Orin and Ramius both watched the scene with curious eyes. The right thing to do was to stop the duel, however they were curious. They wanted to know why the weather suddenly turned cold. They wanted to know how the Head Captain was moving despite her closed eyes.
'She's faster than before. What happened to her while she was unconscious? It's almost as if she's possessed. Ramius observed Aeloria, his expression blank.
Migard felt a presence behind him a second time. Instead of leaping away like he did before, he chose to attack.
"Stop sneaking around and fight," Migard yelled, drawing one dagger from his belt and swinging it in an arc in one fluid motion.
He aimed for her face, slicing horizontally from left to right.
With her eyes closed, Aeloria bit the weapon with her extended canines. The steel shattered under her unforgiving jaws. The pieces pierced her gums and tongue from the force of the bite.
Migard took quick steps back to create some distance between him and Aeloria.
"What in the second sky is happening? Did she just eat the dagger?" A soldier with a scar on his right eye spoke, looking at Aeloria as she spat the pieces of steel on the floor.
"I'm seeing it but I don't believe it. Why is her eyes closed though?" Another asked, planting the tip of his spear to the ground.
The silence in the infirmary was absolute. It was true that they wanted her to humble Migard. But when they looked at the woman before them, the soldiers didn't see a hero, they saw a monster that Orin was foolishly keeping on a leash.
Migard took a deep breath to calm his racing heart.
Then, he took out his other dagger. He observed Aeloria, watching as the black smoke oozed from her mouth, healing the wounds.
His body and soul were one. In a state of extreme focus, nothing could get past his senses.
He sensed the presence on his left again as Aeloria disappeared from sight. He turned to strike, however, the attack came from the right.
He had expected the strike from the left, he did not have enough time to prepare for an attack from the right.
He lifted his arm in a desperate attempt to block. However, Aeloria's claws slashed through his arm plate and flesh alike. Four uneven lines of wounds marked his right arm as he clenched his teeth in agony, staggering a few steps back. Blood gushed out of his wounded arm, staining his armor.
He looked again and Aeloria was gone.
She moved with a wraithlike fluidity, her body dissolving into the black smoke every time Migard tried to land a strike
This time, he felt no presence and had no way to react.
A hand slammed his face into the ground hard. He didn't have time to cough out the blood that filled his mouth as her foot slammed into his head on the ground. Again, and again, and again. In the same way he had slammed her face to the ground.
"You hurt mama. Now Lira make you disappear," the voice echoed in Migard's unconscious head.
That was when the Cannibal opened her eyes. It was not purple or crimson. It was white, with no pupils. Blue lines of veins stretched in different directions.
Just then, before she could deliver the killing blow, a hand grabbed the back of her gown, lifting her off her feet.
'What, when did he get there?' Ramius looked at the empty spot where Orin was supposed to be standing.
"The Commander interfered again," a soldier whispered silently.
The Commander brought her face closer to his. When he spoke, he did not call her Aeloria.
"Lira, I believe this is the first time we've met," Orin spoke, setting the woman on her feet gently.
"Uncle?" The voice of the child echoed but only Orin could here.
"You are a wonderful child for protecting your foolish mother all this time. Even after what she did to you. Your mother is safe now, so let her rest. I will take it from here," Orin spoke with a confident tone.
'It's incredible that he's able to have a conversation with her,' a trainee thought as he watched Aeloria close her eyes again.
"Uncle is good, Lira rest now," with that, Aeloria fell to the ground, but before she could touch the ground, the Tyrant's strong arms wrapped around her gently.
"Yoru, take her back home." Yoru quickly obeyed.
Despite what she saw her friend turn into, she was not afraid to touch her.
The soldiers watched both women ride away with a sigh of relief.
"The duel is over, take Migard to the royal Oakliners for treatment. The rest dismissed." He turned his gaze to Ramius who watched everything with calculative eyes.
Without another word from either of them, Ramius tossed an Orange scroll towards Orin.
'An orange scroll? Does that mean we're going to attack Namesh again?' Orin thought but kept his expression neutral.
"It outlines the regions where the enemy's aggression had begun to resurge." He then turned to walk away.
After walking a few paces, he stopped.
"The duel was quite entertaining to watch. You sure do have a lot of monsters in your ranks. With you by my side, how could I lose?" Orin watched the General Strategist walk away and shouted.
"My sister was strong, wasn't she?"
"You could've said it while I was closer, why wait until I was almost close to the gate, idiot." With that, he left through the gate, leaving Orin standing alone in the field.
Three days later...
...
Orin dragged the Head Captain on the floor towards the war room like he always did.
He paused mid-drag and jabbed a finger at Yoru.
"You—come with us."
"Yes, Commander!"
The three of them disappeared into the war room. Orin dropped into the high-backed chair with a thud that shook dust from the rafters. Aeloria took the seat opposite with her arms folded. Yoru stood at attention by the door.
Orin slapped the orange scroll onto the table between them.
"First of all, Aeloria," he began, adopting a tone of finality, "you will not be taking part in the coming war."
"Yes I will."
"No you won't."
"Yes I will."
"I said you will not."
"I said I will, and that's exactly what I'm going to do."
"At least ask why you're not participating before you argue, you needlessly stubborn, unbearably incompetent useless Captain!"
Orin sighed as Aeloria continued her puerile refusal to listen, her stubbornness was a far cry from the terrifying entity that had almost ended Migard. What was worse, she didn't seem to remember anyone called Migard.