Ha… ahahahahahaha!

So strong! To think he can take on all of us like this on his own!

Escaping our trap was already impressive enough. We certainly thought it would be enough to take them out. It was basically a perfect plan. Fralton would transform into his giant chameleon form, covering us from any prying eyes as we waited in ambush. And then, once they were in the middle of the bridge, Olva would fire her explosive arrow, severing the bridge immediately. And then, Fralton would turn into his giant eagle and Mrutu would begin chanting her Mountain Drop spell to finish them off.

But of course, they were skilled enough to survive even after all that.

And to think he was brave enough to chase after us like that. Not to mention his spell being able to tax Graton’s barrier. Never saw a spell like that before. So powerful yet he casts it so fast.

Heh, Hugo Greenwood. So you really are one of the kids responsible for the assasination of the Magocracy’s Ice Witch.

I wonder where your big sister is though. Is she even stronger than you? I would love to meet her too~

The catkin youth only stopped flying once he hit a cliff. But once he did, he quickly recovered, as if nothing had happened, before running forward, back into action straight away. He didn’t even care of the rabbit mage that he had used as a cushion between him and the cliff wall, which, by the way, had turned unconscious from the impact.

Ha, he might be powerful, but he still fell for Olva’s trick. How many people she had killed the same way, I wonder?

And there’s the princess, charging right at us. I gotta be the one to fight her, of course.

Fiora, lagging behind compared to Hugo as she had to dodge the thunder strikes in a normal way, landed on firm ground with a shudder of pain. She had used too much of her Feather Step, and now, her feet had to pay the price. It’s an ability that supercharged your leg muscles, so even her being able to use it consecutively like that without going into cramps right away was a display of her skillfulness. She was never good at Fortissimo like her master, so she had to compensate by dodging attacks that she couldn’t block or parry instead.

The dark elf named Olva fired another one of her arrows. Fiora already knew however not to attempt to slash it like Hugo did. That idiot. He got overconfident. Thank the Saint he got that fairy of his.

She dodged to the side immediately with another Feather Step, feeling another sharp pain assaulting her lower legs.

!!!

CLANG

From behind, a slash of a scimitar nearly bisected her, if not for her blocking it with her sword.

The arrow indeed exploded, but it wasn’t her main concern now, as the catkin assassin was right beside her.

“Hello, Your Imperial Highness. Long time no see.”

“Hmph, the Hunter of Death himself. I see my siblings don’t pull any punches on trying to take my life,” Fiora responded with a smirk.

Using Graceful Step, she dashed backwards, putting a distance between her and the assassin.

Or so she feinted. In fact, it was an offensive move, as she intended to attack the elf behind her.

SWOOSH

The sharp noise of a blade cutting air resounded through her ears, as she barely dodged in time with an inch of her life. The catfolk decided to use the opportunity to send a barrage of slashes towards her, but she deftly parried every single one of them, even sending some back to him, drawing first wound in their combat.

"Too slow! Too slow!" She mocked. "Hugo's spell is so much faster! And stronger!"

For the first time in his life, the assassin realized that he might just have picked a target that was too much for him.

Still can't win even with my full crew, huh? Heh, always knew one day I'd take the wrong job.

"Hey, catboy.” Fiora spoke, still with her smirk. “If you tell me who sent you and your gang, I might just let you all live. You know very well that your little assassin party isn’t strong enough to take me down, right? Your plan has failed. Quite the ingenious plan, I have to admit, but not ingenious enough.”

“Heh, who knows? They never tell us anything. We’re just mere grunts in the guild. A bounty appears for someone and we take it, no questions asked,” he replied, still grinning.

“Then tell me where the headquarters of your so-called ‘Guild’ is,” Fiora continued. “I’d like to pay them a visit myself.”

“Wanna put a hit on your siblings, eh?”

“Hmph. I’ll kill them myself if they get in my way. However, I can certainly use your bunch to clean up the other corrupt nobles. It would be too much of a bother for me to kill them personally one by one.”

Another arrow flew towards her. Or rather, three arrows, as the elf had opted to fire three at once from her bow. They were moving all separately from each other. It was clear that she intended to blow up a wider area so Fiora couldn’t escape.

Fiora didn’t even need to look behind her to notice or even dodge them though. She moved forward and launched herself towards the catkin, knowing very well his underling would never shoot towards him.

And then, she began her relentless assault.

“Staccato: Storm!”

With a speed impossible to decipher by the naked eye, she barraged the beastkin with slashes and thrusts. He managed to keep up at first, but he soon found out that even with double the sword amount, he was outmatched by her ever increasing speed.

And thus, with a sickening meat-slashing sound, and a sound of metal hitting the dirt, Fiora took his left hand.

Blood spurted out of the stump as the catkin slowly backed away—his other hand dropping the sword as he needed it to press the wound.

“See?” Fiora continued, completely unfazed by the sight of blood. “You can’t fight me anymore. I’ve grown these past two months, all thanks to Hugo and Nicole. They have trained me well, and made me grow even further as a swordswoman. You might be a match for me back at the temple, but now, you’re nothing but trash. So fess up. Tell me everything. From the assassin guild to which of my siblings sent the order.” She pointed at him.

