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“By the authority bestowed to me and my brethren by Her Grace, Lady Sephrodia, I hereby sentence you to die.”

The word “die” carried a heavy air along with it. None of the voices spoke for a second. Only the cold responded with its dry and freezing whisper.

Erin tutted. “Save your breaths, relics. Cease with the farce and get this over with.” She pivoted her sword and rolled her arms to loosen her stifling joints.

“Farce!?” one of the voices roared. “You dare mock the righteous judgement of Her Grace, thief!?”

“I mock your judgement. I am no thief,” she chewed her words but spoke each of them clearly. “Call me a murderer, humbug, arse, vixen, or anything else. But I will not allow myself to be labelled something I am not.”

“You deny being a thief? Then why are you here if not to plunder?”

“I lost my way during a fight. I don’t even know this place existed. Show me the path out of this forsaken place and you will remain disturbed, on the honour of my race as a Fae.”

Silent fell at Erin’s pledge. Erin couldn’t even hear a faint muttering. The deathly silence was as uncomfortable as the voices’ accusations. There was no face for her to gauge but the distrust in their tone was clear. She knew her promise would not be easily swallowed but she held on to hope.

“Do not be deceived, brothers!” boomed a voice, breaking the silence that lasted for around half a minute. “Greed exists in all, Fae or not.”

Erin rolled her eyes. She felt stupid for giving them the benefit of a doubt.

“But if we passed on the wrong judgement, Her Grace’s honour will be forever sullied.”

“But Her Grace’s final possessions will be safe. Lady Sephrodia is long dead. We’re not here to defend her honour. We’re here to defend her possessions and stay true to her wishes.”

“Lady Sephrodia will not smile upon us if we wronged a judgement. I fight for her smile. What of you, brothers?”

“The girl is a Fae. They are favoured by the Spirits. If they went back on their promises, they will earn the Spirits disfavour. I say the Fae speaks true.”

“That’s not a guarantee of truth, brother. If she speaks false, we stand to lose everything we have wrought.”

“Hear,” a pack of voices trembled in agreement.

“We will be condemning an innocent.”

“Our history of intruders are all liars and deceivers. The risk is far too great if she walks free. If another army comes, it will be larger and we won’t be able to protect the vault. I’m sorry, brother, but I say she dies.”

“She dies,” the pack of voices uttered.

“...Very well,” the refuting voice resigned. “She dies…”

“Finally,” Erin groaned, stretching her neck. “I have always hated a trial. Too little integrity and far too much pretence.”

“Think what you will of us, Fae. Our Lady’s last wishes take precedence.”

The hall trembled and the pillars glowed. Glitters fell and gathered in the centre of the hall, forming a circle of incantation. The inscription of runes was unfamiliar to Erin but she didn’t think it would be something amicable. The circle conjured a portal and from the portal, a figure walked out in a strut. The figure bore much resemblance to a human but its skin was pale blue and so were its eyes. Its snow-white hair draped down to its waist. It stood over seven feet with brawns honed to suit its body. It wore only a loincloth that spanned to its knees.

“Ice Golem?” Erin muttered at the Appraisal’s result. The being before was no human at all nor a sapient. A simple familiar created solely to serve its masters. It was tailored to its masters’ preference, hence its appearance.

Another portal formed just in front of the Ice Golem. The portal was small, twice the size of Erin’s palm. A pole protruded out and the Ice Golem grabbed it, drawing it out of the portals as if it was unsheathing its weapon. A sword was attached to one end of the pole. It was a glaive, as long as the wielder’s height. The blade itself was a vivid blue and it gave off a glint of ice and snow.

“Kill her,” one of the voices spoke in a tone as cold as the hall was.

“This is pathetic,” Erin spat and moved herself directly in front of the Ice Golem before it could enter a stance. She heard the voices gasped at the usage of Warp. Enveloping her edge with Mystic Blade, she slashed upwards without a shred of hesitation.

Another silence fell and this one lasted shorter. The silence broke as the Golem’s hands slid off its wrists.

[Experience gained +30% - Level Progression: 120%]

Erin snorted with a laugh. The Ice Golem was level forty-six. The experience yielded denoted the Golem to be a formidable opponent, or it would have been one. Erin’s impatience gave her a dull but instantaneous and safe victory.

[Erynthea: Level 38 increased to Level 39]

[Skill Points gained +2 | 2]

[Ability Points gained +2 | 2]

[Level Progression: 20%]

“Impossible!” one of the voices thundered. “Absurd!”

Erin collapsed to one knee and felt heat rising in her body. “There,” she said. “Now I am truly what you all accused me to be.” The blade of her sabre shattered, then. She was surprised over her blade’s ruination but over the fact, the blade lasted longer than she had anticipated. “You served me well,” she whispered to her sabre and stuffed the hilt inside of her holster belt, or what was left of one.

The rest of the Ice Golem’s body followed. It collapsed into two halves, split vertically from the loins to the crown. The halves fell onto opposite sides. It shattered like glass upon hitting the ground. The glaive also fell but Erin caught it with both of her hands. Gripping the pole firmly, she swung the glaive around and overhead. It was heavier than the sabre but not too heavy to disrupt her balance. The handle was cold but warmer than the air she was basking in.

“This absurd!” the voice yelled, louder than before. “That Golem was crafted out of Queen’s Glacial. Not even Obsidian Steel edge would be able to give such a clean cut. What sort of trickery did you use?!”

“Am I obligated to answer that?” Erin retorted. She tried casting Mystic Blade on the glaive but it shuddered in her hands and she immediately dispelled it. A poor match for her ultimate trick, it would seem but at least she had a weapon.

“What are you?” asked a voice.

“Just a traveller who got lost. Now, will you allow me safe passage or do you have another champion you wish to send to me?”

