[Chapter Size: 2900 Words.]
Third Person POV
Ellander.
...
...
When it was time to leave, they said goodbye to little Aren, who was confused since his parents said they needed to take care of some things in the middle of the day.
Although the boy seemed a little disappointed by it, he eventually nodded. After all, his parents had promised they would return the day before, and they had done so that very night.
"Then let's go," Madara said to Ciri.
She nodded, and in the next instant, both disappeared.
Madara teleported directly to Toussaint. It was exactly where the old School of the Viper was located, a place they had explored years ago.
Then, the sound of voices came from within the ruins. The two emerged from one of the structures and observed a bandit camp set up in the area.
"We dealt with them years ago, but it seems this place continues to be a haven for bandits. The knights of Toussaint really aren't doing their job," Ciri complained.
After all, they had eliminated all the criminals there previously and freed the people they were keeping captive. The place was obviously a potential bandit hideout. It was clear that it should have been under surveillance.
But apparently, it wasn't.
"Well, they don't seem to be a very large group. What do you want to do?" Ciri asked.
"I don't know if we should simply kill them all. I think it's better to let the knights deal with this. After all, they should know what crimes these people have committed in this region," Madara said.
Ciri reflected for a moment. "All right. I'll deal with them." She took a step forward while looking toward the entrance of the place, then raised the palm of her hand.
Then she snapped her fingers.
An invisible shockwave exploded outward from her fingers and swept through the entire structure. The bandits struck by the wave felt a sonic blast tear through their ears.
Some screamed, while others didn't even have time to react. In less than a second, they began falling unconscious one after another.
Since the wave traveled at the speed of sound, the entire place was quickly filled with unconscious outlaws.
Madara wasn't impressed by his wife's ability and simply walked out of the ruins, ignoring the defeated bandits.
"Then I'll go to Kovir. Do you want me to teleport you directly to the castle, or do you intend to go on your own?" he asked his wife.
"I'll be fine here, but I'd like you to summon a certain griffin. You're not going to use him, right?" she asked.
"No." Madara replied as he performed a summoning.
Toto appeared once again before them, letting out a characteristic sound.
"Great. I want you to stay in the Toussaint region for now. Better not remain here, because the knights will arrive soon," Ciri explained. As she spoke, she began transfiguring ropes from the stones and the broken ground around them.
The ropes moved on their own and began tying up each of the bandits. Within moments, they were all bound in the same state, unable to escape thanks to a few simple magical commands.
"You're not going to use him?" Madara asked about the griffin, since Ciri didn't seem to want to ride him.
"Actually, I wanted to prepare a contract for him," Ciri said, watching her husband's reaction.
Madara merely snorted. "If you think I'm going to complain about that, you're mistaken. You could even get a dragon from the Valley of Dragons. I'm sure they wouldn't be too unhappy if you started a summoning after what happened to my dragon and the power it gained back then." Madara said, although he still didn't know how it was doing... Since he hadn't summoned it yet.
Ciri seemed thoughtful about that, although she had a special attachment to the griffin ever since the days in Cintra, when Madara had brought it to the castle and ignored all common sense by raising a monster of that size inside the courtyard of his own home.
In any case, it had worked out well. Ciri intended to develop a spell that would also allow her to summon it, perhaps using a principle similar to the shinobi summoning techniques, but powered by a different type of energy.
She was intelligent enough to develop something like that now. After all, many of her abilities had been created by copying the logic behind her husband's chakra jutsu and also the knowledge he had taken from powerful people and passed on to her.
So, she kissed him. Meanwhile, the griffin began flying away from the ancient ruins.
Ciri stepped back a few paces and smiled. "Don't forget to come pick me up tonight. I want to spend the night with our son again."
Madara nodded. Then he took a few steps and vanished with a teleportation.
Ciri headed toward the bandits' horses, completely ignoring the tied-up men. The animals were neither war steeds nor tournament horses worthy of a renowned knight.
But they would do. She mounted one of them and set off. Soon, the entire expanse of Toussaint began to unfold before her eyes.
"I wonder how our old home is doing." Ciri had to restrain the urge to simply teleport to the vineyard Madara had bought for them and where they used to stay to enjoy the beautiful scenery and atmosphere.
It was possible that there were people working there now. A lot could have changed in three years. In any case, they would reclaim that property.
One way or another. She would pay whatever was necessary regarding the administration of those three years, but she would not pay for the vineyard itself.
After all, it belonged to them. Quickly, she advanced along the road, crossing the vast fields of the region.
