Aisha, watching the knights charge towards the immobilized Cassius, felt a surge of triumph.
’He’s trapped!’ She thought. ’There’s no way he can escape now!’
She was already imagining the victory celebrations, the relief on the faces of her surviving comrades, the justice that would finally be served.
But then...Her blood ran cold.
Cassius, instead of panicking, simply...smiled. And then, with an effortless grace that defied the situation, he moved.
It was as if the earth around him wasn’t hardened soil, but mere sand. He flexed his muscles, and the giant earthen hands that held him crumbled, their grip broken.
He ducked his head, narrowly avoiding Skadi’s claws as she swooped past him.
Skadi, her attack thwarted, let out a frustrated growl.
’How...? How did he break free?’
She had never seen anyone, not even the strongest beastkin warriors, escape from Aisha’s earth attack like that.
It was...impossible.
But before she could even process what had happened, Cassius moved again. He ripped his arms free from the remaining earthen restraints and, with lightning-fast reflexes, grabbed Skadi’s legs as she flew past him.
Skadi, caught completely off guard, let out a yelp of surprise.
Before she could even react, she found herself being swung through the air like a...mace. A giant, furry, extremely disgruntled mace.
He swung her with terrifying speed, the force of each arc amplified by her considerable weight and the sheer power of his own unnatural strength.
The knights, who had been so focused on their coordinated attack, were now caught in a chaotic, swirling storm of fur, claws, and flying limbs.
Thwack!~
The first swing was a brutal arc, Skadi’s body slamming into a group of three knights who were clustered together. They were sent flying like rag dolls, their armor offering no protection against the sheer kinetic force.
One knight’s helmet flew off, revealing a face contorted in a mask of pain and surprise just before impact. They crashed into the ground several feet away, a tangled heap of twisted metal and broken bones. It was as if a giant had swatted at a cluster of bothersome flies.
The second swing was even more devastating.
Bang!~
Cassius, with a casual flick of his wrist, sent Skadi hurtling towards another group of knights who were rushing towards him, their swords raised.
They had no time to react. Skadi’s wild, terrified eyes met theirs for a split second before the impact.
The sound was sickening—a combination of crunching bone, splintering wood, and the muffled thud of flesh hitting the ground. Two knights were bowled over, their screams cut short by the brutal force of the blow. They lay still, their armor crushed, their arms twisted at unnatural angles.
They, too, were treated like mere flies, brushed aside with contemptuous ease.
The remaining knights, their initial enthusiasm replaced with sheer terror, tried to scatter, but it was too late.
Cassius, his movements fluid and unpredictable, was on them before they could escape. He swung Skadi again and again, each swing a devastating blow. Knights were sent flying, crashing into trees, collapsing in heaps.
The courtyard, which had moments before been filled with the shouts of determined warriors, was now filled with cries of pain and the sickening thud of bodies hitting the ground.
The air was thick with dust, the smell of blood, and the raw terror of women facing an enemy they couldn’t comprehend. They were being treated like insects, insignificant and easily crushed.
Aisha, watching in horror, couldn’t believe her eyes.
Her carefully planned attack, her moment of triumph, had backfired spectacularly. She had underestimated Cassius. She had underestimated his strength, his speed, his...unnaturalness.
And now, they were paying the price.
With the last knight sent sprawling, Cassius discarded Skadi as if he were finished with a broken toy. He tossed her aside with a casual flick of his wrist, the battered and bruised wolf beastkin landing heavily on the ground with a pained whimper.
The fight, as far as he was concerned, was over. He surveyed the scene of carnage, the courtyard littered with broken armor and broken bodies, his expression one of detached indifference.
Aisha, her heart pounding in her chest, desperately wanted to check on Skadi. She knew her friend was injured, and the sight of her being tossed aside so carelessly made her blood boil. But she couldn’t afford to be distracted. She knew that Cassius was still a threat, a very real, very present danger.
And then, his gaze shifted.
His eyes, those unnerving blood red eyes, locked onto hers. A shiver ran down her spine. There was something in his gaze, a keenness, a predatory gleam, that made her skin crawl.
It wasn’t just enjoyment anymore. It was...anticipation.
