The Silent Heir

Chapter 37

An:

Finally an update! So many hurdles came my way as I will explain at the end, but for now, enjoy a good 3k chapter!

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The cold wind bites relentlessly against Lucy's skin as her lungs burn. Taking deep gulps of air, she was able to run without losing too much breath. Scarred fingers gripped firmly against the hardwood of her ax as she ran through the forest. Towards the abandoned building.

The trees, once bright and vibrant, were dying now. Some trees had branches empty of life, others had nothing but frozen twigs. Mostly, however, there were still leaves in their bodies. An unfortunate disadvantage for Lucy.

Had the forest laid empty of its colors, the amount of ambush points would have reduced significantly. This was not the case. Despite this, however, Lucy pushed on. Undeterred by the surroundings around her.

It was not long before Lucy arrived at the abandoned building. It was not longer still when Lucy immediately noticed the danger it presented. A lone man stood waiting in front of the door.

Garbed in an eerily familiar black coat, underneath was a dull grey shirt tailored specifically for movement. His mouth was no different as it was covered with a bandanna dipped in darkness with a hood to cover any facial features. Only his eyes remained unhindered as it pulsed in soft sapphire light. It was an Obsidian Herald.

A rising revulsion grows from within Lucy. She tried to bury the coming torrent of memories to no avail as her glare remained. Her body may be young, but the soul remembers.

"Where is she?" Lucy growled, not waiting for the man to greet her.

The man did not respond right after, eyes brimming with caution and scrutiny. After a second later, the man whispers a reply. "Inside. Untouched and unsullied." The man said, firm but relaxed.

Lucy's shoulder loosens for an instant before tightening once more in danger. "What do you want steel knight?" She replied stiffly as she eyed the shirt warily. During the Sunset War, fresh troops were fought over by commanders with the same ferocity as the nobility fought over free blades, champions that were bound to no one.

The need for fresh and trained men was so direly needed back then that it saw the rampant employment of sellswords from both sides of the empires. Infamous among them was the Obsidian Herald, who had such an exorbitant price that matched their skills.

Lucy had crossed blades with their ilk more times than she bothered to count that she had grown accustomed to the order itself. White for iron squires, grey for steel knights, and black for obsidian heralds.

Lucy had a moment of satisfaction as she watched the man's eyes widen in surprise for a moment before falling back to caution. Though they were sought after then, they are unknown and with little renown to their name now.

How Lucy knew of their obscure order will be a mystery left unanswered as far more dire matters demanded both of their attention. "...I am humbled you know of our little order, lady Emma." It was now the man's turn to bask in delight as Lucy shuddered in dread. They knew. It was all the confirmation the young lady needed.

"I've buried your kind more times than I bother to count." Lucy fluidly replied, a spark of truth imbued her words as the man's brow perked up slightly.

"I find that hard to believe. Nevertheless, I am not here to trade words." The man said as he fished out from his coat a parchment... no, more like a poster.

"I am here to collect our bounty, lady Emma." Lucy paled at the unmarred reflection she saw from the poster, but she did not allow the weakness to surface for a second longer.