Marina

Marina’s journey to the capital was a far shorter trip than she had expected. The griffins flew swiftly, with barely any rest. If only their kind was easier to tame, they would’ve replaced horses a long time ago for sure.

On the way, she barely had any words with her escorts. She was told to stay with the female knight but she was to have her own tent. She simply scoffed and scowled at her whenever their eyes even met for a little.

And of course, she was guarded 24/7, with each member of the knight taking turns. And she was pretty sure the griffons were watching her as well, ready to gore her with their sharp claws and beaks if she were to do something she wasn’t allowed to. Leaving the camp, even to have relief, was forbidden. She would need to be accompanied with a knight as she did her business. And of course, stealing back her staff was forbidden as well.

No matter. They didn’t know that she wouldn’t really need her staff to slaughter them all.

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They arrived at the capital early in the morning, with the griffons landing on top of the large tower the castle possessed. She was then told to wait in the guest room for the king was not ready to receive her yet. And of course, the knights would guard her there as well. When she asked them to fetch the court mage as she had a very urgent message for her, they refused.

Which was well within her expectation. That’s why she sent her dryad familiar in her stead. As she sat there inside the de facto holding cell, Nysa would be there telling her everything, about what she learned about the leyline.

The Magocracy’s shadow loomed over this continent. It was a far more important matter than appeasing a greedy noble who couldn’t stand having his business partners being killed. Oh yes, she fully expected that Duke Treble was behind this summon. Using his influence, he made the king send his griffon knights to arrest her.

For now, she would play his game.

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Nysa

For a dryad, traversing through a manmade structure was almost as easy as traversing a thick forest.

Her mistress had summoned her secretly, behind one of the many doors she passed by as she descended from the tower she landed on. She commanded her to deliver a message to a certain person. And stealth was the order of the day. She was not to expose her presence to anyone except to the recipient of her message.

And so she transformed herself into a small tree, using her tiny yet extremely lengthy roots to find her way to the arcane laboratory where the court mage should exist.

However, she didn't need to in the end.

The woman sensed her presence and stopped her in the castle grounds. She then forced her to manifest in front of her.

"What is this? What might Marina Archimond's pet be doing, scurrying around like a little rat?"

Her smile was frightening. She could never like this woman.

"A-ah, Miss Cecilia! I have an urgent message for you from Lady Marina!"

Cecilia raised her eyebrows. "An urgent message?"

"It involves the leylines, Miss! It's—"

The court mage covered her mouth with her hand.

"Not here. We'll speak at my place."

Such a sensitive information… they couldn't possibly talk about it out in the open.

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Inside her laboratory, in front of her and her subordinates, Nysa told them everything. She told them how her mistress had successfully tapped into the leyline of the continent and how she had discovered how there was a gigantic magic circle that could draw into all that power. She also told them about her mistress's concern that the Magocracy would use all that power for something nefarious. Not to mention the fact that without the leyline's power, disasters would strike due to a massive imbalance of mana, followed by the land dying, leading to mass starvation, which would surely lead to war.

A calamitous event. An act that rivaled the evil of the Demon God himself.

When she finished, the laboratory was silent. No one really knew what to say. They had considered it as a possibility, of course, but to be confronted by it so bluntly was, to put it simply, another matter entirely.

"I see." Cecilia was the first to speak. Her expression was grave, as if she just saw a ghost a minute ago. "Stay here. Speak to my assistants on the details. I'll fetch your mistress. Dealing with her arrogance will have to wait. Really, I've told her not to do anything rash. And she slaughtered a merchant caravan and stole the merchandise. What did she think would happen? Now I have to be the one sorting out her mess."

She threw her hands up in the air before making her way to the exit. Her hand reached for the door handle—

She gasped.

Her eyes widened.

Her head rolled.

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Marina

"Announcing the arrival of Lady Marina Archimond!"

Guards opened the oaken door, revealing Marina standing behind it. She was not alone. The griffon knights were there as well, standing behind her. After all, they couldn’t let a dangerous person like her be alone with the king. Not with the most elite knights guarding him.

Marina looked up, unflinching at the fact that her fate hinged on this meeting. Or rather, she believed that no matter what happened, she would still be able to get out of it.

