Chapter 55: White Hair Among the Ruins

We arrived at Ihin expecting violence.

Not possible violence.

Not maybe violence.

Violence with an appointment.

Leyra had described the place as a lawless town where cutthroats, mercenaries, smugglers, and other respectable professionals specializing in stabbing people gathered in generous quantities.

Considering somebody had already hired enough assassins to attack us twice before lunch, I had been expecting Ihin to greet our carriage with arrows.

Maybe flaming arrows.

Possibly a welcoming banner saying:

WELCOME, CROWN PRINCESS.

PLEASE STAND STILL WHILE WE AIM.

Instead, we found nothing.

Our carriage rolled slowly toward the town entrance.

I leaned toward the window.

Then frowned.

The main gate was destroyed.

Not open.

Destroyed.

One half leaned sideways from a fractured hinge. The other had collapsed completely into the dirt. Thick wooden beams were split apart like someone had grabbed the structure and decided doors were an insult to efficient travel.

Beyond it?

Ruins.

I sat straighter.

“Well.”

Leyra leaned toward her window.

Her face changed immediately.

Ihin looked less like a town and more like someone had gotten angry at architecture.

Several houses nearest the entrance had collapsed walls. Roofs had caved inward. Wooden beams jutted from piles of stone and broken furniture.

Windows were shattered.

Doors hung loose.

One building had been ripped open across the front, exposing rooms inside like some gigantic hand had peeled away the wall.

Another structure had partially collapsed into the street.

Broken carts lay abandoned.

Barrels had rolled into gutters.

A merchant stall had been reduced to splinters.

And there wasn't a single person.

Not one.

No angry cutthroats.

No wounded mercenaries.

No terrified civilians.

No drunken criminal stumbling out of a tavern asking why the town had suddenly become significantly more ventilated.

Nothing.

I looked at Leyra.

“Is it normally supposed to look like this?”

She didn't answer immediately.

Her eyes moved from building to building.

Confusion slowly replaced the anticipation she had carried since mentioning Ihin.

“No.”

Very reassuring.

The carriage continued through the broken gate.

Our knights had noticed the same thing.

Formation tightened immediately.

Hands moved toward swords.

Several riders scanned the rooftops.

Nobody liked an empty town.

A crowded town full of criminals was dangerous.

An empty town that was supposed to be crowded with criminals was somehow worse.

At least murderers usually had the courtesy to exist visibly before attempting murder.

Our carriage rolled another few dozen meters.

Then stopped.

One of the knights called from outside.

“Your Highness.”

Leyra already had the door open.

I followed her down.

The moment my boots touched the road, the silence became much more noticeable.

No conversations.

No footsteps.

No doors opening.

No animals.

Even the usual town smells seemed wrong.

There was dust.

Broken timber.

Old smoke from kitchens that had gone cold.

But no fresh blood.

That was the part bothering me most.

Leyra stood in the middle of the road wearing her Merciless Lioness outfit.

She slowly turned.

Her blue eyes examined everything.

“This happened recently.”

I crouched beside a shattered crate.

Dust still drifted from one of the collapsed buildings whenever the wind passed through it.

“Recently as in today?”

“Possibly.”

Leyra looked toward a partially destroyed house.

“The damage still looks fresh.”

I stood.

She frowned.

“If there was a battle here…”

I knew what she was thinking.

“How didn't we hear it?”

Exactly.

We had been approaching Ihin for a while.

Not close enough to hear someone dropping a mug.

But a battle capable of turning an entire criminal town into construction material?

That should have made noise.

A lot of noise.

Especially if hundreds of people had fought.

I looked toward the nearest ruined building.

Then at the road.

Nothing.

No bodies.

That bothered me more.

“If this was a fight…”

I pointed around.

“Where is everybody?”

Leyra's expression tightened.

I walked toward a patch of damaged ground.

No corpse.

No severed limb.

No blood pool.

Nothing that suggested an entire population of armed criminals had recently been violently removed.

“An entire town doesn't just disappear.”

Leyra approached.

“I know.”

“We're talking about Ihin.”

“Yes.”

“The place you said probably contained more hired blades than good life decisions.”

“Yes.”

“And now every single one of them is gone.”

Leyra nodded slowly.

Her ears twitched.

Listening.

Nothing.

Then she said quietly, “I have a bad feeling.”

One of the knights behind us drew his sword.

The metallic sound seemed incredibly loud in the empty street.

That was apparently all the encouragement everyone else needed.

Weapons came free.

Swords.

Spears.

Shields adjusted.

The escort tightened around us.

I looked toward the rooftops.

No movement.

Toward alleys.

Nothing.

Toward upper windows.

Empty darkness.

“This is creepy.”

Leyra glanced at me.

