Galar was not a beautiful city, in Elysia’s opinion. She knew that many would disagree with her, but it was her honest view. Founded hundreds of years ago, much of the coastal metropolis was outdated and cluttered. Roads and buildings alike sprawled without any planning, and the inhabitants added more every month. As the capital of the Ralid Imperium, millions lived in the overgrown town, making it a crowded city that always stunk to the heavens. Intellectually, she knew that it was an important place, but emotionally, she couldn’t understand why.
Such thoughts crossed through Elysia’s mind as she overlooked the city from atop its walls. Her position gave her an expansive view of the people below, as they made their way through the capital as the sun rose overhead. Despite her prominent location, she wasn’t worried about anyone seeing her. Even if someone managed to detect her past her enchantments, there was nothing they could do to stop her. Thus, she could observe the doomed metropolis at her leisure before she brought it to an end.
Truthfully, she wasn’t planning to do it out of any real malice. She did not hate the Imperium, Galar, or its citizens. Of course, she didn’t like them either. As with most people, she was usually apathetic to whether they lived or died. But she was a mercenary, and someone with good reason to dislike the empire had hired her to make their displeasure known. And as Elysia saw it, she had done worse things for less pay.
As she sat on the wall, the woman idly considered how she should go about her task. The client had not specified, and she had many ways to cause destruction. After a few seconds of thought, one idea stood out above the rest in her mind. It was a method she had often used in the past, and likely the one she was most known for in other lands. A cruel smirk slowly formed across her pale visage. Perhaps it was time to give a demonstration to the humans of this continent.
Slowly standing up, the woman took a single step forward and leaped over the edge of the wall. Even as she began to fall hundreds of feet, she felt no fear. After all, in all the years she had lived, not once had she been hurt. When her feet impacted the ground, it cracked underneath the force, but she was entirely unharmed. Looking up, Elysia saw that her entrance had gone unnoticed by the city at large, seeing as she had landed in an alleyway. Of course, that was about to change.
Stepping outside the alley, Elysia saw that she was in a residential part of the city. Dozens of apartments, shacks, and makeshift homes lined the street, home to hundreds of citizens. Even as a foreigner, she could tell that this was a poor section of the metropolis. Not that it mattered to her. A slight grin forming, she kneeled, closed her eyes, and unleashed a tiny fraction of her power.
In one moment, there was a city district, populated by thousands. In the next, there was a massive white boot, and the wave of destruction it brought. In an instant, Elysia destroyed the land around her as a mere side-effect of her growth. It was doubtful that those who once lived there even had time to comprehend their deaths. The footwear had obliterated them and their homes nigh-instantaneously. At once, the rest of Galar ceased any activity as the land roared around them. Millions of eyes were directed to the cause of such devastation, slowly trailing upwards. For many, there was only one term to describe the being that loomed far above them. A goddess made manifest.
She was modestly dressed, her attire resembling that of a hunter or a scout. Elysia wore practical leather boots over pants-clad legs, thick gloves that concealed her slim fingers, and a heavy mantle that covered light armor. The only oddity of her clothes was their overwhelming whiteness, any hint of color seemingly removed from each part of her outfit. Not to mention, they were in perfect condition, and devoid of filth or even though she had just grown through dozens of houses.
The mercenary’s body, on the other hand, was far closer to that of a courtesan’s, though she undoubtedly put any of them to shame. Even with her covering clothes, it took little effort to see Elysia’s long, elegant legs that slowly thickened up to a large, toned rear. Or the way her massive breasts visibly strained against her leather top, every slight movement causing them to shift slightly. The little skin that she hadn’t concealed was pale and smooth, devoid of any flaw or imperfection. Long silver hair glittered in the afternoon sunlight as it fell to the small of her back, unbound and naturally free of any tangle. Her ivory visage loomed above the city, bearing her elegant, regal features. Verdant green eyes idly observed the citizens below, utter disinterest evident in their gleam.
