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“The journey would be more peaceful without your tongue,” Shauna said as she raised Aedan’s head by his chin and brandished the knife before him, letting the light bounce off the blade and onto his eyes. “You brought this on yourself.”

Aedan snorted. “Yes, because I was the one who threw myself into your arms and begged to be tied up.”

Shauna grimaced. “Insolent till the end. You are not what you once were. This may be the last day you will have your tongue.”

“Oh, shut up, and just get this over with.”

Shauna simply couldn’t stand his insult any longer. She gripped his chin tightly and began pressing her knife into his mouth.

“My lady, we have a problem.” A soldier came up to her and reported before the knife was pressed into the flesh.

Shauna stayed her hand and glanced back over her shoulder. “What is the problem?” she inquired with a chilly voice.

The soldier seemed hesitant at first but he mustered up his courage and spilled the beans. “Our Mana Cells are insufficient,” he answered in a short breath.

Shauna frowned. Mana Cells were the fuel for the teleportation array. Without them, the array would be nothing more than a hollow shell. “Then what about the Mana stones and crystals?”

Once again, the soldier looked hesitant to reply but the glare from Shauna eventually made him open his mouth. “Depleted, my lady,” he answered grimly and fearfully. His shoulders were shivering uncontrollably.

Flames appeared around Shauna and they danced to a raging rhythm. “Impossible. We should have more than enough to last us twice the length of this journey and more.”

“I-I know… my lady, but…”

“But what?”

The soldier stammered, struggling to get the words out. In the end, he could only use his eyes to answer. His eyes glanced sideways as subtly as he could.

Though subtle, Shauna understood why the soldier was so reluctant. She spun to her side and came face to face with Wilson, who had been watching the whole thing with an uncaring attitude. “You… Of course, it’s you.”

“What do you mean of course it’s me?” Wilson scoffed.

“Tell me, how did the Undead Dragon come to be? You’re no master at the runic language, so there’s no way for you to summon an Undead Dragon without using plenty of Mana Cells. I didn’t want to think about it but maybe I should have. We wouldn't be in this predicament if I had, you thoughtless, insensitive selfish bastard.”

“I’m a thoughtless, insensitive selfish bastard because I’m not a blind follower of Aerys’ teaching like you and the others?” Wilson continued to scoff. “I have my own ways, my own methods, but none of them contradicts Aerys’ teachings. I punished those who wronged our god and now I’m being condemned for it? Oh, dear me. Has our order fallen so low?”

“Excuses, excuses. You are nothing more than a sadistic barbaric cretin who uses our god as a shield for your mindless atrocities.”

“Mindless atrocities?” Wilson laughed. “Power is mindless. Atrocity is nothing more than collateral of the mighty. Always has been and always will be. Only the weak would cry and whine about it. Strength above all else.”

“You are a blight to our order. You are not fit to be one of us.”

“Looks like Dorvu is a huge fool for placing his trust in you more than he does in me. Today, I will show him just how wrong he is.”

“Have you truly gone entirely insane, Wilson?”

“Enough talking!” Wilson roared. “I've had enough of your whining and complaints.”

The situation between the two had grown more than just tense. The Aerysian soldiers had long stopped what they were doing and watched the scene unfold. They couldn’t decide whether they should ran for cover should the two start fighting or should they just continue with their work lest they incurred the wrath of either two. They were caught in a dilemma.

Wilson attacked first. He withdrew a large axe from his pocket dimension as he charged at Shauna. The axehead immediately burst into flames the moment it was exposed to the outside world.

“You have indeed lost your mind,” Shauna scoffed. “To think you would draw your weapon at an ally, right here and now, in front of an enemy.”

“Enough with words! Draw your weapon, or die like a stupid bitch!” Wilson howled as his axe was only a few feet away from taking Shauna’s head.

“My weapon has already been drawn.” With a snap of her fingers, the flames around her rushed towards Wilson. As they reached him, the flames morphed into chains that wrapped around Wilson’s limbs, waist, and neck.

“What the fuck is this!?” Wilson screamed with an utterly shocked expression. He had never seen how Shauna fought nor did he hear the rumours. He was a self-absorbed person who lived in his own bubble, so it was only natural that he had no idea about Shauna’s abilities and skills. The fiery chains multiplied. More chains wrapped around Wilson. His head and face were not spared. Moreover, these flames were at least as hot as ordinary fire. It was only due to his resistance abilities that he was charred to cinders or screaming in agony. Still, the pain was there.

“Wilson. You have jeopardised the whole operation for your personal whim and satisfaction. Moreover, you tried to attack your superior in front of so many witnesses. I hereby place you arrest and you will face trial once we have returned.”

“Bullshit!” Wilson shouted and broke free of the chains, now bearing two axes, one in each hand. “Do you think these measly chains can keep me bound?”

Shauna waved her hands and the flames turned into spikes that surrounded Wilson from all sides. “For the sake of our past acquaintances as brother and sister of the same faith, I will show you mercy if you surrender right here and now.”

Wilson grinned. “If anyone should surrender now, it will be you.”

“Last chance, Wilson. Don’t make me do this.”

