The World Of Curses (Lehanna)

It didn’t seem to take long before the two of them had convened for the day. Packing away her notebook and pen, it seemed like it would be quite the trek back to her hotel room. Honestly? She had quite a bit to reflect upon with today and to push it through her mind to figure out what she learned then compare it to the notes she had. It seemed that even Madeline was ok with this being the end of their session and with a genuine thanks for her guidance and attention, Lehanna made her way off to the town to head back and review the notes.

When she arrived into the town, she took a good look around. Seeing not a soul around, the teen stepped away from the streets to some nearby rubble and construction materials. From there, she would retrieve a large cloth from it. Fitted with a strap hold like her bag, she wrapped that over her opposite shoulder and continued walking. Normally, she didn’t like to come into town like this with her weapon, but given that she had no other magic, there was no way that she was going to go anywhere without it. She was at heart a Knight and her lineage was there, but she would always need to keep that going forward and at some point she would have to go back to Pergrande. She had answers that she knew were only there and she could get information there as well, though not 100% of what she was looking for.

With the barely starting to set at this point, the sun was getting to be a bit harsh if she were facing it most of the way back. Thankfully for her, she was moving in the right reaction and it made it much easier for her to deal with the travel back. Yet, she couldn’t help but shake a feeling she was being watched. Then again, she always felt like that anymore… especially given her appearance, the teen could really never give up the idea to remain fully confident in her appearance. Even occasionally peering over her shoulder and around bore no results, as expected, so she simply continued on towards her hotel room and taking every shortcut she could, even a couple sporadic second routes just to assure herself she wasn’t being trailed. All the while, her head was buried into one of her notebooks, peering through her notes to get a head start on the research and comparison.

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There was not a move wasted as Medeia followed the girl, her slayer senses working in perfect tandem with her sharp reflexes in order to keep herself hidden when needed. Lehanna was gifted when it came to hiding her tracks and the convoluted path that she took was all the evidence that the dark mage needed to see that. The girl was used to being followed and considering what she had been through, it was not hard to believe either. Unfortunately for her, the angel had been doing such things for such a long time that it was as easy as breathing. The witch could detect a soul that interested her from a mile away, let alone one that she already had an invested interest in. There were not that many people around now but it was still easy enough for the angel to blend in with the scenery when needed.

For quite some time, she would stealthily follow her target, making the most of the practice she was getting, as well as trying to learn more about the teenager, not that there was much. The girl barely uttered a peep to herself during her journey and her head was constantly in one of the notebooks that she had in her position. It was sad, in a way, that she would not be able to spend much time with the girl after this was all over, as she would have been quite happy for Lehanna to have perused her own library. It was so rare to find a youngster who enjoyed research and reading quite so much and the teenager actually reminded Medeia of herself.

Alas, that was not the plan and as the teenager approached what appeared to be a hotel, the witch would briefly glance around at her surroundings, before making her move. Since she did not want to hurt Lehanna, Medeia would create a net of purple energy and hurl it forwards, flying towards the girl. As it travelled, it would grow larger, enough that if it managed to ensnare the girl, it should be more than large enough to keep her pinned for a bit. Once she fired, Medeia would move forwards quickly, her assassin form making her look rather imposing as she moved towards the girl. There was a part of her that wondered if the girl would still be able to fight her, even without her previous magic. Her curse was such a mystery that there were so many unknowns. Anyway, she had made her move now.

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When Lehanna first arrived in town and stashed away her sword, she had known that someone with her look carrying a weapon only looked to be trouble. The power of perception was an awful tool that made many innocent and kind folks be turned sour and gain a poor representation of those they tried to interact with. It was one of many reasons why all out wars both small and large have happened all through history and frankly the cursed teen wanted nothing from such an act if she could help it. She herself was a peaceful person if she could help it and honestly her curse was a gift in that area as well. Her being unable to act irrationally by emotions most of the time was a godsend and nothing she took for granted. Her only exception is never seeming like she had no ability to fully express her feelings to Elara and putting faith in that her partner truly knew.

Hesitating in the doorway to the hotel had made it the perfect place to strike at her and much to the ebony haired teens misfortune, that had just begun to happen. The shadow casted by the incoming net isn't what caught her, but the voice of the spectral dragon had yelled her name. With a swift motion, the Silver Wolf mage grabbed hold of her blade and swung around while pulling the blade from its makeshift cloth sheath. The net was cut right in half and each half slammed into the wall behind her while the cut edges had become lit up in flames. Both hands held to her hilt, surveying the area while a mystery figure had come from the shadows and made a swift approach.

That wasn't the only surprise in store for the approaching enemy. As her strike cut clean through this net, it also had swung in a horizontal direction across and carve itself into the earth. The earth itself in then erupted with a wall of flames that stretched high into the air beyond both of the pairs height. "I don't know who you are or what you want, but you best leave now while I have the capacity to leave you alive!" She was honestly calling a bluff. If anything, Lehanna didn't have it in her to kill anyone willingly, but she would definitely be able to press a false threat to make someone back down.

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Her reactions were superb and Medeia raised an eyebrow as not only was her net cut in two but the ground where the sword struck afterwards burst into flame. It was quite a blade that the girl carried although the witch could not help but smile inside. If fire was its element then it would struggle against the slayer for that was one of many elements that she could manipulate and devour. That, of course, was not something that she was going to display to the girl just yet, deciding to let her have her moment in the sun, so to speak. Besides, she was genuinely intrigued by what Lehanna could do with the blade. It was certainly not a weapon that she had carried previously which caused the angel to ponder about just what else the dark haired girl had in her arsenal.

“You are going to kill me? That is quite the confident attitude you have, Cherub.” Medeia replied, her tone of voice rather deep and gravelly. “I think not though. What is going to happen here is that you are going to fall to me. My employer has quite an interest in exotic mages and I am sure that they will be more than intrigued by you. I do not know how you came to be that way but that is no concern of mine. You are a paycheck to me, nothing more.” The redhead had to admit to herself that it was rather fun to play a new role from time to time.

