Atleast You Have A Loving Brother

"So. No Pookie Bears?"

I asked after wiping the blood off my daggers.

"I don't think we need a Pookie bear to evaluate you.", Iris glanced at me, "Your performance with the Frost Hounds and other ardimals was impressive enough."

She swung her daggers, splattering the blood to the snow and cleaning the black blades.

"We're just making sure we don't become dinner."

It's been an hour since we slaughtered a pack of Frost Hounds and we are slowly ascending the mountain so that we'll be in range for Minerva to teleport us back into the Shield.

The Frost Hounds weren't the only nasty creatures interested in eating us.

We battled through scores of savage ardimals mutated by the harsh conditions of Les Anciennes.

The funny thing is, not one of them included the ardimal we set out to hunt in the first place.

The Glacial Hornbear.

Weird.

Our primary concern wasn't the cold and hunger thanks to our temperature-regulated uniforms and Iris brought the necessary supplies, including some delicious rations.

Our only concern was getting in range for Minerva.

"I don't get it.", I spoke up.

"Get what?", Iris glanced at me with curiosity.

"Why are we trying to be in range? Minerva is an AI on par with Ace and can even easily scan the entire mountain range of Les Anciennes."

"Ah.", she sighed, "Your Highness. Specialized teleportation with Locus is quite different from channeling data and information on a global scale."

She jumped high and climbed onto a ledge before extending her arm to me. I accepted it and followed her in going up the mountain.

"The teleportation that takes us to the battlefield uses a massive and complex code of multiple sets of runes intricately woven together. It took me a week to study the entire thing."

I blinked, "Is that normal?"

Iris shook her head, "Nope. For a normal person, they would take at least six months to study the entire code."

Goodness gracious! This girl is insane!

"If the range increases, the effectivity and number of Deathwalkers teleported will be decreased.", she continued.

"So a particular range has been decided. The teleportation code encompasses the entirety of Blood Valley and the surrounding woods."

She gave me a sheepish smile, "Including the place we were before the avalanche."

"Oh yeah.", I feigned surprise, "The avalanche really caught us off guard. No one could have predicted that."

Iris winced, "Look. I am sorry for what happened back then. It's just that whenever I hear that name..."

"You get explosive.", I finished for her.

"Yeah.", she admitted.

"Sounds like a charming family.", I quipped.

She scoffed, "You have no fucking idea."

We chuckled and then there was a silence between us.

"So.", I broke the awkward silence, "How did a genius warlock like you end up in the Shield?"

I know I am entering dangerous territory but my curiosity got the better of me. I just hope it won't come back to kill me.

Iris raised an eyebrow, "Me? A genius warlock? What brought you to that conclusion?"

I shrugged, "Well. The fact that you could understand a massive code that would've taken six months to understand in one week?"

"And your combat abilities are very superior along with your manipulation of ardor and Tenebris?"

Iris chuckled, "Yeah. You are right. I am a genius."

"But as a warlock.", she smiled at me, "I'm afraid I'm like you, a very late bloomer."

I was speechless, "No way. You? A late bloomer?"

"It's true!", She nodded, "I awakened my strand when I was twelve years old. A year ago."

"A year ago?", My eyes widened.

"Yeah. Right before I was sent here. Kind of like you.", she admitted.

"You mean?"

"Like you, my strand awakened from intense emotions.", Her eyes darkened.

"Your strand awakened due to your rage against the slandering of your mother. Mine awakened from an ardent desperation to survive and an intense hatred toward my family."

I whistled, "Of course you would hate your family. You are-"

"The bastard of Duke Karsus.", Iris interjected.

I furrowed my eyebrows, "Yeah."

She scoffed, "But even bastards are part of the family and treated well."

Her jaw tightened and an ominous chill seeped out of her, "My mother was a commoner who caught the eyes of the Duke one fine morning."

"And that was how I was conceived. My mother concealed me from the Duke to protect me. Since he was a married man, she was aware of the dangers and kept me hidden."

"But this is Duke Karsus we are talking about. That man had eyes and ears everywhere."

"All it took was a single glimpse of little baby me."

