Tall, impossibly tall. Necroline only reached him up to the shoulder, and then with great difficulty. He has a handsome face, slightly elongated, wise in life, although the guy looked no more than fifteen, the kunoichi knew that he was her age – in this world, everyone who owned magic kept their appearance several years younger, a side effect, so to speak. On the left shoulder was a dark metal bracelet with a yellow burning star. “So he is also a dark ninja, and even a shaman. And the sword is not simple, obviously magical and, most likely, some kind of powerful artifact, Necroline thought, briefly assessing the guy. The sword was truly delightful, with a gilded hilt, and a silver blade shining with purity. Simple yet expertly crafted. The guy, to the envy of the girls, turned out to have a stylish hairstyle – long black hair, reaching to the waist, with a diabolical unnaturally white sparkling in the light of the sun. The eyes are narrow and grey. The shaman was dressed in a comfortable dark brown jumpsuit with high lace-up boots. A cloak is also attached to the back. It was skill and experience.
The second, as expected, turned out to be an elf. A real pointy-eared wood elf. The features of the oval, elongated face were rather straight and pointed. The eyes are narrow, dark green with an incredibly strongly curved upper eyelid. His costume is simple, but well-tailored and probably extremely durable. On the knees and elbows are light armored shields and bracers. Behind him was a good bow and a quiver of arrows. The cloak fluttered in the wind. Necroline could have sworn that throwing knives were additionally hidden under the cloak and in the folds of her clothes. The elf was of indeterminate age. He looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old, but that’s only relative. Why has no one seen little elves or retired elves? They are simply hidden from the eyes of strangers and released into the world by teenagers already prepared for a harsh life. However, this elf, for some reason, was released a little ahead of schedule. He could have been fifty years old.
– What do you need, sharp-eared? Necroline asked.
The boys opened their mouths in surprise. They were at least expecting “Thank you for saving us!”, but then…
“My name is Ten Zander,” the elf said slightly reproachfully. “And this is my friend Shiro Dale.
Necroline snorted.
– I’m Caroline, – tried to maintain a relationship “fair”. “This is my friend Necroline.
– Why did you interfere with us? Necroline asked coldly.
“They thought they might kill you,” Dale replied calmly.
The elf’s ears twitched nervously.
– We got caught up. Stand back, I’ll shoot them.
Zander pulled his bowstring lightly.
“Better step aside, pointy-eared,” Necroline advised, and went out to the forest edge, from where it was already possible to see the enemies. Trolls and offended guests of the tavern fled, yelling, cursing and thirsting for revenge.
Dale, Zander, and Caroline stood a little way off. The guys are calm, but Caroline noticed that they were ready to rush into battle at any second.
“Don’t worry, she’s a professional,” Caroline reassured them.
– Are you from the Haya settlement? Zander quickly clarified.
“Yes,” Caroline nodded, smiling.
– Didn’t you become a professional ninja three years ago after passing the last exam? – also quickly asked Dale.
“Yes,” the girl nodded again. “Necroline will destroy them with one spell.
Meanwhile, a friend was standing, surrounded by drunken guests of the tavern, who, having reached the desired condition, decided to “catch” the girl. They didn’t know who they were facing. A black-purple clot of magic began to gather in the girl’s right palm.
“Necroline, you promised me,” Caroline suddenly shouted in fright. There was desperation in her voice.
Necroline shuddered.
“I remember,” she said irritably, and suddenly released an attack. – Sparkling ice!
All the trolls and other fighters were frozen by an avalanche of shining magic.
– In five or six minutes they will thaw. And now, Levitation.
Kunoichi easily took off, as if finding a foothold and kept on invisible wings. The rest followed suit.
– Remind me what you told me in the tavern? Zander asked in a whisper.
“I said she was kawaii,” Dale replied. But I take back my words. Kawaii is cute, weak, in need of protection and therefore dependent on the guy. This one, although cute, is very strong and will not let herself be offended.
Zander smiled.
Chapter 2
Absolute power
Is there an absolute power?
Perhaps there is. But…
Do you need her?
The whole company sat in the old cemetery, around a lit fire, and chatted merrily. Although only Caroline, Zander and Dale were chatting. Necroline remained silent and did not even seem to be listening to the conversation. However, nevertheless, everyone managed to make friends, and Necroline’s silence was taken for granted, ordinary. Caroline mostly spoke for her, but Necroline seemed to be the least of her worries. They are used to doing things like this.
“We were going to cross the Haya settlement and, having reached the settlement, participate in ninja fights for the main prize, representing our village in those competitions,” Zander said.
“Are you, sharp-eared, claiming to be the Strongest Ninja!?” Necroline dropped it with irony and open disdain.
“No,” the elf smiled. “I went to support Dale. He is my friend, after all.
“How touching,” Necroline turned away with a grimace. “And what are you going to do there, Dale?”
– I want to know the Absolute power. This is the goal of my whole life, – Dale sat on a log and smiled too. For some reason, he was very amused by the behavior of Necroline.
– Where are you going? Zander asked.
– We are also in this competition, and also through the Haya settlement. Necroline wanted to check on her older sister, Caroline immediately replied. “Her sister was hurt, and we want to make sure she’s okay.
“How touching, taking care of your sister,” Dale scoffed.
– Hardly. She will train me. We will stay in Haya for two days,” Necroline remarked coldly.
For a while, everyone was silent. “Dark” sat on a log next to Caroline. Sharp flashes of fire beautifully illuminated the face of the kunoichi girl. The bandages on my legs looked dark.
– Are you hurt? Your feet are bandaged,” Dale asked.
Caroline made a scary face, implying that this topic was taboo, as if after this question there were only corpses.
But this time, Necroline condescended to answer. She spoke, as always, with irony and a strange composure.
– Four years ago, I was in love with a guy from our settlement. He was the strongest among the ninja. He seemed to love me, but then… Then he said that love had passed, the tomatoes wilted and met another. Yes, it was hard for me to hear it, but I could handle it.
Necroline chuckled and brushed back her white bangs that had fallen over her eyes.
– Then he said that he was cursed, and his legs should have been taken away. And he said,