Raising her hand and pointing it towards Lehanna, Medeia would tap into her powers of another of her elements, unleashing a powerful stream of sand that would hurtle towards the teenager. It was by no means the deadliest spell in the angel’s vast arsenal of spells but it was hardly nice, capable of shredding clothing and more if it made contact. In a way, the dark mage was simply testing her at the moment although the expression on what could be seen of her face would display that she was trying her utmost. She had blended in fully with her new facade and the look she gave the girl was icy and cold. Given how much the teenager had gone through, Medeia knew it would be unwise to underestimate the girl too much though, remaining on her toes and staying in the moment.

This would be a rather interesting tussle.

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The wall of fire was made as a purposeful grab to needing to separate space between the hotel of innocent people and her attacker, but more importantly she had to make sure that she was able to gauge her assailant to try and figure out who they were and why they were after her, unless she was just an attack of opportunity. Then again, nothing in Lehanna’s life was ever made simple. She could never be the person who is chosen at random. Perhaps that’s a bit paranoid inducing, but she couldn’t help that after the number of times she was taken hostage. Be it being some missing piece to some doorway into another realm by her body being ripped piece-by-piece from her body and every little thing, the nightmares and random pains still to this day.

Finally, the woman spoke up as she slightly identified who she was. At the very least, she sounded like a middle aged chain smoker and while normally that amused her, she did confirm that she was targeted by choice. ”I appreciate the honesty, ma’am. It justifies just how badly I’m going to hurt you in the end. We’ll see what happens next.” The grip on her weapon tightened as she prepared to engage in this fight despite being limited at what she was going to be able to do. However, if she had more than this woman did in tools to capture, then she had a chance to get out of this unscathed. If not, then honestly she would be a little worried about being able to escape. Even then, surely this woman had plans in store that Lehanna frankly was not prepared for.

When her attacker raised her hand up, palm extended out towards her, she had to admit that she was a bit thrown off by it. It hadn’t been until sand appeared from the palm of her hand and made its way through that Lehanna had to decide quickly with what she would do. She couldn’t stay on the defensive side of things for long knowing how limited her weapons abilities were. At the same time, she refused to put innocent people in danger if she missed going too offensive against her. It wasn’t long before the sand she summoned forward pushed through her wall, breaking through and even managing by extension extinguishing the rest of it.

That meant idea could come motion.

The cursed teen took off towards her left, at first with a hefty pounce that caused even a small dent within the ground where she stood. Using some of her strength to propel herself away in place of speed she didn’t have. But, what her attacker didn’t know is the direction she took. Her eyes managed to track the movement of her incoming spell, skirting it just barely to use it like a temporary smokescreen and as she got close would attempt to strike purely with her weapon. Getting close enough to do so, the silver wolf mage jumped over the base of the woman’s spell and with her weapon raised up over her head, she would swing straight through, trying to strike across the attackers chest and outstretched arm. Her plan at worst? Remove an arm, cut deeply into her chest and force her to flee injured. At the least would be to make her go on the defensive before preparing her next move.

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It had to be said that the teenager was rather quick on her feet and as Medeia briefly lost her in the sand that she herself had created, the angel had to rely on her other senses in order to figure out what was going on. All she could do was wait, relying on her sense of smell to detect the cursed teenager. It was something that Lehanna simply could not truly hide from the dark mage and as it so happened, it was that which made certain that she did not lose an arm or worse. The girl came flying over the sand towards her, unleashing a powerful slash towards her that was filled with considerable strength. Time was short and stepping to the side was not a risk that the angel was willing to take.

So, she would instead use her form of teleportation, turning to mere grains of sand for a moment, before reforming about 20 feet away. The girl was good and the mage had to try incredibly hard not to smile, just about keeping her cold facade. Truthfully, coldness was the last emotion that she felt towards the girl and with every moment that passed, the Warlord became more fond of the young woman. It was rare that she went after a youngster, generally only going after targets who were a little older and more mature but Lehanna simply had such a strong spirit that the angel could not help but be intrigued. The possibilities of what she could do with the girl were of course a valid reason too. She had still not made up her mind just yet but perhaps after teasing the girl a bit with the options once they were back at the guild, Lehanna herself would help to make the decision. The witch was always open minded, after all.

When it came to a counter attack, Medeia pondered for a second, believing that it was probably not the best idea to use one of her more devastating attacks. Collateral damage was not her goal today and honestly, she did not feel the anger within herself to power up such spells. The woman was a master of anger, yet another of her elements but it was not an emotion that she was quick to jump to. No, it took something rather unpleasant for her to become upset.

So, she would instead use one that was more debilitating than anything else. Opening her mouth, she would start to sing, unleashing purple coloured sound waves that would head towards the teenager. A spell of the mind, as much of the body, it would leave the girl rather open to suggestion, if she was unable to escape. Again, it was not inherently damaging but with a nasty effect like that, it did not have to be.

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It seemed the time for talking was over from here on out. The only way to be able to get this woman to speak up about who might have hired her or just make her go away long enough to create distance was for her to stay on the offensive as best she could with the tools she had. Knowing what her weapon was capable of without any other use of magic, she was limited, however if she could use it to compensate for that by creating enough distractions and countering moves such as making her dodge and reveal more of her abilities would make sure that the cursed teen could get the distance gap closed sooner. It was the only real plan she had left and she would need to time things just right if she were going to create the windows to strike that she was looking to make for herself. This still meant she would have that window opened up in the event her plan is cut off by a freak opening she might have had, but it was risk worth the taking.

She had enough trying to talk her way out of situations, running away, and hiding behind others. This was her opportunity to push herself to take a stand and be confident even in her little amount of abilities. When her attacker had teleported her appearance through the use of her sand, the swinging strike caused a decent gash into the ground where she stood as the teens body weight fell through with the strike. Yet, the both would notice that her blade did not become stuck in the ground at all, in fact it was very easy to remove from the ground.

Standing back up straight, the back end of the blade would rest on the girls left shoulder while she turned to face the relocated assailant. The lack of show in facial expression for any tell of an emotion was purely blank. The look in her eyes however showed a completely different story. Conveying a cocktail of emotions within them; adrenaline, joy, worry, and determination. Though she hated to fight, sometimes the act alone drove her adrenaline to seek it out more and her that could easily be attributed to the curse taking itself a bit further in herself. When the woman began to sing, the sword lifted from her shoulder as a veil of flames covered the entire blade of her sword from blade-to-hilt. Prepared for an opening to attack, that became apparent that she would have to quickly move to a different ability. The sight of purple waves erupting from her location told her she had some form of a sound magic and there could be any series of effects the right soundwaves could disable her temporarily.

