into his neck. She sighed and closed her eyes as she wrapped her arms around his waist.
Mary made a face. “That’s distracting. But I’ll still win even if she interferes again.”
Tafel turned her head and glared at Mary before sticking out her tongue.
“Losers shouldn’t taunt winners,” Mary said. “I showed mercy by letting you live.”
“I’ll beat you next time.”
“Impossible,” Mary said. “I excel at dispatching magicians.”
Tafel grunted. “How’d you get so freakishly strong anyway?”
“It’s thanks to my uncle,” Mary said. “He strengthened my foundation when I was little. To feed me, he captured a pregnant desolate bear to nurse me with her milk. When I could eat solid foods, he fed me the meat of magical beasts. To bathe me, he’d soak me in the blood of wyverns. When I was four, he gouged out my heart and replaced it with a cheetah’s through blood magic. When I was five, he injected liquid orichalcum into my bones. When I was six, he hid me inside the egg of the turtlesnake and tricked it into imprinting me. After it ate me out of anger, he killed it and dug me out.”
