《Devourer》 Chapter 1: The Waking Chapter 1: The Waking I¡¯m sitting in front of a man at a desk, I look around and see that the desk is sitting alone in a spotlight surrounded by darkness. The man is wearing a fine suit, the kind those rich people wear as they walk past me while I beg for change on the street. The kind that the people who were never hungry in their lives wore. ¡°Hello.¡± the man said calmly. ¡°Hi¡­¡± I reply. I have no idea where I am¡­ ¡°What do youst remember?¡± the man asked. ¡°I was sleeping¡­ it was cold, so cold I thought I was going to die¡­¡± I reply. ¡°Well you did I¡¯m afraid¡­¡± the man said with a sigh. ¡°What?¡± I asked in shock. ¡°Yes, you are dead I¡¯m afraid. I apologise for all the grievances in your past life, many of the worlds are in a sorry state at the moment. The backlog of reincarnations we have to process is quite significant. We simply don¡¯t have the resources to maintain a suitable quality of life for all the souls under our care.¡± the man said, looking quite defeated. ¡°So¡­ what happens now? Do I go to heaven?¡± I ask, slightly hopeful at the idea. Finally I won¡¯t have to be so hungry that my stomach feels like just a dull ache in my belly. I won¡¯t have to worry about freezing to death in the winter, getting robbed, getting stabbed¡­ ¡°Unfortunately the Christians got it wrong my dear boy, there is no heaven. Although I am quite sure you aren¡¯t that familiar with the various religious beliefs of the world seeing as you were¡­ twelve years old when you expired.¡± the man said as he looked down at a file in his hand. ¡°Expired? Like food bing expired?¡± I ask. ¡°When you died my dear boy. The Buddhists got it right actually¡­ or at least they were the closest¡­ does the word reincarnation ring any bells?¡± the man asked. ¡°Err, it means we get reborn into another¡­ life¡­¡± I say as I feel my heart drop. I may have to suffer through all that I went through all over again¡­ ¡°Well if you are worrying that you¡¯ll end up in your past life¡¯s circumstances don¡¯t worry. Your age at the time of your death, plus the pain and suffering you suffered makes you eligible for one of ourpensation packages...¡± the man said as he reached under his desk and pulled out a thick file. ¡°So ording to this, you are eligible for the highest grade ofpensation which entitles you to¡­ keeping your memories if you so desire, a ss A1 power level body and a Section B3 three question preference assessment by the assessing executive. That¡¯s me by the way. So yeah¡­ your next life will be pretty good rtive to your previous one.¡± the man said as he read off a page in the file. ¡°Oh so I can be born rich?¡± I asked, perking up at those words. ¡°Well you could technically but that would be taking a worst deal honestly. Your entitlements from thispensation package afford you a higher existence than the kind that would require currency to obtain what you desire.¡± the man replied. ¡°Oh¡­ so I won¡¯t be human?¡± I ask. ¡°Well you can be but we can offer you something better. In truth not many souls get this package you only got this because your past two lives were terrible. You see if someone lives to between age 10 to 15 and suffers through most of it in three separate lives, only then would you be eligible for this package. Furthermore packages only apply on the third life onwards, so¡­ yeah you got really unlucky three times in a row¡­¡± the man said with a sigh. ¡°Oh¡­¡± I reply at a loss of what to say. ¡°Ok basically, I¡¯ll ask you three question and I will decide what your next life will be. You will be powerful enough to make your life whatever you want within your existence. Plus you can keep your memories if you want. So shall I begin asking the questions?¡± the man said as he put the file away and pulled out a pen and paper. ¡°Ok¡­¡± I reply hesitantly. ¡°What is your favorite thing to do?¡± the man asked. ¡°Eat.¡± I replied, thinking of that time a nice woman bought me a slice of pizza. ¡°Ok¡­ consuming sustenance¡­ what would you say is your strategy when you encounter problems in life?¡± the man asked. ¡°Erm well I just try to adjust to the situation and hopefully it doesn¡¯t kill me.¡± I reply, thinking of all the times I had to think of strange and odd solutions to my problems. ¡°Ok¡­ adaptive¡­ then what would you say is your greatest strength?¡± the man asked. ¡°I don¡¯t like to run from my problems because they always find you eventually, best to solve them as soon as possible¡­ even if sometimes that takes a long time¡­¡± I reply. ¡°Ok¡­ tries to ovee presented crises as much as possible¡­ alright that¡¯s about it. I think I have the perfect fit for you. So do you want to keep your memories?¡± the man asked. ¡°Yeah I think so, it would be waste to forget all the lessons I learned.¡± I reply as I remember all the hard lessons I learned in my past life. I would rather not make those mistakes again¡­ ¡°Alright, so do you have any final questions before I send you on your way?¡± the man asked. ¡°Yeah, what will I be when I reincarnate?¡± I ask. ¡°Oh I can¡¯t tell you that, I can assure you your life will be much better than the previous one. The policy prevents me from disclosing details about the specifics of your next life. But I can tell you that you won¡¯t be human.¡± the man said. ¡°So I¡¯ll be something better?¡± I ask. ¡°Yeah definitely, humans are a ss C7 body type creature, you will be a ss A1 body type creature. So yes it¡¯s much better.¡± the man said. ¡°Ok¡­ I guess I¡¯m ready.¡± I say as I tense silently praying the reincarnation process won¡¯t hurt. ¡°Excellent.¡± the man said. The moment the man said that word the world went ck. I tried to get my bearings but I found I couldn¡¯t move, it feels like I¡¯m curled up in a fetal position. This ce felt warm¡­ and wet¡­ oh god¡­ I hope I¡¯m not about to be born... ¡°What with this egg?¡± I hear a muffled male voice say. ¡°No idea, hey Alisa you said this tomb had some good stuff here, why is there only this weird egg?¡± I hear another male voice ask. ¡°I don¡¯t know, this map was passed down from my family. I only recently figured out where it led to. Judging by the seal on the door this ce has been sealed for centuries, everything looks undisturbed as well.¡± a female voice said, sounding very confused. ¡°You think this egg is valuable? I mean it¡¯s quite big¡­¡± one of the voices said as I felt something tap onto a surface above me. Oh my god¡­ I¡¯m in an egg¡­ am I a bird? Am I going to be some weird pigeon or something? ¡°Hang on, what does this say¡­¡± I heard another female voice say. Then I feel the area around me shift and I feel this strange pressure around me lessen. ¡°WOAH WOAH! IT¡¯S HATCHING!¡± I hear the first male voice say. ¡°Oh gods¡­¡± I hear one fo the female voices say in horror. Then I feel the shell give way, and I feel my body instinctively thrash and I feel the shell start to break around me. Darkness gave way to light and Inded onto what feels like a stone floor. ¡°WE NEED TO LEAVE! NOW!¡± I hear a female voice shout in fear. ¡°WHAT, WHAT IS IT?¡± I look up just in time to see a man in armour say. He¡¯s wearing what looks to be leather armor and he had a simple sword strapped to his belt. He looked to be about in his early twenties. ¡°IT¡¯S A DEVOURER! WE NEED TO RUN! NOW!¡± the female voice said. I turned to see a woman standing in front of a stone tablet as she gazed at me in horror. ¡°We can¡¯t just run, what if it gets out? The ones in the stories are the size of cities; this one is smaller than a dog. We should kill it while it¡¯s small! If it gets out and starts growing it¡¯ll wipe Averlon off the face of the world!¡± I hear the man in front of me shout. ¡°We¡¯re iron rank adventurers, there''s no way we can kill a Devourer!¡± I heard another male voice shout. I turn to voice and see him wearing lighter armor and looks to be holding a pair of daggers in his hand. It was then that I noticed that my vision was strange, the colours seemed to be duller and I could see their hearts glowing red and pulsating in their chests. As I looked at those glowing red orbs I started to feel hungry¡­ ¡°Then hit it and see what happens!¡± I heard the woman standing next to the tablet shout in panic. I feel my blood turn cold and I turn back to see the man had drawn his sword. He raised it over his head and was about to swing right at me. Then time seemed to slow and I found myself easily able to dart to the left dodging strike. ¡°It¡¯s fast!¡± I heard a woman say and I turned to see her with a bow drawn and aimed right at me. When the arrow flew at me, time seemed to slow again and I easily dodged the arrow. ¡°WAIT! STOP!¡± I shout at the group. Instantly I saw all of them cover their ears as their faces scrunched up in pain. ¡°FUCK! KILL IT!¡± I heard the man with the daggers shout. I continued to dodge their attacks, it wasn¡¯t that difficult. I was fast, much faster than them. But as I dodged I started to get more and more hungry¡­ I looked for an exit and saw a doorway but the stone door seemed to be shut. Well maybe I could open it¡­ I darted along the ceiling, my strange body easily moving along the inverted surface, I didn''t seem to be slowed by gravity at all. When I arrived at the door I scrambled along it trying to find a way to open but I didn''t see a door knob or anything. Just thisrge glowing rune in the middle where the two doors met. It was then that I noticed that they weren¡¯t attacking me anymore. I turned my head and saw all of them, their faces as pale as parchment. They were looking on in horror at the sealed door. ¡°The door¡¯s sealed¡­¡± one of the women whispered in horror. By this point I was getting really hungry and as I looked at the glowing shapes of their hearts I could feel myself start to drool. Well I¡¯m hungry, food¡¯s right there¡­ I hurl myself at the nearest one of the four in the room, the one with the daggers. I extend my arms and tear at his chest. His armour is cut to pieces like paper and soon I find flesh. I feel his body topple over backwards as he screams. I begin tearing into his chest, removing all the pesky obstacles in the way, his flesh, the ribs and finally I see it. That pulsating red fruit, when I smelt the aroma of his heart I couldn¡¯t resist anymore and I thrust my head towards it biting down hard onto that delicious looking organ. I felt the man¡¯s body twitch as I took my first mouthful of this heart. It was the most delicious thing I have ever tasted. It tasted like honey and I ate every bite as fast as I could. When I finished I felt my body change and I heard a voice in my head. New Essence acquired Type: Human Insufficient essence for assimtion I felt my body seem to shift and change, it was an odd feeling but it felt quite pleasant. Then as quickly as it began it ended. As it ended I turned to look at the three remaining people trapped in here with me. ¡°Oh gods¡­ it grew¡­¡± one of the women said as her whole body trembled. As I rear up I realise I¡¯m now as tall as them, previously I was only about half their height. That¡¯s quite a growth spurt¡­ I¡¯m still hungry though¡­ With the hunger still on my mind I hurl myself at the man with the sword and soon I find myself staring at his beating heart. I once again plunge my head towards it and savour its delectable taste on my pte. Again I hear a voice in my head. Human Essence acquired Insufficient essence for assimtion So I get essence whenever I eat one of their hearts. Well there¡¯s still two of them left and I¡¯m still hungry¡­ The two remaining women are now in tears and are huddled together in the corner of the room. I think I¡¯ll take the one who had the bow first¡­ They screamed as I shot towards them, I could hear the other woman screaming and sobbing as I tore into the woman I chose. Soon another heart was in my belly and I felt my hunger start to ease. Still not enough essence for assimtion¡­ As I turned to thest woman who was now on her knees with her hands sped in prayer. Divine, forgive my transgressions Deliver me from darkness Deliver me from darkness Deliver me from darkness Deliver me from darkness Deliver me from darkness Deliver me from darkness Deliver me from darkness Deliver me from darkness Deliver me from darkness Deliver me from darkness She prayed in blind panic, her eyes wide in terror as she looked down at the mangled corpse of the woman I just dined on. Well this one wasn¡¯t going anywhere, no need to rush¡­ So I reach out and grab her by the front of her clothes and she screams in blinding terror. I DON¡¯T WANT TO DIE! She screams as she sobs. Her words give me pause as it starts to sink in. I just killed these people¡­ I know it¡¯s wrong¡­ yet it doesn¡¯t feel wrong¡­ I know it should feel wrong¡­ Odd¡­ Hmmm, I wonder even if I kill her I would still be stuck in this room¡­ she was the one who could read that tablet. I may be able to use her to get out¡­ So I drag her up and I realize I¡¯m now probably two and half meters tall. I pulled her kicking and screaming all the way back to the tablet and I raised her up. I shove her face towards the tablet. ¡°What does it say?¡± I ask. The woman screams as she covers her ears. I guess she can¡¯t understand me¡­ I let her go and point at the tablet. Her crying subsided for a moment as she looked at my extended hand and at the tablet. It was then that I noticed my hand was a pale white and it had three fingers each tipped with arge ck talon. I look down and see the lower half of my body was like a snake with no legs to speak of. That was also when I noticed I actually had four arms, all with three taloned fingers. The woman looks back at me tearfully and I point at the tablet again. So she shakily looks down at the tablet and begins to read. Within this tomb lies our greatest treasure A child of primordial powers that will one day awaken For this tomb holds the cradle of a Primordial Devourer The ultimate apex predator, eater of heroes and gods One day the child will awaken and feast upon the flesh of lesser creatures This tomb will seal itself until the day a suitable sacrifice arrives The woman faltered as she began to sob and her head dropped. I was starting to feel impatient so I reached out and grabbed her by the back of her neck and shoved her head towards the tablet. As she choked on her sobs she finished reading the tablet. Once the sacrifice isplete The seals of this tomb shall open releasing the child to the world The child will remind the world of the truth that they have tried to so hard to forget The true nature of life Eat or be Eaten Kill or be Killed Consume, Adapt, Ovee For this is life¡¯s great imperative Many will say this child is a living nightmare But this child is no dream This child is the waking... Chapter 2: The Wide World Chapter 2: The Wide World I sat on the ground as I quietly munched on thest remaining bit of meat from those humans. It turns out I could get more essence from their meat as well, but it seems most of the essence was concentrated at the heart. Still you should never waste food. As I ate I pondered my apparent numbness to the idea of killing and eating human flesh. I remember I used to think it¡¯s a bad thing but now it just seems like nothing. I tried thinking of their families and the inevitable grieving that will take ce when their disappearance is noted. However, somehow I just couldn¡¯t make myself care¡­ Yeah they were dead, but they tasted good and I was hungry. Somehow that was a good enough justification in my mind. I suspect it¡¯s something to do with my new body, I would assume my new brain worked differently from the human brain. That might exin why I seem to have lost all my revulsion for killing and bloodshed. Well that was a problem forter, for now how the hell do I get out of this ce? I ponder this next question just as I swallow thest bit of human flesh. The moment I swallowed I heard the voice in my head again. Human Genome Assimtion Complete Achieved [Human Genome] Level: 1 / 10 [Advance Cognition] improved [Colour Perception] improved [Fine Motor Skills] improved [Auditory Communication] improved Hmm [Advanced Cognition]? Does that mean I can now feel bad about what I just did? I try to make myself feel bad again¡­ and... nope still don¡¯t care. Maybe this means I can do math better or something? As for the rest, well the world does seem slightly more colourful than before and as I move the fingers on my hand I find I can control them a little better. ¡°Hello.¡± I say out loud and I hear a garbled crude hello sound out. Well it¡¯s better than the screeching noise I was making previously. At least now I can attempt tomunicate with another person if they decide they want to kill me. Then I hear the sound of stone grinding and I see the stone door in front me start to open. Well that¡¯s one problem solved, let¡¯s go see what¡¯s out there. I raised myself back up and I moved out the door. I am much faster nowpared to when I was a human, I¡¯m not even trying to move fast and it looks like I¡¯m moving about as fast as a bicycle. When I exit the cave I find myself in a calm forest. I could hear the trees rustling and birds singing. I notice I can smell something peculiar in front of me, I try to pinpoint it and before my eyes a glowing trail appeared, it led into the forest and as I looked around I saw the trail led into the cave behind me as well. I¡¯m guessing this is the smell of those four humans. Should I follow it? I mean the past four were far weaker than me, but then again they said they were iron ranked adventurers. I¡¯m not sure how strong ¡°iron rank¡± is but I guess I could look around and see what I find. So with that thought in mind I followed the trail and I soon found myself at the edge of the forest. I had just torn through the forest, my body easily able to navigate around the trees, the terrain proved to be no hindrance to me. Then I felt a chill in my bones and I instinctively knew danger was near. I mbered up a tree and faced where I sensed the danger wasing from. I saw a group of six humans moving along the road. They were wearing fine armour and I could see they were much better equipped than the four I just killed. I knew in my gut I couldn¡¯t beat them if we fought so I just watched as they moved past. ¡°We¡¯re finally at gold rank, I wonder what¡¯s all the fuss about gold rank quests being significantly harder than silver rank quests.¡± I heard one of them say. ¡°Well this is our first gold rank quest, I guess we¡¯ll find out.¡± another one of the humans replied. ¡°The pay is so much higher, I can¡¯t wait to upgrade my equipment.¡± another one said. I eavesdropped on their conversation as they walked past me and down the road none the wiser to my presence. So it seems I can¡¯t fight gold ranked adventurers yet¡­ I think it¡¯s best I avoid human civilization for now¡­ Once they were out of sight I mbered down the tree and began heading deeper into the forest. I didn¡¯t have to travel long before I ran into another living creature. I turned to see a strange lizard suddenly freeze when I flew past it. It freezed and it¡¯s form seemed to disappear before my eyes but soon a glowing red silhouette appeared. It looks like this one can go invisible¡­ I could use some invisibility¡­ In a sh I was on top of it and I brought my ws right onto it¡¯s head. I could tell this one wasn¡¯t a match for me and sure enough I sttered it¡¯s head into the ground with the force of my swing. Once again my senses are assaulted by the sweet aroma of the corpse, so I greedily dug in to mytest kill. I went for the heart first and like before it was delicious. New Essence acquired Type: Stalker Chameleon Insufficient essence for assimtion As I expected there wasn¡¯t enough essence from one of these. If there¡¯s one here, I can bet there¡¯s more in this forest. I sniffed at the blood left on the ground and I caught it¡¯s scent. I looked around and saw a trail. I¡¯m not sure if I¡¯ll find any more by following this trail but it¡¯s better than hurtling blindly through this forest. I followed the trail for a period of time and I started to sense the trail was getting thicker and thicker. I eventually arrived at the mouth of a cave, from what I could tell this cave was practically bathed in the scent. I sensed no danger so I decided to enter to have a look. I got a meter into the cave and Immediately met another one that was attempting to leave the cave. It froze and went invisible, well it didn¡¯t work for the other one and it¡¯s definitely not going to work for this one. This time I just lunged at it and tore its head off with my teeth. The Stalker Chameleon didn¡¯t even have time to cry out as I removed it¡¯s head from its body. Again I gorged myself on the body not wasting a single bit of flesh. It seemed like this hunger in my belly was almost insatiable, it didn¡¯t bother me, it was more like a mild hunger that one would feel when you want a snack. As I finished up I heard some strange screechinging from inside the cave, the screeching was then echoed by several others. I think I may have found a nest¡­ lucky me¡­ These lizards were strange, they had these scythe-like appendages growing out of their backs. I assume these were forbat but I think the lizards could tell I¡¯m much stronger than they were so they opted to hide. Well their weakness is a good thing, I really wanted that invisibility ability. I¡¯m not sure how I know that eating them will give me their abilities but I just do. It¡¯s something likemon sense to me, I guess it¡¯s what most people would call instinct? Well I¡¯ll find out if my instincts are right once I clear this ce out. As I continued down the tunnel I ran into a pair of them. This time they hissed and lunged at me. I guess they realised that I could see them, well to me they might as well be moving in slow motion. I shed one and bit down hard on the other, in that one moment they were both dead. After I ate these two I heard the voice in my head again. Stalker Chameleon Assimtion Complete Achieved [Stalker Genome] Level: 1 / 10 [Invisibility] acquired [Arm des] acquired [Thermal Vision] improved With that I felt something in my body change. I looked down at my hands and I felt like I could change them somehow. I ran the thought through my mind and I saw my hand transform into a scythe like de. My top two arms now looked like the kind of hands a praying mantis would have. This was surprisingly easy, it seems my body instinctively knew what to do. So bearing that in mind, what about invisibility? Before my eyes I saw my hands disappear and my vision switched so I could see a glowing silhouette of my arms. Well this silhouette would make it easier for me, I can imagine how confusing it would be to try and use my limbs when I couldn¡¯t see them. Alright then let¡¯s try these new toys out¡­ I hurtled down the tunnel and I realised the Stalkers couldn¡¯t see me, I was quite surprised at that fact. I did get the improved [Thermal Vision] so I assumed they would be able to see me. Maybe my body didn¡¯t give off any heat? Well regardless this made my job easier, I was able to cut down a Stalker with a single swing from one of the arm des. I decided to clear out the cave before eating any of them. I don¡¯t want any to escape. With me moving at top speed I had the cave cleared out within fifteen minutes, which left me with a haul of ten more corpses to eat and about two dozen of their eggs. By the end of my feast I was at [Stalker Genome] Level: 3 and my arm des were much stronger than before. I shed at the rock wall I found I could easily carve right through it. Well this is certainly going to be useful. Still I wasn¡¯t full, I could still feel that slight hunger in my belly. I guess trying to remove my hunger would be a pointless task. As I moved to leave I realised a problem¡­ I¡¯m too big to enter the passageway that leads out of the cave¡­ If only I were a bit smaller¡­ as that thought ran through my mind. I felt my body change and as I looked down I realised my body just shrunk down. Well this is awfully convenient¡­ I wonder how small I can go? I tried to shrink my body to the size I was when I first hatched but I found I couldn¡¯t, I could only get down to the size of a man. Previously after eating all the stalkers my body was almost four meters tall, now I¡¯m around two meters tall. So I guess there is a limit to how much I can shrink. I think I¡¯ll stay as small as possible for now, best to keep a low profile¡­ With that I activated my invisibility and exited the cave, as soon as I left I heard the faint sound of screaming. It sounded like a girl''s voice¡­ it wasing from the road... Should I check it out? I mean if I run into some powerful humans I might just get cut down. I never got a good look at myself in a mirror but judging from the reactions of the first humans I met I¡¯m not exactly a cute looking creature¡­ Still I don¡¯t think humans are that strong overall, those humans in the tomb looked quite fit all things considered. Then I heard the scream again, the girl was clearly terrified. I wonder if she is getting attacked by something. Well I could just go have a look with my invisibility and if things don¡¯t look good I could always just flee. I mean I¡¯m really fast, I¡¯m pretty sure your average human can¡¯t catch me. Alright fine let¡¯s do this¡­ I checked to make sure my invisibility was still on and ran or perhaps slithered at full speed towards the road. As I made my way to the road I realised that even at full speed I was quite silent. Somehow my body automatically moved in such a way that minimised noise, there was still the sound of leaves being ruffled but it wasn¡¯t loud by any means. Then I reached the road and I saw what was causing all themotion. I saw a wagon with the horses pulling them all dead in the dirt. I wonder what horse tastes like? Ok, no, getting distracted¡­ Anyway as I surveyed the rest of the surroundings I saw a dead man lying in the dirt, he was rather plump and judging by his clothes he seemed rather well off. I mean I could see his clothes had some fancy patterns sewn in, not sure if that¡¯s normal fashion but he definitely dressed better than me in past life. On the sides I could see two menughing, they were wearing a random assortment of armor and I could see crude weapons in their hands. The girl''s screaming wasing from the other side of the wagon. Well I¡¯m already here and might as well have a better look, judging by what I can sense those two armed men pose no threat to me¡­ With that thought in mind I circled around the wagon and I saw a young woman she looked to be about in her early twenties? The men had her pinned on the floor and one of them was cutting her clothes off. I know where this is going¡­ In the back of mind I felt a little bad for the woman, I definitely don¡¯t feel as horrified as I should. It was more like I was viewing a mildly unfortunate set of circumstances. Like if someone fell down in the snow or dropped their food or something. These men were probably bandits or something, is that what these types of people are called? Back in my past life people called these types of people thugs and thieves. If I recall bandits were like roving bands of thieves and murderers back in those medieval times. You know what I¡¯m just going to call them bandits. Anyway these bandits looked weak too, I could probably take them all by myself. Well rape is bad and I am hungry¡­ ok as far as I know I¡¯m always hungry but the point still stands. Rape is bad, me hungry. Well technically they were going to rape her, they aren¡¯t rapeing her at this moment, they were still cutting her clothes off. Oh well might as well eat the bandits¡­ maybe the woman will actually talk to me if I save her. She might even have a mirror so I can get a good look at myself. Girls like mirrors right? With that thought in mind, I creeped up behind the man that was positioning himself between the woman¡¯s legs as he fumbled with his pants. He had no idea I had already opened my mouth and was itching to bite his head off. Then in a sh I bit down hard on his head and I felt his skull cave like a melon. I ripped his head clean off his shoulders. The moment I did I sensed my invisibility fade, so it looks like my invisibility only persists until I attack someone. The men around all screamed in shock as they saw their fellow¡¯s head being removed from his body. I grabbed the headless body and tossed it towards the side against the carriage with enough force to break one of the wheels. I¡¯ll eat the restter... eat once the meal is prepared¡­ but it¡¯s ok to taste test¡­ The rest of the men all shouted as they drew their weapons. ¡°WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!¡± I heard one of them shout. ¡°I DON''T KNOW KILL IT!¡± another screamed in reply. One of the men shot an arrow at me, the arrow hit me in the face and it bounced off like it hit a brick wall. ¡°Oh shit¡­¡± one of the men said as he saw the arrow deflect easily off my skin. I leapt towards the nearest man, all my arms now transformed into bone des and I easily hacked him in half at the waist. There was little to no resistance from his armor and flesh. I might as well be cutting air. I felt another arrow bounce off my back and I turned to look at the archer. I saw his eyes widen in fear as he realised he was next. In a sh I buried one of my des in his chest, while being careful not to damage that beautiful red fruit in the middle of his chest. As I tore my de free to a spray of that red nectar I sensed an attacking. I instinctively dodged off to the side and I felt the sword cut the air behind me. My posture was a bit awkward for me to use my des¡­ let me try something¡­ I turned my body and used my snake-like tail to strike the man. As soon as my tail hit him in the left ribs I felt the bones shatter and as I turned back around I saw the man flying back as he spewed blood from his mouth. Hended in the dirt scrabbling at his chest as he gasped and choked on the blood bubbling out from his mouth. I think I probably broke half his ribs and probably liquefied some of his organs. On closer inspection I saw the side of his chest that I had hit was caved in. Well he¡¯s dead, now then, two more¡­ When I looked at the two remaining men I saw that they were bolting down the road with their weapons lying in the dirt nearby. So trying to run? I saw one of them turn his head to look at me and as I activated my invisibility I saw his eyes widen in fear as my form vanished. He let out a scream as he tried to run even faster. Sadly for him I caught up to them in just a few seconds. I decided to go for the other one first since he was slower. I opened my jaw and bit down hard on his right shoulder and ripped the shoulder, some of his ribs and his arm clean off his body. The body fell as I snapped up the little snack and swallowed it greedily enjoying the taste and crunchiness of the bones. As for the final one I caught him a few seconds after beginning the chase. For this one I decided to have a little fun, I grabbed him by the back of his clothes and lifted him off the ground after transforming to my full size. When I turned him around he screamed when he realised I was now muchrger than before. His feet were dangling almost a metre off the floor as he kicked and thrashed trying to escape. I could sense his fear and I must admit that fear was delicious. It only added to my hunger, it was almost like seasoning on food. ¡°Good try.¡± I say and I see his eyes widen as he realised I could speak. ¡°Please let me go¡­ I promise I won¡¯t kill anymore¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± the man wept as he continued to struggle. ¡°You think I¡¯m here because you''re attacking that woman? No, I''m here because I¡¯m hungry¡­¡± I say with a smallugh as I use one of my hands to grab him by the chest, to stop him from struggling. ¡°You know what¡¯s the best thing about meals that run?¡± I ask and the man now frozen in fear looks at me with sheer terror in his eyes. It makes it more fun... Chapter 3: The Buffet Chapter 3: The Buffet ¡°Don¡¯t move. You can¡¯t escape even if you tried, I can smell you from a mile away and I can outpace you on any terrain.¡± I say to the woman as I slither up to her. She mutely nods as she shakes in abject terror. I smelled the distinct scent of ammonia as I noticed the woman had wet herself. She was practically naked, the only clothes she had on her were the shredded remains of the top half of her dress and her stockings. I could see her bare breasts and the small bush of blonde hair between her legs from which the smell of ammonia was emanating. Funnily enough I felt nothing at the sight of what in my perception was apletely naked woman that was rather beautiful. In fact as I ponder this I realised I had no sex drive whatsoever. Could it be because I was technically still a child, I mean I was born only hours ago. Maybe if I run into another of my kind I would feel something? Also am I male or female? That¡¯s going to be an awkward question. I was a guy before but I¡¯m not sure now. Oh I hope I don¡¯t have toy eggs in the future¡­ Well I suppose that¡¯s a question for another time so I put it out of my mind and began to eat the remains of the bandits. As I took my time enjoying my meal I could sense the woman getting more and more terrified as I slowly ate the bodies. I could sense her twitch in fear every time the sound of me crunching bones echoed out. I didn¡¯t really care honestly, I just want to be smarter before I talk to her. Hopefully I could get improved [Advance Cognition] and [Auditory Communication] before I talked to that woman. There''s a lot of questions I want to know, what are humans like in this world and more importantly what do they think of Devourers? As I bit into the final heart I heard the voice in my head again. Achieved [Human Genome] Level: 2 / 10 [Advance Cognition] improved [Colour Perception] improved [Fine Motor Skills] improved [Auditory Communication] improved [Human Pathogen] acquired Core Evolution Achieved Stage: 2 [Bone Spines] acquired [Bone Spines] can be augmented with [Pathogen] and [Toxin] abilities to improve offensive capabilities As soon as the voice stopped I felt my shoulders change. I switched my gaze to my shoulders and saw a row of spikes have appeared. As the spikes appeared I found as usual I instinctively knew how to use them. Now the question was how urate were they? I looked at the wagon and focused my eyes on a single point and I fired one of the spikes. The spike fired from my shoulder and embedded halfway into the wood only a few centimeters off target. So it¡¯s reasonably urate¡­ Well that¡¯s good enough for now, with that I turned and slithered over to the woman as I finished up the rest of the corpse I was munching on. When I arrived at the woman she let out a whimper as she raised her hands up in a show of submission. ¡°I have some questions.¡± I say and I realise my voice is now smoother. It still sounded weird but at least it didn¡¯t sound like a toddler trying to talk anymore. ¡°What questions?¡± the woman asked shakily. ¡°First things first, do you have a mirror?¡± I ask and I see her eyes widen slightly in confusion. ¡°I do¡­ in the wagon¡­¡± the woman replied. With that reply I nodded in the direction of the wagon and she got the message. She shakily stood up as she instinctively tried to cover herself before realising it was quite pointless in front of a creature like me. She walked shakily over the wagon and fumbled through the contents of the wagon. Eventually she took out a mirror about the size of the mirrors they use in barber shops. ¡°Point it towards me.¡± I say and she obeys as she faces the mirror towards me. I could tell she was trying her best to keep the mirror steady. What I saw was surprising to say the least. My face was dome like andpletely smooth. There were no eyes as far as I could tell, no nostril either, just a smooth white surface. I opened my mouth and it revealed rows upon rows of serrated teeth. ¡°Interesting¡­¡± I say and I see my mouth move as I speak. I think I know why I sound weird, I don¡¯t look like I have lips¡­ I shifted my position so I could see my body profile and saw I actually looked really scary. If I was my old self I would have pissed myself just like this woman here. ¡°That¡¯s enough.¡± I say as I gesture for her to put the mirror away and she puts it on the ground. ¡°Good, now where are you from?¡± I ask as I lean forward and tower over her. I see her eyes widen as my body bathes her in shadow. I could tell she was too afraid to talk. I could have backed off to calm her down but honestly I waszy. Plus I had a better idea, I shot one of my spines right next to her feet. She screamed as she jumped away from the spike that was now embedded into the grass. ¡°Answer.¡± I growl trying to make my voice as threatening as possible. ¡°The only reason you aren¡¯t dead is that I have questions and that I find you... mildly amusing.¡± I say as I shoot another spike next to her feet this time she fell over backwards with a shriek. I transform my arms into bone des and raise them as if I¡¯m about to cut her in half. ¡°I suggest you start talking.¡± I growl again. ¡°Averlon, I¡¯m from the city of Averlon¡­¡± she sobbed as she held up her hands in front of her face. ¡°Good, now which way?¡± I ask and she frantically points down one side of the road. ¡°Now then what is an Iron Rank Adventurer?¡± I ask and I see her look up slightly at my question. ¡°Adventurers are¡­¡± she began but faltered halfway. I use one of my des to sh at the ground next to her and she screams as my de cuts a clean gash across the earth. ¡°MONSTER HUNTERS! THEY ARE MONSTER HUNTERS!¡± she wailed as she threw up her hands in effort to shield her face. ¡°And the Iron rank?¡± I ask. ¡°It¡¯s the lowest rank among the adventurers, the ranks are iron, bronze, silver, gold, tinum, mithril and Hero ranks.¡± she said, babbling as fast as she could. ¡°So they hunt monsters like me?¡± I ask. ¡°Yes¡­¡± She replied softly, her voice shaking. ¡°Now then, what do you know about Primordial Devourers?¡± I ask as I lean in. ¡°What?¡± she asked, confused. ¡°Primordial Devourers, what do you know about them?¡± I ask. ¡°They¡­ they don¡¯t exist, they¡¯re just monsters that live in stories.¡± she replied. ¡°What do the stories say?¡± I press. ¡°They say the Devourers are the first form of life, they say all life came from Devourers. All that breathe are progeny of the Devourers. The stories say they were wiped long ago¡­¡± the woman replied. ¡°By who?¡± I ask. ¡°Many beings, the angels, the demons, the Heroes of old, the ancient dragons. The mightiest of the other races all banded together to kill off the Devourers. That first war is called the War in Heaven. The angels of heaven tried to wipe out the Devourers that lived in Terra, they lost in Terra and gave the Devourers the power to enter heaven. They were only defeated after all the other races united against them.¡± the woman replied. ¡°And that¡¯s it? None were ever seen again?¡± I ask. ¡°No, some appear from time to time, hatching from long dormant eggs. When one appears it always causes untold destruction. Nations fall, cities burn, usually they are defeated by the Heroes of man who are aided by the blessings from the angels of Heaven.¡± the woman replied. ¡°What would happen if another Devourer appears?¡± I ask, this perhaps was the most important question. ¡°The nations would call their mightiest heroes to defeat it as soon as possible. They have to, the Devourers grow stronger over time, they can eat anything and with each meal the devourers¡­ grow stronger¡­¡± the woman replied as she faltered and her eyes widened as she looked at me, the realisation hitting her. ¡°You don¡¯t look anything like the paintings¡­¡± she said softly. ¡°We evolve as we eat, I am sure my appearance will change as I continue to grow.¡± I replied. ¡°You¡­ aren¡¯t going to let me go are you?¡± the woman said, her voice trembling. ¡°If you let me go, I might go back and tell everyone. Then the nations will send their heroes to hunt you down¡­¡± she said, her voice barely a whisper. ¡°Smart one aren¡¯t you?¡± I reply as I bare my teeth. Well it looks like this discussion is over, chow time¡­ ¡°Wait¡­ may I have ast request?¡± the woman said shakily. ¡°What?¡± I ask as I look at her. ¡°Could you make it painless? And do the deed from behind. I don¡¯t want to see it happen.¡± the woman said as tears flowed down her face. ¡°Alright¡­ turn around.¡± I say and she shakily turns around. She kneels with her back to me and I see her look up at the sky. I could sense her breathing picking up speed, she knows she¡¯s about to die and she is terrified. ¡°Well they say being raped is a fate worse than death. Not sure how true that is.¡± I say as I raise one of my des. ¡°Yes I suppose it is good I remained pure to the end.¡± the woman said, choking back a sob as she lowered her head in resignation. ¡°Farewell.¡± I say as I bring my de down and pierce her through the back of her head. The de goes clean through and her body goes limp. A quick death, simple, painless¡­ Well so much for that, funnily enough I felt a little bad for her. I guess this is the [Advance Cognition] talking, still there was no guilt. I just felt it was a little unfortunate that I had to kill her. Oh well, whatever. I bit down onto her torso with the dismissal of that momentary thought and enjoyed the sweet taste of her heart along with the rest of her body. After that I ate the woman¡¯s husband? Father? Brother? Whatever, he¡¯s food now. As I ate the horses I heard the voice in my head again. Equus Essence acquired Insufficient essence for assimtion I wonder what the horse essence will give me... Well that was a fruitful discussion and a nice meal¡­ What now? With that thought in mind I looked around and I saw the bandit¡¯s trail leading into the forest. I wonder¡­ don¡¯t bandits usually have a camp? Would there be more of them? Well I have no pity for these types of people¡­ to be fair I have no real pity for anything¡­ still these were criminals and the human part of me still disliked them. Besides¡­ who¡¯s going to miss a few dead bandits? I let out a small chuckle as I turned and began following the trail. The trail was quite thick and honestly it smelled quite unpleasant. I don¡¯t think those guys bathed very often, proper hygiene is probably an abstract concept to them. I wound my way through the forest and followed the trial and I soon found a narrow path. I think this is the path the bandits took. Then I sensed movement ahead and carefully moved off the path while making sure I made as little noise as possible. ¡°What do you think is taking them so long?¡± I heard a voice say as a pair of men appeared walking along the trail. ¡°Duno, maybe they found a pretty girl or something and are having their way with her.¡± the other man replied. They were wearing roughly the same gear as the bandits from before. Same beat up armor and weapons, and the same unwashed scent¡­. ¡°Selfish bastards, probably going to have their fun first before dragging her back and let us have the sloppy seconds.¡± the first man said. ¡°I hope Boris doesn¡¯t kill her, remember when he killed the one before we got her back?¡± the second man asked. ¡°Yeah, I don''t know why he likes to choke them as he does his thing. That one was pretty and young too, the boss knocked two of his teeth out for itter.¡± the first man said with augh. ¡°Hahaha yeah I remember that, he was talking like some vige idiot for a week. Well the boss does like the young ones.¡± the second man replied with a chortle. ¡°Yeah that one probably still hadn¡¯t even had her first blood yet, she barely had any hair on her. Big mistake Boris, big mistake¡­¡± the first man said with augh. All the while they were talking I was maneuvering behind them, my des drawn. Their conversation was honestly vaguely disgusting, looks like that bandit leader¡¯s a pedophile. Well there¡¯s going to be one less pedophile in this world soon¡­ Once I was in a good position I shed at the neck of the second man that was following the first one. He was immediately relieved of his head and I saw my body exit invisibility as his headless body fell forward with a thump. The other man yelped as he turned around just in time for me to pepper him with [Bone Spines]ced with [Human Pathogen]. He staggered back as he looked down in shock at the six spines in his chest. Then his eyes turned bloodshot and trickles of blood began flowing down his nose. He gasped as he fell over backwards. I moved closer to him and looked down and saw him gasping as ck blood bubbled up from his mouth. I switched one of the des back to my taloned hands and cut his leather chest armor open. I looked down and saw the spots where the spines had hit looked to be turning ck with ugly red veins radiating from the wounds. Whatever this [Pathogen] is, it''s fast acting and looks pretty painful. The blood leaking from the wounds was also ck like tar, this looks really effective, I hope it doesn¡¯t affect the taste of the meat¡­ Well I am curious about the full scope of this [Human Pathogen] thing, I wonder if it gets any stronger. So with that in mind I decided to eat the other one first while keeping an eye on the dying one. He died rather quickly. I got only two bites into his friend when his body stilled and went limp. That was what? Less than a minute? As I finished up the second man I felt somethinge up in my throat and I instinctively hacked up something from my mouth. I looked down and to my surprise I saw a lump of metal that looked to be melted and fused together. Oh¡­ I guess I shouldn¡¯t have eaten their armor as well as their bodies¡­ To be fair at the time it didn''t really bother me. I crunched through the metal as easily as I did their bones. Then again if I just cough it up doesn¡¯t that mean there isn¡¯t an issue? I know owls cough up pellets of bone asionally and cats do cough up fur balls¡­ It would be quite inconvenient to peel the armor off everytime I eat a human. Oh well forget it I''ll just keep eating it and see what happens... With that meal finished I reengaged my invisibility and continued following the trial and soon I came across a walled camp. The walls were wood and I could see a guard standing atop a watch tower looking very bored. I also sensed two more of the bandits patrolling the perimeter¡­ I mbered up a nearby tree so I could see into the camp. What I saw made me very excited, it''s like a continental buffet down there... There¡¯s about two dozen bandits milling about in the open, probably with more in some of those wooden shacks. There were about five women in this wooden pen and I saw one bandit exit one of the houses and dragged a crying woman along with him. The man opened the pen and chucked her into the pen where shended in the dirt a sobbing mess. The men were all using the same beat up arms and armor. After examining them I couldn¡¯t sense any threat whatsoever, it looks like these guys were just walking and talking meals for me. There was thisrger house in the middle where this bonfire was. I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s where the bandit leader lives. The house was much better constructed; it wasn''t like the crappy shacks around the camp. This one looked like a cottage with proper walls. There were other creatures as well, I saw attack dogs, horses and thisrge bear thing¡­ That one looks interesting¡­ Well well well¡­ Dinner is served¡­ Chapter 4: Evolving a Conscience Chapter 4: Evolving a Conscience I snuck back down the tree and shrunk my body. I¡¯ll take out the two patrolling on the perimeter first. I don¡¯t want them to run the moment I start wreaking havoc. My n is to pick off as many of them as possible without the rest finding out. I¡¯m not that worried that they will overwhelm me, I just don¡¯t want to deal with ten people scattering in different directions¡­ Once I reached the two men I waited until the pair were in a spot on their patrol where no one could see them. In one sh I decapitated the pair of them. I¡¯m still about two meters tall at my smallest. It looks like my growth is slowing down, probably because the prey wasn¡¯t that big rtive to my full size. After taking care of these two I grew a littlerger so I can scarf their bodies down faster. I don¡¯t want anyone finding the bodies early, this way there would only be blood stains. Still a red g but not as bad as corpses. It would at least lead to some confusion before the panic sets in. With that settled I turned around. I climbed up a nearby tree and looked for a good spot tond when I jumped over. I saw one man walking off the side to take a piss on the wall. I leapt over the wall and drove one of my des through his head and held his body in ce to stop it from falling. I then dragged the body behind a house in a shadowy spot and left it there. I¡¯ll be back for itter¡­ I renengaged my invisibility and snuck out into the middle of the camp. I saw one of the bandits approaching the pen and I had a suspicion he was about to grab one of the women to have some fun. Well usually when a man decides to have some fun with the fairer sex they would want some privacy¡­ Sure enough he grabbed a young woman with curly matted brown hair and she sobbed in protest as he dragged the woman to her feet. He dragged her over to a nearby hut, I could tell he was looking to enter this one. So I slipped ahead of the pair and crept through the window. It was justrge enough for me to slip through. Luckily my body was long and not wide, so I still could fit. With that I waited in the corner of the room and sure enough the door opened. The man dragged the sobbing woman in and yanked her towards a nearby bed made of wood and straw. The woman tried to struggle but the man backhanded her across the face and tossed her onto the bed. The woman now bleeding from a split lip quietly sobbed on the bed as the man began taking his pants off. I got behind him and increased in size so I could tower over the bed. I had a n on how to kill them both at once but I needed to be big enough¡­ The man growled as he climbed onto the bed and pulled her legs apart. He then tried to position his member at her entrance and as he did so he leaned forward slightly. There¡¯s the moment I¡¯m looking for¡­ I raised my de which was almost half a meter long and I stabbed in through the man¡¯s back. I kept pushing forward the de skewered the woman underneath him. The woman let out a scream of pain as she felt the de stab into her chest. ¡°OI QUIET IT DOWN IN THERE!