Chapter 32 - An agreement

The sound of Staxius snapping his fingers awoke everyone. Rose stood, unable to move due to confusion. Moments ago, her whole gang was wiped out. A tear unwillingly escaped her eyes. "Ma'am, don't cry, I shall defeat this defiler in your stead." A voice spoke, familiar and peaceful. Sternly fixed and eyeing Staxius down, Isac stood, sword in hand, waiting.

"What is happening?" Her stomach felt weird, her head began aching, her body gave in, she collapsed. "Dear Lord, how can someone be so feeble," Staxius sighed. Rose's sudden faint went unnoticed. "FIGHT," one of her men exclaimed, the battle restarted. "Fenrir, that was a job well done, now you may return, I shall join everyone later."

One against a mini-army, *Poof,* Everyone charged. Simultaneously, smoke bombs began exploding everywhere. One by one, they all got knocked out. "Phew, just like I thought, these guys aren't that strong. I do wonder how the illusion spell Fenrir and I conjured felt, I did imagine the whole scene, however, did it leave a psychological scar I wonder."

Behind him, as he walked, the smoke faded thus revealing a pile of unconscious bodies; some on top of each while others scattered around. In the distance, faint but distinct, the presence of two skilled individuals was felt. The attempts of making themselves invisible were fruitless, the moment they reached the garrison, "Alyson and Ancret, get over here this instant." A voice came from the inside.

"Guess we've been found out," Ancret quietly voiced her disappointment.

Inside, the sight of bodies lying about without a single drop of blood took them by surprise. "M-master?" Alyson tried speaking but chose to remain silent.

"Stop gawking and get over here, both of you," Impatient he restrained himself from reprimanding them. "Y-yes,"

They ran, "Ancret please heal this woman and leave the other guys to Alyson." Rose slept quietly on Staxius's lap as he provided her body some support against the rough ground. *Healing element activate; Full body recovery,* A green mist levitated Rose's body off his lap, she was floating without any help. The scars she received prior from meeting Staxius got healed as well. Without any warning, the spell was finished and her body fell. "Ouch, my head," She pouted. "I see the lady is awake," He spoke monotonously. "Ancret, please if you have some mana left go heal the people I critically injured, got a bit carried away there." He pulled out his tongue jokingly. "You goht a bit carried awwayhh," She whispered into his ears all in hopes of arousing him. "I know you can't help that sort of behavior, but do be careful, people may often mistake your playfulness and take you seriously," He pinched her cheek.

"W-what the hell did I wake up too, i-is this a daughter father spat?" Half-heartedly she spoke.

"Good, your awake," With a single glance to Ancret, she knew things were about to get serious and left. "Now then lady Thunderstain, I do hope you remember what happened?" Her pupils shrunk; her expression changed from clueless to mortified. She was frightened beyond human comprehension, and at the root of such intense emotions stood Staxius; smirking with the blood of her comrades over his visage.

"Ha-ha, you remembered didn't you,"

"W-why a-are you h-holding me, aren't you going f-finish the job? You've killed all my crew; I've got nothing to live for."

"Stop with the helpless heroine act," He exclaimed. With a single smooth movement, he forcefully grabbed her face and turned it so she could see her men alive and well.

"What you saw was a premonition Fenrir and I conjured up. I won't go into the details, but your men really did die, now do you understand why I chose to have a private discussion as opposed to this?"

"But why didn't you kill them for real? I thought you enjoyed the sight of blood and carnage.

"Don't get me wrong, I can kill all of them without breaking a sweat with only a snap of my fingers. What you saw wasn't me going at full force, I have a spell which has the potential to wipe out the whole population if I just wished it."

"…" She wasn't convinced. "This is always the problem with you people, suspicious and never wanting to listen despite how courteous I try to be, fine. *Death element activate.* As opposed to chanting the spell internally, he spoke it out loud for only Rose to hear.

*Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, from when you were born and till you die, I, the god of death, hold in my hands the strings which binds you to this world, by my authority, I order thy to sever said chain, spell, Tactus Interitus.*

Index finger pointing at a random member, *Snap,* The man dropped instantly, "Alyson could you kindly check that man who fell down over there." He shouted.

"He's dead." She shouted back monotonously.

"Now then, lady Thunderstain or should I say Rose Edelina, how does that make you feel?" He smiled. Her body began to shake, she was trembling, "Who are you…" the sight of another death was more than she could handle. "Please… just leave me alone," She softly cried. He wiped her tears, still in his lap, he calmly spoke, "Rose, a flower whose pretty on the outside yet shrouded with thorns. Does your name reflect your personality? Are you an underhanded woman? Do you play with people just to get what you want? Are you loyal? No need to answer any of those questions, up to now, I have been testing you rigorously. I shall not go into many details, but you seem trustworthy enough."

"Testing me?" she gave up.

"Yes, no matter, I have a proposal."

"I still haven't gotten my answer about why you didn't kill my men."

"You're still going on about that. Then, I shall indulge you this once. When I stepped foot here, I

was prepared and willing to slay anyone who stood in my way. Nonetheless, imagine my surprise when I saw Thunderstain being polite and bowing as a sign of welcome. It amazed me, I didn't want to shamelessly kill those people who are good at heart, hence the decision to torture you mentally instead."

She sighed, "You say you want to kill people but avoid it, are you that contradicting?"

"There was a time when I slaughtered anyone who so much as look at me the wrong way, my past… Let's not go into details, I'm not willing to unlock those memories. Back to my previous topic, I have a proposal."

"No matter what I say, you've won, speak."

"What I want is… Let's go to a place more private and secluded."

"Even a man like you wants to steal my virtue," She mumbled. "Excuse you?" Staxius caught on.

"No… nothing, let's head back inside the tent, your girls can keep watch."

"Very well," They stepped inside. "Follow me, this way," Small on the outside at first glance, however, the place had a hidden trap door heading further down. The corridors were dark, no light nothing, pitch darkness. *Click,* A row of torches lit, the pathway was revealed at last. It was whiteish-grey, doors at regular intervals, he walked further in.

"What is this place?"

"Our sleeping quarters, we built it when Thunderstain first started up. Can't believe it's been ten years now."

"Did you start it?"

"Oh no, that was my father's handy work. Enough chitchat, my room is through that door there." Opposing the hall as if overseeing it, her room stood, isolated and lonely. "Please enter my humble abode," She reluctantly opened the door. "Guess it's today I become a woman, what a joke."

"Please, sit over there," She pointed at her bed, "I'll be right back," and hurried into the what seemed to be the bathroom, the room was dimly lit, only some candles allowed him to see.

"Ok, I'm not that dense, does she think I want to indulge my l.u.s.t? What a joke, wait, this is a good time to have some fun," He laughed quietly. "From mentally assaulting her to physically breaking her and now this is just the icing on the cake."

Armor off she stepped out of the bathroom with only a sleeping gown, most of her legs were up for display as well as her upper half. Short yet kept her treasures hidden, a men's worst nightmare; anticipation and imagination, curiosity about what's beneath those clothes. Her facial expression was one of someone very shy, her cheeks were flushed. As if waiting for Staxius to say something she waited. After what transpired, this was the only time Staxius truly admired her; hair in the color of chocolate, eyes almond shaped in a light-brown color, her skin was slightly tanned, it matched her face perfectly. A pointy nose and a small dot underneath the right side of her lips. Absolutely smoking, her body, on the contrary, was hardened. You could see how much effort she put into mastering her craft, both impressed and wanting to toy with her a little more; Staxius made the first move.

