Front exchanging firm handshakes and final words with Subaru and his expedition team, who were setting out on their next mission, Crusch's team turned their attention to breaking down camp. The once-busy staging area, alive with strategy and anticipation just hours earlier, now echoed with the sounds of crates closing and metal clinking.
Soldiers moved with practiced efficiency, lifting bundles of gear and loading them into the large, reinforced carts lined up nearby. Each piece of equipment was checked and accounted for, their movements orderly and methodical under the watchful eye of their captain, as the group prepared to return home or await new orders.
Reinhard walked forward before one of the soldiers brought him into the conversation. They discussed the next stop or maybe important things. While he's busy arranging to get one empty carriage for Kyoko's personal use, he can't help but notice his master's movement, who currently standing alone not far from him.
Something is wrong.
Kyoko stood there, silently, without any noise. Her eyes are focused on something, yet the direction she is looking for is nothing but empty, plain ground.
"Milady?"
The Swore Saint called, but the woman in front of him didn't turn around. The silence remained for several seconds before Kyoko finally opened her mouth.
"Reinhard," Kyoko said, her voice low and laced with an uncharacteristic seriousness. It wasn't often she used that tone—and when she did, it meant something was coming. Something that could change everything.
"I feel it."
Her words left Reinhard in quiet confusion, each syllable a mystery he couldn't unravel.
The wind caressed her hair, sending dark strands dancing like silk ribbons in the air, framing a face that could silence storms as he could only watch it. She wasn't just beautiful—she was the kind of beautiful that made the world feel like poetry.
"I would like to dispatch you. Go, and find them."
"May I know who you are referring to?"
Kyoko turned her head to glance behind her, a pair of golden eyes shone under her bangs as the white pupils narrowed into sharp horizontal slits. Intimidating, the pressure of fear was sent to those who came into contact with this predator's eyes.
That's not Kyoko.
That's not Kyoko, who Reinhard knows.
This was something else—something darker, something that made the hairs on the back of his neck rise. One glance and it's already sent a shiver down his spine.
"A familiar authority."
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"Mnh? Where's Reinhard Nya?" Ferris asked confusedly. The expedition team is about to leave the Flugel's Tree, and he wants to make sure everything is already packed up. The last person he needs to check is Kyoko and Reinhard since they're currently guests and allies at Crusch camp.
Kyoko stopped her track before she could step into her personal carriage, "I send him off. Just to take extra precautions."
"Extra precautions nya? Do you think someone will attack us or are you saying that The Subjugation of White Whale isn't over yet?"
"I feel a familiar presence. Weird, I shouldn't feel this, but this feeling keeps annoying me. Well, nothing is weird when something weird happens to me."
Ferris tilted his head; the confusion kept hitting his head again and again. He doesn't know about Kyoko for too long, so it's normal for him to think that her behavior is weird.
"Do you have any words for me?" The black-haired girl asked to close their conversation.
"We're going towards the capital. Right to the palace. Crusch-sama said we need to report this subjugation to the Council of Wise Men."
"I see," Kyoko nodded and continued, "Then don't distribute my carriage. My earth dragon knows what he's going to do."
Ferris watched Kyoko close the door; his eyes moved to the in front of the carriage where the horns earth dragon pulled the vehicle with commanding strength. He turned around and returned to the side of his master.
"Alright, Let's return to the Capital!!" Crusch shouted to the members of the expedition, and they answered with excited screams.
Their journey to the capital continues along with enjoyment, whispers, and laughter. They can't wait to tell their families, friends, and everyone about their experience facing a deathly monster. If they get lucky, this subjugation will be added to the history books.
Right after the door was closed, Kyoko immediately fell to her knees. Her hands scratched the seat, her legs feel so weak that she can't even feel it anymore. A scorching heat washed over her body, and her breath became uncontrollable. It was clear the effects had already taken hold, leaving her in a dazed, longing haze.
Fuck.... I overdo it. The symptoms getting worse than before...
Her cheeks flushed with a soft pink hue, covering both of her ears. Her lips parted as she sought more oxygen, trying to stabilize her breath pace. Yet, she couldn't help.
Her fingers slowly traced her bosom, taking pleasure from every single fabric's texture against her skin. A cute strange noise escaped from her lips as her thighs pressed each other, seeking something delicious.
The symptoms had already taken over her body.
The flow of her mana was decreased to the limits. She used too much mana during the subjugation and she already knows the consequences. Still, she hated how the symptoms took a long time to react. If only it had taken over earlier, she wouldn't have to think about the pain now and enjoy devouring her knight.
But, she doesn't expect that the symptoms will be this worse.
One single touch and her mind become a mess. Her fingers slid beneath the fabric, brushing against her chest. Gripping it tightly as she imagined her own knight's palm. Her other hand moved into her jeans, trying to reach a forbidden place where no one was permitted to touch it without her permission.
