But... sothing was wrong.
Very wrong.
The ground was broken.
Cracked pillars.
Deep impact marks spread across the area like fresh scars.
And the sound.
The sound was the worst.
Explosions.
Energy shocks.
tal against flesh.
Magic tearing through the air.
Strax stopped at the first step.
Behind him, Cassandra, Daniela, Rogue, Cristine, and Yennifer also froze.
No one spoke for a few seconds.
Because the scene ahead...
Was absurd.
In the center of the devastated field—
Beatrice.
Alone.
Heavy breathing.
Her body covered in marks, scratches, and burns.
Her hair stuck to her face with sweat.
And yet—
Standing.
Around her...
All of them. Literally all of them.
Mionica advanced from the left, curved blades gleaming with a deadly aura, her movents swift as a predator.
Samira erged from the right, spinning a spear that seed to cut through space itself, the air vibrating with each movent.
Scarlet was in the air, manipulating blood like living blades that snaked around Beatrice, ready to attack from all angles.
Tiamat advanced head-on, overwhelming, her presence weighing like a mountain, each step making the ground tremble.
Kali erged from behind, multiple arms materializing, each wielding a different weapon, each ready to kill.
Ouroboros... wasn’t visible.
But its presence was everywhere.
Ti around Beatrice seed distorted, unstable, as if it could shatter at any mont.
Xenovia descended from the heavens with a sword enveloped in divine light.
Xyn and Kryssia moved in perfect sync, coordinated attacks, precise, with no room for error.
It was...
An execution.
Or at least—
It should have been.
But it wasn’t.
Because Beatrice...
Was still fighting.
She spun her body at the last second, dodging Mionica’s blade by milliters, blocking Samira’s impact with her forearm, even though it opened a deep cut.
She responded with a kick that sent Samira flying backward—
But she was already being forced to duck when Scarlet’s blood blades passed over her head.
Tiamat advanced.
Beatrice didn’t dodge.
She punched.
The impact was brutal.
The ground cracked.
But Beatrice’s body was thrown backward nonetheless.
She slid.
She fell to her knees.
He breathed.
Heavily.
But he stood up.
Again.
Strax remained silent.
Watching.
The girls behind him did too.
No one interrupted.
No one interfered.
Because this...
Was completely out of scale.
Cassandra crossed her arms slowly, her eyes analyzing every movent.
"This... is serious?"
Daniela blinked a few tis, clearly trying to process.
"She’s... fighting against EVERYONE?"
Rogue stepped forward, his eyes gleaming with interest.
"And she’s still not dead..."
Cristine smiled slightly.
"Not only that... she’s keeping up."
Yennefer didn’t smile.
She just watched.
Calculating.
And then—
Beatrice was hit.
Kali appeared from behind.
A blade pierced her side.
The blow wasn’t deep enough to kill—
But it was clean.
Precise.
Beatrice spat blood.
Her body swayed.
And in that instant—
They all advanced at once.
It was instinctive.
A coordinated attack.
An end.
And then—
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"
Strax’s voice exploded across the field.
It wasn’t an ordinary shout.
It was an order.
The air trembled.
Space distorted.
The sound echoed like a physical impact.
And everything—
Stopped.
Literally.
The weapons froze in mid-air.
Movent ceased.
All eyes turned imdiately.
All of them.
Without exception.
Beatrice was still standing for a second.
Her breathing was ragged.
Her eyes were unfocused. And then—
Her legs gave way.
But she didn’t fall.
Strax disappeared.
A blur.
An instant.
And reappeared beside her, catching her body before it touched the ground.
The impact of the movent created a slight gust of wind around them.
Silence returned.
But now—
It was heavy.
Different.
Strax held Beatrice firmly, one arm supporting her back.
The other brushing away the hair stuck to her face.
His eyes scanned every wound.
Every cut.
Every sign of exhaustion.
His expression—
Change.
"Beatrice..."
His voice was lower.
Closer.
"Are you okay?"
She tried to answer.
But first ca a cough.
Blood.
She turned her face slightly, avoiding getting it dirty.
"...I’m..."
Her voice faltered.
But there was a smile.
Small.
Proud.
Strax frowned slightly.
"That doesn’t look like ’I’m okay’."
She let out a weak laugh.
"Almost... I did it..."
Cassandra stepped forward, looking at the scene with a mixture of curiosity and disapproval.
"Did what, exactly?"
Before Beatrice could answer—
Scarlet spoke.
"She asked for it."
Silence.
Strax slowly raised his gaze.
"She what?"
Samira spun her spear and rested it on her shoulder.
"She asked us to attack with everything we had."
Mionica crossed her arms.
"Without holding back."
Kali smiled slightly.
"Without rcy."
Strax’s gaze grew colder.
"You accepted?"
Xenovia answered calmly.
"She insisted."
Ouroboros finally spoke, appearing behind the others as if she had always been there.
"The test was simple."
Her eyes glead slightly.
"Survive."
Silence returned.
Heavy.
Strax looked at Beatrice again.
"You asked for this?"
She paused for a second.
She breathed.
Heavy.
And then nodded.
"...I’m falling behind..."
Her voice was low.
But firm.
"Everyone... evolving... getting stronger..."
She closed her eyes for a second.
"And I..."
Her hands closed lightly on his clothes.
"I don’t want... to be protected..."
The air seed to grow heavier.
Cassandra looked away for a mont.
Daniela remained silent. Rogue watched intently.
Cristine... no longer smiled.
Yennefer simply listened.