With that said, Lehanna's flames grew much hotter and brighter at that. Raising the sword over her head and taking it in her other hand as well, one swift strike down towards the woman. A large wave of an intense inferno would barrel down towards her, crashing through the waves like a rock through a series of glass windows and shattering them in the same manner. The aftermath of such an ability left the ground in a molten state, glowing bright orange from the pure heat of her ability, but also quite the kick up of dust and dirt as it collided with the nearby construction materials nearby where the weapon was stashed. Having a slight smokescreen within the area created the opening she would need to make either an escape or a follow up, however she had lost all sight on her opponent and that spelled back news for her if she tried a sneak attack.

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The flames that Lehanna could create with her sword were exquisite and as they travelled towards the Warlord, Medeia would open her mouth, devouring the fire that was covering the weapon. The angel fully expected the teenager to realise the how’s and why’s of her ability and as she dodged the now rather plain sword, the eyes of the assassin would bare into the orbs of the teenager’s. If fire was the sole element of the sword then Lehanna would find herself in deep water indeed, for against the witch, it would struggle to do much at all. Yet, Medeia still just about prevented herself from smiling, still forcing herself to play the role of the cold hearted money chasing criminal. It was not easy though, when all she wanted to do was tease and try to annoy the girl, her standard tactics.

Considering her defence just now, Medeia saw no reason to hide her fire abilities any more and since she was close enough and with her enhanced senses helping somewhat with the smokescreen, the angel would surround her fist with her slayer flames and launch a punch towards her foe. It was a simple spell but not one to be trifled with but then again, could any of Medeia’s truly be? These days, it was rather hard for her to hold back, as her natural magical strength was at such a high level. Still, she was willing to make the effort against Lehanna, since harming her was not truly not the witch’s true intention. It was still just a matter of testing the Silver Wolf, to see if she had the same drive that her Guild Master appeared to. There was one fact that Medeia had already learned though and that was that the ebony haired girl was rather more entertaining to talk to. Talking to Leona had been like talking to a brick wall some of the time.

In the end, she could not help but try and rile up the girl a little as she attacked. Her gravelly voice making her sound rather more mocking than amused, which actually annoyed the angel a bit. Her troll voice was so much better when she was in her normal state. “I was half expecting you to turn into a dragon or something but so far, your attacks have all the firepower of a dragonling. Still getting used to your powers?”

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With her options running thin while she continued to fight her opponent, the unthinkable and most importantly the most feared thought would happen during this. One of her most capable abilities had begun to bear witness to being consumed by the woman in front of her eyes. Without fully getting a chance to explode the materials behind, she had noticed the smokescreen was not as potent as it normally had been. Out of habit, she tried to gain some sense of where her opponent had been, however that didn’t seem to be the issue when it came to what this woman was capable of. How was she going to win a fight when her only abilities now could just be eaten freely with no problems to her?

With her feet planted in the ground, Lehanna tried to make out where she was coming from or if she should try to attack anyway. As the teen tried to wait out the attacker coming right at her. Shaped in the form of a fist for most, the former slayer had noticed that looked more like a ball of fire than anything. Trying to avoid if did nothing for her by the time it shot through the smokescreen and she had taken a great deal of speed and distance in a short time. Colliding with the cursed teen, the impact shot her backward and in the impact, she dropped her sword as it went off to the side. The force of the attack shot her back several feet before hitting the ground like a rock skipping along the water.

As she slid to a stop, the impact of the spell had taken a bit of a toll. It had been a while since she experienced being hit by anything since most likely when Kalama beat her into the dirt. Knowing she could follow up, Lehanna shot up to her feet with slightly shaky legs at first. When she finally stopped, the woman glared as the taunting began. Expecting her to transform because of her appearance and demeaning her abilities. ”About as likely as it is to find you anywhere but a street corner ready to lay on your back like the common whore you are.” She replied, brushing her clothes of the dirt. When she had been doing so, she happened to notice something faintly. A small spark seeming to be in a faint blue color. ”Huh… Is that what that text meant?” Muttering to herself, her brain tried to quickly map out what this could mean and what she could do with this.

Given that she had no idea this could work, Lehanna opted to jump at the chance to get an upper edge and learn as she went along. In a similar fashion to the woman’s first ability with her sand, she would raise on hand, palm extended out and try and focus her magic, cursed or not, flow through. Determined to fight until she couldn’t, a small blue and black colored flame would begin to ignite in her hand. ”Ha… haha… I-I did it! I-I have magic again! Cursed or not, I am going to use this to stop any person in my way!” Hidden behind the mask of a lack of emotional expression, the teen was excited to have her magic finally found. Remembering her training with the man who helped hone her slayer magic all finally made sense to her. He knew who she was, but the guise of a slayer magic helped hide her from trouble until she could master it. And that would be the downfall of her enemies now.

As soon as the flame expanded to the size of her hand, a bolt of azure colored flame shot forward at near lightning speed it felt, looking to strike directly into the woman despite her inexperience with it. ”Maybe so, but you know what? My learning curve has always been both quick and with little difficulty. So don’t worry if you really think I’m defenseless now that you’ve separated me from my weapon.”

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It was an unusual taunt to hear from such a young woman and Medeia raised an eyebrow. What did this teenager know about the life of a whore or romance in general? She was too young to even be in a proper relationship and the fact she was with Elara seemed to be more of a young sweetheart kind of deal rather than anything more serious. They had probably not even got past the point of a clumsy kiss and holding hands. The Warlord had to laugh inwardly at the temerity of the girl although she did not respond to the actual insult. If only Lehanna knew what Medeia got up to when it came to such things. No, perhaps that was not quite right. She would not want to ruin the future discoveries that Lehanna and her beloved might experience together, after all. Young love between two girls was rather sweet and something that Medeia agreed with wholeheartedly.

