[Congrats on forming your first alliance. I didn't know you were smart enough to form alliances without me nagging you to.]

'Nah... I should be careful choosing crewmates, but alliances are long-term and less impactful, so I might as well use that feature to get connections with strong people,' I replied with what I really thought.

[I would let you live in that delusion for now.]

'What the fuck did you just say to me?'

"So, about your end of the deal..." Serena spoke, trailing her words off just enough for me to understand: 'Enough staring at the air and get things done.'

"Yeah, let's portray ourselves as accomplices," I said. "Since we're in public, word will spread about you too."

She nodded.

"Announce your name and what you're about to do. We have to use this stage," I said.

She nodded again and turned to face the crowd. Their eyes now contained traces of fear and anxiety as they watched Amir's burnt hand and the pain still etched on his face.

"My name is Serena," she began, her voice clear and strong. "Many of the merchants here might have known me as the innkeeper in the next town. I have seen multiple of your faces when I had the pleasure to accept you as my customer."

[Damn, bro. She has ten times better charisma than you.]

This guy wakes up, prompts me to call him names, and then sleeps. Unbelievable.

"I am here along with my team," Serena gestured toward me. "To kill these scum."

Her voice rose with conviction.

"These kinds of people are the lowest of the lowest. They exploit commoners like us using their power and status, and oppress us with their authority."

No way she was a commoner. You would need years of battle experience to get to the third circle. Years of training, fighting, surviving.

"I will bring justice upon scum like them as I travel," she declared loudly. "I am Serena, and this is my fight for justice which was failed to be delivered by the crooked system!"

Now she was shouting. She held the little girl in her arms tight against her chest as she spoke, her voice ringing out across the square.

Nexar wasn't wrong. She was natural at this.

Now I was interested in her story. What had driven her to this point? What had happened to her husband?

Guess I'll just ask Nexar later. Hahah...

... I'm a bitch, aren't I?

Serena then looked at me, waiting.

I nodded.

She'd kept her mission a secret but managed to make her name public. Smart.

I turned to Amir, who was still on the ground, his face pale and twisted with pain.

I walked toward him slowly.

Then I turned to Lydia and gave her a silent look, a wordless dialogue.

She vanished into the crowd without a sound.

"Miss Serena," I called out. "I want their heads intact."

She nodded, and a smirk formed on her face. Her brown eyes gleamed crimson as fire began to dance around her body, wrapping around her like living ribbons.

I took the little girl from her hands. Serena hesitated for just a second but then handed me the child.

I hugged the girl gently, blocking her view of what was about to happen.

"What's happening...?" she asked, her little frame trembling in my arms. Her voice was so small, so scared.

I stroked her back lightly and continuously, trying to comfort her.

Her moist eyes looked up at me as she started to relax in my arms, her breathing slowing down.

'You see this, Nexar? I'm a natural with kids,' I thought proudly.

[Don't say that aloud. Misunderstandings about that might land you in jail.]

Damn! This guy was begging me to call him names.

"Your mother has some cleaning to do..." I answered the kid in my arms softly.

I continued stroking her hair gently, rhythmically.

"This will be over soon," I said, smiling warmly down at her.

She buried her face in my chest, her small hands clutching my shirt.

Before me, the flames are beginning to roar.

The SBV officers, all twenty of them, took their stance simultaneously. One of them brought the weapons. Swords, clubs, a few with daggers. He is among the ones who went to get water. He might be the only smart guy in this team.

They spread out, trying to surround Serena.

She didn't move. Just stood there, flames dancing lazily around her body like they were waiting for permission.

"Get her!" Amir shouted.

Three rushed forward at once from different angles.

Serena's hand moved in a sweeping arc. A wall of fire erupted from the ground, cutting them off. They stumbled backward, their uniforms catching fire at the edges.

"Pathetic," she said quietly.

One officer tried to flank her from behind while she was focused on the front. Silent, sneaky, thought he was clever.

Serena spun without looking, her leg sweeping out in a high arc.

Her midi dress swayed with the movement, the fabric flowing up to reveal a flash of her leg as her boot connected with his jaw.

The impact sent him sprawling backward, and flames ignited where her foot had touched him. He hit the ground screaming, his face already blistering.

I told her I want thier heads intact... but asking a mage for such specificity when she is fighting close qarters is not right either.

Two more came at her simultaneously, one going low, the other high. The one going low aimed a punch at her midsection.. no, lower. Trying to go for a cheap shot.

She caught his wrist mid-strike, her hand glowing red-hot. His skin sizzled instantly. He screamed, but she wasn't done. She twisted his arm violently, using his momentum to slam him face-first into the ground.

Thud.

Flames spread across his back as he hit the dirt.

The other officer's club came down toward her head. She leaned back just enough for it to miss, her brown hair whipping back from the force of the swing.

Her dress shifted with the movement, fabric pulling tight then loose.

She grabbed his club with her bare hand. Fire consumed it instantly, racing up the wood toward his hands.

"Heeekk."

He let go with a yelp, but she was already moving. Her knee drove up into his stomach, lifting him off the ground. As he doubled over, she brought her elbow down on the back of his neck. He crumpled.

"All at once!" Amir commanded desperately.

The remaining officers charged together, maybe fifteen of them now, trying to overwhelm her with numbers.

Serena planted her feet and thrust both hands forward. A massive wave of fire exploded outward in all directions. It wasn't a careful, controlled flame. It was a inferno, wild and devastating.

The officers caught in the blast were thrown backward, their clothes and hair igniting. The screams were immediate and horrible. They rolled on the ground, trying to put themselves out, but the flames clung to them like they were alive.