¡± I heard another man shout from outside. With that I brought down another de and stabbed it into her face. Her body twitched for a moment before stilling. I¡¯ll just leave these two here for the moment¡­ With that I crawled back out the window, I don¡¯t have much time now. The bandits will eventually notice that those are now silent. Which means I need to start my rampage soon. I saw a group of five of them sitting together at the fire. I guess I¡¯ll start with them¡­ I slithered up behind them and grew to my full size and saw that I was now towering five meters tall. I¡¯ll take them out and then fire some spines at the guy on the watchtower. Don¡¯t want him to escape. The rest will still have to get the gate open. That should buy me time to kill them. So I raised my de and shed at the five of them, my des now two meters long cut through them like a hot knife through butter. The bandits around me immediately shouted in rm as my massive form materialised in thin air. I turned and fired a wave of spikes at the man at the watchtower. He was thrown back and was pinned to the side of the watchtower, at this size my spines were the size of a man¡¯s forearm. The bandits which I hoped will at least try to fight all turned and ran¡­ Well so much for that¡­ I hurtled through the camp des shing and spines firing. Bodies dropped to the ground in pieces or flew back and were pinned to nearby walls by my spines. Their screams and raw terror was intoxicating. As I expected I saw about half of them run for the gate. The ones who got there first tried to get the gate open but the ones behind yanked them back and tried to get the door open themselves in panic. In their blind panic they ended up getting in each other¡¯s way, well all the more easier for me¡­ I sped towards the gate, des drawn and the men turned and saw my charging form. Their eyes widened in terror, faces now pale as parchment. I could see their pupils dte as they realised they were about to die¡­ and they screamed¡­ I shed at the group of men with all four hands. I ended up cutting them to pieces, demolished the gate and part of the wall behind them. I also identally copsed the watchtower to my right as I caught the supports of the watchtower with my backswing. As I took in the wrecked wall and watchtower I realised my body is harder to control at this size. I guess it makes sense, the smaller something is the easier it is to mess something up when you try to handle it. As the smell of that red scarlet nectar washed over me, I felt a kind of weird feral happiness. Iughed and turned around to see thest remaining few bandits trying to climb over a section of wall. Again these idiots tried to get up first and ended up slowing each other down. I charged them with my vision now turning red and their hearts pulsing brighter than ever in my vision. I could have used my spines to kill them but it was so much more fun to use my des¡­ When I was upon the four of them I opened my jaws and snapped up the one at the top of the wall. I closed my teeth around his body and it was snapped clean in half, his lower body tumbling back down into the dirt. The others shouted as they tried to run, three quick shester and there were now six pieces staining the dirt red. Unable to resist, I snapped up one torso as a quick snack and I turned around to see a few stragglers running for the now destroyed gate. One of them even managed to get a horse and was riding towards the opening. Well horse or no, I was much faster and soon I was upon him. I opened my maw and snapped up the man right off the horse. At the same time I shed at the horse and the horse¡¯s body rolled away in two halves. I raised my head and swallowed his whole body. Enjoying the feeling of his body sliding down my throat. The few remaining behind me were now running towards therge house, as far as I could sense there were only these few left and I could smell something in the big house. I charged those remaining and easily cut them down. All this fighting was making me quite hungry so I snapped up one of the bodies in my jaws savouring the delectable taste. With that I looked around and saw no more bandits. I turned and saw the women all cowering in their pen, the scent of ammonia thick around them like a miasma. Well they weren¡¯t going anywhere¡­ that just leaves the house¡­ I switched my des back to my ws and I tore the wall open, not bothering to shrink down to go through the door. When I entered the room, the whole ce reeked of someone¡¯s scent. I saw on the bed there was a girl''s legs spread and syed on the bed. I noted she looked the youngest amongst all the women. She had a smaller frame and a childlike face, her breasts were also small, with an overall petite appearance. I guess the bandit leader couldn¡¯t actually get his hands on any kids so he settled for the next best thing. I realised the smell was emanating from between her legs, and as I got close I realised the bandit leader had just probably finished up when I started to attack. The girl was still panting and her eyes were rolled up into her head. His leftovers looked fresh¡­ Now that left the real question, where the hell was he? Then I saw a trail leading out the window¡­ ah... so he ran¡­ I turned and smashed my way through the wall and saw the trail went over the nearby wall. Well he had only two choices honestly... He could die in that room¡­ OR HE COULD DIE RUNNING... With that thought and augh I smashed through the wood wall, the logs that made up the wall splintering like a bunch of toothpicks. I looked to the trail and I could see a figure sprinting away from the camp. Now this is much more fun¡­ I instinctively let out a roar and started chasing him. In just a few seconds I have obliterated whatever pathetic lead he could muster on his puny legs. He turned and screamed just as I opened my maw and closed it around him. Thest thing he saw was my teeth as I snatched him up and tore him in half¡­ Leader or no, he dies all the same¡­ With the hunt over and as I devoured the bandit leader¡¯s other half. I felt the tion of the hunt start to fade and my vision started to lose it¡¯s red tinge. Gradually I felt my mind clear and I realised I lost control a little there. Is this what they call a feeding frenzy? Like when sharks smell a drop of blood in the water or something? This is a little scary¡­ I guess I¡¯ll figure this outter, I still had a feast and few loose ends to tie up back at the camp. When I got back to the camp I spotted the women in the pen had escaped and they were standing in the middle of the camp. They froze when they saw me their eyes filling with fear. Well I had no intention of allowing them to walk away, if they left and told someone about me. Then I think I will have to deal with more than just bandits¡­ One of the women ran forward and picked up one of the fallen swords of the bandits. She scrambled to raise the sword and I smiled. This was quite the sight, this woman was stark naked, covered in filth and her sword was shaking like a leaf in the wind. I transformed my hands into des and her face crumpled. The sword fell down to the earth listlessly and I saw whatever faint desperate hope in her eyes shatter into a thousand pieces. The woman looked down at the sword then raised it again. At first I thought she was going to try to fight but then she grabbed the sword by the de and to my surprise she rammed the tip of the de into her throat. She choked and gagged for a moment before crumpling to the ground, choking and gasping as her life drained away. So better to die by the de than to my teeth? Well it would be less painful... The other women looked at the soon to be corpse in mute horror then their gaze shifted to me. At that moment I felt a little bad, these women just had the worst luck in the world¡­ Once again as quickly it came the feeling faded and I took aim with my spikes. I fired a wave of spines impaling the remaining women. They were instantly thrown against the dirt as my spines knocked them off their feet. They gasped and twitched before stilling, I saw one give me onest look of terror before her eyes softened and the light left her eyes. Again I was struck with that slightly bad feeling, I guess this is just the vestiges of my old self. I wonder if this is because I¡¯m eating humans and getting improved [Advanced Cognition]? I doubt I will fully sympathise with humans, my mind just seemed too attracted to the idea of killing and eating for me to realistically abstain from killing humans. I may end up preferring other prey but I somehow just knew I would never be above killing them. I then turned away from the sight of the dead women and I looked around and saw there were still some horses struggling against the ropes that tied them to nearby posts. I fired another wave of spines and the horses all copsed, their bodies covered in my spines. That leaves this weird bear thing, it was quiterge and it was horned. Odd looking creature, it was terrified, I could see in its eyes. It was backed against the back of its iron cage and it was shaking. It¡¯s fur was brown like a normal bear, if you ignore the horns and its size it would pass for a normal bear¡­ Well let¡¯s see what it gives me¡­ I shed at the cage and the crude iron was cut through like paper. I swapped two of my des back into taloned hands and pulled the cage apart. I then brought my de down, skewering the bear against the floor. I grabbed it, bringing it up to my mouth and began to eat it, fur, horns and all. I just tore into it like it was a baked potato or something. After I finished I heard the voice again¡­ Ursus Cornutum Essence acquired Insufficient essence for assimtion Well I guess I need a few more of those. I then went on to the horses after I ate the secondst horse. I heard the voice in my head again. Achieved [Equus Genome] Level: 1 / 10 [Muscle Strength] improved [Bone Density] improved Well those were pretty boring upgrades¡­ Then again I guess horses were boring¡­ After I finished up the horses I moved on to the human corpses. This time there were more than thirty bodies for me to eat. So I was sure I would get another genome upgrade. I got halfway through the bodies when I heard the voice sound off in my head. Achieved [Human Genome] Level: 3 / 10 [Advance Cognition] improved [Colour Perception] improved [Fine Motor Skills] improved [Auditory Communication] improved Ok so more of the same, pretty boring. When I finished the rest of the bodies nothing else happened. It looks like the requirements for upgrades increase as the stages go up. I guess for stage 10 I¡¯ll have to eat a whole city or something¡­ that¡¯ll take awhile¡­ Would that be even worth the effort? I mean that would probably take days¡­ or maybe stronger humans are worth more? Like those Gold Ranked adventures? Well I¡¯ll find out if that''s true at some point, I mean the n doesn¡¯t change. I just have to keep eating them¡­ That leaves onest thing, the unconcious girl in the house. I didn¡¯t sense any movement in the house the entire time I was eating, I guess she¡¯s out cold. Well I might as well finish her off and move on. Judging by the sky it¡¯s going to be night soon, I guess soon I¡¯ll be a day old. Feels like more has happened today than my entire past life¡­ I wonder what my life will be like in this world? Will I just live alone? Maybe I¡¯ll make some friends. I have a feeling this life will be quite lonely¡­ Wait wait wait¡­ did I just think about being lonely and having friends? Is this the [Advance Cognition] talking? Well I do have a way to test this¡­ it¡¯s lying unconscious in that house¡­ When I reentered the house I saw the girl was still unconscious on the bed. I could see bruises have formed around her throat, making a blue and ck ring around her neck. Herhers were also red and swollen probably from what that bandit did to her. Well I should probably kill her and get this over with. I transformed one of my hands into des and raised it preparing to stab her in the head. Then I saw her shift slightly and she turned to the side. Her eyes scrunched together and she curled up into a fetal position. I could tell her eyes were darting around under her closed eyelids. It looks like she¡¯s having a nightmare, then I saw tears flow out from under her eyelids. Again I felt bad for her, this time the feeling was stronger¡­ Crap looks like my suspicions were right, eating humans makes me grow a conscience. This is quite ironic¡­ I get the ability to feel guilty about killing humans by eating humans¡­ To be fair she was unconscious the moment I found her. I think that bandit lord probably choked her out while he was defiling her. She won¡¯t know what I am, she¡¯ll just wake up to this destroyed camp¡­ I don¡¯t really have a reason to kill her¡­ if she saw me then I know I can easily kill her because she¡¯ll put me in danger. But now¡­ she¡¯s no threat to me, and I don¡¯t really want to keep eating humans. Thest thing I want now is a full blown conscience. I mean even now what I feel isn¡¯t exactly pity it¡¯s more like I feel it would be a pointless kill. Like why kill her? There¡¯s not much reason for it, she¡¯s so small she probably won¡¯t make a dent in my growth. If I keep eating humans this feeling bad thing is going to get worse so I don¡¯t think I want to eat her because of that. So what? I just kill her and leave her corpse here? What¡¯s the point in that? With a sigh I turned my de into my taloned hands and turned away. At the opening I turned back to take onest look at her and pondered how this is the first living thing I let live so far. For better or worse I¡¯m smarter now and not some dumb ferocious monster. Being smart is good, right? When I really need it I will be able to better strategise¡­ I took a final look at the quietly crying girl on the bed and muttered onest thing. Good luck... Chapter 5: The work of the Beast Chapter 5: The work of the Beast Lily stirred as she blinked the sleep from her eyes. She sat up and winced as she felt a stinging pain from between her legs. Her whole body ached and the area around her neck felt so sore she could barely move her head. She sat up from the bed and looked up. Her eyes widened and her mouth fell open in shock as she beheld the gaping hole in the wall. She looked around the room and saw there was another hole in the side of the wall. She could see from the hole the camp was wrecked and the gate was almostpletely destroyed. The watchtower was now a pile of rubble and part of the wall was also destroyed. Did the camp get attacked? Were there rescuers? A search party from Averlon? But then why was she still here? Did they leave her behind? Thest thing she remembered was that foul creature¡¯s hand around her neck and his rod inside her. She looked off to the side and saw the body length mirror the brute stole from some poor merchant weeks ago. She staggered to her feet trying to ignore the searing pain in herhers and neck. Lily got a few steps forward and copsed onto the floor. She looked up and saw her haggard reflection in the knocked over mirror. Her dead eyes, matted hair and a ugly ring of purple around her neck reflected in the cracked surface. With a groan she tried to get to her feet again and this time she managed to walk. She staggered over to the massive hole where the door used to be. Lily didn¡¯t know what to think when she saw the total devastation around her. All was silent, not a soul was there, not even the dogs, horses or that horned bear that was locked in that iron cage. The camp was totally destroyed; only about half the shacks were still standing. She looked back at the walls of the house and realised it was a miracle that the house didn¡¯t copse. Then Lily felt the cold on her bare skin, it was a wee chill¡­ ever since she was dragged here she has been locked in that house with that monster. She needed¡­ clothes¡­ clothes¡­ it has been weeks since she wore them¡­ Lily stumbled over to the dresser and saw that for some reason that monster left his prized horned bear pelt coat behind. She grabbed whatever clothes she felt would fit and tried not to gag as she smelt that man¡¯s scent on the clothes. Now covered up her eyes wandered to that monster¡¯s sword thaty against the wall. The weapon was still in its scabbard. She walked shakily over to it and grabbed it, intent on using it as a walking stick. The moment she lifted the sword it suddenly struck her¡­ she was free¡­ whatever happened here had freed her¡­ she could go home¡­ The thought brought her to her knees as tears fell freely, the nightmare was over¡­ Lily didn¡¯t know how long she cried as she knelt on the floor but when the tears dried she felt something in her chest she had not felt in a long time¡­ hope¡­ That hope gave her the strength to rise and her mind immediately went to how she was going to get home. She needed food and water. She remembered there was a trail out of the camp. After that she had no idea, well she would rather die to the fangs of wolves than be used as a toy by that brute. So she gathered whatever supplies she could scrounge up in the house, it wasn¡¯t hard. The brute kept all the nice cheese in this house and she found his water skin. She picked up the waterskin and found it full. So with supplies in hand and the sword as a walking stick she took her first steps out of the house. When the chill of the forest touched her face she was almost overwhelmed again but this time she managed to steel herself. The heavens have given her a second chance¡­ she would not squander this gift¡­ As she walked towards the gate she noticed pools of dried blood in dirt. But no bodies¡­ Then she noticed strange spines made of white bone in the dirt. These were blood stained and were asrge as a dagger. She looked over to the empty pen where they kept the other girls and saw no blood stains there¡­ maybe they got out too¡­ She looked around at the damage and saw shes on the walls and in the dirt. Whatever made these gashes wasrge, the gashes were wider and longer than any gash she had ever seen. Then she arrived at the iron cage where that horned bear was kept and saw the iron was horribly bent and it looked like the cage was cut apart by some kind of de. Outside the cage was a small puddle of blood¡­ As she continued through the camp the realisation started to sink in that whatever did this wasn¡¯t human¡­ it wasrge and it was powerful¡­ those bastards probably didn''t even stand a chance judging by the weapons lying next to dried pools of blood¡­ When Lily reached the gate she saw the same gashes streaked across the logs that made up the walls. It looks like the des went through the wood like paper¡­ the woods wasn¡¯t even splintered at the gashes, it was a clean cut that gouged a neat gash through the wood¡­ Finally she took her first unsteady step outside camp and she paused. She took onest look at the utterly destroyed camp and privately vowed never to return¡­ She somehow knew in her heart those bastards were dead, whatever did this made sure of that¡­ Now she just needed to get to the main road and maybe¡­ just maybe she would get home¡­ With the thought of her parents'' face in her mind, she took a determined step out into the forest. Then another and another¡­ She would get home or die trying¡­ ??,`¡ã.???.?.???.¡ã`,?? Beatrice was quite nervous truth be told. She is a Beastiarian, a researcher of the many forms of life scattered across Terra. She findsfort in books and dissection tables. Now she was riding in a wagon being dragged out of the Averlon. Beatrice internally cursed her luck of being activated for a ¡°New monster contact protocol¡±. Apparently the road patrols found an attacked merchant wagon on the road and they found some odd things at the site. So since Beatrice was the royal Beastiarian for the city state of Averlon she was being set out to investigate. She wasn¡¯t good with people or the outdoors for that matter. Well yes she is really good at her job and outperformed even her peers who were decades older than her. She¡¯s only in her mid twenties and she''s already been recognised as the best Beastiarian in Averlon. Still! That doesn¡¯t mean she¡¯s good at FIELD WORK. She¡¯s good at analysing samples that end up on her desk, not going out there and finding out what the hell happened! Now she would have to go out there in the cold and work with strangers¡­ heavens she hated strangers¡­ Her colleagues often made snide remarks about her, sometimes behind her back, sometimes right in her face because of her social anxiety. One of the mostmon ones she hears is when she receives any romantic advances from anyone. ¡°Beatrice isn¡¯t interested in your boner brother, the only bones she¡¯s interested in are the kind that she can reassemble.¡± that was amon one¡­ well to be fair she could reassemble any skeleton from memory but still! That¡¯s MEAN! So with a sigh she looked up and saw the horses pulling her wagon. On horseback around the wagon were the gold ranked adventures that had been contracted to escort her to the site. She let out another sigh as she looked back down trying to catch anyone''s eye and pulled her fur coat around her shoulders a little closer to keep out the cold. When Beatrice finally reached the site she struggled to get off the wagon only to be helped off by one of the gold ranked adventures. ¡°Steady now Ma¡¯am.¡± the gold ranked warrior said as he helped her with a smile. ¡°Thank you¡­¡± she mumbled in reply and quietly began shuffling towards the site. When Beatrice looked over the site she saw guards posted around it. They had stuck sticks into the ground around the areas of interest. The first thing she noticed was the wagon was wrecked. Something had broken a wheel and the horses were nowhere to be seen. Funnily there were no bodies¡­ the bodies might have been eaten... ¡°Are there any remains?¡± Beatrice asked timidly to a nearby guard. ¡°Huh? Who are you?¡± the guard replied gruffly. ¡°Eeeep.¡± Beatrice yelped as she shrunk back and the guard recoiled slightly in surprise at her reaction. ¡°This is Madam Beatrice Godwinn, the Royal Beastarian of Averlon.¡± the gold ranked adventurer said helpfully from the side. Beatrice saw the eyes of the guard widen in surprise and he immediately bowed forward. ¡°My apologies Ma''am.¡± the guard said hurriedly. ¡°It''s¡­ ok¡­¡± Beatrice replied softly. ¡°She was asking about the bodies.¡± the adventurer said, trying to speed things along. ¡°Yes of course good sir, we have found no bodies here or nearby. There are patches of dried blood however and what looks like tracks made by some kind of serpent¡­ along with some other strange observations.¡± the guard said as he turned his head to the wagon. ¡°Can you show me the tracks first?¡± Beatrice said softly. ¡°At once Ma¡¯am.¡± the guard said. Beatrice was brought to a section of grass that looks to be trampled. She looks down and pushes up therge sses on her face. As she examines the tracks she noted the guards were right, this does look like a serpent type trail. A long body slithering across the grass¡­ ¡°It¡¯s heavy.¡± a voice said from behind her and Beatrice nearly jumped out of skin. ¡°Angelina, careful she¡¯s skittish.¡± Beatrice heard the adventurer say. She turned to see the ranger in the adventurer¡¯s party. As she got a good look at this Angelina she noted she was a half elf. A rare species, interrace procreation is difficult, with only ten percent of the fertilisation chance for the lower fertility species. Elves also had an extremely low fertility with only a ten percent chance of pregnancy during ovtion meaning that there is only a one percent chance of fertilisation for a human, elf couple. Half-elves also had longer life spans, not as long as pure blood elfs. All these facts rang in her head as she looked at Angelina, all the information being pulled from her memory instinctively. ¡°Erm hello?¡± Angelina said and Beatrice realised she had been staring nkly at her. ¡°Oh yes, why do you say it¡¯s heavy?¡± Beatrice asked. ¡°The tracks aren¡¯t wide but they are deep. A serpent of this size shouldn¡¯t leave such deep tracks. My best guess is that this creature is only a serpent on the bottom half, with some other torso body type.¡± Angelina said as she looked back at the tracks. That made sense, full serpents usually leave shallow tracks because their weight is distributed across a wider area. This one isn¡¯t that wide yet the tracks are deep, which means chances are Angelina was correct. Heavens she needs to improve her field work¡­ ¡°I think you¡¯re right.¡± Beatrice said with a nod as shifted her gaze back to the tracks. ¡°What do you think it is?¡± Angelina said. ¡°Erm¡­ can¡¯t tell with just the tracks, there are many species that have serpent type lower halves. Naga, Gorgons, Snakefolk¡­ too many to list¡­¡± Beatrice replied. ¡°OK then let¡¯s see what else we can find.¡± Angelina said as she turned to the guard. ¡°What else is there that seems strange?¡± Beatrice asked tentatively at the guard. ¡°The thing that stands out the most would be this.¡± the guard said as his voice grew troubled. Beatrice was brought over to the wagon and she spotted a white protrusion in the wood. Closer inspection revealed that it was some kind of bone spine. It must have been propelled at great force for it to be embedded so deeply in the wood¡­ ¡°We haven¡¯t touched it, we were afraid it¡¯s poisoned.¡± the guard said. ¡°Yes it might be, but first I need to remove it from the wood. Hang on¡­¡± Beatrice said as she reached for a tool on her belt. She pulled out a set of pliers and she used it to grasp the end spine. She tried pulling but it didn¡¯t even budge. She tired again groaning but still nothing. ¡°Need a hand?¡± Angelina asked. ¡°Yes please¡­¡± Beatrice said in response as she panted. Angelina took the pliers and pulled, again it didn¡¯t budge. ¡°Damn this thing is stuck hard.¡± Angelina said as she pulled again this time harder but still the spine didn¡¯t budge. ¡°Let me try.¡± the adventurer said. ¡°Sure thing Gregor, be careful you don¡¯t break it.¡± Angelina said as she handed him the pliers. Gregor looked to be the party''s warrior, he wore fine te armor and looked to be quite strong. He grabbed the pliers and pulled, again it didn¡¯t budge. ¡°Heavens, this thing is stuck hard.¡± Gregor said as he pulled again and this time he got it out¡­ but he took the wood with it¡­ ¡°Aww no¡­¡± Angelina said with a sigh at the sight of the destroyed side of the wagon. ¡°It¡¯s not broken though. Tough little thing...¡± Gregor said as he looked down at the spine held in the pliers. ¡°Let me see.¡± Beatrice said. Beatrice took the pliers and flipped down a magnifying lens built into her hat. A magic light on her hat came on and shined a light onto the spine. As Beatrice examined she realised she didn¡¯t recognise this kind of spine. It was definitely an interesting spine, it had hooks running along the edge to make it harder to pull out¡­ and there looked to be small holes running along the edge of the spine¡­ poison holes¡­ this spine is supposed to inject poison into the target¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t recognise this type of spine¡­¡± Beatrice said as she looked away from it. ¡°I guess you should take it back and maybe see if you can find anything in your archives.¡± Angelina suggested. ¡°Yes, that would be best.¡± Beatrice said as she took out her pouch and carefully ced it in. The moment she let go and the spine fell. It cut straight through the bottom of the pouch and dropped out. The spinended a centimeter away from her foot and embedded into the ground. Everyone froze at the sight of the spine now embedded in the ground so close to impaling her feet¡­ ¡°Erm¡­ ok¡­ that was close¡­¡± Angelina said. ¡°You... got a better pouch?¡± Gregor suggested softly from the side. ¡°That¡¯s my best one¡­ it¡¯s demi-gryph leather¡­¡± Beatrice replied softly now feeling quite shaken. Demi-gryph leather was an extremely tough leather, it was so tough in fact it was favoured for its use as armor used by high ranking adventures. ¡°Damn¡­¡± Angelina said softly. ¡°Could you break off a piece of wood¡­¡± Beatrice said. After a piece of wood was obtained, Beatrice dropped the spine onto it and it was once again embedded into the wood. Though this time not as deeply¡­ She carefully ced the piece of wood at the back of the wagon and headed back to the site. ¡°Ok what else?¡± Angelina asked as she looked at the guards. ¡°There¡¯s patches of dried blood scattered about. Some of them had weapons next to them.¡± the guard said. ¡°What weapons?¡± Gregor asked. ¡°This is one of them.¡± the guard said as he walked over next to the wagon and picked up something wrapped in cloth. He unfurled the wrapping and handed a beat up sword to Gregor. Gregor paused as he examined the sword. ¡°This is pretty crap gear. My best guess would be the type of weapons used by bandits.¡± Gregor said. ¡°That was our guess as well.¡± the guard said. ¡°There are two more patches of blood further away. The trail leads to patches of blood.¡± the guard said. ¡°So the bandits attacked this wagon, it looks like a merchant wagon. Then the bandits were attacked by this monster.¡± Beatrice said as she analysed the information. ¡°Yeah, the two patches of blood further away were found without weapons. But we found weapons lying over there without any blood nearby. We assumed the bandits dropped their weapons and ran. They didn¡¯t get far, only about ten metres that way.¡± the guard said as he pointed into the distance. ¡°There is something else.¡± the guard said. ¡°Hmm?¡± Beatrice asked. ¡°We found this lying in the grass.¡± the guard said as he reached down and picked up a¡­ mirror? ¡°A mirror?¡± Angelina asked. ¡°Could it be a Gorgon? Mirrors are used against Gorgons.¡± Gregor suggested. ¡°No Gorgons don¡¯t have the ability to fire poisoned spines. It could be Basilisk but no... Basilisks have a fully serpent body type so it doesn¡¯t match the tracks¡­ and they can¡¯t fire spines either... if petrification was used then there would be statues around here¡­¡± Beatrice said. ¡°Maybe one of the victims thought it was a Gorgon?¡± Angelina suggested. ¡°Or a Basilisk.¡± Gregor added. ¡°No way some merchant or bandit will be able to tell a giant snake is a Basilisk, most likely they thought it''s a Gorgon. The snake hair is a dead giveaway.¡± Angelina replied. ¡°Hmm true¡­¡± Gregor said as he cupped his chin. ¡°There is onest thing.¡± the guard said. ¡°Which is?¡± Angelina asked. ¡°This here.¡± the guard said as he walked over to an area marked by sticks. Beatrice walked over and saw there were spines here as well embedded in the earth. What¡¯s more there was this long gash in the earth and a stter of dried blood in the dirt. ¡°That looks like a de sh¡­¡± Gregor said. ¡°What the hell is this thing? Looks like a Gorgon, a serpent¡¯s lower half, it¡¯s big, it can fire spines and now it has des?¡± Angelina said in bewilderment. Beatrice cupped her chin and tried to put the pieces together. Looks like a Gorgon or some other creature that uses petrification... Serpent lower body¡­ Ratherrge¡­ probablyrger than a man¡­ Poisoned bone spines that can be fired at high speed¡­ des¡­ Probably ate the bodies, which is why none are here¡­ Definitely faster than a man since those bandits were caught quickly... Nothing matches all of these¡­ ¡°HALT!¡± Beatrice heard a guard shout. The group turned to see a group of guards with their weapons drawn facing the forest. Then she saw a woman staggering out of the trees. She was wearing a fur coat and using a sword as a walking stick. She got two steps onto the road and fell onto the ground. ¡°Help me¡­¡± the woman croaked out. ¡°What the hell?¡± Gregor said as he rushed over. Beatrice stood up and followed behind the rest and when she got close she saw this woman looked to be in bad shape. When the woman looked up from the ground she saw a ring of ugly ck bruises around her neck. ¡°Woah, I think she¡¯s been choked out.¡± Angelina said. ¡°Where are you from?¡± Gregor asked. ¡°Escaped from a bandit camp¡­ lost in the forest¡­ two days...¡± the woman replied weakly. ¡°Bandit camp¡­¡± Gregor said as he turned to look at Angelina who gave him a look. ¡°Yo Fili, get over here.¡± Gregor shouted and the party¡¯s priest ran over. ¡°Heal her up will you.¡± Gregor said. Once healed the woman sighed in relief as her bruises faded. ¡°What happened?¡± Angelina asked. ¡°I woke up after being¡­¡± the woman faltered as she bit her lip. ¡°Woke up?¡± Angelina pressed. ¡°I woke up on the bed¡­ after the leader of the bandits de¡­ defiled me¡­ the camp was destroyed by something. Somethingrge¡­¡± the woman said shakily. ¡°No bodies?¡± Angelina asked as she raised a brow. The woman looked at her suddenly at those words. ¡°No¡­ how did you know?¡± the woman asked. ¡°Same thing behind me. Come with me for a moment. I want to see if you recognise something.¡± Angelina said as she helped the woman to her feet. The woman was brought to the wagon and when Angelina showed her the bone spine the woman¡¯s eyes widened in recognition. ¡°You¡¯ve seen this before¡­¡± Angelina stated. ¡°Yes¡­ but¡­¡± the woman replied. ¡°But?¡± Angelina pressed. ¡°The ones I saw wererger, muchrger¡­¡± the woman said. ¡°How muchrger?¡± Angelina asked. ¡°The ones I saw were about as long as my forearm.¡± the woman said. At those words Beatrice¡¯s eyes widened, the spines here were only about 15 centimeters long. This site is still quite fresh, the attack happened only a few days ago. No creature can grow this fast, which means¡­ there¡¯s more than one... ¡°There¡¯s more than one¡­¡± Beatrice said her voice barely above a whisper. ¡°A mother and it¡¯s child?¡± Angelina asked. ¡°Possibly¡­¡± Beatrice said shakily. Beatrice shut her eyes for a moment and steeled herself before she reached into her pouch, pulled out the royal seal of authority and unfurled it. She held it out for all to see and she began to speak. By the power granted to me by the throne of Averlon I Beatrice Godwinn, Royal Beastiarian of Averlon hereby dere a new monster appearance All roads are to be locked down Messengers are to be sent to the viges Until instructed, all unauthorized travel is prohibited... Chapter 6: The Council of Lords Chapter 6: The Council of Lords Beatrice walked nervously towards the king¡¯s conference room as she pushed her trolley filled with reports and specimens. The past two days were absolute chaos, ording to protocol guards and iron to silver ranked adventurers were supposed to make quick forays into forest to gather information. Honestly, Beatrice had many misgivings with this part of the protocol. It was basically trading lives in the hopes of information. Sadly lives have already been traded, as of now all forays into the forest have been put on hold. So far five guard squads of 5 men each, two iron ranked adventurer teams, one bronze rank adventurer team and one silver rank adventurer team have vanished. That brings the death toll to 53 not counting the bandits and the attacked civilians. There were other concerning news as well¡­ she would have to report all of this to the powerful men and women of Averlon. To say Beatrice was nervous would be grievous understatement. When Beatrice arrived at the door of the conference room she took a deep breath to calm her racing heart. ¡°You can do this¡­¡± Beatrice muttered to herself as her assistants all gave her a funny look. ¡°Ok¡­¡± Beatrice said to herself as she motioned for one of her assistants to open the door. ¡°Ah Madam Beatrice, I hope you have prepared something that will help us with this situation?¡± Lord Averlon said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. This city state is ruled by house Averlon, their family is known for their fair skin and ming red hair. Their eyes were also special with their irises looking like pairs of rubies in their eye sockets. Beatrice could see the crown prince sitting to the king¡¯s right, with his younger sister sitting to the king¡¯s left. The king once had an eldest daughter but she died of a mysterious illness years ago. So now he was left with two children. ¡°I have some things to report¡­ but¡­ I am not sure if I have anything that will help find this new monster.¡± Beatrice replied shakily. ¡°Just report them then, Madam Beatrice. We will see what we can do with whatever information you have.¡± Lord Averlon said with a sigh. ¡°Yes¡­ as all of you are aware we have lost some men in an attempt to find the new monsters. Not only that¡­ thus far we have been unable to locate the bandit camp from which¡­¡± Beatrice said as she looked down at one of the reports. ¡°Mrs Lilian Gespot, she was lost for two days so she is of little help in locating the camp. Two teams of silver ranked adventurers sent out to locate the camp, thus far only one has returned. At first I thought I could use the directions of the disappeared teams to narrow down a search area for either the bandit camp or the location of the monster, but the disappearances appear to be happening in almost every general direction. As a result I have determined chances are the monsters are either scattered in different locations or they are moving through the forest extremely rapidly. Both scenarios are concerning¡­¡± Beatrice finished with a mutter. ¡°Could it be that some of the teams were lost to the other monsters in the forest?¡± the prince asked. ¡°Unlikely my prince, my adventurer teams are not so easily wiped out. If this is the work of other monsters some wounded adventurer teams would have returned, especially the bronze rank and above teams.¡± a man with a scarred face said. This man is named Vilnol, the head of the Averlon adventurer guild. He was once a mithril ranked adventurer in this prime, now he administers to the adventurer guild branch in Averlon. ¡°Yes there should be no monsters in the forest that can wipe out silver ranked teams.¡± Beatrice added. ¡°Indeed, in addition my returning teams have some additional troubling news to augment your report Madam Beatrice.¡± Vilnol said with a grimace. ¡°And that is?¡± Lord Averlon asked. ¡°The forest is quiet, too quiet. Something in that forest has spooked many of the beasts that live in those great woods. The teams covered a total area 20 kilometers wide and across that entire area the forest was silent as the grave. No wolves, no horned bears, no Stalker Chameleons, nothing. Yes the forays did not venture too deeply into the forest entering less than a kilometer in, but still a silent forest for 20 kilometers is concerning.¡± Vilnol said with a scowl. ¡°In addition my spies have found something interesting.¡± a woman said as she calmly took a sip from a ss of wine. Beatrice didn¡¯t recognise her¡­ then again she didn¡¯t mingle much with members of the court¡­ for obvious reasons. ¡°I am Sarana, spy master for Lord Averlon. We have not met as of yet Madam Beatrice.¡± the woman said with a sly smile. ¡°What have you found out Sarana?¡± Lord Averlon asked impatiently. ¡°It actually pertains to the adventurer guild, my lord Vilnol are you aware a four man iron ranked adventurer team disappeared a day before that wagon was found?¡± Sarana said with a smile. ¡°Yes, I suspected they might have run into the new monsters but I could not find any additional information on it. They did not leave on any contracts, I have no records on where they might have gone.¡± Vilnol replied gruffly. ¡°Well you see my lord a little bird has sung me an interesting song¡­ those adventurers were overheard bragging about having a treasure map in your adventurer guild hall. That treasure map apparently leads into the forest and the ce they were seeking is apparently some ancient tomb.¡± Sarana said. ¡°Ancient tomb? Where did they get that map?¡± Lord Averlon asked. ¡°Apparently it was a family heirloom.¡± Sarana replied. ¡°I¡¯ll have my men question them after this.¡± Lord Averlon said. ¡°I already did so my lord, the original owner died long ago. All the living members of her family know is that it¡¯s an old heirloom passed down through generations and that it''s a map. They also confirmed that the map leads into the forest.¡± Sarana said. ¡°An ancient tomb¡­ could it have been released from that tomb?¡± Vilnol asked. ¡°It is possible, we do have records of ancient creatures sometimes residing in tombs.¡± Beatrice said. ¡°Ok, so we might have a ce of origin¡­¡± Vilnol muttered as he cupped his chin. ¡°I¡¯ll have my mithril ranked team search the forest for the tomb.¡± Vilnol said. ¡°Is that wise? Averlon has been here for hundreds of years, if no one has found it so far and seeing as we have no clues whatsoever on where it is. It is unlikely we would be able to find it.¡± Sarana replied. ¡°I will have to agree with Sarana on this, we should not risk this city''s only mithril ranked adventurer team on a wild goose chase. We will need them to fight the beasts when we find them.¡± Lord Averlon said with a sigh. ¡°Very well.¡± Vilnol replied. ¡°Now then Madam Beatrice my forge master has said you ran some tests on the properties of those spines you found.¡± Lord Averlon said. ¡°Yes, we ran tests, thus far we have not been able to ascertain from what species of monster it came from. The spines match nothing on record.¡± Beatrice said. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s a Primordial Devourer.¡± Sarana suggested with a lightugh. ¡°This is not the time for jokes, Sarana.¡± Vilnol replied with a scowl. ¡°Yes, categorising the beast as a Primordial Devourer would be like stating the monster is a monster. ording to the legends the Devourers steal abilities from all the creatures it consumes, it has no consistent form or abilities. We have no records on where the Devourers have received what abilities so we do not know what abilities are innate or acquired. Their forms also vary greatly, with some developing wings, some bing aquatic, others bing insectoid in appearance. Nothing is consistent with them, no amount of information will allow us to narrow it down to such a conclusion.¡± Beatrice replied seriously. ¡°It''s a joke, Madam Beatrice.¡± Sarana said with a wry smile. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Beatrice replied, blushing a scarlet. ¡°Enough, what else have you found Madam Beatrice.¡± Lord Averlon said, interrupting impatiently. ¡°The spines are unlike anything we have a record of. We estimate they are as strong as dragon bones at the very least. In addition we ran some strength testing on the spines. It has cut through every known piece of leather, fabric and hide we could get our hands on. We then tested it on metals and we found it could be resisted to an eptable degree by mithril although it is still able to damage a mithril ingot which implies it is harder than mithril. Lastly we tested it¡¯s resilience to environmental factors, all avable acids and venoms proved ineffective. Freezing did nothing and neither did heating¡­¡± Beatrice said as she picked up a wooden box and opened it. The box contained the three spines they found, they were held in ce by metal mps with no contact with edges since these spines proved to be able to cut even mithril. ¡°The one on the left is the one we tested with the metals and leathers, the one in the middle is the one we tested with environmental effects like temperature and acid. The one on the right is the control where we conducted no testing. After the tests we examined the spines again and our observations revealed no damage to any of the spines. The tested spines were identical to the control spine.¡± Beatrice said as she looked down at the three identical looking spines. ¡°This is the ingot we tested the spines against.¡± Beatrice said as she reached down and pulled out with some difficulty a mithril ingot about as long as a hand. ¡°Someone give the poor girl a hand.¡± Lord Averlon said with a sigh at the sight of Beatrice struggling with the ingot. One of the nearby guards took the ingot from Beatrice and held the striked surface for the room to see. The ingot has been gouged by the spine but it has been stopped by it, not prating through. The concern here was that the spine went two centimeters into the ingot, most armor is at most one centimeter thick. ¡°This is troubling, whatever this creature is, it¡¯s powerful and very dangerous.¡± Vilnol said with a grimace. ¡°Indeed and if I recall that Lilian girl said she found spines as long as her arm. If one of those spines hits any human it can be safe to assume that the wound may be potentially fatal.¡± Sarana said calmly. ¡°Yes, we suspected the same, in addition there were poison holes in the spine, however we found no trace of poison within the spine. It is unclear whether the poison is a rapidly decaying variant or if there is in fact no poison.¡± Beatrice said. ¡°Is that all?¡± Lord Averlon asked with another sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. ¡°Yes, my lord.¡± Beatrice said with a bow. ¡°Very well¡­ is there anything else from anyone else?¡± Lord Averlon asked and when he received no reply he nodded to himself in resignation. ¡°You are all dismissed, Sarana, Vilnol and Georgia. I need a moment of your time.¡± Lord Averlon said. Lord Averlon watched as the room cleared out leaving the three individuals he requested. These three were the only people in this kingdom outside of his family that knew of the Cradle and the prophecy¡­ ¡°Has the taskforce been sent to the Cradle?¡± Lord Averlon asked. ¡°They left this morning my lord, they should arrive by dawn tomorrow.¡± Sarana replied. ¡°Georgia, do you think that the monster could potentially destroy the sealing crystals?¡± Lord Averlon asked as he turned to his Head Mage, Georgia Merci. She looked down for a moment as if contemting. ¡°With what we know so far, or more urately with so little information it is difficult to say. The spines are the most concerning part of the report. If such powerful bones can be used as disposable projectiles I cannot imagine the strength of the creature¡¯s body. Although most monsters either prefer flesh, vegetation or ether. Since the monster is suspected to be carnivorous it should have little interest in the ether within the sealing crystals.¡± Georgia replied. ¡°My operative will speak with the Princess when he arrives. I know you wished to be there, since tomorrow is the day shees of age. Supposedly that is when the prophecy begins, if I recall the lines were¡­ When the childes of age She will venture forth to remind the world of the truth it has tried so hard to forget That the Heavens Order has no ce in Terra The age of Heaven will end And so will rise the age of mortals Many will call her existence a nightmare But she is no dream, she is waking¡­ Chapter 7: The Ambush Chapter 7: The Ambush Angelina sat on a nearby stump as she let out a sigh. She looked around at the rest of her party as she nervously tapped her feet on the grass below. She didn¡¯t like this contract, it was a contract given especially to them. The price was honestly insane, the reward forpletion was 4 tinum coins. Normally tough extermination jobs gave at most 200 gold coins. This sky high price was honestly also a point of concern for Angelina. Ever since she investigated the attacked wagon a few days ago she had this bad feeling in her gut about this whole thing. The attack site made her skin scrawl, as if her body knew whatever did this is dangerous beyondpare. What''s worse is that they just got news that silver ranked adventurer teams have gone missing after searching a mere 500 metres into the forest. Now here she was with her party a good 5 kilometers deep into the forest. The reports from the other returning teams were right, this forest was dead. She sensed nothing throughout the entire trip except for the odd bird or two. Usually this forest would have signs of life, wolves howling, bushes rustling as creatures rushed to get out of the way, the roars of distant monsters, but now? Nothing¡­ nothing but the rustling of leaves in the wind... If they got back safe and sound like this it would be the easiest job of her life. Basically take a 8 kilometer hike and get paid a fortune. Problem is¡­ if something went wrong¡­ this will be thest hike she and friends will ever take¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t like this.¡± Angelina muttered. ¡°Yeah I know what you mean.¡± Jerri the team¡¯s rogues said as he fidgeted with one of his daggers. ¡°Whatever that thing is, it''s wiped out an entire silver rank team¡­¡± Fili, the team¡¯s priest, said shakily. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Angelina replied with a grimace. The ranks of the adventurers signaled a significant increase in power. Gold ranks were nothing like silver ranks. The differing ranks were there to allocate what sses of monsters the adventurers may hunt. Iron ranks can deal with things like wolves and goblins, a gold rank team like the one Angelina was in are allowed to take contracts to deal with some of the most dangerousmon monsters. Basilisks, Undead Lichs, Gorgons, Mountain Trolls, Elder Spriggans and many more. The higher ranks of Mithril and Hero are extremely rare. The members of those teams are a cut above the rest by a wide margin. Mithril ranked adventurers are also called Dragon yers by other adventurers, because only Mithirl ranked adventurers and above are permitted to hunt the powerful draconic creatures. A silver rank adventurer is small fry aspared to Angelina, but in nature the different ranks are like a pecking order. Angelina may be above a silver rank but what rank is this new monster? If the monster is a mithril or hero ss monster then Angelina and her team will get ughtered¡­ The worst thing about this current situation is that even if the monster is a gold rank, they don¡¯t know what it can do. A surprise attack is worth ten expected ones, humanoids are squishy weak creatures. One wrong move and you lose a limb¡­ or your head¡­ Theck of information perhaps was the most pressing problem. It¡¯s difficult to fight a monster you know nothing about, every page in the Adventurer Beastiary is written in blood. Information brought back after dead adventurers gave their lives to recover that information. Humans fight monsters by preparing or knowing what the monster can do. If the adventurers have no idea what the monster can do then the chances of victory drop drastically... ¡°How long do you think that guy is gonna take?¡± Gregor grumbled as he continued to scan to the edges of the clearing they were sitting in. ¡°Duno he¡¯s been gone almost an hour, he said he''ll be back by nightfall. Unless that thing gets him first...¡± Jerri replied. ¡°That¡¯s not funny¡­¡± Fili replied shakily. ¡°Sorry¡­¡± Jerri muttered apologetically. ¡°We¡¯re a little on edge but let¡¯s try to keep cool.¡± Gregor said. This contract was an escort contract, Angelina¡¯s team was supposed to escort this strange man to this clearing. Then wait for him to go somewhere and escort him back. Honestly, this whole thing smelled shady, they had no idea who he is, why he¡¯s here and why it¡¯s so important that the pay is 4 fucking tinum coins¡­ Then Angelina heard the rustling of bushes¡­ She shot to her feet and drew her bow, pointing it in the direction of the sound. ¡°What?¡± Gregor said as the party all got into battle formation. ¡°I heard something¡­¡± Angelina muttered in reply as she scanned the tree line. Then she saw the branches shift slightly and again the rustling sound, this time slightly to the left¡­ ¡°There¡¯s something here¡­¡± Angelina said. ¡°Oh shit¡­¡± Jerri said as he raised his daggers. Then again the sound of the trees rustling this time behind them¡­ Angelina whirled and pointed her bow in the direction of the sound. Then again the bushes rustled again from the front¡­ ¡°Shit they¡¯re all around us¡­¡± Angelina said shakily. ¡°That Beastarian said there was likely more than one¡­¡± Fili replied. ¡°Yeah a mother and kid.¡± Gregor said through gritted teeth. Now the party was back to back each scanning a sector of the tree line. Then Angelina spotted an entire tree shake¡­ ¡°Shit it¡¯s big¡­ I just saw something bump into a tree¡­¡± Angelina said. ¡°Fuck, fuck, fuck¡­¡± Jerri said, his voice going up a pitch. ¡°Calm down¡­ it might not even be that new monster¡­¡± Gregor said, trying to keep anyone calm. Angelina then suddenly spotted something big and white in the trees. The monster stilled for a moment then charged out of the trees. ¡°IT''S CHARGING!¡± Gregor said as the party all turned to face the charging beast. Angelina drew her bow and took in the sight of this terrifying beast. It waspletely white, with a domed head, no eyes or nostrils, just a smooth surface. It¡¯s mouth was a gnashing maw of serrated teeth. From it¡¯s shoulder protruded spines which Angelina recognised as the same spines that were found at the attack site. It¡¯s lower half was that of a serpent and it¡¯s torso was vaguely humanoid, with four arms, the upper two which happened to be therger arms were tipped with des. The worst part is perhaps the fact that it¡¯s almost three and a half metres tall, with jaws that look like they can swallow a man whole. [Seeking Shot] Angelina intoned and a glowing blue arrow shot out that began homing in on the beast. The beast slithered to the side and ducked downwards at an angle, the arrow flying over its body. [Seeking Shot] always prioritizes the centre of mass which means the arrow came down on the beast at an angle giving it an easy way to dodge. [Rune Cage] Morgs the mage said and two blue magic circles appeared above and below the beast binding it with magic. The beast roared and with a twist of its body it tore free from the spell. [Congration] Morgs cried as a rune appeared below the beast, unfortunately the beast dodged to the side and the pir of me that appeared hit air. The beast roared as it continued to rapidly close the distance¡­ [Barrier of the Faithful] Fili shouted and white shield appeared in front of the party. [Pinning Shot] Angelina said as she fired a pair of arrows at the beast''s snake-like bottom half. [Banner of Valour] [Stalwart Aegis] Gregor roared as he stepped forward to meet the charge. The beast smashed through the Fili¡¯s barrier but lost most of its power and the strike was stopped by Gregor¡¯s enhanced shield. Angelina¡¯s arrows struck home and the chains appeared between the arrows and binded the beast''s lower half. The beast roared as it tried to break free¡­ [Assassinate] Jerri said as he vanished in a puff of smoke and reappeared behind the beast high up in the air. His daggers glowing and delivered a devastating sh on the beast¡¯s back. Then¡­ the beast¡¯s form shattered in motes of light¡­ ¡°What?¡± Jerri asked as he looked around at the scattering motes of light. ¡°It looks like a Spriggan¡¯s decoy¡­¡± Morgs began, then Angelina heard Morgs and Fili gasp. The party turned around to see a pair of ck taloned hands materialise around Fili and Morgs. Angelina¡¯s eyes widened in horror as the form of the monster appeared before her eyes. She could see it was maw open and it looked like it was smiling¡­ Then with a scream each Fili and Morgs were dragged into the forest. Angelina fired an arrow into the forest in panic but she doubts she hit anything. ¡°FUCK, FILI!¡± Jerri screamed as he dashed towards the trees only for Gregor to grab him by the arm. All the while Angelina could hear Fili and Morgs screaming in the forest. ¡°STOP, IF YOU GO IN YOU¡¯RE DEAD TOO!¡± Gregor roared before Jerri could reply, the screams from Fili and Morgs reached a bloodcurdling peak then¡­ silence¡­ ¡°Fuck¡­¡± Jerri said in horror. ¡°We need to get out of here.¡± Angelina said her voice shaking as the deaths of thepanions she had known for years began to sink in. ¡°We can¡¯t, we need to kill this thing. If we run into the trees this thing will pick us off one by one.¡± Gregor said as through gritted teeth. Then from the forest Angelina saw a long object being thrown out from the forest. The three remaining people in the party all tensed as they expected an attack. But nothing happened when Angelina took a closer look at the object she felt her blood turn to ice. Lying in the grass was Fili¡¯s arm, it looks like the arm was just pulled right off her body¡­ Jerri¡¯s eyes widened as he looked at the arm and Angelina sensed something snap in him. Angelina knew the two of them were always close, they made for an odd pair: the pure priest and the dashing rogue. Definitely the kind of couple you would find a novel. But sadly reality had other ns. She always suspected there was something going on between them but she never thought she would get the confirmation in the way she was about to witness¡­ Jerri howled like a wounded animal and charged straight into the forest before Angelina and Gregor could stop him. Angelina heard him shout and there was a slight rustling in the trees¡­ then silence¡­ This time something else flew out from the forest, Angelina looked down expecting the worst and felt a lump in her throat as she looked down at Jerri¡¯s decapitated head¡­ Then all was quiet except for the slight rustling of trees around them. She could hear them moving¡­ so far they¡¯ve only seen the mother, who knows where the child is hiding¡­ ¡°It¡¯s fucking with us¡­¡± Gregor said through gritted teeth as Angelina stood with her back to his scanning the treeline. ¡°We aren¡¯t going home are we?¡± Angelina said shakily. ¡°We will, we just need to stay focused.¡± Gregor said his will was still strong and undefeated. Again she heard movement from the same two ces as the first attack. Each at opposite ends of the clearing. ¡°Is it going to try the same thing again?¡± Angelina asked. ¡°Probably, I¡¯ll block the front and keep an eye on the rear. Don¡¯t get carried off.¡± Gregor replied. Sure enough Angelina saw the beast emerge from the old location. It behaved almost exactly like the first decoy. Well that ability looks like a Spriggan Decoy, decoy abilities like this create illusions that mimic the original creature to a certain degree. These illusions are usually extremely aggressive, designed to tie down the enemy buying time for the real body to attack or escape. Seeing this Angelina turned her gaze to the rear and kept an eye out on the treeline. Then she saw the grass get crushed at the tree line. The beast was moving in and it was invisible just like before. Angelina kept track of it in the corner of her eye trying not to let it know she knows where it is. Then when she was sure she could get a good shot¡­ [Pinning Shot] Angelina cried and her arrowstched onto the beast''s serpent like lower half. The beast materialised from invisibility and roared. [Wyvern Strike] Angelina roared and fired off her strongest attack. A red searing arrow that deals fire damage, the problem was the projectile was slow but with the beast immobalisedAngelina¡¯s aim was true. The red arrow smashed right into the beast''s chest, the beast staggered back¡­ and exploded into motes of light¡­ ¡°What?¡± Angelina sputtered. Then she felt a thud in the earth along with a gurgle. Angelina spun around in panic and saw Gregor impaled on the ground, the beast''s de went clean through his shield and into his chest. ¡°You really thought that I would use the same trick twice?¡± the beast said with a smallugh. Angelina raised her bow intending to fire another arrow but she saw a white blur then a searing pain in the hand that was holding the bow. She looked at her hand and saw that the beast had cut her bow in half and took off a few of her fingers with the sh. She grit her teeth and felt panic start to rise in her chest. ¡°Good try, but not good enough¡­¡± the beast said with augh as it ripped the de from Gregor¡¯s chest. ¡°You can talk?