For a long moment, the city was silent as its citizens stared at the perfect being above. Even past her beauty, her utter superiority was evident from her godlike stature. Not a single building or moment made it past her ankle. The humans below weren’t even the size of ants to her, more akin to specks of dust. Her heartbeat rang out over the land, every calm pulse causing the earth to tremor slightly. If she lied down, Elysia could have covered almost the entire metropolis under her flawless form, apart from a few isolated sections. Of course, she had no plans to do so yet. There wasn’t any need to rush, after all, and she liked to take her leisure with these tasks.
Finally, the citizens began to wake up from their stupor, quickly moving to and fro. Screams drifted up to her ears, causing her to roll her eyes. Even without looking, Elysia knew from experience what effects their panic would have. Trampled corpses, fires spreading out of control, whatever police there were would fail to maintain control. Honestly, even if she did nothing else, there was a good chance the city would destroy itself. But she had been paid to send a message, and she always fulfilled her end of the contract.
Gradually, she rose up to her full height, casting much of Galar into her shadow. The terror of its citizens only increased as she did so, the mad panic growing past reason. Idly, the mercenary observed that this was one of the largest cities she had seen in recent years. Few things were truly sizable from this perspective, but she would admit that the Ralid capital was among them. Perhaps she would be able to get a bit of fun out of this whole excursion.
At a deliberately slow speed, the albino woman began to raise her leg, chunks of debris raining off of her boot. Many crashed into the streets below, smashing buildings and reducing unlucky citizens to splatters against the ground. As she brought her leg to its apex, easily balancing herself on one foot, she cast a cursory glance at the ground, as though deciding where to put it. Then, she started to lower it over one of the largest districts of the city. The citizens went into a mad fervor, all desperately trying to get out from under her boot’s shadow. It was a pointless task, given its immense size. Even so, Elysia played along, intentionally moderating her step. With agonizing slowness, her foot approached the ground below, until it finally made contact.
The buildings, people, and earth put up no resistance, instantly reduced to nothing under her stride. The ground shattered beneath Elysia, her foot driving hundreds of feet beneath its crust. In an instant, she had reduced over thirty thousand humans to nothing more than stains on her footwear, and those were only the direct casualties. Even with her slowness, the mercenary’s boot was large and heavy, immediately displacing hundreds of tons of air. When it impacted against the ground, a massive explosion tore through Galar. The wave of force obliterated flesh, wood, and stone alike, and the debris it created added to the destruction. Elysia had annihilated three more districts and more than a hundred thousand people as a mere side-effect of her footstep.
With an apathetic gaze, she observed the destruction she had wrought with a mere step. It was always interesting, seeing what she could do even at this small stature. Tilting her head, she casually dragged her foot against the ground at dozens of miles per second. Most couldn’t even comprehend their death, as the boot drove through them faster than they could react. Her sheer speed caused a massive wall of dirt, stone, and wood to form and press against her boot. When Elysia stopped, all of it continued onwards for a moment, a tidal wave of earthen material flowing by the force she had imparted onto it. Soon, it collapsed, burying yet more of Galar underneath.
The mercenary calmly overlooked all of it, her expression unchanging. As she had expected, it was an easy and dull task, though she supposed that all of her contracts turned out to be that way. Of course, Elysia wasn’t going to complain about it, seeing as she made quite a bit of money from each of her jobs. And besides, she couldn’t say that being a mercenary wasn’t enjoyable. If nothing else, it ensured that she was rarely bored.
As she idly reflected, the green-eyed woman saw something that broke her out of her reverie. Several of the citizens of Galar were escaping the city, having been close to the boundaries before she started. Elysia wasn't upset, seeing as she would have done the same in their position. Besides, it wasn’t as though she had been told to leave no survivors. On the other hand, while she didn’t care about those who had already gotten away, she shouldn’t let it continue. Her eyes began to glow slightly, as she casually gestured towards the ends of the metropolis.