“That's your professional assessment?”

“Yes.”

“Very useful.”

“I have others.”

“Such as?”

“I would like to leave before whatever removed the population decides we're collectibles.”

Leyra almost smiled.

Almost.

Then her eyes returned to the town.

We moved forward.

Slowly.

The carriage remained behind with several knights guarding it while the rest advanced on foot.

Every intersection looked abandoned.

Every house seemed recently evacuated in the least voluntary way possible.

At one point, I found a chair sitting upright in the middle of the road.

Just one chair.

No table.

No owner.

Perfectly intact.

I pointed at it.

“See, that's worse.”

Leyra looked confused.

“The chair?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“No idea.”

I stepped around it.

“But it feels judgmental.”

One knight behind us made a sound suspiciously close to a laugh.

Good.

Morale maintained.

Eventually the road widened.

Buildings opened around a large central square.

The town center.

At its heart stood a fountain.

Or what had once been a fountain.

The basin was cracked.

No water flowed.

A stone figure in the center had lost half its head.

Several nearby buildings were damaged even more severely than the ones by the gate.

We stepped into the square.

Then I heard voices.

Everyone stopped.

Soft.

Multiple voices.

Not shouting.

Talking.

Somebody was here.

Leyra's hand lifted.

The knights spread.

I followed the sound toward the far side of the square.

Movement appeared behind a collapsed market stall.

Then several people emerged.

I stared.

Spriggans.

Real Spriggans.

Men.

Women.

Different ages.

They were clustered together near one of the larger ruined buildings.

Some sat against the wall.

Others knelt beside each other.

Several were helping remove black restraint cuffs from wrists.

Suppressing restraints.

Similar concept to the ones used on the Agranian generals.

The moment one pair came off, faint magic returned around the freed Spriggan.

Another immediately helped the next.

I looked at their clothing.

Simple.

Dirty.

Some torn.

Bruises marked several arms.

Marks around wrists.

Chains lay nearby.

My amusement disappeared.

Leyra's expression changed too.

She walked closer but kept enough distance not to frighten them.

“Slaves.”

I looked at her.

She nodded toward the restraints.

“Spriggan slaves.”

I stared at the group again.

So Ihin didn't only sell murderers.

Apparently slavery had joined the business directory.

“Captured by slavers?”

Leyra nodded.

“Likely.”

Some of the Spriggans noticed us.

A few looked nervous.

Then their eyes shifted toward my back.

No wings.

Not yet.

They looked at the knights.

Then at Leyra.

But none reached for weapons.

Most looked too exhausted.

I glanced around the destroyed square.

“So whoever did this…”

Leyra looked at me.

“…freed them.”

“Yes.”

That changed the picture.

Not completely.

The town was still empty.

But somebody had entered a lawless settlement packed with cutthroats, destroyed a large portion of it, somehow removed every hostile person without leaving visible bodies, and freed Spriggan slaves afterward.

Or during.

Or accidentally.

I looked toward Leyra.

She had gone still.

Completely.

Not cautious.

Not confused.

Still.

Her eyes widened.

Then something I had almost never seen appeared in them.

Fear.

Actual fear.

This was the woman who secretly fought underground champions for fun.

The woman who had smiled when assassins surrounded us.

The woman who had seen me erase people with lightning and considered the next ambush entertainment.

Now her face had lost color.

I frowned.

“Leyra?”

She didn't answer.

Her eyes moved across the square.

Searching.

Knowing.

I stepped closer.

“What's wrong?”

Her voice came quietly.

“Everything here…”

I waited.

“The missing people.”

Her fingers tightened.

“The freed Spriggans.”

She looked toward the destroyed buildings.

“The lack of bodies.”

Then toward the empty fountain.

Her breathing shifted.

“All of it is telling me the same thing.”

I didn't like that sentence.

“What?”

Leyra looked at me.

“She’s here.”

I stared.

“Who?”

A woman's voice answered for her.

Soft.

Calm.

Almost bored.

“You finally arrived.”

Every knight turned.

Weapons rose.

The voice continued.

“What took you so long?”

I looked toward the far end of the square.

Someone was walking toward the fountain.

A woman.

No.

Girl?

Hard to judge.

She was short.

Petite.

Not much taller than Zeria.

Long white hair fell behind her almost to her waist, straight and smooth, with thick bangs framing her face.

White.

That immediately stood out.

Every Azalean Spriggan I had encountered so far had black hair.

Gusta.

Asta.

Others I had seen around Inizio.

Black hair seemed common enough that white looked unnatural by comparison.

Her eyes were gray.

Pale gray.

Not bright.

Not expressive.

They looked almost empty.

Not lifeless.

Worse.

Indifferent.

Like nothing in front of her had yet earned enough importance to become an emotion.

