窃情谋欲

Viper didn't had time to think as Damien lunged at her.

A barrage of exchanges happened in the next moments, Viper with her knives and Damien bare-handedly.

As Viper continued to strike at Damien, she couldn't help but feel a sense of exhilaration. She lived for the thrill of the fight, relishing in the adrenaline rush that came with each and every strike.

Damien, on the other hand, seemed to be fighting purely on instinct. His attacks were wild and uncontrolled, fueled by the frenzy that had overtaken him.

Viper could feel the waves of mana emanating from him, but they were uncoordinated and unfocused, no match for her own finely tuned control.

Despite Damien's wild and frenzied state, Viper remained in control of the fight. She knew that victory was hers for the taking if only she could find the right opening. And then, in a flash of inspiration, she saw it - a momentary weakness in Damien's defense.

With a swift and calculated strike, Viper aimed her knives directly at Damien's chest. But at the last second, he managed to block the blow with a burst of ice that seemed to come from nowhere.

Viper was momentarily taken aback by the unexpected move, but quickly regained her composure.

She knew that Damien's control over his mana was erratic and involuntary, and that she could use that to her advantage.

As they continued to battle, Viper carefully observed Damien's movements, looking for any sign of weakness. And then, as she saw him overextend himself in an attempt to block one of her strikes, she struck.

With a swift motion, Viper swept her knives across Damien's chest, leaving a deep gash in its wake.

Damien stumbled backward, his frenzied state causing him to grasp at the wound with uncoordinated movements.

Viper watched him with a sense of detached fascination, her mind racing with the possibilities of how she could exploit his lack of control.

But even as she contemplated her next move, Viper couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. She knew that Damien wasn't in control of his actions, that he was being manipulated by outside forces. And yet, she couldn't deny the thrill of the fight.

The sound of the door crashing open shattered the intense concentration of the fight. Suddenly, several frenzied mob members stormed into the room, their eyes wild and their movements erratic.

They charged towards Viper, their weapons raised and ready to strike. But Viper wasn't intimidated. Instead, a fierce grin spread across her face as she prepared to take on the new challengers.

She dropped her knives, and undone her main weapon from her back, she brandished the three-pronged weapon.

She deftly sidestepped their initial attacks, ducking and weaving with the ease of a seasoned fighter. As the mob members continued to swarm around her, Viper struck out with precision and deadly force.

Their movements were uncoordinated and predictable, no match for her well-trained combat skills. She laughed as she danced around their flailing attacks, delivering swift and precise strikes to their weak points.

Viper's weapons sliced through the air, leaving deep gashes in the flesh of her foes. With each strike, she felt a surge of energy, her blood pumping with adrenaline and excitement.

Despite the chaos of the mob, Viper remained calm and collected, her focus unbroken.

She continued to fight, taking down one opponent after another until only a handful remained

Her weapons flashed through the air, slicing through flesh and bone with ease. She laughed with delight as her opponents fell one by one, unable to match her skill and control.

Despite the chaos and frenzy of the fight, Viper remained focused and composed. She kept a watchful eye on Damien, even as she dispatched his fellow attackers.

And like a cue, he lunged at her. She extended her arm in an attempt to make a hole through the fastly moving man, but he sidestepped and grabbed her arms. Turning around her, he grabbed her boobs.

"Oh, my?" she exclaimed, she was momentarily surprised and he took the opportunity to German suplex her.

With a loud thud, she crashed onto the floor...or rather, on top of him.

He was too exhausted to throw her far away, and it resulted in her perky ass being parked on his face.

"Oh, you sure you're not sane?" She giggled as she felt his face on her ass.

And that was it. He was out. The exhaustion from the fight or the sensation of her assets had taken him out.

She removed herself from him. "He's out. Don't think he will wake up for the next few hours."

Blaire ran towards him, tears streaming from her eyes. "Oh, thank god! How can he change back?" She looked at Viper with wide-eyed fear.

Viper took one glance at Damien and then back at Blaire. She smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, I know what to do." She Sheathed her Sais and walked over to her knives before picking it up and buckling it back, safely on her thighs. "We just have to kill the wielder of the ring."

