Julie remained silent as she surveyed the man before her, her piercing emerald gaze flickering between Cassius Holyfield and Lucious. There was no emotion on her face—only quiet, calculating scrutiny.
It was the gaze of a woman who had spent her entire life measuring the worth of warriors, assessing threats before they could become problems. And in that moment, Cassius was the subject of her cold examination.
Then, without a word, she moved.
With the grace of a seasoned warrior, she slid off her horse in one fluid motion, landing softly on the ground with an elegance that could only come from years of mastery over both body and magic.
There was no wasted movement, no unnecessary flourish—just pure, effortless control.
As soon as her boots touched the ground, two more figures followed suit, dismounting their steeds and taking their places at her sides.
Lucious, who had barely begun to recover from the shock of Julie herself arriving, suddenly felt like the world was tilting. ’Oh, great.’ He thought, feeling lightheaded. ’Because things weren’t already bad enough…now these two had to show up too?’
His gaze immediately snapped to the figure standing at Julie’s left—a woman who radiated an entirely different kind of presence than the refined elegance of the Whispering Blade.
She was primal.
Fierce.
Like an apex predator who had caught the scent of its prey.
Long, wild silver hair cascaded down her back, thick and untamed, shimmering with the same luster as the moon itself. Two large wolf ears twitched atop her head, picking up the faintest of sounds, and behind her, a long fluffy silver tail flicked in agitation. Though clad in armor, her body carried the raw strength and agility of a beast on the hunt—lean, powerful muscle shaped by years of combat, pursuit, and bloodshed.
And at that moment, her silver eyes were locked onto Cassius with an intensity that sent a shiver down Lucious’s spine.
This was Skadi Silvermoon.
Julie’s Left Hand.
A warrior feared not just in the Sacred Guard but throughout the kingdom itself.
Skadi hailed from the Wolf Beastkin, a race known for their unparalleled strength, speed, and heightened senses. Among their people, only the strongest survived—it was a world where power dictated respect, and weakness was not tolerated. It was a brutal, unforgiving way of life, one that forged warriors from the moment they could walk.
And Skadi was one of the strongest of them all.
She had no need for weapons. Her own body was her arsenal—her claws, her fangs, her sheer physical prowess.
It was said that in battle, she could tear through entire platoons using nothing but her hands, her speed so fast that most knights couldn’t even see her coming before they were already on the ground, bleeding out.
The King’s own personal guards—knights trained to be the most elite protectors of the Royal Family—had once tried to subdue her.
They failed miserably.
Skadi Silvermoon had humiliated them all, treating their weapons like toys and their formations like annoying little games. By the time the fight was over, not a single one of the King’s elite knights had remained standing.
She had earned her reputation in blood, always leaving the battle with a fresh coat of blood on herself.
And now, that very same Skadi was standing here, by Julie’s side—glaring at Cassius like a predator that had just locked onto its prey.
But if that wasn’t bad enough, there was another figure standing beside Julie.
A petite girl, barely reaching Skadi’s shoulder, with an air of silent calculation about her. Unlike the wild ferocity of the wolf beastkin, this girl’s presence was far more subtle and quiet like she was trying to hide herself—yet just as dangerous.
Her shoulder-length pure white hair was sleek and soft, standing in contrast to the sharp amber eyes that flickered with quiet intelligence. Resting atop her head were two black cat ears, twitching ever so slightly as if listening to something no one else could hear. A fluffy white cat tail swayed lazily behind her, its slow movement a deceptive show of ease.
But what truly stood out was her attire.
Or rather—the lack thereof.
Unlike Julie’s knightly armor or Skadi’s reinforced combat gear, this girl was dressed in scanty clothing that barely covered anything. A tight leather top secured across her chest, leaving her slim, toned abdomen completely exposed.
She wore short black hot pants that clung to her petite frame, accentuating the lithe, agile body of someone who relied on speed and precision rather than brute strength.
Draped over her shoulders was a loose, tattered robe—a signature look that gave her an air of a rogue spellcaster who never quite fit in with the traditional mage aesthetic.
Despite her small stature and seemingly relaxed posture, there was an undeniable sense of control around her.
That was because this girl was Aisha Noctus.
Julie’s Right Hand.
But if anyone underestimated the girl before him because of her petite figure, they would probably be buried underneath the earth.
Not only was she Julie’s right hand, an accomplished earth elemental mage who could make earth barriers to protect civilians and also use that same earth to swallow her enemies and bury them alive, but she was also the master tactician of the group.
She handled logistics, distribution of resources, assignment of labor, predicting threats, and the formation of groups—so much so that it wouldn’t be wrong to say that she was basically the reason that security was so impeccable in the Holyfield estate.
Lucious braced for the worst.
He had every right to be.
Julie Hellbane, the Whispering Blade, had come for him personally. Flanked by Skadi Silvermoon, a walking battlefield, and Aisha Noctus, the mastermind behind the Sacred Guard’s impenetrable security, they marched towards him in perfect unison.
It was honestly quite the sight.
The trio moved like legends stepping onto a battlefield—each step deliberate, radiating intimidation and absolute authority. Their presence alone was enough to send shivers down the spines of the knights surrounding them.
Lucious gripped his master’s cuff, his fingers tight with anticipation.The knights around them stood taller, their chests swelling with pride at the sight of their leaders advancing.
Cassius, however, stood still.
He was calm. Composed. Absolutely pretending not to feel a flicker of tension tighten in his chest.
