Chapter 10 - Distorted - Part 3 - Final

The business district, which was a busy and noisy place, was silent. Crowds formed around soldiers, corpses, a crying child, and a bloodied and exhausted woman.

"Hmph... To think she managed to kill three soldiers and a knight and still be alive." Said Yurk, the captain of the guard and father of Urk.

"I said, Daddy. This woman is a servant of the goddess of destruction."

"Shut up! To think you put me through this shame… I should have gotten rid of your mother when she was pregnant. And for love, someone shut up that damn child!"

Urk cringed at his father's words and the soldiers looked at Fotiá, who was still crying.

Athena and Fotiá were cornered against the city wall. Athena fought bravely as she also protected Fotiá at her back.

One of the soldiers closest to Fotiá, upon hearing the order, sheathed his sword and bent down to try to calm the girl down.

"Ssssh! You need to calm down..." The soldier said and then saw the tip of a sword pointed at him.

Athena was tired, the soldiers were strong, and among them were even stronger knights. She used way too much mana and martial energy and only managed to defeat four people. but she would die before letting anything happen to Fotiá again.

"Stay... away... from her!" Athena said.

The soldier felt goosebumps all over his body. How was it possible that in that situation, that woman kept such a cold and menacing look? To that soldier, Athena's eyes were the most frightening and yet beautiful thing he had ever seen, and he felt his heart beat strangely as he walked away.

"Fotiá... it's... alright." Athena said without looking back. "Stop crying."

"B-but Athena is hurt... Hik! And, and Fotiá hasn't been able to fight a-Hik! yet..."

Her hair was mostly red, as was her torn dress, which revealed part of her breast and legs. And yet Athena smiled.

"We don't…need…fight anymore." She said and sheathed her sword.

Seeing this, Yurk was infuriated that he thought Athena was making fun of them. "Get her now and torture and hang her!"

"This will not happen." said Charle, and beside him, a woman as beautiful as Athena, with long silvery black hair and purple eyes.

***

A few minutes earlier at the Erdenleint Bank, Charle had been sitting across from a clergyman as they sipped tea.

This woman was one of the most important people in the kingdom of Basilica, a nation in decay after losing the war to the Elsna empire.

"That woman... How strong do you think she is?"

Charle looked at the silver-black haired woman with suspicion and discomfort.

"Not much, but if you've seen her, your holiness already knows that. So I don't think that's the answer you want to hear." Charle was silent for a moment. "It won't be long before she will be a considerable force to your nation."

The woman looked at Charle with a menacing look. "Wouldn't she be 'our nation', Mr. Charle?"

"Oh please, Erdenleint Bank is a multinational entity, and I, as part of that bank, have no nationality." Charle replied as politely as possible.

"I forgot that bankers are always like this. Leaving that aside... Why do you think she decided to leave the forest?"

Charle shook his head in denial. "How would I, a simple banker know?"

"'A simple banker' you say... Could a simple banker stand up to Beleon?" The woman said as she crossed her legs, letting her thighs show through the side opening of her tunic.

Charle chuckled, feeling nostalgic. "Why... That was over twenty years ago. Today I'm just an old banker."

"That woman... what's her name?"

"Athena."

The woman raised her eyebrows. "Just 'Athena'?"

"That's what the mirror of the soul said. Why?"

"Don't you think that's weird? She's a saint! Why doesn't she have a family name or affiliation?"

"She is over three hundred years old." Charle said thoughtfully.

"AND?"

"It's from the same time immortals started to disappear for good. No record talks about immortals having family members, usually they grouped into guilds and adopted the organization's name, thus earning an affiliation name... But it's if it is the last of these immortals?"

The woman was about to say something when the door to the room opened. Iris entered the place hurriedly and distressed.

"Mr. Charle, Your Highness, trouble in the business district!"

The two looked at the receptionist confused.

"And what does this have to do with us?" the woman asked.

Iris cringed. "It's s-Miss Athena! The captain of the guard has surrounded her with soldiers and she has already killed three of them!"

The two people exchanged looks of surprise and got to their feet.

"Saint Serien we'll save the conversation for later, I can't let the richest woman in our bank die!" Charle said he left the room in a hurry.

"Richest woman? No, wait! I'm coming too!" Serien said and walked behind Charle.

***

Now...

After seeing Charle and Serien, everyone in the place bowed to Serien, even Yurk, Urk and the soldiers, leaving only four people standing.

"What is the meaning of this?" Serien questioned.

With his head down and knees bent, Yurk felt as if his life was in ruins and he had to find a way to prevent that from happening.

"We are capturing a servant of the goddess of destruction, her highness."

"Since when is being a servant of the goddess of destruction a crime for you to arrest her?"

Yurk smiled as if he'd hit the jackpot. "She killed two of my son's men and now she's killed another four and so we have to capture her!"

Athena was staring at Serien and Charle intently when Serien asked. "Is it true what he says?"

Athena took a deep breath and placed her hand on Fotiá's head, which was hugging her teacher's leg. "They kidnapped my nymph and before that they charged an absurd fee to enter the city. And about those four, I just defended myself."

Just then Urk raised his head, shouting. "TH-THAT'S A LIE! WE WERE PLAYING WITH THE GIRL AND THIS UNHOLY WOMAN KILLED MIJIR AND RUI!"

"And where are the bodies?" Charle asked as he stroked his own beard.

"That... They..."

Yurk turned his head enough to look at his son, Urk was sweating as if his skin was crying for him and Yurk realized that all was lost and decided what to do.

"Your Highness, I, Yurk D'erneand, did not know what my son had done. Please at least spare my life!"