¡± Angelina replied shakily as she kept an eye on Gregor. He was fumbling with his belt looking for a healing potion. Angelina knew Gregor keeps an emergency full heal potion on his person. It could heal almost any wound, it cost him a fortune but he felt it was a good investment at the time. If he can drink that potion he might be able tond a good hit on the monster potentially wounding it enough that it had to retreat¡­ ¡°Yes I can.¡± the beast said with a smile in his voice as he raised a de and mmed it right into Gregor¡¯s face killing him instantly. ¡°Trying to heal?¡± the beast said sarcastically as itughed and pulled the de free. This was thest straw for Angelina, she let out a sob and screamed. She turned and tried to run, she got two steps forward when she felt a hand close around her. ¡°Where do you think you¡¯re going?¡± Angelina heard the beast say as she was brought up to its face. Angelina could now see every horrifying detail of the beast. It¡¯s maw filled with rows upon rows of serrated teeth. It¡¯s face is smooth and white with no eyes or nostrils. Angelina, now petrified with fear, felt a moist warmth between her legs as she wet herself. She could smell it¡¯s breath and it reeked of blood¡­ Then she saw something that reminded her of her fate. She saw a fragment of the sky blue cloth that Fili wore stuck in its teeth¡­ It¡¯s over¡­ her dreams of starting her own little bakery once she¡¯s earned enough money are now moot¡­ they never should have epted his job¡­ the only smallfort to her was that the bastard that sent them here would not get what he wanted¡­ That pawn of his that walked off would soon be next¡­ he will soon join her in the next life¡­ ¡°Why haven¡¯t you killed me¡­¡± Angelina wept as she lowered her head. Then she heard the beastugh and she raised her head slightly to see the beast¡¯s maw widen slightly as if to smile. Because I have some questions for you first If you want a quick painless death I suggest you answer... Chapter 8: The Cradle Chapter 8: The Cradle As I swallowed the body of the archer, I was rather disappointed. It turns out she knew nothing of that strange magic dome further ahead. I have been tracking this party for hours, they were the first Gold Rank adventurer team I have fought. Although I still sensed danger from them it wasn¡¯t as bad as it was on the first day. I could tell that they still could kill me but I could kill them too. My next move will be to go looking for that other man that went ahead. These past few days have been eventful to say the least. I got a few new essences after hunting in the forest. I finished the horned bear essence which had this weird name attached to it. It improved my muscle density and improved my bone strength, which also improved the strength of my spines. The really interesting one was the Spriggan essence I got from these strange tree people. It gave me the ability to move through the forest without leaving any tracks at all, my body seemed to pass through the branches and the grass would stand back up the moment I went over it. I could turn this off whenever I wanted, which I did earlier to let the adventures know where I was to freak them out. The Spriggan essence also gave something very interesting. It gave me this ability called [Spriggan Decoy] it essentially makes a copy of myself that I can direct to an extent. It¡¯s basically an illusion, it''s attack was much weaker and if it takes any form of damage it disappears. Still it was useful for a distraction. I just had to make the decoy avoid getting hit and draw my prey¡¯s attention long enough to sneak up on them. There was a ring problem however, mages could apparently cast a spell to tell which one is real me. I learnt this the hard way when I ambushed a silver ranked team two days ago. I found the most problematic individuals to fight were mages due to their spells being able to lock me down, giving the rest of the adventurers an opening to attack. The mages also looked to have powerful offensive abilities but these were so slow I could easily dodge them. That was why I used the decoy so I could take out their healer and the mage first. If I left the healers there any non fatal attacks would be quickly undone through healing. That and their defensive spells made them very problematic to fight. So when I came up with a n to kill these ones I made sure I took those two out first. There is another reason I took out the healer first, after stalking this group for a while I noticed that the priest and rogue were behaving strangely towards each other. More interestingly I could sense the priest and rogue were giving off strange scents when they were together. I figured out it was some kind of mating pheromone. Which means the rogue would be reaaaaally upset if I took out the healer. Something I found out after dealing with a bronze ranked team was that humans were extremely emotional creatures. I never noticed it much in my past life but now with my new body I have a fresh perspective on the emotional tendencies of humans. Make a human mad and they would do something stupid¡­ That bronze rank team had this idiot who was threatening me even as I had him in my hand and about to bite him in half. He was bragging to me about how there was this mithril ranked team that would hunt me down and kill me and make me suffer, put me down like the beast I am, h h h¡­ The interesting thing about that little spiel of his was that he said THE mithril team in Averlon. I know there''s a higher rank of adventurers being the hero rank. So if he wanted to scare me, why use the second best rank? Unless that''s the best rank that city has avable, not only that the word ¡°the¡± implies there''s only one avable. Still, that made them dangerous. I noticed there is a significant spike in power between the ranks. Honestly if I hadn¡¯t strategized beforehand and I just ran into these guys I would probably have been injured at the very least. I most likely wouldn¡¯t have been able to take them all out, I had to make sure the terrain was favourable. I needed to figure out which targets to take out first and I had to use psychological tricks to get the rogue to basicallymit suicide. Lastly I needed to use tricks to get them to defend the wrong direction. Yet, overall this was well worth the trouble. I was right, the stronger humans were worth much more than their weaker counterparts. I¡¯m already at human genome stage: 6 and I could tell I am much smarter now. My memory is almost picture perfect, I can rey scenes in my head and remember events very clearly. I could memorise the path through the forest and I found I could instinctively predict the actions of the humans I faced just by looking at the way their body moved, their movements telegraphing their actions to me¡­ As for my conscience, I figured out what was the problem. My mind is obsessed with one thing, survival. If I kill an innocent person that would pose no threat to me and provide no benefit then I would feel bad. But if something wants to kill me and if letting them go puts me in danger, then I have no moralpunctions about killing them. Like that girl from earlier, she had no way to know what I was, all she would know is that the camp got destroyed. Also if my prey is powerful and they would give me great benefit then I would also have no pity for them. It seems no matter how intelligent I be or how human I be, this overriding internal programming for survival will still supersede all other inclinations. Yes the humans figured out really quickly that there''s some new creature prowling the forest but they obviously have no idea what I am. Afterall, sending scouts into the forest to gather information is a good idea, unless¡­ the scouts you lose end up making your enemy stronger¡­ If they just sent in a bunch of gold ranked teams into the forest from the start I would most likely have to flee this forest and go somewhere else. But now after sending meal after meal to me on a silver te, I can deal with gold ranked adventurers now. I just needed to get strong enough to kill that Mithril team, after that there is nothing in this forest that can contest my power¡­ Well I may get a power up soon, that magic dome looked very interesting. Something in there is important and if I can use whatever is in there¡­ then who knows how much that will power me up¡­ With that thought in mind and a smile on my face I reactivated my invisibility and forest walking ability. I headed deeper into the forest following the trail of the human that left the group. I left him alone because I was hoping he would have some insight into how to get into that dome. I tried touching it earlier and I ended up getting nasty shock from it. So I need to figure out how to get in¡­ I followed the trail of the man and to my delight I saw the trail led towards that strange magic dome. When I reached the edge of the treeline and I once again beheld the massive magic dome. It was translucent and blue, crackling with energy. On the inside of the dome was what looked to be a mansion. This time I saw a woman standing inside, she had red hair, pale skin and ruby like eyes. The man was on the outside speaking to her, I focused my senses on them and began to eavesdrop¡­ ¡°Save your false courtesy welp, is my father too cowardly to even face me now?¡± the woman spat in contempt. ¡°There has been aplication Princess, he wished to be here but the circumstances did not allow it.¡± the man replied courteously. ¡°So he is a coward, he can lock me in here but he doesn¡¯t have the courage to see it through.¡± the woman hissed in response. ¡°The circumstances are... severe princess.¡± the man replied with another. ¡°Then what are these circumstances then? The prophecy is supposed tomence in under an hour and he isn¡¯t even here¡­ is he really so confident in this little cage?¡± the woman said coldly. ¡°Under an hour? Princess, midnight has passed, you are of age now.¡± the man said quizzically. ¡°Fool, did you think I was born when the clock struck midnight. I will be truly a woman in under an hour and if the prophecyes to pass you will be right here to see it happen¡­¡± the woman said with a cold smile. I sensed the man fidget slightly at her words, I could smell his fear. Something about this whole situation terrified him¡­ ¡°Out with it! What are the circumstances.¡± the woman demanded. ¡°A new monster has appeared princess. It is dangerous and we know next to nothing about it, that is why your father could not risking here.¡± the man said apologetically. ¡°A monster you say? Now that is interesting¡­¡± the woman said with a sly smile. The man paused at her reaction, when I came here earlier I didn¡¯t see her or sense her. To be fair I couldn¡¯t sense anything beyond this barrier. My best guess was that this barrier sealed off everything on the other side. ¡°You see, welp, yesterday something interesting happened. Something tried to break in¡­¡± the woman said with a smile. ¡°What?¡± the man stammered in reply as he turned and looked around. ¡°Oh yes, you are not as alone as you think fool¡­¡± the woman said as she ced her hands on the barrier. The barrier crackled and I could see blue arcs of electricity course up her body singing her flesh and destroying bits of her dress. ¡°Princess, what are you doing¡­¡± the man stammered as he took a step back in shock. ¡°YOU THINK THIS CAGE CAN HOLD ME FOREVER? ONE DAY I WILL BE FREE AND ALL OF YOU WILL KNOW MY WRATH!¡± the woman screamed as she withdrew her arms and her eyes glowed blue. Elbow length gloves made of swirling runes covered her arms. She thrust her arms at the barrier and began to pry it apart. A hole began to appear and the barrier crackled and arcs of energy flew out scorching the ground. Her dress was now a mess of burned fabric and I could see burns all over her body. Then with a loud bang the hole in the barrier mmed shut and threw her onto her back. ¡°When I get out¡­ I will take back my birthright¡­ and I will repay this injustice a thousand times over¡­¡± the woman said as he panted and stood up shakily. ¡°How¡­¡± the man said shakily. ¡°Don¡¯t you know? I¡¯m the most talented mage the academy has ever seen. My lord father, the fool that he is, took pity on me and gave me arcane books for my leisure. I have been making a spell that would allow me to escape. It is still iplete but soon I will be free¡­¡± the woman said as she shifted her gaze up and looked straight at me¡­ She could see me? Well the mages could also see me when invisible but they had to activate a spell to do so. I eventually figured out it would be best to kill the mages first, after all why would they even know to look for me out of the blue? ¡°Why are you telling me this¡­¡± the man said as he looked around again, I could tell he was starting to figure out something was very wrong. ¡°Because I don¡¯t expect you to see dawn¡­¡± the woman said with a twisted smile and I saw her eyes were consumed by madness and hate. Well the jig is up, might as well have a chat with this woman¡­ With that thought in mind I began moving closer to the pair. I saw the woman¡¯s eyes widened as she saw me approach. The man still oblivious to my presence started to realise the woman was not in fact looking longingly at the freedom on the outside of the barrier but was in fact looking at me¡­ The man¡¯s body twitched as the woman¡¯s gaze shifted upwards to look up at me. The man turned and I materialised in front of him. His face went pale and I snatched him up in one of my arms. He screamed in fear as I held him in hands. ¡°There is no need for him. If you want to know how to get me out I can tell you. If you want to know anything else I can tell you more than he ever can. He is a pawn, a disposable piece on the board. Why do think he was sent here on this suicide mission?¡± the woman said with a smile. What she said made sense¡­ and the funny thing about my body is that I can sense when someone is lying. I can pick up all the bodily functions that ur when someone lies and as far as I can tell this woman is telling the truth. As I look down at the screaming man in my hand. He didn¡¯t look like the I''m going to threaten you and give you information without knowing it type. He seems more of the scream and piss himself until he passes out type¡­ Sure enough after a solid minute of none stop screaming. His eyes rolled up and he passed out in my hand. ¡°He even smells like a coward¡­¡± I mutter as I flip him upside down and give him a shake to see if he wakes up. ¡°I think that¡¯s urine my friend.¡± the woman said calmly. I lifted my hand and I saw some yellow liquid dripping down from the bottom of my hand. ¡°Well that¡¯s disgusting¡­¡± I mutter as I drop the man on the ground before burying a de into the back of his head. Well I have no intention of sitting around and waiting for him to wake up¡­ ¡°So I assume you want to talk?¡± I say as I turn my head to look at the smiling woman. ¡°Why yes, I do.¡± the woman replied she didn¡¯t seem at all bothered by the burns all over her arms¡­ ¡°Who are you? Why are you in there?¡± I asked as I peered at the woman. ¡°I am Cecilia Averlon, Crown Princess of the city state of Averlon.¡± the woman said as she did a graceful curtsey. ¡°As for why I am in here, well you see there is this prophecy that predicted that I would destroy the precious order of this world.¡± Cecilia replied. ¡°Prophecy?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, a prophecy, you see this world of Terra is inhabited by the mortal races but we are ruled by Heaven. The Seraphim and their Divine Council hold sway over this world. They tell us how to live, how to behave, anything that goes against this order that they have set is considered heresy. The feeble minded sheep in this world view the Seraphim as gods, but I know they are not. Gods cannot be killed and I assure you my friend the Seraphim can most definitely be killed.¡± the woman said. ¡°Tell me about Heaven¡­¡± I ask as I realise this woman might be a wealth of information. If I could get her to tell me everything I would be much more informed on the workings of this world¡­ ¡°Would you like to bargain, friend?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°You want me to let you out and if I do you¡¯ll tell me whatever I want to know.¡± I state, the train of thought is honestly quite obvious¡­ the thing is. If I let her go and she goes back to that city, she might tell everyone about me¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t worry friend, I won¡¯t tell a soul about who and what you are. Although first, may I request you entertain a little question of mine? What are you?¡± the woman asked curiously. ¡°If I tell you what I am, I¡¯ll have to kill you.¡± I reply with augh. ¡°Oh? Now that is interesting¡­ you know your des look very familiar¡­ that and the way you materialised from invisibility. Did you know friend, that different species have different kinds of invisibility and the way they rematerialise is different. When I look at your des and the way you exit invisibility it reminds me of something¡­ a Stalker Chameleon¡­¡± the woman said with a smile and I felt a chill go down my spine. This woman was smart¡­ a little too smart¡­ ¡°You are mimicking the abilities of another creature and I know only of one species that can do that¡­ are you a Primordial Devourer?¡± Cecilia asked as her smile widened. I stood in silence as I saw the mirth in her eyes, I could tell she had her answer from my silence alone. ¡°I guess you¡¯ll have to kill me now¡­e and get me.¡± the woman said with augh. I growl as I look at the massive barrier, I know I can¡¯t break through this thing¡­ ¡°Now then back to my proposition, I would like to make you an offer. Free me and help me take back my rightful throne. In exchange I will give you something only I can give¡­ protection¡­¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Protection? How exactly are you going to protect me?¡± I asked as I lowered my head closer to her. ¡°If anyone finds out you are a Devourer the news will go straight to heaven, then you will have to deal with the Seraphim. Let me tell you friend, you will one day be able to defeat the Angels but not as you are now. If the forces of Heaven find you as you are now, you will be turned to ash.¡± the woman said. I¡¯m starting to see where this is going¡­ ¡°So if I help you do all of that, you will carve out a ce for me to live. You will keep my existence a secret, if someone finds out for me you will silence them. Is that your offer?¡± I ask. ¡°Exactly.¡± Cecilia replied. ¡°My only problem with your proposal is that in that situation you could threaten to report me to Heaven. You will have me on a leash¡­¡± I say with a growl. ¡°Of course not, I could report you in that situation¡­ if I have a death wish that is¡­ do you know why I¡¯m locked away all the way out here?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°Why?¡± I asked as I brought my head an inch away from the barrier. ¡°Because that prophecy was made by a great seer, the seer once served the Divine Council. The seer appeared on the day of my birth and told my father the prophecy. She told him that this would be herst prophecy and she was right¡­ My father killed her to keep the secret¡­ You see friend, I was always different, too smart for my own good, too magically powerful for my own good, my parents saw all of my potential and instead of being proud they grew to fear me. My whole life I lived in the shadow of that prophecy. So they isted me from the rest of the world, they called me sickly to the court, they said I couldn¡¯t leave bed most days. Back then I was just a girl. I listened to my parents who told me of the dangers of the outside world. But as I grew older I saw my siblings free and happy while I alone remained sealed in my room. Then as I had my first blood I found out that I preferred women to men. After that I met a servant girl, she was pretty and I grew to care for her and so she did for me as well. One day we decided to escape together, to go somewhere far away. No prophecy, no judgements¡­¡± Cecilia said as she lowered her head and I could sense a deep sorrow start to leak out of her. ¡°We failed, in the end they tortured her and she revealed how we loved each other, how weyed with each other¡­¡± Cecilia said then her voice started to change to one of anger. ¡°To heaven a man must nevery with another man and a woman must nevery with another woman. Unnatural they called it¡­¡± Cecilia spat as I saw her eyes once again filled with hate and rage. ¡°So they hung her and then they sent me here. Away from everything. Four years I rotted in this prison, four years I waited here alone as a bird in a cage and I have had four years to learn to hate everyone that wronged me.¡± Cecilia said as she once again reached forward to grasp the cage as the cage crackled at the touch. ¡°If I am free I will not betray you, we are both monsters friend. I just happened to be born with human skin. All in creation despise the likes of us, I intend to carve out a life for myself¡­ and I could use some help. I have no loyalty, no love for any of my kind, what I want is for Heaven to fall, I will shatter their precious order. I will break this cage they call a world. Help me and you will be my ally, my friend. I will do everything in my power to help you, maps to better hunting grounds, I can tell you where to find the likes of Phoenixes, Dragons, Mountain Trolls, your power will soar until even the Heavens can no longer challenge you. What do you say? Friend¡­¡± Cecilia said. Throughout this entire thing she hasn¡¯t lied once and I know that she means every word thates out of her mouth. Even if she¡¯s a liar, I did hear from another source that other races exterminated the Devourers. So chances are she¡¯s right, it¡¯s only a matter of time before I mess up and someone finds me. If I had help from an entire nation, a knowing coborator with power, that improves my chances significantly. So with that thought in my mind I made my reply¡­ Take your hands off the barrier friend I will need you fully functional when I get you out of there¡­ Chapter 9: New Partner Chapter 9: New Partner Cecilia summoned another magic glove, this time it covered her right arm up to her shoulder. She took a deep breath and thrust her hand at the barrier. She pushed and pushed, eventually her arm left the barrier. I could see her face scrunched up as sweat poured down her face from the exertion. When she got her hand through, she snapped her fingers and the barrier blew her back. However, when she snapped her fingers a blue ball appeared. The blue ball hovered for a moment before splitting into four and they flew off in different directions. Momentster I saw blue trails appearing from the surrounding forests. ¡°These lead to the sealing crystals, destroy them and I am free¡­¡± Cecilia said as she stood back up. ¡°You¡¯ve been preparing¡­¡± I say as I look at the trials. ¡°Of course, what else is a girl to do when she is locked in a cage if not to n her escape¡­¡± Cecilia said with a sly smile. ¡°You expected to have someone help you escape?¡± I asked as I turned to face her. ¡°It is one of the many possibilities, I prepared for them all. Now go friend, these crystals should be a nice snack for you. Consider them a gift for the start of a fruitful partnership.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can eat rocks.¡± I replied with augh. ¡°My friend, you are a devourer, you can eat anything¡­¡± Cecilia said with a smile. ¡°Let¡¯s see if that¡¯s true.¡± I replied with a smile of my own as I began following one of the trails. The first trail didn¡¯t go far, it led to an unassuming shrub. My senses didn¡¯t pick up anything from the bush. My senses could usually pick up almost anything, I could see that magic dome even through all the trees. It glowed like the sun as far as my senses are concerned. Strangely in the back of my mind, something was telling me that there was nothing here. That I had been lied to, and I should leave this ce never to return¡­ Odd, why would I think that? Could it perhaps be some form of magic protecting the crystal. I reached forward and the moment I touched the shrub it seemed to flicker like an image. Then the shrub disappeared revealing a glowing blue crystal that shone like the sun in my eyes. It shone brighter than any heart I have ever seen. My mind was immediately assaulted with thoughts of leaving and never returning. Honestly, it was an extremely smart defense mechanism, just hide it in in sight and make the crystal tell people to leave through mental suggestion. There was only one problem with this system: it didn¡¯t ount for me or more urately my hunger¡­ The thought of eating this crystal and my hunger for itpletely drowned out the mental suggestions. As I looked at the crystal I instinctively knew what to do, I opened my maw and I felt something inside me awaken. I took a deep breath and inhaled. I felt the power drain out of the crystal. I saw blue trails of energy drain out of the crystal into my waiting jaws. I felt the power flood in, this was easily several times more power than the gold-ranked team I just ate. As I looked back at the crystal I saw it was now just a dull white sitting silently in its pedestal. When the power was empty I felt the familiar feeling of my body changing. Core Evolution Achieved Stage: 3 [Information Assimtion] acquired Essence obtained can now transfer memories [Regeneration] acquired Wounds will now heal at a greatly increased rate Now, this is very interesting¡­ so it looks like I can now steal the memories of those I eat and my wounds now heal rapidly. I just got a lot more dangerous¡­ Iughed as I turned back around and returned to the dome. When I got back I saw Cecilia staring at the dome which was now much dimmer. ¡°You did it¡­¡± Cecilia said in disbelief. ¡°Three more¡­¡± I replied with a smile. ¡°There¡¯s one more in here, a control crystal, there''s a barrier around it to stop me from tampering with it. But I think if you destroy the other three that barrier will fail as well. Then you can devour that one as well.¡± Cecilia said as her eyes filled with a happiness that bordered on madness. ¡°Sounds good, hang tight¡­¡± I say as I turn away and head off the deal with the other crystals. Each crystal was more or less the same story, each time I felt my power swell. Those fools from Averlon have no idea what they have done¡­ Unfortunately there were no more evolutions, but maybe with the big one inside the mansion, it would be a different story. When I got back to the mansion I saw that the barrier was gone. Cecilia was just standing there looking around her as if in shock. It was then that I noticed this woman was rather powerful, if I met her before I ate those crystals she might have been able to kill me easily. But now it¡¯s an even fight¡­ still our deal stands. I need to think of the long term. I can¡¯t just roam around eating anything that crosses my path forever. If what she said was true then I need to power up before heaven finds me... I can basically assume that as far as any of the races are concerned, my race is killed on sight¡­ so yeah an ally is going to be hard to find, not really wise to turn one down at this stage¡­ When I got close to her I saw she had walked over to a nearby table and chair that was sitting out in the open. She picked up what looked to be a clock that was sitting on the table. I could see her smile widen as she gazed down at the clock¡­ ¡°Right on schedule¡­ fate is truly never tardy¡­¡± Cecilia said as she looked up at me with a wide smile on her face. ¡°Thank you friend¡­ I will repay this kindness tenfold¡­¡± Cecilia said as she looked at where the barrier used to be. ¡°For years I remained a caged bird. Now atst I¡¯m free¡­¡± Cecilia said in a tone that implied she could barely believe it. ¡°What now?¡± I asked as my words snapped her back to reality. ¡°Yes of course, first I need to pack up my possessions.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Won''t that take a while?¡± I asked, slightly surprised at that statement. ¡°That¡¯s what magic is for friend, do not worry it won¡¯t take long, in the meantime let me show you the control crystal. You can enjoy your prize while I pack.¡± Cecilia said as she beckoned me to follow. ¡°And your wounds? I assume you have means to heal them?¡± I ask as I look down at Cecilia, I remember burns can get horribly infected from my experience back in my past life. I don¡¯t want her getting an infection and dying, thest thing I need is for the death of a princess to be pinned on me. Well... they will pin it on me at first regardless but without her there would be no one to correct that fact. If she dies there goes my safe haven... Cecilia paused at those words and she looked down at her burnt and blistered hands. She seemed a little shaken by my words and her hands glowed for a moment. Her wounds were then covered in a gold light as the wounds faded. ¡°Thank you¡­ friend¡­¡± Cecilia replied softly as she turned around to face me, her eyes soft. I am confused¡­ What''s with this reaction? If I was some dashing knight of at least roughly the same type of creature like an elf or something you could say there was some romantic intention there. But¡­ I¡¯m a giant man-eating, serpent¡­ thing, so it can¡¯t be that... Ughh whatever, I¡¯ll deal with thister, it¡¯ll probably make sense if I let things y out¡­ As I got to the door, I shrunk my body down to the smallest I could make it which is now about three meters. Still pretty big considering my full body length is about double my standing height thanks to my snake lower half. Still, my body was rather slender and I still managed to slip through the narrow doorway although I did break the door hinge¡­ I followed Cecilia through the mansion, breaking half the things I came across by ident, vases, statues, paintings¡­ Cecilia didn¡¯t seem to care, I guess this is just a very well-furnished prison to her. Considering she is a princess her captors probably tried their best to make her life asfortable as possible here. Eventually, we arrived at arge room and I could see the same type of crystal sitting in the middle. This one was almost double the size and it looked absolutely delicious¡­ ¡°I was right, the barrier is gone¡­ this crystal is just themand crystal it has no barrier runes¡­¡± Cecilia said as she stared at the crystal. ¡°Do you want to study it first? Or can I just go ahead?¡± I asked, I may really want to eat it but if Cecilia can get some insight from it, then I could wait. ¡°No, it''s exactly what I expected, I just never got the chance to confirm my suspicions¡­¡± Cecilia said dismissively as she turned away from the crystal. ¡°Suspicions?¡± I asked as I looked down at her. ¡°Why yes dear friend, I deduced a single crystal of this size cannot sustain such a barrier. So there must be external crystals powering it. The other crystals you ate gave it power, this crystal gave that power form and function. It is just a storage of information,manding the ether into a usable form.¡± Cecilia exined. ¡°Hmm you are quite good at magic.¡± I replied. ¡°I can teach you when we have the time. I can only imagine the kind of spells your body can weave. There were spell casting Devourers in the old legends, they could use spells that could raze cities to ash. I look forward to seeing how powerful you can be.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Why would you help me learn magic?¡± I ask, confused, why would someone give up a source of their power. It would only serve to weaken your position of power, now it would be an even fight if she taught me magic I would win easily. ¡°Because I know you will one day be more powerful than anything I could ever hope to be, a little magic not going to tip the scales in my favour. That and you are now my only friend and ally. For years I stayed here, all I received from those of my own kind was fear, condescending speech, and mock courtesy. No one truly cared for what I wanted, you are the second living thing in my whole life who doesn¡¯t see me as a monster. It¡¯s tragic, isn¡¯t it? That I can only findpanionship in a monster?¡± Cecilia said, her voice cracking slightly. ¡°The second?¡± I asked. ¡°The first is dead¡­ she was hung, framed for killing me¡­¡± Cecilia said as her eyes narrowed and watered. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t n on dying anytime soon. So let¡¯s give this life our best shot shall we?¡± I say as I lean down to look at her. ¡°Are youforting me?¡± Cecilia asked with a small smile. ¡°Just some advice, one monster to another.¡± I say with a smile. ¡°I suppose you are right, if my kind see me as a monster then a monster I shall be. I shall wear their scorn as a badge of honour.¡± Cecilia said as she reached her hand up and ced a gentle hand on the smooth front of my face. ¡°Go get packed friend, we have much to do.¡± I say and she removes her hand. ¡°Yes we do, enjoy your meal.¡± Cecilia said, now sounding much more determined. After Cecilia left the room I looked at the crystal and I felt my mouth water. I opened my maw and I started draining the power from the crystal. I felt the ether within flow into me and I felt my power surge. After this I again felt my body change¡­ Core Evolution Achieved Stage: 4 [Metabolic Boost] acquired Movement and attack speed are now increased [Keratin ting] acquired Armoured tes now avable to provide improved defensive capabilities Augmenting¡­ [Keratin ting] has improved [Bone des] material strength [Greater Bone des] now avable I looked down at my body and saw it was now covered in ayer of armoured tes. The tes left small gaps so as not to restrict movement. I could see the ces that weren''t armoured were what my body used to be. Those parts were still pretty tough, your average human wouldn¡¯t be able to cut through my hide. Those adventurers though could definitely do so, I just somehow knew by looking at them. Now however, let¡¯s see how effective their attacks are. I transformed one of my hands into a bone de and saw the des now had darker colour and looked slightly different. The shape was also different, it now had a longer and curved edge¡­ After I finished examining my new body, I walked out the door to see Cecilia walking down a set of stairs. ¡°I thought you were packing?¡± I asked, as far as I could tell she had only changed clothes and put on a small backpack. ¡°I did.¡± Cecilia said as she reached into her backpack and pulled out a cube. Her hands glowed for a moment and blue light shot out from the cube. The light hit a spot of the ground and there materialized an entire bookshelf filled with books. ¡°Hmm, that¡¯s handy¡­¡± I say as Cecilia smiled and returned the bookshelf into the cube. ¡°It¡¯s my own invention, I made it in preparation for the day that I would leave.¡± Cecilia said with a smile. ¡°Now I suppose we should find a ce to stay. I don¡¯t mind if you are currently staying at a cave or some simr form of residence. As long as it is hidden and has shelter I will be fine.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Oh I know where to go, I think it''ll be better than a cave¡­¡± I say with a smile as I think back to the tomb where I was born¡­ ¡°Oh?¡± Cecilia asked as she tilted her head slightly at my statement. Iughed and I began moving towards the door as I did so I turned to look at her¡­ You¡¯ll see what I mean I think you¡¯ll like it seeing as you seem to like magic so much¡­ Chapter 10: Home Sweet Home Chapter 10: Home Sweet Home I cradled Cecilia in my arms as I sped through the forest heading to where I have been staying for the past week or so. The journey on human legs would take days but for me it took only about 3 hours. Judging from my estimation I can move at about 40km/h at full travelling speed. I couldn¡¯t achieve that speed in battle of course, the rapid movement of battle and the momentum from my body, made it so that I couldn¡¯t go this fast without risking falling over. As I sped through the forest I could hear Ceciliaughing as the wind blew through her hair. I looked down and I saw her face alight with pure sincere happiness. I guess feeling the wind in your hair after being caged for years would be quite exhrating. We soon arrived at the opening of the cave that led to the tomb where I was ¡°born¡±. ¡°Here we are home sweet home.¡± I say as I stand at the opening of the cave. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t understand?¡± Cecilia asked as she looked up at me. ¡°Hmmm? Don¡¯t worry it¡¯s not as bad as it looks on the outside.¡± I replied. ¡°I think you are seeing something I¡¯m not¡­¡± Cecilia said as she began looking around. ¡°Do you not see the cave entrance in front of you?¡± I asked as I looked at the entrance right in front me. ¡°No¡­¡± Cecilia said as she casted a spell, her eyes glowed for a moment. She looked around and then she casted another spell, then another, then another¡­ four spellster she shook her head as she looked back at me. I put her down and reached forward towards the cave entrance. ¡°Ah please keep your hand there.¡± Cecilia said as she walked over. She ced a hand on this barrier and I saw a barrier flicker where she touched it. ¡°I¡¯m not detecting any magic, it¡¯s a very well hidden barrier¡­ feels like stone as well, this is a very well crafted illusion¡­ or is it an illusion?¡± Cecilia said as she touched the side of my hand that was supposedly inside this stone wall that she was seeing. ¡°The entry is seamless, it looks like your hand is phased into the stone¡­¡± Cecilia muttered. ¡°Could it be? A manifestation?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°A what?¡± I asked as I looked down at her. ¡°A manifestation is a more advanced form of illusion. Illusions are just creations of magic that mimic something but they cannot fully mimic the properties of the original. Some are better than others in mimicry but the copy is usually far inferior to the original. Manifestations are almost perfect copies with additional properties, they are a piece of a new constructed reality. Much moreplex to cast and execute. If this is truly a manifestation it should have the same properties of stone with the added ability to allow a select type of individual to enter.¡± Cecilia exined. ¡°Do you have any idea if you can go in?¡± I asked, this is awfully inconvenient¡­ ¡°I am not sure, manifestations are ancient lost magic. Thest recorded use of it was in the Elysian Empire almost 5000 years ago. The only manifestations that are found now are usually defense mechanisms held within old ruins. I suspect this is something simr...¡± Cecilia said as she turned to face me. ¡°Yeah there¡¯s this tomb on the other side.¡± I replied. ¡°As I thought¡­ if you are keyed for entry¡­ perhaps¡­ try holding me close to you and go in, but go in backwards so I don¡¯t get crushed, just release me if you feel me getting stuck on the barrier.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Ok¡­ I¡¯ll go in slowly, hopefully nothing happens.¡± I reply as I pull Cecilia as close as possible to my body and turn around before slowly retreating back into the cave. Luckily for us, she went past the barrier easily¡­ well that¡¯s good I just got my first ally who can provide some semnce of a long term n. It would be really awkward if she just got squished here... ¡°Ok¡­ we¡¯re in¡­¡± I say as I look down at her. ¡°Yes, shall we proceed?¡± Cecilia replied calmly. ¡°Can you see the other side of the barrier?¡± I asked as I looked down at her. ¡°No, it¡¯s pitch ck here, I assume for you some light is leaking in from the opening?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s a lot of runes in the tomb, maybe you can make some sense of them.¡± I say as I began carrying her deeper into the cave and finally we arrived at the door. The door was now much bigger, it was quite the shock honestly when I got back here after the first night. What was a bigger shock was that the room had changed to amodate myrger size. This time when I entered I saw it had done the same, the ceiling was now almost 8 meters tall and the room was as wide as a basketball court. Along the walls strange blue runes glowed, for me that was more than enough light to navigate but I have a feeling it¡¯ll be hard for Cecilia to see in there. ¡°Amazing¡­¡± Cecilia said as she looked around at the runes around the room as I put her down. Cecilia snapped her fingers and a light appeared in her hand as she held it out to have a good look around the room. ¡°These runes, they are old¡­ powerful¡­ How did you find this ce?¡± Cecilia asked as she turned around to look at me. ¡°This is my home.¡± I replied calmly. ¡°But that pawn said you appeared recently.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Some iron ranked adventurers woke me up, they somehow got through the seals to this ce. They made for a nice breakfast though.¡± I replied. ¡°I see¡­ so you have slumbered here for who knows how long¡­¡± Cecilia muttered as she looked around the room. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ve been here awhile¡­ kind of...¡± I said. Cecilia paused as she turned to look at me, confused by my odd reply. ¡°How old are you?¡± Cecilia asked as she turned to face me. ¡°About a week old.¡± I replied calmly and I saw her eyes widen in shock. ¡°You are just a hatchling? I can see why it took every living creature in creation to ensure the extinction of the devourers. I can only imagine how powerful you will be in a year¡­¡± Cecilia said as she looked at me in awe. ¡°Well that depends on my meals.¡± I replied, this was another interesting thing about my new body. I knew instinctively that I don¡¯t grow per se, at least not in the sense of a human eating food and his body growing naturally over time. I eat things and I evolve, my growth is dependent on my food. No food and I don¡¯t grow, simple¡­. ¡°Hmm, then I must get you the right food, growing boy that you are¡­¡± Cecilia said with a sly smile. ¡°Let¡¯s get you settled in first shall we.¡± I said as I let out a smallugh. Honestly, I¡¯m not going to lie, I kind of like Cecilia. Her odd twisted personality seems to fit nicely with my slightly psychopathic one¡­ ok maybe a little more than slightly¡­ ¡°Yes¡­ although these runes¡­ I have a suspicion¡­¡± Cecilia said as she walked over to a section of the wall that had this weird magic circle written on the wall. ¡°I think this is a control panel¡­¡± Cecilia said as she gazed at the magic circle. ¡°What makes you say that?¡± I asked as I gazed at the strange magic circle. The thing is, there were alot of magic circles all around in the room. Some were on the floor, some on the walls and there was this really big one on the ceiling. The one on the ceiling looked to be made of hundreds of small runes... What made this particr one special? Don¡¯t get me wrong they all looked a little different, maybe she could read some of these runes. ¡°I recognise some of these runes¡­ this one is Axotl, whenbined with these two, Regar and Wix. Thisbination ismon in control crystals, I don¡¯t see thisbination of runes anywhere in this room as far as I can tell. I can¡¯t really see the runes on the ceiling clearly but it makes little sense to put a control panel there anyway. The creators of this ce needed a way to test the magic of this ce.¡± Cecilia said as she ran her hand over the magic circle. ¡°Ok¡­ but that¡¯s three out of the twenty or so runes there¡­¡± I say as I gaze at the magic circle. ¡°Do you see how the runes are arranged? Linked in a triangle formation at the corners of the formation?¡± Cecilia said as she ran finger along each line forming a triangle. ¡°Yeah why?¡± I replied, listening intently. ¡°When these runes are ced like this it forms what is known as an interface control structure. All the other runes are merelymand runes that run within the structure. The exterior runes also have the formation of signal nodes which implies this formation is designed to send signals to other parts of this room.¡± Cecilia said as she pointed at the edges of the formation. ¡°Ok¡­ so do you know what to do?¡± I asked. ¡°I might¡­ Give me a moment.¡± Cecilia said as she took out that cube from before and from it she summoned an old tome. Cecilia then lifted the ball of the light into the air, leaving it floating. She then opened the tome and began to flip the pages looking for something. I stood there quietly as she read from the book asionally looking up at the magic circle and looking back down at the tome. All the while she muttered to herself as her brow creased in concentration. For the next hour, I just stood there as she muttered to herself and examined the magic circle. It¡¯s a variant¡­ unstable though¡­ Rael, Hex, Rast, Igni¡­ but why in this arrangement? Ah it¡¯s a stabiliser¡­ but for what? The variants of the runes, their excess power where does it go? Could it be? Yes¡­ yes it is, the flow of power¡­ is the formation¡­ Fascinating¡­ Finally she mmed the tome shut with a victorious smile on her face as she gazed at the magic circle. ¡°Figured it out?¡± I asked, by now I was lying on the floor and just gazed at her in boredom. ¡°Yes¡­¡± Cecilia said as she turned around and realized I was lying on the ground. ¡°Oh¡­ how long did I take?¡± Cecilia asked, a little embarrassed. ¡°About an hour, it¡¯s fine.¡± I said as I rose back up to my ¡°standing¡± height. ¡°Ok¡­ I should be able to mark myself as allowed within this tomb¡¯s magic system¡­¡± Cecilia said as she tapped at the magic circle. The runes spun and glowed then suddenly they froze and began to glow brighter than before. Authorisation Required I heard this voice ring out in the room. Huh¡­ this seems a little sci-fi¡­ ¡°I think you need to touch this circle.¡± Cecilia said as she pointed at the magic circle that was now protruding from the wall and slowly spinning. ¡°Ok¡­¡± I said as I reached forward and touched the circle. Immediately the room began to shake and I heard that voice rumble out. Authorisation Acknowledged Adjusting Parameters for Human Habitation The voice said as I saw the room seemingly shift before my eyes. The stone floor started to shift and the walls began to move. This is the first time I have actually seen the room change, previously the room was always changed when I arrived. It was oddly hypnotic to see the dark stone walls shift and move like there was some great mechanism just beyond these walls¡­ ¡°Amazing¡­ theplexity required to create such a functionality¡­ the only ancient ruins I have read about are old and dpidated. None of the original internal systems were still functional¡­¡± Cecilia said in awe as the room shifted. The room grewrger and I saw what looked to be a room appear. Magic lights appeared in the room as the walls shifted and they popped out of the walls, illuminating the dark area. I saw an area of the floor open up and I saw what looked to be a fountain appear. From it sprang clear sparkling water, then a hearth with mes crackling within popped out of one of the walls. By the end of it all, this ce looked much nicer and it looked much more livable as well. Whoever designed this ce knew what they were doing. I knew this ce could change but I didn''t think it could change like this¡­ ¡°Well this looks much more hospitable,¡± Cecilia said cheerily as she pped her hands. ¡°Huh, didn¡¯t expect this¡­¡± I say as I look around the room. ¡°There¡¯s even a bath!¡± Cecilia said in delight as she poked her head into the room that was formed. I went over to the door and as I peered in I saw a steaming pool of water. I watched as Cecilia began offloading whatever she packed into her magic cube. As far as I can tell she brought everything in her personal bedroom. Soon the whole room was filled with her things, She had a lot of books¡­ she had enough books to fill a small library. Good thing her personal room was ratherrge. Then she summoned out onest thing¡­ From what I could see it was a small gold locket. I saw her open it and I started to sense sorrow from her as she gazed down at the locket. The sorrow slowly turned to anger, then anger became rage and rage became wrath. I saw her eyes fill with hatred as she closed the locket with a snap, her lips curled into a snarl. If looks could kill, her expression would be a bomb, a bomb primed with explosives, waiting to explode and destroy everything at just the right moment¡­ Then I heard her whisper under her breath as she gently put the locket onto one of the shelves. I will make them pay I will make them suffer I will have my vengeance... Chapter 11: Plans, Plots and Conspiracies Chapter 11: ns, Plots and Conspiracies Lord Averlon bit his thumb as he fidgeted with the quill in his hand as he waited for the news. That first party he sent to the cradle has vanished¡­ he had hoped since the cradle is further away from the previous attack sites the party would make the journey safely. He even sent a group of guards into the forest on a scouting mission to act as bait, using the excuse of finding that mystery tomb or bandit camp to justify the decision. All the while he prayed that the beast would target the guards instead of his party. The party was supposed to return two days after being sent out. But that was a week ago¡­ This time he asked his spymaster Sarana to send some of her best operatives to approach the cradle from multiple directions. Praying they would be able to verify if Cecilia was still there¡­ The disappearance of the first party, the appearance of the beast and the supposedmencement of the prophecy. Idly he wondered what sin did hemit for spiteful fate to punish him so¡­ Then he heard a knock on his door and he sprang to his feet. ¡°My lord, my scouts have returned.¡± He heard Sarana say from the other side of the door. ¡°Enter.¡± Lord Averlon said his mouth dry and his body shaking from the tension. When the door opened he saw a somber Sarana enter with five of her operatives. He could tell it was bad news judging from the expression on her face and he felt a chill go up his spine. ¡°What news?¡± Lord Averlon asked shakily. ¡°The Cradle has been breached my lord¡­ Princess Cecilia is nowhere to be found¡­¡± Sarana said. Lord Averlon sat back down shakily and he buried his face into his hands. He knew what this meant, either his dear daughter was dead or¡­ the prophecy has been put in motion despite his best efforts. This beast must be a servant of this prophecy, there is no other possible exnation¡­ What¡¯s worse they still know next to NOTHING about the heavens be damned thing¡­ The only bit of information is that it could kill anything that they sent into the forest¡­ Should they request the aid of the other city-states? No, if anyone else found out that he was harboring the subject of such a dire prophecy, the Divine Council will have his head. They will burn Averlon to the ground to serve as an example for the other city-states¡­ ¡°What have you found out¡­¡± Lord Averlon said quietly his eyes shut as he grasped his hair in frustration and desperation. ¡°No signs of a struggle at the cradle, the sealing crystals and the control crystal have all been drained dry. Not only that, examinations of the interior have revealed some unsettling things. We have found signs that the beast was in the house, the same serpent trail was found in the house and the princess¡¯s room is empty. It looked as if she just packed up everything including the furniture and left.¡± Sarana replied. ¡°So she left willingly¡­ that beast helped her escape¡­¡± Lord Averlon said through gritted teeth. ¡°We believe so¡­ we also suspect the beast could somehow drain the ether from the crystals.¡± Sarana replied. Then something snapped in Lord Averlon as he shot to his feet and swiped everything off his table. All his documents, pens, cups, delicate magical artefacts all ttered onto the floor with the more fragile items shattering. Sarana looked on calmly as Lord Averlon, now enraged, grabbed the bottom of the table and flipped the whole thing over with a roar. ¡°My lord, this is no time for an outburst.¡± Sarana said calmly,pletely unfazed by the disy of self-destructive violence. ¡°18 years I havebored, ever since I heard that damned prophecy!¡± Lord Averlon roared as he delivered a kick to his now upturned table. ¡°18 years of work UNDONE IN A FORTNIGHT!¡± Lord Averlon howled as slumped back into his chair grasping at his hair. ¡°My lord, how should we proceed?¡± Sarana asked calmly. ¡°Those damned fools, they went out to that tomb and released who knows what forgotten horror into this world¡­¡± Lord Averlon muttered as he ignored Sarana¡¯s question. ¡°My lord.¡± Sarana said this time a little louder and her tone a little colder. Lord Averlon paused, seemingly momentarily brought back to his senses. He pondered the question, what the hell does he do from here? He needs more information, if he wants the only mithril team to even stand a chance against the beast he needs to get them at least a list of attributes. They will need to know it¡¯s strengths, it¡¯s weaknesses, its attack patterns, which part of the body is vulnerable. If an adventurer knows what to expect then they can even take on monsters that are a tier higher in some cases. But if they know nothing about the monster then even mithril ranked adventurers can be taken down by a gold-ranked monster. Thisplicates things significantly as now due to this unknown factor, the monster might just be a silver ranked monster that was able to use the element of surprise on every adventurer so far. Or¡­ it could be a hero-ranked monster that simply overpowered every single team so far, the loss of the teams tells him NOTHING! ¡°Arrest the family of the adventurers that went to that tomb¡­¡± Lord Averlon said. ¡°They have already been interrogated my lord.¡± Sarana replied calmly. ¡°I know, I remember. Arrest them and make sure they know nothing, I want everything they know, torture them if you have to.¡± Lord Averlon said coldly. ¡°Is that wise my lord? Sarana asked as she tilted her head slightly. ¡°You know the prophecy, you know what is at stake. We can no longer afford to be gentle.¡± Lord Averlon growled. Idly as Sarana looked at him, she noted he looked like he was starting to look a little unstable¡­ ¡°Word will spread that you are arresting citizens for no good cause. With the lockdown of the roads many businesses have been affected, the public already grows restless. I feel if things continue to deteriorate we will begin to see agitators in the poption.¡± Sarana said. ¡°Where are the families of the adventurers?¡± Lord Averlon asked. ¡°They came from two small viges, vige Wheaton and vige Hearthstead,¡± Sarana replied. ¡°Poption?¡± Lord Averlon asked. ¡°8 families each¡­ my lord.¡± Sarana replied, as she started to feel something was wrong¡­ ¡°Use your underworld contacts, make them attack the vige and have some of your operatives capture their families. Then squeeze everyst bit of information from them. If we can find the tomb we might be able to find some clues to what this thing is.¡± Lord Averlon said. ¡°You want me to orchestrate a bandit attack, kill all the vigers and kidnap the families of those adventurers in the process?