Because he hated to admit it—but they really did look intimidating as hell.
Everything about them screamed power.
Julie with her commanding grace, Skadi with her raw ferocity, and Aisha with her calculating eyes—all moving toward him in a way that made it painfully clear that he was, for all intents and purposes, trapped.
Cassius clenched his jaw.
’Alright. If I want to get out of this intact, I have to maintain control of the situation.’
He straightened his posture, smoothed out his coat, and forced himself to appear completely unfazed. Because the moment he showed even a sliver of doubt in the face of these three absolute monsters, they’d eat him alive.
And then.
It happened.
The impossible.
The event that defied all logic, reason, and common sense.
One second, Julie was walking ahead of her two most powerful subordinates, leading them forward with absolute purpose—
And the next?
Julie was gone.
Vanished. Completely.
Cassius’s instincts flared.
His vision sharpened. His muscles tensed. His mind screamed, "Damn it! She’s fast! I didn’t even see her move—"
In an instant, he shoved Lucious behind him, bracing for an attack from an angle he couldn’t even predict.
The knights around them gasped, immediately thinking their leader had used some incredible speed technique to strike Cassius before he could react. Even Skadi and Aisha, the people who knew Julie best, were momentarily caught off guard.
Cassius clenched his fists.
Where is she?!
But then—
Instead of an attack, instead of the slicing wind of a blade or the burst of magical energy he was expecting—
There was…A thud.
Followed by the sound of metal hitting the ground.
And then—
A soft, very feminine grunt.
The entire atmosphere shattered.
Everyone turned slowly toward the noise.
Their eyes moved downward.
And there—
Facedown in the dirt.
Julie Nikolaevna Hellbane.
The youngest prodigy of the Hellbane family.
The grandmaster of sword and magic.
The feared leader of the Sacred Guard.
Was currently planted face-first into the soil.
Complete silence.
Pure. Deafening. Disbelief.
The knights, who had seconds ago been filled with overwhelming pride, now stood frozen, processing the sight before them.
Skadi’s jaw slackened slightly. Aisha just…stared.
Cassius—who had been bracing for his imminent doom—felt his entire thought process short-circuit.
Lucious, peeking from behind Cassius, blinked rapidly. "...Is...Is she dead?"
Cassius, who had not yet recovered from the sheer absurdity of what just occurred, could only mutter, "...No…No, I think she tripped."
Lucious tilted his head. "...Tripped?"
Cassius nodded slowly, his expression completely unreadable. "Tripped."
A long, heavy silence followed.
Only when Julie finally lifted her head from the ground did everyone truly react.
Her once-pristine face was now covered in dirt, looking exactly like a child who had tripped in the park. But what truly sent everyone into shock was the thin trickle of blood running down from her nose, standing out starkly against her otherwise flawless complexion.
For a second, nobody spoke. Nobody moved.
Then—
"CAPTAIN!!!"
The agonized howl tore through the air like a wolf that had just witnessed its alpha being struck down.
Skadi Silvermoon, the feral, battle-hardened beast warrior, the woman feared across the battlefield for her brutality, suddenly dropped to her knees beside her fallen leader, hands clenched into fists, looking seconds away from bursting into actual tears.
"How could this happen?!" She wailed, staring at Julie’s bleeding nose like it was a mortal wound. "Who dared to do this to you?! Who?!"
Julie groaned, clearly more exhausted by the reaction than the fall itself.
Skadi, however, wasn’t done.
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Her sharp eyes scanned the battlefield, desperately looking for the culprit responsible for her captain’s unforgivable downfall.
And then—she found it.
A small, insignificant rock sitting right in the middle of the path.
The very thing that had tripped Julie Hellbane, the legendary Whispering Blade.
For a moment, Skadi just stared at it. Then, her ears flattened, her tail bristled, her pupils shrank in pure, unfiltered rage.
"YOU!" She growled, pointing a trembling finger at the tiny, completely inanimate piece of nature that was on the ground.
Cassius, who had been watching in silence, suddenly felt a deep, primal instinctual fear rise in his chest. ’No. No, she’s not actually going to do what I think she is right—?’
But just like he had thought, Skadi launched herself at the rock like it had personally insulted her ancestors. With a furious snarl, she stomped down on it so hard the ground shook.
"How dare you trip my captain, you treasonous filth?! You dare stand in her path?! You dare bring harm to lady Julie?!"
She raised her foot again, stomping even harder, as if attempting to obliterate the very concept of ’rock’ from existence.
Cassius, Lucious, and literally every single knight present just watched in pure horror as the fearsome warrior—who had ripped through armies with her bare hands—was now trying to execute a rock.
"I’ll kill you! I’ll kill your entire family!" Skadi snapped, grinding the rock into dust. "You think you can just stand there all innocent, pretending to be part of the earth?! Not on my watch! Your entire family is gone, just watch!"
’She…She’s actually taking revenge on a rock.’ Cassius’s eyes went wide in pure disbelief.
Julie, still lying on the ground, somehow managed to pick up on what he was thinking—and immediately felt her entire soul leave her body from sheer embarrassment.
’Dear gods, why did Skadi have to be like this?’ Her cheeks tinted pink.
She could feel Cassius’s judgmental gaze. She could see the way his eyes flicked from her, to Skadi, then back to her again.
He was thinking things...Unacceptable things that made her want to bury her face into ground beneath her even more.
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Pictures of Skadi and Aisha will be uploaded to the character illustrations page as well on discord...Check them out!