The dreams enveloped me with an unfathomable visitation, once again, another dream with someone close; it was like déjà vu, but this one was different.
Whips struck my arms, legs, and... wings; a dream, a different creature, it was like reality.
Tortured? Yes, it was tortured, as if it were routine every day; a man would come and beat the creature almost to death. Blessed by mana, regenerated by nature, it rose again every day to be beaten again.
What species was it? I don't know, I couldn't discern, but my paws were black, black as the night, scaly like a serpent, but large enough and heavy, yet light at the same time.
Magic, there was nothing but magic I could feel; wings black as darkness shielded me as I continued to receive lashes, to the point of scales falling to the ground; the man picked them up.
Profitable, perhaps? Yes, probably; a being whose scales could be sold in this way; such brutality for mere basic profits. I couldn't move; like in a lucid dream, I lived in the skin of the poor creature wounded for days. Every day the same scenario and the torture changed.
They tried to rip out my teeth, my scales, my nails; and every time they succeeded, I regenerated again. I felt trapped, I felt hatred, I felt bitterness; it was as if everything in me was just the result of an end; my end? I didn't know. The creature's mind synchronized with mine and I felt everything; every moment of pain and bitterness passed through my skin.
I cowered in the corner, or at least it seemed so; the rusty cages terrified me; everything was strange and bad; I began to be the creature without even realizing it.
[Help me] I heard in my mind.
"Where are you?" I questioned.
[City, square, black alley] He said, like a child.
When everything seemed to be going well, I immediately woke up from bed, sweaty and breathless; a lucid dream? No, it was magic; whatever that being was, it was being used in an experiment.
"I need to find that, it's too dangerous." I got up and bathed quickly, already changing clothes and putting on the outfit Sir Simon gave me; in a few hours, I was ready again, but this time I couldn't use a lance, so I took a regular sword.
I went down the stairs and came across a scene... rather odd; despite being beautiful, I didn't think I would be so focused like this.
Everyone looked at me as if I were a rare bird; a phoenix or even a dragon; some of the knights even started drooling; disgusting, I'm a man, damn it!
"I appreciate that you are favorable to my beauty, but if you continue to look at me like this as warriors, I will make historical reparation for the sins of your fathers and cut off your little things that hang between your legs," I said, with a brave smile as I held.
"PFF..." I began to hear a whispered laughter; the person seemed to be holding it very well, but couldn't resist.
"HAHAHAHA" She laughed out loud, leaving everyone uncomfortable. "Simon, she's the best!" I heard Velryna's voice resound through the area near the carriage.
"That was very good, Lady Ziriel," she said and I blushed slightly. "Lady?" I questioned.
"Oh, it seems Simon didn't explain to you, did he? When you accepted this mantle, you automatically became a Noble, but of course, not of the empire, but of Avalon! The witches' country is very good; you'll have many advantages!", she said excitedly, more than me, and I looked at Simon.
"It's better to have this title when a foreigner here in the Empire; you'll be less ridiculed... let's say that the Nobles here are the most horrendous species of garbage in the human world," Simon said with a smile, terrifyingly horrifying!
"I understand, I'm of nobility, but... I don't have a family or anything like that; so am I a fallen noble?" I asked, sincerely, I didn't understand much about these classification means in cities and empires.
"No, Ziriel, it's more like a temporary status in the human kingdom; you just have to be treated with respect by the nobles for being a knight, and you have the right to act anywhere regardless of the situation; this is an agreement that Avalon made with the Empire, so the witches can work more easily," Velryna said with a smile; she really seemed fine with this situation.
"I understand, but I'm not a knight," I said. "Yes, you are; does anyone disagree? If you do... well, you can test the ability of the divine lancer lady here," Velryna said and everyone trembled slightly.
Sometimes, I really think I fell into a novel by some completely hallucinated author; seriously, this devotion is not normal. Well, she is a beautiful woman... not as much as Valentina, Morgana, and Naga, but she is a very beautiful woman.
"Well, shall we go? We have much to do, haha," Simon said and everyone nodded; however, I got back into the carriage.
"You seem better than when we met," Velryna said beside me. "Well, I was lost before," I commented and she chuckled lightly. "You know I'm not talking about that."
"I don't know what you're talking about, princess," I said, and the whole air shifted; this girl... Velryna Smith... she completely changed.
"Days have passed, yet you continue to perfect your skills, your body doesn't match your level and everything indicates that you are a complete specialist," she said and then a sword touched my throat; I felt it lightly cut but I... didn't even see the movement.
Simon, in front of me, had his arms crossed and his eyes closed, showing no reaction whatsoever.
"Who are you, Ziriel Azure," she questioned and then, without much effort. "Don't treat me like this," I said and the whole carriage weighed in with surprising gravity; my bloodlust touched the sword and I disintegrated it with my hand.
Of course, it was easy to do something like that when the sword was of almost minuscule quality; not even the worst blacksmith would do that. Another time, another test.
"Princess, don't treat me like one of your subordinates just because I follow your orders; I'm here taking advantage of it and helping you in your difficult time, but we're not friends," I said and then quickly broke the sword's hilt, making her step back.