Before she could even process what was happening, Cassius leaped. He exploded from the ground like a cannonball, launching himself towards Aisha with incredible speed.
But Aisha had learned her lesson. She wouldn’t be caught off guard again. She had anticipated this, prepared for it.
Wroom!~
So, even as Cassius was in mid-air, a massive wall of earth erupted from the ground between them.
It was a formidable barrier, a thick, solid fortification designed to stop any attack. Aisha had poured all her concentration, all her magical energy, into creating this shield. She was confident that it would hold. It had to.
She braced herself, waiting for the impact. She expected to feel the earth tremble, to hear the resounding thud of Cassius colliding with the wall.
But instead, she heard a deafening boom.
Boom!~
Aisha’s eyes widened in horror. The earth wall, her supposedly impenetrable defense, had been...breached.
Cassius had exploded through it. Fragments of earth and dust rained down around her. And there, amidst the debris, was Cassius, still hurtling towards her, that unnerving smile plastered on his face. He had not only broken through her wall, he had obliterated it.
The force of his attack was terrifying. It was like facing a force of nature, an unstoppable avalanche.
’How...?’ She thought, her mind reeling. ’How is this even possible?’
A wave of despair washed over Aisha.
For the first time in her life, she felt utterly helpless, completely outmatched. She had always been the calm, collected strategist, the one who had a plan for every situation.
But now, facing this...this monster...she was lost. All hope seemed to drain from her, leaving her with a hollow ache in her chest.
She watched as Cassius hurtled towards her, his form growing larger with every passing second. Her mind raced, desperately searching for a solution, a way out, but there was nothing.
She was trapped, cornered, with nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Her usual nonchalant demeanor crumbled, replaced by a raw, unfiltered terror. This was it, she realized. This was how it ended.
But then, just as she was bracing for the inevitable, a shadow emerged from the chaos.
A figure, moving with incredible speed, appeared behind Cassius. Aisha’s eyes widened in disbelief.
It was...Julie!
Julie, her body battered and bruised, her armor dented and cracked, had somehow managed to recover from the devastating blow. She had witnessed Cassius’s attack on Aisha, and she couldn’t just stand by and watch.
Fueled by a desperate surge of adrenaline and a fierce protectiveness towards her beloved right hand, she had launched herself at Cassius, hoping to catch him off guard, to take him down before he could reach Aisha.
’Captain!’ She thought, her spirits soaring. ’Y-You came back!’ Aisha’s heart leaped with a flicker of hope.
Maybe...just maybe...they could still turn this around.
But fate, it seemed, was not on their side.
Cassius, with his unnatural senses, detected Julie’s approach. He turned his head, his eyes widening in slight surprise, and then, with a speed that defied comprehension, he reacted.
He reached out, his hand clamping around Julie’s neck, cutting off her attack before it could even begin. He then, with a casual brutality that made Aisha’s stomach churn, slammed Julie to the ground right in front of her.
Bang!~
Aisha gasped, her hope turning to ashes in her mouth. She watched in disbelief as Julie landed with a sickening thud, her body bouncing slightly before coming to a rest. On the ground, Julie groaned, her face contorted in pain, her eyes fluttering weakly.
Cassius, having effortlessly neutralized Julie, spared her a fleeting glance—a look that held a mixture of disdain and boredom. He had no further interest in her. She was no longer a threat, merely a casualty in his path.
And he then turned his attention to Aisha, his eyes gleaming with a predatory intensity. There was a different look in his eyes now, a hunger, a desire for something more than just...elimination.
Aisha, sensing this shift, felt a primal fear grip her heart. She wanted to run, to flee, to escape this terrifying presence, but her legs wouldn’t respond. They were rooted to the spot, frozen by a fear so profound that it paralyzed her.
She watched, helpless, as Cassius took a step towards her. He extended his hand, his fingers outstretched, as if he were about to wrap them around her throat and...squeeze.
Aisha trembled, her body shaking uncontrollably. She closed her eyes, waiting for the inevitable, the final, crushing blow.
Then—
It stopped.
Just inches from her skin.
Aisha barely managed to register what had happened before she noticed why.
Julie...Her captain.
