Read the prologue here: https://redd.it/fl3goq

Previous part: https://redd.it/fleq3z

Aelisia left her castle with two of her most trusted guards and a carriage to transport what they could find. They had no need for torches in this night as she used one of the few non-offensive spells she knew on them: cat eyes. They could see about ten meters around as if it was the day but further than that it quickly became dark. She checked her bearings again. Orienting themselves in a forest at night would have been near impossible if she didn’t know it by heart already. She hunted in these woods during the season of fire after all. She heard a loud crack behind.

“Miss! The wheel’s al’fooked up! Bloody stupid hell!” Obo always had a funny countryside accent, but he was still one of the finest axemen around.

“We are so close to it thought. Gunthar, we’ll find the rock.”

They dismounted from their horses and secured them on a nearby tree. They walked pretty quickly, scanning around for signs of the meteorite.

“Look, the trees!” Aelisia was almost jumping from excitement. “Come on, follo-” She jumped to the side, evading an arrow just in time that lodged itself in the bark of a nearby tree. She unsheathed her sword and parried another arrow. A third one went right through Gunthar’s skull.

“ATTACK!”

Three soldiers, in full plates, revealed themselves from the woods. One of them was carrying a crossbow and a shortsword while the other ones had two-handed greatswords. She may be an excellent duelist, but taking down alone with her sword three fully armored soldiers with range capabilities was a stretch even for her to achieve. She instead turned her back on them and made a bet on her knowledge of the forest and her agility to waste the ammunition of the crossbowman. She managed to dodge the arrows for a while, being a lot quicker with her lighter plates. The arrows stopped flying. She slowed down and looked back. The soldiers had disappeared behind the trees, she probably escaped them.

She walked along the edge of the forest, her sword still in her hand when she spotted the meteorite. It had curious hard edges. It didn’t look natural. She froze, her heart pumping. It did not look natural in the slightest. An arrow hit her leg, right between her leg plates. She fell on her knees, her sword keeping her from falling flat on the ground. In a burst of maniacal laughter, one of her enemies rose his sword above his head, ready to strike when an enormous piece of the rock went flying in the air and landed right behind her, blocking the sword and snapping it right in half.

A black mass, bigger than a man, faster than her eyes could follow and far too silent for something this size to move, left the crater. The man with the half-sword went flying tens of meters in the air, all of his bones having been pulverized from the impact. The second swordsman had his guts literally punched out of his body. The crossbowman, still processing what was happening was lift up of the ground by an ungodly large iron fist. The last thing he saw was the red glowing eyes of the monster before being ripped in two.

Aelisia couldn’t believe it. All of this happened in a matter of five seconds and now this monster was standing in front of her. She could see all the detail on his armor, the double-headed eagle, his knife that looked more like a sword to her, the skull on his left shoulder and finally the helmet that represented hate itself. He took out a large box, the size of her head, with a tube on its front, faster than she could follow.

“Who are you? Why shouldn’t I kill you?”

“I-I am Queen Aelisia, from the Warriordom of Roviel.” She was genuinely scared. She hadn’t felt like that for years now.

“Queen?” He sheathed his box. “That will be useful.” His voice was nowhere near natural. It sounded almost... metallic?

He went back to the rock and took out other boxes of various sizes and shapes that he strapped around his belt and his backpack. He took out a small cylinder from one of them.

“Show me your wounds.”

“What? Why?” She backed off a bit.

“Show me your wounds.” He said again, in the same manner. He knelt before her.

“Note that this will be the only circumstance that I will kneel for a mortal. Now brace, this will hurt.”

She couldn’t tell if it was a joke or not. Honestly, she was too scared to really care. She showed her leg. She let a small scream has he simply ripped the arrow from her flesh. He then pushed a button on the tube and a thin film of an unknown substance covered the hole. Before she could ask, the giant answered her question.

“Synth-skin. It protects and heals wounds as well as dispense painkillers. It won’t even leave a scar.”

“I-Thank you. May I know now who is my savior?”

The giant chuckled. He brought his hands to his head and remove his helmet.

“Brother Daelus, Space Marine of the Night Skulls Chapter.”

God he is handsome.

Next part: https://redd.it/fmvpnl