The Crimson Magister Chapter 8: V1-C8: Soul and Aether

Read chapter 8 of The Crimson Magister by Okram on NovelPedia.

The first enchanted arrow struck Aqua’s circlet and shattered. Then came another. Then blades, hammers, and spells. Their arrows, blades, and spells died a hair’s breadth from Aqua’s skin, caught against the stillness of her [Temporal Barrier]. Nothing that touched stopped time could pierce through it. Aqua was impressed. The woman whose mind she had just invaded was already up and scheming against her and Azure, and if she wasn't an enemy, she would even applaud her. She left Azure to guard Laura while she dealt with the remaining Thorns. Of course, she was unlikely to kill them, as they could prove useful, but scaring them was on the table. Aqua smiled, approaching the mob of humans in front of her. But instead of their fear growing, they seemed to steel themselves, intently following her movement. She glanced toward Laura. What could she possibly think of to get out of my grasp? Aqua crossed her arms as she calmly approached the enemy mob. They were not aiming for her heart, throat, or eyes. They were aiming for the ruby. Aqua almost laughed. What did they expect to accomplish by targeting a gemstone instead of her throat, heart, or eyes? Arrow after arrow bounced away from her Barrier. When the barrage stopped, four fighters charged her with blades raised and hammers ready to crush. As enemies kept attacking, Aqua noticed Azure readying herself for battle before charging in front of her, cutting off the heads of many of them. "I am fine, Azure. You should keep watch over the trickster over there," Aqua pointed back at the woman as she nonchalantly punched one of the melee attackers, sending him into a nearby tent. "But, you just stood there taking attacks. I thought you needed support," Azure responded with a worried tone as she slashed another enemy. "These guys are nothing; you need to make sure our backs are covered. That one is more dangerous than them," Aqua pointed toward Laura. Azure groaned before answering, "Fine! I will do it, but don't blame me if you get hurt!" Azure stopped for a moment while looking over the terrified enemy and then over her companion before softly asking her, "If possible, could you please not kill all of them unless necessary? I want to bring at least some of them to be punished according to our laws." Aqua really enjoyed seeing her companion worry about her, even if it was only because she needed her help to rescue her princess friend, and what intrigued her more than that was that, despite her rank, she seemed so naive, like Aqua herself in her youth before Supreme Deity destroyed everything. "I promise this will be over quickly, and we can rush to your friend." Aqua smiled as she slowly uncrossed her arms, her presence almost setting the surrounding air on fire. She enjoyed their fear more than she cared to admit. It was delightful. She could feel it rolling off them, Laura’s included, and none of them could hide it from her. "How does it feel to feel what your victims felt? Every single one of you is a monster that deserves to burn!" she said, wrath twisting her youthful face. Azure stared at Aqua in silence. For a moment, the woman before her looked less like a rescuer and more like the monster the humans feared. With each of her steps, the heat rose, and the enemy lost their grip on their weapons, their armor searing their flesh and their clothes burning. "Maybe, some of you think you are free of sin, but you are surrounded by sinners. In my eyes, all those who are burdened by the divine are guilty!" she shouted, stopping mere steps away from the mob. "Look at you, not even able to fight for your own pathetic lives," she said, chuckling before the temperature suddenly dropped to normal. "Alas, your punishment will come at a later date, as per my companion’s request," she said, pointing toward Azure before turning her attention back. "And so, you will lead us to your leader, or else your entire merry band will be burned," she shouted. "I gathered from your dear strategist’s mind t