¡± Sarana asked dumbfounded. ¡°That seer served the Divine Council. If Heaven discovers what Cecilia is, the armies of Heaven will wipe Averlon off the face of the map. All our lives are forfeit unless we find the beast and Cecilia.¡± Lord Averlon growled. ¡°Yes my lord¡­¡± Sarana said with a bow as she started to have second thoughts on the man before her. What he said had some degree of logic behind it. However, if this bes public knowledge, Averlon will have an uprising¡­ If House Averlon is overthrown, who will the people me for a covert operation? The Forgemaster? The Head of Commerce? The Head Mage? That girl the Royal Beastiarian? Or the woman who is in charge of covert operations and spying? The Spymaster Sarana Lohse would be the one to take the fall along with the house of Averlon if the worst shoulde to pass¡­ The rest would get away scot-free and chances are they would continue to serve the next ruler¡­ as for herself? She¡¯ll be dragged naked through the streets¡­ Sarana may have to consider a new source of employment¡­ ¡°Oh yes, the girl that escaped the bandit camp, have her brought to the forest and have her see if she can remember anything when she¡¯s in there. If we can find that bandit camp then we¡¯ll be able to gather more clues.¡± Lord Averlon said. ¡°My lord, I doubt amon peasant girl will be able to find her way through a forest. She would more likely lead us in circles than actually lead us to the camp. She was lost for two days, at a walking pace, she could have walked for 50 kilometers in any direction. The camp may be hours away from where we found her.¡± Sarana replied. ¡°I don¡¯t care, have her search. She¡¯s useless as she is now, we might as well get some use out of her. I assume you still have her in custody?¡± Lord Averlon asked as he cast a cold nce at Sarana. ¡°Of course my lord, I have been awaiting your leave to release her.¡± Sarana replied as she gave him her best false smile. ¡°Good, have her sent to the forest to search.¡± Lord Averlon said. ¡°Of course my lord, is there anything else you require?¡± Sarana asked. ¡°No,plete your tasks and we just might survive¡­¡± Lord Averlon said with a grimace. ¡°Of course my lord, then I shall take my leave.¡± Sarana said as she bowed and made her way out of the room. Once she was clear of the guards at the door her smiling mask gave way to a snarl. ¡°You may be stuck here but not me¡­¡± Sarana muttered as she began to think on what preparations she would need for her to escape this city if the worst shoulde to pass. She has no intention of being lynched or turned to ash by holy fire¡­ ??,`¡ã.???.?.???.¡ã`,?? As I looked down at Cecilia who was lying on her bed flipping through a book. I realised over the past few days she apparently feels no sense of modesty when in front of me. It was honestly a bit of a weird experience being treated as someone or perhaps something that didn¡¯t care about such things. Well to be fair yes I didn¡¯t really care and since I have no eyes she has no idea what exactly I¡¯m looking at considering I have an approximately 270-degree cone of vision. Still, the human in me still felt it was a bit awkward to be in the same room as a woman who was wearing so little. Even now as I look down at her, she was in nothing but a nightgown and underwear. Well I can understand the utility of the decision. The hearth kept this ce quite warm and honestly I¡¯ve seen the clothes she usually wears. It honestly didn¡¯t look thatfortable with its thigh-high socks, garter belts, and a corset underneath her flowing dress. So this attire is much morefortable. The oddest moment for me is when I returned from a hunt and I saw her bathing. When she saw me she gave me a cheery wave as she got out of the bathe and grabbed a nearby towel. Then she used the towel to dry her HAIR first, not bothering to cover up at all. She just walked over to me stark naked in nothing but a pair of sandals on her feet. She then began talking to me as if nothing was wrong with the whole situation. Well¡­ honestly there wasn¡¯t that much wrong with the situation. I can easily ignore her nudity once the conversation starts. I feel nothing for human women, in fact until now I don¡¯t even know if I¡¯m male or female. So I guess it¡¯s just the human in me acting up, like somehow this situation is indecent or something. Then again I am sure people with pets don''t care about their modesty in front of their dogs or cats¡­ ¡°You wanted to talk to me?¡± I asked as I looked down at her. ¡°Yes, I¡¯vee up with a n to better conceal what you really are.¡± Cecilia said as she snapped the book shut and got off the bed. ¡°What is it?¡± I asked. ¡°You see friend I wasbing through some of the old tales of past Devourers. All of them had hybrid features like one was covered in feathers, the feathers were a hybrid of multiple types of feathers. The Devourers could meld traits of those they consumed, optimising their abilities to use the strengths of multiple creatures. When I first met you, your des and your invisibility was very obviously the pattern of the Stalker Chameleon. However, if you were to meld those two into with the invisibility powers of another creature and obtain the des of another. Then it would be much harder to tell that your abilities are stolen from other creatures.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Hmm that is true.¡± I replied. ¡°Then let me ask you friend, can you change your appearance?¡± Cecilia asked, ¡°Never tried.¡± I replied as soon as I thought about the subject I felt something click in the back of my mind. I found once again that my body knew exactly what to do and I decided to try it out... ¡°Ohhh a Spriggan¡¯s skin¡­¡± Cecilia said with a happy p. I looked down and saw my body was covered in this strange bark-like skin. Much like those annoying Spriggans that I managed to wipe out¡­ well as far as I know anyway. Their abilities seemed too useful for me to leave any behind. I actively hunted them for about a day and a half, there weren¡¯t that many of them to begin with and there¡¯s definitely a lot less of them now¡­ in this forest at least... ¡°I guess I can.¡± I state as I switch back to my white skin. ¡°Excellent, also if I am to uphold my end of the bargain I will need to make you look¡­ more presentable,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Presentable?¡± I asked, confused. ¡°Yes, you are very intimidating but a tad too intimidating. I think if we can alter your appearance to seem more regal, I may be able to pass you off as some wise ancient beast. One that is intelligent and can be reasoned with.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°What do you have in mind?¡± I asked. ¡°I think some phoenix feathers would be excellent, we can meld that with the feathers of¡­ well Feathered Wyverns. As for your des there are Gigant Mantises whose des you canbine with your stalker des. Gigant Mantises also have invisibility so it could mask your real identity even further.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Alright, sounds like a n. Where can I find these creatures?¡± I asked. ¡°I think let¡¯s start with the Gigant Mantises, we¡¯ll worry about cosmetic changester. They are found in a swamp not far from here. It¡¯s about three days of travel for us humans but I think you can make better time than us humans on carriages.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Sounds good.¡± I replied with a smile. Cecilia was proving to be an extremely good ally. I was worried at first that she would try to trick me into just helping her get her throne back. I found out a few days after staying with her that she wasn¡¯t afraid to invest in her endeavours. She has spent the past few daysing up with a n to make me stronger so that we would be better equipped toplete our goals. Well if there¡¯s one thing I learnt on the streets back home... Treat me right and I¡¯ll treat you right Compassion is hard toe by out here... Chapter 12: Whispers of Prophecy Chapter 12: Whispers of Prophecy I held Cecilia in my arms as we sped past the trees. I tried to take the turns around trees slower. I didn¡¯t want to shake Cecilia too much lest she starts feeling ill. We should reach this swamp soon, we¡¯ve been moving for almost half a day. This is the furthest I have ever gone from the tomb so this will definitely be interesting¡­ It wasn¡¯t long before the terrain started to change, I could feel the ground was now much wetter and the grass soon turned to a marsh. I began to slow down from the increased resistance. I was still going quite fast but not as quickly as before. Then I spotted an old shack in the middle of the swamp. It stood on a slight incline, a piece of drynd in the wends. I noticed there was this powerful signature radiating from within the shack. I immediately activated my invisibility and put Cecilia down. ¡°Hide.¡± I muttered trying to keep my voice down. Cecilia obeyed instantly casting a spell turning herself invisible. I continued to observe the shack, then I saw a sh of light within and I immediately felt a presence behind me. I felt my blood go cold. I turned and saw an old woman standing there calmly looking up at me. I raised my de and delivered a quick sh at her. At the same time, I fired off a volley of spikes. The old woman held her hand out and my de was stopped by a barrier, my spikes as well were just stopped midair. When I tried to pull the de back I realised my de was held in ce by some kind of magic. I looked down at the woman and I saw her eyes were glowing gold. This is very bad... ¡°Calm yourself friend. Long have I waited for your arrival¡­¡± the woman said, her voice old and weary. ¡°Who are you?¡± Cecilia said as she rematerialized from invisibility. ¡°A friend Princess Cecilia.¡± the woman said as I got a good look at her I realized her eyes were horribly scarred, it looks like someone took a blow torch to her face... ¡°If you are curious about this¡­ the Archangel Mihael blessed me with his searing touch long ago.¡± the woman said as she touched her marred face. ¡°How do you know who we are?¡± Cecilia said. It was painfully obvious that we couldn¡¯t beat her, in fact, I couldn¡¯t even move my arm and unless I cut it off I¡¯m stuck here... ¡°Fear not, I mean you no harm, I understand if my presence is shocking to you.¡± the woman said as she put her arm down. My arm was freed from her magic and the spikes fell down into the mud. My first instinct was to grab Cecilia and just book it but I had a feeling we wouldn¡¯t get far¡­ ¡°Who are you?¡± I asked cautiously as I took aim at her with my spines just in case. ¡°A friend, my protege made the prophecy that binds you Princess.¡± the old woman said. ¡°You are a seer?¡± Cecilia asked taken aback by the revtion. ¡°Yes, or at least I was. The gift of Divine Sight is not something that can be disregarded, when I served my purpose the Archangel Mihael attempted to remove my sight thus you see his work on my face.¡± the woman said as she looked at me. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense, if you are a threat to them why didn¡¯t they just kill you?¡± I asked as I looked down at her. ¡°Arrogance my friend. My gift was too powerful to be let loose into the world, now that they had their recement. I was no longer useful to them. So they blinded me to ensure I could not use my sight and for my long years of service, they allowed me to live. After all, what can a sightless seer do? The Arch Angel was so confident in his power he did not think to gouge my eyes out, he felt this was sufficient. Unfortunately for him the sight is not so easily lost, even if it is greatly weakened.¡± as the woman¡¯s eyes glowed anew before fading, revealing milky white eyes. ¡°What do you want with us?¡± Cecilia asked as she furrowed her brows. ¡°This is a poor ce to speak shall we head inside?¡± the woman asked as she waved her hand and the ground below us glowed with runes. In an instant, we were now standing outside the shack. With another wave of her hand furniture appeared, two chairs and a table now stood atop the small patch of drynd. ¡°Have a seat.¡± the woman said as she gestured to one of the chairs. Cecilia gave her a look before warily taking a seat, I just stood at the side on guard as I carefully observed the old woman. ¡°What do you want from us?¡± Cecilia asked again at this enigmatic woman. ¡°Nothing, I want nothing from you. What I want is to help you.¡± the woman replied as she conjured up a teapot and two cups. She calmly poured a cup and pushed it towards Cecilia. Cecilia raised a brow as she gazed down at the cup. She looked back at the smiling woman and her hands glowed as she cast a spell on the tea cup. ¡°Fear not princess it isn¡¯t poisoned. Though they say poison is a woman¡¯s weapon I have no need for such methods. If I wanted you two dead you would have already departed this mortal coil¡­ [Walpurgis Fire]¡± the woman said as her eyes glowed once more and high above us a massive ck fireball appeared above us. I knew instantly if I was hit by that fire I would be done, but as soon as it appeared it vanished. ¡°[Walpurgis Fire]... that¡¯s a hero ranked spell¡­¡± Cecilia said in shock as she gazed at the woman. ¡°Bah, the adventurer ranks, a foolish metric. The Hero Rank is just the beginning of strength. The adventurer guild, they are tasked to clean up the chaff, the vermin. They would stand no chance against a true opponent¡­ like your friend here¡­ Princess, the world is a far more dangerous ce than you can possibly imagine. The blood of the firstborn, their essence still flows in some of their progeny. Though that essence has been watered down over the eons, the Sessors of the firstborn still walk this world. You are one of them, princess¡­¡± the woman said with a smile. ¡°Firstborn? Do you mean the Devourers?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°Devourers¡­ a name born of a pedestrian understanding of this world.¡± the woman said with a scoff. ¡°Although the name is urate to a degree, it does not do your friend justice. The Sessors of the Firstborn are powerful, much more so than your average sheep crawling through the muck of this world. The adventurer guild gives the title of Hero Rank to teams that can fell a beast that once only heroes could. The elder dragons, the primordial elementals, the ancient phoenixes, all of which bore the blood of the firstborn. The heroes of old once served heaven, fighting under their great lie. After the heroes nearly wiped them off the face of creation, heaven turned on them. For they were thest loose end, the only ones who remained on Terra who had the power to challenge the rule of heaven. Oh, the Seraphim spun such honeyed lies Princess, promises of order and peace. A world without the all-powerful beasts that could raze city and empire. But the truth, how cruel the truth is, the Seraphim just wanted this world weak lest the sheep rise up against the masters.¡± the woman said. ¡°This is all very interesting but I fail to see how any of this is useful to us,¡± I replied as I gave the woman a look. ¡°Patience my friend, but yes perhaps I rambled for too long. What I will give you Princess is knowledge¡­¡± the woman said as she waved her hand and hundreds of books appeared around us. ¡°My collection, arcane tomes, necronomicons, ancient grimoires. All of them for you, a gift to an heir of the Firstborn.¡± the woman said with a smile. I watched as Cecilia walked over to one of the stacks of books and picked one up. She opened it up and I saw her eyes widen. I could sense her heart rate rise, whatever was in that book, I could tell she liked what she was seeing very much. ¡°And for you Firstborn, I have an even greater gift for you.¡± the woman said and I leaned forward wondering what she would offer me. ¡°I offer you advice, a direction, a strategy¡­ I have already made arrangements with individuals all across this world. My n, my final symphony is already in motion, you need only find the other Sessors of the Firstborn.¡± the woman said. ¡°Find the other Sessors of the Firstborn? How the hell am I supposed to do that?¡± I asked. ¡°The other Sessors are hunted by heaven so they are in hiding. There should be many but I only know of the four, the founders of The Children of Terra, you may know their organization¡¯s other name, Princess. The Syndicate.¡± the woman said. ¡°The Syndicate? They are run by the Sessors?¡± Cecilia asked in shock. ¡°What is this Syndicate?¡± I asked as I looked at Cecilia. ¡°They are a criminal organization as far as I know. They have branches in every city-state, they don¡¯t do much most of the time. Most of the underworld and funnily enough most of the crowns know only one rule of action towards the Syndicate. Don¡¯t fuck with the Syndicate¡­ Some monarchs have tried to remove the Syndicate¡¯s presence from their cities¡­ and those Monarchs were removed from their thrones¡­¡± Cecilia said. ¡°I think we just found our way to get your throne back¡­¡± I say with a smirk. ¡°I think so too¡­¡± Cecilia replied with a smile of her own. ¡°I know not how many more Sessors the original four have brought into the fold. I am only familiar with the four. The first and the one I am fondest of, Nemesis the Vengeful¡­¡± the woman said as she put a finger to her temple and from it, she withdrew a blue glowing wisp-like thread. She then tossed the thread up into the air and a projection appeared. The projection showed a raven-haired woman. She knelt on the ground as she cradled another fallen woman. I could hear her sobbing as she held the corpse. After a few moments, her sobbing faded and the projection panned away. I gawked as I looked at the scene around her, it looked to be a burning vige. The ground was littered with winged humanoid corpses, then I spotted a winged woman bound by ck chains. She was chained on her knees with her arms pulled back. My best guess is that woman and the corpses would be the angels. The raven-haired woman gently ced the corpse onto the ground and she rose to her feet. I couldn¡¯t see her face, her long hair hung around the side of her face like a jet ck curtain. She walked over to the bound angel. The angel had tinum white hair and her eyes werepletely white, devoid of irises. The angel said something but no sound was heard. ¡°The ck-haired woman, that is Nemesis.¡± the old woman exined. I watched as Nemesis marched over to the lone surviving angel. She waved her hand and ck meat hooks sprang from the ground. The hookstched onto the wings of the angel who shrieked in agony. Nemesis clenched her fist and the hooks began to pull¡­ The angel thrashed and howled as slowly but surely the wings were ripped right off her body. Then with a final tug, the wings were off¡­ I could see the angel was groaning in pain as her body shook from the wound. Interestingly enough the angel¡¯s blood was gold... Nemesis then summoned ck ws around her hands. The w looked to be made of shadows and she grasped the angel around the neck with the ws. Then I heard her voice whisper out from the projection. Shhhh, sleep¡­. Nemesis whispered as she slowly strangled the angel. I saw the angel gasp as her lips turned blue then with a sickening twist and crunch Nemesis snapped her neck. Then the chains vanished and the angel copsed onto the ground. Nemesis looked down for a moment, she then reached down and picked up an angel¡¯s feather off the ground. She held it for a moment as if lost in thought. She walked over to a nearby golden blood puddle and she dipped the feather in the blood. When she brought the feather back up to her eyes, it was now stained gold. She then slotted the feather on the front of her clothes like a pin. Then the projection cut... ¡°Is Nemesis her real name? Or is it an alias?¡± Cecilia asked as the projection vanished. ¡°An alias.¡± the old woman said. ¡°They all gave up their birth names when they formed the Syndicate. As for the others, the second is Theseus the Exile. He fled his home hoping to spare his vige from the wrath of heaven. s, it was not to be¡­¡± the woman said as she once again tossed another thread into the air. This time the projection showed a man with a shield a spear battling an angel with four wings. Around them burned Theseus¡¯s vige, the battle raged with neither being able to best the other. Theseus stepped over the bodies of countless angels but I could see he was covered in wounds. Then the angelnded a decisive hit and sent Theseus¡¯s shield flying. Theseus knocked off bnce was about to be struck down when ck hooks appeared from behind the angel and snared all four of her wings. The hooks dragged her down to earth and brought the angel to her knees. Then from behind the angel emerged Nemesis. Now she was wearing a white mask, it looked like it was leering at the angel. Her dress was also now covered with gold feathers. Looks like she had been busy... Nemesis calmly walked past screaming and thrashing angel and she offered a hand to Theseus. He took the hand and Nemesis pulled him to his feet. Then with a gracious bow, she gestured to the bound angel. I saw Theseus¡¯s face darken as he gripped his spear and approached the now helpless angel. Then the projection cut again¡­ ¡°How strong are they?¡± I asked as I looked at the woman. ¡°Far stronger than me, they could fight on even terms with an Arch Angel. As for you Firstborn, you can one day exceed them all. You will one day be a wolf among sheep if you can survive that long that is¡­¡± the woman said. ¡°And the other two?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°These are my visions of these two, I met with them previously. I did not have any visions of the two that came after. All I know are their aliases, the third is Persephone the Ruined Queen she is a powerful magic caster. Her city-state fell to the angels and now she is part of the Syndicate. The fourth and final founder is Heimdall the Vignt. He is a powerful warrior that is the chief of security for the Syndicate. He also leads the branch of the Syndicate that is tasked with fighting the angels on Terra. He is very good at his job, the angels who appear in Terra now only stay for short periods, if they linger for too long they risk meeting the Heimdall and the Syndicate. asionally Seraphim death squads do appear to hunt down any particrly powerful humans but sometimes those death squads never make it back to heaven. Make no mistake friends there is a hidden war being waged in Terra. It is just that most people don¡¯t know it.¡± the woman said. ¡°And what arrangements have you made for us?¡± Cecilia asked. At those words the woman¡¯s lips curled into a sly smile. ¡°The leader of the Syndicate, Nemesis. She awaits you in Averlon.¡± the woman replied. ¡°Then how do we find her?¡± I asked. At those words, the old woman let out a small chuckle as she turned her scarred face towards me. Do not worry my friend You won¡¯t need to find her She will find you¡­ When the time is right... Chapter 13: Primordial Adaptability Chapter 13: Primordial Adaptability As I picked up Cecilia again I cast onest look at the old woman who was still calmly sitting at the table sipping her tea. As far as I could tell she didn¡¯t seem to have a care in the world or was it eptance? She said her vision lets her see the present and into the future¡­ I guess if you already knew the future you could make your peace with it long before it happens¡­ I asked her if she wanted toe with us but she just smiled and let out another smallugh. In her demeanor, I sensed great sorrow. From where this pain stemmed I do not know, but¡­ I know what it¡¯s like to feel despair. When I lived on the streets in my past life, every day was a struggle. I was a 12-year-old boy, powerless amongst the thugs and gangsters. I¡¯ve seen murders, rapes, police beating those they caught within an inch of their life before tossing their bleeding and broken bodies in the back of armored vans. She said also said that this would be thest time we would meet¡­ I had a feeling she meant that she would be dead before we get the chance to meet up again. Honestly, these past few days with Cecilia have kind of been a wake-up call. At first, all I knew was hunger but as I ate humans I started to be more introspective. I tried to avoid it, telling myself I¡¯ll figure out itter, or the answer will reveal itself as time goes on. But as I spent time with her I started to think more, I realized I am not the same person I was in my past life. That wasn¡¯t going to change, my body simply didn¡¯t allow me to feel the same things I did as a human. Still, as I assimted the human genome I became less monster and more human. I don¡¯t know much about this whole heaven thing, everything I know about them is knowledge. Information without connection, just empty facts, yeah heaven wants to kill me. To be fair so do the humans and I¡¯m pretty sure most species would want to kill me on sight. I am simply too dangerous, if you are a threat you are an enemy. That is a lesson I know all too well in my past life... Act weak when you are strong and act strong when you are weak. That is how you survive¡­ I suppose it is quite ironic, that I be more human as I kill them. I look down at Cecilia who is quietly lost in thought as I cradled her in my arms. Do I care about her? No, I don¡¯t. Do I want her to die and suffer? No, I don¡¯t either¡­ Be more human as you eat them¡­ I suppose there is some grace in this irony¡­ I shook my head slightly and banished these thoughts from my mind. I need to focus on what I came here for. As I moved through the swamp I started to notice a scent trail. It was faint, but it was there nheless. Was this the scent of a Gigant Mantis? Well, I was just blindly going through the swamp anyway, I guess I might as well check it out. ¡°I got a scent, not sure what is though,¡± I said as I turned and began following the trail. ¡°I guess we¡¯ll see, there are many creatures in this swamp,¡± Cecilia said as she raised her voice slightly to make herself heard over the rushing wind. With that in mind, I followed the trail, soon I came across something very interesting. The Gigant Mantises were described to me as giant praying mantis like creatures. They had wings but due to their size, those wings only allowed them to fly over extremely short distances simr to a chicken. Still, a Gigant Mantis is said to tower four meters tall and somethingrge flying a short distance to pounce on you is still quite deadly. Apparently, they kept this unique evolutionary trait because of their home environment. The short-distance flight allows them to gain a burst of speed in the marshy terrain. Thatbined with their invisibility and powerful ws made them extremely dangerous ambush predators. For adventurers to hunt them a great many precautions are needed. No team below gold rank should even attempt to fight one. Even then the contracts that involve a Gigant Mantis are regarding ones that wandered out of the swamp for whatever reason. So the adventurers would fight them on better terrain, if adventurers attempted to fight in the marshy terrain, the difficulty of the fight would go up significantly. The interesting thing here was that I saw two Gigant Mantises fighting what looked to be a stone golem. The golem looked to be made of a brownstone covered in vines, the golem was roughly humanoid in shape. However, it had no head, nor legs and in its chest was a glowing blue crystal that pulsed like a heartbeat. The torso just sort of hovered over the ground as it fought the Gigant Mantises across the marshy soil. I stopped and put Cecilia down as we examined the fight. ¡°I think it¡¯s a war for territory¡­ the Gigant Mantises should be mates with a nest. I think they made their nest here but it was in this Earth Elemental¡¯s territory. As I listened to Cecilia I saw the Earth Elemental grab one of the Mantises and hurl it back. It crashed into some trees with a shriek. ¡°How tough it that Earth Elemental?¡± I asked as I examined the odd golem. ¡°It is stronger than a Gigant Mantis but it should be even since there¡¯s two of them. Normally a Gigant Mantis wouldn¡¯t pick this kind of fight. I suspect their eggs have already beenid and buried so they have no choice but to defend the nest.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Any suggestions on how to approach this fight?¡± I asked as I examined my future prey. Individually I feel I should be able to take any one of them out one on one. But in a three-way fight, anything could happen¡­ ¡°Maybe we should let the fight y out, they should wound each other. Once one side has fallen on sufficiently weakened we can move in to finish both parties off?¡± Cecilia suggested as she looked up at me. ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound very honorable,¡± I replied with a small chuckle. ¡°I never thought I would get lectured on honor by a monster,¡± Cecilia said as she raised a brow in amusement. ¡°It¡¯s a joke friend,¡± I replied with another smallugh. ¡°What is? The lecture or honor?¡± Cecilia asked with a smirk. ¡°Why can¡¯t it be both?¡± I replied with a smirk of my own. At those words, Cecilia giggled and we returned to watching the fight. One of the Mantises tried to go for the crystal in the Earth Elemental¡¯s chest but the Elemental grabbed the attacking w before delivering a punch to the attack Mantis. The Mantis fell back, its w now twisted at an unnatural angle. The other Mantis seeing the attack chose this moment to strike. It shed at the crystal and the strike hit home. The Elemental staggered back as the Mantis that was struck struggled to its feet. ¡°Looks like it¡¯ll be a close fight,¡± I said. ¡°It appears so, all the better for us,¡± Cecilia replied as she gazed at the raging battle. Then the Elementalnded a decisive hit on one of the Mantises, itnded a hard punch on the side of Mantis. The Mantisnded hard in the mud, brown water spraying in all directions, it iled in the mud as the legs on the side of the body that was struck struggled to move. The other Mantis backed off immediately, and I could tell it was deciding if it should abandon the other Mantis. The elemental was also not doing much better, there was now a gash on the crystal and I could tell by the way it was hovering that it was wounded as well. Its hovering was now choppy with it dropping down asionally before rising up again. Its movements were also sluggish with its arms seemingly shaking under the strain ofbat. The arms drooped and rose erratically like a machine that was running out of power. ¡°I guess this is the time¡­¡± I said as I engaged my invisibility and began moving towards the Mantis that was still standing. I don¡¯t want that one to run, if possible I want all three. Yeah, I¡¯m greedy like that¡­ The Mantis now finally chickening out turned to run, but I was almost right on top of its position. I saw its head turn as it heard the sound of my tail tearing across the marshy ground. It raised its ws but I have no intention of getting into a sword fight with this one. I grew to my full size which is now almost five meters tall a good meter or so taller than the Mantis. I shot at it and grabbed its arms that held the ws before wrestling it to the ground. I felt the limbs I held snap under my strength and I brought it shrieking down into the mud. The mantis had four legs and two arms tipped with ws. Unfortunately for it, I had four arms so with two arms I pinned it down and I transformed my two other hands into ws. I crossed the ws around its head like a pair of scissor des and I drew my hands back. The edges of my de closed together and just ¡°snipped¡± the Mantis¡¯s head off. With one down I looked up to see the Earth Elemental faltering as it faced me. Then it turned and attempted to run, but I was faster. Even on this terrain I easily caught up to it and when it sensed my rapid closing presence it turned in an attempt to defend itself. It raised its arms in an attempt to deliver a punch but I used my arms to catch both the arms of the Elemental. The Elemental struggled to break free, it was stronger than the Mantis, but not strong enough. With some effort, I managed to wrestle it onto the ground and pinned it below me. Then as I gazed at the pulsing crystal below me I instinctively knew what to do. I opened my maw and began to drain the ether from the core. With each passing moment, the limbs I held weakened, and when the core was empty the rest of the stone body crumbled away into smaller pieces of rock. With whatever magic that once held it together gone, its stone body now became just a pile of inanimate rocks. Once again I heard that voice in my head: Lesser Earth Spirit Essence Assimted Achieved [Lesser Earth Spirit Ether Script] Level: 1 / 5 [Gravitic Hover] acquired [Elemental Resistance] improved [Physical Resistance] improved [Magic Resistance] improved [Ether Maniption] improved Hmm, [Gravitic Hover] I kind of instinctively knew what it is but let¡¯s test it out, shall we. I felt my body change once again and I looked at my back and saw now strange antennae with glowing tips now appeared on my back. As I moved I saw it left a ghostly, wisp-like trail as I moved. I looked down and saw I was now hovering slightly over the ground. I tried moving and found I could move at full speed, not only that. Since I technically didn¡¯t need to touch the ground anymore, I could move without leaving tracks or be hampered by bad terrain. This is very useful¡­ With that, I flitted over to the wounded Mantis on the ground. I could see a strange core in its chest, I guess that was what served as its heart¡­ I brought my de down on its head and the Mantis stilled. I then began to gorge myself on the Mantis¡¯s body before going over to eat the other one. I was halfway through the second corpse when I heard the voice in my head again. Gigant Mantis Essence Assimted Achieved [Gigant Mantis Genome] Level: 1 / 10 [Mantis des] acquired Augmenting¡­ [Mantis des] has improved [Greater Bone des] sharpness [Chitinous Bone des] acquired [Mantis Invisibility] acquired Augmenting¡­ [Mantis Invisibility] has improved [Invisbility] stealth capabilities against detection magic [Ethereal Invisibility] acquired [Chitin ting] acquired Augmenting¡­ [Chitinous Keratin ting] acquired [Fire Weakness] acquired WARNING negative trait acquired Resolving¡­ Solution Obtained¡­ [Keratin ting] overriding [Fire Weakness] [Greater Keratin ting] overriding [Chitinous Keratin ting] New trait obtained from trait adaptation Combining [Greater Keratin ting] and [Gigant Mantis Genome] [Molt] acquired [Greater Keratin tes] can now be shed to purge status effects New trait obtained from trait adaptation Combining [Greater Keratin tes], [Molt] and [Regeneration] [Armour Regeneration] acquired Armor tes will now rapidly regenerate when shed Well, that was alot of new abilities¡­ I was a little worried when I heard I got [Fire Weakness] but it looks like my body can automatically adjust the traits I get and discard the bad things I pick up along the way. So that¡¯s useful, well I¡¯m starting to understand something¡­ I smiled as I muttered to myself¡­ So this is why everyone wants to kill me on sight Leave me alone long enough... And my power will spiral out of control... Chapter 14: Lock Down Chapter 14: Lock Down Sarana pulled the hooded cloak around her a little closer as she walked through the red light district of Averlon. This particr patch of the city was known as Peelers Pit by both the local inhabitants and authorities alike. Why such a name? Well, this particr section of the city was on the lownds. Which meant there was a constant water drainage problem. Thisbined with its close proximity to the wall which meant very little sunlight actually reached this ce. All of this resulted in this ce being the most inhospitable ce to live in the city. However, its close proximity to the wall meant that it was a hotbed for smugglers. This meant that this ce was also a hotbed for criminals and the poor, which the criminals exploit and recruit from. Hence the word ¡°Pit¡± being in the name as this ce really was a pit of vice and suffering. As for the ¡°Peeler¡± part of the name, if you came for pleasure you would be peeling someone¡¯s clothes off. That and the local thugs and criminals had a habit of skinning people alive to send a message to their enemies. Overall this ce was a horrible ce to live but if you wanted something that you couldn¡¯t get normally. The Peelers pit is the ce to be... Sarana has for thest week tried to arrange for her passage out of Averlon. The viges should have been attacked today. Which means the noose is tightening around her neck. She needed to get out of here soon, if news of the attacks spreads she would be done for. Who knows Lord Averlon might even use her as a scapegoat and crucify her to appease the masses. It has happened before after all¡­ All her arrangements however have failed. There was no way out of the city through legal means due to the lockdown of the roads. So the only way out was through the smuggler trails, but from what she heard even the smugglers have stopped shipments. Effectively from what she has heard this city was really under a lockdown, legal or otherwise. There was only one organization that couldpletely stop all smuggler activity. The Syndicate¡­ she hoped she was wrong but her gut knew her suspicion was right¡­ With no more options, Sarana has decided toe to an old ally of hers. She had alot of favors to call in and she nned to use them all to get the hell out of this city¡­ When she reached the unassuming door she knocked and she saw a shutter open. ¡°Who goes there?¡± Sarana heard the man on the other side ask as his beady eyes narrowed on her hooded visage. ¡°Lady Sarana.¡± Sarana said as she lifted her hood just enough for the man to see her face from the light leaking out through the shutter. The shutter closed with a click and the sound of numeroustches being undone could be heard on the other side of the door. Then the door swung open and Sarana stepped into a dingy corridor. ¡°You wanna speak with the boss?¡± the man asked. Sarana looked over at him and saw the very definition of a thug. Muscr tattooed arms, ungroomed lice-filled beard, horrible sour smelling clothes, he even had a scar running across his face¡­ ¡°Yes.¡± Sarana said with a nod. ¡°Follow me.¡± the man said gruffly as he walked down the corridor. He arrived at a seemingly random patch of wall and pushed one of the stones. Sarana heard a click and the stone gave way to reveal a doorway. ¡°Down there, the boss is¡­¡± the man began as he gestured down a flight of stairs. ¡°I know where.¡± Sarana snapped impatiently as she headed down the stairs. The stairs led down to a door, she could hear music being yed on the other side of the door. Sarana roughly pushed the door open to reveal arge well-lit room filled with people indulging in every vice known to man. She looked to the right and saw what looked to be a well-dressed nobleman with his trousers at his ankles, on hisp bounced a particrly pretty whore. The man took a swig from a bottle before burying his face in the whore¡¯s chest. She looked to the left and saw what looked to be a boss of a local gang snorting up a red powder off a table, all the while a pair of nude women clung onto each arm. As Sarana looked around she saw it was pretty much the same story everywhere she looked. There were probably at least two dozen ¡°Clients¡± having the best time of their miserable lives. Whatever her old friend is, he is a good entrepreneur. He is one of the three crime lords of Peelers Pit. His wealth rivals even Lord Averlon, he is after all the leading distributor of that red powder everyone was snorting. Heavens Dust, a hallucinogenic drug that is all the rage now in the underworld. Apparently, it made the user feel like they are in heaven, a rush of tion, and every pleasure imaginable is amplified. So the users, snort it and proceed to drink and fuck their way until morning. Sarana walked past group after group ofughing men and moaning whores. From what she recalled this ce charges exorbitant sums for one night of rapture. Her old friend was never short of clients, it¡¯s always booked to capacity and people have been murdered over a slot in this den of pleasure. Eventually, she arrived at a door and she walked right past the two guards and opened the door. No one would dare try this unless they knew exactly what they were doing. So the guards did nothing as she entered the room. The first thing she saw was her old friend sitting at his desk with a whore straddling him, moaning as she bounced. ¡°Ahem,¡± Sarana said impatiently. The whore¡¯s head snapped back to look at her, shock evident on her face. She immediately got off and scurried to the corner of the room. Sarana saw her old friend let out a sigh as he reached down to pull his pants up. ¡°You scare too easily.¡± the man drawled as the whore visibly flinched at thement, fear colouring her eyes. ¡°Cornenk,¡± Sarana said as she gazed at her old friend. He had green skin, pointed ears, small beady ck eyes, and two fangs protruding from his bottom lip. Cornenk was a half Orc, most Orcs are dull creatures but Cornenk was half-human. His mother was captured by an Orc raid in the territory of a city-state far away from Averlon. Well, the Orcs liked to take women for a reason and Cornenk¡¯s mother was eventually rescued. However, not before Cornenk was already in her belly. It¡¯s against thews of heaven to intentionally end a pregnancy so Cronenk was carried to term. He had the body of an Orc but his mind was very human, with a tinge of that typical Orcish brutality. ¡°Sarana what brings you here?¡± Cornenk asked as he shed her a fanged smile. ¡°Business,¡± Sarana replied as she took a seat in front of his desk. ¡°Of course¡­¡± Cornenk said in mock disappointment. ¡°You know if you ever to visit for pleasure I¡¯ll let you have a night here for free. I could get some nice handsome men for you.¡± Cornenk said with augh. ¡°Perhaps some other time. I have something urgent to discuss with you.¡± Sarana said. ¡°Well, what do you need?¡± Cornenk asked his face now much more serious. ¡°I need to get out of Averlon,¡± Sarana said in a hushed tone. At those words, Cornenk let out a sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He paused for a moment as if thinking. Then he looked up at the whore still standing nervously in the corner of the room. ¡°You. Get me a bottle of wine from that cupboard.¡± Cornenk said as he pointed at one of the cupboards at the far end of the room. As the whore nervously walked over to the cupboard. When her back was turned, Cornenk took out a handheld crossbow that was under his desk and calmly shot her in the back. The whore gasped as she toppled face-first onto the ground. Sarana looked at the whore and saw her eyes wide in terror as blood-red foam bubbled from her mouth. The whites of her eyes turned red as her face turned purple. ¡°Sand Lynx Venom?¡± Sarana asked. ¡°Yes, fast-acting and it paralyzes. It¡¯s hard to get a guaranteed kill with something of this size.¡± Cornenk said as he dumped the crossbow onto his desk. ¡°I¡¯m guessing something is wrong? Or have you not killed anything thesest few months?¡± Sarana asked as she raised a brow. ¡°No no, I killed some welpst week¡­ and yes something is very wrong, couldn¡¯t risk word of our conversation leaking out,¡± Cornenk said as his eyes hardened. ¡°I¡¯ve tried to get out of the city through my own channels but I had no luck. I was wondering if you could help me?¡± Sarana asked. ¡°You¡¯re still out of luck¡­¡± Cornenk said with a grimace. ¡°Cornenk, you owe me. If it wasn¡¯t for me Lord Averlon would have had your head.¡± Sarana snapped in response. ¡°I know, that¡¯s why I can¡¯t help you. There¡¯s no way out of this damned city unless Lord Averlon allows you to leave. If I could get you out, you wouldn¡¯t be talking to me, I would be long gone from this ce¡­¡± Cornenk said with a grimace. ¡°You want to leave?¡± Sarana asked surprised. If he left we would be giving up alot, it took a decade to build this criminal empire. To leave now would render all his past efforts moot. ¡°Of course I do, Sarana I found this on my pillow when I woke up two weeks ago,¡± Cornenk said as he opened a drawer and pulled out a gold feather, the calling card of the Syndicate. ¡°Fuck¡­ have you tried? What¡¯s stopping you from leaving?¡± Sarana asked as she felt a headache start to appear. ¡°Nope I didn¡¯t try, I¡¯m stupid enough to try. The only thing that¡¯s stopping me is the fear of death. You know Boren? The boss of the White Scars?¡± Cornenk asked. ¡°Yeah, why?¡± Sarana asked as she remembered the name of Cornenk¡¯s number onepetitor in Peeler¡¯s Pit. ¡°He¡¯s dead,¡± Cornenk replied with a grimace. ¡°Dead?¡± Sarana asked surprised. ¡°Yeah dead. I heard the other bosses were trying to leave as well. So I was waiting for one of them to try it first. Boren was stupid enough to try and now they¡¯re scraping what¡¯s left of him off his bedroom ceiling.¡± Cornenk said with a sigh. ¡°So they didn¡¯t kill him when he tried to leave?¡± Sarana asked. ¡°No he made the arrangements, he was supposed to leave the next day. From what I heard he pulled out all the stops to keep it quiet. Not quiet enough apparently¡­¡± Cornenk said. ¡°What have you heard from the Syndicate?¡± Sarana asked. ¡°Rumors as usual. Although the rumors all say the Syndicate doesn¡¯t want anyone leaving the city. You can get in just fine, you just can¡¯t get out, so the shipments are stilling in. But it won¡¯t be long before the suppliers realize their supply wagons don¡¯te back¡­¡± Cornenk said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. ¡°That¡¯s not the worst thing, the rumors say Lady Vengeance is here in Averlon.¡± Cornenk added as he lowered his voice afraid to be overheard in his own office. ¡°Cornenk, my contacts say she¡¯s in six different cities. This just makes it the seventh.¡± Sarana replied, her mind trying to cling to everyst bit of usible denial. If Lady Vengeance, the leader of the Syndicate is really here in Averlon then she¡¯s done for¡­ ¡°I know, my contacts say more or less the same thing. It wasn¡¯t six cities for me it was more like four, I don¡¯t have as many contacts as you. But I just have this bad feeling in my gut, the new monster appearing, the dead adventurers, the lockdown, and the Princess being let out of her magical cage. Now the Syndicate is making moves, cleaning out the more unruly gangs, killing crime lords and now they say Lady Vengeance is here? There are too many coincidences here.¡± Cornenk said. ¡°How did you know about the princess getting out? No how did you even know about the Cradle?¡± Sarana asked shocked, she kept this whole thing under wraps to the best of her ability as far as she knew she was the only one that knew about the Cradle in Peeler¡¯s Pit. ¡°Sarana someone had to build that mansion, it didn¡¯t exactly pop out of the ground like a mushroom. Those construction workers talk too, at least they did before you killed them all. Thatbined with the convenient time of her supposed death and you buying so much ck market Ether, plus rumors of mages going into the forest. It¡¯s not that hard to put two and two together.¡± Cornenk replied. ¡°Okay, but how did you know she got out?¡± Sarana asked as she started to wonder how much information was actually floating around. ¡°You stopped buying Ether, didn¡¯t you? The only reason someone buys this much Ether as consistently as you did was that you were powering something. Something secret, so it has to be off the books. So when you stop buying the Ether it means you don¡¯t need to power that thing anymore. But don¡¯t worry, as far as I know, no one else knows about it. I just had my suspicions for a while that¡¯s all. I asked some questions when I helped you get your hands on those construction workers all those years ago. You just confirmed my suspicions.¡± Cornenk said. ¡°If you are the only one that knows about the cradle then why are the other bosses trying to leave?¡± Sarana asked. ¡°Because the Syndicate is hitting them alot harder than they are hitting me. You know me I don¡¯t like using gangs, I prefer professionals, they are easier to control. I have a few gangs under my thumb but those are the more organized ones. When the Syndicate locked down the city some of the gangs decided to try and smuggle things out anyway. You know how those gangs are, they think controlling a street or two makes them all-powerful. Makes them think they are powerful enough to try and defy Kingyers.¡± Cornenk said. ¡°I assume you kept your gangs on a tight leash during all of this?¡± Sarana asked. ¡°Of course, I don¡¯t have a death wish.¡± Cornenk deadpanned as he gave Sarana a look, silently asking her if she thought he was an idiot. ¡°Right, sorry.¡± Sarana replied. ¡°Yeah so anyway, the Syndicate didn¡¯t like that at all. So they cleaned house, in one night they wiped out eight gangs, everyone involved in their show of idiotic bravado have seemingly vanished into thin air. So no, there is no way out of this city. The Syndicate has turned this ce into a prison. No one gets out. Unless you can persuade Lord Averlon to let you out, you¡¯re out of luck. If I find a way out I¡¯ll let you know but don¡¯t count on it. I doubt the Syndicate is sloppy enough to leave a way out of the city.¡± Cornenk said with a grimace. ¡°Even if you find one it might be a trap, a convenient way to catch the really problematic ones.¡± Sarana replied with a sigh. This was really bad, Cornenk was right there were too many things happening at once for this to be a coincidence. The monster, the breach of the cradle and now the Syndicate is making moves. There¡¯s even the goddamn rumor of Lady Vengeance being here in Averlon. If she really was here, she needed to get the fuck out of Averlon. Something bad wasing¡­ ¡°I suggest you stay put, I know you ordered those attacks on the viges. If things get really bad you can hide out here with me. Not sure how safe it will be with the Syndicate roaming around but it¡¯s better than being in the pce with the whole city out for blood. You probably already know this but don¡¯t do anything stupid. Remember the number one rule here in Averlon. It¡¯s not ¡®don¡¯t fuck with Heaven¡¯ or it¡¯s not ¡®don¡¯t fuck with the king¡¯. The number one rule here is ¡®don¡¯t fuck with the Syndicate.¡¯ If they ask you to go you ask where, if they ask you to jump you ask how high.¡± Cornenk said seriously. ¡°Thank you Cornenk, this wasn¡¯t what I hoped for but your offer is appreciated,¡± Sarana said. ¡°I¡¯ll keep an ear to the ground and let you know if anything major crops up. Your channels still have ess to some of my men right?¡± Cornenk asked. ¡°Yes, you know who they are?¡± Sarana said. ¡°Yeah, I think so. I think it¡¯s best if we don¡¯t confirm anything, just send a message through one of your channels and I¡¯ll reply.¡± Cornenk said. ¡°Will do, it¡¯s been nice talking to you Cornenk.¡± Sarana said as she stood up. Cornenk opened his mouth as if to reply then he froze and his eyes darted to over where the dead whore was. His face went pale and Sarana felt a chill go down her spine. She whirled around and what she saw turned her blood to ice. The body wasn¡¯t there... Chapter 15: The Escape Chapter 15: The Escape Lily looked down as the guards dragged her out once again to the forest. She just wanted to go home but ever since she was brought to Averlon the guards have kept her in a cell refusing to let her go home. Day in and day out they would bring her to the forest and ask her if she remembers the way back to the bandit camp. This has been going on for a week, every time she was terrified. Terrified that each trip to the forest will be herst... The guards ensure she does not know what is going on outside but she still picks up snippets when she is carted out of the city. She keeps hearing the same thing being whispered and everyone she passes by gives pitying looks as she is shoved onto the wagon. The same words repeated over and over again by those that watch her get carted off to the forest. The beast... She¡¯s food for the beast¡­ Lily knows some creature freed her from the bandit camp, she does not know why she was spared by the beast. What she does know from what has overheard was that entire adventurer teams have disappeared. The roads are locked down and whatever this thing is¡­ It¡¯s unstoppable¡­ Lily felt the anxiety rise again from within the dark recesses of her mind. Today might be herst, the beast could have simply missed her. There is nothing she can do if she runs into it again. She¡¯ll die to its teeth or ws or spines or whatever it uses to kill its prey. Lately, she has been feeling increasingly depressed and anxious. The constant captivity,ck of human interaction, the homesickness, and the nightmares of the time she spent at the mercy of those bandits. Then she felt the wagon lurch to a stop, Lily snapped her head up and saw that she was now right outside the forest. She looked around and saw that this time she was much further down the road. Every time she was sent here she would be taken to a different part of the forest in the hopes she would remember something. But to Lily the forest looked identical, she was a farmer, not a ranger. All she sees are trees and shrubbery that all looked the same to her. Thatbined with the fact that she was stumbling through the forest in a panic when she escaped ensured she had no idea how to get back to the bandit camp. ¡°Get off.¡± the guard said gruffly. The pair of guards were always in a sour mood, of course they would be¡­ The powers at be have decided all their lives were disposable¡­ As Lily got off the cart she noticed a group of wagons riding down the road. There were two wagons and the wagons were guarded by a group of guards. That was odd, the roads were supposed to be closed. Lily took a few steps towards the wagons as she looked on. She noticed that the wagons were filled with something¡­ Lily felt the wind blow towards her, then she smelt the smell of rotting flesh. Lily gagged from the smell as she doubled over and retched. ¡°Oi what are you doing?¡± one of the guards demanded. Just as Lily felt the guard¡¯s hand on her shoulder she felt him flinch. ¡°Ugh, what the hell is that smell?¡± one of the guards muttered as he covered his nose. ¡°Must be the bodies from the bandit attacks, I heard the bandits are getting bold with the roads locked down and there aren¡¯t that many patrols on the roads.¡± the other guard said with a strained voice as he covered his nose. ¡°Oh, the attacks on Wheaton and Hearthstead?¡± the first guard asked. At those words, Lily froze as she felt her blood turn to ice. She looked at the approaching wagon as she felt the panic start to rise. Lily was from Hearthstead¡­ she had parents and a little brother¡­ Lily staggered towards wagons in a daze, she heard the guards asked her to stop but she didn¡¯t care. Then she felt one of the guards grab her shoulder and yanked her back. Lily could hear the guard shouting something at her but she just tried to turn around again. ¡°OI!