These people… they were no match for her. Not when she was already a Grandmaster-level mage.

The king was there, sitting on his throne. A grave look was drawn on his youthful face, adding a few wrinkles that weren't usually there.

Was he disappointed? Angry? Whatever it was, she couldn’t care less. A king that would side with slavers was a king she wanted nothing to do with.

Standing beside him was the leech himself, Duke Treble. Unlike his Lord, the Duke had a smile on his face. A disgusting, fetid smile, but a smile nonetheless. Still the same unloveable, toad-like face. Still the same gaudy fashion.

She walked to the middle of the room,  knelt, and lowered her head.

"Explain yourself."

The king's voice was firm, with a slight hint of anger.

She raised her head, staring him right in the eyes. "I did what I believed was right."

His eyes narrowed. "So you believe that your personal morality trumps my laws, is that it?"

"Yes. Your laws are born out of interests and politics. My morality is born out of experience."

"Experience?" His fingers tapped the armrest of his throne. "Ah, your little sister nearly became a slave herself. Is that it? You now despise all slavers, even if they leave you well alone."

"...As the future Countess of Grandford, it is my prerogative to outlaw slavery in my land."

"Ha! Look at her! The sheer nerve and arrogance! This kingdom thrives from the slave trade! It gives us the necessary labor for our public projects. Not to mention all the slave tax that fills our kingdom's coffers. To abolish all that would be foolhardy! Nay, treacherous! You speak like those revolutionaries on the Holy Continent!”

The Duke ended his speech with a grin, making him look even more toad-like than before.

Marina’s glare shifted towards him. Just like his face, his voice was unpleasant as well.

The king cocked his head to the side. “The revolutionaries, Lord Treble?”

“Yes, Milord." The duke bowed. "As you know, as a merchant, I have a well-oiled network of information at my disposal. And said network will bring me news from all over the world, even from faraway lands like the war-torn region of the northern Holy Continent."

"And these revolutionaries…" The king scratched his chin. "Are they overthrowing the small kingdoms there?"

"Precisely. Those bands of treacherous ruffians share many of the beliefs held by Lady Archimond here. They never respected law and order, killing whoever they deem evil. Kings, queens, princesses, even priests and priestesses — no one escaped their sickening justice. And of course, slavers were on their list as well."

His words were clear. Marina was a threat. And it was best for the king to execute her on the spot.

The king moved his gaze back to the criminal.

"Would you overthrow me if I refuse to abolish slavery in Ferus?"

Marina paused.

His question was a loaded one. He was testing her.

"I will not. I am not fit for your position. Erasing slavery requires much more than a decree from you."

The king's lips pursed.

"All I ask is for no slave merchants to step foot in my territory. Nothing more. Nothing less."

Marina knew she was no revolutionary. Nor was she a messiah of the slaves. She was not naive enough to think that slavery would just disappear if there were laws preventing it. All it would end up doing was to make it go underground, hidden away from the surface world. And that would lead to even worse things being done to the slaves.

But, if she knew a slave merchant was crossing her territory, she would put a stop to it. Just because she wanted to.

The king grinned. “You’re asking a lot, Lady Archimond. Have you not realized that your territory divides the rest of the kingdom with the north? If I were to grant your wish, the trade Lord Treble had with the north would become awfully unprofitable, due to the detour the merchants would have to take.”

“I do not care. It is his problem, not mine. In this kingdom, every noble rules their land with their own discretions. Isn’t that right, Your Majesty?”

Marina went for the offense. Now it was her turn to test him.

The king glanced at the duke. “Lord Treble, what do you think?”

"Why, that's simply a preposterous proposal! I will be ruined! Ruined, I tell you! And besides," He pointed at Marina. "Your Majesty shouldn't entertain the idea of giving this woman anything! She had taken the lives of many for her perverted justice! All she deserves is the gallows and nothing more!"

A smile formed on the king's lips, as if he was holding a chuckle. "Lady Archimond, your response?"

Marina paused. Slowly, she stood up.

"The gallows shall not have me for none of your men can ever hope to put me in chains."

A bright green light suddenly enveloped the room, blinding everyone present.

When it receded, Marina was no longer human.

She had transformed into her half-dryad form.