Using shadow step, he dashed behind her, the wind created from his speed casually lifted the still short gown. Ashamed, she grabbed the end and stopped it from getting any higher. From behind, he slowly began lightly caressing her back using his index finger, it was so soft she could have mistaken it for a feather. The tingling sensation began to swell up with every stroke he made, her heart began beating so loudly he physically heard it. "… This is gold, it must be so hard on her, man I could just drop down and laugh, it's too fun."

*Foo,* He pushed her onto the bed, and followed suit. He slowly got closer to her entire body, left arm holding most of his weight, he laid atop her and leaned in closer while caressing her left side. All the new sensations she felt couldn't be contained anymore, regularly she whimpered, groaned, m.o.a.ned, and desperately tried to muffle her breathing. Five minutes went by, it felt like an eternity for her. Staxius leaned even closer, "The faint scent of rose, you truly smell amazing," He bit her earlobe and stepped away.

"AHHH," she screamed. "W-what is this m-meaning of t-this?" She asked, confused by Staxius stepping away. "I'm removing my suit," He sarcastically added. *Gulp,* "Please be gentle, this is my first time," she didn't catch the sarcasm in his tone. He faced away and laughed silently; he could no longer hold it in. Meanwhile, Rose slowly took off her undergarment not knowing that a man was supposed to do that. Calm and having had his fill, he spoke,

"My lady Rose, please keep your panties on, I do not wish to steal your virtue. I apologize for toying with you like this, but earlier you completely misunderstood my intent when I said I wanted to be alone with you. Despite that I chose to continue that misunderstanding, however, you love someone else, I didn't wish to have intercourse with you from the start. Please keep that muscular and gentle body safe for when you do get betrothed to someone who deserves such an honor." Sincerity filled his tone.

"So, you did all that f-for fun…" Embarrassment filled her face, she was bright red.

"I don't wish to pursue this any longer but if you want to hear the details, then you were splendid with that shyness and innocent persona, my heart nearly skipped a beat."

"STOP, STOP, STOP, please, d-don't'," She was dying, so ashamed she wanted to run away.

"Here," He threw some clothes lying around, "Can't converse with you semi-nude."

Facing downwards, still ashamed, she spoke, "I'm d-done."

"No need to worry about what happened any longer," he patted her head playfully.

"Now then, at first I wanted to ask you to hand over that crest. Now though, I've changed my

mind, all I want from you is a non-aggression pact, I want us to be allies. You've got connections all around Hidros which will come in handy. In return, I shall aid you if you ever seek me. A favor for a

favor, if you wish me to kill the king, even the emperor to that matter, I'll gladly do it. All I want in return is your trust and belief that I, Staxius Haggard, is a man of his word. I won't force you to trust me, rather, I'll earn it by my actions. I apologize for killing one of your men earlier, tis was necessary to prove a point. Now then, will you become my ally or enemy? I've got a dream that I wish to be fulfilled. I can't do it without you, Rose." At that moment, a bit of Staxius's true personality seeped out.

"Lord Staxius, you've put me through hell just to give in at the last instant? What if I refuse?"

"I'll lea… "He tried speaking but resulted in a mumble. *Cough,* He cleared his throat, "Guess the premonition will turn into reality." He spoke firmly once again.

After a big exhale, she gave in, "Fine, I, Rose Edelina, am honored to become your ally. In bliss and in woe, I vow to be by your side."

"I'm honored you accepted, my Lady Rose. Please, let's make this official by joining our crests." Both Rose and Staxius bit a part of their lips and locked mouths together. The easiest way to ally a crest with another is through a blood pact between crest as well as loyalty sworn to each other. Both crests began to glow, the alliance was confirmed. On the Dragon crest, a thunder insignia joined up.

The same happened to thunder crest, a dragon insignia merged in and made it look even more impressive, but in no way did they resembled each other.'

"I personally believe that a kiss was a bit exaggerated but no matter, I'm glad to have you as an ally, Rose." He smiled and left.

"Likewise, Staxius," She touched her bottom lip, "Likewise…"