《Purple Solanum》


 (Vol-1) Ch. 1 - The Night Of Disaster

    On a Peaceful evening in the royal castle of Nora Empire, two people could be seen walking and talking intimately with each other. Surrounding them is a beautiful garden filled with exotic and rare flowers.


    Anyone that happened to listen to these lovebirds would get flowers in their stomach from too much sweetness. The worker named brook tending to the flowers in the garden was happy seeing that the princess he has cared for since birth has got a caring and lovely man. He was also a bit emotional realizing that the princess whom he treated like his own daughter would go to the neighbouring empire of Nova after marriage. But seeing the princess''s happiness, he restrained his emotions to himself.


    The various maids and guards walking around the castle were also happy that their little mistress has got the love of her life.


    Today princess Isabelle was in a very cheerful mood, her love prince Timothy has finally gotten some free time and he chose it to spend with her.


    Timothy Rnif is renowned by many as a chivalrous and brave prince of the Nova Empire, he has gained countless merits in battles and is widely known for his friendly and helpful nature. Many regard him as the golden prince who will bring the Nova Empire back to its golden age.


    Both were walking with their shoulders locked and Isabelle had her head placed on Timothy''s broad shoulder. Timothy was talking about his daily life when suddenly Isabelle''s dress got stuck in a flower.


    "Hmm? what''s this flower.......it''s really strange, I didn''t know flowers could have spikes on them"


    "It''s called Solanum, dear princess. They are wildflowers and are usually found deep within the northern forest of death, I wonder how your father the king obtained it."


    "That''s a creepy name for a forest, prince timothy, why is it called so?"


    "Well, I haven''t actually gone there, but according to rumours countless dead beings are born in that forest, like Zephyr, Zombz and countless other atrocious beings."


    "Is that so......just by hearing, I don''t want to go there. Have you had any encounter with any of these monsters?"


    "Yes, several times actually. The last was 2 weeks ago near the town of Rus, an Umbyr accidentally walked inside the human territory. I was present there at the moment, so I took care of it"


    "Wow! you are so brave, prince. How was it? how did it look? please tell me!"


    "Well, its teeth were really sharp, tore a part of my shoulder cloth. Its size is small but is extremely fast. It attacks by surprising its prey with high speed and quickly tears the victims head apart with its mouth.."


    "But how is a small creature able to tear a human''s head?"


    "Actually princess, it can temporarily enlarge its head. When it widens its mouth, it can easily fit a human head inside. They are really dangerous creatures, but they are not so tough if they don''t have that surprise element. I can just protect my head if I know it''s there, then a single slash of sword and they die."


    "Uuuuu! sounds so cool. Will the prince protect me if this Umbyr comes after me?"


    "Of course, Princess. I am nothing but your slave after marriage"


    "Oh don''t say stuff like that, you know I''m not like that"


    "Hahaha......yes, you are different from your father..."


    "Hmm? did you say something?"


    "No, princess. Just said, how much I love you"


    "!! Y-Yes, I-I lo-l-love the prince too, we will be always together"


    A tinge of sadness flashed past Prince timothy''s eyes and from the bottom of his heart he thought to himself '' I had also hoped so...princess''


    Oblivious to Timothy''s mind, Isabelle was on cloud nine right now. Next week, their marriage will take place inside the royal castle of Nora. Everything was like a dream to Isabelle, she got the prince charming that she dreamt about in her childhood, she will become the future queen of Nova Empire, everyone around her loves and adores her. She thought she was the luckiest person in the world and had to do everything she can to return this happiness.


    The couple talked for some more time when suddenly Timothy got an urgent message and he had to go away, though Isabelle doesn''t know if it was an illusion, she faintly heard timothy say ''Sorry''


    She didn''t think much about it and went inside the castle to look for her father.


    Her father is the king of the great Nora Empire, he inherited the crown from his father after the battle between the 5 brothers. It was rumoured to be an ugly and unpleasant fight, but the ones who actually witnessed the whole fight were either silenced or crippled by the current king. The fate of the ones crippled was much worse, their tongues were burnt with flames and their fingers were chopped off. So now, only baseless rumours remained about the fight.


    Isabelle didn''t know about her father''s actions, everything was kept hidden by her brother, mother and the king. For her, she had the best father. Isabelle held her entire family dear, she could do anything for them. Even, fall in love with the man they chose for her.


    "GET OUT!! and quickly find that little group!"


    Isabelle heard her father''s loud voice when she got near the throne room, she quickly opened the door and saw an elderly person walk out of the room with a letter in hand.


    "What happened? Father."


    "Oh? Sweetheart...it''s nothing. Hired a group of people to investigate something, but it seems like they escaped with the money"


    "How vicious of them!...... but why did father hire such a random group, we have our own spies right?"


    "Yeah, but they have been slacking lately so thought to hire this random group. It was said that they are very trustful and highly skilled individuals, but it seems like it was all just lies"


    "Hmm...what''s the name of the group?"


    "It''s called Purple Solanum, they are a group of Assasins or odd jobs for hire. It was said that they never failed a task that was given to them...but it seems like your father fell for the trap"


    "Hmph! how ugly of them to cheat the king like this. I hope they pay for their sins and wrongdoings.......so, that letter was an order to find them, I assume"


    "Yes, they should still be in the city. So we will probably catch them by tomorrow"


    "Hmm, let''s hope that happens"


    But what the king didn''t know was, the letter asking for their help and this letter to catch them never went out of the castle''s gate. Both of the letters were burnt by that elderly person, who was also the king''s trusted advisor.


    Isabelle went back to her chambers and changed to a comfortable silver robe before falling asleep on the luxurious bed, the night was peaceful. A cool wind was blowing outside, sounds of insects could be heard. In such a comfortable atmosphere, Isabelle quickly fell asleep but woke up to have her peaceful world turn upside down.


    ...


    "AAAAAAAAAAAAAA! HELP ! HELP! SAVE ME! SAAAAAAAAA ! ¡ª"Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    !!


    Isabelle suddenly woke to the horrified scream in the middle of night. She noticed the wind to be howling, the sky to be roaring with beastly thunders and the sound of insects was replaced with the sounds of human screams.


    Isabelle got a really bad feeling so she opened the door to seek for her parents, but the moment she opened the door, Isabelle saw a man running towards her from the end of the hallway.


    His entire body was covered in flames, the melted armour sticking to his skin. His left eye has turned into a paste and drops of it were falling on his lips. His right eye was hanging from its socket, still hanging to that one nerve.


    Isabelle saw the man''s foot melt with the hot fire and saw him running towards her like a flaming comet. Scream and words got stuck in Isabelle''s throat and she became petrified, luckily the man''s right foot melted quickly and he fell right in front of the princess''s legs.


    "h..h...l....p.....h....e..lp......h.........¡ª"


    The man was still alive, he raised his burning hand towards the princess to beg for help, but that arm also quickly melted and all that remained of the man was a vicious and slimy liquid of blood, skin and his silver armour, with his right eye finally getting detached from that one nerve and rolled to touch Isabelle''s toe.


    Isabelle''s brain stopped working, she just stood there like a horrified mummy, her eyes wide open and her mouth slightly open as if saying something gibberish.


    Piss started dripping under Isabelle''s robe and flowed down the floor to mix up with that horrendous remains of the man. It started smelling like rotten eggs and Isabelle finally came back to her senses. She saw the eyeball and the viscous liquid below her and started running towards her parent''s bedchamber as quickly as possible, she didn''t look back at the melted man and just ran towards her parents.


    While running towards the bedchamber, Isabelle heard many more horrifying screams and came across many more mutilated bodies but she ignored everything as the only thing on her mind was her parents.


    Some people with their body parts chopped off were still alive and they called for princess''s help when they saw her, Isabelle saw their terrified eyes, their bodies covered with blood, the walls, the painting, everything was covered with human remains. For Isabelle, it was like a scene straight from her worst nightmares, but the only thing keeping her from breaking was her parent''s safety.


    But that hope also shattered when she opened the door to her parent''s bedchamber.


    The king''s head was chopped off and was lying on the floor, the king''s belly was ripped open and his intestines were exposed to the cold air. The small intestines were coming out of the belly and were hanging above the floor, his large intestine also mixed in. Isabelle saw her father''s kidney and liver covered with blood and smelling like a dirty sewer, it was like whoever killed the king had great hate towards him and that hate finally unleashed when killing him.


    Isabelle''s mother was also in no better stage, though her stomach was still closed but her limbs were chopped off and were set on low fire near the bed, the limbs had already become roasted and were just waiting to be melted.


    Isabelle puked on this sight, her puke making the already horrible smell of room more horrible. Isabelle fell on her knees, a small end of her robe falling on top of her vomit. Still, Isabelle didn''t usher a word, everything just stuck in her throat and mind. Uncontrollable tears started falling down her cheeks, soundless screams coming out of her mouth.


    Isabelle had to get out here right now, but she couldn''t move or it was more like she didn''t want to move. Deep inside she knew that if she stayed here she would also die a horrible death, but her body was not wanting to move. Somewhere inside her heart, she also wanted to just die here.


    Isabelle didn''t want to live this nightmare anymore so she grabbed a knife that was lying nearby and placed it in front of her throat. Isabelle thought this to be an easier death.


    ''My will to live was lost so easily'', Isabelle laughed at herself and put force on the knife, the knife made a small cut on Isabelle''s throat, just a little bit more force and I can meet father and mother in the heavens above, but her wish was short-lived when suddenly someone grabbed her hand and slapped her cheeks. The slap left a bright red mark on Isabelle''s cheek, but for some reason, it didn''t hurt instead it felt emotional and sad.


    The words stuck in her throat finally became free and she ushered the first word of the day, "What happened? brook"


    Brook was thanking the gods that he reached the princess before she did something stupid, he felt such pain from the slap that he thought his own cheeks were hurting. This was the second time brook has slapped the princess, the first being in the princess''s childhood.


    Brook knew they couldn''t stay here, he knew that they need to get out of this castle fast.


    "Take my hand princess, you need to leave this castle immediately. I will tell you everything along the way"


    Isabelle took brook''s hand and they started moving towards the secret door that leads to the outside.


    "Brook, did my brother also meet the same fate?"


    "Unfortunately No, your brother is one of the main figures that lead this coup"


    "!!Coup? b-b-but why?! and br-b..brother?! how!?"


    For Isabelle, it was unimaginable that the people of her empire would rise against the king, her father. The king always treated his people right, and people were happy inside the empire''s wall according to Isabelle, but what Isabelle didn''t know is that if she went beyond the castle''s wall she wound find something completely different.


    Of course, Brook knew about the princess delusional world, but he was also the one that contributed to it so he couldn''t bring himself to tell Isabelle the truth.


    "I don''t know why people rose up against the king or why the young master rebelled against his father, but it was most likely fueled by Prince Timothy. He''s the main figure of this coup" Timothy was also a part of this coup but him being the main figure is something that Brook made up on the spot, he didn''t want the princess to think any of her family members in an extremely bad light so he pushed the entire blame on Timothy.


    Isabelle naturally didn''t believe what Brook said, her mind became a mess again and she lost control over her body. Isabelle shook brook''s hands off and ran away to find Timothy.


    "Princess! come back! don''t go there!"


    ''He promised to protect me, he promised to stay together with me, he can''t do it. Timothy can''t do something like this'', kept repeating Isabelle in her mind. She knew what she was doing is stupid, but she couldn''t control herself and wanted to confirm it herself.


    Isabelle ran past several more disoriented bodies before finally getting to hear Timothy''s voice. She instinctively started to call out for him but was held back by Brook at the last moment. Brook covered the princess''s mouth with his hand and told Isabelle to calm down or timothy and his men would spot them.


    Isabelle didn''t listen to Brook and dug her teeth around his hand, Brook released the princess mouth from the pain. Immediately before brook could put his hand back, Isabelle called out to Timothy, but before the words could leave her mouth, they got stuck by what Timothy said


    "Did you kill the king and the queen?"


    "Yes, sir! they are both dead"


    "Good, they got what they deserved for making so many people suffer. I can''t even count how many of this empire''s poor people died because of his rule. What happened to their daughter, Princess Isabelle"


    "Sir, we are still trying to find her. We went to her chambers but it seems like she already escaped from there"


    "Then don''t stand here and find her! We can''t let any person with the blood this family remain alive. This is a cursed and evil bloodline, every ruler of this bloodline has been an evil and tyrant king. We can''t let such a bloodline rule over this empire. Also, make sure to kill the princess without her feeling much pain"


    Isabelle couldn''t believe what she was hearing, or it was more like she didn''t want to believe it. All of her life she has been taught about her father''s greatness and the rapid flourishment of Nora Empire and it''s people, but now reality didn''t seem like that.


    Isabelle also didn''t want to believe that her beloved Prince Timothy is also involved in her family''s death. Isabelle''s legs became limp and she fell down producing a sound.


    The sound didn''t leave Timothy''s ear and he quickly turned around to find Isabelle near the corner of the hallway.


    "There she is! Capture her Soldiers!"


    "Aye! Aye! Sir!"


    Isabelle saw soldiers coming at her, Brook tried to drag the princess off from the floor but to no avail. The princess was almost dead inside, brook knew he had to do something. He knew it was also his mistake for not telling princess the truth and now that''s it''s being suddenly revealed to her, she can''t wrap her head around it.


    Brook''s duty was to keep Princess safe, he would do anything for it.


    Brook took the adrenaline drug he had bought from Purple Solanum two days ago, the drug showed immediate effects and the veins on brook''s body started bulging. He carried the limp Princess and started running away.


    The princess finally came back to her senses and saw brook to be carrying her. She saw soldiers chasing behind them and realized what she has done. She realized it was her mistake that this happened. Brook guessed what the princess was thinking and angrily rebuked her.


    "Princess! None of this is your fault! You have to live! You have to stay alive! You must never die! You need to live another day so that we who died can leave this world peacefully."


    "Wh-what are you saying! You are coming with me BROOK!"


    "Unfortunately I can''t promise that princess, the drug is taking quite a toll on my old body. My muscles are shredding apart because of this drug, also we can''t escape now if both go together"


    "No! You have to do it! You are Brook! You assisted father in so many battles, You can do anything!"


    "That was in the past princess, now I''m nothing more than a gardener. But you, princess, is still young, you can do so many more and great things. You are the young Raven of dusk Family, you can do anything. Just believe in yourself and carry on living in our stead"


    Brook reached a certain window instead of a secret door.


    "Live long Princess"


    "No, No! NO!"


    Brook threw the princess out of the window and into the water. He cut off his hand with the knife from before and took the blood and painted a certain symbol around his belly, he smiled back at the falling princess, tears starting to fall from his sullen eyes and recited the spell.


    The last thing Isabelle saw before hitting the water was a huge explosion, body parts flying around in the air, blood being spraying like rain.


    Isabelle hit the water surface and started flowing along with it. Limbs, kidney, intestine, hair, eyes, brain matter, everything started flowing along with Isabelle and towards the dense forest that was behind the Castle.