Duke Treble fell backwards in shock. "M-monster! She's transformed into a monster! She's going to kill us all!

"You witch!" The leader of the knights drew his sword.

"Hold!"

It was the voice of the king, booming across the spacious room.

Silence. The panicking crowd had been pacified.

"Transformation without a staff." The king chuckled. "Cecilia told me once, how that was a skill only a few mages could master. You truly are the Verdant Witch."

"And this witch shall be the guardian of this kingdom. If you would let her."

Another silence.

And then, the king burst into a laugh.

"Marina Greenwood… you really are a fascinating person… I see now why Cecilia told me to keep a close on you…"

He stood up, walking down the steps towards where Marina was, his cloak swishing in the process.

"Very well." He smiled. "I shall give you my pardon."

"Your Majesty!" The duke protested. "You can't possibly—"

"On one condition." The king raised his index finger, his smile turning into a smirk.

Marina frowned. She didn't like where this was going. "And that is?"

"You're going to use your power to launch an offensive to the northern duchies. Bring them to our negotiating table. As you should already know, they declared their independence from us some time ago. Now, I wish them to return back to our fold.”

Murmurs broke out in the throne room. The ministers, who had yet to participate whatsoever in the conversation, began to argue with each other. The knights looked befuddled. Even the duke now had a gaping mouth on his toad-like face.

“Your Majesty, you want her to wage war on our stead?!” The knight leader spoke.

“Yes.” The king answered with a nonchalant tone. “If she is as powerful as she portrays herself to be, and if she truly wishes to be of service to this country, this task is ideal for her. WIth the rogue duchies under our control once more, we would not have to fear their military aggression anymore. We could allocate our military fundings into other things — things that would benefit our citizenry more. Everyone would be better off by it. And since it is only her who wages the war, we don’t have to worry about the expenses as well.”

There it was. The thing Marina was afraid of.

A command to use her magic for war.

Before she could utter her refusal, however—

“Your Majesty! Your Majesty!”

A soldier broke into the room in a pant, throwing the oaken door with great force in the process. His face was as pale as snow, as if he just saw a ghost that nearly took his life.

“What is the meaning of this intrusion?!” The knight leader yelled. He would not tolerate this display of impudence!

“There— there was a massacre! At the arcane laboratory! Everyone, including Lady Xander, is dead! That witch… she had sent her demon there to slaughter them all!”

Marina’s blood froze.

Nysa! Nysa! Where are you?! What happened?!

No response.

She didn’t wait.

She aimed her right palm at the ceiling. Using magic, she launched a large pointed rock towards it at high velocity, piercing it, creating a hole that she could go through.

As the room was covered in dust, before any of the knights could react, she leaped upwards, stretching her wooden legs like a growing tree.

“The witch! She escapes! Find her! Find her now!”

There was no time to dawdle. Let them thought whatever they wanted

If anything were to happen to Nysa, after she had devoted her life to her as her familiar, losing her immortality in the process...

She would never be able to forgive herself.

She made her way as swiftly as she could towards the arcane laboratory. It was located under one of the castle towers, near the courtyard. She slithered like a vine towards it, watching as a whole mass of soldiers were running with the weapons drawn towards the entrance.

And then, she saw them — two green figures, standing side by side, surrounded by a whole contingent of guards.

They were engaged in full on combat. The soldiers were hurling fire arrows and magic from the distance, combating the roots and vines they used to kill the sword-wielding soldiers that tried to cut them down.

And one of said figures was none other than Nysa herself.

Nysa! Why! Why are you doing this?! Nysa, stop! Stop killing them!

Still no response. It was as if the psychic bond connecting them had been blocked.

Or, she simply refused to listen.

The other figure, however, was unfamiliar to her. Unlike the dryad, this one actually looked like a bonafide monster. It was a hulking, crooked figure, around double the size of the average human male, with long, wooden claws as its fingers. Its body was made out of twisted, curling vines. Its eyes were hollow and a giant bulb jutted out from its back.

She had no idea what kind of creature it was.

Nevertheless, she had to stop this. Before it was too late.

She descended from the walls, landing softly on the grass. She then stabbed her fingers into the soil, transforming them into roots that would bind the two in place.

The roots burst forth, right under where the two stood. They quickly wrapped themselves around their bodies in an attempt to immobilize and neutralize their threat.

