CHAPTER 13

SOLLEL CONTROLLED the rage inside her upon seeing Cira unconscious on the floor with a slave collar around her neck and calmly sat in the living room. In front of her was Lord Tyon Duves, who had a sadistic and disgusting smile while eyeing her like she was a premium piece of meat that he wanted to devour; he was almost salivating.

Seeing the defiant woman acting docile in front of him, Lord Tyon snickered in delight. "Now you know your place, woman. A commoner like you should be happy that I want your touch! You should even kneel before me!"

Lord Tyon was sneering, but Sollel's attention was not on Lord Tyon but at the halfling standing behind him.

Len.

Sollel didn't need any explanation, seeing Len standing behind Lord Tyon like he was seeking protection. Her mind immediately and unforgivingly branded Len a traitor.

Lord Tyon stood and walked toward Sollel with a dirty wicked smile. "If you want to be forgiven, you should undress and kneel before me, or else, you will meet the same end as your elf friend here." Lord Tyon kicked Cira in the stomach while laughing maniacally. "Kneel and worship me and I might forgive you!"

"Lord Tyon told you to kneel!" Len sneered at Sollel. "Kneel before him now and beg for mercy!"

Sollel remained passive and uncaring, and it unnerved Len. It also infuriated Lord Tyon that he tried to grab Sollel to rip her clothes off. But Lord Tyon plan backfired when a scalding-hot, sharp pain pierced his hand as he touched Sollel.

Lord Tyon backed away, screaming in pain and clutching his burned hand. The smell of burning flesh filled the air. Lord Tyon's sharp, unforgiving eyes glared at Sollel, all the more wanting to rip her to shreds and violate her until he was satisfied. But how could he do that when he couldn't even touch her?

"You will pay for this, you filthy commoner!" Lord Tyon screamed in rage. He felt humiliated! He's Lord Tyon, one of the most powerful men in this town! How dare this lowborn woman defy me! he thought.

"Hurting me is the same as hurting the whole Duves Family. Are you courting death?! I will grant it to you, you filthy whore!"

Lord Tyon confidently drew his sword; a smug smirk made its way to his lips when fire covered it. His sword was enchanted with flames by the flame sorcerer of his family. A rare weapon that could only be wielded by the heir of the Duves family. It's the weapon that he's most proud of.

But the pride in Lord Tyon's eyes slowly dissipated when the flame of his sword—the flame of his flaming sword that he was so proud—started dimming. It left his weapon and went to the cloaked woman, like it was being sucked by her. And then the flame disappeared. Just like that. The heirloom of his family...gone!

Sollel could only chuckle when the flame of Lord Tyon's sword fled to her. She didn't suck it, like Lord Tyon was thinking. The flame merely wanted to go back to its original owner.

"You will pay!" Lord Tyon was in rage as he willed the slave collar on Cira to tighten and kill her. He saw the two enter the tavern, and Lord Tyon knew that killing the elf was the only way to get back at the woman.

Seeing the elf choking to death, Lord Tyon laughed maniacally while his whole face was filled with desire to violate her. The more the women suffered because of him, the more he got more excited. "Yes! That's it!" His face was fully aroused while watching the elf. "Die! Die for me! Oh, so beautiful!"

Lord Tyon was so occupied that he didn't feel the condensed, hot air that materialized into a thick, transparent heat shield that Sollel tossed at him until it slammed on him and threw him against the solid wall, his back breaking at the fierce impact.

"My lord!" Len immediately ran toward Lord Tyon to offer help while Sollel stood and went to crouch beside Cira who finally stopped choking and coughing.

"How are you feeling?" Sollel asked while helping Cira get up. "Forgive me for not hastily saving you. I had to make sure that it was him who holds your slave contract first."

"It's okay," Cira said in between small coughs. "I'm just glad you're here, Your Highness."

Seeing Cira coughing and still having a hard time breathing, Sollel stood and looked at Lord Tyon who's now back on his feet with Len's assistance.

Lord Tyon's eyes were bloodshot red with anger, glaring furiously at the woman who dared hurt him. "How dare you hurt a noble like me, you filthy commoner—"

"Before me, you are the commoner." Sollel spoke each word condescendingly, like a queen talking to a waste.

Not concealing her fury any longer, Sollel unleashed her flames in both her hands. Her flames crawled up to her elbows, covering her arms, working hard to get its mistress's attention. The flame was scorching-red hot—even the air around Sollel was sweltering—but it left the garment of its mistress intact, not a single burn.