Her skin was pale.

She wore an elaborate black-and-white gothic dress with layered fabric, lace, ribbons, and a wide skirt that moved lightly around her legs.

A matching white headband rested over her hair.

Cute outfit.

Terrifying person.

Interesting combination.

She walked calmly across a town that looked like it had been mugged by a natural disaster.

No blood on her.

No visible injuries.

Not even dust seemed willing to land on her.

I felt something crawl down my spine.

I had fought Agrus.

Remgar.

Treez.

Leyra.

I had stood beside Zeria while she casually discussed events capable of destabilizing continents.

None of them had made my body react like this woman did while merely walking.

No spell.

No attack.

Nothing visible.

My instincts simply looked at her and screamed:

ABSOLUTELY NOT.

I glanced at the knights.

They felt it too.

One man's sword trembled.

Another had gone pale.

A third swallowed hard.

Then I looked at Leyra.

Her eyes were fixed on the woman.

Fear.

Definitely fear.

That bothered me far more than the knights.

The stranger reached the fountain.

She stepped onto the cracked stone edge.

Then sat.

Casually.

Like she had reserved the town center and was mildly annoyed we were late.

Her gray eyes settled on me.

Not Leyra.

Not the knights.

Me.

“You must be the Spriggan everyone has been talking about.”

I looked at Leyra.

Her breathing remained controlled, but barely.

“Friend?”

Leyra looked at me like I had asked whether the sun was secretly poisonous.

Then she spoke quietly.

“Tanya Darkwood.”

The woman on the fountain did not react to hearing her name.

Leyra continued.

“The Shadow Fairy.”

Ah.

Oh.

That one.

Nemris had mentioned her on the clocktower.

An extraordinarily powerful Spriggan whose solo feats were impressive enough that Nemris had used her existence as proof that a lone Spriggan being absurdly powerful was not automatically impossible.

Apparently I was now meeting the example.

Wonderful.

Leyra continued.

“She is infamous across the continent.”

Tanya's expression remained blank.

“Extremely dangerous.”

One knight tightened his sword grip.

Wrong choice.

Tanya's gray eyes moved toward him.

The knight immediately stopped.

Leyra lowered her voice further.

“She has no remaining connection to Azalea.”

I looked back at her.

“Meaning?”

“Outcast.”

Interesting.

A Spriggan without Azalea.

Considering what Zeria had told me about their culture viewing one another as family, that sounded significant.

Extremely significant.

I looked at Tanya.

She crossed one leg over the other while sitting on the broken fountain.

Perfectly relaxed.

I gestured vaguely around the town.

“We were expecting cutthroats.”

Her gray eyes returned to me.

“They're gone.”

Concise.

Treez would probably approve.

I looked at a collapsed building.

Then at the empty streets.

“All of them?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

Tanya stared.

For the first time, something resembling amusement touched her face.

Barely.

A tiny curve at the corner of her lips.

“Do you truly want to know?”

I considered the town.

No corpses.

No blood trail.

Hundreds of criminals apparently evaporated from society.

I smiled.

“I'm developing mixed feelings.”

Tanya gave me a small, challenging smile.

Then gracefully flicked her white hair behind one shoulder.

Her eyes moved toward the knights.

“Would you lower your weapons?”

Nobody moved.

Tanya tilted her head.

“I dislike having weapons pointed at me.”

That did it.

Not magically.

At least nothing visible happened.

But the knights lowered their swords.

All of them.

Some slowly.

Some immediately.

Fear made the decision.

I looked at our highly trained royal escort.

Then at Tanya.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

I folded my arms.

“So.”

Tanya waited.

“You came here because of the Spriggan slaves?”

Her gaze moved toward them.

For half a second.

Indifference.

Complete.

“They happened to be here.”

I blinked.

“So freeing them was incidental.”

“Yes.”

That was somehow more intimidating.

She had apparently dismantled whatever operated inside Ihin and released enslaved Spriggans because they happened to be standing nearby.

Tanya's eyes returned to me.

“I came for you.”

Ah.

There it was.

I pointed at myself.

“Popular week.”

She stood.

The knights tensed again.

Nobody raised weapons.

Smart growth.

Tanya stepped down from the fountain.

Then began walking toward me.

Slowly.

No rush.

Her boots clicked softly against damaged stone.

I stayed where I was.

Mostly because backing away seemed embarrassing.

Also because I had a strong suspicion running wouldn't help.

Tanya approached.

Closer.

Ten meters.

Eight.

Five.

Then something happened.

My back tingled.

The wing-shaped markings beneath my clothing reacted.

Light spread through them.

Tanya's eyes shifted slightly.

At the same time, energy gathered behind her.

Spriggan resonance.

Of course.

