She looked perfect. Sure she had a little smudge of makeup from the water, but her nails still looked good.
"Are you really asking that question," Helers chuckled.
"Yes. You insult me and expect me not to ask questions. Death is better than this." She was too great to be treated like this! What was the meaning of this. "Do you know who is before you? I am the Rising—"
"Of all humans to come here, a mad one is chosen," Heler resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"Let me finish, Demon!" Valyha, commanded, annoyed by the constant interruption.
How humiliating.
This was not how she imagined breaking her identity to her enemies.
What pleasure was there in securing the borders of your Realm when you couldn't gloat in front of your enemies.
All that trouble and for what. To spend your last moments as a nobody before demons. It was horrifying to think that she could die the death of a normal human. Dumped somewhere without anyone knowing, Valhya the Great was there.
Such a tragedy cannot happen under the skies. It would be too horrible.
It was bad enough that she was captured by demons. She couldn't even get the decency of seeing the looks on their faces when they remembered all the things she had done to their kind. She massacred an entire race, and for what.
This was frustrating. And for what!
Najeer watched as her demeanor changed from confident to an indescribable expression as they all laughed. She looked like she was angry and about to cry for not being acknowledged.
Truly Valyha was infact devastated. They looked down on her like she wasn't even the greatest warlord to ever exist. She could feel tears building up in her eyes. But she couldn't let herself cry.
Crying made her eyes puffy for days, not a good look.
Secondly, not in front of these bastards!
For making her feel this way. Her ghost would surely hunt them. These ones especially.
"Humor me," Commander Heler chuckled. "How has fighting in those been helpful?" Heler's eyes fell to her feet. There were a beautiful pair of spackling black shoes with heels a bit too high and too thin to be practical.
"it's custom made from a rare grade of onyx. The people I defeat, look at me with envy when I show up in them." Valyha said confidently. "The looks on their faces before I kill them, is umatched. It's a mix of, terror, admiration and a 'Its so gorgeous where did she get that!' before they die. But mostly terror. It something you can't understand until you experience it first hand." Valyha explained logically.
"Ah, how very useful." Commander Heler deadpanned. "What about these. I have a feeling they are quite obstructive?
"Nonsense. I've been fighting with lengthy nails for years—Why am I explaining this to you. I am who I am, filthy demon—ow ow ow!"
Heler pulled tighter on her hair causing her to cringe in pain.
The men laughed.
Valyha lightly touched her scalp with the tip of her finger. What was wrong with her shoes and nails? This was humiliating. Might as well just kill her now. But no. She took her pride seriously. How could she let herself die after such humiliation.
"Hold on. You had seen me fight, demon. Tell them who I am. Put them to shame. Tell them now!" Valhya commanded with impatience as she gazed towards Najeer.
The entire room became silent, the second she drew the attention to Najeer. Dead silent.
Najeer was amused by her while Heler became angered. Was she really commanding the Emperor?
Nobody had spoken to Najeer in that tone, in a very, very long time. His aura usually made people submit before they even realized who he was.
Heler wanted to break the human for daring such a cause, but Najeer had not given him the sign, permitting him to hurt her. He dared not act on his own in front of him. It took all his might to hold back his wrath.
"What am I to say, your Majesty," Najeer joked in a calm voice for the first time in a while. The tension in the room grew.
His gaze on her was strong yet patient. Valyha was a bit shocked, by his voice. From the way everyone fell silent when he spoke or how the atmosphere changed when he even moved his body in the slightest. She could tell he was their leader in rank, not just in strength.
"That you saw how powerful I am and that I am Queen," Valhya answered with her head up.
"But are you?" Najeer teased.
"Of course. You should know." Valyha answered confidently. He was the only one who remembers her fighting.
"Ah. Pardon my men for their ignorance," Najeer toyed.
The men held their breaths in surprise. Why was he taking her side.
"I do not forgive them."
"Their acceptance of the truth doesn't change the fact of who you are, does it."
The soldiers observed with their tongue tied. Wondering how His Majesty could take the words of this stranger seriously.
The enemy doesn't just drop out of the sky and change their gender in minutes. She was clearly a fraud.
Valyha's nerves calmed a bit. Finally someone reasonable. "No. No it does not."
"As the Regent of Earth, you were present in Kirth, before the war ended," Najeer began his interrogation. "True?"
Valyha tilted her chin up. "Indeed, I was. I am still wearing my attire, as you can see,"
Najeer's gaze intensified. "Then you can tell me what happened to the portals. That is, if you really are the queen you say you are."
Valyha nodded with pride. "I disrupted it's ability to tether to other Gates,"
Valhya answered.
"How?"
"I used an ancient encrypted spell."
"What type of spell?"