***

Amidst the chaos of the battle, a scene of order and control emerged on the outskirts of the battlefield. The soldiers from the royal palace of the Autumn Kingdom stood in unison with the remaining forces on the ground, their armor gleaming in the sun as they fought together against the frenzied mobs.

Under the strict orders of the curator of the Grand Magic Judiciary, the knights and mages moved with precision, capturing the frenzied mobs

and binding them with ropes and spells, rather than resorting to the brutal violence that had been seen before.

The air was thick with the smell of smoke and the sound of clanging swords, and yet amidst it all, there was a sense of respect for the fallen. The dead lay motionless on the ground, their once-living bodies now forever stilled in death.

Despite the frenzied mobs' desperate attempts to protect their master, Augustus, the outcome of the battle was inevitable. The disciplined and controlled front of the soldiers and mages proved too much for the wild and erratic mobs to overcome.

As Augustus was finally captured alive, his face twisted in a mixture of anger and defeat, the soldiers and mages let out a collective sigh of relief. The battle was won but at a great cost. The scars of the conflict would be felt for years to come, but for now, there was a sense of peace in the air, as the victorious forces looked to the future with hope and determination.

...

"So, we just have to kill this guy, right?" Viper said as she brandished her knives.

"Yes," Lucy curtly replied, looking at a parchment of paper.

They were in a secluded room away from the aftermath.

Lucy was standing beside a table, half her asset meticulously parked on top of it. Her slender legs cross each other.

Viper stood and loomed over a chair bounded Augustus, he was tied with a magic rope, not to be any more of a nuisance.

"I demand a trial," said the man, his missing teeth making him more ugly.

"Trial? For you?" Viper chuckled. "We're your judge, jury, and executioner. If you've any plea, speak up now. Oh, and I can assure you, whatever you say, you're dead." She smiled a menacing and bloodthirsty one.

Augustus gulped, seeing his fate is already sealed, he fired up his brain to pick up anything to save him from here.

"I- I know where the map is!" He hurriedly said, clutching onto the little piece of information he have.

"What map would that be, my lord?" Viper asked as she slid one of her knives from the buckle with a sadistic smile.

"The- the map of the cursed island!"

The moment he said those words, the room went silent.

Lucy finally took her eyes off the parchment and looked at the ugly man.

Seeing this, Augustus gained a new leash to latch on. "Yeah, that's right. I know everyone who's fascinated by treasure trove knows about the island," he spat on the floor, blood mixed with saliva. "Even your Magic Judiciary has been looking for it for so long. I bet you want the map for yourselves."

"There is a reason it's called a 'cursed island,' Mr. Augustus," Lucy said. "Legend says-"

"Screw legends!" Augustus fired up. "The invaluable items scattered over the island alone can mitigate these myths and legends."

"If there are no problems, then why do you only have the ring on you? Why were you brainwashing the people?" Lucy asked, without any emotion in her tone.

"..."

Augustus went silent. There wasn't anything to say to convince them.

"Let me guess," she said. "You found the map. You traveled there. With your servant, you acquired the ring and you saw them cursed in front of you. So you chose to use the ring and brainwash the people in order to send them to the island and acquire whatever items you need, right?"

The room went eerily chilly, the silence was the most unbearing.

"Mr. Augustus," Lucy continued. "Even if you give us the map, which is better to be hidden even from the eyes of the judiciary, there is no way in hell you're going to walk out of here alive."

"Bu-but, I'm sure your grand master would want to know the location." He said. "Bring me to him. We'll negotiate."

His pleading fell on deaf ears as Lucy had already started walking.

"Make it quick." She said, as she opened the door and left.

"You're one tough son of a bitch, aren't you?" Viper said as she closed the very little gap between Augustus. "To think you survived an awakened one's onslaught, must be the power buff from the artifact, right?" She licked her lips.

"Get away from me, you filthy whore of the judiciary! Get away!" He thrashed his legs and head in an attempt to break free of the chair.

"Say hi to my father in hell."

"No-no! Get awa--"

His voice was cut off, same as his throat. Blood squirted from the red line on his neck as he took his last breath.

Viper stood there, intently watching his light being drawn out. After no more of the shaking, she arch down and took his fingers on her hand, sliding out the black ring with a small blue crystal on top of it.

She sighed deeply. "Ah, well it was fun. I should meet this 'Damien' guy now." Her lips curved to a playful smile.