Within moments, a thin barrier the color of silver appeared around the borders of Galar. As one man tried to pass through it, the effects were instantaneous. His flesh, muscles, and bones suddenly disintegrated as he moved, reducing him to a cloud of ash. Such events were happening all around the city, courtesy of Elysia’s spell. The mercenary softly exhaled in relief. Now, she knew that she could take her time.
Casually, she dropped to her knees. Compared to the slow step she had taken seconds ago, the consequences were much stronger. Elysia's elegant legs crushed entire districts beneath them, countless humans dying in less than a second. A massive chunk of land rose up from the impact, changing into a lopsided slope. The force of its sudden ascent flung buildings and people far into the air, removing all that had been on the area. Elysia watched the spectacle with some amusement, not paying attention to the shockwaves that obliterated several neighborhoods. She had been in Galar for only a couple of minutes, and the death toll was already over a million.
Slowly, she reached down and tapped her gloved finger against a section of Galar that was relatively undamaged. Of course, it didn’t stay that way, as her extended digit obliterated the streets and buildings below without any resistance. The ground trembled slightly as the massive finger smashed into it, crevices large enough to swallow a man forming on impact. An idea occurred to Elysia, and she pressed down further. In moments, lava began to well up around her finger as she started moving it through the ground.
Debris began to pile up against her digit as it drove through the earth. Nothing could put up any resistance to it as it rapidly moved around. She couldn't help but note with a smirk how even the strength of just one of her digits was far too much for the land to resist. For a few seconds, she concentrated on her self-appointed task before finally coming to a stop. Lifting her finger, she observed her handiwork. Elysia had etched her name into the earth itself, forming a group of valleys. Of course, it was a pointless task, seeing as she was the only person who could perceive it, and dirt and minerals were already pouring into the rifts. Nevertheless, she couldn't help but feel absurdly proud for a moment.
As the mercenary shook her head to dismiss the thought, she abruptly spotted something that aroused her curiosity. She leaned forward, putting more of the city under her shadow. In the middle of the capital was an ornate edifice surrounded by smaller buildings, one that many citizens had taken sanctuary within. After a moment of observation, Elysia deduced that they must have been a temple district of some kind, though to who or what she had no idea. She was a foreigner, after all, and while she could easily find out the information, she didn’t care that much. Even so, the sight did give her an intriguing idea.
Her gloved hand reached forwards towards the place of worship, before diving under the earth. The land groaned as she casually pushed her appendage through it, much of the city falling into opening rifts. She paid little attention to any of that, choosing instead to focus on the position of her hand. Once she had gone far enough, a cruel grin appeared on Elysia’s lips, before she lifted her slightly closed fist- and the foundations of the temple with it. The entire complex, spreading over several blocks, efficiently managed to fit within the palm of her hand.
Carefully, the white-clad woman inspected the collection of buildings, deaf to the world beneath her. As she raised the complex before her face, millions of tons of marble and dirt quaked intensely from the force of her casual action. Her vibrantly green eyes overlooked the buildings she held on her palm, indifferently noting the terror of those within. Even when they were less than ants to Elysia, she could still see and hear them. In truth, she could perceive more than they could. The lines on every face, the individual beating of each heart, the smell of excrement wafting through the air, the minute shifts in weight that passed through the earthen foundation whenever the specks of life moved. Of course, none of that meant she cared.
To the humans within the complex, their situation was almost unbelievable. The day had seemed like a horrible nightmare or a divine revelation of some kind. Only minutes ago, many of them were working, spending time with their families, living their daily lives. And then a colossal entity had suddenly appeared and thrown their world into chaos. Within minutes, she had killed countless people from her simple movements, their bodies utterly unable to resist her godlike power. Thousands had retreated into the church district and to the Temple of the Dwali. They had hoped that the gods above would hear their prayers, that a miracle would save them.
Now, most of the citizens had fallen to despair, realizing no such thing would occur. Without any effort, the entity had shown them how weak they were, how little hope they had. All the gods they worshipped were proving themselves to be utterly useless against the giant, as she held their holiest place within her hand. Some had walked off the crumbling edges off the complex, choosing to fall hundreds of feet onto her unyielding palm. Most were simply in a daze, unable to truly comprehend their impending doom.