¡± the guard roared as he backhanded her across the face. Lily fell onto the ground, finally snapped out of her daze. She looked down at the grass below her and saw the chains that bound her hands. All Lily wanted to do was go home, but her home was gone¡­ but maybe her family was still alive¡­ Lily then heard the sound of the wagons trundling past, she turned her head and looked at the wagons. The wagons were filled with corpses, then saw a small body half hanging out of the back of the wagon. She felt her heart drop as she recognized the face of the little body, it was her little brother. His once ever-smiling face now nk, his eyes once filled with life now empty and hollow. ¡°GET THE HELL UP!¡± one of the guards roared as she was dragged to her feet. Lily didn¡¯t even look at the guard, she just looked at the wagon as it trundled past. Lily felt her vision blur as she felt her eyes grow hot. The guard yelled something else but it all sounded like muffled garbling to Lily. Lily turns and sees the guard raising his hand to hit her again. She doesn¡¯t do anything as the blownds and she toppled onto the grass. Lily tastes blood in her mouth and she feels the welling grief inside her. She realizes that at this point there is nothing left for her to live for. Her home is gone, everything she cares about is either dead or destroyed. She might as well die right here¡­ Die right here¡­ Lily then feels a quiet rage begin to bubble out from within her. She feels something in her snap as her grief turns to vindictive rage. She looks up at her captors, the guards who beat her when she refused to enter the forest, the guards that treat her like human garbage as they cart her off to the forest day after day. Well if they want her to go to the forest so badly¡­ she¡¯s not afraid to die anymore, she¡¯ll wee the beast¡¯s ws if only those ws strike down her captors too. Lily was ready to go¡­ are her captors ready? With thatst bit of defiance in her mind, she stands back up and gives the guard a hate-filled re. Her gaze makes the guard pause for a moment but his face turns into a snarl. ¡°What are you looking at?¡± the guard snarls as he shoves Lily towards the forest. Lily obeys as she takes the lead into the forest. Usually, she tries to be quiet lest any excess sound alerts the beast to her presence. But this time she stomps her way through the forest, rustling bushes, intentionally snapping branches underfoot. Lily could sense the guards starting to feel fearful of all the noise she was making. She noticed over the many trips to the forest that the guards were afraid to talk in the forest. That was for good reason many of the monsters in the forest have very sharp hearing and there was no guarantee the beast wasn¡¯t among them. Lily felt a fire ignite within her as she smiled. She felt something she hasn¡¯t felt in a long time. Empowerment¡­ these men were at her mercy. In the forest, she held the power, she didn¡¯t care if she lived or died so there was nothing these guards could do to her. Lily lets out augh as she roughly kicks a nearby bush. Finally one of the guards snaps as he lunges forward and grabs her. ¡°What the hell are you doing? Are you insane?¡± the guard hissed into her face, his face pale as he tried to keep his voice down. ¡°Afraid?¡± Lily asked not bothering to keep her voice down. ¡°Shut up, do you want to be eaten?¡± the guard hisses again in reply as his eyes dart all over their surroundings. Lily pauses as she gets an idea. The guards will probably face some form of punishment if she escapes. But if she tries to run and they decide to chase then imagine the noise they would make¡­ ¡°Yes¡­¡± Lily replied with a smile as the guard¡¯s eye¡¯s widened in surprise at her suicidal response. Lily then looks down at the cuffs on her wrists and more importantly the heavy chains that held her wrists together. Getting an idea Lily swings both her arms at the guard, the chain hits him hard across the side of his helmet. The guard falls to the ground clutching the side of this head while the other guard shouts in rm. Lily turns and begins sprinting deeper into the forest. She hears the guards sprinting after her, it looks like whatever consequences they will face if she escapes is worst than them risking the ire of that beast. What is to fear more than the potential fangs of a monster? The certain death by a noose¡­ ¡°Please stop!¡± Lily heard one of the guards shout, desperation in his voice. Lilyughed as she ran, she could feel the exhration of it. The fear in the guard¡¯s voice, the knowledge that for once in her life she had power over another person. The fact that these men abused her for weeks only made it sweeter¡­ However, at the end of the day, Lily was still just amon farmer. She didn¡¯t have the stamina to outrun trained soldiers. So eventually she slowed and she felt one of the guards tackle her from behind. She was rolled onto her back and she saw an enraged but pale guard raise his fist. She felt the fist m into her face, she felt her nose shatter and two of her front teethe loose. ¡°STUPID SUICIDAL BITCH!¡± the guard roared. Lily let out another weakugh as she felt her mouth fill with blood, she blinked the stars out of her eyes and she saw the guard on top of her being pulled off by the other one. ¡°Calm down, keep your voice down¡­¡± the other guard hissed. Lily then spat a mouthful of blood up at the guard on top of her, sttering her blood on the side of her face. The guard winced and he turned a dangerous edge in his eyes. He raised his armored fist again and Lily smiled in defiance. Then she saw the area around them light up with a blue magical glow¡­ In an instant, she found the scenery above her change. The canopy of the trees was now gone, reced by a clear blue sky. The guard on top of her got off in a panic as the pair both drew their swords and looked at something behind her. Lily sat up unsteadily as she felt blood dribble down from her mouth and down her chin. She saw the two guards take two shaky steps back. Then Lily felt a warm hand on her shoulder, she turned to see a beautiful woman with ming red hair and eyes like rubies. The woman gently helped Lily to her feet. The woman raised a hand next to her bloodied face. [Heal] the woman intoned as her hand glowed gold and Lily felt a warmth engulf her body and the throbbing pain in Lily¡¯s face faded. Lily touched her face and felt no pain just the wet warmth of her own blood. The woman took out a small white handkerchief and handed it to Lily. Lily took it with uncertain hands as she felt the fine silk in between fingers. The blood on her fingers already staining the white cloth red. Lily just looked at the woman nkly, a minute ago she was ready to die. But now, here she was in front of this beautiful woman. The situation was so strange it temporarily broke her rage and grief. ¡°It¡¯s ok, use it.¡± the woman said gently. Lily mutely nodded as she used it to wipe the blood from her face. Lily felt her heart race as she looked at the beautiful woman, she was easily the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. ¡°Who are you?¡± Lily asked. ¡°I am Cecilia Averlon, heir to the throne of Averlon.¡± Cecilia replied and Lily heard the guards behind her twitch in surprise their armor clinking from the movement. Princess Cecilia? THE princess Cecilia? The one that died those years ago? Lily furrowed her brows in confusion and she saw Cecilia smile at her expression. ¡°I will exinter, but for now¡­¡± Cecilia said as she shifted her gaze to the gobsmacked guards behind her. Lily saw her eyes turn to ice as she red at the pair of guards. ¡°Big strong men aren¡¯t you? Beating a defenseless woman.¡± Cecilia spat as she approached them, her eyes beginning to glow blue as she channeled her magic. ¡°You can¡¯t be Princess Cecilia, she died four years ago.¡± one of the guards stammered as he took a step back in fear. Their fear was warranted, as Lily gazed at Cecilia she noticed that her magic was strong, strong enough to electrify the air around her. Lily has met mages before but none thus far seem as strong as her... ¡°Did I? Did any of you imbeciles see my body? Or did you just listen to what my pig of father tells all of you.¡± Cecilia hissed as her right hand shot out and blue chains flew from her fingertips and wrapped around the swords of the guards Cecilia calmly yanked the swords out of their arms and into her waiting hand. [Rubigo] Cecilia intoned and the swords began to rust until they seemingly disintegrated into brown powder. The guards took another shaky step back as Cecilia advanced. ¡°Well? Nothing to say? You soldiers who beat a defenseless woman?¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Princess we only did as your fathermanded.¡± the guard stammered in reply. ¡°Did he? So he ordered you to knock two of her teeth out and break her nose?¡± Cecilia snapped in response. ¡°I¡­¡± the guard stammered in reply. ¡°Save your protestations, you are a pair brutes.¡± Cecilia said as she waved her hand and a wave of force knocked them off their feet making themnd hard on their back. ¡°But you have your uses¡­ you will tell me everything you know of Averlon¡­¡± Cecilia said as she held out a hand and clenched her fist. Blue chains appeared and bound up the guards stringing them up like puppets. They gazed at Cecilia in fear as she approached. ¡°You will tell me everything or I will end you¡­¡± Cecilia said as she tightened her fist and the chains began pulling on their limbs, sending the threat that if they disobeyed she would rip them limb from limb. ¡°You would kill us in cold blood princess?¡± one of the guards asked in terror. ¡°Of course not¡­¡± Cecilia replied with a smile as she unclenched her fist and the chains released the guards. ¡°I¡¯m not going to kill you¡­ I¡¯m just going to have my friend eat you¡­¡± Cecilia said as her mouth curled into a cruel smile. Lily¡¯s eyes widened as she saw a massive white form materialize behind the guards. The creature had a smooth domed head and towered five meters tall. Then she spotted on its shoulder the same spikes that she found in that bandit camp¡­ This was the beast that killed those bandits¡­ It looked oddly majestic in a terrifying sort of way... The guards turned around when they saw Cecilia and Lily looking up at something. They turned and their faces nched pale as beheld the beast in all its terrifying glory. ¡°I¡¯m surprised Cecilia, I never knew you had a soft side...¡± the beast said with a bestialugh. ¡°I have a tender spot in my heart for the downtrodden,¡± Cecilia replied with a smirk. ¡°Well these two are about to be the downtrodden,¡± the beast said as it leaned its massive head forward and bared its fangs. Lily looked on and saw rows upon rows of serrated teeth¡­ ¡°Princess, if you let us go we can bring you back to your father. He will be overjoyed with your return!¡± one of the guards shouted trying to bargain with Cecilia. At those words, Cecilia let out augh as if the guard said the best joke she has heard in years. As far as Lily could tell from her mirth it might as well have been¡­ ¡°So¡­ you want to be a hero? Rescue the princess from the great beast?¡± Cecilia said as she stifled herughter and wiped a tear from her eye. Then her eyes went cold again, colder than the darkest of winter nights. You will tell me all that you know If you want to be a hero Then you will die like one¡­. Chapter 16: Interrogation Chapter 16: Interrogation I looked down at the girl below me, she was still clearly in shock as her gaze followed me as I moved around the room. She probably thinks that I can¡¯t see her unless I face her. So I turn to her and she flinches as she looks back down at the floor. I let out a smallugh at her reaction as I moved over to Cecilia who was restraining the pair of guards with her magic. We were currently in our base, it wasn¡¯t really a tomb anymore. It was starting to look more like a base of operations. Cecilia has been fiddling with the controls of the ce and now there were many more amenities built into the structure. Now there was a refrigerator for the food I¡­ ¡°borrowed¡± from a supply wagon, amon area for Cecilia to rx and there was even a swimming pool. I approached the two trembling guards just as Cecilia finishing restraining them, they are now strapped to a pair of chairs that Cecilia brought back from her prison. ¡°You have a n?¡± I asked as I looked at Cecilia. This was a good opportunity, which was why I even agreed to this whole thing in the first ce. Cecilia¡¯s knowledge of Averlon is extensive but she has been out of touch with the city for four years. She needs to know the current events so that she can formte a n for her to get back into the city. ¡°As of now it¡¯s simple, we ask them to talk, if they don¡¯t we hurt them. As long as they don¡¯t die I can heal them.¡± Cecilia said in earshot of the guards and they visibly flinched at their words. ¡°So we ask first¡­¡± I replied with a smile. At those words I let out augh, simple, I like it. I slithered over to the guards and I leaned down until my face was inches from his face. I opened my mouth and exhaled onto one of the guard¡¯s faces and I saw him shut his eyes as he began to hyperventte. I know my breath smells like blood which in this case can prove useful. Then I growled and bared my teeth as I opened a mouth as if I was about to bite his head off. I snapped my jaws shut an inch from his face and the guard screams as the smell of ammonia started to rise up from his body. ¡°Why are you so afraid?¡± I asked as I let out anotherugh. ¡°Are you afraid of death? Afraid of what will happen in the next life?¡± I asked as I turned my head to the other guard. Cecilia has told me about the dominant religion in this world. The Church of Heaven, the religion believes the Seraphim are servants of God. The members of the church believe that the Seraphim protect them and guide them on the path God intends. When they die they are judged by the angels, those worthy are allowed into heaven and reborn as angels. Those that are unworthy are sent to hell and reborn as demons to suffer eternally in the searing pits of hell. ¡°Do you fear that final judgment? All your deedsid bare? All your sins punished?¡± I asked as the pair began to sob as they started to contemte the end of their meaningless lives. ¡°Tell me do you think you are worthy to be allowed through those gilded gates?¡± I asked with anotherugh. ¡°I offer you a reprieve. I offer you your lives, postpone that judgment, a chance to be worthy. In exchange, you tell us whatever we want to know. Cooperate and just might survive¡­¡± I said as I backed off. The pair of guards nodded frantically and Cecilia smiled as she approached. She then began to question them, they answered freely. I could tell they weren¡¯t lying they were spilling everything. There were a few interesting points in the line of questioning though¡­ ¡°You said bandits attacked those viges?¡± Cecilia asked a little surprised. ¡°Yes¡­ that¡¯s what the reports said¡­¡± the guard stammered in reply. That was odd, I¡¯vebed pretty much every inch of this forest. As far as I can tell there were no bandits left nearby. I found some abandoned camps though as if the bandits all packed up and left. My best guess would be that word of my presence spread and all the bandits panicked and left. ¡°Which viges?¡± Cecilia asked a little disturbed by the news. ¡°Wheaton and Heathstead¡­¡± one of the guards replied. ¡°Hmmm¡­¡± Cecilia muttered as she turned away and walked into her room. She came out with arge scroll as unrolled it on a nearby table. I looked down and saw it was a map of the surrounding region. It was a rather local map, with only the locations around Averlon. I could see many icons showing the various city-states, I realized that these city-states seemed to hold rather small pockets so the territory. Wait a minute I remember seeing a vige close to the edge of the forest¡­ that¡¯s Hearthstead? ¡°Friend, didn¡¯t you say that you ran into a few more bandit camps?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°Yeah but they were abandoned, my best guess is that they heard about me and were spooked,¡± I replied. ¡°I think it wasn¡¯t bandits¡­ Lily, do you know anything that Hearthstead and Wheaton have inmon? Besides the obvious things.¡± Cecilia asked as she turned to Lily. Lily paused for a moment as she furrowed her brows trying to think. We waited patiently for her to recall then I saw her furrowed brows rx as she turned back to look at Cecilia. ¡°There was this adventurer team that was formed from our two viges recently. If I recall it was just over a year ago.¡± Lily said. ¡°Adventurer team¡­¡± Cecilia mutters as she looked at me. I know what she is thinking, if that is the only thing that links the two viges then it might have something to do with the adventurers that first found me and opened the tomb. I can still recall something that thest woman I killed said, the one that tranted that tablet for me. She was praying and muttering a name before I killed her... Sophia¡­ ¡°Does the name Sophia ring any bells?¡± I asked as I looked at Lily. At those words, I saw her eyes widen in recognition. ¡°Yes, she¡¯s the younger sister of one of my friends that became an adventurer. Her name is Alisa, she was studying magic to be an adventurer¡­ why?¡± Lily said as she gave me a look. ¡°I think your friend Alisa was part of the adventurer team that¡­ woke me up.¡± I lied as I didn¡¯t want to reveal that I was only about a month old. ¡°Woke you up? Then where is she?¡± Lily asked. ¡°I killed her. The first thing I saw when I woke up was a member of her team trying to swing a sword at my head. They tried to kill me, they tried their best, but it wasn¡¯t good enough.¡± I replied calmly. ¡°You¡­ killed her?¡± Lily stammered. ¡°Lily, my friend here has the right to self-defense. He was attacked, what was he supposed to do just let them kill him?¡± Cecilia said. ¡°You could have just scared them off, you didn¡¯t have to KILL THEM!¡± Lily shouted tearfully. ¡°And what? Let them run back to town and tell everyone about me? Listen I¡¯ve been around long enough to know how you humans are. Anything that is a threat to you is an enemy, you humans would have sent more adventurer teams to hunt me down if I let them go.¡± I replied as I slithered close to her and brought my head close to her. She went pale as her eyes darted down to my serrated teeth. ¡°Friend, she is just distraught. She just found out all her friends and family are dead, offer her some patience.¡± Cecilia said as she walked next to Lily and ced a gentle hand on the front of my head. Cecilia and I cooked up a n to make me seem like some old venerable beast from a time long forgotten. The monsters here tend to evolve as time goes on, so if I am supposedly some ancient creature then me having slightly simr abilities and features to other creatures would seem more believable. It would make me look like their ancient ancestor rather than a primordial devourer that could steal their abilities. ¡°Fine, I know it is just the way you humans are¡­¡± I replied in mock grumpiness as I backed off from Lily. ¡°How old are you¡­ and what is this ce?¡± Lily asked as she starts to piece together that I am apparently some ancient beast. ¡°I never counted the years, I never understood you humans and your fascination with counting your years of life. I suppose ites with your short life spans. As for this ce, a friend sealed me in here long ago, there were hunters trying to kill me. She told me to sleep here and await one of her descendants to release me. I was surprised at first when I woke up, I thought it was a descendant of my friend that came to release me. But they raised their weapons and I thought they were the hunters so I killed them.¡± I replied. ¡°What were the people like back then? What did they call themselves?¡± Lily asked curiously. ¡°The humans back then called themselves part of the Elysian Empire. The world was very different back then¡­¡± I replied as turned away from her as if lost in thought. ¡°The Elysian Empire? That makes you more than 5000 years old!¡± Lily said in shock. ¡°As I said, I don¡¯t understand your fascination with counting your years,¡± I replied dryly. ¡°Oh¡­¡± Lily replied as her curiosity starts to ebb. ¡°Now then as for the viges, I suspect bandits didn¡¯t do it. I know my father and I know the protocols in ce in Averlon. There¡¯s a new monster appearance protocol in ce isn¡¯t there?¡± Cecilia asked as she turned to the guards. The pair of guards nodded mutely at her question. ¡°So if my friend here left Lily behind in that bandit camp and she made it back to civilization, she might have clues to what my friend is. So the two of you were sent to the forest with Lily to see if she can lead you to that camp in the hopes that it might give my father some clues to what my friend is. That information is important because we are humans are squishy weak creatures so adventurers need the information to fight monsters.¡± Cecilia said and the guards nodded again. ¡°My father then somehow realized that Lily¡¯s friend Alisa might have identally released my friend here into the world. So he had to get his hands on their families to interrogate them. But he can¡¯t do so legally as theymitted no crime, so he faked the attacks with some soldiers.¡± Cecilia said as she began to piece it all together. ¡°Yes, I suspect so, the adventurers that woke me up mentioned a map,¡± I replied. ¡°No doubt they were overheard, my father has a particrlypetent spymaster in his employ. She was some whore who discovered that the contents of a man¡¯s letters are worth more than the coins in his purse.¡± Cecilia said as she cupped her chin. ¡°Spymaster?¡± I asked. ¡°Sarana, that was her name. She helped imprison me, or at least I suspect so. There was little chance my father could have acquired enough Ether on the legal markets to power the cradle without arousing suspicion. Furthermore, someone had to build that mansion, the construction workers would have to be eliminated to keep the secret. My father couldn¡¯t just kill them through normal means, so he needed to use more¡­ subtle channels. I suspect Sarana helped orchestrate the attacks on the vige as well¡­¡± Cecilia replied. ¡°So bandit¡¯s didn¡¯t kill my family? It was soldiers on the crown¡¯s payroll?¡± Lily asked her eyes wide as she took a shaky step back. ¡°Unfortunately that seems like the most likely possibility¡­¡± Cecilia replied as she turned her gaze to the pair of guards. ¡°So they might have known?¡± Lily asked as she gazed at the guards, her gaze slowly coloring with hate. The guards just looked at her confusion coloring their expressions. ¡°No, these grunts wouldn¡¯t know, they probably heard the official story¡­ there is one way to confirm this, however¡­¡± Cecilia said. ¡°How?¡± I asked. ¡°We can go pay Hearthstead a visit, if this is true then we just got one more arrow to shoot at my father. The king of a city-state is also called Lord Protector because it is their duty to protect their citizens. That is why the citizens pledge fealty to the ruling monarch, but when word gets out the Lord Protector is killing his own citizens¡­¡± Cecilia said with a smirk. ¡°Rebellion¡­¡± I replied with a smirk. ¡°We can help you if you let us go.¡± One of the guards stammered suddenly. I turn to look at the pair of pale trembling men and I look back at Cecilia. ¡°There are other sources of information, I already got more than I expected from somemon grunts. Kidnapping a patrol isn¡¯t difficult so they aren¡¯t that useful¡­ besides, I remember that ability of yours¡­ the one that can steal memories. We haven¡¯t had the chance to test it on anything reasonably intelligent¡­¡± Cecilia said with a cold smile as she turned to look at the guards who flinched at her gaze. I smiled at her words and I turned to look at the pair of guards who have now gone even paler as it started to dawn on them what was about to happen. I calmly began to approach them as they began to thrash as they tried to break the magical chains that bound them. ¡°You said you would let us go if we cooperated.¡± one of the guards sobbed. At those words, my smile widened as I let out a smallugh. I was never going to let them go, I couldn¡¯t risk them telling anyone about me. I never said I would let you go I said if you cooperate, you just MIGHT survive... Chapter 17: Hearthstead Chapter 17: Hearthstead As I grabbed the second screaming guard and simply tossed his iling body into my waiting mouth I noticed Lily was looking at me not in fear but in awe. I swallowed the guard and turned to face her, this is a curious reaction. I was expecting fear, some kind of fight or flight response, not this awe and fascination. ¡°You do not seem afraid,¡± I said as I slithered up to her. ¡°What is there to be afraid of? I got what I wanted.¡± Lily replied calmly. ¡°What you wanted?¡± I asked curiously ¡°My family is dead, my vige is destroyed, if I get recaptured in Averlon they will hang me for escaping. I ran into the forest because I wanted you to find me, I wanted you to kill me and the guards.¡± Lily replied calmly, seemingly a peace with what she thinks is her impending death. ¡°So you have nothing left to lose?¡± Cecilia asked as she walked over and gazed at Lily curiously. From the look in her eye, I could tell a n was forming in her head. ¡°Yes¡­ although I would have preferred to die in my vige but¡­ I suppose that¡¯s too much to ask for. A peasant rarely gets what she wants.¡± Lily replied calmly. ¡°Friend, may I have a word?¡± Cecilia asked as she turned around to face me. I nodded and both of us headed off to a corner of the room. Once we were out of earshot Cecilia beckoned me to lower my head. Once I had leaned down she began whispering. ¡°I have a n, we can use her,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Is that wise? She could betray us¡­¡± I replied. ¡°There is a way to prevent it but she must be wholeheartedly willing to do it. Those books the old woman gave me¡­ some of them pertain to Dark Magic, or more specifically Soul Magic.¡± Cecilia replied. ¡°Soul Magic?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, it is a highly advanced form of Dark Magic. Technically it is an offshoot of Necromancy, Heaven confiscated all the tomes and scrolls regarding the most powerful forms of Dark Magic. Soul Magic, Blood Magic, Necromancy and many others. All that they left us with are rudimentary forms of Elemental and Arcane Magic. The humans once held the power to contest the rule of Heaven through the use of Dark Magic. The reason why Dark Magic is so powerful is that it isn¡¯t native to Terra. It originates from The Searing Hells¡­¡± Cecilia exined. ¡°The Searing Hells? So the demons you mentioned previously?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, there was this one spell created by the mages of the ancient past. It is simr in construction to a spell known as a [Demonic Vow] which can bind a Demon to another¡¯s service. The Spell is called the [Soul Vow], it essentially allows me to bind someone to my service. If they betray me, the spell will kill them instantly, reducing them to ash. The catch is that this spell cannot be cast on an unwilling individual. Even if the person agrees, if their heart is still unwilling the spell will kill them. It requires a wholehearted eptance of the binding.¡± Cecilia replied. ¡°You want to use this spell on her. Why?¡± I asked. ¡°Because I need someone to act as an intermediary within the city. I can change my appearance through illusions but those illusions can be revealed by another skilled mage. Most secure ces in Averlon have mages to check for illusions to prevent impersonation. Some of the books also reference Blood Magic that can physically change my appearance but it does mention that it would be difficult to return to your original appearance if you choose to do so. My family has red hair and red eyes. My ruby-like eyes are a rarity in this world, it is so rare that this trait is used to determine if you have royal blood. All descendants of house Averlon has these eyes. If I change my appearance using blood magic and I don¡¯t change it back correctly I will lose all legitimacy to the throne.¡± Cecilia exined. ¡°So you want to use that [Soul Vow] spell on her and make her work on your behalf in the city. I suppose you could change her appearance with Blood Magic, I suppose she won¡¯t mind considering all her family is dead. The only real question is how do we even get her to agree to this. It¡¯s gonna take some convincing to make another person sign their soul away.¡± I said. ¡°I have a n for that, I¡¯ve been thinking of this ever since I detected her running through the forest. You rescued her from those bandits, after all, that might be a useful card for us to y...¡± Cecilia replied. ¡°Well rescue is a strong word, I just didn¡¯t kill her,¡± I said with a smallugh. ¡°Regardless, it can be useful,¡± Cecilia replied. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll follow your lead,¡± I said with a nod. After that, we both returned to the calm waiting Lily. ¡°So are you going to eat me?¡± Lily asked calmly. ¡°No, you have done no wrong Lily. My friend has killed before but he is no mindless beast. He has only been killed in self-defense or because of necessity. My friend here is¡­ not like us humans, he thinks differently from us but he has his reasons.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°He? So he is a male?¡± Lily asked curiously. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I never met another like me so I have no idea. Cecilia just calls me he because she finds it a bit insulting to refer to me as a ¡®it¡¯. She said it was more humanizing, I don¡¯t really care either way since I have no desire to be considered human but if it makes her morefortable I have no objections.¡± I replied calmly. ¡°Then what is your name? I hear Cecilia calls you friend but¡­¡± Lily asked. ¡°I have no name, myst friend also just called me friend. I told Cecilia to refer to me as such if she wanted.¡± I lied nonchntly. ¡°Oh I see¡­ I have a few more questions if you don¡¯t mind.¡± Lily said. ¡°You can ask more if you wish Lily,¡± Cecilia said kindly. ¡°No, I just have a few more questions before the end. Do you recognize me?¡± Lily asked. ¡°Of course, I left you at that human encampment,¡± I replied calmly. ¡°Yes you rescued me, I heard the other women didn¡¯t make it back. What happened to them?¡± Lily asked. ¡°I killed them,¡± I replied. ¡°Why kill them and spare me?¡± Lily asked. ¡°They saw me, you didn¡¯t. You were lying unconscious in that house. I couldn¡¯t let information on me spread lest you humans tried to use that information to hunt me down again. I knew I couldn¡¯t hide forever my existence would have been discovered eventually but if I could deny you information my chances of survival go up.¡± I replied. ¡°Then why did you attack the camp? Were you hungry?¡± Lily asked. ¡°Yes, I was hungry. Also, I found a caravan being attacked by those humans in the camp. They were hurting another human. I do not enjoy gratuitous cruelty, I prefer to kill my prey quickly and move on. No meaning in prolonging the suffering. So I tracked the humans back to the camp. The humans there were obviously killing other humans and mistreating them. I was hungry and I could remove some unsavory individuals from the world, so why not? It¡¯s not like they had the means to stop me¡­¡± I replied. ¡°I see¡­ I did not expect you to be¡­ so reasonable¡­¡± Lily said. ¡°I¡¯ve learned to coexist with humans, it is the humans that seem to forget how to coexist with me,¡± I replied as I leaned in and brought my head close to hers. ¡°Hmm¡­ I suppose we can be quite foolish¡­¡± Lily said as she lowered her head seemingly lost in thought. ¡°I assume you can¡¯t let me go, so¡­ if you must kill me could you make it quick?¡± Lily asked. ¡°We can¡¯t let you go unfortunately and yes we can make it quick, but¡­ I would like to do you onest act of kindness.¡± Cecilia said gently. ¡°Kindness?¡± Lily asked. ¡°If you like we could visit Hearthstead, let you say your goodbyes, put the ghosts to rest. The vige is near the forest, it should be safe.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Really? Why would you offer something like that to one such as I?¡± Lily asked, eyes widened in surprise. ¡°Because I know what it¡¯s like to lose everything¡­¡± Cecilia said as she gently took Lily¡¯s hand. I¡¯ve got to hand it to her, she¡¯s really good at this whole maniption thing. Although judging from her vitals thatst bit seemed quite genuine. My best guess is deep down Cecilia does feel bad for her. After a quiet agreement, I picked up the pair and headed for the entrance. Cecilia casted a quick invisibility spell to obscure the pair of them. Then I engaged my invisibility and headed for that vige that I remember that was near the forest. I stumbled across it a few days before I ran into Cecilia. I left it alone because I didn¡¯t want the authorities toe into the forest en masse because I ate the whole vige¡­ It wasn¡¯t that long of a trip, with my new and improved speed thanks to [Gravitic Hover], we were at the vige in around twenty minutes or so. The first thing I noticed was that there was no life anywhere. It looks like whoever did this just attacked the ce and left. When I arrived in the center of the square I put both of them down and Cecilia removed the spell. ¡°I¡¯ll stay invisible, keep watch for anyone¡­¡± I said and I saw Cecilia nod in response. I watched as Lily wandered around the ruins of the vige. Some of the houses were burned to the ground, but most of them were still left standing... As I surveyed the area I detected patches of dried blood that seemed to be clustered together. I looked closely and saw faint footprints with their lingering scent all leading to the center of the vige. The footsteps looked close together as if the ones who left them were walking calmly¡­ I spotted Lily walk into one of the houses shakily. I head over and I peek in through a window and saw her in one of the bedrooms. She gently picked up an old beat-up teddy bear that was lying on the floor. She hugged the bear as she fell to her knees sobbing. I saw Cecilia bend down and pulled her into her arms mutteringforting words. I turned away from the room, moments of grief¡­ still bothered me a little¡­ they reminded me too much of the wails of the bereaved back in my past life¡­ Then I spotted a curious scent trail, I realized that for some reason the scent of blood led away from the central area where the peasants were most likely killed. I noticed no trails in the dirt but I noticed the dirt was extremely even almost like someone intentionally covered any marks left in the dirt. The scent trail eventually led to a patch of grass¡­ the odd thing here was there was a faint trace of ether surrounding the patch of grass¡­ Then I noticed there was also a faint scent radiating from the grass¡­ Could it be? I dug my hands into the grass and began to dig, dispelling my invisibility. I soon found an arm, I dug further and it revealed a face¡­ a teenage girl¡¯s face¡­ Seeing this I turned around and headed back to the house just as Cecilia and a sniffling Lily exited. ¡°Friend why aren¡¯t you invisible,¡± Cecilia asked surprised. ¡°I found something,¡± I said as I beckoned for the pair to follow me. Once I lead them to the site I reengaged my invisibility and I watched as Cecilia bent down and looked at the buried body. ¡°That¡¯s Marine¡­¡± Lily said shakily. ¡°Give a me moment,¡± Cecilia said as her hands glowed and she pointed them at the suspicious patch of grass. Then the entire piece ofnd lifted upwards revealing a mass grave. Cecilia dumped the earth on the side as Lily walked shakily over to the pile of bodies. I looked down and saw there were eight bodies in the mass grave. The bodies were all female, one looked like a girl fresh into her teens, the others ranged from teenagers to young adults¡­ ¡°This is professional work¡­¡± Cecilia said as she gazed at the pile of earth that she pulled out. Her eyes glowing as she examined the pile. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Lily asked. ¡°Nature Magic, whoever did this buried the bodies and grew grass over it to hide the grave. They probably hide the extra soil somewhere else to hide a mound.¡± Cecilia said as she stood back up and looked down at the bodies in the grave. ¡°Why bury these? Where¡¯s the rest of the bodies?¡± I asked. ¡°They were being transported to Averlon for burial¡­¡± Lily muttered in reply. ¡°Bandits take young girls to use as toys, this was done to make this attack look convincing¡­¡± Cecilia said as she looked down at the bodies. ¡°Friend, could you take out a few bodies?¡± Cecilia asked. I reached down and took out three of the bodies, intentionally looking for the ones that looked to be the most attractive. Then I reached down and took out the young girl as well, thinking her youth would be a desirable trait. Cecilia bent down and lifted up the youngest girl¡¯s skirt revealing that she still had her undergarments on. She did the same for the rest but found only one had no underwear on. I noticed this one was a woman, not a teenager¡­ I also noticed a scent wafting out from between her legs. Cecilia examined the woman¡¯s body and saw that there bruises on her wrist as if she has been tied up. Then she examined herhers and she paused for a moment¡­ ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°There¡¯s blood in herhers, alot of it¡­ lot¡¯s of bruises on her thighs too¡­ She¡¯s an adult, intercourse shouldn¡¯t make her bleed this much.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°She could be having her blood,¡± Lily suggested ¡°If that¡¯s the case why the bruises on her thighs and her missing underwear? If she was on her blood and she was assaulted then there would be alot more blood than there is here. My best guess is that she has been assaulted repeatedly, enough to draw blood.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°If they wanted to sate their desires why leave the others? Why wait to take turns with this one? It would be faster to just take one each and then bury them.¡± I said. Cecilia then bent down and pried the undergarments of one of the prettier teenagers. ¡°As I thought, nothing, no blood. No point raping a woman, killing her, and redressing her afterward. Why assault one but leave the others?¡± Cecilia muttered as she contemted this strange urrence. ¡°Hang on, lemme have a look around,¡± I said as I bent down and acquired her scent. The scent was faint but enough for me to track. I followed the scent to the vige and I found something peculiar¡­ it looks like her scent was going from one house to the next¡­ I stuck my head into one of the houses and I noticed that same scent from between her legs on one of the beds. I examined the bed more closely and saw there was this stain on the sheets¡­ I went to the other houses and saw the same thing in every house. The same scent all on the sheets of the bed¡­ I returned to the pair just as I saw Cecilia tearing open the shirt of one of the bodies. I looked down and saw a strange hole over her heart. Surprisingly there was very little blood around the wound¡­ ¡°A heart piercer¡­¡± Cecilia muttered. ¡°A what?¡± I asked in confusion. ¡°It¡¯s a special dagger with a de like a spike, that is used to kill someone discretely. They stab it into the heart of the victim and leave it in to stop the blood from exiting the wound. Once the victim is dead they just remove the de. It leaves very little blood at the scene of the murder.¡± Cecilia replied. ¡°I followed the scent trail of that woman and it looks like she was dragged from house to house to be raped,¡± I said. ¡°Hmm then that makes more sense¡­ a logical choice¡­ keep one alive since it¡¯s easier to control. Then assault her in different houses to make it look like the bandits raped their way through the vige.¡± Cecilia replied. ¡°Where was she assaulted?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°On the bed, for all of the houses. There were stains on the sheets.¡± I replied. ¡°Hmm¡­ bandits do like to use beds, as much as they behave like animals they still preferfort. The sheets would also leave stains making the evidence easy to find¡­¡± Cecilia said. ¡°So they rounded up the vigers, killed them but used heart piercers on the young women. There were bloodstains in the vige so I assumed they just used more conventional means to leave evidence behind. They then buried the women discretely to make it look like they were kidnapped to be used as toys like what bandits would typically do. Then they even leave one alive to be assaulted in different houses to leave the evidence in all of them. That must be why they didn¡¯t burn all the houses. They buried the bodies carefully to ensure there is no noticeable mound and then the casted nature magic to cause the grass to grow over the grave¡­¡± Cecilia summarised. Professional, very professional. If the topic wasn¡¯t so morbid I would be impressed, whichever group did this was very good at their job¡­ ¡°But why burn the houses at all¡­¡± Cecilia muttered. ¡°Those houses¡­ they belonged to the families of the adventurers¡­¡± Lily replied softly. ¡°Ah, so it¡¯s to cover the missing bodies¡­¡± Cecilia said as all the pieces started to fit together. ¡°Why¡­ why do this? How much coin did they spend to do this?¡± Lily said as she covered her face in grief. Cecilia once again went tofort her. I turned around and looked at the destroyed vige. Whoever did this really wanted to keep this quiet¡­ I guess Cecilia was right, if news of this got out then there would really be rebellion¡­ ¡°What do the two of you want? Why are you working together?¡± Lily asked as she looked wearily at me. ¡°I want to get my birthright back, my father is a fiend and brute. He is an evil ruler and is unfit to rule Averlon and protect its people. I offered my friend here a ce of safety. I know he is reasonable, if he wants food I can just feed him or send him death row prisoners. He gets safety, I get to liberate the people of Averlon from my father¡¯s rule.¡± Cecilia said. Lily went quiet for a moment as if contemting something, then she looked at Cecilia a new strength in her eyes. ¡°Princess Cecilia, may I join you. I can be a servant, I can cook, tend to you, a princess should have a servant. If you tire of me you can just dispose of me¡­ I want to be part of your goal. I want to bring justice for my dead friends and family. If I can help put a ruler such as yourself on the throne¡­ then maybe my life has meant something¡­¡± Lily said as she fell to her knees in front of Cecilia, her eyes pleading. Cecilia paused for a moment as she looked down at her in mock hesitation. But I could sense her heart rate rising in excitement¡­ ¡°Lily, if you were to betray us it would do great damage to our cause¡­ there is a way to ensure your loyalty but¡­¡± Cecilia replied as she pretended to be conflicted. ¡°I will do anything Princess, I am willing to pay any price, be subject to any spell.¡± Lily begged as she pressed her head into the dirt. ¡°Lily¡­¡± Cecilia said as she bent down and helped Lily back to her feet. Cecilia looked away for a moment pretending to be lost in thought. Cecilia gently took Lily¡¯s hand as she looked her in the eyes. ¡°There is spell but it requires a fully willing participant. If you are doing this just to survive or any other reason you will die¡­ painfully¡­ your soul will be torn to pieces by the spell¡­¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Then I have nothing to fear my Princess, I wish to serve you with all my heart. My life, my body, my soul are all yours if you want it¡­ I just wish to help bring justice to this forsakennd¡­¡± Lily said as she sped Cecilia¡¯s hands tightly. ¡°I have a use for you but it would require a painful transformation, I need to change your appearance if not others will recognize you. Are you willing to do so?¡± Cecilia asked. Lily didn¡¯t even hesitate, I could tell she meant her next words with all her heart¡­ Yes... Give me purpose Princess Cecilia And I am yours from this day until myst day¡­ Chapter 18: Vow and Rebirth Chapter 18: Vow and Rebirth I watched as Cecilia walked over arge magic circle on the ground as she examined an old book in her hands. She waspletely naked and so was Lily who was standing awkwardly at the side of the room. The spell apparently had a tendency to destroy clothing so the pair had stripped down. She¡¯s been setting up this magic array for the past hour and she¡¯s now double-checking everything. If this array can really bind someone¡¯s soul then I don¡¯t want to know what happens if Cecilia makes a mistake. The prep also took a decent amount of time I had to kill off a group of guards that were patrolling the road and take two of them, prisoners. Why? Well, this magic array needs to be written in blood, human blood. This spell was for the [Soul Vow] and the blood of the first guard was down on the floor. The second guard is for the next spell, to change Lily¡¯s appearance. He was bound in the corner of the room and gagged as he looked on in terror at what was unfolding in front of him. Cecilia told me all magic has a price, the greater the sacrifice the greater the effects. The Elysian Empire apparently once had spells they could sacrifice the souls of people as fuel for a great spell. The spell had the power to level a city but it required several thousand sacrifices. That spell called [Yaga¡¯s Gaze] could create destructive power that was out of reach of even the Arch Angels. There was of course was a catch for that, the spell would leave thend uninhabitable after the smoke clears. As for why it is uninhabitable the book Cecilia read did not say¡­ Finally, Cecilia was satisfied as she snapped the book shut and she walked over to a circle of runes within the array. ¡°Lily stand over there at the other circle of runes,¡± Cecilia said. Lily hesitated for a moment before she found the courage as she stepped towards the circle of runes while being careful not to step on any of the blood marks. When she was finally in position, Cecilia was face to face with Lily in the center of the array. The two were now only a meter apart and Cecilia held out a hand. ¡°Grasp my forearm,¡± Cecilia said. Lily obeyed and grasped Cecilia¡¯s arm and Cecilia did the same with her. Then Cecilia¡¯s eyes glowed as the runes around the room began to light up in a crimson glow. From the corners of the array, blood-red chains appeared around the array. A pair of chains also appeared next to where the two of them were standing. The chains rose out of the ground and wrapped themselves around their arms locking them in ce. Then Lily cried out in pain as the chains began to steam. Cecilia grit her teeth as she tried to endure the pain. We knew the spell would be painful but I guess it hurt more than expected. ¡°Lily we can¡¯t go back now, we have to finish it¡­¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Ok¡­ it hurts but I think I can do it...¡± Lily replied as she shut her eyes trying to endure pain. ¡°Do you swear your soul to me?¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Yes¡­¡± Lily replied. Then I noticed a pair of magic circles appeared on each of their backs. The chains that were hovering behind them began to thrash violently. Then two chains mmed into each of their backs where the magic circles appeared. The two of them gasped in pain as the chains began to crackle with red magical energy. ¡°Do you swear to always keep faith with me?¡± Cecilia said as her voice shook. ¡°Y...yes¡­¡± Lily gasped out. Again I saw another two magic circles appear on their backs, this time they were lower, closer to the waist. Another set of chains flew to them striking them and the pair let out a scream of pain. Lily was now shuddering from the pain and Cecilia was taking in quick rasping gasps. ¡°Do you swear to serve me... eternally and never betray¡­ me¡­¡± Cecilia gasped out. ¡°Yes¡­¡± Lily choked out tears now running down her face. Finally, thest sets of chains struck the two, this time the chains connected to the sides of their heads right above the ears. The two screamed in agony as their bodies convulsed. The chains crackled with red energy, red lightning striking the ground around the array. From my vision, I could see the power of the spell, to me looked like a technicolor show as the ether rose and thrashed from the power of the spell. Then I heard an ominous voice echo out from the array. The pact is made¡­ Two souls now one¡­ I spotted another rush of energy course up from the chains. I saw red electric-like sparks course along their body and the two screamed even louder, their screams threatening to tear their throats. Supernus, Infernus Souls ever bound, never apart... Never one without the other¡­ Chains eternal¡­ The entire array glowed and a final surge of energy rushed along the chains. The two then went silent their eyes wide, their mouths open in silent screams. I could hear them gagging as if the pain was stopping them from breathing. Then suddenly the chains vanished and the array vanished, all the markings were gone. The two crumpled to the ground. The two panted on the ground as they struggled to recover from the ordeal. I slithered over to Cecilia and I saw her reach down between her legs. When she brought her hand up I saw it was wet. Then I noticed the distinct scent of urine from the pair I guess the pain was so bad the pair wet themselves. ¡°You might want to clean up first,¡± I said dryly. Cecilia blushed as she stood shakily to her feet. ¡°Disgraceful¡­¡± Cecilia muttered. ¡°It could be worse, you could have shit yourself,¡± I replied with augh. Cecilia shot me a re and I raised my four arms in surrender, a smirk still on my face. Cecilia got up and walked over to Lily who was still panting on the ground. Cecilia helped her to her feet and the two of them walked shakily over to therge fountain bath in the middle of the room. The two of them sighed in contentment as they sank into the hot water and Lily leaned her head on Cecilia¡¯s shoulder eyes half-closed. Cecilia for her part leaned her head on Lily¡¯s shoulder and I saw the two of them were holding hands under the water. What is this? What¡¯s going on? ¡°Erm¡­ did something change?¡± I asked as I looked down at the pair of women. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I think so¡­¡± Cecilia said as she looked at Lily in a mixture of fondness and confusion. ¡°I think the binding of our souls¡­ the spell created affection between us¡­ the book did say it would create a bond that would make us more loyal to each other¡­ what I said... themands for the spell could be said by either of us¡­ At first, I thought the one saying it would be the master¡­ but I think it¡¯s more than that?¡± Cecilia said as she looked at Lily who was looking up at Cecilia lovingly. ¡°I feel like I care for her¡­ a little...¡± Cecilia muttered. ¡°I would do anything for you¡­¡± Lily replied. Huh, ok¡­ so it wasn¡¯t exactly like a master-servant binding¡­ this has a bit of a soul mate type deal¡­ ¡°So you two love each other?¡± I asked curiously. ¡°I don¡¯t think I do¡­ Lily would you die for me?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°Without question¡­¡± Lily said breathlessly as she gazed lovestruck at Cecilia. ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t¡­ the spell mentioned that there would be a superior and an inferior. I think I care about her but not as much as she does for me¡­ since I said the words I think I¡¯m the superior and she is the inferior¡­ I thought it meant a master-servant rtionship, I didn¡¯t expect it to be this¡­¡± Cecilia muttered as she turned to face me. Although her words seemed a little cruel to be said in front of Lily, she didn¡¯t seem to care in the slightest. ¡°Are you still you?¡± I asked getting a little worried. ¡°Yes, I think so. I just have some affection for Lily but I think for Lily it¡¯s¡­ something else.¡± Cecilia said. Hearing this I switched my senses to perceive pheromones, when I looked down at the pair I saw Cecilia was giving off a little bit of it. As for Lily, however, the pheromones were pouring out of her as she looked at Cecilia. ¡°So I guess it was stronger than we thought, at least we don¡¯t have to worry about her betraying us,¡± I said. ¡°Yes, I suppose so¡­¡± Cecilia muttered in reply. ¡°You are concerned,¡± I said. ¡°Yes, I did not expect the spell to change me, I do not know what else it has changed,¡± Cecilia replied. ¡°Have your goals changed?¡± I asked. ¡°No¡­¡± Cecilia replied. ¡°Then there is no problem, isn¡¯t caring about someone good for you humans?¡± I asked. Cecilia may know that I am a hatchling but she has no idea that I used to be human. She does know I am quite intelligent, and she isn¡¯t wrong. I have a perfect photographic memory and I realized I could analyze things much better than before. As it stands Cecilia was still more knowledgeable and morepetent than me. However, I feel with some study I could soon easily exceed any human. After all, my mind does not forget, and from what I heard do not age either. Apparently, Devourers are immortal, like some of the more powerful creatures. This means my mind will not atrophy with time, my mind is just a bottomless pit for which to store knowledge. ¡°Yes, I suppose it is,¡± Cecilia replied. ¡°Must be nice¡­¡± I said with a smirk and Cecilia gave me a wry look. I could see it in her eyes, she thought I wasn¡¯t capable of feeling such emotions. I still was able to, it was just significantly reduced, the emotions were there but they far from strong enough to influence my decisions. ¡°So you two rested up? Ready for the next part?