To Medeia’s slight surprise, the teenager would seem to evolve right in front of her eyes, as though she was unlocking the key to her magic right in front of her face. Inside, the angel was quite pleased with the outcome, knowing that she had played her part in it occurring, arousing her curiosity even more. The teenager would create a ball of blue flame, before firing it directly at the hooded assassin. With a nod of appreciation, respecting the young woman’s progress, Medeia would quickly try to dart out of the way of the attack, feeling the power behind the attack as it came towards her. She was not quite fast enough though and she felt a stinging sensation across her back, burning through her cloak and leaving a burn on her back. It was resisted somewhat but still, the damage could be seen.

The angel was not pleased and as she threw off her cloak, she looked genuinely annoyed. “That was not a smart move.”

Clapping her hands without a moment’s thought, Medeia would summon a golden coloured cage that would start to rise up around the teenager. There was time for her to escape if she was quick but if not, the fire mage would soon find herself inside with little way out. That would only be the start though, as molten gold would start to fill up the remaining space, leaving the girl to suffer as it would harden around her form. It was not a long lasting spell but during her time within, it would be absolute hell.

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She knew the moment that her ability had even successfully been used that she had to stop trying to be glad for the discovery of her magic. Even seeing the flames, they were saturated with the curse and yet the ancient magic itself had been fighting for control. Pushing back and forth like a raging war of ebb and flow fighting gif supremacy. The duality of good and evil still able to catch even the woman she didn’t know was a warlord to be hit, burning her back, cutting through her cloak and clothes to singe the skin. She couldn’t believe that she had actually done it. When she could show Madeline this, she would be ecstatic to do so finally. The work she showed out her leaps and bounds beyond months of her research and attempts.

Still, now was not the time to be prideful and excited. She had to keep focused and work towards her continuing fight, but unfortunately that wouldn’t seem to last for much longer. The stranger had seemed to be done playing around from the message she’d said. With the ground shaking below her, gold began to erupt around her in an all too familiar shape. The square perimeter of a cage and it had been rising fast. The cursed girl tried to grab hold of the top but she was just barely out of reach. Then, she began to climb up when she would slip down. When Lehanna tried again, she felt something grab her foot just before her hand could grasp the top of the bar.

When she looked down, molten rock was climbing the inner perimeter. The sudden surging pain of the burning hot rock around her foot made her wince and grit her teeth. Trying to keep herself calm, the rock traveled up more and more and as her escape got further from her reached, the rock swallowed up more and more of her body. The pain began to grow more and more intense the more of her body was covered in it. Screaming and trying to punch, fight, pull, and push left her with her hands eventually being swallowed up. It wasn’t until she got up to her neck that it seemed to stop. Her breathing was getting more and more taxed as it went on. Knowing she couldn’t expand her chest, Lehanna continued trying to center her breathing control, however she still couldn’t do it. The lack of air was making her head spin and her vision blurring while she suffered in an agonizing pain until the point of both her inability to breathe well and the pain cause her to black out.

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Frustrated that she had been pushed into making such an aggressive move, Medeia sighed bitterly as she approached the teenager. Despite both her enormous power and reputation, she never did truly enjoy hurting another female, especially one as young as Lehanna. The Warlord would have much preferred if her net spell had been the one to the job but there was nothing for it now. The teenager was hers regardless and as the, for the moment anyway, muscular looking woman reached the almost statue like visage of the girl, she would touch the gold, resulting in it cracking and releasing the ebony haired young woman into her arms.

There was most definitely damage and as the angel frowned and looked the girl over, she could see the burns that her molten gold had caused. It was not a pretty sight and despite her better judgement, she would actually briefly cause a dome of blood to surround Lehanna, healing her and repairing what had been done. Call it vanity but there was no chance that the Warlord was going to be seen carrying a heavily wounded child, even if she was disguised. It would just not do and the snobbish dark mage was not going to be swayed about that. As well as that, there was the possibility that she might just sell the girl to her allies and they would certainly be rather upset if the girl was in pristine condition. They were rather picky and preferred to do their own dirty work, so to speak. The people of Pergrande had a hatred for mages that Medeia had not encountered before and given the girl’s connection to them, it would no doubt make things even worse for Lehanna, should the mage make that choice.

As it was, she was undecided and so once the girl had been healed, Medeia would summon her favourite purple coloured rope and began to bind the girl, which was not as easy as it appeared. Such was the girl’s unique form that not only did the Warlord have to bind her arms and legs but that tail as well, resulting in one of the most bizarre ties that she had ever pulled off. The knots were tight enough that the girl would not escape in a hurry but they were not overly painful either.

Leaving the girl like that for the moment, Medeia would then start to gather up Lehanna’s property, not intending to leave them behind. The information that the girl had discovered was a curiosity to the witch, which had been aroused by their lesson earlier on. As for the sword? Well, it was a beauty and Medeia was sure that she could find a use for it, should the girl be unwilling to play ball with her, as it were.

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While Lehanna had tried to free herself from her molten prison, the unmoving rock encasing her body left her unable to breathe much at all. She struggled all while her helpless cries grew softer and softer. The longer she spent inside, the less affordability oxygen became to her lungs. Her body was stationary where it last was when the rock consumed her. Granted, be it the sword she was attuned to or her newly found magics abilities held, the burning didn't affect her as much as it might have the normal person or another mage who probably was not of a counter or equal element of magic. Knowing those forms were able to build up resistances, her magic had been the same. Even if it were from years of her having her god slaying abilities, they paled in comparison to the fact that if she had not awakened that magic, then the pain would have no doubt felt at least ten times more powerful and intense.

The last thing that she had been able to see was a slight blur of the woman approaching her before her eyes fluttered shut into unconsciousness. Her body struggling for air for a moment longer while even laid out in that state. It wasn't until she was released from her prison and her unconscious body ragdolled down into her attackers arms that she felt her chest expand again. That first breath of air made her head spin some as the air traveled back through. She felt a little more aware of what was happening now, however she had no ability really to open her eyes or move her body even. The constant sensation of the burns along her body were agonizing, but they had suddenly vanished. A cool liquid pooled over her body all over and in an instant the pain absolved from her body. Even Medeia would notice that a hefty sounding sigh escaped as her body had recognized the release of the stinging sensation.

