Nateaser: Reborn As My Love Interest

Omerta - Chapter Seventeen

"Lady Omerta, we need to land. The wyverns are tired."

That annoying hobgoblin shouted. The wind blew away most of his voice, so I ignored him as long as possible, but flying was difficult.

"We're almost there." I sent my answer with telepathy, sparing the effort of yelling over all the noise. I left the channel open for him to respond to. "We are near the old capital, the pass is already in sight."

"We shouldn't go into battle exhausted, we've been flying all day." I heard his thoughts. Annoying as they were, he had a point, but I hated the idea of stopping right here. "Please, we already lost the vanguard."

I wouldn't say we lost them rather I put them to the test. The leader should have been able to survive the harsh conditions and if he couldn't, it was time for a new one. They sent all the Twelve Champions to deal with only three humans so I worried not about our numbers.

But men and mounts were both tired so I had to compromise.

"Fine, we'll land on that clearing." I broadcasted to all still flying with me. "Don't fly over the capital itself, it would disturb our beasts."

While magical beasts were indeed easily startled by sudden changes in mana, I was much more worried about going near the city myself. I was in places almost devoid of magicules before and it was unsettling. From what I heard, the old capital was a literal black hole.

We landed about a mile from its edge, and the men eagerly jumped off their saddles to rest since we barely stopped, flying constantly in the last few days. It took a toll on the wyverns and their riders, but I needed to prove myself. This was my big opportunity.

"Eat, drink, relieve yourselves, and we continue in about an hour." I gave the order, before doing the same. The undead warrior remained on guard duty since he did not need to do either.

Most of the champions were strange, some of them eccentric or simply weak, and I couldn't figure out why they were selected. The Demon Lord must have had his reasons, but probably even my brother could beat most of them in a one-on-one combat. They were meant to be an unstoppable force and while they were yet to be defeated, they weren't in any serious fights since I joined either.

I wanted more.

I wouldn't have thought my wish would be granted so soon.

"You're late." I heard the unfamiliar voice coming from the treeline to the north. A moment later an old woman stepped out behind the cover, wearing simple gray clothes, and had long white hair. "Your commander already seized the Princess, your plan to get ahead of him failed."

"That's impossible," I answered without thinking. The champions stopped wherever they were, reaching for their weapons. "They were lost far beyond the Gates of Hell. They couldn't get to the Princess before me."

The old woman laughed. It was an eerie cackle.

"Oh, but they did." She claimed, casually walking towards me. The others curiously waited to see, what happens next. "I would love to show you, your face would look amusing, but I'm afraid I cannot let you regroup with your captain Dioneras."

"Hoh? And what can an old hag like yourself do about it?" I asked, irritated by her strange confidence. The strike came out of nowhere.

Just a single flash of black light. Shadowy tentacles reached out of her body towards me, and the closest champions, and it didn't take a second for them to reach us. Immense pain passed through my entire body.

As if all my joints and bones got suddenly old. Countering it was easy but I didn't expect a necromancer to attack, and nothing could be done by the time I realized what happened.