Chapter 9

Somewhere in Scandinavia, a girl with long, scarlet hair and brown eyes, carried a large elk on her back as she walked down the dirt road through the forest.

Despite carrying an elk that weighed nearly 350 kgs, her steps were still light and effortless, and there was no hint of pressure on her body.

What would catch anyone's attention was that the girl was wearing a mediaeval knight's armour, which clanked with every step she took.

After reaching a certain junction on the dirt road, she suddenly turned to walk right into the thick forest, transversing through it with familiarity even though one could easily get lost there.

Half an hour later, she approached a clearing but stopped in her tracks, a couple of hundred metres away from it. Her eyes narrowed as her ears picked up the unfamiliar sounds coming from her home.

She turned around and walked a few metres to her left, where an old tree was situated, and then she jumped up in the air, putting the elk on the thickest branch before dropping to the ground with a silent touch.

The armour on her body mysteriously changed, turning into a much lighter one, and then her figure blurred from her position as she darted towards her home, holding a sword in her right hand that appeared out of nowhere.

"Erik, look!" A tall man wearing a priest's outfit came out of a wooden cottage, holding a pair of girls' clothing in his hand. "Some girl lives here." He smirked as he brought the clothes near his nose and sniffed. "And she smells nice." He licked his lips with an unusually long tongue, which terrified the young kids who were being held prisoners by him and his partner.

"Shut up, Axel." His partner, who was wearing a black priest's outfit, glared at him and then checked the pentagram sign on the back of his hand, which revolved and glowed slightly. "Let's go. We can't stay here. We need to find another place to set up our base." He said and then signalled to the lackeys who were keeping eyes on the prisoners.

"Oh, come on, Erik!" Axel groaned and then smiled sinisterly. "Let's wait for the girl."

"Have you lost your mind again?" Erik glared at him. "No normal person would live here in these woods, all by themselves. We can not afford to be discovered. Let's move!" He angrily ended his words, and Axel narrowed his eyes before he finally nodded.

He was just about to sniff the clothes in his hand one more time before his instincts kicked in, and chills ran up his spine.

"Duck!" He heard his partner's shout but failed to respond in time as the sword sent his way stabbed his chest and then flung him back, nailing him into the wooden wall of the cottage.

Erik's eyes widened in dismay at watching his partner die just like that, but he was wise enough to not get distracted at this moment.

He drew the large sword he was wearing on his back, which glowed in a red sheen, and immediately blocked the attack that was headed his way to cleave him in two.

The moment the swords clashed, he felt his knees give in at the atrocious force that the girl with the scarlet hair had put behind her attack, however, he still persevered and managed to stop her sword from touching him.

"Who are you?" He grimly asked as he started channelling his Holy Magic, but the girl did not answer him, instead, another sword appeared in her free hand which she thrust forward at him. "Sacred Gear?" He became even more pensive and twisted his body to dodge the attack.

Erik quickly retreated several steps back and frowned a little when he watched the girl not take the opportunity to rush at him but look towards the cottage.

Out of instinct, he followed her eyes and then his mouth dropped open as he watched his partner suddenly come back to life and pull the sword out of his chest.

"You nearly struck my heart, Bitch!" Axel growled as his face twisted into an ugly expression. "I am going to love destroying your beautiful face." He smirked as his feet touched the ground, and then he pulled out the sword he was wearing on his waist, rushing right at her, much faster than Erik ever knew him to be.

Putting all his thoughts to rest, Erik rushed forward as well to help his partner and engaged the girl in a heated battle, which terrified the kids even more than they already were at seeing Axel get killed and come back to life.

However, to their dismay, they both found themselves at a disadvantage against the girl, who seemingly improved her sword art as the battle progressed and then comfortably held on against them.

Erik's heart constricted when he saw the slight smile on her lips, and he understood that she was toying with them just like a cat would toy with its prey.

He immediately retreated, and Axel understood his intentions, doing the same, and then they both slashed their sword as they unleashed a beam of Holy Light at the girl.

*Boom!* A loud explosion sounded out when those slashes of light struck her, and everyone in the vicinity scrunched up at the flash.

"What the..."

"She's not human!" Erik screamed in alarm as he watched the girl come out unscathed from their combined again, now wearing a heavier armour, but what scared him were the golden slits in her brown eyes.

"No kidding!" Axel sarcastically replied and then grabbed the Rosario he was wearing on his neck, chanting some verses as he prepared to attack the girl again with a more powerful Holy Magic.

Erik understood that it was now on him to hold back this girl for the next few seconds until Axel was ready, so he braved himself up and rushed at her.

The girl could sense the Holy Magic fluctuating around the man who was standing back and chanting some verses, and she dangerously narrowed his eyes when she watched the priest in black clothes rush at her.

She stopped playing around and rushed forward, meeting her opponent, and surprising him with her newfound speed, but before he could respond, she swung her sword even faster and cut him cleanly from his waist.

This time, she did not take any chances and sent a Magical blast at his head, not willing to see him come back to life as his partner earlier did.

Axel only chanted his verses faster as he prepared the spell, seemingly not bothered at seeing his partner get killed so effortlessly, and he managed to finish just in time to block her sword that approached him from the side.

"Surprised, Bitch?" He grinned as he saw the disbelief in her eyes, shocked at his newfound strength. "I have something for you to taste." He sinisterly said and then pushed back as his sword started shining in a blinding light.

The girl immediately retreated but it was already too late. Her own sword and armour were shining in the very same light, and then they exploded.

Axel managed to keep his eyes open even when the flash occurred, and rushed forward, swinging his blade.

*Clank!*

Sparks flew as his sword struck something indestructible, and when the things cleared up, he found the girl now wearing an entirely new armour with wings on its back, and her brown eyes were seething in rage.

She still did not speak any words and just conveyed her rage through her actions. Now dual-wielding her new swords, she swung madly at her enemy, overwhelming him with her unstoppable attacks, riddling his body with innumerable slashes even as they continuously healed at an alarming rate.

Minutes passed as Axel grew desperate under her wrath, and then whatever was healing his body stopped helping as well. Tiredness kicked in as his eyes suddenly drooped, and when they opened again, his head had already been decapitated from his body.

As soon as the head touched the ground, the girl smashed her right foot on it, bursting it like a watermelon. And then her slitted eyes turned to look at the lackeys of the two priests she had just slain.

A minute later, she was staring at the fainted children, who had lost unconsciousness after witnessing her brutality, and debated what she should do with them.

Her brows furrowed a little before she unsummoned her armour, and then she lifted the children in the air magically, having decided to drop them off at the closest human settlement.

Now that her mind had cleared up, she felt a little guilty at traumatising such young kids but soon brushed it aside, clearing her conscience.

They were not her responsibility, and she had already been merciful enough to let them live. And now she was even dropping them off to a human settlement, having saved them from a likely tragic fate.

A couple of hours later, she arrived by the side of the tree where she had hidden her elk, and her eyes narrowed again as she sensed new sounds coming from her home.

Feeling the rage bubble up again, she armoured herself up and then shot forward, ready to shed some more blood. However, she stopped midway when a voice sounded out from the top of the tree behind her.

"That's an interesting Sacred Gear, Erza."

Her heart palpitated in fear at the words.

The person knew her name! And it was an unfamiliar voice.

However, when she turned to look in his direction, she was stunned to find out that it was only a boy of twelve years, sitting next to her elk, smiling lightly.

"What's it called?" He asked, and Erza frowned as she found herself feeling compelled to answer him.