Gunmage-Chapter 37: Xhi

The guards tightened their grip on their weapons as they surveyed Lugh and the two women, their alertness heightened. However, nothing transpired.

They were permitted to pass, provided they relinquished their weapons at the door.

A reasonable, albeit unsettling, condition.

Lugh surrendered his rifle without protest, and Lyra followed suit, placing her gun against a wall. But as they prepared to follow Vaelith, a soldier stepped in front of Lyra, blocking her path.

"Your sword"

He demanded, his face cold, his voice like iron.

Lyra glanced at the enchanted blade strapped to her hip, then back at the guard. Her expression remained unchanged as she responded without hesitation.

"No."

Both men tensed once more and the air thickened with invisible threats. The soldier stiffened, one hand twitching toward his weapon.

He opened his mouth, ready to escalate the situation when a voice echoed from above.

"Let them through."

There was a split-second delay, then both guards straightened, saluting in unison.

"Yes, sir!"

The confrontation had ended before it could even begin. The guards stepped aside, and Vaelith resumed leading them through the dimly lit stone halls.

Their boots thudded softly against the worn wooden steps as they ascended to the second floor. She stopped before a heavy oak door and knocked twice.

A voice came from within, sharp and commanding

"Come in."

They entered.

A man stood by a large makeshift table, surrounded by chairs and cluttered with reports.

The windows were closed leaving the room dark, the only source of light was a single lantern placed in the center of the table.

He wasn't particularly tall, nor physically imposing, yet there was something unnerving about him. His platinum blond hair was neatly tied back, his silver eyes were cold and assessing.

His features were refined and delicate, almost feminine. Making him look extremely out of place in his red martial uniform.

Major General Lovainne Valtér, third prince of the Ophris Kingdom.

Lugh and Lyra bowed in unison.

"Your Majesty."

The priestess did not.

Instead, she remained perfectly still, her hands loosely clasped in front of her, her expression unreadable.

Lovainne's gaze flickered to her, a faint frown forming.

His sharp voice contrasted starkly against his soft face.

"What is your name?"

She smiled. A slow, knowing smile.

"You are not qualified to know that."

Silence.

Cold, suffocating silence.

Lugh and Lyra froze. The room seemed as though the very air had turned into glass.

Lovainne studied her with a poker face. Then, after a moment, he spoke again.

"Then what should I call you?"

She tilted her head slightly, as if pleased by the question.

"Xhi is fine."

Lugh was surprised. He had not expected her to answer at all.

Lovainne gave no indication of surprise.

"And what about you two? Would you tell me your names, or am I also unqualified?"

"Of course not"

Lyra said smoothly, stepping forward.

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"I am Sergeant Lyra of the Cross family."

For the first time, Lovainne's frown deepened.

He turned, moving toward his desk with calculated ease.

From a drawer, he pulled out a ledger and flipped through its pages. After a few moments, he stopped. His silver eyes flicked from the book to Lyra, then back again.

"You see this?"

He held up a printed photograph. A record. The image depicted Lyra as she had once been, before her transformation.

Short, cropped hair. A soft, easy smile. The kind of beauty that was familiar and approachable.

The woman standing before him was anything but.

With hauntingly fair skin, deep red lips, and smoky eyes, she was striking. An unnatural, almost ethereal presence. Her long, dark hair shimmered with an unplaceable quality, drawing the eye like a lure in deep waters.

"It's really me!"

Lyra insisted.

Lovainne's eyes remained cold.

Vaelith, who had remained silent until now, casually tossed a small object onto the desk.

"She had a dog tag."

Lovainne picked it up, studying the engraved metal. He glanced at the photograph once more, then at Lyra.

The resemblance was there. Subtle, but undeniable. A woman before and after something irreversible.

"How did it happen?"

He asked.

"Magic"

Lugh answered dryly.

Technically true. To be more precise, it was the magical glowing fruits they had consumed for the past half-year, but he saw no reason to share that.

Lovainne's expression darkened.

"Magic?"

He echoed, something flickering in his gaze. Then, turning to Vaelith, he asked

"And what about the men I sent with you?"

Vaelith did not hesitate.

"They're dead."

The corner of Lovainne's lips curled ever so slightly.

"Good."

His focus returned to Lugh.

"Explain everything to me."

So he did.

Lugh recounted it all. The sirens' attack, the inhuman soldiers, his fall into the sea. He described the island in the Devil Sea, mentioning the human population there but omitting its true nature.

He left out the trials, the secrets, the horrors that had shaped the past six months.

Lovainne listened, his silver eyes unblinking.

He wanted to know more, Lugh could see it in the subtle tension in his jaw. But he did not press further. Not yet.

Instead, he exhaled quietly, almost as if in relief. Two mages. After all that loss, after all those failures, the Ophris army had gained two mages.

He was pragmatic enough to recognize it for what it was. An act of providence.

He was about to speak when something occurred to him.

"What was your name again?"

He asked, glancing at Lugh.

"Lugh Von Heim."

Lovainne stilled. His frown returned.

"Von Heim?"

"Yes."

His gaze sharpened, studying the boy anew.

"I thought the Von Heim family lacked an heir. Are you mixed-blood?"

"Yes"

Lugh replied, his tone indifferent.

Lovainne's expression shifted. Just for a second. It was something unreadable.

A voice interrupted them.

"Mixed blood?"

The question sounded innocent, almost playful.

It was Xhi.

Lyra reacted instantly, stiffening.

"Oh, it's a human thing"

She said quickly.

"You wouldn't understand."

Silence.

A heavy, oppressive silence.

Xhi looked at Lyra, tilting her head slightly. Then, with that same unreadable smile, she whispered

"But I am a human..."

Lugh felt a chill run down his spine

"...aren't I?"