¡± I asked as I turned my gaze to the guard who flinched as he saw me turn. ¡°Yes, I think this is enough for now,¡± Cecilia said as she stood back up. Lily immediately stood up and as I approached the guard I noticed Lily following Cecilia like a puppy. That spell is some insidious stuff, Lily isn¡¯t a servant¡­ she¡¯s a ve¡­ I reached for the guard and he began to thrash as he realized I was about to do to him what I did to his fellow. I picked him up with one hand as I listened to his muffled screams behind his magical gag. I brought him over to the cauldron that Cecilia has just emptied of thest guard¡¯s blood. The spells require fresh blood, the fresher the better. Ideally, the blood should be out of the body andid out on the floor within an hour. I flipped the guard upside down over the cauldron and he thrashed even more. It was honestly getting quite annoying so I squeezed the guard and I felt some of his bones crack under the strain. As I squeezed him he struggled to move as Ipressed his body, he was frozen long enough for me to turn one of my hands into des and slit his throat. His body twitched as I drained his blood into the cauldron. Out the corner of my vision, I notice Lily isn¡¯t as horrified as she was the first time we did this. Now she was just starting lovingly as Cecilia,pletely ignoring the human being we were draining dry right in front of her. Cecilia then raised her arms as they glowed blue and some of the blood flew up in a thick stream finally coalescing into a ball above her head. She walked to where thest array used to be and she waved a hand. A stream of blood exited the orb above her and drew a rune onto the ck stone floor. Cecilia proceeded to almost dance, with each movement more blood came forth from the orb and the array slowly began to take shape. In the back of my mind, the human part of me once again couldn¡¯t help but feel the sight to be slightly disturbing. The rituals looked¡­ demonic¡­ I guess it wasn¡¯t that surprising considering this magic can trace its origins to the demons. From what Cecilia has told me the zing Heavens and the Searing Hells were literal pr opposites. The denizens of heaven preach order, chastity, and moderation. While the creatures of the Searing Hells cry for chaos, promiscuity, and indulgence. One is about controlling your desires and one is giving in to them. Terra on the other hand lives in the middle, with the creatures here predisposed to a mix of the two. That was why the Angels and Demons are locked in a perpetual tug of war for Terra. For if one side manages to fully shape Terra in their image, they would have a significant growth in power and territory. Finally, the array was done and I noticed there was this ominous-looking pentagram on the floor now. Is Cecilia sure this is the right array? This looks like some demon summoning shit¡­ Sure enough, Cecilia magicked a book into her hand and began to examine the runes below her. It took her about half an hour but she was eventually satisfied and shut the book. ¡°Is this the right one?¡± I asked as I looked down at the array. ¡°Yes, this will allow me to sculpt her body to my ideal image,¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Ideal image?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, a spell that allows you to manually change each aspect of an individual¡¯s appearance is too difficult to control. So this simply takes the ideal form that the caster has in mind and imnts it over the base body modifying it. That is the reason is why it is difficult to revert to the original form after the fact as if the caster, in this case, myself, attempts to control it through a mental image. The image may be imperfect due to the limitations of my memory. This problem will bepounded if I cast this on myself since a person rarely looks at their own reflection as much as they see visages of others. Thus, it is highly likely I will not revert to my original appearance correctly.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Hmm, I see¡­¡± I said with a nod. ¡°Now then Lily¡­e here...¡± Cecilia said. Lily smiled as she obediently rushed over to Cecilia. Cecilia pulled her in for a kiss and Lily practically melted into her embrace. Cecilia then went behind her and hugged her. ¡°Will you do anything for me?¡± Cecilia whispered into her ear. ¡°Anything¡­¡± Lily replied as she turned her head and looked longingly at Cecilia. Cecilia grabbed Lily¡¯s left breast with one hand and began rubbing her inner thigh with her other hand. Lily let out a wet sigh as she shut her eyes enjoying the feeling. ¡°Anything?¡± Cecilia asked again before running her tongue along the side of Lily¡¯s neck. ¡°Anything¡­¡± Lily replied again as she visibly shuddered from Cecilia¡¯s tongue. ¡°I will make you beautiful¡­ do you want that?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°Yes¡­ anything for you¡­¡± Lily replied. I looked a little stunned at the sight of the two women. It was odd honestly, I knew homosexuality was a thing but I never really understood it. Then again I did die extremely young so perhaps I would have understood if I lived long enough¡­ Although I suspect this is something else, Lily was giving off alot of pheromones but I noticed that Cecilia was giving off significantly less. I suspect this is just some sort of maniption, she is probably just wanted to see if using sexual maniption would be effective. Cecilia made Lily lie down spread-eagled in the middle of the pentagram. Each limb and her head in a segment of that five-pointed star. I took onest look at Lily¡¯s original body, I am quite sure this is thest time I will be looking at her. She was an adult and actually a year older than Cecilia who was 18. However, her body was almost childlike inparison to Cecilia¡¯s voluptuous figure. In fact, she looked like a teenager with her adolescent face, small petite breasts, a skinny frame, and narrow hips. I was honestly quite curious what was Cecilia¡¯s ideal form for her¡­ Then the spell began and the array began to glow an ominous red. Lily gasped as her limbs locked and her body convulsed. Her mouth opened in a silent scream as her body started to change. Her petite figure soon changed, her face bing more beautiful, her hips widened, her legs began to stretch and her breasts erged. This wasn¡¯t a pleasant transformation, as her body changed tears began appearing on her body as blood began leaking from the wounds. Then once that specific part of her stopped changing the wounds resealed themselves. I could see her skeleton changing as her bones shifted and her organs began to move to amodate her new body. This spellsted alot shorter than thest one, onlysting about five minutes. By the end of it, Lily was almost unrecognizable. The only thing that remained was the blonde color of her hair and her green eyes. Her face looked kind of simr but I could tell her facial structure was now a lot nicer than it was previously. Lily wasn¡¯t ugly before, in fact, she was quite pretty but now she was drop-dead gorgeous. Her body was alsopletely unrecognizable, as Cecilia helped her to her feet I beheld the changes in all its feminine glory. She now had an extremely shapely figure much like Cecilia, in fact, their bodies looked extremely simr,rge breasts, narrow waist, curvy wide hips, and long legs. Idly in the back of my mind, I wondered if this is some thinly-veiled narcissism, the simrities were definitely there between them. If they had simr faces they would pass for sisters now. Is this perhaps Cecilia¡¯s way of saying that she saw her body as the ideal of feminine beauty? ¡°Is this what humans find beautiful?¡± I asked, feigning ignorance. ¡°Oh yes¡­¡± Cecilia said in a voice filled with desire as she ran a hand along the side of Lily¡¯s body. ¡°You may not understand this friend, but a body like this is a powerful weapon¡­¡± Cecilia said as a wide smile appeared on her face. ¡°A weapon?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes a weapon, few men will have the will to resist such temptation¡­ while the weapons of men are roaring, threats and brandished des. The weapons of a woman are whispers, seduction, and knife hidden away in the bed-chamber. You have no idea how many great men have fallen to the promised warmth of a woman¡¯s touch. These great men have great armies, powerful mages, wealth beyond imagining, and the authority to make thousands kneel. Under normal means, you will never get past his guards, hisyers uponyers of personal protection. However, with a beautiful woman, these great men will invite her in willingly. She will walk right past his warriors, mages, and fortifications right into his bed-chamber. Where he is alone and vulnerable¡­ That great man will think of nothing but stabbing her with his rod but he won¡¯t be the only one doing the stabbing that night... Even if the woman does not kill him, there are other ways to snare him. If the woman is sufficiently beautiful and skilled in the art of love. She can give him things only she can give, the fool will lose himself to that sweet rapture that only she can provide¡­¡± Cecilia said as she turned to me and gave me wicked smile. The once-great king... Will be a ve to that passion... The once-great king¡­ Will be nothing but a puppet on strings... Chapter 19: Worthy Prey Chapter 19: Worthy Prey I sped through the woods, heading for the mountains. Now that Lily was obedient and changed they could move on to the next phase of our n. The n was rather simple, Cecilia would not be epted as a ruler if she just killed her father. Regicide would just get her a trip to the noose. So she needed to instigate a rebellion, but of course, your average citizen mob may not be enough to overthrow the king... Cecilia needed a trump card, something that can smash through any resistance. That¡¯s where Ie in. So, Cecilia¡¯s whole n leveraged on me, if she could pass me off as this wise ancient creature then she might be able to use me as a path to stabilizing her own power. This is because at some point I will have to show myself, as long as I don¡¯te across as too powerful it won¡¯t arouse too much suspicion of me being a devourer. The devourers now only live in myth and legend so no one will really suspect it unless I change my body in front of them. The overall idea is for me to serve as this guardian beast of Averlon, you know the kind that is reasonable. After her power is secured thenes another problem, we need to find a way to make sure the people here are willing to oppose Heaven. This is a much more difficult task, as most of the poption worships the angels. However, most humans just worship what is sufficiently powerful, and if I am sufficiently powerful who says I can¡¯t make my own cult? The only problem is¡­ again how do I get the cult going before Heavenes and chops my head off? But I suspect the Syndicate is just itching for an official nation to back them. If an organization can be so influential just from hiding underground, imagine what they could do with the backing of a nation? So for the heaven problem, the Syndicate might be able to do something about that¡­ This, of course, is all conjecture, first things first we need to get Cecilia in power. Thest thing I want is for the king to get desperate to eliminate me and he starts spreading news of my existence. Who knows the angels might just get curious ande down to investigate. Best to keep news of my existence localized and contained until I have someone like Cecilia to give a nice official story for the rest of the world to hear¡­ So with that n in mind, I am now headed to the mountains near Averlon. Cecilia told me there were many powerful monsters there. Things like Phoenixes, Wyverns and Mountain Trolls. All of which will be very useful, and should give me the traits I need toplete my disguise. Cecilia will be training Lily on how to¡­ use her newfound beauty to her advantage. Cecilia told me it¡¯ll take about a week for her to give Lily the basic rundown, so since I have nothing better to do in the meantime I asked Cecilia to give me the location to some powerful monsters. Sure enough true to her word, she showed me where to find some much more delectable prey¡­ It took me about half a day to get this far and now I¡¯m nearing the base of the mountain. Without worrying about shaking the two girls too much I can go at breakneck speeds. Judging from how fast the terrain is moving past I think at full speed I can move at about the speed of a sports car. As I zig-zagged up the mountainside I got my first scent rather quickly. It was this foul sour-smelling stench but at least the scent was strong. I traced the scent to what looked to be this rudimentary encampment. I could see a few poorly constructed shacks there with humanoid figures lumbering around. The figures were rather tall at around 4 meters tall, I was taller than them at full height but they looked alot broader. I have a feeling they would beat me in a contest of strength... There was this bonfire in the middle of the camp and I saw some of those humanoids roasting meat on the fire. So they have some kind of primitive civilization going... These must be the Mountain Trolls¡­ Cecilia did mention that they were organized in a crude society. I recalled the book Cecilia showed me and I recalled the page perfectly. Mountain Trolls,monbat strategies involve Pyromancers and Rogues. Fire stops them from regenerating, severing the spinal cord with a well-ced stab can also disable that regeneration for a period of time while immobilizing the troll. The only sure way to ensure one is dead is decapitation. Regeneration can also be weakened with drugs or venoms that slow the heart rate. Destruction of the heart is also a possibility but due to the extremely hard bones of the troll, it is difficult to achieve. The brain controls the regeneration and the heart fuels it, remove one of them and the body dies. Even then the book does not rmend engaging multiple trolls simultaneously. The strategy for multiple trolls is to have multiple teams split up the trolls into individuals and take them out one by one. If they start defending each other to allow their allies to regenerate then the fight will get alot harder... There are a few interesting points there, I should definitely consider decapitation or just stabbing it in the heart. From what I recall from the anatomical diagram of a troll, their heart is in roughly the same position as a human heart. They just have more ribs and from the looks of it, the bones in their limbs are thicker as well. Most likely an evolutionary trait that allows them to be more durable in close quartersbat. I don¡¯t really have any fire to use and neither do I have any venom¡­ at least not yet¡­ if I kill enough of something I start to obtain a unique cocktail of diseases and toxins that are uniquely tailored to killing that specific species. From what I can tell they are all-around silver to gold rank adventurers in strength¡­ maybe even mithril. There aren¡¯t that many of them though, about 15 of them are here from what I can see. Then I spotted a pair of trolls leave the camp, weapons in hand. Behind them followed a smaller troll, probably a child. I think they are going hunting¡­ Well, I think the best strategy here would be to pick them off, and then sneak into the camp when they are asleep and kill them off one by one¡­ So with that n in my head, I began shadowing the hunting party. Once they were a decent distance away from the camp I waiting for the right terrain to fight. I needed something like an arena, with walls around them to prevent escape and enough open space to utilize my superior agility. Judging by their bodies I don¡¯t think they are that fast, their legs are short and they haverge arms. Their weapons, blunt wood maces with sharp ck obsidian-like stone embedded at the mace¡¯s head. Weapons that favor brute strength, not speed and precision¡­ One of them is clearly stronger than the other, it had a nicer mace and it wore a mantle made of some kind of animal skin. It also had this headdress made of what looks like a wyvern skull. My best guess is this one is both stronger and more skilled. From what I could tell this one looks to be stronger than gold rank but if it¡¯s just a high gold rank or it has crossed into mithril I¡¯m not sure... I should try to take him out first with my first strike, the strike from stealth is always the most deadly. If I manage to behead that one at the start of the fight the other should be easy¡­ Finally, they arrived at this area of the mountains that fit the bill. An open area with two openings at the opposite ends. There were steep cliffs on sides of the clearing, it looked too steep for them to fight on¡­ but not for me¡­ I have no issues with fighting on steep surfaces or even inverted surfaces for that matter... I waited for them to reach the middle of the open area and approached while invisible, creeping up on the stronger one. When I was finally on top of it I raised a hand prepared to cut its head off. As I swung my de I saw the troll flinch and it ducked. My sh missed and instead shed it across the back of the head. The troll immediately whirled and delivered a hard hit to my side with its mace. I was thrown back but I easilynded back on my ¡°feet¡±. That was the first real hit I¡¯ve ever taken, the other attacks I suffered were all weak which did barely any damage. I actually felt this one... However, it was just a dull throbbing ache in my side. I felt the pain but I found it didn¡¯t bother me much, it was more like an acknowledgment that the area has been injured. I looked down and saw the armor te on my side was cracked but as far as I can tell it¡¯s just a bruise, no bone fractures or internal damage. The other trolls turned to face me weapons raised. ¡°Defend¡­ young¡­¡± the stronger troll grunted at the other troll, who grabbed the smaller one and put the smaller one behind it. So they could talk¡­ they seem reasonably intelligent, in a caveman sort of way¡­ That big one had sharp senses I¡¯ll give it that¡­ I guess you don¡¯t get all those fancy clothes by being lucky. My best guess he brought the other two out to teach them how to hunt. If I can¡¯t kill the big one easily then maybe I should divide and conquer¡­ I watched as the stronger troll slowly approached as he imposed himself in front of the other two. If I take out the weaker one, then the stronger one will have to protect the child¡­ Alright let¡¯s try that, my wound has already healed anyway, I should be able to win this on attrition alone. I don¡¯t tire, pain doesn¡¯t affect me and I can take just as many hits as they can¡­ I turned invisible while seamlessly leaving a decoy in ce. I mentallymanded the decoy to act aggressively but not to engage. I began circling around them giving the stronger troll a wide berth lest he senses me again. I watched as my decoy roared as it dodged the strikes of the stronger troll. The troll was obviously trying to press the decoy further away from the other two¡­ big mistake¡­ I delivered a hard sh from behind at the neck of the weaker troll. I noticed on my first attack the flesh of these trolls was quite tough so I needed a lot of power behind my strike to get a clean decapitation. So I used the momentum of my entire body to deliver the sh. The troll sensed something was wrong but it didn¡¯t react fast enough and my de carved through his neck like a hot knife through butter. The stronger troll at the same moment smashed its mace into the decoy as it shattered into motes of light. The child let out a scream of terror as the lifeless body of the weaker troll slumped onto the ground. The stronger troll spun around eyes wide in surprise. I turned my head to the child and raised one of my ws as if I¡¯m about to cut the child down. All the while I was looking at the stronger troll out of the corner of my vision. This 270-degree vision was pretty useful to say the least. The stronger troll then did exactly what I wanted it to do. It charged me, if I could fight it near the child then the stronger troll would be fighting with a significant handicap. After all, it¡¯s much harder to fight while you are protecting something. The child wailed as the stronger troll closed the distance. In an instant, I turned and fired a wave of spines at the troll. It had its club raised over its head and was not expecting a ranged attack. So most of my spines hit exactly where I wanted them to, right into the troll¡¯s face and throat. The troll staggered back and I pounced on it. The troll did a wide swing with its mace forcing me to back off briefly. The troll immediately grasped the spines in his throat and tore them out. I saw the open wound in its throat immediately start to close as it red at me through its one remaining eye. Hmm not bad¡­ this is oddly¡­ fun¡­ A kill I have to work for¡­ I lunged at the troll as I did the decoy trick again. I didn¡¯t expect topletely fool the troll, I just wanted to make it react a second slower. This time I didn¡¯t bother going around the troll. I just ordered the decoy to attack and when the Troll swung its mace at the decoy I struck. I delivered a sh towards the troll¡¯s neck but the troll realized at thest second and tilted its head just enough to prevent me from cutting his head off. However, previously when I fired the spikes, his other eye didn¡¯t survive because I missed it. I intentionally only took out one, if I took out both of its eyes it would retreat and attempt to pull our the spines and try to regenerate. So seeing as this troll is right-handed, I took out his left eye... I just wanted to create a blind spot and I attacked from the left. My sh opened up the left side of his neck. The troll without a moment of hesitation grabbed the arm that delivered the sh. The troll turned and tried to raise its club to deliver a smash down onto my head, but he had two arms and I had four¡­ I used one arm de to parry the mace strike before it could build up enough momentum and I drove my other two des that were attached to my lower arms to stab into the chest of the troll. I doubted this would be fatal but it will weaken the troll for a period. I found my des stopped by something I looked down and saw that they were only slightly embedded into its chest. I as I attempted to shove my des in I realized what was stopping it, its ribs¡­ I realized my mistake, no matter how hard or sharp my des are, it¡¯s useless unless I can build up enough momentum behind the strike. Its ribs must be very tough, it made sense, of course. If the heart was a weak point then the trolls with more durable rib cages would have a higher chance of survival. The troll then tried to bring its mace up again but as I strained against the arm of the troll that grasped my de, I realized one thing. The troll may be stronger but not strong enough to be uncontested¡­ I could still lock one arm down for a while with one of my own and probably overpower it with two arms¡­ I transformed one of my left arms back into a hand and I grabbed the arm swinging the mace. It slowed down the strike and I turned my head so the mace would hit my armored shoulder. It hurt but it didn¡¯t do any significant damage. I then turned my long snake-like head and bit down hard on the arm that was holding the mace. The troll roared as it tried to pull its hand free but the more it tried to pull away, the harder I bit down. I could still see what¡¯s going on thanks to my wide cone of vision and I felt the troll release my other hand. Immediately transformed the de into a hand and grabbed the other hand using my two right arms. The troll tried to break free with his other hand but I had other ns. The troll¡¯s chest may be protected by tough ribs but there were no ribs in the belly¡­ I used my one free lower left arm and stabbed it as deep as I could into its much softer belly. I felt my arm go a decent way in. Immediately I felt the flesh around my arm close as if the body was trying to heal the wound shut. I suddenly got an idea and I transformed my de back into a hand. I reached out and grasped onto what I assume are the troll¡¯s entrails. I pulled my arm back with as much strength as I could muster. I looked down to see I was right, I could see the troll¡¯s pink entrails being dragged out of a hole in its belly. The troll roared in pain but amazingly its arms only faltered for a brief moment before the strength returned. This one had quite the will to live¡­ I thought the pain of having its entrails dragged out would be enough to weaken the troll to the point where I could overpower it. I saw the troll¡¯s one-eye gaze at me hatefully as its arms held fast. I needed to find some way to weaken the troll¡­ Hang on¡­ if I recall muscles need oxygen to exert strength¡­ Getting an idea I released my one free hand and let the entrails be pulled back into the troll¡¯s body by its regeneration. I transformed the hand into a de and drove it into the bottom of its ribcage. I angeled the de upwards so it would enter the troll¡¯s lung from below. The troll shuddered as I saw it cough and blood begin to bubble from its mouth. The arms began to weaken as the troll gasped for breath. Sensing this is my chance I released one of my right arms and turned it into a de. I did the same thing to the other lung and the Troll coughed out a spray of blood. The troll began to weaken and I forced it onto its knees. I released my jaw, I looked down and saw the troll¡¯s eyes were growing dull as it slowly drowned in its own blood. I smiled as I opened my mouth and bit down hard on its neck and tore open its neck. I released both of the troll¡¯s now weak arms. I grasped the sides of the wound and pried them apart to keep the wound from closing. I felt the troll¡¯s arms grab my lower arms as it weakly tried to pull the des out. It was too far gone now, it no longer had the strength to resist me. I saw what I was looking for, the white bone of its spine now exposed with its neck now torn open. I thrust my gaping maw towards it and bit down hard on the bone. Then with a twist of my neck and with a sickening crack, I ripped the vertebrae from the troll¡¯s body. The troll¡¯s limbs immediately went ck as I cut off all signals from the brain to the body. Finally, I transformed my two upper arms into des and I put them on either side of the troll¡¯s head like a pair of scissors des. Then with one swift motion, I decapitated the troll. I turned to look at the child who was sitting on the ground, back against the steep cliff. It was trembling as it held a miniature wooden club in its hands. I reared up to my full height and the child flinched as it began to sob. Well, might as well finish this one up too¡­ Well, that was fun¡­ I should fight things like that more often¡­ Now that is what I call worthy prey¡­ Chapter 20: End of a Tribe Chapter 20: End of a Tribe As I looked down at the headless corpse of the stronger troll, I could feel myself start to salivate at the prospect of the meal. Humans give more essence depending on their strength. From what I can tell a gold rank adventurer was worth ten normal schmucks you pluck off the street. This one is strong, I wonder what powers he will give me¡­ I cut its chest open and began eating even though the body smelt horrible, the blood still smelt delicious. In fact, it tasted better than humans and even that giant mantis. From what I can tell the stronger the creature the better it tastes. Interestingly your average run-off-the-mill humans are bing more tasteless the more I grow. I guess my tastes will change as I grow, I suppose it¡¯s a way for my body to tell me what to eat. Maybe it¡¯s my body¡¯s way of telling me to avoid Junk food¡­ As I bit down on the heart of the troll after breaking its ribcage with some difficulty I savored the sweet sanguine fruit. I immediately felt my body change as soon as I swallowed it. The heart was big, about twice the size of a human heart, which was great. The human hearts were getting a little too small for my liking¡­ Troglodytam Minoris Essence Assimted Achieved [Troglodytam Minoris Genome] Level: 1 / 10 [Troll Regeneration] acquired [Troll Bone Strength] acquired [Troll Muscle Density] acquired Augmenting¡­ [Troll Regeneration] has improved [Regeneration] effectiveness [Greater Regeneration] acquired [Troll Regeneration] has slightly improved [Armour Regeneration] effectiveness [Troll Bone Strength] has improved bone material strength [Troll Bone Strength] has improved [Chitinous Bone des] material strength [Troll Bone Strength] has improved [Bone Spines] material strength [Greater Bone Spines] acquired [Troll Bone Strength] has improved [Greater Keratin ting] material strength [Calci-Kera ting] acquired [Troll Muscle Density] has improved muscle strength Well, that was useful, I look down and see that my armor ting has taken on a less reflective sheen. When I ate the other two I ended up with more of the same and ended up at level two of the troll genome. I was still wondering what my next core evolution would give me. Each time I get it, I get some major improvement. Thest one was [Metabolic Boost] which made me move much faster than before as well as greatly improving my physical strength. I wonder if that whole vige will give me enough for my next core evolution after all these trolls seemed to be around the right strength of creatures that would constitute suitable prey. Previously as I was about to kill the kid I suddenly realized that I could, in theory, keep eating his body and get essence that way indefinitely... well kind of indefinitely. Cecilia warned me that regeneration abilities have limits, if the creature runs out of nutrition the regeneration can be weakened and even disabled. However, I also know the essence in the rest of the body is very low. The vast majority of it lies in the heart, the body has trace amounts at best. My best guess was that the body holds about less than 20% of the essence while the heart holds the rest. This means that the difference in essence amongst the same species is most pronounced in the heart. Which is quite the difference considering that the heart takes one or two bites while the rest of the body takes a while to eat if the body is of significant size. Also honestly I didn¡¯t want to sit there munching on the kid¡¯s limbs for two days or something, that would take forever¡­ and the thought was also slightly disturbing. I would be better served hunting the rest of the vige, I mean they have to leave to hunt for food at some point. Besides this isn¡¯t the only troll there¡¯s a whole vige back there, it¡¯s not like these are the only trolls left alive here in the mountains. Even if I take out the vige there must be more of them on this mountain, this ce is huge, if I desperately wanted more troll essence I could just go look for another vige. I haven¡¯t actually gotten any specific genome to level 10 yet so I have no idea if it¡¯s worth it. The demands for each genome level grow exponentially so it¡¯s not that easy toplete the genome. The closest I have is the human genome which is sitting at level 8 now. I think I need a steady diet of gold rank and above adventurers to make level 9 and 10 happen... Once I finished up my meal I reengaged my invisibility and headed back to the vige. I continue to stalk the vige waiting for nightfall, then I notice a female troll arguing with another group of trolls. She keeps pointing in the direction of the hunting party. Hmmm¡­ it¡¯s risky but if I eavesdrop on them I might be able toe up with a n to separate them and pick them off. I really don¡¯t want to fight all of the warriors in this camp at once, and I don¡¯t want to spend weeks here waiting for them to be desperate enough to leave the camp for food. I see at least ten more warriors along with a few more women and children wandering around. I examine their strength and I realized that the remaining warriors all looked weaker than the first one I fought. Hmmm, that¡¯s lucky no wonder I had such a hard time¡­ I descended the cliff that I used to watch over the camp and flew right over the crudely constructed wooden walls. I could sense where all the trolls were around me from their footsteps and I made sure not to get too close. When I got within ear shot of the conversation I began to listen closely. ¡°They not returned, child out there, danger!¡± the female troll eximed in panic. ¡°Head warrior with them, they safe, head warrior good at killing. If head warrior die, son dead. If head warrior find danger, he hide, keep son safe.¡± the other warrior replied impatiently. ¡°No, you go find trail, see if safe.¡± the female demanded. ¡°Grrr¡­ fine. I go check, but I no go far, darking, dangerous.¡± the warrior consented after some hesitation. ¡°Guard camp, I go. If do not return soon, keep watch whole night. No sleep.¡± the warrior barked at the nearby warriors. The other trolls all grumbled and stomped their feet. Clearly unhappy at the prospect of potentially losing a night¡¯s sleep. The warrior growled as he approached one of the grumbling trolls. The warrior grabbed the troll by the neck and mmed its forehead into the other troll¡¯s face. The troll yelped as it clutched its now bleeding nose. ¡°Obey, or more pain.¡± the warrior barked at the warriors, who now although still grumbling hefted their weapons and started moving around to secure the camp. ¡°Hide young, there, chief hut. Young like scurry, dangerous.¡± the warrior instructed the female and she nodded with a grunt. I watched as the troll began to leave and I got an idea as I watched the females herd the children to a particrlyrge shack. Well, this guy looks to be strongest amongst the warriors and by the looks of it, he¡¯s probably second inmand. If I decapitate theirmand structure the trolls will be disorganized, a confused enemy is a dead enemy¡­ So I followed the other warrior as he ventured out alone, I just waited for him to get out of sight and out of the camp as he turned the camp. Immediately I pounced on him from behind and used my four arms to push him on the ground, pinning him there. The troll shouted in panic and I immediately bit down on the back of his neck, tearing out the segment of the spine. His body immediately stilled as I raised a de and hacked his head off. I could hear shouts of rm from the camp as the troll¡¯s shout must have been overheard. Well, it doesn¡¯t matter, I want them to panic anyway. So I quickly cut out the troll¡¯s heart and toss it into my mouth. With my new upgrades, their tough bodies now put up less resistance to my attacks. I disappeared into invisibility as soon as I finished my quick meal, found a perch high above, and waited. Sure enough, a group of three warriors rounded the corner and froze at the sight of the mutted body. The trolls began gibbering in fear as they looked around the surrounding cliffs as if expecting something to pounce down from above. They eventually lost their nerve and began running back to the camp. I timed my next attack well, the three ran back in a disorganized fashion with two of them running ahead of the third. When the two turned the corner I pounced on thest one and I tried to hack its head off in one swing. This one realized there was an attack, but with my now improved strength, I cut through its neck easily as its head rolled onto the floor. I intentionally used my tail to knock the head out around the corner and reengage my invisibility as I went around the corner to see how the trolls would react. The trolls turned when they realized that their fellow was gone and when they saw the decapitated head they panicked. They turned running back to the camp in terror. With that, I turned back around and began eating my new meal. From the meal I reached the troll genome level 3, if I recall I will get the pathogen for troll soon. If I can acquire that, the trolls are finished, I can just incapacitate the lot of them with a few well-ced spines. The only question was how do I get them to separate? I probably won¡¯t win an all-out brawl, there are still around a dozen warriors, and who knows if the females knew how to fight¡­ Then I got a sh of inspiration, I remembered there was once a young mother in a slum I lived in for a while. She had a young daughter about five or six years old. A group of thugs had coerced her into giving them sexual favors by threatening her young daughter. Saying something along the lines of what they couldn¡¯t get from her they will get from her daughter¡­ or something like that. If I could grab some of the kids, would it be enough to bait the trolls to separate? If I lured the warriors out of the camp I could kill the women and the kids, hopefully, that would be enough for me to get the pathogen. Then again a smarter enemy would abandon the kids I took. A more sentimental one would send half their forces out and leave some back to defend the camp. A stupid one would send everything¡­ It was worth a shot and these trolls don¡¯t seem that smart. They couldn¡¯t even talk inplete sentences... The worst-case scenario is I end up with some snacks and I have toe up with a different n. So I reengaged my invisibility and headed back to the camp. By now the camp was in a panic, as far as they know there is some unknown monster that can kill them quite easily¡­ and that monster was now very close to camp¡­ All the adult trolls were now standing in the middle of the camp discussing and arguing in a panic. These trolls really were stupid¡­ they didn¡¯t even leave anyone to keep watch. I could have just charged in here if I was strong enough to take them all. What the hell is the point of defensive fortifications if you don¡¯t defend them? What were the walls just there to stop the kids from wandering off? I could see there was now an older troll wearing arge headdress standing in the center arguing with the other trolls. This one looked to be strong in his prime, but now his mortality was catching up to him. He¡¯s weaker than the head warrior, I guess the trolls needed a leader. Someone had to give these idiots direction¡­ No sign of the kids but I think they were in the big shack as mentioned by the troll earlier. So I headed to the rear of the shack and I heard a female troll speaking to the children on the other side of that wall. Well time to see if this works, I ready myself and transform two of my arms into des. I retreat a bit and then charge right into the shack, smashing right through the poorly constructed wooden wall. The moment I entered I sh at the female troll sending her head rollingonto the floor. The children all scream in terror at my appearance, I hear the trolls outside all shout in rm at the sound of me smashing into the rear of the shack. I transform all my arms into hands and I grab four of the children by the head. I immediately retreat out of the hole I made and zoomed out to the side of the shack. Pausing for a moment to let the trolls see that I had four of the children. The troll¡¯s eyes widened at the sight of me and I went over the wooden walls using [Gravitic Hover]. I sped up the side of the cliff and stopped a ledge. I turned to see the trolls pointing up at me in fear and anger. I let out a roar and brought the children towards a nearby wall. I immediately crushed the heads of three of the children in my hands, leaving one alive. The child shrieked as I chucked it against a nearby cliff face. It yelped as it mmed hard against the stone surface, falling onto the ground stunned. I grabbed one of its hands and nail it to the wall with a spine. I do the same for all its limbs and soon it¡¯s pinned against the wall. It sobs in fear as it looked at the corpses of the three other children. I felt a little bad but I knew I needed to get more powerful. Cecilia told me the trolls were here because the humans drove them into the mountains. They were once forest trolls but the humans here eventually kicked them out of the forest. If he struggled to kill that troll earlier then what would he do if he runs into a hero-rank human? As usual, the desire for survival crushed any lingering guilt in my mind. Well, I could at least make the death quick, but for now, I need it to cry so that it would draw the trolls here. I engaged my invisibility and headed to the edge of the cliff and I saw the trolls taking an alternate path to where I was. They couldn¡¯t climb up the steep incline so they had to take a different path, although it looks like they knew exactly where they were going. I guess the area around their camp has been mapped beforehand so they knew how to navigate it. It looks like it would take them about half an hour to get here so I guess should eat the dead kids first. As I ate I heard the whimpering and sobs from the child that was pinned against the wall and I once again felt that gnawing guilt in my heart. I turned to look at the child, I saw fear and despair in its eyes as it looked at the corpse I was munching on. I guess eating it in front of the kid is a bit cruel... I turned around and began eating the corpse with my back to the child. I didn¡¯t want to leave with the corpse but at least the kid didn¡¯t need to watch. Eventually, I finished my meal and I started to hear the troll¡¯s shouts nearby. I engaged my invisibility to a surprised gasp from the child and I went over to the edge of the cliff. I saw the trolls were almost here and I noted they brought all the warriors, even the chief was here. I looked back down at the camp below and sure enough, I saw only women and children looking up at the cliff. I waited until the trolls reached my location, once the trolls ran onto the ledge I¡¯m on I immediately began descending the cliff. I pounced on the first female I saw and removed her head from her shoulders. The other females and children all screamed in terror. There weren¡¯t that many of them, only about four females and three children. I charged from troll to troll removing their heads. They tried to resist but the females were physically weaker than the males, they probably didn¡¯t spend much time training to fight which meant they were much easier for me to kill. When I finally killed those remaining in the camp I saw the trolls on the ledge shouting as they gazed down at their home in horror. The whole attacksted less than 5 minutes and as I looked at the trolls. Some were sprinting back down the path, some were trying to climb down the steep cliff in an effort to get down faster. Then I saw one of the trolls attempting to climb down slipped and it fell down the twenty-meter drop. Curious on whether it survived I headed over to see it lying in a crumpled heap, limbs all twisted at unnatural angles. It was dead¡­ huh¡­ I thought it would survive¡­ I cut open its chest and found out why¡­ The shock from the fall had damaged its heart¡­ the organ was still intact but it was lying in a pool of blood inside its chest cavity. I ripped the organ out and saw the back of the heart was crushed from the fall. I guess if the heart is too heavily damaged it can¡¯t regenerate. I need to keep this in mind for myself... Protect my heart and protect my brain¡­ The trolls still climbing down looked down in shock at the death of theirrade. Well if the fall could kill this one¡­ I raised my head and took aim at the three others who were stupid enough to attempt the descent. I shot a barrage of bone spines at them and it caused them to lose their grip and fall. Crunch, crunch, crunch¡­ I looked down and saw three more were dead. Well, that was four warriors dead with next to no effort... I ate the one heart in my hand and I opened up their chests to eat their hearts, gaining level 4 of their genome at the third heart. Still no pathogen I guess I need another level of the genome¡­ I¡¯m pressed for time so I just went from body to body carving out hearts and eating them. I¡¯ll be back for the bodiester, for now, I need that upgrade to make theing fight easier. Finally, on thest female, I heard the voice in my head... Troglodytam Minoris Essence Assimted Achieved [Troglodytam Minoris Genome] Level: 5 / 10 [Troglodytam Pathogen] acquired I looked back at the trolls and I saw them rushing down the path they came from. Hang on, I don¡¯t see the chief¡­ I looked back up the cliff and I saw the chief cradling the child I left there in his arms. He looked down at me, roiling hatred in his eyes. Then I saw him turn away and began heading in the opposite direction of the path down. Trying to run? I don¡¯t think so¡­ I sped towards the cliff and mbered up the side of the cliff as fast I could. With [Gravitic Hovor] and my four limbs I ascended the cliff rapidly. When I reached the ledge I saw the chief freeze as it turned and looked at me. He put the child down and the child looked up at the chief fearfully. ¡°Run.¡± the chief said as he took out a makeshift axe made of wood and that ck stone carved into a crude de. The child turned and ran, but I shot a poisoned spine at the child. The chief couldn¡¯t react in time and the spine struck the child in the back. The child yelped but kept running with the spine in its back. The chief growled as it raised its axe and charged me. Going to buy time with your sacrifice? Pointless, but I don¡¯t think the chief knows the child is already as good as dead¡­ I fired off a barrage of spines at the chief, he raised an arm to block the spines and he raised his axe to cut me down. I turned invisible and left a decoy behind as I retreated back a few meters. The chief''s axe mmed into my unresisting decoy and it shattered into motes of light. I rematerialized and the chief looked up at me in confusion. Then he coughed and ck blood dribbled from his lips¡­ He fell to his knees and used his axe as support. He looked at the arm that was covered in my spines and saw the flesh that was turning ck. ck veins were radiating from the wounds as his flesh started to necrose. ¡°Poison¡­¡± the chief said as more ck blood dribbled down his chin. ¡°Not exactly, but close enough,¡± I replied sarcastically. The chief looked behind him and saw the child already convulsing on the ground, the cocktail of diseases in my bone spine already ravaging its body. The trolls were finished, with the troll pathogen at my disposal, they are no threat to me. Their entirebat strategy relies on them taking damage and dealing damage in return. Trade hits because they can recover from the damage. But they can¡¯t recover from my attacks anymore¡­ One scratch from my bone spines now means death by a very lethal disease and they don¡¯t even have shields. I can deal with the rest easily now, I looked down at the dying Troll Chieftain and I saw the raw hatred in its eyes as it slowly sumbed. The chief spat at my direction in a final show of defiance but the ck blood only sttered on the ground without reaching me. Good effort¡­ But not good enough... Chapter 21: Spies and Theories Chapter 21: Spies and Theories Nox calmly twirled the small dagger in her hand as she looked down the cliff face. Below she saw the target she has been tracking for the past week. She watched as the creature devoured the corpses of the trolls that once resided in this vige. Nox felt no pity for the dead thaty below her. As far as she was concerned these lives were just fuel for the growth of a creature that was far beyond them in importance and power. Nox¡¯s mistress, Lady Nemesis, has given her a simple mission: keep tabs on the Firstborn and ensure its safety. It is unlikely an angel would cross paths with it at this stage but it couldn¡¯t hurt to be careful. The creature was now at the adolescent stage of its development, after that came the adult phase. There were a few more phases after that but the Syndicate needed the Firstborn to at least reach the secondst phase of its development, the Tyrant phase¡­ Once the Firstborn had reached that phase of its development they could move onto the next phase of their n¡­ Nox quietly marveled at the creature below her, the creature didn¡¯t know she was here obviously. Her stealth abilities made sure of that. It was quite a beautiful creature with it¡¯s pure white body. The body was exotic as well, Nox was starting to understand why the Devourers were called the progenitors of all life. She could see the beginnings of all the world''s species in one body. The tail was reptilian, the torso and upper arms humanoid, the lower arms looked avian, it¡¯s mouth was mammalian while it¡¯s skin and armor looked insectoid. Theck of eyes as well was fascinating. Beastiarians have theorised that eyes were an evolutionary crutch to create a cheap organ that allows visual perception. Eyes were after all vulnerable and could only see in certain spectrums. There were some species that still kept that domed head trait, the beastarian¡¯s called it sensor domes and they only existed when visual senses were of the utmost priority to the survival of the species. These were rare, few and far between, that domed head has been theorised to be the most effective form of visual sensory organ. Those creatures also sacrificed much to maintain that trait, they were often just prey that relied on that organ to escape predators. To have an Apex predator possess a sensor dome, few things could hide from it. This was why Nox and her partner were staying at such a far distance from the creature. If they got too close the beast might be able to detect them and their orders were clear. Observe but do not interfere unless the safety of the creature is put at risk. Lady Nemesis does not want to show her hand just yet. Secrecy, plots and schemes were after all the specialities of the Syndicate... ¡°It¡¯s quite beautiful isn¡¯t it?¡± Nox asked as she turned to look at her partner Discordia. ¡°Yes, every movement is elegant, efficient. A body type like that should be difficult to control, it must have a powerful brain to be able to control a body like that as easily as it does. The snake-like tail, the four arms, it¡¯s targeting with its spines, it¡¯s healing ability and its ability to transform. A lesser creature will have its brain overloaded from the burden.¡± Discordia replied from under her smiling mask. ¡°All creatures are lesser to the Firstborn old friend. We have given up our gifts to reproduce more efficiently. The Firstborn understand that there is no need for a collective when one can stand above all. Consume, adapt and ovee. Seek perfection of the one, and the rest will eventually be chaff before the wind. All the other species chose the easy way out, gambling on their offspring for continued existence. Kicking the ball down the street for someone else to deal with.¡± Nox replied. ¡°One day we will all be prey, Terra, Heaven and Hell. All prey before the great predator. The Heavens have forgotten the age of the Firstborn. When they groveled at the feet of tyrants so great that they viewed the Angel¡¯s existence as nothing more than an interesting distraction. Not even worth eating¡­¡± Discordia said. ¡°If the great tyrants of old did not grow weary of life and choose to give up their power for reproductive abilities. Terra would still be the dominant power among the three worlds. The Seraphim and Demonia, upstarts who ended the age of the Firstborn. But the shadows of the Firstborn still cast long shadows across history. They have forgotten that they are not the true masters of Terra¡­¡± Nox whispered as she watched the Firstborn leave afterpleting his meal. Nox turned to Discordia as they both stood up preparing to follow the Firstborn. Nox whispered some final words before they began to move¡­ Someday this Firstborn will remind them of the truth they have forgotten¡­ They are not the rightful rulers of Terra¡­ They are butmbs in wolf¡¯s clothing... ??,`¡ã.???.?.???.¡ã`,?? Beatrice sighed as she woke up and rubbed her eyes. As she sat up she felt the soreness in her back. She looked down and saw she had fallen asleep on her work desk¡­ again¡­ She winced as she rubbed her neck and tried to stretch the stiffness out. Her mother told her to stop doing that, it was going to ruin her back and neck. Still these were desperate times, with that monster on the loose and the death toll at almost a hundred people. Things were getting quite bad. Lord Averlon would soon have no choice but to open the roads or risk economic copse. Averlon is themercial hub of this region of the world. The most directnd based trade routes either go through Averlon itself or the town of well¡­ Cross Town¡­ named after the fact that it served as a crossroads for Marina¡¯s and Arune¡¯s trade routes to Averlon. Not the most imaginative name but there is the vige that takes the crown of unimaginative names. It¡¯s called Jerrystead¡­ named after its founder¡­ Jerry... Any trade over a significant distance from east to west or vice versa has to go through Averlon. The other city states only had faster routes to their direct neighbours, even then some merchants still prefer to go through Averlon thanks to it¡¯s safer roads. Or at least their previously safer roads¡­ The Head of Commerce has mentioned that Averlon has suffered a 30% loss in revenue due to the road closure and many of the neighbouring states have been applying political pressure to reopen that vital trade highway. Problem is, if these caravans start disappearing in Averlon¡¯s territory then the Lord is going to have a big problem on his hands. Having someone else¡¯s citizens get eaten by a monster that you can¡¯t control isn¡¯t the best situation to be in. Furthermore, with themercial interest of keeping the roads safe and open the other city states may start investigating the matter. Which would be problematic and diplomatically humiliating to House Averlon. Well at least they didn¡¯t have some big horrible secret lying around to be discovered¡­ ¡°Finally awake?¡± Beatrice heard her coworker say. She turned to see her colleague Aaron smiling at her. ¡°Yeah, I need to stop doing this but¡­ I always tell myself just five more minutes and before I know it my head is on the table.¡± Beatrice grumbled as she moved her arm to massage her stiff shoulders but found a nket draped over her. ¡°I was afraid you might catch a cold.¡± Aaron said with a chuckle as he walked over to her. ¡°Thanks¡­¡± Beatrice said as she began massaging her shoulders. Then she felt the nket being pulled away and she felt Aaron¡¯s hands on her shoulders as he began massaging them for her. ¡°Mmmm that¡¯s good¡­ thanks¡­¡± Beatirce said as she sat up a little straighter to give Aaron an easier angle. ¡°You work too hard, you should take a break every now and then.¡± Aaron said gently. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­ there¡¯s a killer monster on the loose remember?¡± Beatrice replied. ¡°I am sure it can wait a few hours. Tell you what, how about we go for dinner tonight? My treat, you can unwind a little. I know this nice ce that makes a great roast.¡± Aaron said. ¡°Mmmm, can¡¯t... I still need to cover a few more books. I think I have an idea on what the beast might be, or at least a general ssification.¡± Beatrice said as she enjoyed the massage. Aaron was such a nice friend, always buying her food, flowers to cheer her up, choctes to help her stave through the night¡­ ¡°Oh¡­ well another time then... ¡° Aaron said with a slightly disappointed tone of voice. ¡°You know why Aaron, that beast has killed almost 100 people. We owe it to their families to find out what it is so the adventurers can kill it.¡± Beatrice said as she turned around sensing Aaron¡¯s tone of voice. Aaron closed his eyes as he let out a small smile. ¡°I know, I know¡­¡± Aaron said as he pushed Beatrice¡¯s head forward. ¡°Don¡¯t look back, you might pull something, another time then.¡± Aaron said as he continued his massage. ¡°So what have you found out?¡± Aaron asked. ¡°I found something interesting about the spine, I found a simr type of spine.¡± Beatrice said, immediately Aaron¡¯s hands stopped. ¡°Really? We missed something?¡± Aaron asked as he walked next to her. ¡°No we didn¡¯t miss anything, we didn¡¯t look in the right ce.¡± Beatrice said as she looked down at the book sitting in front of her. Aaron peered down at the book as his eyes widened at the diagram on the page. He lifted the book up and read it¡¯s cover. ¡°A Catalogue of Ancient Creatures, by Arintoth Jebediah¡­ I¡¯m not familiar with this author.¡± Aaron said. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t be, none of the information here is useful anymore, all the species in here no longer exist. This is a book from the age of Elysia.¡± Beatrice replied. ¡°This book is from the Elysian Empire? And you were sleeping on it? You drooled on it!