Their response did not come immediately. They saw what she was capable and they were currently doubting if any of their champions would prevail. Truth to be told, Erin could not use Mystic Blade without a proper medium and the glaive was not one. And neither could she use another Warp if she wish to conserve Mana but she kept that part to herself and let the relics wallow in anguish over a wrongly preconceived notion.

“Very well. The deceiver invites her own demise and who are we to deny her request?” Gone was the dutiful voice. The speaker became a voice of personal pleasure. They were in chagrin and Erin could smell their indignation.

“If she kills the rest too, we will be absolutely defenceless.”

“Nonsense, she could not,” a voice said. “Whatever trick or spell she used, the Mana expenditure is bound to be costly for such an effect. Unless she’s a fool, she would not use them again.”

Erin clicked her tongue. Her feint crumbled before it even began.

There was a general consensus and understanding among the voices. Erin could almost hear them nodding.

“Bring forth the next executioner!” a voice bellowed.

The pillars lit up in dazzling radiance and the glitters drop to the ground, forming another circle of incantation. The same portal was conjured and the same foe strode out of the whirling, glittering darkness. An Ice Golem with shorter hair, neck-length, and a sword half a head shorter than the wielder.

Erin shot a Lightning Bolt at the snow below the Ice Golem’s feet, raising it into murky clouds of white and grey. The Ice Golem swung its sword with a single hand and the smoke was cleared. Erin was already within range and she thrust the glaive out. The Ice Golem parried the glaive and cut low. Erin flipped over the large blade and threw a stab as she turned in the air. The blade of the glaive graze the Golem’s cheek and blue goo oozed out.

[Spear Art Lv. 1 - Acquired.]

There was no anger or pain in the Golem’s eyes. It wasn’t bothered by the shallow wound it received. It responded as naturally as a level-headed fighter would. The Golem raised its sword from the low cut it performed and hacked down with all its strength behind it. Erin sidestepped the strike and buried the glaive head into the Golem’s ribs; if it even had ribs. However, she drew a cut and her thrust slid off the Golem’s flesh. The Golem lurched and scooped a hand at her. A double-bladed spear, born of lightning, appeared in her other hand. She fended the arm off with Storm Glaive. The lightning glaive bounced off the Golem’s flesh but so did the Golem’s arm. She quickly retreated before the Golem could grab her in its next attempt. She dispelled the Storm Glaive after cursing for its ineffectiveness but she quickly reprimanded herself for scolding something inanimate.

The Golem followed in her steps, quite literally. It brought its sword up and swung down. Erin spun to the side and ram the glaive into its neck but the result was the same. The head grazed the skin but failed to pierce into the flesh. The Golem swung to the side. Erin flipped backwards and avoided being sliced from the loin to the crown-like the last Golem.

“Damn it!” she muttered, panting. The current Ice Golem was only level forty, a single level higher than her. It shouldn’t have been a problem but she was tired and hungry. Every step made felt like a needle sticking into her nerves. Her arms were akin to rusted levers grinding against rusted cogwheels.

The Ice Golem lunged without a hint. Erin parried a blow and her hands shook with numbness from that parry. The Golem swung again and she twirled out of the blade’s path. She returned with a jab but the Golem punched the head away with its fist. It retaliated by slashing wide. Erin dodged the fatal cut with a slant. She countered with another thrust that proved as futile as before. Erin kept her distance but the Golem took only a single step at it had covered three of hers.

The Golem unleashed a flurry and Erin dodged all the strikes and slashes without obtaining a single scratch but her muscles screamed in despair over her exhaustion. She refrained from swinging the glaive and shifted to spells but the Golem did not give her window to cast any major spells. All she could manage was the feeble Lightning Bolt that the Golem could just batter it away with its bare hands. The longer she fought, the slower she became. It was the Ashen Knight and the Wight all over again. Helpless as ever. No matter how far she came, her foes kept pushing her back. It was as if she had not grown at all.

Soon, she found herself at the mercy of the Golem who was slamming its sword against her guard as if it was pounding a dented metal back into form. The Golem was not a complete dullard. Realizing its futility in its repetitive action, it swung sideways and flung the glaive from Erin’s hands. She fell back but the Golem chased and swung. She sidestepped a blow but the next came quick. She spun away but the Golem followed her with a thrust. She was about to twist herself out of the thrust when she decided to stand and take the thrust. She tutted and let the sword carve into her waist but she held it from carving into her organs by grasping the blade with her bare hand. She reached for her bladeless sabre hilt. She drew it out of her belt.

“Never again,” she vowed to herself. She gripped the blade tighter and cast Spatial Sense. The pain she felt tripled and she screamed but she did not let the blade go. Lightning spilt from her hand, drifting across the bladeless hilt. The lightning caught the queer Spirits in the air. Crystal began forming and gathering. She thought of the sabre she had just lost, a gift from Aedan, a blade of silver steel. A blade that could withstand the strain of Mystic Blade.

The lightning roared and a blade of thundering crystal shaped into a blade that fitted snugly into the hilt. “Obey me!” she shouted. The room trembled for a brief moment. The Spirits seemed to cry and rushed towards her. They heeded her call. The coarse blade shed the rough bumps and edges off the blade, leaving a smooth and gleaming surface of silver and cyan. And she swung, bringing the blade forged of lightning, ice, and Spirits around a wide arc. And she dispelled Spatial Sense, dropping to both of her knees.

The blade exploded into millions of tiny crystals that became glitters of the air.

And the Golem’s head slid off its neck and the body dropped to its knee in front of Erin and in the same manner.

[Experience gained +25% - Level Progression: 45%]

[Unique Talent: Bespoke Lv. Ex - Acquired]