The candlelight flickered in the grand chamber, casting long shadows over the bloodstained table. The scent of roasted flesh still lingered, an unholy aroma that mixed with the sharp sting of vomit and fear.
Seraphis leaned back in her chair, her silver eyes gleaming with amusement as she
watched the nobles squirm.
One of them, a broad-shouldered man with a jagged scar across his cheek, slammed his fist onto the table, his face contorted in rage and horror.
"You’re
insane!
" he spat, his voice shaking. "You— you fed us a man! You expect us to just sit here and—"
Seraphis
grinned.
"A hot-tempered man," she mused,
twirling a razor-sharp playing card
between her fingers. "You may not be crazy, but I promise you… there are people in this world far crazier than me."
The noble
stiffened.
She tilted her head.
"So," she continued, her voice smooth as silk,
"tell me where Lord V is… or do I have to beat it out of you?"
The chamber was deathly silent.
The nobles exchanged glances, their fear barely contained.
Seraphis sighed.
"I’m a reasonable woman," she said,
flipping the playing card into the air.
"I can give you a slow, painful death… one beyond your darkest nightmares…"
The card
whipped through the air
—a silver blur—before embedding itself deep into the scarred noble’s
right hand.
SHLKT!
He let out a
bloodcurdling scream
as the card
sliced through flesh and bone
, severing his hand
clean off.
The detached hand
hit the table with a sickening thud.
Blood
gushed
from the wound, pooling onto the elegant tablecloth.
The noble’s
screams
turned into
ragged gasps
as he clutched the bleeding stump, his eyes wide with shock and pain.
Seraphis
smirked.
"Or," she mused,
leaning forward
, her voice almost teasing, "I can give you a
nice, clean death.
"
She plucked another playing card from thin air, its
edge glinting ominously.
"This is all up to you, pal. Or maybe… the rest of you want to make a decision?"
She let her gaze
sweep
across the trembling nobles.
Their faces were
ashen
, drenched in sweat.
One of them—a thin man with balding gray hair—was already
shaking violently
, his lips moving in silent prayer.
Another, a woman draped in velvet, had her nails
digging into her palm
, her eyes darting toward the door.
Seraphis chuckled.
"You’re thinking about running," she said, her tone almost
playful.
The woman
flinched.
Seraphis
flicked her wrist.
A playing card
whizzed through the air
SPLCH!
It embedded itself
right between the woman’s eyes.
She let out a soft,
wet gasp
, her body
slumping forward
onto the table.
The nobles
froze.
Seraphis smiled sweetly.
"Oops," she said. "Guess you took too long to answer."
The remaining three nobles were
pale as ghosts.
The scarred noble, still
writhing
from his severed hand, gasped out a desperate plea.
"P-please! I’ll talk! I’ll talk!"
Seraphis raised an eyebrow.
"See, now that wasn’t so hard, was it?"
The Truth Bleeds Out
The noble
choked on his own breath
, his skin slick with sweat.
"L-Lord V… h-he controls the capital’s underground… b-but he’s not just one man…"
Seraphis’s
eyes narrowed.
"Explain."
The noble swallowed hard.
"L-Lord V isn’t a person… it’s a title," he stammered. "The real leader changes every few years. The current one… he’s more dangerous than the rest… they say he’s a monster in human skin."
Seraphis drummed her fingers on the table.
"And where is he now?"
The noble licked his lips,
his breathing ragged.
"He—he has a hidden fortress under the ruins of the old cathedral in the slums. It’s protected by mercenaries, traps… and worse."
Seraphis smiled.
"See?" she said, standing up. "That wasn’t so hard, was it?"
She
snapped her fingers.
The playing cards
lifted into the air
,
hovering like silent executioners.
The nobles
gasped in horror.
"Wait! Wait! We told you what you wanted!" one of them shrieked.
Seraphis tilted her head.
"And?"
The nobles’ faces
contorted with realization.
"P-please!" the scarred noble
sobbed.
"We—we’ll do anything! Just let us live!"
Seraphis thought for a moment.
Then, she
smiled.
"Alright."
Hope
flashed
across their faces.
Then her eyes
gleamed.
"I’ll let you live in
pieces.
"
The cards
sliced through the air.
SHLK! SHLK! SHLK!
Heads rolled.
Limbs
thudded onto the floor.
Blood splattered across the marble walls.
Seraphis
sighed
, stretching her arms as the last noble
collapsed into a twitching heap.
"Now," she murmured, stepping over the bodies, "let’s pay this Lord V a visit."
She turned on her heel,
her white hair whipping behind her
as she vanished into the shadows.