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Marin gritted her teeth as she watched floor after floor fall into ruin. The things she had seen when she had first spied the Capital had been the same. There's not even a slight change in the security. It was the same flimsy guards whose necks she could snap in a heartbeat that stood on the eastern entrance.
Eventually, she did snap their necks as she led her faction inside the Capital.
Her heart quivered in her chest. She didn't know why but she woke up this morning with dread in her stomach. That didn't normally happen, especially when she was out on a mission for the Heiress. Her past missions had brought her no emotions except fulfillment.
Because every mission successfully completed was one step into making her dream real. This shouldn't be any different. This was just one of her missions. She shouldn't have felt the things she's feeling now. Was it because, deep down, she wanted all of this to stop?
She shook her head, glaring at her second in command for staring at her weirdly. Was that...concern? Nonsense. As if the soldiers in her faction cared about each other. No, they're all in this for the money or for a wish they wanted granted.
Marin bit the inside of her cheek, wincing when she drew blood. Ugh. What had gotten her so worked up that she resorted to her old habits? Distress. Or maybe she was thinking too much. Either way, it looked like she was still caged by the things she thought she was already free of.
Huh, how much of her life could be summarized by that?
Why did she feel like throwing up? This wasn't her first major battle either. She was present at the siege on the Temple of Souls for the Soul Spells. She had fought for her life and for her mission while she's there. She failed but at least she could pin the blame on the Virtakios.
But this...
This was different in some other ways. First, the Virtakios wasn't here to stop her this time. She could take her time with these mongrels until they grovel at her feet for mercy. There's no one powerful enough to stop Cardovia. Second, probably, was the fact that the Heiress trusted Marin enough to let her lead an entire Cardovic faction on a mission that would not only get them at least three thrones but an entire race of fairy allies too.
The Heiress had been delighted when she and Kymalin had brought back news of the sprawling City made of ice. She had stopped listening when Kymalin began proposing the course of action. "Oh, yes, take whatever you want," the Heiress had said, waving her hands in a dismissal. Perhaps, Marin thought back then, the Heiress couldn't wait to play with her fancy metallic toys that Marin had once glimpsed lying around on the Heiress' desk.
The Heiress didn't even react when Kymalin mentioned teaming up with Synketros to carry out this mission. She just pushed them to hurry along.
Now, Marin, Kymalin, and April, after days of camping out in Diven, stormed the Capital with their respective factions. It hadn't taken long before they cleared the first five floors. Marin herself had dealt five killing blows with her dagger, not minding the fact that she just murdered five innocent ice sprites who exploded in showers of ice at her feet.
