"You don't seem to take me seriously. It doesn't matter anyway, you only have yourself to blame," Migard's brows were furrowed when he spoke, pressing his dagger against her stomach.
That was when it happened.
Nyxelene looked at the dagger pressed against her stomach and for less than a heartbeat, he saw her frown. The only expression she had worn in years.
Almost as soon as her frown disappeared, Migard froze mid-motion.
'What is happening? Someone could walk in any moment. I need to finish this. But, why won't my hand move?" Migard had a bewildered expression on his face as he forced his hand forward with all his might.
Nyxelene's crimson eyes were still fixed on her stomach that was almost impaled.
"Is this your doing? Release me at once, and I'll consider letting you live a few more days. You didn't think I came alone, did you? If I give the order, you would be..." He choked on his words as pain shot through his arm.
His arm bent backwards against his joints at a terrible angle. The sound was like stepping on dried twigs.
He clenched his jaw in an attempt to hold back his agonizing scream.
'What is happening? It felt as if an invisible hand pulled my arm backwards.' His expression was a mixture of pain and confusion.
The sound came again. This time, it was louder and more unsettling to hear. His remaining arm and legs were bent in a way that shouldn't be possible.
Migard could no longer hold back his scream. Suspended in the air as if held by unseen hands, the man screamed at the top of his lungs.
All this time, Nyxelene had her gaze on her stomach. Only when he screamed did she look at him.
'She didn't do anything when the dagger touched her neck, yet when I pointed it at her stomach, she turned into a demon.'
As soon as their gaze met, he was hurled back, slamming into the left iron door of the throne room.
He gasped, coughing blood. He tried to help himself up, but all his limbs were broken. He now had nowhere to go.
"ON ME," he shouted at the top of his voice.
"I told you I didn't come alone, you should've listened when I offered to show you mercy." A man in black robes walked through the door in response to the call. Then another appeared in the same wear. One by one, they lined up in front of Migard.
They had guarded looks as they scanned the room for the ruthless person who had left Migard in such a state. However, there was only one other person in the room, and she was the most beautiful woman they had ever seen.
"Did she do this to you?" One of the man asked Migard as he stared at the queen who sat in the throne with a calm expression, stroking her belly gently.
"I do not care what trickery you used on me, but it won't work on these people, they are trained murderers. They kidnap children and adults alike, the human body is their turf. In other words, you are dead." He spoke through bloodied coughs, watching the queen stand from the throne and walk towards them.
"Let's not drag this out, we will kill her as planned. Double the reward. She would fetch more price at the market alive than as a corpse," One of the black-robed men dashed forward towards Nyxelene at blinding speed.
"I would not only double the reward but triple it. That is, if you hand me her head," Migard said desperately.
"Say no more. There has yet to be a person we wanted dead who had lived."
He took out a stabber, its steel half a meter long stabbed the Queen's face.
Unfortunately, his weapon pierced thin air as Nyxelene was already standing behind him.
'What happened? I didn't blink, so how could she get behind...' before he could finish his thoughts, Nyxelene turned slightly.
She held his head and removed it from his shoulders with minimal effort as though it was a lid.
She threw the head away, however, the man did not bleed. There was no trace of blood where his head lay a few paces away from his motionless body.
Migard watched wide-eyed, unsure if it was a dream or something insane was really happening before his eyes.
Suddenly, something fell at Nyxelene's feet and exploded in a cloud of green powder.
"We are seasoned dealers, a comrade's death does not scare us and neither does the devil. One inhale and your blood will flow in reverse. Your organs will rot away. This is the end."
Another black-robed man spoke, running to circle Nyxelene from behind.
Nyxelene walked out of the cloud of dust without so much as a single cough.
"Come forth, Delmon." The words came out in a whisper from Nyxelene's lips, however, they all heard it.
Just then, a gigantic head of a horse ripped through a vitreous fracture in the air above the man circling her.
Its size was like that of five heads of grown men put together.
It had seven eyes lined on its nose. Each eye dripping a different colour of liquid that melted the ground when it touched it. There was a single curled horn piercing into its own skull. Black liquid dripped from where the curled horn pierced its head.
"What in the..." The horse bit the man in half and swallowed, leaving his two legs to crumple to the ground.
"Ziorm ish'la, guard the door." She spoke again. This time, a figure of a man without flesh sat at the door leading out of the room. It had one bone arm resting on his knees as he stared at the black robed men. It was at least two and a half meters even as he sat.
"Ik'shi'na ark' shon gran' don la'la' zon ji'ena sh'mok, gre'kru'n s' ar yl'in hriz mor'cek," (Meaning: To incur the wrath of the one person you should avoid, such a feat is unprecedented.") The man of bone spoke with a sepulchral resonance that made every single ear in the room bleed once they heard it.
"Hey Migard, just what in the seven hells did you ask us to kill. I thought I made it clear that we specialized in humans. I don't see one around." One of the robed men spoke, looking directly at Nyxelene.
Migard felt a vicarious agony as the queen called forth demons, knowing his turn in the dark was inevitable
"They're yours, Lamdon." This time, Nyxelene's voice came from behind the throne. They looked around but could not find the Queen anywhere.
Suddenly, shadowy arms sprang from the ground, dragging what was left of the robed men into the ground.
"What is happening?" One shouted, cutting off the arms that grabbed his shoulders as he tried to run away.
However, the shadowy arms regrew, and wherever they ran, the ground swallowed their feet.
Migard watched helplessly as the men he had so much confidence in were killed one after the other, just as they had arrived.
Migard wanted to at least try to crawl out, however, the figure in the doorway discouraged that thought.
Nyxelene then appeared beside him and held his twisted left arm.
"My apologies. You were so daring in a way most of the powerful people in Runevale would not dream of. I was curious as to what you would do," Nyxelene said as she pulled him to his feet.
'What is she talking about? Is she not going to kill me anymore?' That was when he noticed. His wounds were gone.
The man made of bones was gone, the horse head was gone. Everything in the room was clean, no trace of blood could be seen. It was just like when he first arrived. For a moment, he questioned whether what he witnessed had all happened in his head.
"Nonetheless, you shouldn't have pointed a weapon at my unborn daughter. I apologize if I overreacted.