After several more minutes, the teen cracked her eyes open. Everything still seemed like a bit of a blur, but as she attempted to reach up and rub her eyes, she realized her arms were not able to move. A tight grip shot through her wrists and arms and the jolt made her flinch. That flinch made her eyes adjust as quick as it could manage to and as it did, she discovered her legs with several sections of purple colored rope coiled around, pinning them together. Her body had the same from what she could see, but she tried to fight and squirm lightly while she tried to wake herself up and figure out what was going on.

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It was not long before Medeia had acquired the girl’s gear, backpack over her left shoulder and sword hanging from her hip. It made the witch look like a cross between a school girl and a swordswoman for hire, which if she had been in a better mood, would be something that she might have laughed at herself for. Her cloak had been burnt to cinder and so she was left wearing a black coloured shirt and pants, a look that was rather different to her cloak and dagger one before. Still, her scarred face did not have much of a smile across it as she walked back towards the girl, kneeling down to get a look at her to make sure she was alright.

To her slight surprise, Lehanna was already awake albeit seemingly not quite with it yet. That was only to be expected, given the potency of Medeia’s spell and gave the angel the time she needed. From what she could tell, the teenager would not be able to escape, given the surprisingly strong ropes that Medeia had bound her with. They did feel so very soft but that was deliberate on the Warlord’s part. She did not want her captives to suffer the unpleasant sensation of rope burn and so had developed her own creation to avoid that. Once the girl was released, it would be as though she had never been tied.

“Did you enjoy that?” She said, her tone of voice still containing some residual anger from before. “If you are stupid enough to try anything now then I will make it seem like a mere picnic compared to my next spell.” It was not a veiled threat in the slightest, every word leaving a powerful impression that she would do exactly as she said.

As she left the girl to recover, Medeia would briefly get up again and give her ropes one final tug, which would cause an after effect that would end up causing her entire tapestry to briefly judder, giving the girl something else to think about for a second. While her ropework had for the most part been focused on the teenager’s limbs, she had decided to add something else to irritate the girl, for if she was able to look down, she would notice additional rope around her upper body.

The witch would add after a moment, teasing the teenager. “I did not have much to work with a chest as flat as yours but I managed somehow.”

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It really didn't take long for the blurred vision of hers to reveal the encroaching figure. Figuring it to be her prior attacker and opponent wanting to collect on the goal of their fight, Lehanna had tried to fight against abnormally soft ropes that had been masterfully woven around her limbs to secure them in place to prevent just that. Her eyes glared seeing the scarred face of the woman, showing that she had been in some very close calls and now she simply could add Lehanna's burn to the list of scars among her body. However, that didn't seem to really be effective in quelling the teen from wanting to try and fight back against her. That was unfortunately held to the hope she could manage to get free, but honestly if this woman was as good as she thought, than that was incredibly against the girls statistics.

The woman's threats did little to show any sway in her thoughts of trying to escape, however the cursed teen had little idea of how her magic still worked. If she ever had the opportunity to use it again, she would need the time to train and research its capabilities. Still, this woman left no idea as to why she targeted Lehanna, what she planned to do with her, nor what was going to happen now that she had been captured. And all she really got in return was the same silent glare she had received when she first tried to attack Lehanna. The same one she gave to Madeline several times earlier in the day when she rubbed the wrong topic.

The comment made about the teens chest made her grit her teeth a little, though not visibly so. Still, she wore the same mask as always and fortunately it was for the better. It was the most blessed part of this curse honestly and one she would love to stay or at least crack to allow her to show love and expressions in line with it. Red orbs trailed down to the womans' own chest before she rolled her eyes and scoffed at her comment. "Honestly, I would rather have a flat chest than have a pair like yours; sagging and having to wear a bigger bra size just to keep them looking perky. Poor old lady~" She mocked, donning a coy smirk for a brief moment before it faded back under the curses mask.

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That cocky smirk was probably more irritating than the actual insult and the eyes of the witch turned icy cold again as since she was in just the right spot, Medeia would bend down and pull on the girl’s bound tail rather firmly. “Cheeky minx. You would not know what to do with a pair like mine, even if you were lucky enough to have them. I doubt that you have even learned what they are for yet. Have you even reached that stage of your education where you learn such things?” Despite her annoyance, she was somewhat amused as well by the girl’s cheek. Lehanna had a lot of courage, given the position she was in but that was something that Medeia had already discovered in fairness, having been through so much.

Satisfied with the girl’s bonds, she would create a square of cloth that was the same colour as her rope, dropping it in front of the teenager so that she could take a look. It would not take a scientist to know where it was going to go but the angel amused herself by letting the girl figure it out for herself. Considering her attitude, Medeia pondered if it was even the first time that Lehanna had found herself in the situation she was in now. Surely the dark mage who had kidnapped her would have surely done the same? Was that perhaps why the ebony haired girl was so confident?

“My employer has a fondness for those with spirit so perhaps they will decide to keep you rather than sell you. I can never quite tell with her and she has quite the place, easily large enough to accommodate you. I suggest that you keep your chest related comments to yourself though as hers are even larger than mine and I doubt that she will take much enjoyment out of having them insulted. You may end up spending all of your time bound and gagged if you are not careful. She is far worse than me and more powerful too.”

Her words were meant to just keep the girl on edge in truth and she left them hanging for a moment, before she would bend down beside the teenager again and ask, taking the cloth in one hand. “Any other witty remarks that you have for me or are you finished? Either way, I am not going to have you bothering me for the entire journey so your eyes and mouth are both going to be bound too.” As she spoke, a second cloth would fall beside her, evidence of the fact.

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Only a wince came as she felt her tail pulled at from the woman. That was, until the pull from her tail caused the rest of the ropes to all fasten a little more and her whole upper body had tightened as a result. The taught rope work did make it a little harder for her to breathe, but it was nothing in comparison to the molten trap that had incapacitated her prior to being bound and left in the dirt. It was a bit demeaning to say the least that she had to suffer lying on the ground like captured cattle, however it didn't seem to bother her captor one bit. "Trust me, I have had my fair share of seeing breasts. Don't wrap my age in with your assumptions of my experiences in life. Besides, I know the human anatomy better than most among countless other fields and genre's of education. Though i'm sure some little whelp for hire attacking an innocent teenager surely pits you higher in the IQ range. Tell me, does it even reach double digits or do you need help getting free of the negative numbers?"