Although she didn't feel any desire to hurry, she soon realized that Toussaint seemed strangely empty. Not as empty as it had been years ago, but still different from what she had expected.
The city was still there. It seemed alive, yet there was something strange about it.
Ciri then activated one of her abilities. A magical circle appeared in one of her eyes, allowing her to see through it and magnify her vision for miles in the distance with her magical zoom.
She could see details more than eight hundred meters away as if she were face to face with them. That was when she noticed something. The main square was not as crowded as she had imagined.
Curious, she decided to use her time-related powers. Within moments, she began observing possible futures until she discovered the reason for all that unusual activity.
Her eyes immediately turned toward an arena located outside the city. A battle festival would take place that day. Not even Madara knew, only his clone did, but without informing him. Since it would be something they would easily notice if they were in this duchy.
Ciri headed there without hesitation; she knew Geralt would be present. As would Anna Henrietta, others, and also a sorceress connected to the old organization of sorceresses.
She couldn't help but think about how she could surprise Geralt. Soon, amusing ideas began to emerge.
Then she started searching through the future, observing different possibilities for that encounter, analyzing each scenario until she found one she considered particularly entertaining.
She looked at the horse she was riding and began channeling magic into it. Little by little, the animal came to display a simple suit of armor.
Nothing too extravagant, but enough to make it look like the horse of a true knight, hiding some of its skinniness.
Next, Ciri also transfigured her own clothes. Armor appeared over her body. Soon after came the helmet, shield, and sword.
Without wasting time, she advanced along the road until she encountered the first guards patrolling the region. "Halt!" one of the soldiers shouted as he approached. "Who are you?"
"I am Sir Étienne de Vaulenne," she replied.
Ciri had already observed the future enough to know exactly how she could enter the tournament in that manner. It was far more entertaining than simply teleporting.
She had discovered that one of the registered knights would not show up. It was this Étienne. Anna Henrietta had not given much importance to the incident, but several people had commented on that house's absence from the tournament.
Ciri had also seen in the future that the man had fallen ill and would send a formal apology a few days later, even considering a personal visit to justify himself.
It was perfect. She already possessed all the information about the house's coat of arms. In addition, she altered her own voice to sound masculine from within the helmet.
A simple illusion. For someone capable of creating storms or changing the climate of an entire city, that was trivial.
"House Vaulenne? Very well. You may proceed along the road to the arena entrance. You must inform my commander of your arrival and seek out the Master of Games," the soldier explained.
Ciri nodded. "Thank you, soldier." She replied in an arrogant tone as she moved on after tossing a silver coin to the soldier, who gladly accepted it.
She needed to play the character properly. Soon she found the knight responsible for the patrols when she arrived in front of the enormous arena, with the sound of hundreds of people shouting, which she had been hearing for some time along the road leading there.
She introduced herself. The man merely nodded without asking any questions. After that, she was led to a man who was making notes in several notebooks.
He wore noble clothing and a hat adorned with a feather. Upon seeing her arrive, he gave her a suspicious look. "So you're the representative of House Vaulenne?" The man carefully examined the helmet hiding her face.
"Of course. And I also know that my fight will begin soon, since no one wants to fight a Shaelmaar after what happened," Ciri replied through the helmet.
She already knew everything thanks to the future she had observed. It was amusing to Ciri, since it was the same monster Madara had faced in that arena when he exposed the corruption within Cintra's capital more than fifteen years ago. At that time, Ciri had merely been a listener, only able to watch the city from her balcony in the castle... now she would truly face that monster in another arena.
The man let out a sigh upon hearing that. "Another fool... Very well. If you want to die so quickly, so be it." There was a clear tone of disdain in his voice. "Two gold coins."
Ciri made the coins appear inside her pouch after discreetly removing them from her personal space.
Then she handed them to the man. He nodded, wrote down her name, and signed several documents.
Shortly afterward, he handed a paper to a boy who worked as a messenger. The child immediately ran off to inform the organizers about the new registration.
"You will be called shortly. You may follow this soldier to the waiting area," he said to the knight.
Hidden behind her disguise, Ciri nodded, leaving her horse with the others before heading into the arena.
Soon she was led to a room where several knights were waiting. Some were injured.
Others were talking among themselves. When she entered, several conversations stopped immediately. Everyone turned their attention toward the newcomer.
"Sir Étienne, it's good to see you here again. I thought you wouldn't come," one of the knights commented.