Big, hard, those long fingers.
"Reinhard...."
She touches herself. Without a shame. She touches herself as she thinks of her own knight.
Her only knight.
Her own knight.
In her mind, he's behind her, arms strong and sure as they wrap around her waist. She imagines the warmth of his breath against her neck, the quiet strength of his presence making her shiver with anticipation. His touch, even imagined, sends waves through her—gentle, reverent, and utterly consuming.
And Reinhard isn't here.
"Reinhard..." Kyoko muttered, trying to pull her turtleneck shirt from her body, only to be stopped in the middle of Crusch's scream.
"ENEMY'S ATTACK!!!!"
She can hear chaos outside from her carriage. The feeling of crushing the cause of this madness filled her head. Kyoko feels so annoyed and angry for distributing her moments, especially since her mare symptoms getting worse than before. She needs to deal before she loses her power to control her mind.
DANGGG!!!!
With a thunderous kick, the door slammed open. Her hands shot up, seizing the railing above the carriage door. In one fluid, fierce motion, she launched herself upward, twisting through the air like a flash of lightning, and landed atop the carriage with one knee on a rooftop.
Her right arm raised, summoning a black bow out from thin air. The air around her crackled with energy as she took aim, her eyes locked on the target—then, with a sudden release, the arrow soared like a bolt of darkness, slicing through the wind.
BOOOOOMMMMMM!!!!!!
And as the shot struck the ground, it unleashed a burst of energy, sending shockwaves rippling through the earth and dust spiraling into the air. All the carriages instantly stopped before they accidentally hit the main cause, probably the enemy.
Crusch instantly takes off from her earth dragon, glancing towards Kyoko, who is standing on top of her carriage. Without exchanging words, they nodded to each other before Crusch pulled her sword from her sheath, followed by Rem behind her with her Morningstar.
A gust of wind blew, sending off the dust that covered the whole scene. Reveal, a white-haired man standing in the middle of the road with white clothes. His golden eyes have a similar energy to Kyoko's, yet their heart says they both are different coins.
"State your name. Now."
"I see, I see. You don't know who I am. But I know who you are. You're one of the candidates for the next king of Lugunica, isn't it?——"
Without warning, another arrow blasted against the white-haired man, only to be split into two parts. The man remained undamaged, but his expression changed. His eyes focused on Kyoko, who was standing atop the carriage, knowing she was the one who sent that attack.
"Tch... is that a damn invisible barrier? Or some kind of windshield?" Kyoko mumbled herself, guiltless.
The white-haired man narrowed his eyes, "Hey!! Now look here! Who taught you to attack someone when they're happily talking!!? I do believe that's a violation of my right to speak!"
An invisible wind slash cut through the air, aimed straight at Kyoko, but was instantly deflected by her unseen shield. She instantly manifested han er bow into a katana and leaped from the carriage toward the white-haired man.
The white-haired man remained still, his expression showing fury as the wind slashed at him. With ease, he blocked each one with invisible protection, his fingers barely twitching, unmoved, as if the attacks were nothing more than a passing breeze. A faint ripple in the air was the only sign of their impact.
"You don't know how to respect a man, huh, woman!?"
Kyoko remains unreadable, swinging her katana to the man. With a loud thud, her attack was blocked easily before another wind slash bumped against her stomach.
"Arck—!!" Kyoko gasped, her body thrown back with brutal force. She was sent hurtling through the air, crashing into one of the nearby carriages with a deafening thud. The impact left her breathless, her body slumping against the wreckage, a sharp pain searing through her.
"Lady Kyoko!!" Crusch shouted, her eyes instantly locked on the white-haired man. Before she could use her skill, she heard a scream from another side, her comrade's side.
Another attack.
"Ahh... I keep eating and eating, but it's never enough!!"
Crusch and Rem turned around, only to found their comrades trembling in front of unknown man with a long brown hair. His cloak swaying gently with the wind movement, untouched by the chaos if behind, the lifeless bodies.
"I eat, I devour, I chew, I bite! I gorge! I gnaw! I munch! I crunch! Pure gluttony! Ahhh!! Thank you for this feast!!"
The maniac sound from this unknown man, making Crusch couldn't help but feel frustrating. They isn't ally, they're an enemies. And they just attack her team.
"Who... Are you two?"
The brown haired man smiled, showing his spike teeth.
"Sin Archbishop of The Witch's Cult, representing gluttony, Lye Batenkaitos! Nice to meet you all, my food!!"
A sly smirk played across the white-haired man's face, "And I, the Sin Archbishop of The Witch's Cult, representing greed, Regulus Corneas."
His eyes shifted toward Kyoko as she stumbled out of the carriage, barely able to stand. He curled his smile widened, like a predator found their favourite prey, as his rage before already fading away.
"It's my honour to meet you, Tiamat-sama."
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