When the cloth slithered down from the air and onto the ground in front of her, the teen knew what was about to happen. She'd been prepared from the moment that she had realized her body was bound that she was going to be transported from here to some unknown location. From what it was that this woman had told her, she had at least some benefit of being "kept" rather than sold away, which who only knows whether that would be better or worse. And who rightfully would try and buy her? Someone collecting exotic species of people and animals like a roaming circus? Pergrande looking to exact some frustrations out on mages that they could not capture during the war? The choices were much higher than she had anticipated or wanted to really consider.

With a second cloth joining the first on the ground next to her head, Lehanna had few ideas what she planned to do with the second, let alone the first. At least, at first she did. It then figured her plan was to make sure she had no idea where she was going or how to get there in case she managed to escape or was freed by some miracle, then she could no longer go back and seek revenge or just sick the Rune Knights to the location if she felt like taking a high road. But in response to her question, she just rolled her eyes and remained silent. Nothing she would say or do would change anything nor would this woman divulge much else if she wanted to live another day. She would know that if she had the experience those scars had shown.

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The only real response that Medeia gave the girl for her latest cheeky remark was another tug on the tail, resulting in the entire rope structure to rub and tighten. It was not enough to hurt the teenager too much, just a sharp little shock. Lehanna had a way with words and that was something that the witch could not deny. The little sprite had quite the gift and once she had carried the teenager back home, she was actually quite looking forward to interacting with her properly, without a disguise. There would be no more deceptions then and the girl would get the answers she wanted, should the ebony haired girl ask. The Warlord saw no real reason to lie about herself these days, at least when addressing someone as herself. Her title gave her notoriety automatically and the witch did not even have to introduce herself much any longer.

Slightly surprised that Lehanna had nothing else to say, Medeia would simply raise an eyebrow for a moment, before proceeding to wrap the first cloth around the girl’s red orbs, blinding her to the world around her. It was a necessity and Lehanna would be taking the same trip that so many women had taken before. Across the land and over the mountains, to where the Errings Rising prison resided and more importantly, where Medeia ruled the roost. The Queen had her castle and the witch had her prison although if anyone asked the witch if she would ever trade, the angel would always so no. She liked it where she was.

Once she had tied the knot behind the girl’s head, she would proceed with the second cloth, tying it tightly over the girl’s mouth, finally giving herself some peace from the teenager’s forked tongue. She always took some extra satisfaction from gagging a girl and today was no exception, a smile finally breaking across the woman’s face as she tied it off, leaving the girl completely at her mercy. “As much as I enjoy listening to your witticisms, my ears could certainly use a break from them.”

Standing up, she would then proceed to easily lift the girl into her arms, the teenager hardly weighing anything in the grip of the powerful angel. “I suggest you keep still because it can get a little rough and I would hate to drop you during the trip.”

With that, she would grow a pair of purple wings and leap into the air, carrying the girl and her belongings into the sky. They were all paperweights to her and as easy as breathing, the witch would set course for home, her form changing to a far more familiar one as she travelled. When the girl was next able to see, it would be the real her that she set eyes upon.

The trip itself was nothing to write home about in truth and as usual, she eventually used her magic to put the girl into a magically created sleep. It was the safest way for them both to travel and prevented any unfortunate accidents. Lehanna was perfectly safe in Medeia’s arms and soon enough, the outskirts of the guild prison would come into view. The angel would refrain from going in by the main evidence and instead fly around to her own lavish quarters, flying in through the open window and coming to a perfect stop on the carpet. After dropping the girl’s belongings on to the bed, she would then deposit Lehanna herself on to a comfortable chair. It was Medeia’s interrogation chair, as many of her previous guests liked to call it although it would not feel like it, as nice as it was. Funnily enough, the last person to sit in had been Lehanna’s own Guild Master.

Taking the girl’s blindfold off but leaving the gag on for now, Medeia would then leave her be so that she could sleep off the spell, before closing the window and retrieving some of the notes from Lehanna’s bag. Once all that was done, she would sink into her armchair by her fireplace and begin to read.

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Without saying another word, Lehanna decided to play along with the next phase of what was about to happen. Honestly, she would not let herself be caged up like an animal or used as an attraction. She would sooner tell the curse to envelop her and then regain her freedom through a complete shattering of her old self. Frankly, it felt like it was a much better result than having to sit there and suffer being humiliated and degraded for someone else's entertainment and possibly their greed. Whether this woman knew what capabilities this curse held if she didn't try to suppress it or defeat it, then that was none of her concern. In her mind, it was the chance to leave, or she'd make sure whatever destination she set off to be taken to would regret their life choice going after this mage.

The first cloth blinded her, making the world around her black and unknown. No light shun through a single bit of it and then it was tied tightly around the back of her head. Next came the second cloth which she thought at first was going to double over her eyes, but instead pressed against her mouth tight before being tied off once again to the back of her head. Now silenced and blinded, her captor left her to be picked up rather swiftly and held in her arms. Still attempting to struggle in her bonds, this method of being kidnapped was surely new to her.

She couldn't help but realize that the entire time they had traveled, the teen never heard the sound of footsteps, people, or any surroundings but the sound of wind blowing in her ears. Deducing that they were flying somehow to their destination, her head began to slump. Her eyes growing heavier quickly until finally the spell unknowingly placed on her had put her into a deep sleep.

What she had seen in her sleep was something she could hardly believe. A bright light followed by what seemed to be the same church that she had traveled through not long ago while she was meditating. This time, the building was in one whole piece and thriving with life. There she could see several people inside of it, looking over to a pair sitting in a front pew and then getting up. Lehanna dared not to move from the entrance, simply stunned and concerned at what was happening. A light blue flame appeared in the male of the couples hand and reached out to an empty goblet. It ignited immediately and that caused one at each of the four corners of the same alter to do the same. With that, the teen noticed a small infant sleeping in the center of the alter, watching as the couple prayed over the infant. The flames rose from the alter and danced around before fluttering down and being consumed into the infants body. Something akin to a ritual to pass along the inheritance of magic? Maybe just to see if the capability of it was possible?