¡± Aaron said in panic as reached over to wipe the page with Beatrice¡¯s saliva on it. But as he did so, the saliva just rolled off the page like it was waterproof. ¡°The book is charmed, that¡¯s how it survived for so long, the mages refreshed the charms when they got their hands on it. I got this from their archives.¡± Beatrice giggled as Aaron started to wipe his hands on his pants. ¡°Err ok¡­ so what have you learned?¡± Aaron said awkwardly as finished wiping his hands. ¡°I think¡­ This creature is a Progenitor.¡± Beatrice said. ¡°A Progenitor?¡± Aaron asked, clearly surprised. ¡°Yes a Progenitor, you know how the creatures are catalogued. The Devourers also known as the Firstborn came first, followed by the Primordials, then the Progenitors, the Evolved, Middle Aged¡­¡± Beatrice said. ¡°Yes, yes, I know. We graduated from the same academy.¡± Aaron said cutting her off before she started rattling on about academic knowledge. ¡°Right, sorry, anyway, this spine is simr but not an exact match for a specific branch of Draconic Progenitors. I suspect it is a sessor to this known branch of Progenitors.¡± Beatrice exined. ¡°Are you sure? This is quite troubling information. Geological estimates put the Progenitor age as existing 15 million years ago. The creatures that lived back then are nothing to sneeze at. They could probably give the angels a run for their money.¡± Aaron said with a frown. ¡°Yes, but the power level we observed so far does not match the assumed strength of a Progenitor. I suspect it is a species towards the end of the period where the great concession urred, when most of the species sacrificed their power for reproductive capabilities.¡± Beatrice exined. ¡°So you think it¡¯s a species that lived in that transition period. It would make sense considering the whole aging thing came into y during the Evolved stage of creatures. Where they sacrificed their immortality so they could breed more rapidly. That might exin why it¡¯s still alive and hasn¡¯t just died of old age.¡± Aaron said as he gazed down at the page. ¡°Exactly, so since Averlon isn''t a smoking pile of rubble, I find it doubtful that it¡¯s a full fledged Progenitor. Probably an early Evolved or something simr.¡± Beatrice said. ¡°But Progenitors are predicted to be quite intelligent, I mean our humanoid intelligence had toe from somewhere. Maybe it just didn¡¯t destroy us because it knew it would be a bad idea to draw so much attention to itself.¡± Aaron suggested. ¡°Yes but this creature, although intelligent, would not share the same type of thinking as us. It lived in a world that has been dead for a long time. The age of Firstborns, Primordials and Progenitors are also known as the Predatorial Period. Creatures back then were violent, eat or be eaten, kill or be killed. Their rapidly depleting poption during the Progenitor age was probably why they decided to change themselves into the Evolved age.¡± Beatrice countered. ¡°That is true¡­ most of the bones we dug up look like the body was torn up by some predator.¡± Aaron said as he cupped his chin. ¡°Yeah I think your suspicions are right but still we have no idea what a creature like this would be. But if it were ate Progenitor age creature we might be able to narrow it down¡­ if only we could get a good look at it...¡± Aaron muttered. ¡°If only¡­ it would be fascinating to study if we do manage to get a hold of it. Imagine what we could learn, everything we have on the Progenitors are old shattered bones, or ancient records. This would be the Beastriarian breakthrough of the century. Imagine what we could learn with a fresh specimen! Think about it, we might even get some insight into the age of the Firstborn. They could assimte the Essence of creatures Aaron. The best we could do is extract trace amounts from live animals, we know Essence is the most effective form of energy transfer amongst creatures. It''s both the energy source and the blueprint of life, we predict their gic code is mutable, unchained by the bonds that all life is constrained by. We need hundreds of generations to even create a minute change in our bodies, the devourers might have been able to change their bodies at will. They are sculptors of their own flesh! Masters of their own design! Imagine what their essence will be like! Will we even be able to understand it? Comprehend it?¡± Beatrice said excitedly as she stood up. ¡°Okay calm down¡­ the thing out there isn¡¯t a Devourer, it¡¯s probably not even a Progenitor. Rx...¡± Aaron said as he put both hands on her shoulders. As he gave Beatrice an amused look, she was always like this when some potentially great discovery ends up on her table. We need to kill it first though¡­ Yeah, that''s true¡­ imagine if we could study it while it was alive! How about some breakfast first... Chapter 22: Hunting Wyverns Chapter 22: Hunting Wyverns I have been wandering the mountains for about half a day, I haven¡¯t picked up anything for awhile. It¡¯s not that surprising considering this mountain range was huge, but from what I remember I shouldn¡¯t stray too far north. I might run into the dwarfs if I go there¡­ For the past hour I have been smelling something strange in the air. It wasn¡¯t a trail I could follow, it was more like a scent that permeates the air. It smelt like burning propane for some reason. Judging by what I can remember there are only two creatures in this mountain range that have fire abilities, both of which are my targets. The first is the Feathered Wyvern, it¡¯s essentially a mini dragon that is covered in feathers. The full fledged dragons are the size of castles with wings 20m long. They are rumored to drown towns and cities in the shadow of their wings and those are just the normal dragons. There are also the Primordial ss Dragons who¡¯s age predates Humanoid Civilization. Apparently even the Angels avoid their territory¡­ The Feathered Wyverns in contrast were much smaller belonging to the weaker Wyvern ss of the Draconic type species. The key difference here was that dragons had four limbs and a set of wings, while Wyverns only had a pair of legs and they used their wings to sort of crawl along the floor. From what I read their bodies were about the size of a carriage, so about the same size as me when I am at full size. They have no regeneration thankfully but they make up for it in armour and offensive power. They are covered in feathers which are fire proof and very durable. The feathers were apparently as hard as steel, which although sounding bad isn¡¯t that much of a hindrance to me. It had two other abilities I was more worried about. Since it¡¯s a type of Dracon, it naturally could breathe fire. It¡¯sst ability were ws and fangs that wereced with venom. The venom wasn¡¯t that strong, even humans could survive it but the issue was the humans always brought the antidote with them when they went to hunt a Feathered Wyvern. I don¡¯t have any on hand and Cecilia said she couldn¡¯t make it as she didn¡¯t know how. Apparently only Beastiarians knew how to prepare anti-venoms and toxins. The Alchemists and Rogues knew how as well to an extent but the most effective ones were made by Beastiarians. Cecilia was trained as a Mage not as a Beastiarian. The second target on the list are the Phoenixes, these are apparently the apex predators of this mountain range. They are only slightlyrger than a Wyvern but they boast powerful fire abilities. Their bodies are also constantly ame and most attacks lose most of their power as the magic fire can melt physical objects as well as disrupt magical attacks. They do have a critical weakness however, the Phoenixesck staying power inbat, they can only fight for a short time before having to retreat. Theirbat strategy relies on a burst of initial firepower to instantly overwhelm their targets. It wasn¡¯t a bad strategy considering pretty much everything on this mountain can¡¯t withstand that initial attack. My n is to get some Wyverns first and steal their resistances to fire. After that I will go Phoenix hunting. I probably will just kill one or two phoenixes. They are really rare and a pain to find. I can always double back to the mountainter down the line if I really need to. I need to get back within a week, it isn¡¯t wise to dy Cecilia¡¯s n. If news of me spreads beyonds Averlon who knows what will happen. I continue my search trying my best to trace the scent but still nothing. The smell was everywhere, although I do notice the smell is getting stronger. I might be getting closer to the source of the scent. I think this istion in this unknown territory is making me jumpy. I keep feeling like I''m being watched. Ever since I wiped out that troll vige I felt something was off. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s just because I¡¯ve grown a little stronger and I could now sense if someone was actually watching me. Or I was just being paranoid. I looked around obviously, I scanned the cliffs around me but still I found no trace of anything. It was just a vague suspicion at best, my danger sense wasn¡¯t going off, just this nagging suspicion in the back of my mind. Then I heard a loud roar, I looked up and saw a Feathered Wyvern fly overhead. I immediately felt a hunger grow in my belly, it looked really delicious¡­ The Wyvern had your typical dragon-like body. It had two legs tipped with sharp ws and no front arms. Instead it¡¯s wings had small ws at one of the joints and it¡¯s head was shaped like a beak. I guess the closestparison I couldpare it¡¯s head to would be a feathered head that looked like a snapping turtle. The Wyvern didn¡¯t spot me since I was invisible but now I had a scent to follow. I raced along the cliffs, [Gravitic Hover] as the name implied, let me hover not fly. So I was still grounded more or less. The Wyvern was flying but it was flying low amongst the peaks and crevices of the mountain range. The book I read told me those Wyverns prefered to fly low because if they flew too high they might be spotted by Phoenixes. The beastiarians also suspected that was why they evolved their scales into feathers to improve flight control as they needed to weave around tight corners. Well I could keep pace with it, the Wyvern doesn¡¯t look like it was in a hurry as it soared overhead. In its jaws it clutched what looked to be a troll, the troll was dead with its head missing. It looks like Wyvern bit it¡¯s head off¡­ If it hasn¡¯t eaten it on the spot it might be delivering food for something, maybe it would lead me to a nest¡­ my luck has been really good these past few days¡­ Sure enough I followed the Wyvern to a nest that was in a crevice along the cliff face. It would be impossible for most creatures to get here seeing at the cliff was at an almost vertical incline. For me however, I could scale the surface easily. I observed the nest while making sure to keep a good distance to prevent detection. I saw there were two parents and about four hatchlings. I don¡¯t want to deal with all of them until I eat one of them at least. Judging by the size of their hearts and how much they were glowing, I can bet one of these would be enough to give me some of their abilities and strengths. Hmm I have an idea¡­ I waited patiently for hours as I examined the nest. The hatchlings ate the corpse as the two parents groomed each other, they licked each other to smooth out any stray feathers. I could tell this experience was pleasurable for them judging by how they arched their necks when licked. Well eventually the hatchlings became restless sometime into the night. One of the parents licked the other one on the face in their version of a goodbye kiss before taking off into the night. I smiled as I saw this and I immediately followed after the Wyvern. The Wyvern eventually led me to another troll vige, I¡¯ll be back for themter¡­ The Wyvern swooped down and grabbed a stray Troll that was walking around. The other Trolls shouted and screamed as the Wyvern flew over them carrying their screaming fellow in it¡¯s ws. It didn¡¯t immediately return to the nest, instead it dropped the Troll on a high ledge. The Troll scrambled to its feet as the Wyvernnded behind it. The Troll turned to look at the Wyvern eyes wide in terror. The Troll had just enough time to scream when a jet of fire emerged from the Wyvern¡¯s maw torching the Troll. It screamed as it thrashed, it¡¯s body now ame. The Trolls were vulnerable to fire because whatever is regenerated is burned, so they ended up in constant pain and often just thrashed around in panic. The Wyvern approached the Troll intent to finish it off but this was my chance¡­ I pounced down onto the Wyvern, the Wyvern flinched as it detected me and it turned. Toote however I delivered a hard sh with all four des to its wing. I¡¯m not confident I can decapitate it so I decided to take out it¡¯s main form of mobility. My sh tore deep gashes in its wings and the Wyvern shrieked as the wing that it was using to support itself gave way from the wound. I was about to follow up the attack but the Wyvern spun it¡¯s body and hit me in the chest with a tail m. I was thrown back as I felt my armor crack but as far as I can tell I took only superficial damage. I was about the same size as the Wyvern that means my ws were quiterge as well. With its wing was disabled, it just lost it¡¯s escape route. Grounded Wyvern, dead Wyvern¡­ The Wyvern opened it¡¯s maw and let out a jet of fire. But I had already retreated into invisibility while leaving a decoy behind. The fire engulfed the decoy and it shattered into motes of light. The Wyvern reared back in surprise at the sight as it looked around warily. It looks like it was dropping it¡¯s guard, I guess it has never fought anything that could use a decoy like this. The Wyvern turned to look mournfully at it¡¯s shredded wing as if contemting what to do next with such an injury. Well with it¡¯s guard down I wasn¡¯t going to let this chance go to waste. I leapt at the Wyvern this time going for it¡¯s now exposed throat. The Wyvern sensed me again, but again it was toote. I delivered a hard sh at it¡¯s throat but the Wyvern managed to pull away from the strike. The wound was deep but not fatal. I continued to press the attack, intending to carve deeper wounds into the Wyvern¡¯s body. It couldn¡¯t regenerate which means if I kept my attacks it was only a matter of time before it sumbed to blood loss. It¡¯s wounds were already bleeding profusely; it wouldn¡¯t be long now. The Wyvern then did something unexpected: it pped it¡¯s one remaining wing and lifted off just enough to use it¡¯s powerful wed legs to sh at me. I blocked the strike but I felt one w tear through my shoulder¡¯s armour and bite into the flesh underneath. I took this opportunity to trade a hit in as well, with its body reared up it left it¡¯s belly exposed. I shed at it¡¯s unprotected belly creating another wide gash. The Wyvern roared in pain as itnded and fired a jet of fire at me. I couldn¡¯t get out of the way this time and I saw a jet of fire consume my body. I felt the heat and I could tell I was taking damage but I had an ace up my sleeve. I [Molted] off my ming armour tes purging the [ming: Status Effect]. Immediately I felt my armour tes start to regenerate but I started to feel a little weak. It must be the poison¡­ Warning unknown [Venom] inflicted Categorising unknown [Venom] as [Alpha Venom] Adapting¡­ Solution obtained... [Alpha Venom Resistance] adapted Immunity requires assimtion of [Genome] Oh¡­ It seems my body can adapt to threats to a certain extent even without the essence of the target species. Then again I knew this venom was rtively weak, it was meant to debilitate not to kill. I felt the weakness subside, I still felt a little weaker but the difference was minor now. That must be why the Wyvern pulled off that move; it must have hoped to weaken me with it¡¯s poison. A sound strategy if it wasn¡¯t fighting something like me¡­ The Wyvern started to panic as it realised it¡¯s main two weapons were ineffective against me. It started backing away to the edge of the ledge. Well I¡¯m not going to let a prize like this get away from me¡­ I pounced forward again, des raised and the Wyvern shot another jet of fire at me. I knew I could handle the fire for a while, my body felt pain but it didn¡¯t bother me. More importantly when it was breathing it¡¯s fire it left it¡¯s face exposed. I fired off a wave of spikes and managed to take out it¡¯s eyes. The Wyvern shrieked as it recoiled, it¡¯s leg slipped and it fell off the ledge. I shed my burning tes and looked down to see the Wyvern falling down the cliff. It tumbled down shrieking all the way before finallying to a grinding halt. I followed it down as I started to feel the hunger in my belly grow into an ache. I guess my regeneration and that on the fly adaptation needed energy. But that wasn¡¯t a concern, my next meal is right in front of me¡­ When I reached the Wyvern I saw it was whimpering on the ground, it¡¯s damaged wing was now broken, with bone sticking out of the snapped joint. It was also barely able to stand as it tried to drag it¡¯s broken body forward. One of its legs was also dislocated from the fall, with it¡¯s wed foot dragging behind the Wyvern as it crawled forward. Looks like this was as far as this one was going to go. End of line¡­ I slithered up to it and jumped on it¡¯s back. With half it¡¯s limbs broken it couldn¡¯t support my weight and all it could do was shriek as it put up what feeble resistance it could muster. My des were sharp and my arms were strong, but my teeth were sharper and my jaw was stronger. I transformed my ws into hands and pinned it¡¯s body onto the ground. Then I opened my mouth and bit down hard on the back of its neck. I tasted the blood and I could feel my hunger roar up with a vengeance. I started to feel that same frenzy I had when I was tearing up that bandit camp. The sweet taste of that crimson nectar and my hunger was pushing me over the edge. I felt my vision go red as I tear a chunk of flesh from the neck to the mournful cries of the still living Wyvern. I swallowed the flesh and found my hunger wasn¡¯t sated in the slightest. In fact the desire for food roared even higher and I began to hear one single thought resonate in my mind. Consume and devour¡­ I looked down at therge red hole in the back of the Wyvern¡¯s neck, I could see blood pouring from the wound, as that nectar flowed from the major arteries. The smell was intoxicating... Well what was wrong with a little indulgence? Chapter 23: A Gift of Flight and Chains Chapter 23: A Gift of Flight and Chains As I bit down into the heart of the Wyvern immediately I heard the voice in my head sound off. Feathered Wyvern Essence Assimted Achieved [Feathered Wyvern Genome] Level: 1 / 5 [Armoured Feathers] acquired [Fire Resistance] acquired [Wyvern Bone Density] acquired [Wyvern Fire Breath] acquired [Feathered Wyvern Venom] acquired Augmenting... [Armored Feathers] now being applied to exterior armour [Molt] has been adjusted for [Armoured Feathers] [Armour Regeneration] has been adjusted for [Armoured Feathers] Augmenting... [Wyvern Bone Density] has improved [Chitinous Bone des] material strength Core Evolution Achieved Stage: 4 Advanced Mobility options now avable¡­ Scanning Assimted Genomes¡­ Flight type Genomes detected... [Mantis Wings] acquired [Feathered Wyvern Wings] acquired Augmenting¡­ [Greater Feathered Wings] Acquired [Gravitic Hover] can now offer additional mobility options during flight When the voice ended I felt my body change dramatically. I grew another half meter taller and I felt something change on my back. My growth was slowing but that made sense considering how volume vs length works. As my height grows the volume of my body grows exponentially so unless I ate something really significant it¡¯s unlikely that I would get a growth spurt. Still a half meter growth is quite a lot for a creature my size. As I focused on the new appendages on my back I felt something click in my mind as I realised I now had wings. I found I could move them easily and I instinctively knew how to use them. I spread my wings and I saw it was covered with white feathers, in the exact colour tone as my body. I looked down at my body and saw it was now covered in ayer of white feathers¡­ Hang on this tone of colour looked alot like the Angels wings, then again they do say Devourers were the first lifeforms, I guess their wings had toe from somewhere¡­ My body also now felt much stronger, I guess it was time to finish the rest of that little family. After that I could finish off the trolls as dessert, but first let me finish up that Troll the Wyvern was about to kill. I reengaged my invisibility and I flexed my wings. With a single push of my wings I felt my body shoot into the air. I flew straight up enjoying the feeling of flight. I dived and weaved, getting used to my new flight ability. It honestly surprised me how mobile I was in the air, I thought my body wouldn¡¯t be suited to flight considering how big I was. I now towered about five and a half meters tall, with wings five meters long. I was now arge, flying and invisible monster, anyone who wants to kill me better bring a hero or an army¡­ I looked down at the ledge where the Wyvern had left the Troll and I saw it struggling to climb down the ledge. It was looking fearfully around him as he descended. I bet he saw what I did to that Wyvern. It did take awhile for me to eat such arge body afterall. I swooped down and I grabbed the Troll while invisible. As I grabbed him my invisibility vanished so I just flew up the ledge and dumped it there. Then I flew up a little higher and dived on top of the screaming Troll. I grabbed his head with my hands and I smashed it into the rocky ground cracking the stone. It¡¯s head popped like a fruit from the force, his pulped brain now sttered across the dark stone. To think these Trolls were a challenge a few days ago¡­ Once I ate the troll I flew off from the ledge and began heading for the nest. I had a n of attack, it was a little dramatic but I think I could end the fight in a single attack if I pulled it off. With my new found abilities I realised I could now generate a significantly increased amount of momentum behind each sh of my des. When I spotted the nest I saw the Wyvern¡¯s mate looking out at the night sky as if waiting for her partner to return. Well something will being just not it¡¯s mate. I turned two of my ws into des and I flew up before diving down towards the little crevice. I raised my des and I saw the Wyvern still as if it sensed my approach. But it was toote, I shed with my des and I decapitated the Wyvern. My body then mmed the Wyvern into the back wall and I heard it¡¯s bones crack from the impact. As I looked down at the headless Wyvern I heard frantic chirping behind me. I saw the four hatchlings looking up at me fearfully, I felt a tinge of pity but¡­ well food was food¡­ I fired a volley of spines skewering the four hatchlings. Well that was that¡­ I went around eating the corpses. As I thoroughly enjoyed the food around me, I felt I much preferredrger prey. It was just more enjoyable to eat more at once. Eating a human was like, chomp, that¡¯s it¡­ I mean it got the fuel in the tank but it was prettyme all things considered. Well that and that the weak now tasted more and more like soggy raw dough. I guess the humans were just not up to scratch anymore. Although I still will eat them, their genome made me smarter. That half elf I ate gave me a little bit of the Elf genome. I wonder what they will give me, or the dwarves? Were there significant differences between the humanoids? From what I read the different races existed peacefully, well mostly peacefully. There were some frictions but it rarely exploded into all out war. As I finished eating, I saw that night had fallen. I got the second level of the Wyvern Genome, not much change from the first level. I noticed that the biggest changes happened in intervals of five levels. So for a genome the most valuable levels would be 1, 5, 10 and 15, depending on the maximum genome level. I don¡¯t get why some are higher while some are lower in terms of level. But I notice that the bigger monsters have less genome levels. Was this because there were fewer of them? No that can¡¯t be that, that¡¯s way too gamey. It¡¯s not like there¡¯s this omnipotent being designing this world or something¡­ wait a minute¡­ yes there was. Something had to reincarnate me, but then again that man in the suit just looked like an overworked white cor bureaucrat... Well I¡¯m not going to find out the truth sitting around here and spinning theories in my head¡­ Might as well get on with it, I still had a troll vige down there waiting for me¡­ With that thought in mind I spread my wings and flew down¡­ ??,`¡ã.???.?.???.¡ã`,?? ¡°So it grew wings?¡± a woman asked as she gazed at the magic projection of her loyal servant Nox. ¡°Yes, Lady Nemesis.¡± the Nox replied. ¡°Has it spotted you?¡± Nemesis asked. ¡°No, mydy. It did conduct a search for us but we remained undetected. I suspect it has an ability that allows a certain degree of awareness to our presence.¡± Nox replied. ¡°y it safe, keep me updated...¡± Nemesis said calmly. ¡°Yes mydy.¡± Nox said as the transmission cut. Nemesis picked up the ss of wine on the table and took a sip. Then she heard the nking of chains from behind her. In annoyance she grabbed a nearby chain that was hanging down from the ceiling and she pulled down hard. Nemesis heard a blood curdling scream from behind her and she felt a smile appear on her face. Oh how she liked to make them suffer¡­ She looked behind her to see an Angel chained to the wall behind her. Hooks were embedded in her wings and flesh, pulling on them painfully. Nemesis gave the chain another pull and watched as chains connected to the hooks snapped tight and began pulling. The Angel screamed in agony as the hooks tore at her flesh. ¡°You feel that Seraphin?¡± Nemesis said as she pulled again eliciting another scream that ended with a choked sob. The sob sounded garbled, that was because Nemesis had her tongue cut out. She needed a source of Angel blood to sign off orders, technically there wererge vats of it in storage here in her base of operations. But¡­ Nemesis prefers to take it from a live subject¡­ Nemesis has one of these angels in the dozens of offices scattered across Terra. It was a bit of a hassle to maintain, but Nemesis enjoyed the entertainment¡­ Now then it was about time for her guests to arrive¡­ As if on cue Nemesis heard muffled screaming and shouts from beyond her door. Then she heard a knock on her door. Then a magic orb appeared on her desk as a voice echoed out from within it. ¡°My Lady, we have the guests you requested.¡± a voice said. ¡°Bring them in.¡± Nemesis replied calmly. Then the door opened and a pair of her agents dragged two struggling individuals into her room. Her guests were hooded and they were shouting into their gags. The agents roughly shoved them into two waiting chairs in front of her desk. Her agents ripped their hoods off revealing a dark haired woman and a half orc¡­ Sarana''s eyes widened as she saw the angel that was chained to the wall. It was in a horrendous state, clearly in excruciating pain. It¡¯s eyes were filled with madness and as Sarana looked at the hooks digging into her body she felt her blood turn to ice. The hooks in her chest, they look like they went under each rib¡­ ¡°Greetings, Lady Sarana and Mister Cornenk, I have been expecting you.¡± the masked woman said. Sarana looked at the woman and her mind began to put it all together. She was dragged out of her bed in the middle of the night, gagged and hooded. Then she was dragged quite a distance and finally she ended up here. Not only that, she has heard about that white mask, a mask with weeping eyes and a mouth open inughter, it supposedly belonged to the leader of the Syndicate, Lady Vengeance... It wasmon knowledge amongst the underground that the members of the Syndicate wore white masks. Or at least it was amon rumor, no one has ever been able to confirm it with any reasonable amount of verifiability... As Sarana looked on stunned at the chained and tortured Angel, she realised that the Syndicate lived up to its other name...the Seraphim yers... ¡°You are very bold to try and get out of this city when I told all of you not to.¡± Nemesis said with a smile in her voice. ¡°I am sorry¡­¡± Sarana stammered. ¡°No, it was the best attempt so far. You see Lady Sarana. I have ns for this city, veryrge ns¡­¡± Nemesis said as she tilted her head. ¡°You¡­ want something from me?¡± Sarana asked shakily, that was after all the only logical reasons her and Cornenk were still alive. The others who tried all died extremely gruesome and messy deaths. ¡°Of course, you all will have a new ruler soon. I want the two of you to prepare for that eventuality. So I have an offer¡­¡± Nemesis said. ¡°An offer?¡± Sarana asked, she knew this was no offer. What was Lady Vengeance going to do if they said no, let them go? Sarana will be lucky if anyone ever finds a piece of her the size of a fingernail¡­ Sarana was sleeping in her bed, in the pce. There were guards outside her room and frequent patrols along the corridors. How the hell did they manage to get past all of that? If the Syndicate wanted her help then they couldn¡¯t kill the guards. If there was arge uproar then it would diminish her use. Whispers and rumors will start to circte, she already didn¡¯t have the best reputation in the court. There might even be usations of murder. After all, if you look at the scene it was easy to see how that would be a problem. Sarana disappears in the night and some of the guards near her room die, then she reappears in the pce perfectly fine. She can¡¯t sneak through all of the guards, word would eventually get around that she was out in the middle of the night. ¡°Yes, Lady Sarana, you will stay in Lord Averlon¡¯s service and you will start sowing the seeds of discord,ying the groundwork for an uprising. Agitate the peasants, frame nobles, pit the court against each other, leave them divided and desperate. Paint the court as an evil institution, shake the loyalty of the guards and army, make the adventurers guild question it¡¯s continued loyalty. How you do so depends on you, what matters is that you seed. Can you do that?¡± Nemesis said. ¡°Yes¡­¡± Sarana replied, she already had some ideas, so this wouldn¡¯t be that hard. The issue was the timing, when did Lady Vengeance want the outrage to boil over? ¡°When do you wish for the uprising to ur? I need a timeline if possible¡­¡± Sarana said, trying to y the part of a willing coborator. Sarana would need at least 3 months to get everything in ce... ¡°I know you will need 3 months and that is right on schedule.¡± Nemesis replied. ¡°But do you intend for Cecilia Averlon to rule? If that is your wish then it is likely that she will kill me¡­¡± Sarana replied softly, Cecilia would eventually figure out that Sarana was the one that helped lock her up. Unless she already knew¡­ Sarana knew if Cecilia took the throne, the first to lose their heads would be Princess Cecilia¡¯s parents and the Head Mage. If she knew about Sarana¡¯s involvement then she would be next. As for her siblings, that was a separate thing entirely. They didn¡¯t actively cause her imprisonment, except for her younger brother who Sarana suspected conconted some political machinations to ensure he would inherit the throne. But she had no confirmation on that, just whispers and rumors. Then again he did stand to gain the most from her imprisonment¡­ For her two younger sisters, the elder didn¡¯t do anything, of that Sarana was sure. With regards to the youngest sister, she is currently six years old and was two when Cecilia was imprisoned. So it was unlikely that Sarana bore her any ill will, but if she would kill her to secure the throne... that was something else entirely¡­ ¡°I am sure she can be persuaded to let you live¡­ she will need someone of your talents afterall.¡± Nemesis replied calmly. ¡°Ok¡­ I assume you have some way to keep me loyal?¡± Sarana asked shakily, she has heard that the Syndicate has ess to powerful lost magic that was long forgotten. Not only that they had reagents any normal person on Terra would struggle to get their hands on¡­ ¡°Of course, but first I need to speak to yourpatriot.¡± Nemesis said as she turned to face Cronenk who flinched as soon as her mask faced him. ¡°Congrattions Cornenk Vorash, and yes I know your full name. You are now the undisputed master of Averlon¡¯s underworld. The gold will continue to flow to your pockets as long as you obey mymands. If you don''t, your blood will flow¡­¡± Nemesis said calmly. ¡°Yes, mydy.¡± Cornenk said as his green face went paler than it already was. ¡°Excellent, I will have my agents keep in touch with you. Now for your initiation. Your hands please¡­¡± Nemesis said as she rose out of her seat and Sarana went pale as she realised what she was wearing. She was wearing a cloak of gold feathers¡­ As Sarana looked at the angel bound on the wall and saw the gold blood leaking from the wounds. She knew exactly where those feathers came from¡­ The two of them froze at the sight of the cloak but the two nearby agents grabbed their hands and mmed it on the table. Sarana began to shake as she watched Nemesis slowly walk around the desk. Sarana watched as Nemesis ran a hand along the mahogany wood as she took her time walking over. Each step she made caused that blood stained cloak to flutter slightly. How many angels did she kill to get that many feathers? They were all the same size¡­ she was picky with her choice of feathers... Sarana watched as she calmly took out a small pen with a de at it¡¯s tip. Then she took out a small inkwell. When Nemesis dipped the pen in Sarana saw the de exit the inkwell stained gold. ¡°Seraphim blood, a powerful substance¡­ perfect for this¡­¡± Nemesis said as she bent down and began carving runes into the back of Sarana¡¯s hand. Sarana instinctively tried to pull her hand back but the agent held her hand down. Sarana looked down tearfully as she saw the gold blood steam as it mixed with her own. It felt like the de was a red hot knife and all she could do was watch as the spell was weaved into her flesh. ¡°Ah ah ah¡­ don¡¯t fuss¡­ you really don¡¯t want me to get this wrong¡­¡± Nemesis said calmly. Hearing this Sarana bit her lip as she tried to ignore the searing pain in her hand. When powerful magic goes wrong, it REALLY goes wrong¡­ Sarana tasted blood as she bit down on her lip hard enough to draw blood. After what felt like an eternity she felt the de stop. ¡°All done, see, that wasn¡¯t so bad¡­ at leastpared to whates next¡­¡± Nemesis said with a cold chuckle. Immediately after her words Sarana felt a searing pain in her hand. She looked down and saw the bloody mark on her hand glowing and steaming. The pain traveled up her arm and soon her whole body was wracked in indescribable pain. Sarana screamed and screamed, soon she felt her vision start to sh white. Finally and perhaps mercifully, she felt her consciousness fade as she passed out from the pain¡­ Sarana awoke to the feeling of some kind of liquid being sshed on her face. She sputtered as she snapped awake and the first thing she saw was the empty wine ss. She looked up to see Nemesis leaning against the desk as she poured herself another ss. She took a sip of the wine before sshing it on Cornenk who was passed out next to her. He sputtered back into consciousness, as his eyes focused on her and his eyes filled with fear. ¡°I just put a seal on your hands, you disobey, you die. You run your mouths, you die. You try and cut the hand off, you die. Simple enough?¡± Nemesis asked calmly ¡°Yes¡­¡± the pair of them stammered as they looked down at their hands which were now healed perfectly. The only thing was that Sarana could somehow sense there was something very wrong with her hand now... Sarana watched as Nemesis stood up and outstretched her arms as if seeking an embrace. As she did so her gold feathered cloak spread apart, revealing the hundreds of feathers that she wore. The angels were thought to be unbeatable by the denizens of Terra but here one stood, wearing their prized feathers stained with their blood. Nemesis cocked her head slightly as she seemed to smile under her mask as she lowered her head slightly to leer at the pair of them. Wee to the Syndicate... Chapter 24: Breaking Eggs and Dwarfs Chapter 24: Breaking Eggs and Dwarfs I flew above the peaks of the mountains as I scanned the world below me. I was going further north now, at my current speed it wouldn¡¯t be long before I entered the so-called Dwarf territory. When Cecilia told me about this so-called territory she did so with a set of air quotation marks. It turns out this territory is only recognized legally. The Dwarfs are proud and reclusive people preferring to stay under their mountain, in their cities carved out in the stone of their mountain home. They drew these borders and everyone else just epted it. It wasn¡¯t like anyone could do anything with that horrible mountainous terrain anyway. The Dwarfs themselves couldn¡¯t even keep it safe so they rarely traveled into this so-called piece of sovereignnd. I still remember Cecilia¡¯sugh as she described it, a so-called sovereignnd that the sovereign nation can¡¯t control due to the presence of Wyverns, Phoenixes, and all the other creatures that inhabit these mountains. Well as long as I stay away from them, it should be fine¡­ Then I spotted a glowing signature down below. I looked down to see a phoenix swooping down on something¡­ What the hell? It looks like it was attacking a convoy¡­ I immediately began descending so I could get a better look at what was happening. As I got closer I realised what was going on. It was a Dwarven convoy and the phoenix seemed hell bent on killing them. The dwarves looked strong too for a humanoid, about gold to... maybe mithril rank? I could take them no problem but still there was the risk of discovery¡­ As Inded on a nearby ledge and peered at the battle down below I saw the Dwarves desperately trying to fight the phoenix off. That phoenix looked pissed¡­ it was just sending wave after wave of fire attacks right at the Dwarves. I spotted several Dwarf bodies on the ground burnt to a crisp. ¡°GET IT AWAY FROM THE CAGE!¡± one of the dwarves shouted as it hefted it¡¯s crossbow and fired a glowing arrow at the Phoenix the shot hit home and arge explosion appeared where the boltnded. The Phoenix however just seemed to be knocked back slightly and it roared in rage as it pped it¡¯s ming wings and a wave of fire bolts flew out. Most of the Dwarves survived either dodging the sts or using magic barriers to withstand the attack. One however, wasn¡¯t so lucky and I saw his burnt remains drop onto the stone ground. It¡¯s armor melted onto its flesh. The thing that made me worried about fighting this Phoenix was that it¡¯s fire wasn¡¯t orange, it was blue¡­ and when I switched my vision to thermal I saw the Phoenix¡¯s heat made it look like a glowing sun. ¡°RETURN MY CHILD STUNTED FILTH!¡± the Phoenix roared as it fired off another wave of fireballs. Huh, I knew Phoenixes were rather intelligent, they were about as smart as humanoids but I didn¡¯t know they could talk. Maybe this one learned themonnguage of this world. Cecilia did tell me Phoenixes were immortal, this one might have been alive for quite awhile, long enough to learn to speak. Interestingly I found myself able to understand thenguages in this world. Not only could I understand it, I could speak it and even read it now. I¡¯m notpletely certain why I could read it now, considering I couldn¡¯t read the tablet at the start. My best guess was that my [Memory Assimtion] and [Advanced Cognition] allowed me to learn their text from their memories subconsciously. Cecilia said the different races spoke slightly different variants of what is known as the Common Tongue. But to me oddly, it sounded exactly the same, just with a bit of an ent. ¡°LIKE HELL WE WILL! YOU WANT IT? COME AND GET IT YOU STUPID FIRE CHICKEN!¡± the Dwarf roared in reply. The Phoenix¡¯s eyes narrowed at the insult and then it¡¯s body split into two. Now a pair of Phoenixes now flew side by side and the pair flew apart trying to attack the Dwarves from two sides. Both Phoenixs pped their wings and two waves of fireballs flew out and the Dwarves got ready to meet the attack. Surprisingly the attacks from both phoenix''s created damaging attacks. I watched as the wave of fireballs sted the Dwarves. Most of them survived but I could tell they were tiring under the strain... ??,`¡ã.???.?.???.¡ã`,?? Dunan Greatbeard growled as he lowered his enchanted shield. This mission was dangerous, everyone knew that. But they had no choice, the king decreed that a Phoenix egg was needed for the good of the realm. So the king sent Dunan, a Dwarven Ranger, on this great task. The Rangers were elite soldiers and sworn to the Stone Throne. Dunan was chosen to lead his team of Rangers to steal a great treasure. The reports from other Ranger teams have discovered that a Phoenix hadid an egg. This was a miraculous and rare urrence. The Phoenixesid eggs once every thousand years so this opportunity could not be passed up without at least an attempt being undertaken. Dunan¡¯s team got the egg with no issue but halfway back to the city of Iron Hammer the mother came looking for them¡­ It was just his luck that the mother happened to be a Blue Fire Phoenix, if it was an Orange or Red Fire this would be so much easier. At least the ancestors gave him enough luck to avoid running into a White Fire or even a Violet Fire... Now here he was pinned on this mountain trail with a third of his team now nothing but melted corpses. They had to kill this Phoenix or at least drive it off. But it was very clear the mother would not leave her egg, so perhaps killing it was the only option. His mages were running dry and his fellow Rangers were running out of Wyvern Bolts. But he had a n, he was gifted with a new invention for his mission. He just needed a good moment to use it¡­ ¡°Return fire!¡± Dunan ordered as he nted his shield into the ground and took out his crossbow. Dunan needed to buy time, he knew the Phoenix couldn¡¯t keep up her clone and attacks for long. The Phoenixescked stamina in prolonged fights, once it tired Dunan would spring his trap. Dunan could only hope this trap would work, it was their only chance. Blue Fire Phoenixes are at least two thousand years old so this one was no fool. Dunan¡¯s family line didn¡¯t even go back that far¡­ ¡°I WILL TURN YOU TO CINDERS!¡± the Phoenixes roared in unison as they opened their maws. Dunan raised his crossbow and muttered his incantation, [Enchant: Ether Jammer]. Dunan fired his crossbow at one of the Phoenixes as he saw the rest of his team do the same at both of the Phoenixes. The one Dunan fired off released a ray of light from its mouth but as the jamming bolts flew out it caused enough interference for the ability to blow up in the Phoenix¡¯s face. Unfortunately the other one didn¡¯t get hit by enough bolts and the [Sun Ray] raked across his men, turning another three of his team to ash. That Ether explosion however was enough to weaken the Phoenix. Dunan watched as the two Phoenixs flew back together and remerged into one. He could tell it was getting tired, but to be fair Dunan was also running out of men¡­ This fight wille down to the wire, it was the Phoenix¡¯s firepower against Dwarven endurance and stubbornness¡­ and the Dwarves were famously stubborn¡­ ¡°Alright boys let''s do it¡­¡± Dunan said as what remained of his team nodded. This was the moment of truth, he could only hope it would work and that he wouldn¡¯t lose too many men in the process. The Phoenix roared as it swooped down into a dive, when Phoenix''s tire they switched to less strenuous melee attacks. That would be their moment... ¡°NOW!¡± Dunan roared and all his Mages stood up from their cover. [Binding Shackles] all his remaining Mages intoned and a wave of blue orbs flew at the Phoenix. When the spells hit the Phoenix sets of blue magical chains appeared and binding the Phoenix. It shrieked as it crashed onto the mountain trail, tumbling into the dirt. ¡°These chains cannot hold me for long stunted ones.¡± the phoenix growled as it struggled against the chains. Dunan knew it was right, the raw heat from its body was already eroding the magical chains. But he didn¡¯t need long. ¡°Skewer it!¡± Dunan said as he turned around and saw one of the carriages pop open. The four walls fell away revealing a ballista on a gimballed mount. Dunan turned back and saw the Phoenix¡¯s eyes widened at the sight of the weapon. Dunan knew if he revealed his hand too early the Phoenix would destroy it instantly, that would be the end of him and his team. But now with it bound, they couldnd the fatal blow¡­ Dunan heard the thunk of the ballista firing and he watched as a two meter long Mithril siege bolt mmed into the body of the Phoenix. It shrieked in pain but it didn¡¯t die, it only red hatefully at the Dunan and his men. ¡°When I am reborn I will turn your city to ash.¡± the Phoenix said weakly. ¡°You¡¯ll be met with a wall of those, you stupid chicken. HIT IT AGAIN!¡± Dunan roared and another mithril bolt mmed into the body of the Phoenix. It still wasn¡¯t dead surprisingly but Dunan knows with these wounds the Phoenix couldn¡¯t fight anymore. It would sumb to it¡¯s injuries soon before reverting into its egg form. They couldn''t bring the egg back for two simple reasons, this same Phoenix would eventually pop out of that egg in a blue ball of fire at full strength. No way in hell he was bringing that back into the mountain. The second reason was that it would leave behind a Blue Fire egg, and that egg would be too hot to transport. The only eggs that could be safely transported would be Red Fire eggs which are the newborns. The Orange Fire was possible but difficult and what would emerge from it wasn¡¯t worth it. The Blue, White and Violet eggs could melt stone, so no they couldn¡¯t bring it along. ¡°When I am reborn I will repay this grievance a thousand times over¡­¡± the Phoenix said weakly as it¡¯s ming blood spread on the stone ground. ¡°Consider me terrified then.¡± Dunan said with a scoff. They¡¯ve taken heavy losses but at least they got their prize. Normally this would be a thoroughly wasteful fight, they couldn¡¯t bring the Phoenix back. The most they could do was collect some stray feathers. Their bodies turned to ash when they died so the real value was in their eggs. The yokes of the egg had powerful properties that could aid in creating powerful enchanted weapons. The king¡¯s own sacred warhammer had enchantments made from the yoke of an orange fire egg. It was named Bloodoath, for all the lives that were sacrificed to create that sacred weapon. ¡°Leave it alive, it¡¯ll take awhile to die. Buy us more time to get back to Iron Hammer. We need to get back soon, mount up, we''re already behind schedule. No one other than the king and the Lord Ranger knows we¡¯re here so we better head back before they send a search party. We don¡¯t want our brothers to run into this thing over here.¡± Dunan said as he cast a gaze at the slowly dying Phoenix. ¡°Aye Captain.¡± his men said but then he heard the Ballista fire again, followed by a loud crash. Dunan turned to see one of his mages skewered by a Ballista bolt. He whirled around to see the Dwarves manning the ballista dead and a 5 meter tall white feathered creature standing next to the empty ballista. It was using one of it¡¯s massive hands to aim it, the beast then brought one of it¡¯s hands down on the Ballista splintering the wooden structure.. The beast then let out an ear splitting roar and charged at one of the Mages. The mage panicked and raised a barrier. However, the beast''s ws cut through the barrier and the mage¡¯s body like paper. ¡°WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?¡± one of his Rangers shouted in panic. Dunan has never seen something like that before. All he knew was that the beast just took out their best weapon and it was very dangerous¡­ The beast darted towards another Mage and cut him in half. It had four arms, the upper two had des while the smaller lower arms had three taloned hands. ¡°PROTECT THE MAGES!¡± Dunan roared as his Rangers sprang into motion. They fired their crossbows but the beast was fast. Two bolts hit home but it looked like all it did was inflict a flesh wound. The beast didn¡¯t even flinch, it just continued it¡¯s rampage. Two of his Rangers rushed forward, grabbed their shields and drew their swords. They had to rescue their back line. The Mages were their main source of firepower if they died, the rest would be finished... The beast shed at the first ranger and he raised his mithril ted shield in defence. Dunan looked on in shock as the shield was cut in two and the Ranger was knocked back as it clutched it¡¯s stump of an arm. The beast then turned and shot a breath of fire at the other Ranger. The Ranger wasn''t expecting a fire breath attack and was trying to get an attack in while the beast was distracted. The fire consumed the Ranger, one of the Mages immediately cleaned the fire off him but the beast''s ws shed and the Ranger was cut in two. ¡°HIT IT!¡± Dunan shouted when he saw that three remaining mages were now behind their front line. The Mages [Thundering Gale] the mages roared as they shot a wave of lightning bolts at the beast, if it could breathe fire it might have fire resistance. The beast turned just in time to see the lightning bolts hit it¡¯s body, then the body vanished into motes of light¡­ ¡°Huh¡­ a decoy?¡± one of the Mages said in confusion. ¡°What the hell is this thing?¡± one of his Rangers said as they looked around warily. ¡°I don''t kn¡­¡± the mage replied but was cut off. Dunan turned to see his three mages now in six pieces as the beast emerged from invisibility right behind the mages. This was really bad, he only had six Rangers left and no Mages were left. Hispany of twenty four was now down to seven¡­ True to their training two of the Rangers charged as the rest of them aimed their crossbows. Dunan did the same and they let fly a wave of bolts. However, their crossbow bolts weren¡¯t the only things that were in the air¡­ The beast shot a wave of 1 meter long spines from it¡¯s shoulders and it skewered the two of the Rangers who were standing next to each other. With their crossbows in hand they didn¡¯t have time to grab their shields. They were just impaled in the chest by several spines. What the hell was this thing¡­ it could breathe fire, had des sharp enough to rip through mithril, could use decoys, turn invisible and now it could fire spines? Dunan reloaded his crossbow as the beast easily cut down the two rangers that were engaged in melee. Their crossbows were doing nothing, he had onest Wyvern bolt left and seeing as none of hispatriot¡¯s bolts exploded they must be out¡­ The Dwarves greatest strengths was their equipment, they didn¡¯t have the same magic abilities as most of the other races. But they were also excellent warriors and craftsmen. They relied on their equipment and pre enchanted munitions to give them an edge inbat. He had onest Wyvern Bolt left. He needed to make it count¡­ looks like it was time for an all or nothing gamble¡­ The beast advanced as it charged at his two remaining men. To their credit they fought bravely, but they were easily dispatched. Dunan waited for the right moment to strike. When the beast cut down thest man he used the opening to fire his crossbow to the side of the beast¡¯s head. He suspected the feathers were armoured so he went for the smooth domed head that wasn¡¯t covered in feathers. It looked like it was the most vulnerable part of the body, the rest looked much more durable. There was an explosion and Dunan looked on in horror as the beast just calmly turned round to look at him. He watched as the burnt gaping wound on the side of it¡¯s head just healed shut¡­ it had regeneration too¡­ ¡°Good try¡­¡± the beast said with a chuckle as it approached... ??,`¡ã.???.?.???.¡ã`,?? As I approached thest defiant Dwarf I saw him draw his sword and take up his shield. So he¡¯ll go down fighting then. Admirable resolve¡­ I only attacked them because I saw how powerful that Phoenix was and the fact that this one mentioned that they were alone. That and they were transporting an egg, this was a three in one deal. I will get two phoenixes and some of the Dwarf Genome if I take them out. I just had to kill them without leaving any traces, I¡¯ll recover my spines and collect all their equipment to leave no evidence of what I am. I¡¯ll even burn the ballista and the wagons to make it look like the Phoenix was the one that wrecked this caravan. Lily told me the main evidence the humans in Averlon have of my existence is my spines. I left them behind in my first attack, a costly mistake but what¡¯s done is done¡­ The Dwarf roared a great battle cry as it raised it¡¯s sword and charged. [Mountain¡¯s Rage] the Dwarf roared as his body glowed. [Sundering sh] the Dwarf said as he jumped forward, his sword glowing. I saw the fury in his eyes as he flew towards me... and then I cut him in half down the middle. I watched as his two halves went rolling along the ground. That was a really bad suicide charge, he didn¡¯t even raise his shield, he just raised the sword and charged. Well to be fair he was dead no matter what he did, I guess this at least constituted an honourable death. He was the strongest one, he was stronger than a gold rank but I¡¯ve never seen a mithril rank before so he may just be a high gold rank. I¡¯m not sure honestly¡­ I turned around and saw thest Dwarf lying in the dirt, slowly bleeding out from his stump of an arm and the deep gash in his chest. I opened my mouth and shot a jet of fire at the Dwarf. I watched as it iled on the ground wailing for about half a minute before stilling. ¡°What¡­ are you¡­¡± the Phoenix asked weakly. ¡°None of your concern¡­¡± I said as I turned to face it. I raised one of my des and got ready to cut it¡¯s head off. ¡°No mercy then¡­ such is our way¡­ fellow monster¡­¡± the phoenix said weakly as it shut its eyes. With a clean sh I decapitated the Phoenix and I watched as it¡¯s body crumbled to ash. Then I saw the ashes revealing a blue ming egg. It was quite arge egg, it was a metre tall and it was hot. I could see the stone starting to melt around it. In my vision the ether radiating off it made it look like a mini sun sitting on the ground. I don¡¯t think I can eat it as is¡­ maybe if I drain some of the ether¡­ I opened my maw and began draining the ether out. As I emptied it of about half its ether I felt the heat reduce dramatically. I feel maybe I could just eat the rest of the egg. I reached forward and picked up the egg with one of my hands. It was still hot but it wasn¡¯t burning me. Well time to eat. With that exciting thought in my mind I opened my mouth and bit down onto the egg. I felt the shell give way and I tasted the deliciously sweet center of the egg¡­ Mmmm¡­ Yeah that¡¯s good¡­ I should try making an omelette out of one of these... Chapter 25: Covering Tracks Chapter 25: Covering Tracks Balor Ironhammer grimaced as he sat on his throne. He sent out that team to recover the phoenix egg but they still haven¡¯t returned. They were supposed to return days ago¡­ He sent out search parties and one had returned rather quickly. He looked down at the squad of six Rangers kneeling before him. They all had troubled expressions on their faces¡­ ¡°So did you find them?