“You have gone soft. We are Aerysians. We should be unbound from petty morality and compassion. Might make right.” With a swing of both of his axes, Wilson shattered the spikes around him.

However, the flames re-converged and morphed into a cage with Wilson trapped within. “If you want to act like a beast, then I shall treat you like a beast.”

“Fucking bitch.” Wilson growled. He easily burst through the cage of fire. The flames chased after him. They morphed into a wall in front of him. “Useless!” he baulked and easily tore down the literal firewall.

“Fool,” Shauna muttered.

What awaited Wilson on the other side of the wall was a dragon head, moulded of flames. “What a joke,” he scorned at the petty tricks Shauna kept coming up with. This one was no different, he thought, and he thought wrong. The dragon's head chomped down on Wilson before it erupted into a pillar of inferno that shot up into the sky. This time, Wilson couldn’t help but let out a piercing wail of agony that shook the vicinity.

When the flames had subsided, there were only the fully intact charred remains of Wilson.

“Well… damn,” Aedan muttered. He was unfazed and unharmed throughout the heated exchange between the two Apostles. “You didn’t kill him. I’m surprised.”

“Idiot and traitorous he may be, he is still one of us. I’m only an Apostle. The decree should be left to Dorvu.” Saying so, Shauna beckoned for the dumbfounded soldiers to take the heavily wounded Wilson into holding.

“Um… my lady, what about our… other problem?” asked the very same soldier from before.

“We will have to seek aid from Lord Volsen again,” Shauna answered with a hint of reluctance in her tone.

The soldier nodded and quickly returned to his post to do as he was ordered. A small squad of soldiers were dispatched to bring word to Lord Volsen. Going by his vague memories and knowledge of this region, Aedan knew Lord Volsen was the lord governor of these parts and he was involved with a radical faith order.

Considering how insistent Shauna was in using the teleportation array, he deduced that their destination was too far away to travel by conventional means or it was a place that could only be accessed through teleportation. Whatever the reason was, it was working in his favour. For now, he just needed to keep stalling for time even if it cost him an arm or a leg… or a tongue.

“Lord Volsen, eh?” Aedan mused aloud. “Isn’t that the Lord Governor of this province?”

“You can scream out loud if you want. There isn’t anyone here who doesn't already know.”

“Alright then… Why Lord Volsen?”

Shauna turned her gaze to Aedan and her eyes went cold. The knife was still in her hand. Her expression was one that was sick of Aedan’s snarkiness.

Aedan was aware of this but he continued to run his mouth. “The Lord Volsen I know of is more of a businessman than a warrior. Yet, he is aiding the Aerysians… No, it will be more apt to say that the Aerysians allowed someone like him to aid them. How hilarious.”

Shauna took a step and she blurred into Aedan’s face. “Keep talking and you will see that I—”

“Blah, blah, blah,” Aedan cut her off. “Be done with it already.”

Something snapped within Shauna. She grimaced hard before letting an ugly twisted grin spread on her lips. She grabbed Aedan’s mouth forcefully and squeezed it open. She then stuck her knife into his mouth and wriggled it around.

Aedan screamed and shuddered as if he was being electrocuted. If he wasn’t tied to a tree, he would have long collapsed to the ground.

After a while, Shauna retracted her knife with the blade bloodied in its entirety.

Aedan had a distant look with his mouth left agape. Something fell out of his mouth that was hanging open. It went splat as it hit the ground. It went without saying that it was his tongue.

“You lived. That’s good. The average human would have died from the pain and blood loss. You held on for someone who is currently as feeble as the average human. False heir you may be, your might is true. For that, you have my respect even if you were infuriating.”

Aedan raised his head meekly and smiled.

Shauna twitched in response. “You can still smile?”

Aedan chuckled.

“You can still laugh?” Shauna snorted. “Even at this point, in such a state, you still wish to provoke me?”

Aedan burst into laughter. Without a tongue, his laugh came out twisted and eerie.

Overwhelmed by a momentary yet immense terror, Shauna drove a fist into Aedan’s abdomen.

Aedan’s face contorted with pain as he groaned and ceased his laughter.

Shauna recoiled and stepped away from Aedan. She was shocked by her own actions. She couldn’t believe she lost control of herself even for a split second. Something about Aedan just now shook her to the very core and triggered a primal response from her. Only a True Dragon was capable of such a thing, to invoke a primal fear from living creatures.

A false heir… these words floated across her mind… bringing along a hint of doubt.

“No, it can’t be…” She shook those thoughts away. “He cannot be the true heir. After all, Dorvu has shown his mark.”

Aedan heard her mumblings and he snickered, though he stopped immediately as the pain from his abdomen forced him to.

Shauna heard his snicker and stopped her mumbling. “You are an abnormality. Just what are you?”

Aedan raised his head and stared into her eyes as if saying “You already know the answer.”

Shauna trembled and looked away. “Stop that. It’s futile. You cannot fool me.”

Aedan softened his gaze and smiled wryly. It was a smile of pity and disappointment.

Shauna witnessed that expression in her peripheral vision but she refused to acknowledge it. In the end, she turned away from him and distanced herself from her captive by joining the rest of the soldiers in constructing the teleportation array.