    Isabelle already passed out from everything.

 Five Days Of Despair

    Behind the grand castle of the Nora Empire, there is a dense forest. The forest was named after the ruler of this land, ''Forest of Dusk''. It is the home to various types of wild and friendly creatures.


    The king often went here for hunting. Isabelle has heard tales of her father''s brave adventures deep inside this forest, but she was not allowed to leave the castle walls, hence nobody knows wheater these tails were a real or just hoax to please his daughter.


    At the moment, a girl was floating along the river that flows across this forest. Just this much wouldn''t scare anyone, but along with the girl several human body parts were also floating. The water around the girl was red with blood, limbs could be seen floating around the girl. If one looked carefully, they might even be able to spot the eyes, arteries, flesh, bones and other human matter.


    Isabelle was still unconscious and while floating like a dead body was stopped by a rather huge rock. Most of the human matter flowed around the rock but a few got blocked by Isabelle''s body.


    After nearly 3-4 hours, Isabelle limply opened her eyes.


    The first thing she saw was limbs stuck to her body, Isabelle immediately stood up and ran out of the water. The river was not very deep, so it was rather easy for Isabelle to get to land.


    Isabelle''s silver robe was drenched with water, the smell of blood and human flesh still strong on the robe. Isabelle almost threw up due to the smell but held it back with all of her might. Isabelle was not able to comprehend what to do now, she was outside the castle''s wall for the first time in her life and it was in the middle of nowhere surrounded by nothing but tall trees.


    Suddenly the exploding body of brook appeared before in her mind, she tried to not think about that anymore but to no success. Isabelle broke down on the soft grass and started crying, but this time the voice was not stuck in her throat. Surrounding animals were able to hear her voice and ran away but those searching for some food had just hit the jackpot.


    Isabelle didn''t know that some wild animals were marching towards her voice at high speed, because of her being extremely sheltered she didn''t know the dangers of a forest. She had only read about it in books, but the reality is often more gruesome and grim than those books. Isabelle kept thinking about brook''s sacrifice, the scene of her father''s ripped out intestines. The smell of her mother''s burning limbs and all the emotions she had kept inside came out.


    She kept blaming herself for all of this and kept cursing herself, but the most she cursed and loathed was his brother and Prince Timothy. She kept those two very close to her heart and now it was completely broken because of them. Isabelle''s eyes became red with tears and anger, her nails clutching the grass with all of its might. Along with several other emotions, anger was most dominant inside of her.


    Isabelle started having dark thoughts of murdering her fiance and brother in the most gruesome way, she started thinking of releasing those Umbyr on her chained enemies. ''No, No, No!.....what am I thinking? I''m not like this'', Isabelle got surprised by her own thinking. She didn''t know that someone like her is able to think about such messy stuff and murder methods.


    But the time Isabelle had for herself was short-lived, she started hearing the howls and growling of some creatures. Isabelle realized that she messed up by crying so loud, her mind got overtaken by fear and she became petrified. Those creatures should reach her any moment now and tear her apart, Isabelle didn''t want to become food to some lowly creatures.


    ''But what am I to do if I manage to escape?'' thought Isabelle for a moment, just this single thought was able to rule over her mind and she started thinking about ending her life here. She thought about all the unexplored and unexpected events of the future, and her heart became heavy. She didn''t know anything outside of castle walls, how was she survive in this open-world all by herself?


    Her mind became gloomy thinking about all the challenges and difficulties ahead of her, she thought it would be much easier to just let it all end here.


    The wild creatures were coming for her, she might as well provide them with some royal and delicious food. At least then she would prove useful to someone


    The growling became louder and more clear, they were just second away from her. Isabelle started lying on the ground so that they could easily feast upon her


    ''Yes, this would be much better''


    ''Live long Princess!''


    !!!


    Suddenly Isabelle remembered Brook''s dying words and last wish, Brook told her to live in their stead......so why was she preparing to die so happily?


    ''Am I trying to have their sacrifices become vain?''


    A glimpse of courage rose inside Isabelle, she started thinking ''I can''t die right now'' over and over again. She had to survive, even if it''s only for a day. At least that way, their sacrifice would not be in vain.


    Isabelle quickly picked herself up and started running away from the voices. The wild creatures reached to where Isabelle was and found nothing, some turned around with disappointment but those with a strong sense of smell picked up on the strong smell that was on Isabelle''s robe and started rushing towards it.


    ''I can''t die, I can''t die¡ª'' repeated Isabelle in her mind countless times, she was running with all of her strength but for some reason, the hungry voices of those creatures still didn''t stop. Isabelle didn''t know how were they able to chase her, but then suddenly the smell of her robe distracted her and she knew the reason.


    Isabelle had to abandon her robe, but the thought of being in this forest in just her corset and underwear brought shame to her. She had never shown her partially nude body to anyone besides her mother and her dignity as the princess of Nora Empire didn''t allow her to leave the robes behind.


    The growling and sound of the creatures became happier when the smell got more intense, they knew that their prey was now very close but unfortunately for them when they reached the source of the smell, they only found a dirty robe there.


    Tears of shame were flowing out of Isabelle''s eyes. She! the one and only princess of the great Nora Empire was now running across the forest in just her undergarments. The shame was enough for Isabelle to kill herself but not literally.


    Isabelle knew this had to be done for her to survive, just this level of difficulty took a strong toll on Isabelle''s mind. She became exhausted and with the help of the nearby tree sat down. She rested her head on the tree trunk and started rumbling to herself.


    "What am I going to do now?"


    "Living is difficult...but I can''t die also"


    "Have to kill those two and the animals that are living in this forest for humiliating the princess of Nora Empire"


    "Because of them, my family is dead.......because of these filthy creatures, I''m sitting in my undergarments in the open"Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    "hahaha, these thoughts are not suitable for a princess......it makes me look like some crazy women"


    "But......these thoughts are really comforting. Thinking about their deaths is bringing some sort of happiness and peace inside me. Is this the cursed blood that Timothy was talking about?" Tears started flowing down Isabelle''s cheeks realizing what she''s capable of thinking.


    *GROWL!*


    A loud noise came from Isabelle''s stomach, she has been running and has been under constant stress from midnight, now it was almost evening. She hadn''t eaten anything for 15 hours, now that she''s somewhat relaxed her body started reminding her to eat.


    Isabelle didn''t know how to obtain food inside this forest, her food was always served to her, she didn''t have to lift even a single finger for eating food. Now that she had to find food and even cook it by herself, Isabelle didn''t know what to do. She knew she could survive without food for 5 days most but without water, it can prove dangerous.


    Isabelle thought to find that river she was floating on, but she didn''t have any sense of direction after running away from those creatures. Isabelle picked herself up and started walking, she needs to find food and water or if her luck is good even the way out of this forest. The trees of this forest were dense and enormous, so no sky was visible from below making it more difficult for Isabelle to navigate through this forest.


    She kept walking for a few hours but didn''t find anything, she did find some berries and fruits, but Isabelle didn''t know whether these were poisonous or not. The thought of the delicious food prepared inside the castle kept crawling back to her mind but realizing that she may never get to eat that food again...... she started realizing the value of the food she ate so carefreely every day. Isabelle started regretting never saying a word of appreciation for those maids that prepared her meals, but she will never get that opportunity again. They are all dead in the sorriest state possible.


    Again extreme anger started rising inside Isabelle, she wanted to release this anger upon the filth that ruined her life and people, but surrounding her were only trees and grass at her feet. Isabelle started punching the tree beside her, with every punch she made a growling noise. While preparing for the next punch she breathed heavily like a wild beast, after striking the tree she growled like a hungry beast wanting to rip open anyone that came near her.


    After a few strikes, the next blow made a crunching sound. The skin on Isabelle''s knuckles has shredded, extreme pain ran through Isabelle''s body but the anger was dominating her mind and actions. She kept punching the tree again and again till the bones of her knuckles started cracking, a few strands of skin could be seen lying on the grass and raw muscles of her knuckle were now clearly visible. The pain was enough for Isabelle to start crying though silently but even while crying she didn''t stop punching the tree. After several minutes, Isabelle finally stopped punching the tree. There was a spot of thick blood on the tree''s trunk, blood was dripping from Isabelle''s hands but the raw anger inside her still didn''t vanish.


    Was this the result of Isabelle''s blood? or was this just how she was......Isabelle didn''t know the answer, but what she did know was that her mind was a dark and creepy place. She imagined this poor tree to be the filth that she hated and once she started punching that filth she couldn''t stop, ''No, that''s wrong. I didn''t want to stop''


    "I just wanted to make them suffer, to make them experience the worst pain possible"


    But along with shredding the skin off her knuckles, this action also made her more hungry and thirsty. After the adrenaline passed away Isabelle''s body became weak and she fell down, after which she quickly fell asleep.


    .


    .


    .


    The next day Isabelle woke up, she was a red creature licking the blood off her hands. She recognized the creature to be ''Red Rabot'' which survives by drinking liquids and its favourite liquid is blood. Isabelle''s stomach was growling like a beast, suddenly an idea came to mind. If she followed the Red Rabot it might lead her to the source of water. Isabelle scared the Red Rabot away by threatening it with a punch and quietly started following it. After following it for nearly 4 hours Isabelle gave up, ''That stupid creature found every liquid besides water!''


    Isabelle''s throat was starting to itch now and she could also feel some pain at certain times, she also started feeling a stretching feeling in her stomach and it made her very uncomfortable.


    After searching for water the entire day, Isabelle still didn''t find anything. She could have killed some friendly animals but she didn''t know how to make suitable tools for that, and she also didn''t know how to start a fire to cook it.


    Isabelle was not allowed to practise swordsmanship, but she was allowed to learn magic. But unfortunately, she didn''t have much affinity for magic and thus stopped learning it. She remembered being depressed for the whole month because of this, ''Dusk'' family was known for its excellent control over magic, her father was also an expert magic controller but she, his daughter had no talent in magic. This kept eating her mind for several years, till she found something she had talent in and that was dancing and flower arrangement......but that had no use here.


    .


    .


    .


    The next day came, now it was Isabelle''s third day all alone in this forest. It has been three days and she hasn''t eaten anything and not a single drop of water has gone down her throat.


    Isabelle''s throat was very dry, her windpipe was hurting like crazy. Words couldn''t come out of her mouth anymore, her lips dry and were cracking. If she applied force to her lips with the help of her teeth small amount of blood came out of the cracks and she drank it to satisfy her thirst but it didn''t help.


    The stretch in her stomach was no more uncomfortable but just painful, she could feel her stomach pistoning up and down. She has secreted her feces safely but she didn''t have any water to wash her hole with, dark circles appeared under her eyes.


    This day also passed without her finding anything.


    .


    .


    .


    Now came the fourth day, Isabelle didn''t expect to survive till now. But the blood she drank from her lips looks to have helped a little bit, but not much. It has only extended her life for one day.


    Isabelle''s mind was completely empty now, she didn''t have have any energy to think anymore. She was just lying on the ground, her dead eyes looking up at the trees blocking the sky. Her entire body was covered with mud and dirt, she didn''t have the will left to stand anymore.


    She secreted her wastes by just lying there, she had an uncomfortable feeling down her butt but Isabelle didn''t care anymore. She had done all she could to survive, now she couldn''t take it anymore. Even brook''s words no longer had any effect on her mind, she just laughed it off as ''He placed his bet on the wrong person''


    Isabelle was starting to hallucinate, she could see trees above her going in curves. She felt her mind go round and round, she started seeing a mixture of colours around her. The world around her was taking various shapes, she felt like she floating in the air. Her body felt light, she didn''t even want to lift a single finger from the ground, just her eyes were open. Her eyes wide open seeing the various crazy illusions around her.


    "HAahaha.....haha........ha......heheheehee......hahahehhehe....haha.....¡ª"


    Dry laughs started escaping Isabelle''s mouth, each laugh making her throat more miserable. Due to the immense itching in her throat, Isabelle started scratching her throat with her nails. She started scratching her throat like a crazy person, red nail marks started appearing on her throat, the skin scratches on her throat become redder and deep. Skin started getting scraped off her throat, her nails touched the exposed muscles, the pain enough to make someone unconscious. But Isabelle kept going, she started applying more force to her nails, the scratching now making a weird noise. Isabelle started feeling alive again, she withdrew her hands from the throat and started scratching her belly and arms.


    The awfully pungent smell given by her body attracted a wild Sabre near Isabelle, the hungry Sabre went towards the smell and saw a girl scratching her entire body while laughing like a maniac. The Sabre got scared of the girl, but it also had to fill up its belly. It jumped towards Isabelle with his sharp claws pointing at her.


    Isabelle saw the Sabre jump at her, ''Live Long Princess!'' a loud voice of brook came from inside Princess, but Isabelle just laughed it off loudly.


    "Hahahah!....You were wrong to place your petty hope on me! hahaha......hahah¡ª"


    Isabelle opened her eyes wide and smiled like a ferocious beast, telling the sabre to come and eat her. The sabre hesitated again for a bit seeing this crazy girl in front of her but he was also determined to provide for his family.


    At the last moment, just before Sabre''s claw reached Isabelle''s head its paws go chopped off. The sabre fell across Isabelle, it tried looking up to see what happened, but before it could figure out what happened, a sharp blade went through its skull and its life faded away.


    "Jeez, what''s a young lady like yourself doing deep within the forest?"


    Isabelle saw a woman wearing purple-red gothic clothes and holding an umbrella in her left hand. A blade coming out from the tip of the umbrella.  Isabelle smile grew even wider and she lost consciousness


    " *Haaaah* what a filthy looking girl"


    Lilith Raven seeing the girl in front of her couldn''t help but lose her appetite.


    <hr>

 (Vol-1) Ch. 3 – Feast of the Hawks

    Deep within the Forest of Dusk, a beautiful woman in purple-red gothic clothes was standing with an umbrella over her head. The women had a scar big scar over her lips and there were cuts on her right eyelashes, the women often licked her lips with a mischievous smile on her face. This mysterious woman was named Lilith Raven.


    "Hmm, that''s one ugly looking girl"


    In front of her, Isabelle was lying unconscious, blood coming out of her throat, arms and belly due to all the scratching. Isabelle''s entire body was covered with dirt, red marks of self-harm and a strong pungent smell. Lilith immediately covered her nose with her handkerchief and scrunched up her face making her look disgusted at Isabelle.


    ''Did she ran away from home and got lost here?'' thought Lilith. The possibility of that was rather high as many poor and illiterate families often make their children go out for begging and use them as free labours.


    ''but the clothes she''s wearing.......no poor bastard can afford them. So, a run away from a Nobel house?'' Lilith devoided her first theory and thought of another possible one, just like that she came up with different theories regarding the girl. Lilith kept on analyzing the girl rather than take her to the medic immediately.