It became even colder and tendrils of darkness curled out of her body.

"The next day. My father paid my mother a visit in her humble abode, sword in hand, ready to kill me."

Iris gave a bitter smile, "That would've been an easier way to leave this world."

"My mother begged him not to kill me. But the Duke was oh so cold and ruthless, and her pleas fell on deaf ears."

"And then she made a deal. Her life for mine."

The temperature dropped further and I shivered even with the temperature control of my uniform.

"And so the Duke killed my mother, took me, a little baby swaddled in blankets to the Karsus estate, and tossed me into the attic."

"He found my mother's younger sister and appointed her as my maid."

Iris took a deep breath as if to calm down her bubbling rage, "I grew up in the attic of the Karsus mansion."

"I only had a single layer of clothing to wear no matter how cold it became and ate leftovers that my aunt, Adeline scrounged up for the both of us." 

A sad smile played on her lips, "Adeline was the only one I had. She taught me to read and was the first to recognize my genius."

"I was bullied by the duchess and her three sons and she was harassed by the maids. We only had each other."

"She was like a caring mother to me."

A terrifying Bloodlust took hold of me and froze my body in place.

"My brothers.", she said in a voice filled with venom, "They noticed the bond between us and decided to have a little 'fun' with it."

"It was when I was eight years old. A different maid brought a closed platter to me during lunchtime, saying it was a special dish made just for me."

She stopped and composed herself to speak the next bit, "I opened the platter and saw the dish that was prepared for me."

"The freshly severed hand of Adeline."

"Oh Incarni.", I voiced out, feeling sick in the stomach, and looked at her in shock, "What the hell?"

Iris gave a grim nod, "You suffered a lot of bullying in your childhood yet at least you have a loving brother."

"My 'brothers' were nothing more than fiends."

"What happened to Adeline?", I asked, my fists clenched, a rage similar to Iris's blossoming inside of me.

Iris saw my reaction and calmed down, a small sad smile appeared on her lips.

"Fortunately, the Duke intervened before things got worse. He dismissed her after the incident. That was the last I saw of Adeline."

"That was the only thing I feel thankful to the man."

"After Adeline left, it was hell."

"Every day was filled with pain as those three beat me for every single inconvenience. They kicked, thrashed, bashed, even broke a bone or two."

"And by the end of the day, they would heal me. By the time I became a Deathwalker, I had stopped feeling pain."

Her body shuddered as she recounted, "They would use me as a sparring dummy to hone their skills. I secretly observed their movements as they unleashed their skills on me."

"Since I was a genius, I quickly learned their skills."

"I easily surpassed those three goblins but I hid my skills and bided my time."

"But the worst were the hunts."

"Hunts?", I asked, alarmed.

Iris nodded, "My brothers would go on hunts in the woods of the estate. I was the prey."

"That's seriously messed up.", I was horrified, "Are they even human?"

"Who knows?", she shrugged, "They always kept me barely alive after hunting me down. Fortunately, I was a very elusive prey and would lose them most of the time."

"Of course, the Duke never cared. He only promised to keep me alive."

She bit her lip and clenched her fist again, "I endured and endured for years until I turned twelve."

"That's when you snapped.", I guessed, realization slowly dawning on me.

Iris nodded, "It was the worst hunt I had ever taken part in. Even the duchess was there."

"I was sure I would die. The desperation and hatred just erupted in the form of my awakening." 

Her lips curled up into a smile, "Tenebris awakened in me, and I went berserk."

"I killed the duchess and one of my brothers while I crippled another. It was the Duke who put a stop to my rampage."

"Due to my actions, I was sentenced to five years in the Shield. Everyone expected me to die within the first week but here I am.", Iris grinned and spread her arms.

I was captivated by her striking beauty under the moonlight.

The chilling tale revealed a different side of Iris, the scars enhancing her beauty.

She looked like a goddess of war, beautiful but powerful.

No. Not a goddess. Like a battle-hardened fairy of darkness.

"The thing is.", the Fairy of Tenebris added, "After brutally killing the duchess and my brother."

"I don't feel guilty at all."