Chapter 24 - Negotiations break down

Seraphina gained a worried look in her eye but quickly replaced it with more caution, "So what do you want in return?"

In response, Erik panned his gaze towards Liam with a contemptuous grin, "I want that pasty little shit over there."

Liam immediately recoiled, "What?! I'm not going anywhere with you, you shitty pretender! How do we even know you speak the truth?!!"

Before Erik could respond to Liam's words, Seraphina grabbed the man by his hair and tossed him on the ground before she stepped on his head in an effort to keep him silent, "Shut up and let the grown-ups talk."

Liam seethed in humiliation and anger at being disrespected like this in his own territory, in front of his own men! But he could do nothing, as Seraphina's foot was unyielding.

Having dealt with Liam, Seraphina panned her gaze back to Erik with a look that showed some surprise but also a bit of interest, despite her words of refusal, "Although I don't like the man, I can't just hand him over to you. He is still a warlord serving the council."

Erik shrugged, "I have no more idea about what a sentinel warden is than what a warlord is in your council, and I really don't care. If you want the slaves without bloodshed, you'll have to trade him."

Seraphina and Erik stared at each other for a few moments, but when neither of them gave in, Seraphina decided to change the topic, "Setting aside the issue of Liam for now, what about Emily and her sister?"

She narrowed her eyes a little, "Liam was right about one thing: we have no idea if you can actually do what you promised. Not to mention that I intend to take her with me when I leave here, as the council wants to make an example out of her."

But Erik waved his hand in dismissal, "Neither Emily nor Emma is going anywhere. That is non-negotiable. As for proof that I can do what I promised…" He snapped his fingers, and one of the slaves came forward before suddenly collapsing in front of Seraphina.

Seraphina completely ignored the collapsed slave and focussed on Erik's first words instead, "You seem awfully insistent on keeping the sisters here. Exactly what is your relationship with them? Are they your allies or your prisoners?"

"Or…" And her voice seemed to get imperceptibly more hostile at these words, "Are they already dead?"

Erik raised his eyebrows as he noticed her hostility and decided to turn her question back on the woman, "You seem awfully interested in their fate. Exactly what is your relationship with the sisters?"

Still not getting the answer she wanted, Seraphina growled, "None of your business."

Erik laughed softly at her refusal to answer, "Well then, right back at you. I'm afraid the sister's fates will remain a mystery for now."

Meanwhile, the collapsed slave seemed to be coming to, as he stood up with a confused expression but clear eyes, obviously having been released from slavery by Elora through Emily.

Seraphina noted that Erik had spoken the truth but otherwise ignored the freed slave as she simply signalled one of the people behind her to check the man.

Yet despite the provided proof, they seemed to be reaching an insurmountable impasse in their negotiations, so Erik offered a different solution.

"Listen," he started amicably, "although I don't particularly mind if today ends in bloodshed, I have no interest in the longer-lasting conflict that would likely result from a bloodbath."

"So how about this?" he proposed. "Since any conflict between our two groups would likely be decided by the battle between the two of us anyway, we might as well skip right to it and have a duel. The winner decides how this ends, and you'll have a valid excuse to give your council if I win."

Then he smirked a little, "Plus, I'll still let you have the slaves either way."

This option seemed to interest Seraphina. While she could feel the power in Erik's body, it didn't feel as overwhelming as that of her father or the other council members and faction leaders, so she believed herself capable of victory.

And since the council intended to use the rescue of these slaves as propaganda material, saving them was supposed to be one of her highest priorities.

She seemed to mull his proposal over as she opened her mouth to ask a question, "Can I assume from your words that you intend for this fight to be non-lethal?"

Erik shrugged, "I figure killing you would cause more problems than it solves. But if you prefer it to be to the death, then I don't mind that either."

Seraphina snorted, "Since I can't kill you before you actually release these slaves and tell me where Emily is, non-lethal is fine."

Smiling at her apparent acceptance, Erik extended his hand, "So, does that mean you agree?"

Seraphina nodded and extended her hand, "Fine."

Erik laughed deeply as she accepted, looking forward to fighting against a worthy enemy. Over the last seven years of nearly constant fighting, he had learned to find enjoyment in it and now couldn't wait to fight stronger and stronger opponents.

Having agreed on a duel, Seraphina knocked Liam unconscious with a quick kick to the head to make sure he didn't go anywhere and assigned one of the people behind her to watch over him.

Since he was part of the wager, she naturally had to assume responsibility for his continued presence.

Neither of them saw any point in dragging this out, so they decided to simply do this here and now as they moved to a better spot and ordered the various bystanders to take a few steps back.

They now stood across from each other in a large, grass-filled open space on the Ashcroft estate.

Seraphina held her large sword in front of her as if it weighed nothing, while Erik had planted his hammer on the ground as he looked at Seraphina and couldn't help but admire the beauty and elegance by which she moved despite her large weapon.

Seraphina eyed her opponent, "I'm surprised by your heavy armour and weapon. No one really uses armour, and most humans don't use weapons at all, let alone such a large hammer."

While Erik quite obviously was not a vampire, she had also discarded the possibility of him being a shapeshifter since he couldn't possibly shapeshift while inside that sturdy-looking armour.

The truth was very different, but she had no way of knowing that.

While that was why shapeshifters didn't use any armour, most others didn't bother with it either since no one had figured out how to create something that could hold up against even mere rank-one fighters.

Even weapons needed to be regularly maintained and were specially created for durability rather than attack power.

Meanwhile, most humans simply stayed at a distance, partly because of an internalised gun culture and partly because most of their mystic glyphs involved ranged spells.

Back on Söl, and in the universe at large, weapons and armour were still widely used, mostly because they were created from aetherium-infused materials, combined with special crafting methods and the inscribing of runes.

That said, even in the universe at large, heavy weapons like Erik's hammer were rare, as most people preferred lighter weapons through which they could channel their magic.

But shapeshifters and vampires had their own distinct way of using aetherium to grow in power. Their method differed from that of humans and every other creature that Erik or Elora knew about.

The system Earth's supernatural creatures seemed to follow focused more on strengthening and enhancing the physical body rather than using aetherium as a power source for magic spells.

Because of that, shapeshifters and vampires had a much higher focus on weapons than humans did.

Erik smirked complacently at her comment, "I suppose I'm just not like normal humans." A statement that was especially true because he was not a human at all.

Regardless, he had decided to fight in human form for now, as changing to his other form would also reveal the particularities of his armour, something that he and Elora figured would bring unwanted attention.

That said, it's not like the power of his body entirely disappeared when he was not in his other form.

While his werewolf form was definitely his strongest, his human form also received many benefits from his three bloodlines and the supernatural power cultivation. Not to mention the boost he received from being merged with Elora's body.

Erik lifted his hammer and made it rest on his shoulder as he took a wide stance to compliment his wide grin, "Let's get started, shall we?"

Seraphina nodded as deep purple runes began to glow on the exposed parts of her pale skin, providing a beautiful contrast, before she charged forward with her large sword at her side.

Elora immediately recognised the affinity of this woman and couldn't help but comment on it, "Well, isn't that a surprise? First Emily, then Emma and now this woman? Is it just our luck, or is something else bringing all these rare affinities to us?"

As Erik watched the woman approach him with incredible speed, he asked, "Want to fill me in?"

The response was immediate, "It's gravity. Her affinity is gravity."