The worst part of the entire situation was that many could not bring themselves to hate the entity that had destroyed their lives and hope. A new belief had spread amongst the terrified citizens. In their minds, the woman that held their lives in her hand must have been a goddess. Nothing else could be so beautiful, so powerful. Even beyond her immense size, grander than any mountain, she radiated an aura of pure strength. Her stature made no difference. If she chose the form of a human, she still would have been capable of annihilating Galar without effort.
Her flawless visage captivated even those who did not believe. Without trying, the white-haired being made every other female irrelevant before her. Even the most beautiful women had blemishes, imperfections that came from living in reality. She did not, more akin to a being from myth and legend than something that could exist in the real world. Her elegance, seductiveness, allure, all of it was something no human could hope to attain. Even the women in the complex fell under her enchantment, realizing their utter inferiority in every way.
As her bright green eyes apathetically swept over them, many began to grow excited. The fact that she even acknowledged their existence for a brief moment was of more value than the rest of their lives combined. If the perfect being gained even the faintest amount of joy from their deaths, then it was their duty to try and provide it. As such, there was no more panic as her fingers began to tighten around the complex. Even as she shut out the light entirely, the only thing many of them felt in their last moments was pure bliss.
It was a simple act for Elysia to close her hand into a fist, ignoring the hideous squelching noises that erupted. Her fingers effortlessly compacted countless tons of marble, earth, and flesh together, annihilating the complex and the people within. Assuming she counted correctly, the mercenary had just ended a little over ten thousand lives. Slowly, she opened her hand and watched the broken remains of the district as they began to shift. The dirt and stone began to flow like water, a river of grime running off the side of her hand. The filth cascaded to the city below, drowning many in a tidal wave of debris. In seconds, her glove was spotless, every stain removed from her pure-white attire.
Her gaze drifted down to the ruined city below, idly observing the damage she had caused. Already, over a third of Galar had been destroyed outright, and no district was untouched by her actions. Several sections had been buried under the earth, torn apart by opening crevices, or directly crushed beneath Elysia’s massive form. The population had taken even more damage; roughly half of the once-thriving metropolis had perished in the short time she had been here. Not for the first time, she couldn’t help but marvel at how weak humans were. Though she would admit that she was hardly ordinary, so perhaps that said more about her.
Despite the damage she had caused, the population was slowly starting to settle down. While the fear was still there, many of the citizens were now staring up at Elysia in awe and desire. The mercenary rolled her eyes slightly at the scene, seeing as this wasn’t an uncommon event for her. For some unknown reason, her mere existence seemed to trigger a primordial urge in most people she met. Perhaps it was her power and beauty, natural human weakness, a desire for a higher being, or something else entirely. Whatever the cause, the results were evident, as many just stopped resisting her after a while. Instead, they turned to worship and reverence, simply awaiting their oncoming fates.
She supposed that it made her job a little easier, but she couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed. It would make her task even duller than it already was, and it wasn’t as though it had been particularly challenging in the first place. Not to mention, it meant that she had put up the barriers for nothing. Elysia softly sighed before glaring down at the remains of Galar. It seemed that she might as well get everything over with quickly.
And so, she merely fell over, her upper half descending to the earth below. The citizens of Galar barely had time to comprehend Elysia’s oncoming form before it slammed into the ground. The entire world seemed to tremble at the immense force of her body coming against it. In an instant, most of the city was destroyed, either by her body or the shockwaves that ensued. Her stomach and arms impacted against the ground with tremendous force, obliterating extensive sections of the city. Even the merest part of her was far stronger than the world below, as her silver-colored hair tore through the streets. Each strand thicker and stronger than stone and effortlessly slashed through anything in their path
The strongest shockwaves, however, erupted from the impact of her enormous bust. Even if she had been the size of a human, Elysia’s bosom would inspire awe, fitting those of a fertility goddess. At this stature, however, they functioned as wrecking balls. Even when they met the crust, they continued thousands of feet into the earth. All around her, the land split open into hundreds of rifts, before reality seemed to blur. Almost all of Galar had been reduced to dust solely from the power of Elysia's simple act. Bright green eyes observed the ground as it shattered beneath her, almost all of the city vanishing into the wind.