Two Spriggans near each other.

Well.

One Spriggan and one human who had copied Spriggan racial ability so perfectly that apparently magic itself didn't care about technicalities.

My wings manifested.

Real magical wings expanded behind me.

Light unfolded outward in translucent structures, forming from the copied markings across my back.

At the same moment, Tanya's own wings appeared.

Bright.

Beautiful.

Completely authentic.

The atmosphere changed.

Several rescued Spriggans looked toward us immediately.

Their own markings reacted to the presence of multiple Spriggans nearby.

The square filled with faint magical resonance.

Tanya stopped.

A few steps away.

She studied my wings.

Then my face.

No surprise.

If anything, confirmation.

I smiled carefully.

“I hope your reason for coming isn't murder.”

Tanya looked at the knights.

Then Leyra.

Then me.

Her gray eyes remained empty.

“If I intended to kill you…”

She glanced around the ruined town.

“…you would already be dead.”

I waited.

“Since the moment you entered Ihin.”

The knights somehow became even quieter.

I nodded.

“Very comforting.”

“I wasn't attempting to comfort you.”

“I noticed.”

Tanya stepped closer.

Now she stood directly in front of me.

She was shorter enough that she had to tilt her head slightly upward.

No fear.

No hesitation.

Nothing.

Then she said my full name.

“You are quite popular…”

Pause.

“Caled Morningwood.”

My eyes narrowed.

Not Sir Caled.

Not the Lone Spriggan.

Not diplomat.

Full name.

She knew it.

I smiled less.

“What does the Shadow Fairy want with me?”

Tanya stared into my eyes.

For several long seconds, she said nothing.

Then she leaned closer.

Her voice became a whisper.

Only barely loud enough for me to hear over the faint wind crossing the square.

“Just as I suspected.”

My spine tightened.

Her gray eyes flicked toward my wings.

Then back to my face.

“You are no Spriggan.”

Everything inside me stopped.

Not physically.

But close.

She knew.

Not suspected.

Knew.

I looked toward Leyra.

Her expression had changed from fear to alarm.

The knights didn't appear to understand.

Good.

Tanya stepped backward before I could answer.

Distance grew between us.

The resonance weakened.

Her magical wings began dissolving into light.

Mine followed.

Fragments of brightness broke apart behind us and vanished into the afternoon air.

Tanya turned away.

She started walking back toward the fountain.

I watched her.

“How?”

She didn't answer.

Naturally.

Why would mysterious terrifying women ever answer the useful question first?

Tanya reached the fountain.

Then spoke without looking back.

“The negotiation between Inizio and Agran is more important than you believe.”

I frowned.

“I already consider preventing a war between two major kingdoms fairly important.”

“Not enough.”

That wasn't ominous at all.

She sat down again.

Same place.

Same calm posture.

I remained standing in the square.

“What are you saying?”

Tanya looked at me.

“This negotiation does not only concern Inizio.”

I waited.

“Or Agran.”

Her gray eyes sharpened slightly.

“It concerns the continent.”

Leyra stepped nearer to me.

I could feel tension coming from her.

I looked at Tanya.

“You think so?”

Tanya's expression did not move.

“I know.”

No hesitation.

Not belief.

Not theory.

Know.

That word landed harder.

Tanya crossed her legs.

“If your negotiation fails…”

She looked toward the destroyed buildings around us as casually as someone discussing weather.

“…I may destroy Agran myself.”

Silence.

A knight behind me shifted.

Leyra's eyes widened.

I stared.

“That sounds like an aggressive approach to peace.”

“It would end the war quickly.”

“By destroying one of the kingdoms.”

“Yes.”

I scratched my cheek.

“That usually gets classified as the opposite of keeping peace.”

Tanya didn't react.

I continued.

“Agran hasn't done anything to you.”

“That is irrelevant.”

“To the people living there, probably not.”

Her eyes stayed on mine.

I shook my head.

“You can't wipe out an entire kingdom just because it would make the war shorter.”

“I can.”

Well.

That was not the wording I meant.

I sighed.

“You shouldn't.”

Tanya considered me.

Then said quietly, “The Dragon Conqueror has begun moving.”

My entire body went still.

No joke.

No smile.

Nothing.

Mediya.

The endless light.

Her warning.

The greatest war this world would ever face.

The Dragon Conqueror was starting to make his move.

Exact meaning.

Exact threat.

Tanya watched my face.

I didn't need to answer.

Recognition had already betrayed me.

Her lips curved.

Satisfied.

Barely.

But the gray indifference in her eyes remained unchanged.

“So.”

She knew that I knew.

Wonderful.

Tanya leaned back slightly against the fountain.

“And it seems…”

Her gaze remained locked on mine.

“…we have a common goal.”