Ch 79 - A Proper Reception
Sand burst violently into the air, swept up by the harsh wind as several figures cloaked in shadow moved swiftly across the barren land.
They darted from one point to another with unnatural speed, their numbers difficult to make out at first. They ran so quickly that even their footsteps seemed to vanish beneath the swirling veil of sand.
Then the figure at the very front suddenly came to a stop.
One after another, the others behind them stopped as well, their cloaks fluttering wildly in the wind. As the dust slowly thinned around them, their silhouettes became clearer.
There were nine figures in total.
The one standing at the front reached up and pulled back the hood of her cloak, revealing the face of a young woman. A pair of pointed ears emerged from beneath short red hair cut into a loose bob, its ends whipping against her cheeks in the wind.
She remained still for a moment, her sharp eyes fixed on the empty stretch of land ahead.
"I didn't expect anyone to actually keep up with us this far," the elven woman said. "How persistent. They should have understood the difference between us by now. If they still insist on following us after this... then they have no one but themselves to blame for what happens next."
The moment those words left her lips, something changed in the air not far ahead.
A gust swept across the sand, twisting strangely against the direction of the wind. For a brief instant, it seemed as though the air itself had taken physical form. Then, from within that distortion, another figure quietly appeared.
He was a tall man with gray hair tied neatly behind his head, though several strands had already come loose and now whipped wildly in the wind. One hand rested behind his back while the other remained calmly at his side.
"My fair lady," he said, bowing his head with courtesy. "Where might you be hurrying off to in such haste? It would be terribly discourteous of us to let an honored guest depart without a proper reception, especially after you have gone to such lengths to bring such a generous gift all the way to the city of Necroton."
"Well, well." She let out a low, amused laugh. "Isn't this a surprise? Look who decided to greet me personally."
Igrio inclined his head, the gesture polite and utterly unbothered. "Lady Esta. It has been some time."
"Oh, don't 'Lady Esta' me." She spread her arms, gesturing toward the empty land surrounding them. "I have to say, I'm impressed. Truly. Sending a single servant all the way out here, completely alone, to stand in front of someone so far above his level that it's almost embarrassing to watch. Your prince really does have guts. Or maybe he simply doesn't value you very much."
"His Highness values every one of us a great deal," Igrio replied evenly. "Which is precisely why I was sent ahead. Someone needed to be the first to greet you properly."
"How thoughtful."
"It is only proper hospitality."
Igrio offered a single courteous bow.
At the very same moment, subtle movement stirred in the space behind him. Shapes shifted among the windblown sand. One by one, four more figures emerged without a sound, as though they had simply chosen that exact moment to step into existence.
The first was a small girl with platinum hair tied into twin ponytails and porcelain-pale skin, smiling so sweetly it almost made one's teeth ache. Donna, the Doll Witch.
Beside her stood a tall woman with short black-and-white hair and mismatched eyes, one crimson and the other emerald. Her arms were crossed casually over her chest. Chika, the Chimera.
The third was a woman with wavy blonde hair and a curved, almost impossibly perfect figure. A gentle smile rested on her face, revealing absolutely nothing of what she was thinking. Sliora, the Slime.
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And last came a woman with short, dark navy hair. Her eyes were utterly empty, seemingly staring at nothing and everything at once. Denisa, the Undead.
"My, my. A whole welcoming party." Esta clicked her tongue. "Should I be flattered? I suppose your prince really is serious about entertaining his guests, isn't he? Sending five lowly servants all the way out here just to welcome me."
Igrio's expression remained calm, almost gentle.
"Lady Esta, you have trespassed into territory under His Highness's protection with clear hostile intent. You entered accompanied by an armed unit prepared to take action against him, and even went so far as to summon creatures classified as highly dangerous threats."
His voice remained perfectly composed. "Such actions constitute a severe violation, one that cannot simply be overlooked or lightly forgiven. You will be punished accordingly. Severely."
Esta burst out laughing, one hand pressing lightly against her chest.
