Peace Treaty 3
"Um… Can we please get to the peace treaty, Astral Empress Nohrell?" Ryusei implored politely, his voice breaking the tension in the room.
"Oopsie! Thank you for the reminder, Ryusei. My apologies — I do tend to lose myself in a battle of words," The fox empress replied with a slight nod. "Half of my iron fleet remains intact, and Germund's arcanite factories are halted." She glanced at her nails, admiring their polished beauty. "Now Osten has one fewer troublemaker among the Celestius to worry about. Can't we call it a win-win?" She added with a smug smile.
"Germund is not yours to take. Nor any of my domains. You will withdraw your fleet and leave Germund by dawn!" Aurora declared, her voice resonating with unwavering authority while keeping her poise stiff.
"Too late for that~" Nohrell began, but before she could finish her sentence, everything seemed to slow down, each passing fraction of a second sliced into a million frames.
Abruptly, Aurora lunged forward, a dark, double-edged blade materialising in her hands. The ornate design of the legendary griffin, Ventiff, was etched along the entire metre-long length of her sword, its arcanite gemstone glistening beautifully at the hilt under the sun's rays. Her Ventiff cloak billowed violently from her sudden acceleration, cutting through the air resistance.
Friederich, ever vigilant, reacted instantly. As her blade tore through the space with physics-defying speed, the guardian conjured a glowing white sword and hurled it to intercept the strike.
The two weapons clashed mid-air. The overwhelming disparity in arcane power was evident—Friederich's sword disintegrated almost instantly. Aurora's eye slowly directed at him before returning to Nohrell. While his blue eyes widened in shock, his voice unable to escape his throat in time.
"No!" The thought flashed through his mind as he scrambled to conjure another sword.
A grotesque gurgling sound replaced Nohrell's words as crimson flooded her throat. Her wide eyes lowered to the flaming black sword embedded deep in her sternum, blood gushing forth and staining her pristine white dress.
Desperate, Nohrell tried to speak, but only wet, choking noises escaped her lips. Her body trembled violently in agony.
"I've lived fivefold your years, child," Aurora said coldly, her voice a blade sharper than the one in her hand. Her gaze was frigid and disdainful, and her fair skin was spattered with Nohrell's blood. With a deliberate twist of her sword, she sealed the fox empress's fate.
Nohrell's eyes rolled back, and the life left her.
In the darkness, a glowing essence — a silver orb with a fox tail inside — emerged. The orb flickered, cracked, and then shattered into nothingness.
"I've seen countless arrogant fools like you," Aurora continued, her tone impassive and detached. "None have lasted the ages. Let Germund and your death serve as a lesson for those who dare to follow in your footsteps."
With that, she withdrew her blade. The purple flames engulfing it burned away the blood before the weapon dissolved into thin air, thus conspicuous evidence suggested her dark sword was crafted by no one but Aurora's pure arcane power.
Nohrell's head slumped onto the table, causing a loud thud, her silver hair fanning out in a pool of crimson like the wings of a deathly butterfly.
Aurora shifted her gaze towards the Solis Aeternum representatives, her sharp eyes lingering on Friederich — almost as if she were impressed. Not only had he managed to keep up with her speed, but he had also reacted accordingly. Such a feat far exceeded the expectations of his current rank of Stellius, as denoted by the silver ring on his index finger.
Eventually, she circled back, coming to a halt midway. "There. Peace..." She remarked coldly. The room remained steeped in silence, its occupants still reeling from the abrupt turn of events.
None dared to utter a word or even lift a finger as they breathed in the primal fear.
Without another word, Aurora stepped out of the room, leaving blood and death in her wake.