One particularly large officer, the one who brought weapons, managed to push through the flames, his coat smoking.

He swung a heavy fist at her face.

Phwak

Her head snapped to the side from the impact. Her body swayed as her feet stumbled sideways. Blood appeared at the corner of her mouth.

For a moment, everything went still.

Then she turned her head back slowly to look at him. Her eyes were blazing, literally blazing, glowing with firelight from within.

"My turn," she said.

She grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward, off-balance. Her other hand pressed against his chest, and flames erupted from her palm. An explosion of fire that engulfed his entire torso.

He staggered backward, screaming, beating at his chest uselessly.

Two officers tried to grab her from behind while she was focused on him, one reaching for her arms, the other going lower, trying to grab her breasts inappropriately to immobilize her.

She dropped low suddenly, her dress swirling around her as she spun. Both men missed, stumbling over each other.

She rose in a fluid motion, bringing her leg up in a devastating kick that caught the first under the chin. The force lifted him completely off his feet.

Her midi is doing everything it can to do its job.

The second tried to back away, but her hand shot out, grabbing his collar. Fire raced up her arm and onto him.

Another officer managed to land a glancing blow to her shoulder with a club as she was finishing off the previous two.

"Gghh.."

She grunted, her shoulder jerking from the impact, but she didn't stop moving.

She pivoted, her elbow driving into his ribs with a sickening crack. As he bent over in pain, flames erupted around her fist and she drove it into his face.

The remaining officers, maybe six or seven now, had stopped advancing. They stood frozen, watching their comrades burn and scream.

"Anyone else?" Serena asked, her voice cold.

Fire swirled around her like a living storm, her dress shifting with each movement, her hair wild around her face. Blood still trickled from her mouth, and her shoulder would probably bruise, but she looked unstoppable.

No one moved.

I glanced at the crowd. Their faces had changed. Fear mixed with surprise, and beneath it all, hope. They were watching someone actually stand up to the SBV.

A slow clap shattered the silence.

"Impressive." Amir stepped forwad. He gestured to the remaining officers. "But playtime's over."

Something felt off about his behaviour... he just got trashed by her, and his hand is still burnt. Where is his confidence coming from?

They rushed her all at once.

Serena moved like liquid fire. Her leg swept high in a devastating arc, flames trailing behind. Her midi dress rode up, revealing a flash of pale thigh as she spun.

Two officers stumbled back from the heat. She dropped low, her dress flaring around her hips as she swept another's legs, then drove her elbow into his face with a sickening crunch.

Amir hung back, watching, studying.

She danced between them, brutal and beautiful. Each strike was precise, a palm to the chest that sent one flying, a knee to the gut that doubled another over.

When she twisted to avoid a grab from behind, her dress clung to her curves, fabric stretching tight across her body before she unleashed a torrent of flames that consumed him.

One by one, they fell.

Then only Amir remained.

Serena straightened, breathing hard. Flames gathered in her palms, growing brighter, hotter. She thrust both hands forward, a concentrated beam of fire roared toward him.

It split around him harmlessly, incinernating everything around him.

Serena's eyes widened. "What..."

"Kehehk." He laughed.

Amir tapped a medallion at his neck. "B-rank Mana Repellent Artifact. Your fire tricks won't work on me. I only left you alive then, because I didn't have this on me when I visited your inn that day."

For a moment, genuine surprise flickered across her face.

Then she smirked. "Then I'll just crush you."

She dropped into a fighting stance, fists raised.

They clashed. Fast, brutal, skilled. Amir was faster than I expected. His fist shot toward her face, she slipped it, countered with a jab he blocked.

They separated, circling.

Then Amir struck.

Crack.

"Ghhkk"

His fist connected with her face, blood spraying from her split lip.

It's her second time taking the hit to her face. Mana mastery might make her look thirty, but it won't make her tougher.

He pressed forward, relentless. Serena threw a desperate hook, he ducked under it smoothly and drove his fist into her stomach.

Thud.

"Ghhk."

The air rushed out of her lungs. Her eyes went wide, lips parting in a silent gasp. Her body doubled forward slightly, her dress pulling tight across her back.

She tried to recover, stumbling back a step, but Amir was already moving. His elbow came up fast, crashing into her face with brutal precision.

Crack.

Her head snapped to the side, blood spraying from her nose. Her eyes darted, loosing focus. Strands of her wild hair whipped across her face as she staggered, her hand instinctively reaching up to her cheek.

She was off-balance now, vulnerable. Amir closed the distance and delivered a heavy blow straight to her chest.

Thump.

The impact rippled through her body. Her dress shifted from the force, fabric straining as she was driven backward. She gasped, her hand clutching at her chest, trying to catch her breath that wouldn't come.

She was losing.

I shifted, hand drifting toward Blood Raven.

Should I step in?

[Don't. Her mission needs her to make name here as a vigilante.]

I held back.

Amir grabbed her by the collar, yanking her close. His fist cocked back for the finish. "Pathetic. All you—"

Serena's hand shot up. Her fingers closed around the medallion.

She ripped it free.

"Burn."

Flames erupted, engulfing them both. But this time Amir had no protection.

"GAAAHHHHH.." "AAAHHHH,,"

His scream was bloodcurdling as she held him close, flames consuming him completely.

When she finally released him, nothing but charred remains collapsed to the ground. Except his head. Serena hung is head in her hand as she caught it by his hair.

Damn, she took my condition seriously.

She stood there, swaying, blood and ash streaking her face. Her dress was torn at the hem, her hair wild, but her eyes were still burning.

"Anyone else?"

Silence.

She'd won.

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