With the surprised recoil, one of my hands held her right hand and the other her neck; the right hand was going to remove something; however, I was much faster.
She was trembling, her expression of pain was clear; my killer aura had always been like this, but now with my mental world destroyed, it was as if she had no control barrier whatsoever.
The killer aura is an intention that is part of "Your Law", as Voralith explained; it's where your karma concentrates and can be used as negative and positive energy.
However, to wield this power, the user has to have contact with their worst side; it's something that all beings have; the natural aura around you; it's just a way to control it, using your survival instincts and all your experience; the stronger the aura, the more suffering and strong the being can be, but it serves only for that, to cause intimidation, something that Velryna was surely completely shocked about.
"It was a good attempt, princess, but you have to learn to listen and analyze the situation as a whole.
A ruler has to have cold blood, think of everyone instead of herself; your arrogance makes you weak, and your weakness makes the whole kingdom weak; and believe me, I know what it is to lose because of being arrogant more than you think," I said firmly; her eyes, although they were afraid, never wavered from mine; she stared at me the whole time, something that Ethan, her hated brother, would never do.
"Arrogance without strength is just irresponsibility; this is your first lesson, young princess," I said looking at her and letting go of her neck. "Your games are boring, Simon," I said and the old man opened his eyes; this bastard was using magic all the time to see what was happening.
"I didn't think she would do something like that; I just told her to confront you," Simon said with a smile; and with the wave of a sub-space hand, a red potion came out in Velryna's hands, who was still recovering; a medium-class healing potion, something I had seen few times in my life, since alchemy was almost null in Scarlet territory.
"What did you think?", he asked; he already knew I would analyze the situation well.
"Disappointing, although it intrigues me something," I said, "what intrigues you?"
"This woman; why isn't she sitting on the throne right now? She is much more capable than Emperor Adam himself," I said; I knew Adam and knew that he constantly faltered in front of Valentina; in fact, it seemed that he was a child in front of the adults, despite acting arrogantly without having the courage for it.
"C-capable?", she questioned; maybe now that she understands my strength a little better she changed her perspective a bit, or she's weak with compliments, always has that point.
"Yes, you have all the qualities of a ruler," I said looking deep into her eyes and she slightly faltered; I turned to Simon, expecting an answer. "Velryna is a bastard daughter," Simon said and I quickly understood the situation. "So she couldn't even if she wanted to, unless the direct children are not alive," I said and he nodded.
"I loved it, it's good news," I said aloud, of course thinking that she wouldn't be sad when I wipe the Emperor off the face of the earth.
"G-good n-news?", she questioned, completely confused, just like Simon;
"Having the same mother as that disgusting worm you'll call Emperor soon is completely dirty; be thankful for not having the same mother as him," I said aloud and she was incredulous at what I just said.
"HAHAHAHAHA," Simon laughed, "You're more than right, I loved your answer, Hahahaha! Come on, it seems my new companion really understands me, she hates that bastard like I do!", he laughed and spoke loudly, as if there were fireworks in his thoughts... what has this old man been doing in the last few years to get so unbalanced like this?
"Anyway, since you've done your show, now it's mine. Sir Simon, could you inform me if a guild called Hellsing exists in the capital?" I asked and the two looked at each other. "Why do you want to know about them?" he questioned.
"My mother asked me to find them if I needed help; she gave me a code." I said and he fell silent.
"Hellsing... rebelled a year ago," Simon said and I trembled slightly. "What do you mean?"...
Simon began to tell the story; basically, after the absence of Valentina and Morgana, Hellsing was in complete neglect; Vlad couldn't and didn't have the authority to order the Red Valkyries or the Shadows, so Hellsing had divided into five factions.
Shadows: They were led by Shadow Aaralyn, they mainly focused on being part of assassins, but they were also experts in information and espionage.
Phoenix: They were led by Shadow Aaliyah, they mainly focused on the part of forges, but they were also good at creating magical clothing and accessories.
Storm: They were led by Shadow Kaareia, they focused on the part of Dungeon exploration, exploration missions on continents, and worked with the "Aurora" constantly.
Aurora: They were led by Shadow Vaarai, they focused on mercantile trade between kingdoms, mainly between Elves and Vampires.
And finally, there was a Lone Shadow, the only one who couldn't do anything besides being Valentina's shadow, the number one subordinate, the leader of all the other shadows, Kaalindra, the Shadow of Death.
Simon didn't explain how this was born, but it was only a year after Dante died; this meant that they were following something that Valentina had said before, but now, they disappeared. Hellsing has been closed for over a year; what did that mean?
I wouldn't know even if I wanted to, because, Valentina always prevented me from knowing what Hellsing was exactly; nothing came to my mind because she herself concealed all the information from me; but one thing was certain: they were not a simple group; for my mother to call them Shadows, it meant that she trusted them enough for that.
"I understand, but at least I have to meet with one of Hellsing's superiors... my mother gave me this task." I said; Simon nodded. "When we return to the White Tower within a year, I can try to find one of them, but it will be very difficult."
"Okay," I replied.