"How did they find us?"
"I don't have any idea, boss."
"What should we do? Should we try to escape towards Theodora?"
"That's the most suitable option we have; our family might have already issued bounties on us."
"Fuck fuck fuck…"
They were trying to get away when an arrow came hurtling towards them. The subordinate in the lead position drew his sword and deflected the incoming arrow.
"Fuck, who the fuck are you? Who sent you?"
"So here you are Daniel, running away from everyone." Vespara suddenly appeared behind Daisy, her keen senses narrowing in on the target.
"W…W-War Goddess. They sent you to hunt me?" As Daniel stared at the woman in front of him, he felt a chill run down his spine.
His eyes widened in shock, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.
"Now don't get full of yourself. You haven't even committed that much of a crime that I have to hunt you down myself.
"You see, I am training my student here, and I am only here to watch," Vespara said with a grin.
"Why don't you fight her in a one-on-one duel? If you win, I promise I will let you escape."
Daniel's subordinate glanced at him worriedly.
Daniel was frozen with fear, unable to process the gravity of the situation.
Nonetheless, he was confident there was still a way out, despite his apprehension. He could duel the Grade I mage and win, then run away if the war goddess honored her word.
"How can I believe you will keep your promise? If she is your student, then how can I believe you won't kill me after I kill her in the duel?"
"So now I, Vespara Bloodmoon, need to show a lowly Grade II mage who is a criminal right, how I keep my promise? Who do you think I am?
"It's already a miracle both of you are not dead right away.
"Will you duel her as I say, or…"
"I WILL DO IT!"
Daniel's reply was swift, and he walked to the center, where he summoned his sword and prepared for the duel.
"Have fun, darling."
Daisy came forward and positioned herself next to Daniel in the middle. Fear was beginning to grip her as she prepared to face a Grade II mage when she was only a Grade I.
The thought of what might happen to her children and Lilly, if something were to go wrong, made her anxious.
Daniel charged forward, swinging his sword in a sudden and unexpected attack.
Daisy was so taken aback that she hardly had time to respond.
She raised her bow in a reflexive attempt to deflect the blade, but the force of the blow sent her stumbling backward.
Fast as a flash, Daniel rained a volley of little fireballs down on her, but Daisy reacted by using the wind to launch herself into the air and evade the fiery projectiles.
She took aim from above and released a volley of arrows in his direction.
Daniel made his way toward Daisy, deflecting some of Daisy's arrows with his sword and dodging others.
Daisy was floating in the air when she saw Daniel coming closer. She quickly pulled herself away to make more space between them.
With a burst of flames, Daniel propelled himself into the air, closing the distance between him and Daisy in a matter of seconds.
The strength gap between him and Daisy was widening as his Grade II core gave him a decisive advantage.
Daisy's frightened heartbeat matched Daniel's burning sword as it swung at her. In her fear, she made a mistake, and his sword landed a deep wound on her shoulder.
She grunted in pain and quickly pulled herself together before using her wind magic to move away from Daniel.
But her anxiety was getting the better of her, and she was having trouble paying attention.
As Daniel propelled himself towards Daisy, ready to strike again, he felt a sudden pain in his stomach. When he looked down, he saw that he had a dagger stuck in his stomach.
Before he could react, a volley of five arrows flew toward his face, moving with incredible speed.
Two of them struck him square in the skull, instantly ending his life. His dead body crashed to the ground with a resounding thud as it fell from the heavens.
Vespara hurried over to Daisy and poured a healing potion into the wound, which quickly began to heal.
Daisy let out a sigh of relief as the pain subsided.
"You fooled him nicely."
"That was the only way to kill him. The power gap was too strong between us."
"So how do you feel after killing him?"
"I don't know; I don't feel anything for now. I was just thinking I was fighting to protect my kids."
"Good, darling, well, he is too weak for his Grade II status; you have to train more."
"What if I were to fight Aizel?"
"You won't even know when you will have died," Vespara replied.
"I... I just want to become strong so that I can protect my kids on my own,"
"Yes, I will make sure you will become strong; now let's store his body and head back, shall we?"
"What happened to the other guy?"
Daisy's gaze shifted to the ground, where she saw the other mage's lifeless body lying motionless.
As the sun began to rise, Daisy and Vespara left the town and made their way back to Felgura City.
Vespara would deliver Daniel's body to his family afterward and will receive the reward. Daisy, on the other hand, had no obligation and could return to her apartment.
After a long journey, they finally reached their inn, and Daisy opened the door to their room. However, Vespara's spine chilled when he saw Aizel sitting quietly in a chair, facing them with a blank stare.
"Oh, you already woke up, Aizel," Daisy said.
As Daisy started to take a few steps forward, Vespara quickly grabbed her and drew her back behind her. Her gaze never left Aizel's.
"Where did you take her and don't lie to me?" Aizel spoke.
"What happened to you?" Vespara replied.
"Nothing; I asked something; where did you take her?"
"To train… the princess wants Daisy in her team,"
"Hmm…
"So, what do you want to eat for breakfast then?"
"Huh?"
His sudden response startled both Daisy and Vespara.
"Why are you staring at me? I am still me, it's just that I am slowly starting to recover my memories."
"So, you are not angry with me, right?"
"Oh, that's fine; don't worry. I will make sure to beat the hell out of you once I recover my strength. So, what do you want to eat hag?"