Seraphis sat at a quiet corner of a
bustling tavern
, the scent of roasted meat and cheap ale thick in the air.
She wore
a dark hooded cloak
, her silver eyes peeking over the edge of a
folded newspaper
she held in her gloved hands.
The headline?
"Bandit Leader Confesses to Brutal Noble Slaying – Capital in Uproar!"
A slow smirk played on her lips.
Everything had gone
exactly as planned.
The article detailed how the
captured bandit had broken down in interrogation, sobbing and screaming as he confessed to the gruesome murders.
The
nobles were furious.
The
royal guard was on high alert.
And the
bandit?
Executed at dawn.
Seraphis took a slow sip of her tea, listening to the murmurs around her.
The entire city was
buzzing with fear and speculation.
But no one even suspected
her.
A New Target
She set the newspaper down and casually listened to the conversations around the tavern.
"It’s madness! A noble family wiped out like commoners?"
"I heard they’re hiring assassins to hunt the rest of the bandits down!"
"Good! Those bastards deserve it."
Seraphis exhaled through her nose, amused.
They could send all the assassins they wanted.
The
real killer
was
right under their noses.
Then, one conversation caught her attention.
Two
merchant-looking men
sat at the bar, speaking in hushed tones.
"You hear about Count Armond and Baron Lennox?"
one of them whispered.
The other man
nodded quickly.
"Yeah. They left the city yesterday. Didn’t even wait for the investigation to settle."
Seraphis's eyes
narrowed.
She recognized those names.
Count Armond. Baron Lennox.
Two nobles with
deep connections to underground dealings.
And now they were
fleeing the capital.
Interesting.
A Shadow in the Sky
Seraphis didn’t waste time.
Within the hour, she was once again
soaring through the night sky
, her
white raven form
blending with the moonlit clouds.
She followed the
main roads
leading out of the capital, her keen eyes scanning for any
luxurious carriages
or heavy-guarded convoys.
And then—
She saw it.
Two
carriages
rolling along a secluded
forest path
, flanked by a dozen
mercenaries on horseback.
They were running.
And
she couldn’t have that.
Seraphis
folded her wings
and
dove.
The Forest Massacre
She landed in a
tree just ahead of the convoy
, shifting back into her human form as she crouched
low on a thick branch.
The mercenaries were
alert
, their hands gripping their weapons as they scanned the darkened woods.
They knew someone might come for them.
They just didn’t expect
her.
Seraphis
summoned her cards
, the metal blades
whirling around her fingers silently.
She waited.
And waited.
And then—
The
first carriage
rolled directly beneath her.
Perfect.
She
dropped.
A
single flash of silver
The first mercenary’s
throat was slit before he could scream.
Chaos erupted.
"AMBUSH!"
one of the riders roared, yanking his horse around.
Too late.
Seraphis was already
in motion.
Her
metal cards shot forward
, slicing through the
legs of the horses
, sending them
toppling into the dirt
, their riders
crushed beneath them.
The air filled with
screams and the sickening crunch of bones snapping.
A mercenary swung his sword—
Seraphis ducked,
twisting behind him
, and
plunged a card into the base of his skull.
Another came at her—
She flicked her wrist, sending
two cards flying into his chest
, piercing his heart.
Bodies fell.
Blood soaked the ground.
And then, as the last of the mercenaries
collapsed
, Seraphis turned her gaze toward the
carriages.
The
doors were locked shut.
But she could already hear the
frantic breathing inside.
A Noble’s Final Bargain
Seraphis approached the
first carriage
, her
blades dripping with fresh blood.
With a simple
kick
, the lock snapped, and the door
swung open violently.
Inside,
Count Armond
was
pressed against the back wall
, his plump face pale, his fingers trembling.
"Y-You…!" he stammered, his voice cracking with fear.
Seraphis
tilted her head.
"Me," she said coldly.
"P-Please! I have gold! L-Land! Anything you want!" he begged, his body shaking.
She stepped inside, crouching in front of him.
"You nobles always think gold is enough to buy your way out of death," she whispered.
The count swallowed hard. "It—It can be, right?"
Seraphis smiled.
Then she
slit his throat.
The Baron’s Fate
The second carriage was
even more pathetic.
Baron Lennox had
tried to run
, but Seraphis caught him by the
hair
, dragging him back
into the bloody clearing.
He sobbed, his
knees sinking into the dirt
, his hands raised in surrender.
"P-Please, please—"
Seraphis yanked him
forward
, forcing him to look at the pile of
bodies.
"Tell me," she murmured, her lips brushing against his ear.
"Did they beg like this?"
The Baron’s body
tensed.
She could
see it in his eyes.
Guilt. Fear.
He had
done the same to others.
Begging wouldn’t save him.
And he knew it.
Seraphis didn’t give him the chance to finish his plea.
Her blade found his heart.
A clean,
merciless
kill.
A Perfect Cover-Up
Now came the
final touch.
Seraphis
dragged the bodies
into the dirt, making it look like they had
been ambushed by bandits.
She
scattered weapons
, burned one of the carriages, and even
cut wounds into the dead horses
to mimic a sloppy raid.
Then, she
planted fake evidence
—coins, a forged letter implicating a rogue mercenary group, anything to send
the royal investigation in the wrong direction.
By the time she was done, it looked like a
random attack.
Untraceable.
Perfect.
Seraphis exhaled, stepping back to admire her work.
Two more
corrupt nobles erased.
Two fewer
problems in this rotten city.
And yet…
She could feel it in her bones.
This was
only the beginning.
The capital would
not
remain quiet for long.
And soon, the
real hunt
would begin.