Only a small chunk still existed, relatively far from Elysia. Of course, it only meant she had to move forward a little to utterly crush the already ruined district. Elysia, however, decided to take a different route. Lifting her head slightly, she slowly sucked in a breath. Within moments, most of the buildings tore away from the ground, flying towards her mouth. The albino quickly stopped, observing how the tiny constructions soon fell back to the earth without reaching her. Then, she softly blew outwards.
In an instant, the very crust of the planet was torn apart by her simple act, rendering the area completely uninhabitable. As Elysia watched, much of the earth she had blown away traveled hundreds of miles, slamming into far off towns and mountains. She couldn’t help the amused smirk that erupted over the scene. Without any effort, she had displayed just how strong she was. Slowly, the mercenary slammed her hands onto the land below, rising back to her full height. One of her fingers entered the shallow waters that been near the city. The unintentional act suddenly brought up the memory of her contract to the forefront of her mind.
In truth, she had not solely been asked to destroy the capital of the Ralid Imperium. Her employers had told her to send a message, in their own words, and even suggested less defended cities to attack. If she wished, the mercenary could return right now and receive her wages. However, she had always preferred to fulfill the entirety of her contract. If Elysia was asked to do a task, she did her best to accomplish it. And since her employers had recommended that she deal with a few other cities, she might as well take a few more minutes. Aborting her rise, Elysia instead sat back down into the sea. The water splashed against her rear, but it was too shallow to do much else. Slowly, she closed her eyes and held back a little less of her strength.
And then, she opened them from a new perspective. Looking down, she observed the world beneath her. Now, Elysia was beyond massive, so large her former height wouldn’t even be the size of a bug to her. Continents spread out before her like a map, with cities and mountains scattered over the land as though they were crumbs of bread. The sea was little more than a puddle now, her legs casually extending from its mouth to end over dozens of tiny islands without even stretching. Galar, at its full size, would have fit on one of her fingers with room to spare. She could feel the tectonic plates straining under her weight, cracking and shifting with every slight movement she made.
A cruel grin spread across her lips, as the sound of millions screaming reached her ears. At Elysia’s new stature, no one in the Imperium hadn’t noticed her. That didn’t mean they fully perceived her, of course. She doubted many could see anything above her colossal legs or more than a small part of her whole body. But they knew that something unimaginably vast was in their world, ready to take action. For a couple of seconds, she basked in the attention. Eventually, she set her mind to fulfilling her self-appointed task.
With deliberate lack of speed, she moved her hand over a large city. Well, to those below it was large. To her, it was little more than a colorful speck amongst a sea of green. Slowly, she extended her finger, letting the citizens see exactly what was happening. The fear rapidly intensified as she let it hang there for a minute. Then, Elysia gradually began to lower her finger, sadistically taking her time.
The panic of those below was intense beyond reason, every man, woman, and child attempting to get out of the doomed city. Their efforts were obviously pointless, seeing as how even the tip of her finger was far broader than the metropolis. Nevertheless, she had effortlessly thrown hundreds of thousands into blind terror. Until finally, her finger crushed the entire province, instantly killing every last one of them. It sunk deep into the earth, magma welling around the covering of Elysia’s glove before she withdrew it. There was only one more city to deal with now.
As she turned her attention to her last objective, she idly considered if she should use a different method. Just applying pure physical force was fun, but it could get dull after a while. After a moment of thought, Elysia decided to try another way, an idea already coming to her mind. With a vicious smirk, her other hand extended over a coastal city, casting it under her shadow. The residents looked up in fear as her palm blocked out the sun. They did not know what she had done, thousands of miles separating the port from the other cities she had destroyed. Even so, it took little effort to realize that she had no good intentions.