A flame sorceress?! It explained why my flaming sword is ruined. Seeing the scorching flame, Lord Tyon's brain raced for a plan—a plan to run. His cloak had a protective enchantment; a single fire attack could never hurt him. That thought delighted Lord Tyon. The moment I escape, I will hunt her down, rip her to shreds, and have my way with her until I'm sated.

But just when he was about to flee, that's when Lord Tyon realized that the sorceress in front of him had no magic tool. Sorcerers needed magic tools where they could channel their power to materialize it. Some used wands, swords, staffs, or rings.

But the woman in front of him had nothing but her hands and flames. No magic tools. Just pure flame ready to burn and devour.

And her flame was now devouring his cloak like it was a normal piece of clothing!

The protective enchantment is not working! What kind of flame is this?! Lord Tyon was now horrified, his fear for his life making him tremble, and his legs had lost their strength to stand.

"Y-you...wh-who are you?" Fear filled Lord Tyon. His delight had now become dread. He couldn't think straight, knowing that the protective enchantment in his cloak could not withstand the fire. I can't die here! I can't! "S-spare me...I will give you millions of gold! Every piece I own! Just spare my life! Spare me!" Lord Tyon continued bargaining for his life, even when the flames were already devouring his clothes and starting to melt his skin. "Spare me! Spare me!"

But Sollel had no mercy. And seeing that, Len tried to flee, but before he could run far, a small flame dropped from Sollel's hand to the floor, setting its path on fire as it traveled toward Len, encircling around him before igniting into a two-meter high flame, trapping Len inside.

"Have mercy, please!" Len from inside the circle of flame shouted, begging. "I only did it for my sister! Lord Tyon said if I gave him Cira, he would free my sister! Please spare my life! Please! I'm a halfling! You protect halflings, right?! Please! I just did what I did to survive!"

Sollel answered Len without casting a glance at him. "Halfling or not, I won't tolerate or show mercy to traitors." Sollel clenched her fists, signaling her flame to move, and together, Lord Tyon and Len was burned and devoured ferociously by fire. Their bodies burned beyond recognition, except for their faces. Sollel left them intact.

"Your Highness..." These were the only words Cira could utter as she watched Queen Sollel's flame encircling its mistress like it was happy to see her and do her bidding.

And Cira was in awe.

The first time she saw Queen Sollel use her flame was when she saved her from the Infernal Empire army, and her flame at that time was very fierce. For Cira, it was already a very powerful flame, but to Queen Sollel, it was weak since she was still recovering. It was only one-eighth of her strength, she said. And it made Cira wonder how powerful Queen Sollel could be once she recovered all her strength.

Because even now, Cira was sure that Queen Sollel had only recovered a fraction of her strength but she was already this powerful. What more after she recovered fully? She would surely be a force to be reckoned with. She could literally raze hell, and if Cira found a stone that could fight the moonrite's effect, no one in Azitera could stop her flames.

Cira sucked her breath when Queen Sollel faced her, and with her elven eyes that could see clearly in the darkness, she saw a swirling flame in Queen Sollel's eyes, like a flowing lava. "Your eyes..."

"Don't mind it," Sollel blinked, and the flame in her eyes was gone. "Can you move?"

Cira stood and took the slave collar off her neck with a breath of relief. Its power to trap and enslave Cira already disappeared the moment Lord Tyon died. Then Cira collected her bow and arrow that Lord Tyon tossed on the floor earlier after Len put a slave collar on her.

"Can you fight?" Sollel asked Cira after Cira strapped the bow and arrow on her back.

Cira nodded firmly, gone the goofy Cira. "What do you need me to do, Your Highness?"

"Go to Hakken," Sollel ordered. "If my calculation was right, he must be in the middle of the fight now with the sorcerer guarding Ishya. Help him execute our plan."

"What plan?" Cira asked as she readied her bow.

After Sollel explained, Cira's eyes widened. "Wait—Your Highness! That plan will get us all killed!"

Sollel smiled at her. "Don't you trust me?"

Cira stilled before she answered, "I do."

"Then go to Hakken and help him. Don't worry. We'll leave Belrac unscathed."

With Sollel's reassurance, Cira left the Duves's estate secretly, using her agility to her advantage. Sollel, on the other hand, left and went to their front yard as if she didn't just kill their heir.

