Free Web NovelChapter 20: Glass and Blood
Away in the distance, the four soldiers marched with haste to intercept the essence signatures that their mages had picked up. Unfortunately for them, a very flustered and angry short plump woman was currently on her way to remove them from existence and send them into a peaceful, permanent sleep.
Sensing an incoming presence, the four soldiers snapped their heads in her direction and brandished their weapons.
"Looks like one of them is coming," the first soldier said, his grip tightening on his sword.
"Prepare for battle! We don’t know exactly what type of demon it is, so stay alert," the most experienced soldier of the group commanded.
"Understood!" the other three barked in unison.
In an instant, Carmilla dropped down on one of the soldiers from above, utterly crushing him into the dirt using her barrier magic. The crimson mana vanished into thin air before reappearing almost instantly.
The remaining three braced themselves for an attack, stepping back and readying their stances. Carmilla looked up from the crater and let out a bored sigh.
"Alright, let’s make this quick. All of you come at me at once."
"Arrogant demon! You will die a painful death!" one of the soldiers yelled nervously, his hands shaking.
"I am not a demon," Carmilla said, her brow furrowing in irritation. "Not that it matters. You will all be dead soon anyway."
"Tch!" the stubborn soldier sneered, his blood boiling with anger. Without waiting for the others, he ran straight toward Carmilla.
His valiant charge didn’t last long. Frankly, it was very stupid.
He gripped the hilt of his sword and swung in a high horizontal arc, aiming to decapitate her. With a single, effortless step backward, Carmilla caused the blade to miss her entirely. But the man wouldn’t give up so easily. He continued his relentless onslaught, but she fluidly evaded every single strike.
Carmilla wasn’t even looking at him anymore. Her attention was already preoccupied with the other two soldiers, easily keeping them at bay by tossing up temporary barrier walls whenever they tried to flank her.
After playing with them and tossing them around like toys, Carmilla came to a quick conclusion, these men were weak. She didn’t even need to waste her mana on them; she could just rip them apart using her bare claws and her arrow-tipped tail.
"Let’s get this over with," Carmilla said, thoroughly annoyed.
"Brothers, hold your ground! She will soon be out of mana!" the leader shouted.
"Right!" they answered in unison.
The men turned and prepared for Carmilla’s counterattack. They started slowly circling her, desperately trying to salvage an opportunity to strike, but they couldn’t find a single opening.
"Tch," the commanding soldier clicked his tongue, aggravated by their circumstances. He turned to the other two and gave a sharp nod. With that signal, they all charged in at once, hoping to deal some damage or at least stall for time until reinforcements arrived.
The first soldier arrived, lifting his sword for a heavy downward strike. Carmilla dodged it gracefully and followed up immediately with an attack of her own. Her tail lashed out like a whip, striking him in the leg with deadly force. The moment the attack landed, a loud, sickening crunch rang out.
"Aaaaaagh!"
With a loud scream, the soldier’s leg gave out beneath him, and he collapsed to the snowy ground in agonizing pain.
The other two soldiers leaped in, trying to save their comrade, but they didn’t stand a fraction of a chance. The second soldier lunged at Carmilla, trying to impale her. The moment the blade reached her, Carmilla firmly grabbed the weapon by the flat of the blade and violently yanked him toward her.
"Wha—?"
Startled by the sudden, overwhelming force, the man lost his footing and stumbled forward. Carmilla’s claws flew straight ahead, digging deep into his neck. Crimson red blood instantly sprayed out, staining the pure white snow.
The last soldier swung in a desperate vertical strike, intending to crush her. But Carmilla simply parried his blow using the sword she had just stripped from the dead man, before fluidly driving the blade straight through his face, killing him instantly.
Carmilla pulled her bloody fingers out of the second soldier’s neck and tossed the stolen weapon aside, casually walking away from the corpses.
The injured soldier sat on the floor, his eyes filled with tears of pure agony. It had all happened in a flash. He hadn’t even been able to process it. To him, all that took place was a reckless charge, and the next millisecond he was on the ground with his comrades dead.
’How the hell are we supposed to fight this?’ he thought, terror gripping his leg. ’She’s a high-level demon! This isn’t what the mages said we were going up against!’
"Demon! Mark my words, your death will be a painful one! You hear me?! A painful death!" he shouted at Carmilla, trying to mask his fear with rage.
"Again, I am not a demon," Carmilla said, her voice dripping with irritation. "You know, for a Holy Order, you guys are really stupid when it comes to identifying what is and isn’t a demon."
"Go back to hell where you belong, bitch!" the soldier screamed, cutting her off.
Carmilla walked over to the weeping man and ruthlessly drove the sharp tip of her arrow-tipped tail straight into his heart. The man let out one last, choked groan of pain before his body went completely limp.
"Hah... what a pain," Carmilla muttered aloud, wiping a stray drop of blood from her cheek. "Better start moving before more of them show up."
Just as she turned to leave, her pureblood senses violently spiked, picking up an incoming high-tier threat.
From the shadows of the snow-covered trees, a man slowly approached her. His silver armor gleamed with holy enchantments, and his massive broadsword was held perfectly at the ready.
It was a Holy Paladin.
"The fight is far from over, monster," the man said, his voice low and dripping with absolute hatred. "I will see to it that you are cleansed from this world at once. For I am a Paladin of the Holy Or—"
"Then do so with your actions and stop blabbering on about your life. I don’t care," Carmilla interrupted, frowning deeply as she began channeling her mana.
"Tch. I’ll rip you in half for that."