Unlike before, she didn’t lower her hand onto the city, instead deciding to keep it just above. Slowly, a pure white light began to surround it and the port, banishing any darkness in the land around the metropolis. With increasing speed, the glow continued to brighten, as though a second sun had formed on the earth. If anyone other than Elysia looked at it, their eyes would burn out of their sockets, leaving them permanently blind. Flames began to break all over the region around the port, as the temperature rapidly rose far past its natural peak.
After a full minute, the mercenary drew back her hand, causing the light to dissipate. Where there had once been a thriving city now stood a wasteland of blackened ash and embers. There was no smoke, no melted remnants. Elysia’s flame had been magical and produced no soot. And the heat had been so intense that everything had turned to burnt dust within. Even as she returned her hand, she could see that much of the region was catching fire. Finally, the mercenary had completed her task. And now, it was time to enjoy the first part of her reward.
With barely a thought, she sent out a call- not physically, but spiritually. As the colossal woman watched, countless streams of light in every color of the rainbow began to rise towards her. They were souls, the spirits of those she had slain over minutes. With a deep breath, Elysia lowered the barrier to her essence, a pure white aura developing around her. As the spiritual energy began to press against her, she instantly began to absorb all of it. Her existence was so far above them than she didn’t even need to pay attention, as millions of souls quickly began dissolving within the ocean of her own.
As she absorbed the souls, the results were instantaneous. Countless memories were added to her own, as though she had experienced them herself. Her muscles, mind, and magic exploded in strength, each spirit increasing her might. If a typical human were to absorb the spiritual energy of just a single person, they would ascend far past their previous self. Even a tenth of the souls that now flowed into the mercenary would transform anyone else into a deity. A being utterly above humanity in every way, powerful beyond comprehension. As Elysia finished, all she could think of was how little she gained compared to what she already had. All of the souls she had taken were akin to a single drop of water added to all the world's oceans.
With a sigh, she attempted to dismiss her disappointment. She hadn’t expected anything more, but it would have been pleasant. Suddenly, she noticed the abrupt silence that now hung around her. As her green eyes roamed over the land, it didn’t take her long to find out why the world had gone quiet. Elysia had not just taken the souls of those she had slain, but those of everyone in the Imperium. They were so weak compared to her that even a minor call had torn the spirits from their bodies. Moments ago, over a hundred million people had once lived in the empire. Now, every last one of them had become part of the soul-eater. With one effortless act, she had turned the entire realm into a wasteland, devoid of any intelligent life.
The mercenary curiously looked down at the land beneath her, before shrugging slightly. She hadn’t quite expected that, and she wouldn’t have done all that if she was intentionally going to absorb all the lifeforce of the Imperium. That said, Elysia was hardly upset about getting a larger payment than she had anticipated. Besides, it wasn’t her fault if her victims were that weak. She shook her head, dismissing the thoughts. In any case, it was time to finish things.
With a casual thought, the giant woman disappeared. On the ground below, the mercenary calmly examined the consequences of her work, now at a much smaller size. She would still tower over most people, but she could at least attempt to pass for a human. With her inhuman vision, she could see every crack in the earth, every fractured plate, every empty corpse. Even hundreds of miles away, past mountains and rivers, all the damage she had caused was as clear as day. After a moment of silent observation, Elysia's grin widened before she raised her hand. With a snap of her fingers, the white-haired woman vanished from the realm, leaving it a land of the dead.
An hour later and thousands of miles away from where she had been, she strode into a desert sanctum. Half a dozen guards surrounded her, though she wasn’t sure why. If she was hostile, then there was nothing six regular humans could do to stop her. Elysia supposed that it might have been for peace of mind, which she could at least understand. If her employers hoped to kill her with just that, however, then it would be outright insulting.
As a pair of doors opened before her, she quickly dismissed such thoughts and stood to attention. In the lavish room was a group of men, all of whom paid close attention to her. Apart from their exquisite clothes, little distinguished them from any other who lived in the desert. Nevertheless, the white-haired mercenary kept her posture straight, and her expression respectful. After all, these were the humans who had hired Elysia for the job in the first place.