    ''Hmm...... maybe it''s just my fine intuition, but I think this girl looks rather cute underneath all the filth she''s covered in'' Lilith again started licking her lips, a strange smile creeping upon her face but then it immediately went back to normal.


    ''The girl is seriously injured, should probably take her to Natasha...but then, it would be a waste of my money. What possible merit could she bring me once she''s healed?


    ''She doesn''t look trained in any way, so I would have to teach her everything if she wants to join me. Yeah, that would be waste of time''


    ''I can return her back to the house she ran away from, ....nope! I think she would kill herself if she went back. She had enough resolved to run away in the first place.''


    ''Can sell her as livestock.....hmm, that would get me good money. But for that also I need to heal her otherwise she won''t fetch a good price...yeah, no profit could be made here also.''


    ''Can make her my servant. I wanted a personal pet for a long time. Hmm, that could work......naaaaahhh, would have to train her to become a good pet and I don''t have that much free time.''


    ''mmmm...this girl really doesn''t have any merit in living.''


    Lilith clicked her tongue and looked over the girl one more time, '' Yeah, no use in saving her'' and placed the ferrule of her umbrella over the girl''s heart.


    *CLICK*


    A small button on the crook handle was pressed and a blade pistoned out from the ferrule with a raging force and pierced Isabelle''s chest, going through her heart and came out from her backbone, stabbing the grass below her.


    It was an instant and quick death, but a brutal one to look at. Expressions on Lilith''s face didn''t change, a smile still on her face and maybe it grew wider after the blade successfully stabbed the girls'' heart.


    Lilith retracted the blade and wiped the blood off the blade with her tongue, a vivid blush appearing on her cheeks.


    ''Delicious''


    said Lilith to herself, some blood coming out from the corner of her lips.


    ''Thanks for the food, girl. At least your death had some use to me.''


    After the licking the blade clean of the blood, Lilith pressed the button again and the clean, sparking blade went back inside.


    "Now! for the herbs, I came here for. The girl provided a nice rest."


    Lilith started walking away from the girl, but the moment she was about to leave the vicinity of the girl, Lilith noticed something strange.


    A few dozen hawks of pure black colour appeared out of nowhere and started flying circles around the girl. The noises they made loud enough for the surrounding trees to start shaking, Lilith immediately covered her ears and jumped away. Lilith started observing the girl several meters away from her, her eyes squinted trying to make a sense of what is going on.


    Then Lilith observed something incredible and gruesome at the same time, making her eyes go wide in shock, a sudden tremor passing through Lilith''s spine.


    The hawks landed on Isabelle''s body and started feasting upon it like some grand meal, their sharp beaks ripped small parts of flesh from Isabelle''s body and gulped it down. Lilith''s mind was blank with shock right now, she was observing a girl''s flesh and bones getting ripped off by nearly 30-35 hawks of night-black colour. Hawks usually prey upon small animals like rabbits, fish, insects, but she never heard about a hawk preying upon a human corpse.


    Blood was getting splattered around with each flesh ripped off, the hawks beaks were painted red with blood. After a few seconds, Isabelle''s arms were no longer visible, only the bones representing what was formerly there. The voices of hawks grew even louder and they spread over Isabelle''s body. Having finished their starter, the hawks starting ravaging Isabelle''s entire body. One gouged her eyes with its bloody beak and crushed it, making to easy to digest. Another one placed Isabelle''s tongue inside its beak and ripped the tongue from the mouth, feasting upon it with delight.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    Some hawks ripped the meat from Isabelle''s stomach, exposing her insides to the acrid air. Out of the exposed belly, a few pulled both the intestines out and started fighting over who would consume this precious part. Some dragged the kidney out of the body and started devouring, but this group was friendly with each other and each devoured an equal amount of kidney. Lilith was at a loss of words, it seemed like each of these hawks had a personality of their own. Some worked in groups, some stole the flesh ripped off by another, some were working alone and a few were shredding the flesh on the girl''s body like madmen.


    Lilith saw the immense blood surrounding the girl''s body and slow but brutal devour of a girl, but she couldn''t take her eyes off it. Lilith has experienced many strange things, but this one easily made it to her top ten. She felt like it is her duty to watch such an act play out in front of her.


    After a few minutes, the hawks were finished with their main meal. The place where once laid a princess of Hawk family was now a skeleton of its former self. Except for several strands of flesh stuck to the bones, nothing remained, everything crammed down by the demonic Hawks.


    The grass around the skeleton was covered with red blood, a few small pieces of human matter could also be seen lying on the grass like some garbage.


    Lilith thought it was over but several questions remained in her mind, the most prominent of them ''Why?''


    ''Why did this happen? what''s the point of this except for making a dead suffer even more?''


    Fortunately, Lilith got her one question answered soon. After resting because of their grand meal, the hawks stood up from their sleep and once again covered the girl''s entire body. Isabelle was unable to see the skeleton, the only thing she was seeing were hawks sticking together in the shape of a skeleton. What happened next, made Lilith''s mouth open wide


    The 35 hawks bodies started shaking violently, the previously exciting noises made by hawks turning into that of dread, just by hearing it Lilith was able to feel the immense pain that these hawks were suddenly going through. The feather and fur on their bodies started shredding and after some time their naked was visible, the shaking and squeaking grew more violent and it seemed like their bones were getting distorted into various shapes.


    And after some time, their bodies started changing, each and every one of them started morphing into something. Lilith noticed this something to be human parts, what''s more, she noticed is that the ones that ate pancreas morphed into the pancreas. The one that crushed and swallowed the eye morphed into two separate pairs of eyes, everyone ate flesh hence some part of their bodies started turning into human flesh. Every hawk started morphing into the same thing they feasted upon and started attaching themselves to the skeleton, and after some time Isabelle returned to her original state. No scratches, no sign of dirt or blood over her body. Just a pure white and naked body of a girl was lying on the grass.


    Lilith slowly and carefully started walking towards the girl, the blade on her umbrella out of its sheath. Lilith''s blade was pointed towards the girl and her other hand was making a weird sign as if ready to cast something.


    Lilith got near the girl and started hearing the girl''s calm and slow breathing, another shiver went through Lilith''s spine and goosebumps all over her body. Lilith''s eyes didn''t rest for a single second, they were wide open and were going even wider for every second she observed the girl.


    Lilith found it hard to believe that a dead was revived in front of her, she wasn''t able to understand how a bunch of hawks were able to replicate the complex body of a human and the nervous system. It was also the first time, Lilith properly saw the girl she had stabbed through the heart before.


    ''She''s cute...'' thought Lilith


    ''Judging by the face, she''s around 16. A virgin too, the clit is closed tight and the nipple is still sunken down. Small breasts but are pleasing to look at''  Lilith instinctively started licking her lips


    ''Jeez, young girls these days sure look pleasing to the eyes. I wonder where they were during my youthful days, then again I was maybe just too beautiful for my time. *Haah* this beauty is cursed, even though I''m 23 I still can''t find anyone more gorgeous than me. Hmm, but maybe this girl would have been on my level when I was 16, but I grow more gorgeous each day...she won''t be able to catch up now.''


    Lilith started thinking of various useless stuff to avoid thinking about the atrocity that happened in front of her and after calming down after a while, she noticed something peculiar on the girl.


    ''Her previous black hair has turned a little pink around the end''


    ''was this the result of revival?....  probably''


    "Hmm......looks like I got an interesting little pet I was looking for"


    Lilith picked the naked girl and hanged her over the shoulder and started walking away


    .


    .


    .


    .


    A pleasant aroma entered Isabelle''s nose and she immediately opened her eyes.


    ''Where am I? What happened..... my wounds?''


    Isabelle got shocked by her current state, she was lying on a comfortable bed, the walls around her decorated with flowers and she was wearing a purple and light silk robe and those horrible wounds were all gone like they never existed in the first place. Isabelle started reminiscing what happened, but suddenly the door to the room opened.


    Isabelle saw an alluring woman come inside, she immediately remembered her to be the one that killed the sabre due to the same dress she was wearing. Isabelle realized that this lady is the one that saved her life and also healed her wounds, but before she could open her mouth to express her gratitude¡ª


    "Welcome! Child or girl..whatever you may like. I''m Lilith Raven! the last and proud member of the Raven household, aaaaand......girls! come out!"


    Before Isabelle appeared five women, every one of various ages. One appeared to be even younger than her but everyone had that sharp and rugged looks on their faces, making it look like each of these five women has gone through hell several times. Isabelle could also notice the enormous respect and admiration they gave to the women who called them.


    "Child or girl! from now on these five are your sisters and I''m your Master or Owner or Boss...whatever you may like to call. I know I''m generous, so need to thank me"


    ''.....huh?....'' the only thing that came inside Isabelle''s mind


    "Also, Congratulations! You are now the proud 6th petal of My Purple Solanum *Clap!* *Clap!* *Clap!* ........and also my pet" but the last words were too low to enter Isabelle''s ears.


    Everyone around started clapping, the girl that looked even younger than Isabelle clapping with most enthusiasm and excitement


    ''....huh?......wha......huh?'' again, the only thing that came inside Isabelle''s mind.


    <hr>


    <h2>           LILITH RAVEN</h2>

 (Vol-1) Ch. 4 - Natives of Purple Solanum

    "So, what''s your name girl"


    Lilith sat right beside Isabelle and politely asked her a question, the other five were just standing there looking at the scene in front of them.


    "I-It''s Rayma¡ª" *Slap!*


    Before Isabelle could finish her words, she got hit by Lilith with the back of her hand on the cheeks. Isabelle opened her eyes wide and stared daggers at Lilith, this was the first time some stranger has slapped her, ''her'' the princess of Nova Empire. Isabelle gritted her teeth and closed her fist to punch Lilith, but before the punch could land on Lilith''s face it got stopped in its tracks. Isabelle didn''t understand what stopped her fist, Lilith was still sitting in front of her with both hands down and there were no hands in front to stop it.


    *Slap!* while Isabelle was pondering what stoped her hands, Lilith hit Isabelle another time with the back of her hands. Isabelle used her other hand to touch the cheeks and it started stinging. The anger inside Isabelle reached new heights and she applied more force to her punch but her hand didn''t move. It was stuck in its previous position, no matter how much she tried it didn''t move, except a trail of blood that was dripping from her hand.


    "Silvia, you can release her. She has already lost a huge amount of blood, don''t want her to die now, do we?" Of course, Lilith was lying. She herself saw this girl returning from dead in a fresh and healthy state, but for some reason, she didn''t disclose this information except to the five girls of her group.


    "Yes, sorry Sis"


    Isabelle got shocked seeing that a girl meters away from her was able to stop her hand without even touching it ''How did she do that? is it magic?...''


    but her doubt got answered soon as Isabelle saw the strings wrapped around her hand ''String!? why didn''t I see them earlier? they weren''t there before...they just suddenly appeared after this woman''s order''. But sadly Isabelle didn''t get an answer and just saw the strings dripping of her blood retracting from the hand and going back inside the culprit''s sleeves.


    What Isabelle also didn''t notice was the slightly shaking hands of the other four women.


    "Little girl, you have a lot of anger inside you. I don''t enjoy girls who lie so, I ask again, what''s your name?"


    During the whole course, a simple smile remained on Lilith''s face and seeing this made Isabelle instinctively scared, but she also didn''t want to reveal her identity as a princess of this kingdom "I''m Rayme¡ª" *Slap!*


    and the third hit landed on Isabelle''s cheeks. Again more anger grew inside Isabelle, but now she knew that if she acted upon it then her something much worse can happen to her. But what she didn''t understand was how this woman was able to see through her lies.


    "Little girl, you want to know what happened to this girl who constantly lied to me?"


    ''I don''t!'' thought Isabelle and shook her head,'' for some reason, I don''t want to listen to it''


    "Haha, smart girl. So what''s your name?"


    "I...It''s...I..is...isabelle...dusk" said Isabelle while lowering her head. She also started preparing to beg the women to not take her back to the castle.


    "Hmm...dusk hah. So the princess survived it seems like, what luck do I have. Civilians wouldn''t be happy with it"


    "Yo-You know that the castle was attacked?! why didn''t you stop it!" again a sudden rage built up inside Isabelle and she started saying nonsensical things. It was hard for her to comprehend that every person in her kingdom knew about the attack and that they all supported it.


    *Slap!* another hit on her cheeks and Isabelle stopped her tantrum and just glared at Lilith with eyes full of hatred and rage "Will you stop hitting me! You are hitting the only princess of the Nova Empire! Know your place!"


    *Slap!*


    Isabelle''s cheeks started burning but the anger inside her grew even more, her pride as a princess took a huge blow, she had to do something. But the only thing she knew was throwing a tantrum "You will pay for this! I will make sure you are hanged in front of everyo¡ª"


    *Slap!* "You ''Were'' the princess of the Nova Empire"


    *Slap!* "You ''Are'' nothing but a prideful brat"


    *Slap!* "You ''Don''t'' have the power to do anything"


    *SLAP!* "Even if you had, you wouldn''t be able to touch even a single strand of my smooth hair"


    Tears started falling down Isabelle''s cheeks, her hands were clutching the blanket so tightly that she may start riping it any moment, her teeth gritted to the max, cheeks red as cherry with a little hint of dark purple showing the small swelling that these slaps caused.


    Lilith stood up from the bed and went near the door, gesturing the other five to follow her. Before she closed the door, Lilith told Isabelle just a single line "Little girl, amongst the never-ending list of people I am not fond of, the ones that know nothing but to throw a tantrum is what I don''t like the 5th most. I am your saviour and benefactor, so let''s hold a meaningful conversation next time. I will be back in a few hours and your meal will reach you in half an hour"


    and the door was closed, Isabelle all alone in the room with tears still falling down her cheeks.


    .


    .


    .


    In the dining room of this mansion, 6 people or more precisely 5 women and one girl were sitting around a rectangle table. Lilith sitting at the head''s position while the other five around her.


    "First of all girls, nice job in keeping your blades inside the sheath *Clap* Clap*"


    Isabelle didn''t notice, but while throwing her tantrums she was just one step away from having her head cut off.


    "That girl is annoying Sis, why did you take her in?" (Emhel Silvia)Stolen novel; please report.


    "Yes, Sister. It was hard to keep my dagger inside" (Astha Ritz)


    "Hahaha, why? reminded you two of the times when you were master in throwing tantrums?" said Lilith smiling and winked at the two


    "I-I don''t know what Sis is talking about!" (Emhel Silvia)


    "Hmm, of course, you don''t now. But that girl has a very special power, the one that I haven''t seen before"


    "That hawk feast you were talking about?" (Vivian Mort)


    "Yes, she doesn''t seem to know about her power. But if we use it correctly and make proper use of her hatred and rage, then we can have an immensely powerful little sister among us."