She had thrown her arms around Cassius’s leg in a desperate attempt to hold him back. Her entire body trembled, but she held on with all the strength she had left.
Her face was pale, her breath labored, but her emerald eyes burned with raw determination.
"Please…" Julie gasped, her voice weak, filled with pleading.
Cassius finally looked down at her.
"Let her go." Julie begged. "Please. She’s still young...S-She has so much ahead of her. She like precious my little sister. She...She doesn’t deserve to die."
Her words hit Aisha like a hammer.
Tears welled up in her amber eyes, threatening to spill over. Her entire life, she had always fought, always survived, always prided herself on being untouchable.
But right now—
She was completely powerless.
And her captain—the woman she had idolized for years—was begging for her life.
Julie’s fingers tightened around Cassius’s leg, her grip weak but unwavering.
"I know...What we did was unforgivable." She whispered, her voice cracking. "We wrongfully went against you. We followed orders we knew were wrong. But we...we had no choice. We were backed into a corner."
A single tear slipped down her dirt-streaked cheek.
"So please…" She whispered again. "If you must take a life...then take mine. Let Aisha go."
Then—weakly, trembling, she reached for her sword.
With shaking hands, she offered it to him.
A silent exchange.
Her life—for Aisha’s.
Aisha choked on a sob, her entire body overwhelmed with emotion. She wanted to scream, to tell her captain to stop, to fight back, to do anything but throw away her life for her sake.
But she couldn’t.
Because the truth was—she had never felt more helpless than she did in this moment.
The air was thick with tension. Julie’s trembling hands still clutched the sword she had offered, her head bowed, waiting for the inevitable.
Aisha, frozen in place, could only watch as her captain—her leader, her sister—prepared to throw her life away for her.
But then—
Another voice cut through the silence.
"DON’T TOUCH THEM! TAKE MY LIFE INSTEAD!"
The raw determination in the voice startled everyone.
Cassius’s crimson eyes flickered to the side.
Everyone turned.
And there—dragging herself across the battlefield on her hands and knees, her body battered and broken, was Skadi.
Her silver hair was matted with dirt, blood trickling from her temple, her armor dented from the brutal battle. Yet, despite the pain, despite the agony—she kept moving.
She refused to stop.
She refused to let this end the way it was going.
"Skadi!" Aisha gasped, her voice breaking.
Skadi’s breathing was ragged, her arms trembling, but she didn’t stop. With sheer willpower alone, she pushed forward until she reached Cassius’s other leg.
And then—
She grabbed onto him.
Just like Julie.
Her silver eyes burned with the same desperation, the same raw emotion.
"Don’t you dare touch them!" She growled through gritted teeth, her voice heavy with pain. "They did nothing wrong. They don’t deserve this!"
Cassius arched an eyebrow, watching her with mild interest. He remained silent, letting her speak.
Skadi gritted her teeth, her voice rising.
"Aisha...Aisha is the reason we even investigated you in the first place! She was the first one to question the orders. And Captain—Captain never wanted to go through with it! From the very start, she fought against those orders, against everything that led to this moment!"
Her breathing was shallow, but her grip tightened on his leg.
"But Skadi?"
She let out a bitter laugh.
"Skadi was the one who wanted you dead the most. S-Skadi was the one who believed the rumors. Skadi was the one who wanted you gone!" Her voice cracked, the weight of her own sins crushing her. "So if anyone deserves to die today...It’s me."
Then—
With unwavering resolve, she pressed her neck against the blade of the sword.
She offered her life.
Her hands shook, but she didn’t move away.
"Kill me instead." Her voice was steady, even as her body trembled. "Please. Let them go...I-I deserve this more than anyone."
Aisha felt something inside her break.
Her throat tightened, her vision blurred with tears.
This was Skadi.
The same loud-mouthed, hot-headed, infuriating woman she had bickered with every single day.
The same warrior who never backed down, never showed weakness, never gave in to fear.
And now—
She was throwing everything away for her.
Seeing both her captain and her comrade offering themselves up for her sake, something inside Aisha snapped.
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The fear that had paralyzed her moments before was replaced by a surge of courage, a fierce determination to protect the ones she loved....