"Punished? By you?" She wiped at the corner of her eye, still grinning. "Oh, that's adorable. Do you even hear yourself when you talk? You're nothing more than a glorified errand boy dressed up like a knight, yet somehow you've convinced yourself that you have the authority to threaten me."
Her grin widened.
"Know your place. I could kill every single person standing behind you before you even realized I'd moved, and you'd still be standing there trying to finish that ridiculous little warning of yours. So please, go ahead. Tell me again how you're going to punish me. I'd love to hear it."
"You are welcome to try," Igrio replied, still perfectly polite. "Though I would gently suggest that confidence built upon outdated information rarely survives contact with the truth."
"Outdated information?" She snorted. "Careful, little servant. Talking to your betters like that is going to get that pretty head of yours removed from your shoulders."
"I appreciate your concern for my well-being." A faint, almost invisible smile touched Igrio's lips. "Though I believe, Lady Esta, that you may have simply chosen the wrong person to threaten today."
Something in his tone made the smile on her face thin, if only slightly. That was answer enough. Esta snapped her fingers.
The eight cloaked figures behind her exploded into motion, scattering across the trail in every direction, and Esta herself darted to the side in the same breath, robes whipping around her as twin daggers slid free from her sleeves, their curved blades slick with something dark and faintly smoking where it touched the air. Poison.
Igrio immediately surged forward after her, his figure cutting through the wind as he followed wherever the red-haired elf moved.
And in the middle of that pursuit, something about the servant suddenly began to change.
Thin plates of silver-gray metal emerged from beneath his coat, layer folding over layer in the space of a single breath. They swept over his arms, chest, and legs in rapid succession, locking together until a fully sealed suit of compact armor encased him from head to foot.
"What?"
Esta abruptly stopped and spun around to face him, dropping into a fighting stance as she drew her twin daggers.
Above Igrio's shoulders, a dozen slender silver blades unfolded into the air. They hovered around him, drifting lazily like a school of fish waiting for a current to carry them away.
Then more appeared. One after another, they rose from somewhere within the layered plates of his armor, spreading outward until nearly thirty blades hung suspended around him.
"You..." Esta's eyes narrowed as she tightened her grip on both daggers. "What in the world are you?"
"Merely a personal attendant," Igrio replied calmly, "doing his job."
For a brief moment, neither of them moved. Then Esta slowly raised her twin daggers again, settling into her stance as a confident smile returned to her face.
"Well, I'll admit, that armor is rather impressive." She casually turned one of her daggers in her hand. "But let's see how well it holds up against my poison blades."
The last word had barely left her lips when she vanished. In the next instant, Esta appeared directly behind Igrio, both daggers already sweeping toward him.
Igrio reacted immediately.
A silver blade shot between them and intercepted the strike with a sharp metallic crack. Another followed almost simultaneously, forcing Esta backward before several more swept toward her from different directions.
Esta twisted away from the first, parried the second, but the third caught her before she could recover.
Her body was sent flying. She crashed into the ground several meters away, rolling through the sand before coming to a stop.
Then her body began to distort. Her silhouette trembled and split apart, separating until three identical Estas stood where only one had fallen moments before. All three rose together, identical smiles slowly spreading across their faces.
Then they laughed. The sound came from all three at once, overlapping until it became difficult to tell which voice belonged to the real Esta.
"Splitting yourself into copies," Igrio said. "Impressive. Though I doubt even ten of you would make much of a difference."
"Shut up. I haven't even started."
"Neither have I," Igrio replied.
The ring of silver blades around him slowly drifted lower.
"Though I would encourage you to reconsider your next move, Lady Esta. I would truly hate to explain to Her Highness Princess Rania why her chief investigator returned to the capital in several separate pieces."
Igrio paused briefly, as though something had only just occurred to him. "Ah, forgive me. I nearly forgot. By the time this is over, you will not be returning as yourself at all."
Esta's crimson eyes flashed. "You talk too much for a servant."
"And you underestimate too much for someone in your position," Igrio replied.
Then he lunged.