“Nevan! You bitch!”

The dark elf fired even more arrows towards Fiora, but once again, she dodged it all with ease without even needing to look. The speed of an arrow is so much slower than the speed of Hugo’s Boom Cannon. Not to mention the speed of his Boom Rifle, which is even faster. And there was no serenity in the elf’s attacks. It was all so obvious.

The elf tried to jump back away from her, but Fiora’s speed was simply unmatched. She zigzagged through her arrows, dodging all the explosions flawlessly.

And then, when she was close enough…

SLASH

She sliced her bow into two.

The elf fell to the ground on her bottom—fear and anger filling her face. Her hand grabbed the dagger on her belt, but before she could even unsheathe it, Fiora already placed the tip of her sword on her throat.

"Hey, Nevan!" She yelled towards the catkin. "You care about her, don't you? Then spill it. Tell me everything."

Olva didn't dare to move even an inch. She knew that making any sort of movement would be the end of her.

The catfolk named Nevan still continued to grin, even as he had to bear the incredibly painful experience of having your hand being cut off.

But then, he did something completely unexpected. He knelt down and placed his temple on the ground, prostrating completely towards Fiora.

"You win, Fiora Guinevere Pendragon. I, Nevan Renado, admit my complete and utter defeat."

Fiora raised her eyebrows, a skeptical look drawn across her face. No way he was suddenly going to surrender this easily, right?

She walked forward, sheathing back her sword though still keeping her right hand on the handle. The elf was no longer a threat. Even if she would run at her with her dagger, she would be able to counter her attack with extreme ease.

“Hoo… are you speaking the truth? Or are you just lying to catch me off guard?”

She stood in front of him, looking down towards the groveling man.

"You are no prey, Fiora Guinevere Pendragon. You are a predator. I acknowledge you as my superior." He spoke again.

"Nevan!" A growly voice shouted.

It was the lizardman priest, along with the mousekin, who was leaning at him. The hole on his stomach was gone, but he clearly was still too weak to fight.

There was a bright light at the tip of his steel staff however. He was clearly readying a spell to attack her.

However, he hadn’t launched it yet. Most likely because he saw his leader kneeling in front of their opponent like that.

“Is this a beastman thing? I know you folks are big on honor and all that. Settling fights through one-on-one duels. Even your courtship ritual includes a fight against your rivals,” Fiora continued. “You are a bunch of assassins though. You have no honor. The moment you decide to be lapdogs of corrupt humans, you have lost your right to call yourself true beastmen. Well, except the dark elf and the lizardman. They aren’t really beastmen after all.”

Lizardmen were usually considered of the Demon Race instead, as their homeland was on the Demon Continent.

The lizardman, hearing what his leader had said, decided to kneel down and prostrate as well, followed by the mousekin beside him. His spell was, of course, dispelled.

“Y-you can’t just bow to her, can you?” The elf yelled. “She’s exactly the kind of scum we all aspire to exterminate! Don’t you remember our oath back then? That we would kill every one of those noble filth that put us in that hell?”

She was now in tears, which made Fiora raise her eyebrows.

“I pledge my allegiance to you, Your imperial Highness. For I too share your dream. To free every single one of my brethren in captivity and bondage.”

At this point, Nicole and Helen had arrived at the location Fiora was currently in. Even Hugo had returned as well, carried by his fairy.

And what they saw naturally took them by surprise.

-------

Hugo

What the hell has just happened?

I was only gone for a bit and when I come back, the assassins are bowing to Fiora?

Except for dark elf-oneesan though. She's yelling something with tears in her eyes.

"Hoo? Did you just say you wish to support me in my goal to forbid slavery? And how do you know about that exactly?"

"I've researched you after our first meeting." Well, that's a nice way to say "attempt to assassinate". "And I learned of your noble goal and how you were isolated from the royal court because of it. Your older sister, Rinea Rhea Pendragon, is against it because her company profits greatly from it. And your older brother, Alphonse Rhea Pendragon—he's against it because he's with the nobles that desire to keep the status quo. I've heard how they talk of you at the capital. "The Barbarian Princess. The Accursed Sibling. The Delusional Little Girl. And many others."

"So you've picked up on the rumors. So what? You think you can help me achieve my goal? You're a skilled assassin. You can just kill all those slave traders and the nobles that support them without my help."

"If I do that, I know they would send one of the Imperial Knights after me. And then it would be all over. I am not so naive to think that I can win against any of them. And seeing how badly I dare against you know, I know my assessment was correct."

The catboy… he's… swearing fealty at Fiora?

Fiora paused for a moment, walking around him one full circle before replying, "So, how did you learn I was going here?"

"It was an info given to me from the higher-ups of the Guild. They didn't say where it came from."

"And who is the head of the Guild?"

"An old man we only call by the title 'Guildmaster'. No one knows his real name. But I do know the biggest backer of the Guild is the current Earl of Holden, Lord Julius Holden. I’m sure you already know where to find your dear Earl, but you can find the Guildmaster in the Capital. Our headquarters, like you ask, is there, inside the Catacombs.”

“Hmph, so my suspicion was correct after all.”