Beatrice opened her eyes again.
She looked at Strax.
Directly.
"I want... to fight by your side..."
Silence.
Complete.
Strax didn’t respond imdiately.
He just watched her.
Closely.
Seeing not only the injuries.
But the intention.
The will.
The stubbornness.
And then—
He sighed.
Slightly.
"You’re an idiot."
The answer ca dryly.
But—
Not coldly.
Beatrice blinked.
Confused.
He continued.
"Fighting nine people at the sa ti isn’t training."
He adjusted her body, holding her tighter.
"It’s suicide."
Scarlet shrugged.
"She was doing well."
Strax glanced at her.
Scarlet raised her hands.
"What? Do you think she’s weak? Okay, Tiamat, Ouroboros, and I decided not to use half our strength... But she’s perfectly capable of fighting with so many won, right?"
He ignored her.
He looked back at Beatrice.
"You don’t need to prove anything like that."
She frowned slightly.
"I do."
The answer was imdiate.
Even tired.
Even wounded.
"I don’t want to... stay behind you..."
Her gaze softened.
"I want to stay... by your side..."
Strax was silent.
For a few seconds.
And then—
A small smile appeared.
Almost imperceptible.
"Then stop trying to die."
She made a weak grimace.
"...annoying..."
Cristine chuckled softly.
"I like her."
Cassandra crossed her arms.
"She’s reckless."
Yennefer replied.
"She’s determined."
Rogue smiled.
"She’s fun."
Strax ignored the comnts.
He stood up slowly, still holding Beatrice.
And then—
He looked around.
At everyone.
One by one.
The air shifted.
"Who authorized this?"
The question was calm.
But—
Heavy.
Ouroboros smiled slightly.
"She did."
Strax didn’t look away.
"And you found this acceptable?"
Kali tilted her head.
"She survived."
Mionica finished.
"And evolved."
Xenovia nodded. "She needed this."
Silence returned.
But this ti—
It wasn’t tense.
It was... assessed.
Strax took a deep breath.
And then—
He nodded slightly.
"Right."
They all beca attentive.
Because that tone...
Was dangerous.
He looked at Beatrice again.
"If you want to get stronger..."
She blinked.
"...train with ."
The silence broke.
Beatrice’s eyes widened slightly.
"...really?"
He gave a small smile.
"But different from that."
His gaze intensified.
"I won’t go easy on you."
She smiled.
Even tired.
Even hurt.
A genuine smile.
"...that’s what I want..."
Strax nodded.
And then—
She looked at the others again.
"And you."
Her tone was firm.
"The next ti you do sothing like that..."
A pause.
Short.
But enough.
"...let know."
Scarlet smiled.
"Jealous?"
Strax didn’t answer.
But the slight narrowing of her eyes—
That was answer enough.
Cristine laughed.
"Ah... now that’s more like it."
Yennefer crossed her arms.
"This is going to get interesting."
Strax kept his gaze on them all for a few more seconds.
The field was still destroyed around them, the air heavy with remnants of energy, fine dust rising from the cracks in the ground, and small creaks echoing from the damaged structures. It was the kind of scene that, not long ago, would have ant open war.
Now... it was just training.
Or at least, that’s how they were treating it.
He let out a long sigh, closing his eyes for a mont, like soone who needed to organize his thoughts before making any decision.
When he opened them again, there was sothing different there.
It wasn’t anger.
But it wasn’t complete approval either.
It was... control.
"Okay," he said, his voice calm but firm enough to cut through the tension that still lingered in the air. "That’s enough."
No one answered.
But they were all paying attention.
Every single one of them.
Without exception.
Strax adjusted Beatrice in his arms, holding her more firmly, as if he had already made a decision and was simply going through with it. Her body was still warm, her breathing heavy against his chest, the signs of exhaustion too clear to ignore.
Even so...
She still tried to maintain a minimally dignified posture.
He glanced quickly at her.
And snorted, almost imperceptibly.
"You’ll pass out in five minutes," he murmured.
Beatrice grimaced, her brow furrowing.
"I won’t..."
Her voice ca out weak.
And completely without conviction.
Strax raised an eyebrow.
"In three, then."
She tried to answer—
But her body failed her before she could.
Her eyes blinked more slowly.
The tension vanished.
And, without realizing it, she relaxed completely against him.
Passed out.
The silence lasted a second.
And then—
Daniela let out a low chuckle.
"It lasted less than you said."
Cassandra crossed her arms, observing the scene with a critical look.
"Idiot," she murmured, but there was sothing softer in her tone.
Rogue tilted his head, analyzing.
"She’s endured quite a bit, actually."
Cristine smiled slightly.
"She’s stubborn. That helps."
Yennefer, on the other hand, kept her gaze fixed.
Calculating.
Always calculating.
Strax didn’t answer either of them.
He simply adjusted Beatrice more comfortably in his arms.
And then—
Without warning—
He picked her up more carefully.
One hand under her legs.
The other supporting her back.
Lifting her completely.
Into his lap.
Like a princess.
The movent was natural.
Effortless.
But the impact of it—
It didn’t go unnoticed.
Scarlet was the first to react.
A slow smile forming.
"Look at that..."
Samira raised an eyebrow.
"How cute."
Kali let out a low laugh, her eyes sparkling with amusent.
"So the monster has a heart too."
Mionica just watched silently.
But there was curiosity there.
Tiamat crossed her arms, the weight of her presence lessening slightly.
"She gained privileges."
User Comments
0 comments from readers