    "Are you sure about this, Lilith. It has almost been a week since you brought her, and she just woke up today" (Vivian Mort)


    "Leader has said it, so of course it''s sure. Also, don''t so casually say leader''s name" (Charolette)


    "Oh, you shut your trap, Charolette. You are still young and just a child, so don''t interfere on grown-ups talk" (Vivian Mort)


    "That earned you a 50 hate points from me" (Charolette)


    "Oh my! is that so, where am I currently at?" (Vivian Mort)


    "Don''t ask so happily about it, you nympho. It''s at 54367 right now, be ashamed" (Charolette)


    "You are halfway till the lakh Vivian, your progress is admirable. Where am I at, you duty lover" (Aastha Ritz)


    "At 24763, and after that bad remark, 24768" (Vivian Mort)


    "By the way, where am I at, Vivian" (Lilith)


    Hearing Lilith ask her this, the ice-cold expression on Vivian''s small face melted in a second and with a tinge of excitement she answered "It''s negative, Leader"


    "Hahaha, good. Looks like I''m safe for now but returning back to the topic at hand. I want to make that girl one of us, I could see many problems with that girl with just this one conversation. Her temper is super bad, she''s prideful, doesn''t know her place, can''t understand the situation she''s in and a few more. I''m sure more will come in the future"


    "Yeah...but that Ressurection power you talked about could prove to be a huge benefit for us" (Vivian Mort)


    "Exactly, that''s why first we need her to join us. Then we will train her until she finally becomes a capable member"


    "But Miss Lilith, wouldn''t it be wrong to use her like this against her will" (Amanda Qurenel)


    "Amanda, Sis can do whatever she wants. We will just follow and do as she asks! It''s the girl''s luck that sis is even thinking about her" (Emhel Silvia)


    "But still..." (Amanda Qurenel)


    "Amanda, you are too old. You won''t understand the shitty brain of these royals and nobles, that girl is probably thinking about ways to escape right now and can''t even understand that Sis is her benefactor" (Emhel Silvia)


    "Now, now, Silvia. Our Amanda is just in her 30''s right now, she still has a lot of charm left in her. As for your concern Amanda, don''t worry. That girl probably wants revenge against the people who attacked the castle. I will offer her both choices, to leave revenge or to go for it. Whichever she may choose, we will support her but it''s final, that she will join us no matter what"


    "If you are so resolute about this Miss Lilith, then I won''t go against it"


    "Also, that power of her''s should be carefully handled. A powerful thing like that is bound to have many side effects, and one is already showing. She doesn''t need food anymore, even though she was asleep for seven days without any food, she was still very energetic. So, before someone else uses her, it''s better for us to use it. At least we won''t exploit and treat her like a tool."


    "Hmm...I was also worried about that. But...it is safer for her to stay with us."


    "Should have said that from the start, ''Mom'' " (Astha Ritz)


    "Hey! I''m not your mom" (Amanda Qurenel)


    "Yes, you are" (Astha Ritz)


    "What!? you aren''t?" (Vivian Mort)


    "I always thought of you like Mother" (Charolette)


    "I have little sis, big sis, so Of course, mom is also needed" (Emhel Silvia)


    "Wha! I never agreed to be any one of you brutes Mom!" (Amanda Qurenel)


    "Well, might as well be. What''s the problem with it, you do all the household work, prepare food, wash our clothes...I also think of you like a mother" (Lilith)


    "There''s no going back now, Mom" (Emhel Silvia)


    Outside Amanda showed an angry face while slamming the table with her hands and cursing at the girls in front of her, but contrary to her appearance, everyone could see a huge smile on her face. Seeing which they continued to tease her even more until she stood up from the chair and went into the kitchen to prepare food for Isabelle.


    "Alright, now! enough fun girls. Let''s talk about work now." and everyone settled down on their chair with Amanda gone


    "Emhel, did you get the bastard?"


    "Yes, sis. He''s in the basement right now"


    "Good work, let''s pay him a visit. Emhel and Charollete, you come with me. Vivian, you go and visit the girl. Aastha, go and help Amanda"


    Everyone nodded their heads and went to the position they were assigned.


    .


    .


    .


    The girls leisurely walked down the stairs for one minute before finally reaching the basement. The basement looked mostly empty with many cells placed along the wall. The height of these cells almost reached the ceiling and space inside the cells was more than enough for an average human to sleep in. Some cells looked rustic, some brand new and some reeked of blood and shit. Maybe some cells even had someone inside.


    The basement was dimly illuminated by mysterious balls of blue light. The girls, without any hesitation, walked further into the basement. The peculiar balls of light gently illuminated their faces.


    "In which cell have you put him?"


    "The one at the end, Sis. He was struggling a bit, so there might be damage done" (Emhel Silvia)


    "Hmm, well it''s fine as long as he''s able to talk"


    "This is the cell, Sis" (Emhel Silvia)


    Lilith spotted that there was dried, red blood splattered across the cell''s floor. She moved her eyes towards the source of blood and saw two feet tied together with a rope. She moved her eyes upward and saw a rusty looking man tied to a chair, his breathing heavy.


    His hair was all messy and dust all over his face. His left eye was hollow with a stream of blood that was flowing from inside marking his face red. Lilith tried to find the eyeball and saw it lying comfortably near the cell''s open door.


    "Hmm, you nearly turned him into a defective piece"


    "Sorry.......he just kept spouting shit about Sis, so...." said Emhel with her head down


    "Hmm, we don''t need him after so it''s alright. But don''t forget to keep your emotions in check while in front of someone else, you are only allowed to show your vivid emotions in front of me. You know, how jealous I can get knowing that someone else saw my girl''s various faces"


    "!! y..yes...sis.."


    Lilith noticed the bright red on Emhel face and covertly licked her lips, but right now it was not the time for that.


    "Tonight, Wear that pink undergarment I gave you. It matches well with your hair"


    "!!!y-y...y....y....ye...ywes..."


    ''Cute! usually, she acts so aggressively and possessively, but her bashful face is also a pleasure to look at'' thought Lilith and opened the cell''s door.


    "Leader, why is sister Emhel acting so strange?"


    "She''s a naughty girl, that''s why. C''mon, you will also learn these things once you grow up" Lilith thought to directly tell Charolette, but remembered Amanda''s word to keep children away from things like love till they are 16. Though Lilith can''t understand the reason no matter how many times Amanda explained it.


    *Creak*


    The cell''s door opened and Lilith along with Charolette walked inside, Emhel still squirming and spouting gibberish outside the cell


    Lilith noticed that the man was asleep but was still breathing. In a flash of light, Lilith took the dagger from Charolette''s sheath and ".......!!!AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" pushed it through the man''s left palm, coming out from the other side and piercing the wooden arm of the chair. Successfully nailing the man''s left hand on the chair, a small splatter of blood flew out and fell on Isabelle''s face, marking a few red spots on her face.


    Charolette flinched a little and almost threw up, but tried her best to keep her emotions in check


    "Excellent, Charolette. You didn''t puke this time, good progress"


    "Thank you, leader"


    The man''s right eye was wide open, the puss forming on the socket of his left eyes making him feel immense pain, along with the impaling of his left hand, the man was already deep in despair. Which got deeper when he the cold expression of the little girl and the smile on the woman in front of him.


    "Good, evening. I''m your host, Lilith Raven. I have other matters to attend to, so let''s end this quickly, right?"


    <hr><hr>


    <h1 style="text-align: left">                                                                                                                                                                         ISABELLE                                                                              </h1>

 (Vol-1) Ch. 5 – Villainous Woman

    Inside the cell, dimly illuminated by a green orb of light was giving a sharp contrast to the blue outside. A man with his legs tied and left hand impaled to the arm of the wooden chair had his life hanging by the thread.  A look of despair, clearly showing on his rugged face.


    But the women in front of him didn''t show him any pity and with a slight smile on her face started his trial


    "What is its name" Lilith didn''t even see the man as a human being, he was just an object in her smiling eyes.


    "..."


    "Hmm, so we are starting from being stubborn huh. Charolette, leth."


    "Yes, Leader"


    The man didn''t know what the term ''leth'' meant, but he didn''t get any good feelings about it. Seeing the little girl named Charolette''s innocent and pure face, he started having doubts that this sweet-looking girl could do something cruel to him.


    But his expectations weren''t answered.


    Charolette pointed her right index finger towards the man''s left hand and moved it in a horizontal direction for about 1.7 cm. It looked like she was drawing a very small straight line on air, then she pointed her left index finger towards the man''s left hand and quickly motioned it downwards.


    During the process, the man couldn''t figure out what this girl was doing? but the moment she motioned her left index finger downwards, he saw a distortion forming in the air above his left thumb, the distortion took the shape of a small line. The distortion looked just like the straight line the girl drew before.


    *SHI!*


    and with the speed not noticeable by normal human eyes, the line moved vertically towards his left thumb


    *Shluck!*


    and before the man could even raise his voice, his left thumb got cut off and fell down the chair, rolling to stop by Charolette''s feet.


    *SPLURURUT!!!* Blood frantically gushed out and decorated Charolette''s face red.


    "Ahhh?.......agghhh????.........AAAAaaaaaAAAAAGHHHH!!!" the man''s gave out his first scream in a confused tone but seeing that naive and guiltless face of Charolette''s, his scream got amplified.


    ''Scary! Scary! Scary!''


    For the man, that childish and innocent face of Charolette covered with blood was more horrifying than his current situation. Added to that was his uncertainty of the type of magic that she used. In his 34 years of living experience, it was his first time seeing wicked magic like this


    "Hmm, Charolette what was the mistake this time?" (Lilith)


    "Sorry, Leader. I''m still slow at casting it" (Charolette)


    "Correct! also you didn''t measure its thumb precisely, your distortion was .4 cm too long" (Lilith)


    "But Leader, isn''t that good enough?" Charolette felt a little hurt, she has practised her magic rigorously and because of that she was able to bring her air distortions to such preciseness, but why isn''t it still good enough?


    "mmm, it''s good enough. But what we are looking for isn''t just ''good'', we are looking for that perfect factor" (Lilith)


    "But why? I think this is good enough, I should start learning the advance parts" Charolette usually never questions Lilith''s words or judgment, but Charlette takes immense pride in her magic abilities and being a child she doesn''t want anyone to say that her favourite thing is just ''good'' or ''ok''


    ''*sigh* youth, taking pride in useless stuff like this. But then again, she''s just a child and still has a lot more to learn'' thought Lilith to herself


    Ignoring the man''s confused face, Lilith crouched down and put her hand over Charolette''s head, rubbing it while showing a kind smile to Charolette.


    "Look, Char. Imagine a situation arises, where you have to save one of your big sisters. She''s chained down and you have to cut those chains with your magic to save her. Like you are right now if you make the distortion even .1 cm big, you will also end up cutting her along with the chains. Do you want that to happen? to hurt one of your big sisters?"


    Charolette may fight with her sisters except for Lilith, she may give them hate points and say hurtful things to them but she can only do those things because she knows that they will never leave or abandon her. She may not show it, but her sisters mean the world to her.


    Realizing, how her rushing over to learn more advanced and flashy stuff can possibly bring harm to her family in the future, her mouth opens agape.


    Charolette takes high pride in her magic, but that pride is not high enough to surpass her love for this family.


    She tries to say ''Thank you'' to Lilith, but words get stuck in her mouth and she just bobs her small head up and down, acknowledging that, what her leader said is correct.


    "That''s my little girl!... Don''t worry, your sisters and your leader are here to teach you, and one day you will also be able to properly express emotions and say the things you really want to say." (Lilith)


    "Yup! just take it slow Charolette! we know you love us very much under that stone face of yours" says Emhel, who just finished getting over her embarrassment from Lilith''s words and also entered the cage


    Charolette smiles a little and enthusiastically bobs her head.


    But not everything was this sweet inside the cage, this sweet atmosphere further deepened the man''s fear. How could they talk like this, while having their faces covered with blood?


    How could they talk so normally in front of someone they are torturing?


    To him, for a moment it seemed like some heartwarming scene was going on in front of him but realizing that the base of this scene was this little girl not being able to properly cut off his thumb! his heart also started beating frantically with dread.


    ''They are crazy! they all are crazy!! I will die, I am going to die!''


    Lilith stood up and faced the man once again, "What is its name?"


    "R-..rizva shuc..." the man didn''t have any will to stay silent anymore. His pride as a member of 121 sparrows, was shattered instantly he witnessed this whole abnormality and fucked-upness in front of him. Fear has already surpassed every other emotion inside his body.


    "Hmm...broke so easily. Emhel, I tell you, people, these days have just become so boring...giving up so easily, throwing away their loyalty too easily"This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    "Indeed sis, I remember it being a lot harder during our starting days"


    Suddenly the man felt very embarrassed and shameful, but for him, just this much was enough to break his spirit. His emotional strength was not very strong to begin with, he consoled himself with these excuses. But the fear didn''t fade away, not even a little bit... it just kept on growing, taking control over his body and emotions.


    "Anyways, that will make it easy for us, I guess. So, Mr. Rizva Shuc, to what group do you belong to? don''t worry, we won''t kill you if you tell us the truth and I never go back on my words"


    "Really!!! y-u-you won''t kill me???" a hope rose up inside the man''s despair heart


    "Yes, I would rather die than take back my promises"


    The man''s main fear was that he would die today, even though he didn''t trust Lilith''s words but some part of him wanted to believe in that hope, and that small belief led him to finally spill the beans and completely betray his comrades over at 121 sparrows.


    "121 sparrows, it''s the name of the group I belong to"


    "Hmm...so it was them. So? why did they try to kill one of my precious members?"


    "One of your members.......she broke our boss''s heart after being in relationship with him for a year"


    "*sigh* that Vivian, creating love quarrels like this" (Lilith)


    "Sister Vivian is really a Nympho" (Charolette)


    "Char! watch your words, call her a slut instead" (Emhel)


    "hahaha, well said both of you. Looks like we got what we wanted, let''s leave now, we got a long day ahead of us now"


    "??! Hey! Hye! I told you what you wanted! let me live now!"


    "Hmm? but I didn''t kill you, did I? you are still very much alive and breathing"


    "!!! HUH!! OI! OI! Oi! Stop bullshitting me! release me! release me right now!"


    "QUIET!!!" (Lilith)


    ...


    Everything went silent hearing angry Lilith''s loud voice.


    The air around started feeling awfully quiet


    Charolette face was still stone-like, but her heart started beating faster, sweat forming on her forehead.


    Emhel just got surprised, seeing Lilith show her anger after such a long time. She knows Lilith the best, she has been with Lilith since the day they were nothing but naive brats. She also knows that there are only a few things that can make Lilith genuinely mad and angry.


    On the other hand, the man''s heart almost stopped beating, piss rendering his pants wet.


    "Now, look here, you asshole! I said I won''t kill you, but I never said to let you leave. You will live, you will definitely live till the old age or until someone else kills you. This cage is your new home, this chair is your new bed, we will provide you with food, give you a bucket of water to wash and to shit in. That will be the most I will do for your bitchy ass, considering how you people tried to kill! tried to sneak on my! my family! ......but, oh no, no, no. The same fate won''t be for your 120 other sparrows! today, a massacre will happen and all the credit goes to you! for spilling everything! Now, just shut up! and live here like a good little thing!!!"