Before the pair could turn to face the alter, the light flashed like a photo flash and her eyes shot open. She would gasp into the gag that silenced her and her eyes would quickly come to adjust to the room around her. Seated in a chair, still fully bound as before, she was surprised that she could see now, however a woman sat in an armchair by a fireplace looking over her notes. Immediately, she began to fuss trying to get loose of her bonds while someone went rifling through her belongings without permission. Then again, could she even read the various languages she wrote her notes in?

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Such were the thoroughness of the teenager’s notes that the Warlord somewhat lost track of time, devouring the information before her. The young woman had been careful, changing language from time to time, in an apparent attempt to make them difficult to read. Medeia, however, was well versed in many languages and so with a little work, she was able to get the gist of what she was reading. It had to be said that the ebony haired girl had a gift with the written word though and the angel mused that it would be a pity to sell her to Pergrande, robbing the world of a keen and well travelled young researcher. In a way, Lehanna reminded Medeia of herself at the girl’s age, desperate for knowledge and devouring books by the hundred. The only difference was what the dark mage had been looking for was power rather than anything more benevolent.

The sounds of struggling caused her to look up from her notes, orbs turning to watch the teenager as she became fully aware of her surroundings. A smile crossed her face as she stood up, placed the notes back on the small table beside her chair and approached the girl. Medeia looked slightly amused but other than that, there was little else in the way of expression on her face. She showed no dislike or hatred for the girl and unlike her previous persona, her words, when spoken were far more regal and gentle. There was no need to frighten or intimidate the girl.

“You could struggle all night and still not get away. Those ropes were made to hold mages and I am afraid that your unusual flames will struggle to burn through them. Do not be surprised about my knowledge, as my faithful assassin had told me all about you. You left quite a mark on her, physically and emotionally. I have never seen her quite so angry before when I think about it.” She would then lean on the armrest of the girl’s chair, looking at her from the side. “I was also informed that you have quite the mouth on you and that I would save myself a whole lot of bother if I simply kept you silent during your stay here but I will give you a choice. If you promise to be civil then I will take your gag off and we can talk, otherwise, you can stay like that until I decide your fate. Make up your mind.”

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Something didn’t sit right with the restrained teen when she had a sense of her bearings and managed to shake off the sleep. Unsure of what had happened before, Lehanna looked around in the moment before her captor had seemed to be finished with her reading. It had the makings of a bedroom or some kind of higher quality room you’d give to someone living in captivity. Or perhaps she just hadn’t had the experience of being shown a decent looking outcome to being kidnapped before. Granted, in her encounters, she was brought to extremely different areas, but nothing had come about the same vibes that this one gave off. If anything, it spells trouble and worry if she didn’t do what she had to in order to get out of here.

Watching the woman walk about and make her way towards the Silver Wolf mage, something about her seemed to tick in her brain. She looked familiar to some extent and it certainly wasn’t in the good way. She wasn’t known for anything good and that much she was certain of, however it seemed to be that she was rather calm and relaxed so the girl let it go for now, she would get her chance to express her concerns —maybe. She followed her approach to the point she sat beside her in the chair, leaned mainly on the arm rest of the seat while the struggling of the bound captive lessened. As much as she wanted to continue fighting them, she had the thought that she might need the strength for making an escape or simply if the miracle of being let go would come of this interaction, she’d need to choose her steps carefully.

The woman first informed her that the spell she fired seemingly the day before had stung the rather rough personality of the assailant, but it didn’t really phase her expression at first. Aside from a light shrug, she didn’t seem to be too worried about her. Though when she was offered a chance to have her gag taken off, Lehanna was a little skeptical of the idea of doing so. Still, it certainly beat other alternatives. She took a second and looked around, trying to decide if she wanted to comply. Her body would relax a little as the thought of her giving in to the compromise was noticed well before an acknowledged answer, but she would look up at the woman and nod her head slowly. Hopefully, she’d at least get the answers she wanted to know and not be taunted for her predicament.

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Leaning the girl forwards slightly in the chair so that the Warlord could get around the back, Medeia would undo the gag, causing it to fall into the girl’s lap, satisfied that she would try anything stupid like screaming. That was no real point doing so anyway, as not only was the room soundproof but it would simply result in more than a cloth being shoved into Lehanna’s mouth. The angel had a vast supply of restraints at her disposal and she was certain that she could find something that would be effective on the teenager. With any luck though, she would not need to use them, much preferring to converse with the girl instead.

“You certainly are thorough with your note taking.” Medeia would say to the girl, tilting her head over to where the girl’s books were sitting on the woman’s chair side table. “I could have quite happily sat there all night and read through all of your hard work. You are gifted when it comes to research, my dear, perhaps you should consider pursuing it as a career once you have graduated.” Her tone was neither mocking nor insulting and she sounded perfectly genuine with her praise. “I also hope that you find the knowledge that you are so desperate to obtain.”

She talked as though the girl’s fate had already been decided and there was so little menace in Medeia’s tone that it might have sounded as though she had no intention of keeping the teenager at all. That was up in the air for the moment and the Warlord decided to use that to her advantage, keeping the teenager on edge as to what her fate would be.

“I suppose that I should introduce myself before we talk about anything else. My name is Medeia and I am one of the Warlord’s that I am sure you have heard about in your travels. The counter to the Council’s oh so noble Gods and Saints. You were brought here, Miss Seraph, because I have a few business acquaintances who I know are just dying to meet you. They offer quite a lot of jewels for mages but more than that, there are a couple of natives of that country who wish for you personally.”

Standing up, Medeia would walk over to her bedside cabinet briefly and retrieve an already open magazine, before walking back to the girl and depositing it into the girl’s lap. “This blonde haired girl is you, correct?”

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Her attention shifted to her notes all stacked up on a little table next to where the woman had been seated when the girl woke up. What she didn’t anticipate was that it seemed her captor had been able to read through all of her notes in their various languages just to make sure that she knew she could. Mentioning it purely to show that she was not dealing with some lucky person who managed to get some of them, judging by the stack that she witch had gotten through the majority of them by the time that she had woken up. ”Honestly, you think I haven’t graduated yet? Well… technically I did a year ago early, however I am working on college courses in return for graduating with the next class. And all my credits transfer, so it will only speed up my time and lesson the burden of university expenses.” She replied with a light sigh, looking back to the woman as she seemed to insinuate that she had the idea of letting her go soon.

