A maleficent aura enveloped the battlefield. It felt as though a crimson tide was washing over them all, but instead of carrying the characteristic warmth and thickness of blood, it was instead cold and lifeless, seeping into their pores and causing their hearts to quake.
Aina slowly walked from the military tent, its flaps making way for her. Somehow, despite her petite body, she became the center of the entire battlefield. Even City Lord White who was in the midst of sending a final death blow toward Lancelot paused, an eerie look in her eye locking onto Aina as well.
Aina's footsteps halted. The scars that danced across her face seemed to come to life, raging about like living, breathing flood dragons. The grew a size, radiating out with a heat that made the temperature of the battlefield skyrocket.
The momentum she had walked out with seemed to dim somewhat. Though the hold she held over the battlefield didn't vanish, it snapped City Lord White out of her stupor. And, very quickly, what once was her absentmindedness became her shock.
How could such a thing happen to her? How did she lose control of her thoughts for a moment? Why… Why did she feel fear just now?
Aina's delicate brows furrowed, her gaze still somewhat vacant.
"Go… away…"
The scars on Aina's face grew more fervent, as though insulted by Aina's words. They bulged out another fold in size. By now, it was almost impossible to see what should have been a young girl's face. The swelling became so bad that healthy skin became impossible to spot.
"I said… Go away!"
Aina's delicate voice boomed across the battlefield, carrying such compulsion that many of the warriors on it turned tailed and ran.
No… They weren't running… They were… Following Aina's orders!
At that very instant, a mental strength that superseded worlds covered the battlefield. It was simply impossible to grasp that someone with such weak talent in this area could possibly display such might.
However, any thoughts one would have spared to this instantly vanished with the next sight.
The scars on Aina's face struggled and rose, finally showing their true appearance. They squirmed like grotesque leaches, wielding their circular mouths and several rows of teeth as though trying to devour Aina right then and there.
But, it was in that moment that Aina's overwhelming mental strength shook them to their core. As though feeling a fear they never had before, they retreated, disappearing into Aina's face like they had never been there.
However, it was the sight that was left behind that silenced the battlefield.
Beautiful. Too beautiful. Beautiful to the point it seemed impossible to have such a being in the possession of a human. It must have been a Faerie, a Fey, a Goddess…
The moment the vile leeches vanished, a restriction placed on Aina's body seemed to disappear as well.
She grew half a foot in height, quickly soaring past six feet and rivaling even Mordred. Her legs became long and slender as her figure filled out completely. The curves that had once been so well hidden by her black military uniform couldn't seem to hide any longer as her clothing grew.
Aina's hair lengthened. From the small of her back, it almost fell to the ground, shimmering with a healthy luster. Her amber eyes became warmer, exuding a soft golden color that compelled one to stare indefinitely yet somehow make them want to look away just as much.
Even with all of these changes, the largest of them couldn't be denied.
Without her scars, Aina's visage had become more precious than the most delicate of carvings. Her supple skin, the gentle slopes of her jaw and nose, the elegant arches of her brow. Her every action, no matter how mundane, no matter how indifferent, exuded a charm that only creatures of myths and legend could match.
Aina's delicate brow furrowed. At that moment, her frustration seemed to become everyone's frustration. All those who laid eyes on her wanted to know what was bothering her, she just had to say the word and they would fight to the ends of the earth to get rid of it.
Aina's chest moved and seemed to flex slightly. The sound of tearing fabric sounded, making the hearts of all those watching lose track of their breaths for a moment. But, oddly enough, there was no change to Aina's military uniform in the slightest. Well… No change except for her figure seemingly becoming a size fuller.
She reached her slender fingers into her collar and pulled out a long white cloth that had once bound her chest, throwing it onto the ground.
Aina, seemingly finally feeling comfortable, swung out casually with her ax.
An invisible, piercing wind shot across the ground, elevating a piece of earth and blasting it apart.
Aina looked up, her gaze locking onto City Lord White. This was the she devil that had brought her out here, she had the blood she wanted so badly.
Aina finally began to walk forward. Her every step seemed soft, but webs of cracked land followed her gait. Each time she raised a foot, she crossed tens of meters in a blink.
Yet, her every action was so enticing, so hypnotic, that City Lord White didn't even sense danger until Aina was already just ten meters away. To experts on their level, this might as well have been a single arm's length.
Aina raised her ax.
At that moment, it felt as though the whole world had raised it along with her. The winds followed her will, the clouds split just so that the stars could watch her, the energies of the universe stilled and calmed…
City Lord White only seemed to awaken again when that dense killing intent locked onto her. The instincts she had trained for decades shocked her still heart into action.
Her face flushed, shock and fear written all over it. This sort of suppression was something she had never faced before in her life. She couldn't comprehend just what was happening.
But, she already had no more time to think about it as Aina's blade began to descend.