    Saying everything while looking deep into the man''s eyes, Lilith turned around left the cage. Emhel, calmly followed, while Charolette followed with shaky legs.


    .


    .


    .


    On the staircase leading towards the exit of the basement, Lilith spoke to Charolette


    "Char, that man will be your new dummy. Learning your magic on living things will provide better results, master your air distortion blade on him. You have his entire body to yourself. Slice off small parts, so that you can precisely make those blades with the correct length. Get Amanda''s help as well, she will make sure that he doesn''t die with her healing magic."


    "Y-yes, leader" Charolette wanted to ask some more questions but seeing the dead-serious expression on Lilith''s face for the first time, she kept her questions for a later time.


    Of Course, Emhel knew everything going inside Lilith''s brain. She knew if this goes on, then Lilith can lose herself tonight and really become a heartless monster. Though she won''t leave her side even then, but she prefers goofy and smiling Lilith over the heartless one.


    "Sis!" Emhel fastened her steps and wrapped her arms around Lilith from the back.


    "Emhel, not now" said Lilith with an unfazed face


    Emhel buried her nose under Lilith''s back hair and started moving her hands over Lilith''s belly in order to calm her down.


    ''haaaaa....... the smell of sis''s purple hair is just too mesmerizing......shit! get yourself together, Emhel! you are trying to calm sis down, not yourself!''


    "Charolette, leave"


    "Y-yes, leader"


    Charolette didn''t understand what was going on, but she felt like it was for best that she should leave


    Now, on the staircase, only two women were present. Emhel was still holding Lilith tight from behind, and Lilith just closed her eyes.


    "Calm me" is the only thing that left Lilith''s mouth, and that was the only thing that Emhel was looking for.


    ''Good, sis''s starting to calm down. I just have to do my best for her now''


    Emhel started rubbing her nose on Lilit''s smooth and slightly white neck, her hands working her way towards Lilith''s breasts and teasing them from above the dress.


    "I can''t forgive them for trying to kill one of my family members. I know it''s excessive of me to kill every single one of them but....." (Lilith)


    "Don''t forgive them, I also won''t. Also, it''s a good thing that Sis is having these emotions. It''s a lot better than those old days when sis didn''t feel anything at all and was just like a doll"


    Emhel slightly nibbed the edge of Lilith''s left ear and blew hot air on the back of Lilith''s ear, causing shivers to run through Lilith''s entire body. Emhel didn''t miss this chance and softly pinched Lilith''s nipples which were starting to get erect. The slight tingly sensation and feeling of Emhel pinching and rubbing her breasts over the dress, caused Lilith to shiver more.


    "My bad side really comes out if something happens to one of my people.....haaaaaahhhhh.......haaahhh...." Lilith''s rough breaths brought ecstasy to Emhel and she sneaked her hands under Lilith''s dress, now rubbing and fondling the raw and firm Breasts.


    "That just shows how much you care about them, we would have also done the same thing for sis"


    Emhel again brought her mouth close to the back of Lilith''s left ear , "Sis, your breasts really are perfect. Their feeling is just too good, no matter how many times I have touched them"


    "Ummm.....haaaaahhhhh..."


    "Yes, Sis...just like this"


    Lilith suddenly moved her hands and forced Emhel''s arms out of her dress, Lilith turned around and pushed Emhel to the wall beside them. Lilith touched their heads together and stared deeply into Emhel''s dark green eyes.


    "I really am turning complete evil with all these killings"


    "Yes, Sis is evil and cruel. But Sis will completely turn evil the day sis stops feeling empathy, compassion and feeling of protectiveness towards us"


    "I fear that day is not far, the day I would stop feeling any emotion"


    "That cruel day won''t come. It''s my duty and goal, to make sure that it never does."


    "And what if it does?"


    "Then I shall remain by Sis''s side till the end, even if everyone leaves, sis will always find me beside her"


    "haaaaa.......now I can''t let that happen, can I? you really put me under binds here"


    "hahaha, the smile returned on sis''s face"


    "Only you know how to calm me. If weren''t for you, I may have already become a monster unable to feel anything a long time ago"


    "It''s my pride, for being Sis''s only girlfriend...... Sis, you can get other partners too, you know."


    "Nope, sorry for that. Just you are more than enough for me. Also, I know that your jealousy is way more dangerous than mine"


    "hahaha, good answer, Sis........... also, if you ever plan on getting a girlfriend other than me or get fed up with me..........then please, Kill me first. Otherwise, I will personally give that new girl the most torturous death possible"


    "haaaaahhhh........I really love that obsessive and possessive side of yours. Makes me feel all tingly"


    "Sis, you pervert"


    "Hmm, I don''t know about that.....by the way, when will you stop calling me ''Sis''. Call me Lilith, you are not my little sister"


    "I know, but I started idolizing you as my big sis at first, these feelings came way after that. It has been many years since then, but it has just stuck to my tongue"


    "haaaaaa...how I wish, you start calling me Lilith soon. I really want to hear my name from your pretty little mouth"


    "Yes...I will try my best"


    Lilith leaned in and Kissed Emhel on the lips, deeply this time. Her lips pressed to Emhel''s, both of the eyes drifting shut, relaxing with it. Lilith opened Emhel''s mouth just a fraction, feeling the fleeting hint of the tongue, shivers ran down Emhel''s spine. Lilith''s fingers trailing sensuously along Emhel''s face, down the throat.


    Lilith regretfully separated their lips, a bridge of saliva connecting their lips. Lilith lifted Emhel''s right hand to her lips, kissing it seductively and nibbling the tender flesh of the Emhel''s wrist.


    "Thank you, Emhel. You will be my shield tonight, right?"


    "Of course, Sis. Just don''t go overboard in killing them"


    "Well, we will have our other sisters as well. I also have to show that princess how strong we are, so I can''t afford to lose control."


    "Hmm, so Sis is planing to bait her in with power?"


    "Yes, if she wants revenge...then she will herself join us, after witnessing tonight''s bloodbath. If she doesn''t, then the princess would feel disgusted by us and in that case, we will have to use other methods to revoke the feeling of hatred and revenge inside her"


    "You really are an evil woman, Sis"


    "and so are you, for confessing your love to such a woman"


    <hr><hr><hr>


    <h1 style="text-align: center">CHAROLETTE</h1>

 (Vol-1) Ch. 6 – When fake becomes more genuine than real

    Around the same rectangle table, members of Purple Solanum have gathered around. Though there are only six people, only five are present. The last one, Aastha was in Isabelle''s room.


    "Vivian, were you having a relationship with the 121 sparrow''s leader?"


    "hmmm.....how did you find out?"


    "The one who attacked you yesterday, he confessed everything"


    "That was fast even if we go by your standards. I''m shocked"


    "So, I will take that as a yes. The only thing I don''t like in this is you hiding your relationship from us"


    "It''s my own love life, why should I tell yo¡ª"


    *Fwum!*


    A small blade flew from beside Lilith, making a sharp noise in the air around


    *SHLUCK!*


    Vivian noticed the blade coming for her throat at the last moment, reacted quickly and caught the blade from the side with her left hand.


    The moment the blade stopped, it was 1cm away from Vivian''s throat. Blood from her palm staining the ground a little red, it seems like the speed and sharpness of the blade sliced Vivian''s palm a little.


    *Clang*


    Vivian released the blade from her hand and started licking the blood on her palm clean, but contrary to Vivian getting mad, she just looked at the culprit with friendly and sleepy eyes.


    "uuuuu, someone''s mad. Do I smell ''Love'' in the air?"


    Emhel eyes which were Blurry just a moment ago turned back to normal and a little embarrassment crept onto her face


    "Sh-...Shut Up!" said Emhel loudly and hid behind Lilith to hide her bashfulness


    "haaahhh, stop teasing her, Vivian."


    "Sorry, sorry, just felt like checking if her feelings are still violent. But they seem to have gotten worse, you should do something about that Lilith"


    "Hmm...yeah, they have become more murderous...........but I prefer it this way. I like her being this violent for me"


    "Well, as long as you can keep her under control that is. And that control doesn''t seem to be going well" said Vivian while showing her bleeding palm to Lilith.


    "Yeah, I may need to apply some strict methods" and Lilith started pondering for a little bit.


    While Lilith was Lost in her thoughts


    "You deserved that, you Nympho" (Charolette)


    "Awww, even those words sound cute coming out of your sweet mouth, Little Char" winked Vivian to Charolette


    Suddenly Goosebumps appeared on Charolette''s body and she instinctively grabbed the hem of Lilith''s dress, throwing a disgusted expression at Vivian


    "Uff! You are making me sad little char"


    "Miss Vivian, should I heal your palm? it looks painful" said Amanda with a concerned voice, both hands pressed against her chest


    "Nope, no need to for you to feel pain just because of this small bleeding"


    "But..."


    "Ok! that should be good! Hm! AH! So! where were we?.....Ah! yes, yes, why did you hide the relationship? Vivian" spoke Lilith suddenly, cutting off the talk between Amanda and Vivian.


    Amanda also went off to get bandages for Vivian''s palm.


    "Hmm, nothing special. Just wanted to give being in secret relationship a try" and Vivian rolled her eyes. Seeing which Lilith understood that her testing didn''t go well.


    "So, why did you leave him?"


    "I got bored"


    "..."


    Vivian saw the ''Are you Serious'' look on Lilith''s face and slumped her head down on the table, her hands hanging loosely by from the chair.


    "The thrill of keeping it a secret went away, he also kept nagging me about marriage and stuff. I got turned off by seeing him getting overprotective and obsessive over me"


    "Hmm, the obsession seems much worse though. He even sent one of his people to kill you"


    "I think, he just sent that person to kidnap me, so that he could lock me away"


    "Then they would have gone a much safer and reliable route, he outright attacked you"


    "Uhm, that''s why they are dumb. It was even dumber of them to attack me so openly like that"


    "No one can be that dumb seeing how you fight"


    "Well, I never showed them that I could fight. I acted docile and weak in front of them. So they must have thought that directly attacking me like that would be easy.


    "Why did you act docile and weak?"


    Vivian raised her eyebrows, telling Lilith the obvious


    "Wanted to give that a try as well, huh........ So, what do you wanna do now?" (Lilith)


    "What are the options"


    "That person is madly and selfishly in love with you, he won''t stop coming at you until you accept his feelings."


    "Right, and that''s what is annoying me"


    "So, we have two options. First, you can leave him as it is and deal with his goons as they come at you. Secondly, we go to their base and nicely ask them to leave you"


    "And if they don''t listen to the Leader''s talk?" asked Charolette, while puling onto Lilith''s dress.


    Lilith showed a kind smile to Charolette and replied, "Then Char would have more things to practise her air distortion magic on"


    Hearing that she could improve her magic, Charolette lost interest in what they would be doing if rejected and got excited over various things she wants to improve in.


    "So, it comes down to killing in the ¡ª" (Vivian)


    *SLAM*


    Suddenly a door opened and from inside came a girl out, who looked a little older than Charolette, anger all over her face and said loudly


    "WHY DO YOU HAVE TO KILL THEM!!?????" it was Isabelle


    Lilith peeked the room and noticed Aastha sleeping and understood the reason for her coming out like this. ''She must be listening to our conversation from the start''


    Emhel who was still squirming with embarrassment behind Lilith, lifted her arm to release the strings inside. Charolette started drawing a line on the thin air, but Lilith stopped them from acting and asked both of them to let Isabelle in.


    Of course, Isaelle didn''t notice the subtle warning Lilith gave others.


    "So, girl. Why do you say ''No Killing''?"


    "Isn''t it this women''s fault for playing with the man''s feeling for so many years??!!" pointed Isabelle at Vivian, who just replied with a wave of her injured hand.


    Seeing the blood, Isabelle''s body crunched up a little. ''Don''t fret! I have lived through much worse than that.''


    "Little, girl. Come with me, let''s talk properly this time" said Lilith and gestured Isabelle to follow behind. Isabelle showed hesitance on her face but got reminded of the slaps earlier and obediently followed.


    Before Lilith left with Isabelle she gave her orders to everyone


    "Vivian, Emhel, Aastha, get yourselves ready. Charolette, you stay with Amanda here and protect her.


    A regretful expression surfaced on Amanda''s face, but Lilith gestured Aastha to go and ease her mind.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "LIKE I SAID WHY AR¡ª"


    "Quiet girl! just keep up with me"


    Isabelle''s words got shot down immediately. Hearing the heavy voice of Lilith, more fear started wrapping around her heart.


    .


    .


    .


    For the first time since coming here, Isabelle walked out of the front door.


    Seeing the surroundings, an intense feeling of creepiness crept inside Isabelle''s mind. Surrounding her were nothing but dead trees, there was also a little fog enveloping the air.


    Dry leaves covered the ground, a small crunching noise coming with each step Isabelle took. There was no sound around, even the sounds of insects were not audible. Only the crunching steps of Lilith and Isabelle could be heard.


    Isabelle looked up and noticed the dim grey sky. No birds could be seen within the vicinity.


    Looking behind, Isabelle got a look at the state of the house or more precisely the mansion. Broken windows, moss and dampness making the mansion look run-down and ugly. But the from the inside the mansion looked completely new, even the windows looked proper from the inside.


    Was she just having an illusion or is everything inside the mansion is just fake looking?


    Seeing the contemplated look on Isabelle''s face, Lilith curved her lips a little and started talking, "Wondering about the contrast of the mansion?"


    "Y..ye-yess"


    "You don''t have to be so wary you know. I''m not going to eat you up or anything like that or is this how the only princess of Nora empire treats people who help and save them?"


    "..."


    Isabelle didn''t say anything and just looked down with a complicated expression on her face.


    "We are a group of murderers"


    Hearing Lilith downright admitting it, a dubious expression covered Isabelle''s face, with her mouth opened wide with surprise.


    "Now, now, the little princess doesn''t have to act so surprisedly. I don''t turn my face away from reality or make up petty excuses to deny what we are doing."


    Seeing how openly and carefreely, this woman was talking with her, Isabelle started feeling a little less tense, even though the things this woman was talking about were far away from the normal everyday conversations.


    "Little princess, let''s start again. This time, try not to be so instinctive to act upon your emotions. So, what is the little girl''s name?"


    Isabelle now realized that lying would only make her situation worse but most importantly she didn''t want to be slapped again.


    "I..I-It''s I..isabelle dusk..."


    "*clap* *clap*, good girl. My name is Lilith Raven, you can just call me Lilith"


    "Th-that would be ........Miss Raven ...i-is good for now"


    Hearing Isabelle talking with less stuttering and much less tensely, Lilith closed her eyes with pleasure.


    "So, little Isabelle, how did you manage to escape from the castle?"