Fiora’s interrogating him. And he’s spilling everything. This is exactly what she wants.

And the Capital? He must mean the capital city of the Holy Empire, Arthurstaad. No idea about the Catacombs though. Is it like the Paris Catacombs?

I stood on the sidelines, watching in silence, making sure that none of the assassins would try to ambush Fiora. I knew I shouldn’t interrupt the proceedings, as Fiora was now showing just how capable she was as a leader. She was ordering him around without hesitation, while still having her right hand on the handle of her sword, ready to strike at a moment’s notice if he made any sudden movements.

Helen was doing the same, while Nicole was biting her lip and gripping her staff tightly, looking terribly nervous.

I put one hand on her shoulder, whispering, “It’s fine. She’s got this.”

“Don’t trust her lie!” The elf suddenly shouted. “You and I know that human nobles cannot be trusted! I don’t care if she’s an exiled princess or whatever but you know very well how humans treat us demons and nonhumans! She’ll just use you as a tool for her political game!”

Fiora turned to face the elf with a neutral, almost bored-looking expression on her face.

“Who are you, dark elf? What’s your name?”

“As if I would ever tell my name to you!”

“Very well. I’ll just call you ‘Miss Dark Elf’ instead.” She smirked. “Hear me, Miss Dark Elf.” At this point, she started to slowly walk towards her. “You might think that all of us humans are bad or evil or whatever. Perhaps you’re right. Perhaps I’m just doing this out of my selfish greed to obtain the throne over my siblings. You certainly don’t have any reason to trust me at this point, especially after I sliced off your lover’s hand.”

“L-lover?” The dark elf immediately reddened. “W-we and I.. we’re not like—”

“Oh please. I’m only thirteen and it’s all too obvious that you care greatly about him. That’s why you are both filled with anger while crying at the same time. You hate me yet you’re worried about him. And that hate actually overcomes your fear. Thankfully, for your own sake, you didn’t try attacking me with that dagger of yours, or else I would have sliced off your hand as well.”

Well, she’s surprisingly cute in that state. Heh, I guess all girls or women would turn cute once they’re all blushing like that.

But to think that Mr. Cat over there has such a pretty elf girlfriend. Damn it, now I’m jealous! I want an elf girlfriend too! Normal elves or dark elves—both are fine!

Though I don’t think they’re official yet though. I don’t think that guy is the romantic type in the slightest.

Now, Fiora was standing right in front of her. The dark elf was taller yet Fiora’s presence still managed to be much more intimidating than hers.

“How old are you, dark elf? From the way you spoke, you must be a mere youngling, compared to your brethren. The length of your ears tells me that you have a lot of non-elf blood inside you, so you’re far different from those pureblooded ones who were present one thousand years ago when you betrayed us for the Demon God."

"W-what does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm saying that you have nothing to do with the betrayal. So there's no reason for even me, a descendant of the legendary hero, to see you as an enemy." She smiled. "So you're the one who's close-minded, thinking I'm the same as those wretched nobles."

She drew her sword out, but not as an offensive more. Instead, she held it up so the thin blade perfectly lined up horizontally with the bridge of her nose.

"I am Fiora Guinevere Pendragon, descendant of the legendary hero Arthur Pendragon himself. I shall cut through the chains of injustice and tyranny, just like my ancestor did. I promise you this, in my name and the name of the Pendragon dynasty."

Her smile disappeared as she recited her oath. She was completely serious—with a dignified and dare I say it, regal countenance.

And for the very first time, I can finally see her as a real, honest-to-goodness royal princess.

The dark elf was made speechless. I can guess what’s most likely going through her head right now, just by looking at her expression. It was confusion. She was confused between her preconceptions of what nobles are and what Fiora was displaying to her.

Fiora said nothing more towards her. She returned back to the catkin and said, “Raise your head.” He did it promptly, almost as if he was her knight. “Perhaps you can prove useful to me. Fine. If you truly wish to fight alongside me, then leave this place with your little band. Gather all the information you can about the nobility, the merchants, and their connections with the royal family. And determine any factions that might support my cause. I wish to know everything, anything at all, even meaningless things like the favorite dessert of some no-name baron.”

He nodded.

“This doesn’t just include the Holy Empire and its vassals. I require information on the entire Holy Continent, as there’s a high chance my little competition for the throne will plunge this whole continent into chaos.”

He nodded again.

“And of course, you will work behind the shadows spreading good rumors of me while besmirching the names of my older brother and sister. Portray them as unworthy of the throne, with me being the only one who should reign as an empress.” 

He nodded once more.

“You shall do this work for a couple of years, as I stay here doing my training. Every year you will come to this place and give me your report.”

He nodded for the last time.

“And of course, dispose of any other assassins that might go after my life. Or not. They can’t be that bright if they think it’s a good idea to chase me all the way to the place where so many powerful swordmasters gather. Might make a good distraction from my training.”

There, he actually chuckled a little.

“Good. I trust you will do your task well. If you’re truly at my side now. If you betray me and decide to run away, I will not mind. However, if you try another attempt at my life…” She slashed the very top of his head, causing a chunk of hair to disperse. “I shall show no mercy.”