Only for their own manipulated vines to counter, grabbing the roots and snapping them into pieces.

“Ooh, Mistress Marina! So nice of you to join us!”

Nysa waved and giggled, noticing her master standing across the field behind all the soldiers.

“I’ve done as you told! The court mage and her ilk are no more! Now we can freely slaughter all the humans in this dump!” She laughed.

“Stop this! What are you talking about?! I’ve never given you that order!”

Anger filled Marina’s voice. What in the world was her familiar saying?

She looked at the creature standing beside her. Could it be that whatever that thing was, it was controlling her? But she had never heard of a familiar being mind-controlled like this. It should be impossible. A familiar’s soul was connected with her master’s. If some sort of hypnosis were to be used on one of them, the other would be able to snap it out of them in an instant.

“Look, the witch! The witch is here! Attack! Attack the master!”

The soldiers, now noticing her presence, quickly decided she was the bigger threat.

Of course. It was only logical, If she were the monsters’ mistress, then killing her would neutralize the monsters as well.

Before they could attack, Marina countered by forming a protective wall around herself with a curtain of bamboo.

It was impenetrable. Not even dozens of swords, spears, arrows, and spells hitting it could pierce through.

Inside the curtain, Marina dug down into the earth. Her plan was to drag both Nysa and the unknown monster down with her by creating a sinkhole. That way, they could all retreat and run away from the castle. If they stayed here for much longer, the griffon knights would come and she would have to fight them. She would rather not, as doing so basically meant she was declaring war against the kingdom itself.

Now of course, she was confident she could take them on in a fight, but that would mean she would do something her grandfather would surely disapprove of. The kingdom would fall into chaos, perhaps even a civil war. Everything would become a lot worse thanks to her.

She didn't want that. She wasn't a selfish mage like the Magocracy's Council after all.

Once she was in position, she channeled her mana into an earth and water hybrid spell, turning the soil into soft mud in an instant.

The two didn’t expect it in the slightest, losing their balance as their legs sunk into the earth, all the way up to their waist.

Now!

With her enlarged, elongated branch-like hands, she reached out from the muddy ground and grabbed them both. She then opened a tunnel with her earth magic and slithered as quickly as she could, utilizing her root legs to propel her forward while keeping her grasp on the two creatures as tightly as she could.

Here, she could just bury the unknown monster alive, but there was a good chance it could very well survive, since it was another plant monster like her dryad. Thus she had to bring it along, even though she could feel it gnawing at her claws.

She resurfaced at the outskirts of the city. After making sure that there were no farmhouses around, she dragged the two creatures out from the ground. She separated Nysa and the creature. She didn’t release her grip on the former, as there was a possibility she would come to the rescue of her “friend”.

Now, to take care of this thing.

She summoned a large flower, larger than the average human. The stem attached itself to the ground, with no actual plants following it.

Let's see if ice will do the trick. Those soldiers have tried fire and it wasn't effective.

From the base of its petals, it fired a cold wave at the plant creature.

The monster screamed, a hallowing noise escaping from its mouth. Every inch of its body was soon swallowed by the ice.

And then, Marina crushed him to a million pieces.

She turned her gaze to Nysa, moving her closer to where she was.

"Aaw, why did you kill him? He's just a harmless fairy-hunter!"

"Fairy-hunter?"

Marina paused. That name… she had heard of it before.

She remembered. It was one of the many species of feys she learned in her summoning class back at the Academy. It was a creature that would hunt fairies and eat them.

Where did it come from? There shouldn't be any fairies nearby. And Marina certainly didn't bring out her fairy.

No, it didn’t matter. What mattered first and foremost was making sure her familiar regained her senses.

She reached forward and shook the dryad’s shoulder. “Nysa, snap out of it! Who is that creature? And why did you attack the soldiers? Who gave you the command?!”

“It was me. I gave her the command.”

Marina turned in a flash.

There, a familiar girl in a dress stood with folded arms and a smirk on her face.

“You… Duke Treble’s daughter?!”

All of a sudden, a powerful headache assaulted her head. Her hands instinctively went to her head, trying to abate the pain however she could.