    Suddenly a shiver ran through Isabelle''s spine and words got stuck in her throat, she stopped walking and just stood there with a face filled with despair, tears forming in the eyes.


    But Lilith also noticed an intense fury mixed in, trying to come out but bound to chains instinctively by the little princess.


    Lilith went near Isabelle and put her hand on top of her head, smoothly rubbing it. Lilith moved her lips near her ears and slowly whispered with a resolute tone


    "You are safe now"


    Isabelle''s eyes opened wide, her heart getting swarmed with a false sense of ease. She knows that she shouldn''t feel confronted like this by a group of murderers, but her heart has been begging for someone to rely on ever since brook helped her escape.


    Her entire life, she has lived depending on others. But she got the taste of loneliness or the taste of trying to survive on her own in the forest for a few days and she didn''t like that feeling one bit.


    She despised the idea of making it in the world on her own because she knows that she doesn''t have it in herself to survive on her own. She may be able to learn it in the future. But this habit has stuck with her since birth, and it''s not going to so easily fade away.


    Or Isabelle just doesn''t want this habit to fade away, maybe that''s why right now she is crying her heart out, buried in Lilith''s chest, staining Lilith dress with her tears, and feeling happy about being soothed by someone...even if the person responsible for it is a criminal.


    .


    .


    .


    A few minutes passed, Isabelle''s eyes are red with crying. Her face, a little embarrassed from crying out like that in front of a person she just met.


    Lilith having an all-knowing smile on her face.


    "Feeling better?"


    "Y-yes..."


    "Good, then let us play a game. I ask a question, you answer honestly, then you ask and I will answer" though Lilith left the ''honestly'' part behind in her but Isabelle didn''t notice and nodded her head.


    "How did the little princess manage to escape?"


    Again heavy feelings surfaced inside Isabelle but she tried her best to suppress these feeling and answered "Brook...the gardener helped me escape"


    ''He clearly didn''t do a good job by leaving her in the forest like that'' but Lilith didn''t voice her opinion and just complimented Isabelle for answering the question


    "Now, you ask"


    Immediately Isabelle voiced the question that she been thinking about ever since the attack on the castle happened


    "Why?......why was the castle attacked...."


    Lilith saw the raw anger trying to surface on Isabelle''s face and showed a satisfied expression


    "Your father was an evil man, he ruled this Nora empire with cruel tyranny. He was hated by almost everyone inside the empire. Accumulation of countless curses people threw at him, voodoo magic people tried on him and finally, Timothy of neighbouring Nova Empire colluding with the people, your father was killed"


    Lilith didn''t sugar coat anything and told Isabelle the cruel truth, even though what she told was just a little overview


    "My father wasn''t evil!! he was an excellent father!!!!" shouted Isabelle, trying to deny the reality. But Lilith didn''t allow her to escape into fantasy so fast.


    "The king may be a good father, but he was an incompetent ruler. More than half of this empire''s population has suffered because of his rule and are even suffering today. You can try to deny it all you want, but if the little princess would have left the castle walls even for a day and witnessed the outside world, you would know the reality."


    Isabelle tried to open her mouth to deny Lilith''s words.......but she couldn''t come up with anything and even if something came, it got stuck in her throat. After all, what Lilith was saying is the truth, she never left the castle walls. She was not allowed to leave those walls, and the outside world in her mind was what her parents have told her.


    She didn''t want to believe that her parents lied to her since birth, but then there would be no logical reason as to why the castle was attacked and why they were killed so cruelly...the scene of their death was just like someone releasing their year-long hate on someone.


    It was a death given to someone they despised from the bottom of their heart.


    "Little princess, you can escape from reality as much as you want. But one day you will have to face it no matter what you want. Right now, you are safe, no one can hurt you......so it''s better to accept the reality while surrounded by people you are safe around, rather than being forced in the future to accept it"


    Isabelle understood the meaning behind Lilith''s words, but still wasn''t prepared to just accept it like this, "I-..- want to witness it myself"


    Lilith showed a satisfied smile as if expecting this answer, "Alright, I promise to show it to you. Then! going on with the game, the next question is mine. What does the little Isabelle want to do?"


    "I......don''t know.......I thought I wanted revenge, but I''m not capable of it. I thought I could forget it, but that doesn''t happen. I thought of just killing myself to end it all, but that also failed several times"


    ''No, you died. I personally killed you'' thought Lilith and decided to tell Isabelle about her anomaly after she notices something strange with her body...like not needing to eat food anymore.


    "I see, well you have your whole life ahead of you. You decide whatever is it you want to do" lied Lilith with a straight face.


    But Isabelle still being a child didn''t see any lie behind Lilith''s words and felt happy hearing this.


    "Now, it''s the little princess turn"


    "Why...ar-are you going to k..k..k-ki--kill! that sparrow group..? even though it''s your member who''s at f-fau..fault..." Isabelle immediately blocked her face with her hands, anticipating another slap to come from Lilith for asking a question like this


    "Hahaha, no need to be scared Little one. Yes, I agree that it''s Vivian''s fault"


    "Th-then ...why?"


    "They won''t leave her until she finally agrees to marry their boss. That''s just how men obsessively in love are"


    "B-but it''s that Vivian woman f-f-fault for making him like this"


    "Yup! but what can we do after everything has happened? No use in dwelling in the past and forgetting about the present you know. Now, we can only think about solutions to fix this problem. He won''t back away, Vivian wouldn''t apologize and it has to end sometime, so need to drag it too long."


    "B..but, isn''t there some better method?...."


    "Yup, there must be. No single solution to a problem you know, but the only method I know of is to just eliminate the problem itself. It always proves fast and efficient"


    Isabelle should have felt scorn towards Lilith, for doing things so brutally...but she didn''t. The only thing she felt was curiousness and why they are doing stuff so openly and violently


    She even barged inside the room so suddenly because she couldn''t comprehend how they so easily talked about killing, and not because she was feeling some sense of justice, it was just pure curiosity.


    ''Maybe, that''s the dusk blood at work here...'' hypothesized Lilith


    "Is...there any other r-rea-reason?"


    "If I have to say then, Yes. The people inside my group are more close to me than the family I despised. I will slaughter an entire empire if they try and harm one of my people. I don''t mind doing anything I can for them, their safety and well being is the only thing important to me"


    "Ev-even if the things they do are w..w-wrong or e-vv-vil?.."


    "Yes. They are free to do whatever they want, I won''t chain them down. My only job is to make sure that they return back to me safely"


    "B-but aren''t they at high risk of d..-dying. Co.-cONsidering how may e-n..enemies they must have made"


    "Yes, and that''s from where the thrill and excitement come from. By protecting them amidst the danger, makes me feel things I have longed to feel since childhood"


    "T-then ar..aren''t you just us-using them...?"


    "Correct, we all are just using each other for our own good and everyone knows and acknowledges it, except Charolette. That girl doesn''t even understand the concept of using others for your own benefit, she''s the only one who feels real and genuine care for us. All the others feel fake but genuine care for each other. We have lied about our feelings to each other so many times that they feel more real than the real thing now"


    Isabelle just tilted her head in confusion, not understanding what has just been said.


    "hahaha, you will understand when you grow up. For now, just think of us a group of individuals who can do anything to protect each other and satisfy their needs"


    "I-..-i..see. So, you are going to kill them, no matter what"


    "Yes, though if you have a better solution then do tell. Do you?"


    "N-No...I don''t. Also......where is this place?" the game already over, it was just a trick Lilith applied to get Isabelle to loosen up and start talking.


    "Right now we are inside Silva forest. This mansion, this forest belongs to one of our members, Emhel Silva''s father. Your father ruined the entire Silva household. But luckily for you, Emhel''s grudge against the king has faded, so she doesn''t feel any grudge against you, his daughter."


    Isabelle just looked down, maybe trying to deny the reality again


    "This forest is located just north-west from the capital city of dusk in Nora Empire. It is also called the Forest of Tranquillity because no monsters or animals live or fly around here"


    "I-..see. Can Miss Raven..tell me more about your group....?"


    "Hmm, I named it Purple Solanum when I formed it 10 years ago with Emhel. We were only 13 at that time, our first member was Vivian who joined after a few months. Then came Aastha, after her Amanda who came 5 years ago. Then Charolette, who I picked up 3 years ago."


    "Wh-what do you all do....?"


    "We majorly just do whatever we want. But to do that coins are needed, so we take assassination contracts and sell drugs by the side"


    Still, Isabelle didn''t feel any contempt against them. Seeing which, Lilith became more interested in the girl in front of her


    Before Isabelle could continue her barrage of questions, the front door opened and from inside came four women, completely geared up


    "Sis, we are ready" (Emhel)


    "Alright, let me get prepared too. Sorry, little princess, it seems that our talk has come to an end for now"


    "I..it''s alright.."


    Lilith started walking and reached the door but before going inside she glanced back at Isabelle, "Little Isabelle, what are you doing? Come inside and get properly armoured"


    "Huh?...why?" Isabelle just tilted her head in confusion


    "Hehehe, Princess is also coming with us"


    "... huh?...."

 (Vol-1) Ch. 7 – False Sense of Security

    During midnight, five figures could be seen walking down the narrow streets of ''ISHTR''.


    Witnessing the sorry state of this town, Isabelle thought that no decent person could live there life here.


    People were sleeping on the streets, covered by a worn-out blanket. It didn''t look like the blankets provided much resistance to night''s cold. Human and animal shit decorated along the walls of the houses, pee staining the house walls like it''s paint.


    Some run-down tents could be seen, selling some shady stuff even during the night.


    While walking down these narrow and smelly streets, Isabelle had both of her hands covering her nose. She really wanted to throw a tantrum here, complaining about why had she been brought together with them. Weren''t they going to fight? So, why have they brought me along?


    Are they planning to kill me along with them?....


    ......but that doesn''t seem to be the case. They have put this light armour on me....and if they wanted to really kill me.....then, they would have done so long time ago.


    Apart from this...another dominant thought was eating away her mind, ''Papa said that the towns in our kingdom were bustling with wealth and prosperity, but....''


    clearly that''s not the case.


    ''Papa lied to me, Miss Raven was telling the truth then?...''


    Isabelle got more proof for her hypothesis when she saw people staring at them. Some groups huddled around the small fire, some peeking from their blankets, they weren''t even pretending.......all of them had the look a ferocious, hungry look in them. Looking to eat away anything, as long as it fills their stomach.


    ''Was this the prosperity dad was talking about?''


    Thoughts like these were swirling inside Isabelle''s mind like a chaotic whirlpool.


    Feeling the direct gazes of the people around her, Isabelle started feeling uneasy and uncomfortable...and without thinking, she hurriedly closed her distance with Lilith and lightly held the hem of Lilith''s dress in her soft hands.


    Though Isabelle didn''t notice, the princess was starting to find safety among this group of murderers. She should have been thinking of ways to escape, thinking about ways to report their crimes........but thoughts like that weren''t rising in her mind right now...maybe at the start they did, when she just woke up after the nightmare at the forest of dusk.


    Seeing Isabelle hold her dress, Lilith smiled mischievously and winked at Emhel.


    Emhel started pouting but soon understood the message behind the wink


    Emhel silently got behind Isabelle and ...


    ... "BU!"


    "!!KYAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!???"


    jumped Isabelle in the scare and crouched down, covering her head in her arms.


    Realizing what has happened, Isabelle immediately shot a glare at Emhel, seeing which the women started laughing and Isabelle started feeling embarrassed.


    "That should have eased your tense mood a little bit" said Lilith, and started walking again.


    Isabelle opened her eyes wide, realizing that they are looking out for her well being. All four women around her, are looking out for her safety and well mental state.


    Isabelle got a feeling of sudden warmth but didn''t voice it and just held Vivian''s hands, who offered to walk alongside.


    .


    .


    .


    Not so far from them, a group of four men were sitting around a small fire. They noticed five figures walking along this street, seeing their clothes and figures, the leader of the group immediately figured them to be wealthy and rich women.


    He saw that two were walking in the front(Lilith & Emhel), another two behind them(Vivian & Isabelle), and the fifth one behind them(Aastha).


    He didn''t know why were these women, who seemed to belong to a good household doing here in ISHTR also in the middle of the night.


    Seeing the drool coming out of his three other companion''s mouth, he snorted and declared, "Let''s go boys. The night''s going to be fun"


    The four of them stood up from the ground and looked at the women coming in front of them.


    "The moment they pass us we will put the dagger around their throat, got it?"


    nodded the three other men to their leader''s plan.


    Now any moment


    The leader put his hands on the knife, readying himself to draw it the moment they pass by them.


    He started drawing the blade


    Looked at the woman in front, wearing a purple gothic dress


    and stopped.


    His teeth started clattering, and he sat back down. Signalling his comrades to do the same, at first they didn''t listen to their Leader''s warning...but seeing the rarely serious expression of their Leader, they had no choice but to back down and sit back around the fire.


    The five women passed them, and nothing happened. Their silhouette soon disappearing in the darkness of the night.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    "Leader! why didn''t we attack?!" asked one man furiously.


    The other two also have an expression of dissatisfaction.


    "Shut up! you dimwits! I just saved our lives!!!!" said the leader in a loud tone and the three lowered their voice


    "W-what?..."


    "I looked into her eyes"


    Those were the eyes of a cold-blooded murderer, a monster.


    The moment that woman locked her eyes with him, his mind screamed danger.


    "Those were the eyes of someone who has killed countless"


    Hearing the fear in their leader''s voice, the three gulped their saliva down. Apologizing to their leader for getting rowdy.


    "Those eyes won''t even hesitate to kill an innocent child¡ª


    "That thing in front of us wasn''t human, it was a monstrous figure of pure malice"


    A twisted evil


    that''s the best way the leader could describe his fear, and that''s just how he felt after just locking his eyes with her.


    If they actually confronted them.....


    ...he didn''t want to think


    Piss already staining his rugged pants.


    .


    .


    .


    "Why did those people stood up? were they going to fight us?..." asked Isabelle, she was only able to not voice her fear because Vivian was right by her side. The moment the fear started rising, she held Vivian''s hands more tightly...calming her inners down.


    "Hmm, don''t know. Maybe they decided to back down after seeing your cute face¡«" said Vivian, poking Isabelle''s cheeks.


    "S-s..stop it.." rebuked Isabelle, even though she kinda enjoyed it.


    "Miss...Vivian...can I ask you something?"


    "Only Vivian is fine. All my friends call me that"


    "F-friend?....me?...." blushed Isabelle a little.


    "Of course! Isabelle''s my friends. You don''t like it?" said Vivian with a sad puppy face


    "!!....." to which Isabelle just looked down in embarrassment


    ''F-f..fr-friends...''


    The rate at which Isabelle was starting to depend on them was increasing at a scary rate.


    Was them being nice to her just a part of the act? or were they genuinely caring for her? these are the questions that should arise in her mind but they didn''t.


    Isabelle was just feeling happy about making a friend.


