Volume 1, Chapter 43 – The Paladins of Aurora City

“A b-berserker?! Why would an elf have berserker abilities?!”

After a brief silence, the fallen minotaur monster—its forelimbs severed by Fia—shouted in shock. Its severed limbs were visibly regenerating at a noticeable speed. Just as described in The Secret History of Witches, the Darkborn possessed extraordinary healing abilities.

“Will you surrender now?”

Ignoring the minotaur’s question, Fia condensed two ten-meter-long wind blades above her head once more. The low hum of vibrating air raised goosebumps on everyone’s skin.

Seeing the two minotaurs bow their heads in silence, Fia had no choice but to step closer. Like Fairy Fire, Wind Blade only had two modes: “ready” and “release.” Once launched, the trajectory of the spell couldn’t be altered by willpower alone. Thus, Fia had to shorten the distance between her Wind Blades and the minotaurs.

Feeling the dangerous tremors from the Wind Blades above them, the two minotaurs finally gave in.

“I… surrender.”

“Do what you will with me. But I lost to you, not to humans!”

Emphasizing these words, the two minotaurs completely abandoned their resistance.

“Fia, is everything settled?”

Claire, who had also dealt with her minotaur, approached Fia. Having apparently witnessed Fia nearly suplexing the minotaur, Claire’s gaze lingered on Fia’s hands, as if studying something bizarre. The way she scrutinized Fia made her feel a little hurt.

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Of course, Fia knew how unbelievable that scene had been, so she didn’t dwell on it.

“Yes. It’s settled. Didn’t you want to question them, Claire?”

“The one over there already gave me answers.” Claire gestured behind her with her chin. The minotaur she had handled was slowly moving its massive limbs, retreating in the direction it had come from. “They used an artifact that turns Darkborn into humans to infiltrate the city. Originally, they planned to attack Aurora City’s temple while its main forces were deployed at the frontlines. But then the Unsinkable Moon suddenly enveloped the city, and the frontline troops withdrew. So they had to change their plan: luring temple guards in small groups and ambushing them.”

“No wonder the temple soldiers just happened to find that person infected with Darkborn Disease…”

Now that she thought about it, the minotaurs must have disguised themselves as humans, reported a Darkborn-infected person in the slums to the temple, and then laid in wait for the guards to fall into their trap.

Outwardly honest, but inwardly more cunning than humans.

Fia glanced at the two minotaurs before her, and both immediately lowered their heads, not daring to meet her eyes.

“What should we do next?”

“What do you think, little Fia? I hold no grudge against Darkborn, so I don’t mind letting them go. Of course, only if they promise not to harm any innocent people before leaving the city.”

“Then let’s do that.”

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To Fia, Darkborn were no different from humans. Letting them go wouldn’t weigh on her conscience. In fact, by preventing the minotaurs from slaughtering the guards, Fia felt humans should be thanking her.

She nudged the minotaur she had nearly suplexed with her foot.

“You heard her. Promise to leave Aurora City as soon as the Unsinkable Moon disappears.”

“Fine… we agree.”

“Can you tell us your name? Our two-horned bull tribe remembers every warrior who defeats us.”

The minotaur whose forelimbs Fia had severed called out.

After a brief pause, Fia waved her hand lightly.

“Dofilia·Alexia·Yushir.”

“Alexia?! That’s the elf royal family’s—no, you’re the elf princess?”

“Yes, exactly. I am the elf princess.”

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Though the two minotaurs muttered things like “Wasn’t the elf princess frail and sickly?” and “How did a spellcaster become a berserker?”, Fia paid no attention to their remarks.

As for why Fia had thought to lift the minotaur, it had been a spur-of-the-moment decision. Her intuition had told her, “You can lift this minotaur,” so she had grabbed its horns and done just that.

This also made her realize that her strength far exceeded what she had demonstrated. Even if the minotaur had been several times heavier, the outcome wouldn’t have changed. Her strength was absurdly overpowered—something no ordinary being could possess.

By now, silver-armored paladins could be seen approaching from the direction of the city center. Claire urged the minotaurs to leave.

“Go, quickly.”

“Thank you.”

“Little Fia, your hair—well, let’s cover it with this for now.”

Removing her snow-white shawl, Claire draped it over Fia’s head. Of course, this wasn’t to hide Fia’s black hair but to conceal her pointed elf ears.

What followed proceeded smoothly.

The paladins, who had rushed over upon hearing of the Darkborn’s appearance, split into two groups. One pursued the fleeing minotaurs, while the other tended to the wounded and maintained order.

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Though Fia’s impression of the Church wasn’t particularly favorable, she had to admit they treated their fellow humans with fairness.

For items and tents destroyed by the Darkborn, the paladins meticulously recorded the damage on-site, with the Church promising compensation. Moreover, these paladins disregarded social status, actively helping the poor salvage usable belongings from the ruins. This slightly improved Fia’s opinion of them.

Additionally, though many people—including the arriving paladins—had witnessed the horrifying sight of Fia lifting a minotaur, the distance had been too great for anyone to see her pointed elf ears. With Claire shielding her and reinforcing Fia’s “shy” and “beastkin heritage” persona, the paladins didn’t pry too deeply. Instead, they praised her bravery and strength.

“To lift a monster like that… even if it was adrenaline-fueled, it puts us grown men to shame. Even ten of us working together couldn’t have lifted a Minotaurus. This young lady might not be a lionkin from the beastkin royalty, but she’s definitely from a strength-based lineage—bear or tiger, perhaps? Second-tier? Or even higher, third-tier?”

The paladin assigned to maintain order in the slums kept glancing at Fia, clicking his tongue in admiration.

“If you applied to become a paladin, you’d be selected in no time. You might even end up leading us.”

“But her beastkin bloodline…”

“What about it?”

The first paladin retorted without hesitation.