"Of course, of course. In any case, I won't be able to talk much. After all, I'll be called soon," she replied with her altered voice, so she wouldn't have to waste time with the other knights.
The man nodded, still somewhat surprised. "Wait, the next person will have to fight the second Shaelmaar. So you're really going to fight that monster?"
"Of course. I heard they're paying fifty gold coins." She replied.
Some of those present began to laugh.
"Risking your life for fifty gold coins?" Another knight shook his head.
"The first idiot tried to impress one of Duchess Henrietta's ladies-in-waiting and failed miserably."
"If Geralt of Rivia hadn't intervened, he'd be dead." The comments continued.
The first fight had been a disaster. The knight had been lucky that Geralt entered the arena and took down the monster by himself after saving him.
In fact, everyone had greatly underestimated the creature's power. The problem was that the beast had been captured by the witcher himself, who had accepted the duchess's request without knowing it would serve as entertainment during the tournament.
They had not imagined that a Shaelmaar would be so dangerous. And Geralt had captured two of them. Geralt hadn't known either; otherwise, they probably would never have agreed to bring the two Shaelmaars to that event.
After the first attempt failed, no one else wanted to face the creature. That was why they turned to Geralt once again. The witcher was about to accept after Anna Henrietta herself offered two hundred gold coins. He only wanted to see first if there would be a brave knight willing to try his luck.
In any case, now Sir Étienne had accepted the challenge.
Quickly, several men began talking about him. Mockingly, while also speaking about Geralt, some commented on how a witcher was far too powerful to be used as a comparison.
Others said it was unfair. But no one seemed willing to turn themselves into a mutant aberration in exchange for strength.
Ciri didn't like those comments very much. Even so, she remained silent.
She knew the world worked that way. She wasn't going to change everyone's opinion simply by arguing with a few knights.
"Come on. You're next." One of the organizers appeared clearly excited to see the knight who had challenged the monster.
Ciri nodded. The other knights began wishing her good luck. Some still mocked 'him.' Others suggested that he give up while there was still time.
But she simply ignored everything. With her sword and shield in hand, she advanced toward the large gate leading to the arena.
Before she stepped out, the organizer said, "Wait until your name is called."
She merely nodded. The gate closed behind her, and she stood before a barred entrance to the arena.
Then the announcer's voice echoed throughout the entire arena. "Ladies and gentlemen! Someone has finally challenged the second Shaelmaar trial!" The crowd immediately began applauding.
Excitement swept through the stands. "Sir Étienne of House Vaulenne has just arrived, and the very first thing he did was challenge the beast! Even knowing that one knight has already failed and that Geralt of Rivia himself had to intervene!"
The applause became even louder. "It seems he wishes to defend the honor of the knighthood of the Duchy of Toussaint! To show that knights can also face a power that many believe is reserved only for witchers! Even at the risk of his life!"
He also began telling a long story to the audience, as that helped excite the crowd. Ciri simply waited behind the great barred gate.
She couldn't help but open the magical circle in one of her eyes to observe the main viewing box.
There were Anna Henrietta, Geralt, the sorceress, and the other nobles of the kingdom.
Geralt was certainly frowning upon hearing that another man would face the second monster. She could already imagine how frustrated he was, knowing he might have to jump into the arena once again to save another reckless knight.
Thinking about that, Ciri let out a small laugh inside her helmet. But her eyes ended up becoming moist when she saw him.
She wanted to hug him, she wanted to talk to him. But before that, she wanted to give him a surprise.
That was why she continued waiting. As soon as her name was called, she began to advance.
The audience immediately erupted into cheers. Every kind of citizen of Toussaint was present.
Meanwhile, the masked knight slowly walked toward the center of the arena, carrying a sword and a shield.
"And now... Open the creature's gate!" shouted the announcer.
The gate behind Ciri closed. At the same time, another one opened on the opposite side of the arena. Soon, a massive creature came rolling out of the cage before letting out a deafening roar.
Ciri remained still as she watched the Shaelmaar stop rolling and roar.
That immediately drew the attention of some people. The knight did not seem nervous. Ciri, inside armor large enough to conceal her feminine figure, did not seem hesitant, nor did she appear even slightly worried.
Then she took a step forward and assumed a fighting stance. Then she did something that surprised everyone—she simply dropped her sword and shield.
After all, she didn't need a sword to defeat that creature.
She would use only her strength. She wanted to face the monster with her raw power.
More importantly...
She wanted to put on a show for her father.
Geralt needed to see how much she had evolved during those three years.
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