    Soon, she voiced her question


    "Miss....ah! sorry! I mean Vi-vi..vivian!.....fuuuu...is the entire town.....like this?"


    "Yes. The entire town of ISHTR is nothing but a huge dump. You know, this town is also known as ''the beggar''s dump'' by the people. All kinds of shady people do business here. You can get anything immoral you want here. Child prostitution, smuggling, slaves, drugs, anything you can think of." A hint of sadness in Vivian''s voice


    "But that was not always the case, in the past, this used to be a bustling and bright town, that is until your father took the thrown. No offence by that statement though"


    Though Isabelle didn''t want to believe it, she tried her hardest to run away from the truth......but seeing the evidence, she couldn''t run even if she wanted to.


    !!!


    "Th-...that. How?...why?..."


    Suddenly, all her hopes of running away were shattered.


    On the wall in front of them, was a poster...with Isabelle''s image.


    WANTED, DEAD OR ALIVE


    written in bold letters.


    Prize money - 250 Gold Coins.


    "The Tyrant has been rightfully sent to hell. Now, nobody has to suffer because of him. Nobody needs to fear their daughters being taken away from them. No one needs to pay unrealistic taxes and lick the tyrant''s boots to stay alive. Justice has been served, like all of us wanted. But Unfortunately, his daughter, Princess Isabelle managed to run away. She isn''t to blame for her father''s deeds, but the blood of dusk runs through her veins. She will become a dangerous threat to our society, maybe even eviler than her father, nobody of dusk heritage has ever been a faithful and upright man, for the prosperity of our kingdoms, for the good of people, for our own safety! the dusk heritage must be brought to an end.


    Issued by - Timothy Rnif, The Hero


    Well, this was faster than I expected" complained Lilith while reading the content of the poster and tore it away.


    She was wanted.


    She was made a criminal.


    "Mi-Miss Raven.......is..all of this true?...." deep down she knew it was, but she still needed someone telling her this.


    "Yes, unfortunately. Your father was a wicked person, he was killed ''rightfully'' by the Hero of people. Timothy Rnif is the Hero and your father is the villain. According to everyone, justice has been served. They are all happy with your father''s death, celebrating your father''s death, and singing praises of the hero who brought an end to his tyranny"


    She was the daughter of an evil person.


    Her father was an evil man.


    Her father lied to her since birth


    Every word Lilith said, hurt Isabelle like a sharp sting to her heart. Her tears were already staining her soft cheeks, falling on the dirt below.


    "*sniff* ...does *sniff* miss Raven....*sniff* also see me as an evil *sniff* person....?''''


    Vivian firmed her grip around Isabelle''s hand, Lilith walked in front of Isabelle and placed her palm on top of her head


    "Only the little princess can decide that. People will label you many things...but only Little Isabelle can decide what she wants to be"


    "I...*sniff*"


    "Does the little Isabelle want to prove people right or does she wants to show them how wrong they are"


    "I....I...*sniff*"


    "What is Little one''s heart telling her to do?"


    "M..My..*sniff*...heart..?"


    "Yes, forget about other''s opinions and image of you. What is the desire burning inside Princess''s heart right now" said Lilith, while wiping away the princess''s tears


    Isabelle hesitates for a moment but speaks


    "I....I-..want to....make Timothy ...suffer. More than....he made father and mother suffer..."


    "Even though, he''s the Hero of people? and your father lied to you?"


    "Y..y-yess....he may be the Hero.....but not my...to me, he''s nothing more than a man who killed my parents. They may have lied to me......but I genuinely love them even now. I know I shouldn''t think this....but...but...I just can''t stop it!"


    Lilith''s eyes starting to shine seeing the pure, raw anger surfacing on the little princess''s innocent face. Her entire body shaking with anger, teeth clutched together like they would break any moment. Her eyes, bloodshot with anger and hatred.


    "Then that''s what Little Isabelle should do. You have your five other sisters and your teacher with you"


    Vivian noticed Lilith calling herself a teacher...and barely held her laughter in, she didn''t want to ruin the mood.


    "Now, let''s get moving. We have things to settle tonight, also wrap that robe around more tightly"


    Isabelle was wearing a light robe beneath her light armour so that they can hide her identity. And it seems like it was the right choice seeing all the wanted posters around.


    ''This girl is much better than I expected. Maybe, with her use, I can finally achieve my goal'' thought Lilith, tightly gripping her hand around Emhel''s hand.


    The five figures again start walking and after some time stand outside a hideout


    "This is the place, Vivian?"


    "mhm, Lilith. Though I suspect they would open the door seeing all of us"


    "hahaha, alright do your thing then"


    "Thank you, well then hide yourselves"


    In front of the stone door, only Vivian stood. Everyone else hiding in the bushes around, Isabelle hiding with Aastha


    "Hello! it''s me! Your Boss''s Lovely Ex. Open this damn door"


    After a few minutes, the door opened and a rugged looking man opened the door. Veins bulging from his enormous muscles


    "Hmph! so the wench finally came. That Rizva, he surely took his time bringing a woman like you here. Oi! Rizva, come out"


    No response


    "hahaha, sorry, sorry, you don''t want to know what Lilith did to him"


    "huh? Lilit¡ªBWAH....."


    before the muscular man could finish his words.


    Or....he couldn''t finish his words even if he wanted to


    He couldn''t speak anymore.


    Surprised by what happened, he looked downwards


    !!!


    Vivian''s hand entered his throat and was coming out from the back of his head


    Vivian retraced her fist from his throat, the weird gurgling sound of flesh being moved along with the hand filling the air with dread.


    Vivian''s made a fist-sized hole on his throat. The stone wall with fresh red blood splattered on it, clearly visible through it.


    The muscular man couldn''t scream, his tongue already in Vivian''s hands.


    The last thing the man saw besides the blood filling his vision and gushing out of his hollow throat was Vivian crushing his tongue by her foot.


    "Sorry, Stewart. You don''t have the right to speak Lilith''s first name"


    and so the five figures entered the hideout.


    The fifth one feeling itchy in her throat.


    <hr><hr>


    <h1 style="text-align: center">VIVIAN MORT</h1>

 (Vol-1) Ch. 7 – Showcase of Power

    Lilith enters the hideout through the stone door, followed by her four other companions. The stone door had a security seal on it, so only the people belonging to the 121 sparrows could open this door.


    Entering the door, they immediately saw a stairway, leading down.


    Lilith figured the hideout to be once a natural cave, that was altered to now feel like a livable space. The traces of the old cave could still be seen.


    ''They didn''t do a good job with carving the cave to their liking'' thought Lilith, evident by the moss growing in the corners.


    Lilith and the group started walking down the stairs, the lanterns hanging from the ceiling giving an eerie feeling to this place.


    Isabelle started having goosebumps over her body, her eyes wandering off in all directions. Noticing the nervousness in Isabelle''s body, Vivian came from behind and put her hands over her shoulders.


    But Vivian just didn''t think things through, her hands were still bloody from her previous act of brutality.


    Seeing the bloody hand over her shoulder, Isabelle opened her eyes wide and got a nauseating feeling. But she somehow kept it inside, because the feeling Vivan was trying to convey successfully reached Isabelle.


    ''She''s trying to help me in her own way'' though Isabelle, and smiled at Vivian, who also returned a bright smile.


    At the bottom of the stairs, they saw an iron gate. Behind this...is probably many people.


    Lilith halted in front of the gate and turned around to address the group.


    "Okay, Ladies, it''s time. Aastha, the weapons"


    Immediately a thought came to Isabelle''s mind, ''Yeah...where are their weapons? I thought the were somewhat crazy for coming her barehanded....''


    To her surprise, Aastha pulled out four small, thumb-sized weapons from her pant''s pocket.


    "I-is this a joke....?" was the only thing Isabelle could say, with an awkward smile on her face.


    "Just watch" said Lilith, smiling and licking her lips.


    ''Miss Raven has a habit of licking her lips it seems like''  noticed Isabelle


    Aastha handed each of them their respective weapons.


    A miniature sword for Lilith


    A miniature Hammer for Vivian


    Two sets of chains for Emhel


    and a set of Bow and Quiver for herself.


    At first, she focuses her eyes on the sword.


    "Expand!" suddenly her eyes go pitch black for three seconds and the sword grows back to its original size.


    Isabelle shocked by this magic, her jaws dropped. Now that little harmless sword looked like it could reap anyone''s soul away in mere seconds. Lilith was wearing a simple Purple Gothic dress, no sign of any armour or protection on her body and just held the sword in her right hand, the left hand on her back.


    "Expand!" next Vivian''s hammer grew, Isabelle shocked by the mere size of this hammer. It was almost as big as Vivian, 5.4 foot in size, Vivian being at 5.6 foot. Clearly, an enormous strength is required to even lift this hammer. But Vivian just casually hung it on her back, supported by the leather strap.


    "Expand!" now was the turn for the chains, they expanded and started looking like a deadly snake. Emhel wrapped the two sets of chains on each of her arms, ready to be thrown and wrap around anybody.


    "Expand!" and the final spell was chanted, making the bow and the quiver go back to their original size. Aastha hanged the bow on her back, the quiver strapped above her hips.


    But this time, Isabelle noticed Aastha''s eyes going pitch black for three seconds. Earlier she was too focused on the weapons growing that she didn''t notice Aastha''s eyes going completely black.


    "Why do her eyes change colours like that?"


    "Hmm...maybe I should tell. Gotta start little princess''s training someday.......so in simple words, that was the consequence of her using magic. Every person has to face some consequences when they activate their magic. More advanced the magic, the more noticeable the consequences, and vice-versa of course" explained Lilith


    But before Isabelle could speak, Aastha spoke, "In my case, I go blind and deaf for three seconds whenever I use my size changing magic"


    "Wha!?...isn''t that like really bad!!???" yelled Isabelle in a low tone.


    "Yes...but that''s how useful her magic is" (Vivian)


    To which Isabelle went silent, a number of thoughts going through her head.


    "Anyways, Emhel, you next"


    "Yes, Sis"


    Emhel touches herself and chants "Dispell!"


    A few bright particles of light start coming from her upper body and after a few seconds, Isabelle notices chainmail now covering Emhel''s upper body.


    "Wha......was that now!!????" again, Isabelle''s eyes opened wide, her jaws dropped.


    "Emhel uses Illusions, she just hid the armour"


    "Then...there has to be a consequence then, right?"


    "Correct, good girl. In Emhel''s case, whatever she hides becomes useless and her illusions are only limited to objects. Also, she has to touch the object to activate and deactivate any illusion"


    "I see..." to which Isabelle again gets lost in her mind


    ''What the hell is she thinking so much about?'' contemplated Isabelle


    Emhel dispelled her illusions and now everyone was ready...of course except Isabelle.


    Vivian wore a slim steel plate, two belts wrapped around her waist having four small leather pouches attached to them, what was inside them? only Vivian knew. A hardened leather pant protecting her lower half and a huge hammer strapped on her back, looking like a berserk.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Aastha is wearing full black leather armour, embroidery of a beautiful spiked rose on the back. Few pieces of hardened leather sewed on top of the armour at some critical spots. Various leather pouches hanging from the two belts wrapped around her thighs, giving the feeling of a ranger or assassin with the bow strapped on her back.


    Emhel is wearing a simple full sleeve white shirt, the arms of the shirt bulging because of the chains inside, the back of her shirt tucked inside the leather pants and the front loosely hanging over the pants. A simple chain mill covering the upper body, the white shirt still seen through the holes of the chain. Along with a few small leather pouches strapped to her left arm, Emhel gave off a feeling of a fashionable but a deadly fighter.


    Isabelle in awe, seeing their appearance.


    But that awe soon returned to complete confusion when she saw Lilith


    "Wh..why isn''t Miss Lilith wearing any armour....?" Lilith was the only one, who was just wearing a simple purple looking gothic dress along with a sword on her right hand


    "hahaha, it''s uncomfortable, that''s all" while licking her lips.


    To which Isabelle jaw dropped for the third time but for some other reason.


    "Alright, I will be the front. Vivian and Emhel will support me in front. Aastha will remain at the back, supporting the three of us and the little princess will remain between us, protected from the front by us and from the back by Aastha"


    "d-Do..I just stay there" instead of fear...a little excitement and curiosity filling up Isabelle''s heart.


    "Yes, the little Isabelle will just watch the whole thing carefully. I will not hear a single word coming out of your mouth once I open this door, you will just observe carefully. Do I make myself clear?"


    "Yes...." replied Isabelle in a low tone


    *FWIP!!*


    suddenly Isabelle''s heart skipped a beat and she gulped her saliva down. Sweat forming on her face.


    Lilith''s sword was just few centimetres away from her throat.


    "Do.I.make.myself.clear?" no trace of a joke in Lilith''s voice, her eyes deadly serious


    "Yes! Yes! Yes!" and bobbed her head upside down repeatedly after the sword has retreated back.


    They have been standing outside this door for five minutes now, completing their preparations.


    Lilith puts her hand on the door''s handle and pushes the iron door. A loud creaking voice filling the air.


    ''Rusty fucking door'' complained Lilith and opened the door completely and walked inside.


    There was now a big hallway stretching in front of them, various rooms along the side of the hallway.


    Hearing the loud creaking of the door a single woman came out from one of the rooms, rubbing her eyes from sleepiness.


    "Damn that Stewart, what took him so long to bring that wench inside....!!!"


    the woman expecting Stewart to come along with Vivian got shocked, surely the wench was here....but who are these three other people?...and one child?....


    "Oi! what did you do to Stewart!!???" shouted woman, realizing what happened and unsheathed her sword.


    "Oh! I killed him" smiled Vivian, waving her arms in the air energetically


    "!!...you....how...n-n..no...no...you....You!!!" her expression quickly going from shock, to surprise to tears forming in the woman''s eyes, her eyes red with rage and sadness.


    "Hmm...so you are his lover or something like that? Well, not that I care. Anyhow, I just need to talk to your boss, so would you be kind enough to tell me...where is he?" said Lilith, while showing a kind smile


    Seeing that smile more blood boiled inside the woman''s heart, she and her husband were just talking about the name of their unborn child. She had been pregnant for one-month now, Stewart was so happy, talking about the name of their child.......that is until they heard Vivian calling out to them from the outside.


    Thinking about the love of her life and the smile on the woman''s face, more blood boiled and in complete anger, she thrust her sword towards Lilith''s heart.


    "HYAAAAAGHHH!!!!"


    *SHLUCK!*


    the next thing the woman noticed was that she was flying in the air, she looked down and saw her body, the sword stopped a centimetres away from Lilith''s heart. The next thing she saw was the stone ceiling, and then the cold floor.


    She hit the floor and rolled a few meters, finally stopping. What had happened? it became clear to her.


    Her entire body was standing a few feet away from her, it''s head missing. Enormous blood gushing out of from the spot her head got sliced off, marking the surrounding area around her body with blood.