Urk's eyes widened as he saw his father abandon him. In desperation Urk looked everywhere for some salvation and in the midst of the crowd he found it.

Lahar, his friend and subordinate whom he thought was dead, was there his salvation. At least that's what he thought.

"Huh? I've never seen this woman use dark magic!" Lahar said is surreptitiously winked at Athena. "And I spent months having to put up with Urk's corruption. As his father is the captain of the guard, I always had to do what he wanted."

"Hey... W-what are you...-"

"You know this woman is a saint, right?" Serien said, interrupting Urk. "And as such, she wields almost the same authority as the marshal. Do you have any idea who you attacked?"

"H-like the goddess of creation, Lhian, the lady of benevolence and forgiveness. Please be merciful to me?!" Yurk begged.

Not just for Athena, but for everyone there, such a scene was repulsive and the crowd began to whisper, making the man's face burn with shame.

'I will survive and take revenge.' That's what Yurk thought.

"As Princess of the Basilica Kingdom and High Priestess of the Temple of Light, I, Serien Aust Basilica, condemn the Chief of Guard Yurk D'erneand and his son Urk D'erneand to immediate execution!"

Just as the princess said, the guards who were just following Yurk's orders rose and drew their swords to carry out Serien's order, but Athena stopped them.

"Wait!" At that moment the eyes of Urk and his father filled with hope and then terror as Athena unsheathed her sword. "I want to do that..."

Serien raised his eyebrows in surprise and Charle chuckled as Lahar gulped at the thought that the same could happen to him.

Seeing Athena approaching him, Yurk began to crawl back, trying to get away from his destiny. Athena walked toward the men with a beautiful, terrible smile on her bloodstained face.

Urk drew his sword and charged, his face full of fear, tears, sweat, and phlegm, towards Athena. A futile act of desperation, Urk was not a guard, knight or swordsman, he was a banished cleric who never used a sword in his life, his sword was only for decoration and also 'persuasion'.

Urk used all his mediocre strength and attacked Athena with the sword in a mindless frontal attack. Athena blocked the man's sword with her shield and swept past him, severing his head in a single blow.

Serien and Charle had the most genuine surprise written on their faces when they saw the scene.

"Didn't you say she wasn't strong?"

"I…" Charle was about to reply when he felt something warm on his feet. He looked down and saw Yurk sitting on his feet and getting wet as he tried to say something. "Why, you!"

"Please do not do that." Athena asked when Charle was about to kick Yurk. "You'll kill him if you kick him. He's mine."

Charle looked at Athena and sighed. "Then I shall expect a new pair of shoes as a gift from your holiness."

"Hm! That's fine with me." Athena responded with a kind smile and grabbed Yurk by the hair. "Can you stop resisting? {Paralysis}"

"What magic is this?" Serien asked abruptly.

"Hm?"

"This magic you just used. Where did you learn it?"

Athena tilted her head thoughtfully. "It's been a long time, I don't remember." And she lied.

Athena dragged the paralyzed Yurk with difficulty to Urk's body and there she undid the magic.

"WAIT! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! PLEASE I GIVE YOU EVERYTHING, I DO EVERYTHING! DON'T KILL ME, I WANT TO LIVE!" Yurk begged.

Athena was still smiling, things had turned out very well for her. It was like when she was trapped in a battle against strong opponents in the game and suddenly allies from the Dark Guilds arrived and turned the tables.

"Yeah you're right, I don't need to kill you." Athena said and Yurk's face lit up. "Fotiá, my angel, come here. I'll teach you the first lesson about hunting."

Fotiá's expression was complicated until she heard Athena's voice. Upon hearing about the hunting lesson, Fotiá's face brightened and everyone around her closed up.

"First you hold the sword tightly so you don't accidentally drop it and then you can stick it anywhere until it stops screaming and moving, got it?"

"Fotiá understands. It's just a matter of Fotiá sticking hard, isn't it Athena?" Fotiá said with animation.

"Yes. But now we need a hunt..." Athena said.

Making as if she was actually looking for prey, Athena looked around and then looked at Yurk who thought he was free, making the man shiver.

Yurk was once a good man, once a good husband and even a good father, but money was always too little and he began to extort whoever gave it, and it ended up as it was now.

Yurk had become a cruel, greedy man who had committed several crimes without letting anyone know. Extortion, murder, **** and others. He was rotten.

However, no one knew about it, only its victims, so no one cared. Ignorance is a blessing in any world, and this ignorance made Athena the villain.

"Ah! I found your first prey, Fotiá!"

"Where?"

"Close the eyes." Athena said Fotiá did it.

Athena approached Yurk, crouched beside him, then whispered. "Thank your son for me, for the shortcut he created for me. {Transform}" Athena rose to her feet and Yurk shrank into a pig in clothes.

The crowd was beginning to ask what Athena was doing by getting a child's hands dirty and the same could be said of Serien and Charle who had their eyes so wide open in horror at the scene that was starting.

"Hey! What are you..." Serien tried to say and then Athena put a finger in front of her lips.

"Fotiá, you can open your eyes. Here's your first hunt!" Athena said and then the pig started screaming and moving.

Athena held Yurk tightly so he wouldn't escape and Fotiá happily hit the animal several times, splashing blood everywhere. Some people laughed in excitement at the scene, while others threw up at the sight of a child killing a man and Serien turned her face away as she tried not to think about that the pig was a human.

"I think if you live too long, it ends up being distorted that way…" Charle commented.

The scene was short-lived, but it was still too long for those watching.. And when he finished, Athena was even more blood-stained than before, as was Fotiá.