The Price of Reckless Devotion

“This infatuated and foolish little girl!” Faein adopted a battle-ready stance.

“Faein, let’s play it by ear,” I said, beginning to recall my own spells.

“Mhm!”

‘Strange,’ I mused. ‘Why would Leona launch such a reckless solo attack? If this was her plan, why bother risking summoning a demon?’ My mind churned with questions, yet I had no answers.

At that moment, Leona streaked towards the prison cart, like a vibrant rainbow in flight.

Two soldiers, who had been listlessly standing guard, suddenly noticed someone charging towards them. They quickly raised their spears, pointing them at Leona.

“Who goes there?”

“Release my sister!” Leona shouted, already upon them.

Seeing Leona with her sword, the soldier hesitated, attempting to parry with his spear. Leona, fueled by her momentum, swatted the spear aside with a single swing, then brought her heavy round shield crashing down on the soldier’s head.

Thump!

The soldier was sent flying, tumbling to the ground.

The other soldier finally reacted. “You seek death!”

He lunged his spear at Leona, but she blocked it with her shield.

Though impulsive, Leona’s footwork was precise and her swordplay swift. After a few exchanges with the soldier, she clearly gained the upper hand.

Faein and I watched the scene unfold from the shadows of the marketplace.

Soldiers drinking nearby noticed the commotion, grabbing their weapons and rushing forward with shouts.

“Who is it?! You scoundrel!”

“Seize her!”

“Kill!”

Five or six soldiers surrounded her from all directions.

Leona faced the onslaught of their blades and spears, fighting with every ounce of her strength. She frantically parried and slashed, gradually retreating towards the front of the prison cage.

“Leona…” Asta, the witch, knelt weakly inside the cage, her hands shaking the bars futilely. “What are you doing? What are you doing?!”

“I’ll never trust anyone again, or this world! I’ll save you with my own power!” Leona declared to Asta in the cage.

“It’s impossible! Get out of here! Ah! Look out!”

Several soldiers surged forward.

Leona simultaneously blocked with her shield and sword, desperately fighting back!

However, her two arms were no match for the simultaneous attacks of several soldiers.

Spears and staves repeatedly struck her arms and legs.

A tall soldier pinned Leona’s sword and shield with his spear shaft, while another stepped forward and delivered a heavy punch, “Thump!”, directly to the young girl’s delicate face.

Leona was knocked to the ground, followed by a rain of spear butts and kicks, falling upon her prone form in the sand.

“No—!!! Don’t! Let her go, Leona! Don’t hit her! It has nothing to do with her! It has nothing to do with her!!!” Asta screamed from inside the cage.

Watching the soldiers brutalize Leona like thugs, Asta’s eyes flashed with a cold light. She extended her bruised, pale arm and began to chant a spell.

A beam of icy blue light shot from the cage, striking a soldier directly. It produced a bright blue explosion, the size of a tabletop, that instantly blasted the soldier backward.

Asta took another step back and aimed a light arrow at the cage bars.

Boom!

With a thunderous sound, the cage was shattered!

The soldiers were stunned. They released Leona, scattering in multiple directions to quickly encircle Asta.

Asta aimed at a soldier and began chanting another spell.

Bang—!!!

Blue light flashed, blasting the soldier away from a dangerously close range.

But at that moment, another soldier charged forward, slashing her arm with a sword.

“Ah!” Asta cried out, instinctively clutching her injured hand.

By then, several soldiers had rushed in, quickly overpowering Asta, whose physical strength was no match for them.

Two soldiers roughly grabbed Asta and Leona by their hair, dragging them directly before the tall armored warrior, then forcing them down.

The tall warrior, sporting a thick, dark handlebar mustache, approached the two women. He used his armored foot to lift Asta’s chin. “You lowly witch! Who is she to you?”

Asta’s eyes held a complex expression for a moment, but she quickly regained her composure. “I don’t know her.”

“Nonsense!” The warrior’s iron boot kicked her in the face, instantly bruising half of it and drawing blood from her lip. “This little whore wouldn’t come to save you like a madwoman for no reason! I clearly heard you call her name just now! Is she your female lover?”

Asta’s gaze wavered for a moment before she replied, “No, she isn’t. She’s just a swordswoman from Redfang Fortress whom I’ve met a few times. We have no relationship.”

“If you have no relationship, why would she risk her life to save you?!” A soldier crouched down, forcefully tugging Asta’s hair, shouting in a thick, distinctly accented voice.

“Speak! What is your relationship with her?!” another soldier roared beside him.

Asta squinted her eyes from the soldiers’ shouts but still insisted, speaking in flawless, elegant common tongue, “I don’t know. In any case, I don’t recognize her.”

Meanwhile, Leona, disoriented and dazed from the beating, remained silent.

“I’ve seen enough,” Faein said, who had been observing the entire time. Her crystal longsword vibrated faintly.

“No,” I said, pulling her wrist. “Since we’ve watched this far, we might as well see it to the end.”

“What?”

“Faein, I told you we can’t just save them like this. Their lives are safe until tomorrow noon at least. Whether they truly deserve my intervention, despite all objections, we need to wait—wait for her to say that crucial sentence!”

“Even if they won’t be killed before the execution, what if they… you know… what if those thugs… tonight?” Faein stammered, her voice laced with apprehension.

“I doubt it! They see witches as heretics! If they wanted to violate her, they would have done so already. As for Leona, they likely won’t act recklessly until her identity is clear.”

“…”

“Faein, it’s getting dark. We’ll leave Suriya’s Bloodshadow Bats to monitor them tonight. Let’s find a place to stay. Tomorrow, this incident will end!” I said, turning away from the pitiful sight of the two girls, who were now being dragged and tied to a cart wheel, and walked towards an inn on the market’s backstreet.

Faein silently turned and followed me.