    The edge of Lilith''s sword painted dark red with her blood, slowly the body, without the support of the brain stopped functioning and fell backwards.


    *Thump*


    The lone head a few feet away, with the nervous system, cut off, also started closing its eyes.


    The last thing she saw was Lilith driving the blade through her stomach


    The last thing she heard was Lilith saying, "I''m kind enough to let the baby also join its parents"


    And that last thing she thought was ''demon''


    Even Isabelle knew that this woman was pregnant, evident by the small bulge on her stomach despite the slim legs. Isabelle saw Lilith swinging her sword in a flash, slicing the woman''s head off cleanly, but she didn''t think of Lilith to be this heartless and cruel.


    ''To kill even an unborn child....'' her heart was pounding like crazy with fear, but she knew better than anyone to not voice it. Otherwise, next would be her head to be sliced off.


    ''Miss raven was serious when she said not to speak anything''


    Hearing the noise in the hallway, more people started emerging from the rooms. Some of them shocked seeing a lone head having an expression of dread written all over it and a single body, whose blood decorated the surrounding walls.


    Some even looked unfazed by the scenery.


    But everyone''s eyes were locked onto the group of five people in front of them.


    This clearly was an invasion, a breach into their territory.


    Among the crowd, four people emerged. One in the front, the three following him from behind.


    The one in the front rushed forward with a sabre in his hand, he lifted his other hand to chant a spell but before he could get his words out *Fwip!* *Clack*


    Emhel skilfully throws her chain, wrapping them around his legs and pulled them, making him lose his footing and fall on the ground, his sabre leaving his hand.


    Vivian grabbed the chain and with raw strength pulled it. The man started getting pulled towards them and tried to grab the sabre but before his hands could reach it he was pulled too far away.


    The man shocked by the amount of strength Vivian was showing, pulling a man like him with such speed and ease. ''Wasn''t this woman weak?'' complained the man, but that was the only thing he could do.


    Vivian pulled him close enough with the help of chains, and Lilith stabbed the fallen man through the heart, instantly reaping his life away.


    Seeing this as a chance, the three behind also rushed together. One jumped at Lilith, her sword still buried inside the man''s chest


    "Gotcha!!" he yelled, pointed the tip of his dagger at her head.


    *Fwoosh*


    suddenly an arrow came from behind Lilith, stabbing the man''s eye but that wasn''t enough to kill him, his brain still undamaged. He smiled but it immediately disappeared.


    "Expand!"


    suddenly the arrow increased in size and came out from behind his head, leaving a small hole through his brain.


    While the man was still in the air, the two beside him swung their sword together at Lilith.


    Lilith retraced the sword back from the man''s chest and parried the swing coming at her right flank but now her left flank was open, the other man''s swing sped up with force but it didn''t manage to reach.


    The chain on Emhel''s left hand was still wrapped around the man''s legs....but her right chain was still free. She swung the chain, wrapping it around his moving sword and immediately pulled it away from his hands. Now the man was weaponless, the earlier smile disappearing from his face, he immediately began to step back but before he could take his first step back, Vivian has already punched her fist through his chest, grabbing the intestine inside and pulling it out.


    Entrails, blood, and flesh covering her hands.


    The last one though was not given a quick death, after getting his swing parried by Lilith, she immediately brought her sword down, cutting off both his arms. Blood gushing from his sliced shoulders, falling on the man''s head who just had this intestine pulled out.


    "Ah...aggghhh....ahgghhhh....AHHHHHHGGG¡ª.!" but even his screams were cut short.


    Lilith swung her sword diagonally, entering the man''s neck from the right side at an angle of 90 degrees and coming out from under his left armpit. After a few seconds, the sliced off part moved along the lower part and fell down, sideways. The lower part soon following it.


    Lilith swung her sword rightways, the blood and flesh sticking to the sword leaving it and getting stuck to the stone wall beside her.


    Emhel retracted her chains and the group got back to their original position.


    Lilith leading stepped over the corpses in front and again stood in front of the crowd, Isabelle making sure to avoid any contact with the corpses.


    "Now, let''s politely talk, shall we?"


    the crowd bobbed their heads upside down


    "Take me to the boss" said Lilith with a smile, splashes of blood decorating her pretty face.


    The crowd started moving, Lilith and the party following behind.


    Isabelle''s heart shaken from the scene, just a few moments ago everyone was showing contempt for them, taking them jokingly, not listening to them......


    .......but now they did.


    They listened to Lilith, took her seriously, showed fear towards her, didn''t dare to mess with her...


    ...


    ''Is this.......Power?''


    and a new dark flame rose inside Isabelle''s heart.


    <hr><hr>


    <h1 style="text-align: center">Vivian''s Hammer</h1>

 (Vol-1) Ch. 9 – A Selfish Ambition

    Three people lead Lilith and her group to the inner parts of this cave hideout, everyone else following from behind, but keeping a safe distance between themselves and Lilith.


    The inner parts of the cave were in an even worse state than the entrance. Spider, lizards and all sorts of unpleasant insects were crawling on the walls.


    Everyone looked used to this, and even the women of Purple Solanum didn''t flinch at the sight. The only one with an unpleasant expression was Isabelle.


    She was feeling very uncomfortable inside this cave, even though it was nicely lit up with lanterns...but those lanterns made it easy for her to clearly see these insects. Seeing the insects crawl and hearing their noise, Isabelle got reminded of her few days inside the ''forest of dusk''.


    Those five days were the worst part of her small life......constantly looking for food, water, shelter...but not finding anything......the fear of eating some wrong sort of fruit or plant.....being on her toes all the times to avoid coming in contact with any wild monster or animal.


    The smell of her own urine and shit entering her nose.....having to constantly sniff around that awful smell of her own body. The lack of food and water making her throat become itchy like crazy......the feeling of relief she got when finally scratching the itchy throat....but the relief followed by the sudden rash and sting from the torn out skin around her throat, made her mind dwell deeper into the madness. At least with the pain occupying her brain, she didn''t have to think about the pointlessness of her life.


    That day Isabelle got to know that the emotional pain can be much scarier than the physical one...........but even with all that...the nightmare didn''t end.


    During the fifth and final day, she remembers thinking about brook.....but instead of thanking him as she should for giving up his own life for her......she curses her saviour.


    At first, Isabelle was feeling greatly indebted to brook....he died in a heroic way, saving the princess with his death. She thought that she has to live so that brook''s death doesn''t go in vain.........but that feeling soon turned into something unpleasant and dark.


    Isabelle thoughts slowing shifting from ''He Gave me another chance at life'' to........... ''He left me in this nightmare''............ ''Why did he throw me in this forest?''..........''Did he throw me here, knowing I wouldn''t survive?''........ ''At the castle, it would have been an easy and quick death....but now I have to die with all this pain''


    And all these thoughts soon turned into one single sentence


    ''He''s responsible for my misery''


    ''Timothy is responsible for my misery''


    ''Brother is responsible for my agony''


    ''Everyone is to be blamed for making me go through this''


    Thoughts like these were going through her brain like a hurricane on the fifth and final day. Even while being chased by that sabre, these thoughts corrupted her mind......she fell down....but instead of fear lurking inside her mind...own madness was there. Her dry and psychotic laughs giving life to her own madness......


    ''I can finally die'' becoming her sole wish


    .......but her wish didn''t get fulfilled.


    Her wish got taken away from her by Lillith.


    ...


    While thinking about stuff this...Isabelle noticed that everyone stopped in front of a door. She also halted her walking and looked ahead...


    In front of her were a few women she has come to know yesterday...lead by some random three people. Then she looked behind and saw a whole crowd of people...caution written all over their faces.


    Isabelle again looked ahead and saw Lilith''s back.....the back of the woman who ruined her wish.......the strong back of the woman who didn''t let die......the firm and straight back of the woman who didn''t leave after saving her.


    She may be the royal princess of Great Nora Empire......but there is nothing great about her, there''s nothing royal about her.


    She''s nothing but a useless princess.


    A princess, a royalty with bad magic affinity. A princess who couldn''t do anything but run when her parents got murdered. A princess who couldn''t help but blame others when life became hard.


    But...


    This woman in front of her....these women whom she met yesterday...... they weren''t like her.


    "Boss is inside this room, only one of you can go inside. Also, a few of our men will also follow you inside" the sudden words interrupting Isabelle''s thinking and putting them on a halt.


    "Hmm...fine. But this little girl will also come with me" spoke Lilith, pointing at Isabelle to come inside with her.


    "Didn''t you he...Hiii!!¡ª"  his disapproval got cut off with a sharp glare from Lilith and he agreed. Showcasing their lingering fear after witnessing Lilith kill their comrades in a grotesque manner.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ''But these women are strong'' Isabelle completed her previous thoughts and followed Lilith inside the room.


    ...


    The inside of the room was dimly lit. There was stone equipment lying around for exercise, a table with a jug on top along with some bread on the steel plate, the stone walls plain and a big bed...clearly this person isn''t very into the house decoration.


    Inside this room, there were few people. Apart from Lilith and Isabelle, there were five other men inside the room and a quite muscular man sleeping on the bed.


    "Boss! wake up. A Lady wants to meet you"


    "mmm" the boss just grumbled and shook the man''s hand. The man again tried to wake the boss up....but to no use.


    Without noticing, Lilith walked ahead and stood near the side of the bed. When the four men standing near the door finally noticed, they saw Lilith standing beside the fifth man, near the boss''s bed. The fifth man got shocked seeing Lilith suddenly appear beside him and jumped in shock.


    The same shock went through Isabelle''s body. She quickly walked and stood behind Lilith.


    "Wake up" spoke Lilith


    "Mhmm..." only gibberish sounds


    "Last time...Wake up!!" no trace of emotion in Lilith''s voice


    "..bhbhu...njg..." again only gibberish.


    "Hey.." suddenly spoke Lilith to the man standing beside her.


    "Y-Yes....?"


    Lilith smiled at him, seeing a beauty like her smile at him made him unexpectedly embarrassed


    "Be useful"


    But before he could get over his sudden fluster and wrap his head around the words just been said, his mind went blank and the last thing he saw was his four other comrades despaired faces.


    Lilith with the speed of light swung her sword horizontally and chopped the man''s head off. The head flew vertically in the air from the sudden force, blood splurted from the exposed neck, flying upwards and falling on the man''s head in the air. His head reached the max height and started falling down due to gravity but it didn''t hit the floor.


    Lilith grabbed his head by the hair while falling down, following the momentum she motioned her arms backward in a circular motion, liking bringing an axe down at the wooden plank and smashed the sleeping boss''s head with it.


    "OUCH!!!!"


    the boss suddenly woke and touched his now broken nose, he moved his hand around his face and witnessed two types of blood on his face.


    The one from his own broken nose and what about the other?


    He turned his face and saw a chopped head staring at him closely with a blank expression. He moved his eyes upwards and saw a fair hand holding the head by the hair.


    His eyes met with the woman''s in front of him and before he could do anything the blade of her sword was already just a centimetre away from his own throat.


    Finally recovering from the shock, the four other men started rushing towards Lilith but got stopped seeing the boss''s stop hand.


    "What do you want?" even though his pyjama is already soiled with his piss, he still showed a brave front. The blanket was covering his lower body so Lilith couldn''t see the soiled pyjama.


    ''Looks like this one is not spineless'' thought Lilith but before she could speak


    "HA!" the boss shouted


    and a sudden unseen force pushed her hand away along with the sword. Lilith''s arm got pushed backwards, leaving her open. (1 second)


    The boss quickly grabbed a knife from under his pillow and swung it towards the nearest body part which was Lilith''s belly. Lilith''s sword arm stopped being pushed backward and now her arm was too far back, for her to stop the knife with it. (2 seconds)


    Lilith used her other free hand and grabbed the knife from the sides, stopping it from just a tip away from her belly. The sides of the knife were sharp and sliced Lilith''s palm a little. Blood flew from the sliced palm but didn''t follow gravity. (3 seconds)


    The splurted out blood froze in the air and quickly joined together to form a string of blood, the origin of the string coming out of Lilith''s sliced palm or more precisely from inside the wound. The boss suddenly got shocked seeing this atrocity, "You....." and his face became filled with disbelief (4 seconds)


    Quickly realizing his blunder he tried to pull his hand back but that moment of shock was all Lilith needed. The string of blood was small in size due to the low amount of blood gushed out but it was still enough. The bloody strings moved dexterously like a snake and wrapped around the knife''s hilt along with the boss''s fingers holding the knife. (5 seconds)


    The knife along with the hand was not stuck just a tip away from Lilith''s belly, the blood strings proved exceptionally strong and didn''t allow the hand to be pulled back. But the boss was also not going to back down, his other hand was still free. He formed a fist and swung it towards Lilith''s face, he knew that her other hand has already recovered from the push back but it would still take a second for her to swing that sword at him and before that his fist would definitely meet her face and punch her away. (6 seconds)


    But contrary to his expectations, the sword moved faster than he expected....or he didn''t expect this speed at all. It moved with the speed nearing the light and cleanly separated his hand from the arm. (7 seconds)


    "Ah...aggghhh...!" the boss expressed a low scream filled with dread and looked at the woman in front while flailing his sliced arm in the air.


    The fist formed hand fell down, and the blood gushing from the exposed arm painted Lilith''s expressionless face red. Looking just like a devil from his nightmare. (8 seconds)


    All of this happened quickly in 8 seconds. The first four-second the men were shocked from witnessing the sudden head bash, the next three-second they unsheathed their weapons and at the last second, they took their first step....but now it was all over and they just froze there in horror.


    The boss''s remaining hand was still tied by the blood strings. The string of blood moved a little, half-wrapped completely around the hilt and the other half keeping the hand in its place. The grip around the tilt tightened its hold and broke the knife''s hilt, showcasing the immense power it holds.


    The strings unwrapped the boss''s hand, leaving a deep red mark from how tightly it held the hand and finally retraced back inside the wound on the palm.


    A sudden squishy sound reverberated from inside the wound, the small string has now turned back into viscous blood.


    The knife was broken, his other hand was sliced off...now the man only had his legs to fights.....but the will was now gone.


    Isabelle''s hands were sweaty, her legs were feeling heavy, her heart was pounding with unease, her breathing rough....but there was a little spark in her eyes.


    The spark which had vanished due to the events of the past few days. Though it was little...but it was there.


    An ambition rising inside Isabelle''s heart seeing the close but distant back of Lilith.


    ''I want to be strong as well'' a spark not out of some heroic reason, a spark not lit for helping others


    But a spark lit for a completely selfish reason.


    Was this the reason why Lilith made her tag along? Did Lilith want to lit a fire inside Isabelle''s heart by telling her to come inside with her?


    what is it that this woman want? why is she doing all of this for me?


    am I special?


    Then a sudden thought came to Isabelle''s mind


    Why haven''t I felt the hunger for almost 12 hours now?


    <hr><hr><hr>


    <h1 style="text-align: center">COVER</h1>