As she entered, one of the men got up from his seat, clearly the spokesman of the group. He was the tallest of them, though he only came up to Elysia’s impressive bust. If that bothered him, he didn’t show it. She appreciated the fact that his dark brown eyes remained on her bright green. After a moment of silence, he finally spoke. “You have truly done it?”
The mercenary bowed her head deferentially. As far as she was concerned, the client deserved respect unless they had proven themselves unworthy. Even then, she would hold to her contract. No matter what others might think, she had her honor. When she spoke, her tone was polite and elegant. “Indeed, Lord Abdullah. The Ralid Imperium no longer exists.”
Some of the men shifted uncomfortably. After all, she had only been ordered to make a demonstration. They hadn’t truly believed that she could destroy an entire city, especially without help, as she claimed. Much less that she was capable of destroying their ancient enemy in less than an hour. Even so, the spokesman remained calm. “I was unaware that you were that hungry, Soul-Eater.”
The woman had to restrain from raising an eyebrow. The mercenary was aware that many beings disliked her. Truthfully, she didn’t blame them, considering that she did indeed eat souls. She was not a righteous person, and she acknowledged that. But she had to question the logic of employers who despised such an act and still hired her. They knew what she was and knowingly decided to hire her. She couldn’t understand the dissonance of employing a monster and then being angry that they were, in fact, a monster. Especially since she rarely took souls outside of jobs.
Of course, not a hint of her confusion showed in her expression, as she dipped into a bow. “My apologies, Lord Abdullah. Initially, I had only intended to destroy Galar, as some of you suggested.” In truth, it had been more of a mocking idea. Still, Elysia had taken it into account. “But I did not wish to perform a substandard job, and so I also ended Lann and Hiord. Finally, when I attempted to take this first part of my pay, I inadvertently took the souls of everyone in Ralid. I had not anticipated that it would be so easy, and so used more strength than I expected. My apologies if I stepped beyond my boundaries.”
Judging from the looks and hushed whispers she received, they weren’t sure whether to believe her. Of course, even if she had been lying, it wasn’t as though she had violated her contract. She had done the job they hired her to do and then went above and beyond. There was nothing they could do to punish her, apart from withholding her pay. And attempting to cheat a soul eater was a blatantly dangerous idea.
The council seemed to come to the same resolution, as they soon settled their debate. After a moment, their spokesman replied once more. “We do not mean to criticize your conduct. We were merely curious about how you handled the matter. We must thank you for your diligence in all honesty.” Judging from his expression, saying those words hurt him. “After all, the Imperium has always been our greatest foe. We will always thank you for ending their threat.”
Elysia remained politely silent, and Abdullah quickly seemed to remember their contract. “Ah, and as promised, you will receive your payment. Many talents of gold, ancient tomes, materials. Everything that we promised you.” It was clear they hadn’t expected that they would have to pay. But while the mercenary often asked for extravagant wages, she never failed to hold up her end. A friendly smile broke out across her lips.
“My thanks, Lord Abdullah. May the Ummah Republic live a thousand years.” The albino truly meant her words. Elysia had no reason to complain about her employers, and she did her best to maintain politeness outside of her jobs. Of course, if she had to fight them, she would do so without any regret. But unless that day came to pass, she had no reason not to be friendly.
Hours later, she was in another wing of the palace, engrossed in one of the books she had earned. It was a magic tome, one that purported to hold many spells that could be learned by mages. To its credit, there were multiple kinds of enchantments in the book, but none that she didn’t already know. That did not mean, however, that she couldn’t appreciate the stories it told apart from the spells.
Suddenly, an abrupt thought broke her out of her reverie. Swiftly, the mercenary looked up from her book, a familiar urge roaring in her mind. The alert that somewhere, a person was calling upon her. A grin began to spread across her lips. Elysia usually didn't take jobs so quickly after a previous contract, but then, she was rarely called. It seemed that she would be back to her work quite soon.