Sollel sat on the edge of the man-made fountain, just outside the Duves's mansion, simply hanging out and enjoying the view. A few minutes later, Sollel's serene surroundings became chaotic. The head of the Duves family finally arrived with his sorcerer, and together, they discovered Tyon Duves's charred body in the living room of the mansion.

"Who did this to my son?!" Lord Tane Duves, the head of the Duves house, screamed in rage. His body trembled in grief and fury seeing his beloved son in such an estate. Anger was not enough to describe what he was feeling. "Find the bastard who did this to my son!"

"M-my lord," one the guards knelt on one knee and informed them, "the person who did this is outside...she's waiting by the fountain."

"Waiting?" the flame sorcerer echoed in surprise and clicked his tongue. "How daring of her to wait for us."

Lord Tane Duves pushed the guards away, hurriedly walking toward the fountain, while the flame sorcerer was behind him. There's only revenge in Lord Tane Duves's mind. He wanted nothing else at that moment but the corpse of the person who killed his beloved son.

While running toward the fountain in the front yard, Lord Tane Duves mobilized his armies and his demi-human warriors, ordering them to encircle the fountain so the woman couldn't escape.

But unbeknownst to Lord Tane Duves, Sollel had no plans to escape, and she was just waiting for them.

And Sollel was not disappointed. Hearing hundreds of footsteps, Sollel only moved her body to sit comfortably and just calmly watched Lord Tane Duves's armies of humans and demi-humans encircling the fountain by five rows, and in front of Sollel was the lord himself and his trusted flame sorcerer.

♕♕♕

"HURRY! RUN faster!" Cira shouted at Hakken as they maneuvered the forest behind the Duves's estate. Looking over her shoulder, Cira jumped to the nearest tree and did a somersault in the air to escape the water canon aimed at her. "Curse that water sorcerer!" Cira hissed as her feet landed on a tree branch. "Hurry, Hakken!"

Hakken cursed. He was doing his best to dodge the sharp water spears chasing after him while running. "Easy for you to say! You're basically running on trees with covers!"

Hakken cussed again when two of the water spears hit the tree beside him, smashing it into smithereens. The tree trunk's sharp fragments hit the side of his body, some pierced his skin, and a large splinter grazed his face, leaving a long cut.

"Dammit!" Hakken ran as fast as his legs could. "I hate sorcerers!"

"Hurry up—"

"Stop ordering me around!" Hakken hissed. "You're not my lady!"

Cira clicked her tongue in annoyance and continued sliding on tree trunks and jumping from tree to tree. She was way ahead of Hakken, and the sorcerer couldn't keep up with Cira's agility.

But Hakken's situation was different; his speed was on par with the sorcerer, and he was the one taking all the sorcerer's attacks. Unlike Cira, he couldn't jump from tree to tree and could only run on land while using his war blades to dodge and block the sorcerer's powerful water attacks.

"Are they out of their minds?" Ishya, who was running beside the water sorcerer, frowned when she realized that they were almost at the Duves's estate. "Don't they know they're running toward the Duves's mansion?"

The water sorcerer couldn't care less about Ishya's question. He was focused on channeling his power to his staff to conjure endless water spears and water cannons.

"Oh, my deities..." Cira mumbled under her breath when she reached the end of the forest and saw the scene in the Duves's estate front yard.

Queen Sollel was standing at the center, and she was surrounded by human armies and demi-human warriors by five rows. In front of her was the head of the family and the flame sorcerer who was already casting a fire attack, aimed at Queen Sollel! "No! Your Highness!"

Cira was overcome with worry, but when Hakken saw the scene in the Duves's estate front yard, by the fountain, he tightened his hold on his war blades and picked up his pace.

The size of Hakken's war blades could be compared to a claymore, even their weight and length, so when he bulldozed his way toward his lady, his war blades slashed, thrusted, and slaughtered everyone—including the rows of human armies—blocking his way. And behind Hakken was Cira who assisting him by shooting arrows at everyone who tried to lunge a sneak attack at Hakken as he forced his way in.

Entering the circle, Hakken and Cira immediately covered and protected Sollel's back.

"I'm here, my lady."

"I'm back, Your Highness."

The three were in a triangular formation, back against back, protecting one another as they faced the enemies—Hakken with his war blades, Cira with her bow and arrow, and Sollel with her flame.

A second of deafening silence filled the Duves family's front yard...before all hell broke loose. 

CECELIB | C.C.