Glancing at Benihime, Jira asked, "I could have sworn I heard you identify yourself with two names, is that something accustomed to your homeland?".
"You don't have a surname?" Benihime raised her own question.
"I'm not sure I know what that means, but if it makes you feel any better, you have a lovely name." Jira complemented with a flirtatious smile on his face.
"Sire! We are done disposing of the body." A demon soldier reported with his head bowed.
"Very, good, ready the horses, let's head back to Fiona," Jira said before excusing himself away from the ladies.
Benihime and Lilith both watched as Jira walked away with 5 soldiers following behind him.
She sighed and released her grip on her sword, "That was way too close." Benihime muttered.
"What do you mean, Milady, the prince is quite the gentleman if you ask me." Lilith expressed, her eyes gleaming as if she had fallen in love.
A slight chuckle left Benihime's mouth before she walked away, "You have bad taste in men Lilith, get some sleep".
...…
Morning came and the Valkyries were already set out for the human region, which was right through the grand canyon.
As they trekked through the grand canyon, an irritating feeling suddenly got them on their toes.
"Shush!" Akeno hushed the team as she told them to stop moving.
The sound of something hissing around them began to grow louder as time passed.
Strrch!
Benihime immediately pulled out her sword, "Ladies prepare yourself, something is coming." She cautioned.
All of the Valkyries began to pull out their weapons, as they arranged themselves in a circled formation.
[What do we have here?] [Fresh meats invading my ground]
A voice echoed inside the canyon, and although they couldn't tell who was speaking, they could definitely sense the presence of something powerful.
"We are travelers, just passing through, we mean you no harm." Benihime responded with her sword held in front of her as she used her eyes to scan the place.
Unlike her soldiers, Benihime stood alone, carefully scrutinizing the area to see if she could spot what was talking.
Whoosh!.
With a huge force of the wind, came a giant snake, looking Benihime in her eye with its tongue sticking out as it hissed.
The valkyries behind Benihime immediately aimed their weapons at the gigantic snake.
"Lady Hime, step away from it!." A valkyrie yelled with her bow and arrow aimed at the snake.
"Listen to me, whatever happens, none of you should show any sign of fear, if you value your life do as I say!." Benihime voiced out with her face filled with boldness.
Even when the snake emerged in front of her with no warning, she didn't feel frightened, Benihime stood her ground and stared back at the snake.
[Call me impressed, you are the second person to pass through here without feeling suspicion after seeing me.] The snake uttered, moving around Benihime with sharp moves.
"I knew who you were the moment I heard your voice…" Benihime uttered.
Baam!
The snake appeared in front of Benihime, [Is that so, well now do tell].
"The fifth creation of the goddess Medusa, you are the soul snatcher and guardian of the garden of Eden." Benihime exposed tele keeping a calm presence as she didn't want to risk showing any other emotion.
Even the valkyries at the back had the same posture, they stood still and didn't move a muscle or blinked.
The snake changed positions away from Benihime and began swarming around the canyon, keeping its eyes on all the valkyries.
[You've done your research, so you know what I'm capable of already]
"Of course I do, but I humbly ask that you let us go, we have had no idea you had claimed this land as your own." Benihime pleaded.
The soul snatcher was known for two things, stealing the souls of her victim if they happen to show any sign of fear and the second was killing them with no mercy if they left without her exiting first.
[From your dressing I'm guessing you are from the house of Odin… quite the threat you are going to be]
[So tell me…]
The snake suddenly showed up in front of Isla, but Isla didn't bat an eye, she remained extremely calm.
[Do you know how long I've gone without a soul to snatch or a body part to cut off… it's been quite a long time]
The snake moved around
[Even after escaping the gates with hopes of having more victims, I am still deeply disappointed…. How do I fix that?]
"Why would you escape the garden, isn't that where your authority lies?" Benihime raised a question.
If there was anything she had learned about the soul snatcher was that if the victim is about to keep a conversation with it, it will eventually grant them permission to leave.
The snake whooshed back to Benihime and pulled its face closer.
[Very good question, but I think I should ask the questions here… don't you agree.?].
"Totally"
[As expected from the knights of Odin, you all are quite the pier].
[But one thing will always stick out, a sore thumb, the black sheep… one who will most definitely be the downfall of the rest].
While the snake was moving around, a part of its scales accidentally rubbed against one of the valkyries legs.
"Ahh!" The girl screamed as she felt startled, immediately drawing her arrow and shooting it at the snake.
The arrow bounced off the hard scales of the snake before it fell to the ground, leaving no damage to the soul snatcher.
[Bingo.] A grin showed on the face of the snake.
"Shit!" Isla voiced out, she immediately pulled out her sword and pointed it at the snake.
A full pressure of ice wooshed from the tip of the sword and began pushing the snake back with force.
"Run! Head for the exit, go go!" Benihime shouted as she pointed at the small light coming from the end.
All the valkyries began running as fast as they could, while Isla struggled to push the snake away.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