“Do not resist. This is the blessing of the Goddess. She has gifted me with the ability to bind any magical creature into my will. And yes, that includes you, in your half-dryad form.”

No! Not again!

Marina screamed. She exerted every will of her body, of her own soul, to resist her influence. She reached her hands towards her, fully intending to skewer her with either her branches or magic, whichever were faster.

It did not work. She could no longer control her body. Even changing her form back to pure human was impossible.

I cannot… I will not…

She fell to her knees, still screaming in agony.

She remembered this. She remembered how this felt.

The hopelessness… the fear… the rage… all that were still fresh in her mind.

Vera Marjoram… the gnome witch… she had defeated her and kidnapped her against will…

And now, this… this girl… she… by some manner of magic she had no inkling about… was doing the same to her…

Slowly, methodically, Lilian walked closer to her. Her smirk had transformed into a victorious smile. It was the same hateful smile that Vera once wore.

“She was right. She told me that as long as I followed her instructions, everything would go as I wanted. I sent that horrible creature to kill Miss Cecilia and her underlings at the precise time she told me to and there was your familiar. I controlled her too, baiting you to transform. And then she told me to wait here, for you to come out as a half-dryad. She really is the Goddess of Fate.”

“Now, everyone in this kingdom would be safe from you. And I shall finally be free of my horrible father.”

“What… you… what are you talking about?” To her surprise, she could still move her mouth and tongue to speak.

Still smiling, Lilian placed her right hand on Marina’s head. “Stay still. Soon, the Calamity will begin. And this kingdom shall be reborn with it!”

“C-Calamity?”

Lilian did not need to answer.

An earthquake. It struck the world around her in an instant, deafening and blinding her by its overwhelming roar.

Her gaze traveled towards the capital walls. She saw with horror how they began to unravel one by one, stone by one. Screams of the citizens could be heard from a distance as their houses collapsed on top of one another.

Lilian sat down, now giving Marina an unwanted hug. She held her close, resting her head on her bosom, patting her shoulder in a comforting manner.

“The Goddess says that this Calamity covers the entire continent.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “Something to do with whatever the mage country in the south has planned. My role is to guide my beloved prince in the upcoming dark times. Wars will break out. Starvation and famine as well. This kingdom will be challenged like never before.”

“And so, I need you, Marina Greenwood, as my right hand woman. You will protect this kingdom from her enemies with that powerful magic of yours. You will help me, right? You love this kingdom too, don’t you? Or was it all a lie?”

Marina could not answer. Even speech was too much for her now.

Tears. All she could do now was to silently weep. Weep at her own defeat.

All that training… all that research… was for nothing.

“Oh, do not cry. I promise you. Everything would be fine. Well, maybe not. The Goddess didn’t tell. But I wouldn’t hurt anyone without any good reason. All I wanted was for a worm like you to not ruin my life. You flirting with the Prince like that when he’s supposed to be my fiance — my ticket to freedom — it’s simply unforgivable.”

The earthquake didn’t last long. When it died down, the capital was in ruins. And some of the surviving buildings were burning, no doubt from dropped oil lanterns.

“Now, stand up. We have a kingdom to save.”

She was trapped. Her half-flesh half-wood body moved on its own without her controlling it.

She wasn’t even granted the mercy of unconsciousness. She had to watch every single second of her body being puppeteered by her.

The Goddess. She said that word multiple times. It was the person who gave her this unknown magic.

She was no agent of the Magocracy. She was sent by another.

Who? Who would do this to her? She could only imagine the Magocracy being the one in possession of such terrifying magic. If there was another… then she would be as powerful as them. Or even more.

Her legs moved. They were now walking towards the city with Lilian walking on the front and Nysa walking behind her.

“Oh, by the way, thanks to you still being half-human, I can’t make you autonomously obey my command like your familiar.” Lilian glanced at her and wagged her finger. “See how she’s smiling? I transformed her thoughts to fit what I want. You, on the other hand, have to suffer, being a prisoner inside your own flesh. Sorry about that.”

Marina did not reply. She simply gazed to the distance with an empty, lifeless gaze.

As for her soul…

It screamed.

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A/N:

Yeah, apologies, Marina fans, for doing this to her twice.

But in better news, I've finished writing the xxx chapter between Hugo and Felicia in Patreon!