What was the point of kidnapping her just to let her go? Was it a power trip? Boredom? What exactly was her motive for it? Her eyes seemed to widen at the realization that she had. She was correct in thinking this woman was familiar, but when she introduced herself, the teen was surprised and a little bit mortified. Given the rumors she heard in alignment with the title she held, there was a few big thoughts of what was going to happen. Though… those didn’t exactly pan out thankfully.

The mere mention of being sold to Pergrande did little to shed a look of fear on her face, but in her eyes they were albeit shaking. ”You can’t actually consider selling someone to them! They’re already biased towards mages anyway, why would they do business with someone like you?” At first, she didn’t put two and two together of her nudging guess of the natives she spoke of… that was until a magazine was placed into her lap. Being asked if the blonde inside was her. ”Wait… N-No…” She muttered, looking up from it to the witch. Finally, the peace’s were lining up. ”Y-You can NOT sell me to them! Those natives are her parents! Th-They are horrible people!” She sounded much more desperate than her expression let on, but her body was starting to shake as well. ”They didn’t treat her like a normal child and when I lived there, I-I… they umm… took their frustrations out on me.” Having to be honest to protect Elara was the price, then so be it. She wouldn’t let her girlfriend be targeted if she could help it at all.

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The Warlord had expected a reaction of some sort regarding her selling the girl but she did not anticipate one that was quite so strong. The bounty that had been put up for the girl had been awfully large and now that dark mage thought about it, the wording had been unusually harsh as well. The couple did not seem like they were searching for the girl due to business reasons, it honestly did seem to be more personal and Lehanna’s reaction was all the evidence that Medeia needed to put two and two together. There was far more history to be uncovered then there appeared and being the curious creature that the witch was, she could not help but desire to discover the truth for herself. The girl was literally shaking and it gave the holy being a moment of pause.

“I assume you are referring to the other girl in the magazine, your girlfriend and that it was her parents that mistreated both of you?” It was as much just her repeating the facts, as it was a question for the teenager to answer. “I confess that I found it rather suspicious that they would be so eager in you two, given that being a mage living there is practically a prison sentence or worse. It would surely have been in their best interest to simply disown you both and leave you alone. I suppose that logic was lost on them though.”

Walking around the back of the teenager’s chair, Medeia would toy around with her horns for a moment or two although her touch was gentle more than anything else. “You said that they were cruel to both you and her? How so? Are you saying that they were physically abusive?” The angel did not say it but the answers that Lehanna gave her were of vital importance as to the decision that Medeia would reach, for as well connected as the witch was with the forces of Pergrande, that did not mean that she was in their pocket. Her loyalty was to herself first and she despised seeing young mages mistreated, girls in particular. If that was the fate of the girl for being sold to them then perhaps the heart of the dark haired mage might falter? It had happened before. “I suggest that you be honest with me now, as there is nothing I despise more than a liar.”

Ironic, considering she lied about a hundred times a day.

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There was a moment of silence in the midst of this woman giving a rather soft form of an interrogation to the cursed teen. Unsure if she should really be honest or if she should try and get out of it in some way, she had mulled over the options and frankly, they didn't help her at all either way. "Yes... She is, and despite how I appear to look in the magazine compared to now... it was frankly the work of disguising myself. And a break from the long hair is always nice once in a while, but I digress." She took a pause to sit up in her seat a bit as the bonds really did wonders to keep her from being able to sit upright easily like she'd prefer to do, however she pushed personal preferences aside for the time being. "They could care less about more logical thinking outside of the bubble of themselves. It was originally why they tried to foster me in the first place."

As the captive girl watched the witch walking about, she had come closer and begun to gently prod at her horns while continuing to ask her questions. Just hearing the word "abuse" made her stomach churn with frustration, anger, and some ptsd of it all as well. "Physically was geared towards me more than her..." Her hands gripped tightly, hating having to recall probably the most traumatizing time in her life as a foster child in a home. "I wasn't aware why they would treat me so horribly when I was younger, but they treated their child like a showpiece to others. And while they didn't cover me in bruises, I was occasionally paraded as though I were a cute rescue puppy to make themselves look good to their friends and political kind. I-I... I still can't enter a small space without freaking out and panicking. Days spent locked in a small dark closet, lucky if I get a meal in a day... And somehow I still thought going back to the foster home where nobody would want me would be better than being stuck there."

Letting off a huff of frustration, Lehanna attempted to relax herself by taking a moment to doing a little bit of a breathing exercise. It was something that Elara had suggested to her as she had developed her own anger issues from a lacrima, her advice on calming her anger worked whenever she had gotten nightmares or became immensely upset over her past. "They treated Ela like she was a little accessory piece or a doll. They'd try to make her the perfect child and they scolded her often. She... doesn't know I know that, but I had heard them trying to make them see their way and scolding her often over it. When I had managed to leave and refuged in Fiore, I had filed for early emancipation. Luckily, they allowed for it here and they sent official papers there. i think that's what probably sent Ela to the point she had to leave too." At this point, her voice had started to calm from a bit of a shakey time, but at this point anything involving Elara in some areas was speculation. "She and I at the time we met up were in far different spectrums. She'd fallen in with a bad crowd and was in this dorky little goth or punk phase. At the same time, I had started down the same issue for a different reason. We left all that in the past. We started fresh and I think when the magazine came out of us together they sought us out and blame me for corrupting their child."

A light chuckle managed to escape from the teens mouth thinking of how illogical their thought process could be, but the relation was very funny to her. "Sometimes I envy people who lock themselves into an echo chamber and surround themselves in those like minded morons. In the end, they're the easiest to manipulate too when the time comes for it." With that, she leaned back in her seat, feeling rather relaxed after getting all that out in the open. "Is that sufficiently truthful for you? Would you like more of an in depth retelling of my life? Or are you satisfied with that? Because I can assure you I didn't have too much luck with things in my life before them. Aside from the older man who taught me the slayer magic that was stolen from me by the woman who afflicted me with... this, it truly doesn't do well to even the scale."

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