¡± Balor asked. ¡°We found the convoy your grace¡­ but not the team that was sent out¡­¡± the lead Ranger replied. ¡°Signs of battle?¡± Balor asked. ¡°Yes, it looked to be a fierce battle¡­ we suspect they were attacked by a phoenix and¡­ someone else¡­¡± the Ranger replied. ¡°Someone else? So it wasn¡¯t a monster?¡± Balor asked. ¡°We found evidence of battle with the Phoenix, we also have reason to believe the team sessfully downed the Phoenix. However, that is where the site bes suspicious. Someone has tampered with it, removing all evidence of their presence. We have found nothing on who could have done it. Only that the convoy was destroyed and the bodies are all missing. Whoever did this was professional. No footprints, no signs of tampering, no evidence whatsoever. We suspect the perpetrators are skilled infiltrators, probably powerful rogues trained in ambushes and evidence removal.¡± the Ranger replied. So it was a foreign power that was meddling with it¡­ monsters didn¡¯t have the ability to be this subtle. At least not subtle enough to fool his Rangers. They were powerful yes, some are exceedingly hard to detect but the removal of evidence? No monsters always leave evidence of their presence on their paths of destruction. They may be hard to track down butplete removal of evidence implies Humanoid intervention. Humanoids were afterall the only races with the flexibility to specialise into such a niche skill set. Then came arger problem, who did this? The locations of the attack should be out of reach of most of the human nations. Technically all of the nations might possess operatives capable of this, geopolitics operated on half diplomatic grandeur and half subterfuge¡­ If any of the human nations were involved they could usibly reach this ce but it would take weeks to cover the distance over the mountains. The reports of the egg came in two months ago so a fast acting nation could possibly capitalise on this information. But which nation? Perhaps Averlon? They do have a particrly talented spy master ording to his reports. Jaraia is also a certain possibility; they have a famously strong adventurer guild with two Hero Rank Adventurer teams. Jaraia is also the closest to Ironhammer which means their informationwork within Ironhammer should also be the most robust. Then there¡¯s Isnd, a small nation with an extremely small amount of territory. But they also have a famously good Mage Institute, the best in the region in fact. They could certainly make good use of reagents as powerful as Phoenix Yoke. Then again Isnd was a Magic focused society, do they even have ess to such capable operatives? Arune and Cathay are perpetually at each other''s throats so it¡¯s unlikely they have resources to spare¡­ Unless one of them wanted the Phoenix Yoke to create a weapon or spell that could potentially tip the bnce of power... Marina was just a nation focused on trading and crafting, although the Phoenix Yoke could help them with their crafting Balor doubted they had the means or incentive to pull something like this off. Averlin the sister nation of Averlon just cowers at the mere mention of Tralis and from what he¡¯s heard the king of Tralis has his son engaged to the crown princess of Averlin. His intelligencework suggests that Averlin will be swallowed by Tralis within a generation. He even heard that the crown prince of Tralis uses the crown princess of Averlin however he wishes. Taking frequent week-long ¡°vacations¡± in Averlin to have his fun with the princess. But Tralis has its own concerns further north, there¡¯s a war brewing there... Balor doubts it has anything to do with those two city states... ¡°What happened to the attacking Phoenix, any signs of what happened?¡± Balor asked his rangers. ¡°Yes, but the things we found were odd and troubling¡­¡± the Ranger said as he furrowed his brows. ¡°Like?¡± Balor asked as he narrowed his eyes. ¡°The Phoenix looks to have been killed, there were the signs of a melt crater from the egg¡­ but the melt seems to be extremely minor. The size of the crater implies a blue fire phoenix but it looks like whoever attacked the expedition was able to subdue the egg extremely rapidly.¡± the Ranger replied. ¡°How would one aplish such a thing?¡± Balor asked his head Rune Lord, his expert in magical affairs. ¡°There are two methods, one difficult and the other extremely unlikely. The difficult method would be to create a containment device to house the egg. This would be challenging due to the size requirement of the device. Thisbined with the hazardous terrain would make such a device difficult to transport. It is also unlikely they would be able to transport it before the phoenix resurrects andpletely destroys the device. The extremely unlikely method would be to drain thetent ether of the egg. That would slow the resurrection but it would require a significantlyrge Ether Crystal. A ss-A crystal at the very least, we have only found five ss-A crystals in our Ether Crystal mines in the entirety of our history, so such an expense would be extremely unlikely. Such a crystal would be worth as much the egg so using it in such a way would make little sense. Furthermore, as you know ss-A crystals tower three meters tall on average, thus transportation is another issue as well.¡± Balor¡¯s Rune Lord said as he stroked his beard. What Balor¡¯s Rune Lord said made perfect sense. If containing Blue Fire Phoenix eggs were worth the trouble he would have done so long ago. Ether Crystals were formed naturally; you couldn¡¯t just break them into smaller pieces or stitch them together. Breaking or cracking an Ether Crystal would cause an explosion, putting them together would just be physically putting two crystals together. It would be like tying two apples together and expecting arger apple to form¡­ ¡°Your grace, what Rune Lord Boren says is true but only with the techniques we have avable¡­¡± Balor¡¯s Spymaster said from the side. ¡°The Elysian Empire once fielded Phoenixes in their armies, they obviously had the techniques to contain and control them. Techniques we do not have ess to. Perhaps the group that attacked the convoy had ess to such techniques¡­¡± the Spymaster suggested. ¡°There¡¯s only one organisation that would likely have ess to those techniques¡­¡± the Rune Lord said as his face went a little pale. ¡°Yes¡­ the Syndicate¡­¡± Balor said with a grimace. ¡°I have personally overseen the secrecy of this operation. I find it suspect that the assants knew exactly where and when the convoy would be¡­ It wouldn¡¯t be that far of a stretch that the Syndicate drew the Phoenix to the convoy to weaken it beforehand so that they could obtain both eggs.¡± the Spymaster suggested. ¡°Hmmm¡­ that is possible, I know for a fact that the Syndicate has a branch office hidden somewhere in Ironhammer¡­¡± Balor muttered. Balor didn¡¯t know where the branch office was, and honestly he didn¡¯t want to know. Balor rather liked the arrangements of his body parts, he would rather they stayed where they are. He wasn¡¯t stupid enough to try and antagonise the Syndicate¡­ ¡°Investigate further, if you start to get any inkling of Syndicate involvement, cease all investigation operations and report back to me immediately.¡± Balor said as he gave his Spymaster a look. ¡°Of course your grace. It is not wise to court death after all¡­¡± the Spymaster said with a bow. ¡°Do not risk antagonising the Syndicate¡­¡± Balor muttered as he pinched the bridge of his nose. If the Syndicate was really involved then he would just have to write this expedition off as a loss¡­ ??,`¡ã.???.?.???.¡ã`,?? Nemesis looked up at the projection as it appeared. It was time for the schedule check in from Nox and Discordia. ¡°Lady Nemesis.¡± Nox said with a small bow. ¡°Have you cleaned up our friend¡¯s mess?¡± Nemesis asked. ¡°Yes, the dwarves investigated but they won¡¯t find anything that would implicate his existence. I left just enough clues behind for them to think either we or some other nation attacked the convoy. I left the clues in such a way that the Syndicate being the suspects is a more likely conclusion.¡± Nox replied. ¡°Excellent, Balor may style himself as a strong ruler but he fears us like everyone else. Politically he will have no choice but to bury the incident, if he really is stupid enough to pursue the issue¡­ we can just¡­ remind him¡­¡± Nemesis said with a small smile under her mask. ¡°Of course mydy.¡± Nox replied. ¡°So what of our friend? What is he doing now?¡± Nemesis asked. ¡°Our friend is trying to make an omelette out of the Phoenix egg. Rather sessfully I might add, it is quite intelligent...¡± Nox replied. ¡°Hahaha¡­¡± Nemesis let out a smallugh at those words. How very much like a Firstborn to try something like this. How typical of the ultimate apex predator to treat Phoenixes like how humanoids treat chickens. Nemesis wondered if he would one day learn how to bake a cake with a Phoenix egg... ¡°Show me¡­¡± Nemesis as she held back herughter. ??,`¡ã.???.?.???.¡ã`,?? I stood over this makeshift stove in some random cave. I had ripped the metal top of the cage that held the phoenix egg when I got the idea. Now that metal te was sitting on top of this crudely assembled stove. I opened my mouth and blew another breath of fire under the te. I watched the te glow as the yoke on top sizzled. I then picked up a bone I had¡­ borrowed from a nearby troll and I¡¯m using it as this spat. The bone was the long t bone on the front of the rib cage. Is it morbid to kill a semi sentient creature just because you needed a cooking utensil? Well¡­ yes¡­ In my defence I was going to eat the whole vige eventually so does the reason really matter? But as I took in the scent of the reddish omelette that was sizzling on the te¡­ I regret nothing¡­ My god it smelt good¡­ It should be done soon, the Phoenix mother I ate gave me a host of new abilities. It enhanced my armor to [Phoenix Armor] it could now jam spells that were affecting me. My feathers were now a shiny pale gold. It wasn¡¯t the most subtle appearance but I could turn invisible so whatever. Not only that, I got a bunch of interesting and useful stuff. My wings were improved naturally with the acquisition of the phoenix genome which means I now have [Phoenix Wings]. Not only that I could now fire this skill called [Sr Bombardment] from my wings. I could also use this new kind of breath attack called [Sr Beam], my normal [Wyvern Fire Breath] has also been turned into [Sr Breath] increasing it¡¯s heat and now it disrupts magic. I also got some smaller passives like [Lesser Fire Immunity]. Not sure what exactly what does, how can you be less or more immune? Doesn¡¯t immunity just mean that you don¡¯t take damage from fire? Maybe there were different kinds of fire? Another strange passive was [Lesser Ether Maniption] apparently this means I can actually start to learn spells. Only problem was¡­ I don¡¯t know any spells. I guess Cecilia can help me with that. OH SHIT! It¡¯s burning¡­. I hastily flip the omelette over to stop my meal from burning. Shouldn''t be long now¡­ I¡¯m feeling really good about this meal¡­ Hmm¡­ hmm¡­ I started to hum as I remembered this old song I knew in my old world¡­ I guess I could adapt some of the lyrics. Let¡¯s see how my creativity is, I was hopeless at it in my past life. But with my new abilities, who knows I might be able to write a hit song¡­ I hummed as I remembered the smooth jazz of the tune... Not very long ago, just before your time¡­ Right before your mother fell, ming from the sky¡­ You would have flown the skies, and terrified¡­ A town... Or two¡­ They would see your flight¡­ And set their sights¡­ Cowering¡­ From you¡­ Youuuu¡­ Delcctable you¡­ I sang as I flipped the omelette happily. Mommy had such great ns for you¡­ I made this stove and it did everything I designed it to do¡­ But now look at you¡­ Oh... look at you¡­ Irresistible... Delectable¡­ I sang with a slightugh as I blew another breath of fire under the stove. My time is now Your insides out Honey, how you grew And If I get more of you Who knows what I¡¯ll do It was always fate''s n For you to fall into my hands... Chapter 26: A Gift from Down Under Chapter 26: A Gift from Down Under When I finally soared over the top of the familiar forest that was my home. I couldn''t help but feel a small fondness in my chest. I think I¡¯ve grown quite attached to this little piece of the world. I guess leaving it for a while reminded me of this. Well they say one only misses the sun when it starts to snow¡­ I was originally nning to find another phoenix but after flying around for another day I couldn¡¯t find any. I guess if I wanted more I would need a more concerted effort. Maybe next time when I have the time. As I look down at the trees I found I was able to instinctively navigate the forest even from above. Soon I found the spot where my little home was and I swooped down through a gap in the trees. When Inded I smiled as I looked at the cave entrance but then I noticed something on the ground¡­ I looked down and saw it was a book with a note¡­ I picked up the note and began to read¡­ Dear Firstborn This book is a priceless text carrying knowledge that is all but lost to most of all that draws breath. Guard this knowledge well, for if one were to find it, it would be a clear indication of what you actually are. You are not ready to face the armies of heaven and hell. You are not even ready to face the strongest the humanoids have to offer. This tome will help you disguise what you actually are. Regards, Your friend from down under, A I tilted my head as I read thest part. My friend from down under, A? Australia? No no, don¡¯t be stupid¡­ Hmm, could it be the Syndicate? Then again, why the A? Thus far I know Nemesis, Theseus, Persephone and Heimdall¡­ none of those start with an A¡­ most of them don¡¯t even have an A in the word¡­ Some other party? Down under¡­ hell? Do the demons know about me? As I was traversing the mountain I kept getting the feeling that I was being watched. Was it them watching me? I need to be careful, it looks like my presence is not as good a secret as I thought... I should probably read this in the base, I¡¯m not exactly inconspicuous with my gold feathers. So with that thought in my mind I entered the room. The first thing I noticed was a scent in the air, it was a musky scent, a familiar one¡­ Ahh¡­ princess! And there it was¡­ Looks like I walked into something¡­ I silently slithered towards the room that Cecilia was staying in and when I looked in I saw what I expected to see. I saw Cecilia between Lily¡¯s legs and thrusting roughly. It looks like she had this thing strapped around her privates. I have a suspicion on what it is, but I fail to see the reason for it. Maybe Cecilia just liked watching? ¡°I¡¯m back.¡± I said calmly and I watched as Cecilia flinched at the sound. ¡°Oh friend, you scared me. I didn¡¯t hear you.¡± Cecilia said breathlessly as she turned around. ¡°If you could hear me so easily I wouldn¡¯t be a very good predator.¡± I replied dryly. ¡°I suppose you are right.¡± Cecilia said as she got out from between Lily¡¯s legs. As I suspected she was wearing this strapped on phallus. It was made of metal and I saw glowing runes on it. ¡°Where did you get that?¡± I asked curiously as I gazed at the wet tool sticking out from herhers. ¡°Oh this? I made it back in the cradle. It gets awfully lonely after a while and one tires of your own fingers after a time.¡± Cecilia said as she unstrapped it and I watched as she took it off. Strangely even with the strap off the device was still held in ce. I watched as Cecilia shuddered as she pulled and revealed there was another end on the other end of the metal phallus. Cecilia dropped the strap on the bed as she looked up at me. Lily meanwhile was still panting on the bed. ¡°What¡¯s the point of having two ends to it? Were you expectingpany?¡± I asked curiously as I gazed at the device. ¡°Well the two ends are different, one is bigger and thicker. I prefer that one but if I use it too much I get sore. There''s a smaller one to use in between. It¡¯s easier to enchant one long rod rather than two separate ones.¡± Cecilia replied with a shrug. ¡°I see, anyway I think someone was here...¡± I said and Cecilia¡¯s eyes widened in shock at those words. ¡°They left this note and this book on our doorstep.¡± I said as I handed both to her. Cecilia didn¡¯t say a word and her eyes widened as she read the note and the cover of the book. ¡°Yeah, I know. An ount of the Firstborn by Primordials.¡± I said. ¡°Friend from down under¡­ hell? This sly tone seems like something a demon would say...¡± Cecilia said. ¡°What demons have names that start with a A?¡± I asked. ¡°Hmmm¡­ I only know the most famous ones. I¡¯m not that familiar with daemonology. The most obvious one is Asmodeus, Demon Prince of Lust. Astaroth, Demon Duke of the Ars Goetia, the Ars Goetia are a type of demon nobility. Then there¡¯s stor the Archdemon, a mortal man turned demon, who serves under Mammon, Demon Prince of Greed. Thest one I can think of is Azazel the traitor, he was an angel that defected to hell. Anyone of them could be involved, they have plenty of minions to do their bidding. Pretty much all demons are schemers, so this could be some scheme from any of them.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Azazel the traitor? Angels can be Demons?¡± I asked in surprise. ¡°Well I¡¯m not very sure on the mechanics, but from what I know all life is anchored to a world. So like me and you are anchored to Terra. This anchor can be swapped but the change will also alter you. So few attempt it, the change is so dramatic it might be better to call in reincarnation rather than transformation. Azazel was tasked by the Divine Council to eat the sins of the mortals in Terra. But he fell to gluttony so he taught us how to make weapons of war. This led to violence, rage and war. Which meant more sin and more food for him. The Divine Council responded by demanding his execution, he responded by tearing his anchor from Heaven and heading to Hell where the forces of Heaven couldn¡¯t pursue him. Also denizens of a world cannot enter the other two without an¡­ invitation. I¡¯m not entirely sure what counts as an invitation but I do know that faith and worship counts. So since most of Terra worships the angels, that gives them a free pass to enter this world. The demons get in through cults and deals. From what I know the demons are more powerful than the angels individually. But they are discordant and prone to infighting which ends up weakening them as a whole.¡± Cecilia exined. ¡°I see,¡± I replied. ¡°As for this book¡­¡± Cecilia said as she opened the book. ¡°This writing style¡­ It''s modern... I think this is a tranted copy... If this book is really what it says it is¡­¡± Cecilia said as she opened the book her face alight with academic curiosity. I watched as Cecilia¡¯s eyes widened at the first page and as she flipped from page to page her eyes looked like they were about to pop out. ¡°So that¡¯s what it is¡­ I always wondered how the devourers got new traits if they were all the same species. There was a false underlying assumption¡­ of course¡­ how could I have been so blind. The devourers do not follow the same rules as everything else¡­¡± Cecilia muttered as she closed the book. ¡°You should read it.¡± Cecilia said as she handed me the book. ¡°I will peruse it once you are done.¡± Cecilia said seriously. ¡°Sure, I¡¯ll brief you on what I managed to eatter. For now I want to know what this book says.¡± I said as I moved over to a corner of the room and curled up. I reduced my size to the minimum which was slightly less than two and half meters tall. I was still quite big but if I was toorge, reading this book would be a pain¡­ Chapter I: The False Postte The Firstborn or the Primordial Devourers as they are known to theymen have always been an object of curiosity and scrutiny. For why wouldn¡¯t they be? They are the fabled origin of all life or at least life that was mobile enough to move around on their own. There are many theories on what created the trees and the nts around us, but I feel it is more likely that the flora that surrounds this world was around before the Firstborn. As to why I believe this I will exin in greater detailter in this book. The first point I would like to address is the concept of species. Most of us view the various species of this world to be a static entity. However, that is simply false, one need only observe how the breeders of household pets work so diligently to maintain the so-called purity of their stock. Life is not static, it is movement and change. Life is entropy made manifest, where nature creates an uncountable amount of variation between life forms. No two creatures are exactly alike, a child and parent are not exactly the same. They share simrities certainly but they are not identical. This brings me to the underlying false assumption. The assumption that the Firstborn are a species, a static race. When one ponders this and ces this idea under scrutiny, the only conclusion one can draw is that this assumption is absurd. The entropy of life, themanding force of evolution that dictates both form and function of life. Knowing that we call the Firstborn ¡°evolution made manifest¡± how can we then assume that they belong to anything as orderly as a single species? No, such a pedestrian assumption is impossible once one examines this idea more closely. The views of the world are just restricted by our simplistic interpretations. For those that would read this are most likely made of mortal flesh, doomed to wither and fade. We view the creatures of this world as races because of our fleeting existences. We do not walk this world long enough to see the effects of evolution on the species around us. Throughout this book I have documented my travels to all corners of Terra. I have spoken to the ancient primordials who have witnessed the ages past. They who watched as the march of time changed all that lived. This book will be my magnum opus, I have journeyed for forty years and I have collected as much information as I could. So it is in this humble collection of parchment, with text scrawled in ink and enchantments to ensure its longevity that I will give you a glimpse into what the Firstborn truly are. They are truly remarkable creatures. Form and function born of chaos, with none of the limitations that bind us lesser creatures. To put it simply, the Firstborn are not a single species. They are each a species on their own, a species of one... I looked up from the book at those words and paused at those final words. So are other devourers not like me? As I continued to read on I slowly began to understand. Apparently there was this first Spawning Pool, where the Devourers crawled out from. ording to the ounts here¡­ Most of the Devourers formed as incoherent lumps of biomatter, their bodies too poorly formed to sustain life. Those failed Devourers died as soon as they were formed and were reabsorbed by the pool. Eventually just under the weight of time and random chance, functional creatures crawled out of the spawning pool. Thus was born the first Devourers. However, because of the random nature of their creation they were all different. Some had wings, some had legs, some had eyes, some were blind, some werepletely useless in a fight, others were powerful inbat. So the strong ate the weak, this went on for who knows how long until eventually the pool dried up. By now the Devourers were scattered across the world. Some had decided to reproduce and die in the process, apparently there was significant ovep between the Primordials and Devourers. Both existed together for a time¡­ It must have been a crazy time to live in, the whole world filled with powerful creatures, all of them trying to eat each other¡­ As I continued to read I realised why this book was given to me. It turns out I can enter this Chrysalis state where I can do more specific changes to my body¡­ It says so right here¡­ ¡­ The devourers ording to some of the primordials were able to enter a type of Chrysalis state to alter their bodies as they saw fit. It is unclear if this is an inherent power or one that is earned at some point. Regardless, most Devourers abstained from making sweeping changes, most just altered themselves slightly. This isn¡¯t surprising considering the Devourers that managed to survive into maturity would most likely have very effective natural body type¡­ Hmm do I have to evolve further to get this Chrysalis? I searched my mind and I found buried in the recesses of my mind the knowledge on how to activate this Chrysalis instinctively. As I realised I had this ability, it also struck me perhaps why I never realised I have this ability was that I never had the immediate need for it until now. Previously my invisibility and my current body type was very effective for everything I needed to do. Afterall, why fix what wasn¡¯t broken? This state also apparently left me extremely vulnerable for a few days. The change would take some time to fullyplete¡­ ¡°Cecilia. I¡¯ll be¡­ hibernating for a few days. The book will exin why.¡± I said as Cecilia gave me a curious look. ¡°Is there anything in particr you have in mind for my appearance?¡± I asked. ¡°Well, just something that would inspire awe as much as fear. So something majestic would be good I suppose. Did that book tell you how you could alter your appearance?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°Well¡­ yes¡­ anyway, I¡¯ll see you in a few days.¡± I replied. ¡°Good luck friend, we have much to discuss when you awake.¡± Cecilia said with a smile and I smiled in return. It was a strange friendship to say the least, the monster and the princess. I know we both aren¡¯t that interested in the prophecy honestly. I just wanted to live in peace and eat nice things, and Cecilia just wanted to rule her home. We didn¡¯t care that much about therger whole, Cecilia hated the ¡°order¡± that the angels have installed but she didn¡¯t seem that interested in out right toppling it. Seemed like a lot of work to be honest¡­ At first I thought this would be just an alliance but as I spoke to her I found she was just a lonely girl deep down. I could tell she appreciated mypany and our conversations. I guess when the world brands you a monster you don¡¯t get that many friends. From what I remember I liked friends back in my past life as well, I guess humans were social creatures. Not me though, at least not anymore. I don¡¯t mind having friends, the conversations are entertaining but I don¡¯t exactly feel the need to have friends and social interaction. It¡¯s a wee distraction at the very least, hunting constantly can get a bit dry at times, especially when you go for a long time without a good kill... ¡°See you in a few days.¡± I said as I focused on my body. I felt my body change and I soon found myself in this weird cocoon. Then I felt something click in my head. I could picture the parts of my body and I finally realised what kind of monster I was. My body was filled with redundant systems. I had three separate nervous systems each with a different transmission type to reduce the effectiveness of nerve toxins. I had four hearts and six lungs. Two of the lungs were connected to weird gills on the side of my body that allowed me to suck in air from there. I had nutrient deposits all over my body to ensure I always had extra energy for regeneration. My spinal cord also looked to have a secondary system that would allow me to move even if my spine was damaged¡­ From what I could tell my body was extremely efficient at its task, this was surprising considering that I evolved so rapidly on the fly¡­ Hmm I needed to distance myself away from the things I ate so¡­ let¡¯s see¡­ My feathers I think I¡¯ll change the colour slightly, make it more of a yellow gold¡­ I think maybe a crown of feathers on the top of my head would be good, to give it a more majestic feel¡­ My wings looked awfully like wyvern wings in structure and they don¡¯t fold very well¡­ hmm I may need to enter buildings at some point¡­ the wings would get in the way¡­ Let me see if I can change the shape so that it folds a little better¡­ there much better it folds seamlessly now on my back¡­ Huh what¡¯s this¡­ oh so my new wings are smaller so it has reduced flight mobility and leaves some excess power that can be allocated into other ces¡­ Hmm¡­ how about I turn my wings into an additional weapon? I''m a better fighter on the ground anyway¡­ How about I put some bone des and spines on the tip of the wings. I could use the wings like a long spear to stab at further targets. Would make me more dangerous as well¡­ ok so that works¡­ still have a little excess power though¡­ How about I increase my fire breath ability? Hmm not enough power for that though¡­ What if I strip some of my armor? Yeah I can reduce the armor at the lower armpits, there¡¯s nothing important under there anyway. Well technically I have what looks to be a spare set of kidneys but nothing that will affect my ability to fight. With my regeneration I could just heal that back after the battle. Now for my arms¡­ if I can¡¯t change my appearance once the humans know about me then I would need twobat arms and two hands for fine motor skills so might as well specialise them to fit those roles¡­ So stronger upper arms and more dextrous lower arms. Those talons on the fingers could be shorter, handling books is a pain when I¡¯m constantly in danger of shing it up... I could use an extra finger as well, so three fingers and an opposable thumb¡­ Maybe I could alter my vocal chords to make speaking easier. I still sounded quite bestial, like I was constantly growling¡­ ok¡­ done¡­ Damn my original body is really bad for mixing with humanoids, then again that probably wasn¡¯t a priority. I¡¯m not exactly a domesticated animal after all¡­ Ok what else¡­ ??,`¡ã.???.?.???.¡ã`,?? A man in ck and red suit hummed happily as headed back to the portal back to Hell. Well a man is a bit of a stretch. It had a man¡¯s face but he had a set of curved goat horns protruding from his head under his neat ck hair. His pupil glowed an ominous red, the red flickered like a me, as if the first of hell burned with his eye sockets. As he teleported the rest of the way and appeared at a far away mountain peak. He saw a man standing next to the gate. He wore a greek style helm with a red plume that obscured his face. He held an aspis in one hand and a spear in the other. ¡°Theseus, what brings you here?¡± the man asked cheerily as his mouth widened into a smile. His smile spread so wide it looked like his face would tear open. ¡°stor¡­ What is an Archdemon doing in Terra?¡± Theseus asked. ¡°Oh nothing, just having a stroll¡­¡± stor replied with augh. ¡°I know you gave the Firstborn a book. What do you want?¡± Theseus asked, although his tone seemed threatening, his bodynguage was calm as if he wasn¡¯t expecting a fight. ¡°I want what you want, Heir of the Firstborn. I think Heaven has outstayed its wee here on Terra.¡± stor said as his smile widened even further and his pupils narrowed into sinister points. ¡°You are a deal maker, why give a gift? Not your style stor.¡± Theseus said. ¡°I like putting my money where it can breed great returns. You should tell Lady Nemesis, if she wants to sit and watch for too long I may snatch the Firstborn right from under her¡­¡± stor said. ¡°If you¡¯re telling me this, it means you aren¡¯t going to do it.¡± Theseus replied calmly. ¡°You¡¯re no fun¡­ hahaha...¡± stor said with a lightugh. ¡°Do the Princes know? I assume your master Mammon knows?¡± Theseus asked. ¡°Prince Mammon does not know, even if he did, he would send me to do his bidding¡­ he cannot enter this world without an invitation after all¡­ As you know only myself, Ibilis and of course the one you mortals love the most, Grand Subus Eisheth Zenunim can enter this world freely. The rest of them have to sit on their hands.¡± stor replied. ¡°Hmph, just remember that if you cause trouble the Syndicate will not sit idle.¡± Theseus said. ¡°If you have any concerns I would be happy to bring you to Prince Mammon and you can speak to him yourself.¡± stor said with a sly smile as he extended a hand. ¡°No thanks.¡± Theseus replied with a scoff. ¡°Ah¡­ disappointing¡­ don¡¯t worry Theseus, all will be as it¡­ should be¡­¡± stor said with a grin. ¡°Is that so?¡± Theseus asked. ¡°Of course, don¡¯t worry I quite like the Syndicate you know. I wouldn¡¯t be standing here if not for Persephone¡¯s deal¡­¡± stor said. ¡°Right... just behave when you¡¯re in our house. We don¡¯t take kindly to troublemakers.¡± Theseus said as he turned to look at the gate, indicating to stor that it was time for him to leave. ¡°You wound me Theseus¡­¡± stor said with anotherugh as he walked towards the gate. Right before he entered the gate he turned to look to Theseus. stor tilted his head and another impossibly wide smile appeared on his face like gash. ¡°Besides I think you all prefer mypany to the Angels, no? All the Seraphim have sticks up their asses, well¡­ maybe except Mihael. He took the stick out of his ass and started beating people to death with it. HAHAHAHA! Besides¡­¡± stor said as he leaned it slightly as his smile turned from sly to malicious. I always honor my bargains I always aim to please¡­ Hahahahaha... Chapter 27: Under and Into Averlon Chapter 27: Under and Into Averlon I stood outside thisrge sewer grate, it was about four to five meters tall and honestly looked unnecessarily tall. I¡¯m currently outside Averlon in a secluded corner of the eastern wall. Cecilia and Lily were next to me with magic facemasks to block out the rancid stench of excrement wafting out from the sewer. God it smelt bad, I wish I could turn off my sense of smell¡­ oh wait I just did. That was easy... This sewer was huge¡­ I could probably barely fit in at full size. I¡¯ve decided to stick with a four meter size for my so-called disguise. Still quiterge but considering I could still grow an extra meter it was a far cry from my full size. Honestly, I don¡¯t know how much a city can shit but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s this much¡­ ¡°I was wondering how you were gonna squeeze me in¡­¡± I said. ¡°Let me tell you a funny story about the court of Averlon. There was once this noble that was tasked to design the sewers of Averlon. You could say he was a most highborn plumber. He loathed the task and he was ridiculed for it. So in a show of spite to the crown he decided to make the sewersvish and unnecessarilyrge. My great grandfather didn¡¯t even realise until after the sewers werepleted. But my great grandfather, ever the pragmatist, decided to make the most of the situation. He exined it as a worthy expense to keep Averlon clean and how this would guard our great city from floods.¡± Cecilia said with a barely concealed snigger. ¡°Does Averlon even get a lot of rain? The rain storms I¡¯ve seen aren''t even that bad. Or are my definitions of a bad rain storm different from you humans?¡± I asked. ¡°No we don¡¯t get alot of rain, the climate isn¡¯t warm enough. If you want monsoons you need to go further up north. Averlon has never flooded actually, with or without this sewer.¡± Cecilia replied nonchntly. ¡°And everyone just bought that bullshit?¡± I asked curiously. ¡°Oh themoners will believe anything. Since there are no floods after the sewers were built the sewers obviously worked. They would most likely think something along those lines. It¡¯s not like most of them read history and study climate patterns. A good portion of them can barely read now that I think about it.¡± Cecilia replied. ¡°Well I guess this is our way in. Are you sure the underworld would be in here?¡± I asked. ¡°Well with so much space someone must be down here. At the very least I suspect there are some secret stores and tunnels in there.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Alright, so do you want me to open it?¡± I asked as I faced the metal grate. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind.¡± Cecilia said. I moved over to the edge of the grate that was barring our way and I pulled. I easily tore the grate free from it¡¯s fittings and I did the same for the other side. In a minute or so I had the grate dumped on the grass behind me. ¡°Lead on.¡± I said as I turned back invisible. Our n was rather simple, since the roads were now very well guarded our best bet was to enter the city a different way. The thing was, I couldn¡¯t exactly wait outside and Cecilia needed a little back up in case things got dangerous. So for now Cecilia wanted to try and take over the underworld, then from there they would use the underworld to rile up the people. For the revolution to work we needed three parties on our side. The first is themon people, they may be weak in a fight but at the end of the day they grew the food, built the buildings, smithed the weapons and maintained the walls. You couldn¡¯t just kill all of them and expect nothing bad to happen. Furthermore Averlon is amercial hub, if the traders lose confidence in the throne then they may decide to leave. Themoners were easy enough to manipte so Cecilia told me she was quite confident with that. The second party are the adventurers, these were a bit harder but still doable. The adventurers were after all made of mostlymoners. They weremoners who sought their fortunes fighting the monsters that gued their families. They were more educated on average so they would be a little harder to manipte but with that vige burned down it was a usible sell. The third party was the hardest, these were the city guards, banner men and knights who were loyal to Cecilia¡¯s father. Their loyalty however, hinged on the fact that Cecilia¡¯s father promised to always uphold the interests of the people. If he was found to let¡¯s say¡­ burn down a vige and kidnap a few people for whatever reason then that was apletely different story. There was a fourth party that may be turned to our side. The Mage and Alchemist guilds were powerful presences in Averlon. These two guilds worked very closely together but they were mostly focused on their own research. Still, condemnation from these two organisations still carried a lot of weight¡­ Well let¡¯s see how it goes shall we? ??,`¡ã.???.?.???.¡ã`,?? Caro was your average street urchin turned to guard for the criminal underworld. He was always good in a fight although he wasn¡¯t very bright. Although his dull mind and strong body was still a valuablebination in an environment that values those with a propensity for violence and those who don¡¯t ask too many questions. Caro scratched his nose that was hidden under this face wrap that helped keep out the stench of the sewer. Besides the difort, constant exposure to the fetid air can cause what¡¯s called rot lung. So the face wrap was to stop the guards of the underground base from getting sick and coughing up their lungs. ¡°Boring day¡­¡± Caro said. ¡°We guard a sewer, Caro. Do you expect a pair of beautiful maidens to walk past here?¡± Caro¡¯s partner Decan replied. ¡°Would be nice¡­ some Beralian Marching Powder would be good too.¡± Caro replied, Decan just scoffed at his words. ¡°Yeah, sure the boss is gonna give us Heaven¡¯s Dust. Why not amirite? Let¡¯s just get the guys guarding the door in a toxic fetid sewer as high as a kite.¡± Decan replied sarcastically. ¡°It would motivate us a little more.¡± Caro said grumpily. ¡°Unlikely, the boss is getting a little skittish recently, he¡¯s not exactly in the mood to entertain requests. Both the boss and that woman look like they¡¯re being stalked by death.¡± Decan replied. ¡°Yeah he looks spooked.¡± Caro said. ¡°Not surprising, the Syndicate is making moves, crime lords are ending up sttered on their bedroom walls. The boss must be wondering when it¡¯s his turn.¡± Decan muttered. ¡°Well if the boss ends up dead we could always work for someone else.¡± Caro replied. ¡°There is no one else, sttered on the walls, remember?¡± Decan said as he turned to look at Caro. Sometimes Decan seriously wondered how Caro even learned to breathe¡­ ¡°Well then we could go to another city.¡± Caro replied. ¡°...¡± Decan looked at Caro silently, sometimes this guy''sck of intelligence boggles the mind. What did he think those crime lords were killed for? Littering? ¡°Oh shut up Caro.¡± Decan replied with a shake of his head. Then the two of them heard footstepsing from the left. The pair of them drew their rusted swords and turned to face the sound. They weren¡¯t expecting anyone here today¡­ an intruder? The guards? A rival gang? Caro grabbed the torch hanging on the wall and raised it towards the noise. Then from the darkness stepped through a pair of beautiful blonde women wearing cloaks. They both had simr faces, the same blonde coloured hair and green eyes. These two were easily the most beautiful women he had ever seen. ¡°Hello.¡± the first woman said with a smile. ¡°Who are you?¡± Decan asked as he pointed his sword at the pair of women. Two beautiful women do not just appear here. These two looked like they belonged in the noble district not in the middle of a sewer. ¡°I want to see your leader. I have a proposition to make¡­¡± the first woman said. ¡°A proposition? I¡¯m not taking you anywhere unless I know who the hell you are. How did you even find this ce? This entrance is hidden behind an illusion and a secret door.¡± Decan demanded. The woman merely smiled and raised a glowing blue hand. ¡°The illusion was weak and the false door was easy enough to detect with the right spell. But I¡¯m not going to tell you why I¡¯m here. You are going to take me to see your boss or all of you will die and I¡¯ll find another crime lord.¡± the woman said calmly as her eyes froze over. Another crime lord? This woman isn¡¯t from around here, she doesn¡¯t know what the Syndicate is doing to the underworld¡­ ¡°There are alot of us, you think you can kill all of us?¡± Decan challenged. ¡°The three of us are more than enough to whatever strength you can muster¡­ don¡¯t scream if you want to live...¡± the woman said with a smile. Three? Then Decan felt a breath of hot air behind him. A very big breath of hot air¡­ Decan slowly turned around to see a massive mouth filled with serrated teeth smiling at him. Decan looked up and saw a white domed head. This monster was huge¡­ ¡°Boo¡­¡± the monster said. Then Decan felt a rush of wind and heard a gurgle to his right. He tentatively turned around to see Caro impaled through the chest by one of the beast''s massive des. His mouth was open as if to scream but it looked like the beast got to him first... ¡°She told you not to scream¡­¡± the beast said with a rumblingugh. Was it his imagination or did this beast sound very¡­ civilised¡­ It sounded like how a noble would speak... ¡°Now then, shall you show me in?¡± the woman said from behind Decan. Decan didn¡¯t reply; he just watched as the beast raised one of it¡¯s upper arms that were tipped with des and brought Caro¡¯s body to it¡¯s mouth. The beast then bit Caro off it¡¯s de like one would a piece of meat on a skewer. The beast ate him armor and all¡­ ¡°She asked you a question.¡± the beast drawled before it spat out Caro¡¯s helmet. The helmet now deformed rolled along the stone bricks before plopping into the fetid water. ¡°Yes¡­ of course¡­¡± Decan muttered in reply. ??,`¡ã.???.?.???.¡ã`,?? I returned back to invisibility as the doorman opened therge double doors that led into the secret area. Judging by the scratch marks on the floor my best guess was that this was the loading area. Even the false door wasrge enough for a wagon to fit through. Cecilia had used a spell to map the sewers. There were a few entrances to this ce, this one just happened to have thergest opening which meant I could get in¡­ I shrunk my body down to be about as small as I could make it, which was just over two and half meters. My body was long and not wide so that meant I could get through doors with a little effort. As I entered door after door, I could tell the guard was getting more and more terrified. Well the reason was simple, he could hear me crawling through the door that I had no business being able to fit through. If there is one thing that terrifies, it is something you can¡¯t understand¡­ Finally we arrived at this doorway that led towards what looked to be arge open area. As I crawled along the ceiling I looked down to see whores and what looked to be clients having the time of their lives. Alot of them were sniffing this red powder¡­ hmm that seems interesting. I wonder what my body will do with drugs? Will I get high or will I get a new ability? Questions and possibilities¡­ Strangely no one even seemed to care that Cecilia was walking straight in. Those two at the couch at the far end of the room were looking at Cecilia suspiciously however¡­ One of them looked strange, green skin¡­ fangs¡­ looked weak though. Like those dwarfs, all they gave me was improved [Fine motor Skills], [Advanced Cognition] and [Magic Resistance]. Bunch of disappointing midgets¡­ I wonder what this one was¡­ an orc? Or something else¡­ The woman next to him was also weak, but I could tell the two of them were afraid of Cecilia. Did they know who she was? Or were they smart enough to realise that anyone who can waltz right in here was no one to sneeze at¡­ ¡°Hello miss¡­¡± the green man said as he cautiously stood up. ¡°Greetings¡­ before we begin I have a simple question. Is there anyone in this room you can¡¯t afford to lose? Besides Lady Sarana. Meeting you here is certainly opportune, your presence here saved me a lot of trouble¡­ spymaster...¡± Cecilia said with a small cruel smile and I watched as the woman flinched. So this is the spymaster¡­ well I better keep her alive. My body isn¡¯t exactly subtle, and I¡¯ll struggle to move around the streets of any major poption center. Then what about the rest? To be honest most of them were barely worth eating, at this point the only reason I was eating humans was that I wanted to get to Human Genome level 10. I¡¯m at level 7 now, I think I need strong humans to make up the difference but every little bit counts I suppose... Cecilia''s words made the whole room grow silent as everyone realised that Cecilia wasn¡¯t just your average visitor. ¡°Well. Tell you what, let¡¯s speed things up.¡± Cecilia said. [Event Horizon] Cecilia said and the guard that brought them in stiffened. Then his body exploded and the blood formed an orb above Cecilia. The orb of blood glowed before shing outwards. Instantly the whole word lost its colour, everything was in greyscale. ¡°We are now in a pocket dimension, no way in no way out. Unless I dispel this little trick of Dark magic. You can try to kill me but I don¡¯t know what will happen if you do. All of you might get stuck in this grey world... forever¡­¡± Cecilia said with a smirk. ¡°What spell is this¡­¡± Sarana asked softly. ¡°A little trick from the Elysian Empire.¡± Cecilia replied calmly as Sarana went as pale as parchment at her reply. ¡°Now then I¡¯ll ask you again, is there anyone in this room you can¡¯t afford to lose? Because at this point only five people are walking out this room alive.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°No¡­¡± the green man replied. ¡°Five people?¡± Sarana asked as she looked around the room warily. Cecilia smiled as she heard Sarana¡¯s question. By now I was off the ceiling and right behind her and back into my four and a half meter state. ¡°I have a proposition for you sir. If you have a moment of time¡­¡± Cecilia said slyly. ¡°What is it?¡± the green man asked. ¡°First introductions are in order. Allow me to introduce you to a friend of mine. You might have heard of him. I¡¯m not sure.¡± Cecilia said. On cue I rematerialised behind her and everyone in the room flinched in fear. ¡°Meet the reason the roads are locked down.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°You tamed it?¡± one of the guards asked in horror. At those words I sensed a spike of displeasure in Cecilia at thement. Cecilia''s face curled into a snarl as she shot a bolt of lightning at the guard frying him to ash. ¡°He is not a tamed beast or pet. You will give my friend the respect he is due.¡± Cecilia said coldly. We agreed ahead of time that the story was that I was a male. Some of them suspected that I had a child because of the spines I fired when I was smaller. I fixed this by making it so that I could fire smaller spines from the tips of my wings. A simple modification to implement when I was in the chrysalis. The story was that I had smaller spines to hit small weak areas with venom. This naturally needed fine control which is why I put it on my wings instead of my shoulder. ¡°Now now Cecilia, no need to worry about the opinions of dead men¡­¡± I said with augh. ¡°Hmm, I suppose you are right friend. I forgot what kind of people these men are. The only thing they understand is the fist and boot. Violence and fear is theirnguage¡­¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry I speak that very well¡­¡± I said with anotherugh. Besides I don¡¯t care what they think Do you humans care what your livestock think before you ughter them? Chapter 28: Weaving Threads Chapter 28: Weaving Threads Sarana sat numbly in her seat as the screams of everyone else in the room bounced off the walls of this grey reality. Their blood now ck in this grey world sttered onto the floor as life after life was extinguished like small mes. She watched as Lord Pelle, a minor noble in the court, screamed as the beast turned to look at him. He was a sad little man, a spare for his family. He was the fourth child of his house, the first child was the heir and the heirs married the second child of other houses. The third childs were the spares for either the first or second child. The fourth child and onwards however, were the spares of the spare at best, or unwanted idents at worst. Sarana knew he came here to escape his miserable existence back in the courts. No one there acknowledged him, whether he lived or died no one other than his mother would care. He would save for months for one night here, one night to feel like he mattered in this world. Well in the end, what this ce offered was an illusion, the sweetest of lies. Rapture and importance born of smoke and mirrors. But no matter how tender, sulent or alluring, a lie will always remain a lie¡­ Everyone wants something, Sarana knows this all too well. The key to the contents of one¡¯s mind lie within the fabric of their most profane desires. To many life is a brilliant thing, a beautiful thing, it enchants¡­ often to the point of obsession. Sarana was no different, she was born a peasant, graced with beauty. So she sold herself to the highest bidder and within her profession she learned how to find what people wanted. More often than not people want to matter, they want to be special when they are anything but special. Sarana thought she knew this, but here she stands... a fool like all the rest¡­ Her ambition and thirst for power led her right next to the ear of a king. With the ear of the king she found great purpose, a whisper here and a song there. She could make noble houses rise or return to dust. All the great men of the court wanted her favour for she was the great spider, spinning her web around the court. With many eyes and many hands in the shadows. Sarana felt like a god¡­ now look at her¡­ A ve to the Syndicate and soon to be ackey of a princess she sealed away. Or perhaps food for a great beast¡­ Sarana watched as the beast raised Lord Pelle in one of its arms. Lord Pelle screamed and sobbed as the beast opened it¡¯s maw filled with serrated teeth. Then with a simple movement, the beast tossed him into its mouth. The jaws mmed shut and Sarana heard the crunching of bone as the beast crushed his body within it¡¯s maw. Sarana watched as the beast turned to see one of Cornenk¡¯s guards who just fired his crossbow at the beast. The steel bolt just bounced off it¡¯s feathered hide and ttered to the floor. There was a sh and Sarana saw a spine the size of a sword impale the guard. The guard was knocked clean off his feet and he fell to the ground. Then he began to gasp as he wed at his chest. She saw him cough and a spray of ck blood shot out of his mouth. His veins bulged as ck foam appeared at his mouth. He gagged and writhed as whatever concoction that lived within the beast''s body now ravaged him. Poison¡­ Beatrice was right¡­ this beast had poison¡­ By now the remaining survivors were huddled in a corner of this grey world. They were hammering on the walls of this small dimension but their efforts were futile. Sarana looked around and saw the broken bodies lying on the floor. The bodies were all cut to pieces by those massive bone des. The beast paused as it gazed at the small crowd of screaming and panicking people. Sarana saw it tilt¡¯s head slightly as if pondering something. Then Sarana saw the barest hint of a smile on its face¡­ ??,`¡ã.???.?.???.¡ã`,?? Cecilia watched as her good friend opened his mouth and torched the dozen people cowering the corner of the room. She wrinkled her nose slightly at the smell of the burning flesh, but she had to admit it was efficient and more importantly¡­ illustrative¡­ ¡°There¡­ all done.¡± her dear friend said. ¡°Excellent, thank you friend.¡± Cecilia said warmly. It was funny, when she first met with her dear friend she wanted a deal and an ally. In the end she found a friend, both of them surprisingly had a lot inmon. They were both outcasts in a way, they both wanted power and they both hated being controlled and chained. Her friend may not look like it but he did have a soft side to him. Well none of them were sure if he was male or female but they just sort of decided that he would be male for now to make things easier. Well it was mostly Cecilia herself being ufortable on what to call him. He didn¡¯t have a name and he didn¡¯t really want to think of one. Cecilia herself didn¡¯t want to name him, that would make him seem like a pet. Also she didn¡¯t want to call him an it, she felt it was vaguely insulting. Again for that he didn¡¯t seem to care. Although they would need to create the name at some point, if all goes ording to n he would need to interact with other humans at some point. A good way to reduce their unease around him would be to make him seem a little more familiar. Most humanoids fear what they do not understand after all. Her friend was oddly sensitive, it was like he could sense what she was feeling. He would say the right thing at the right time, give her advice and rity when she needed it. It was odd to find emotional support in a monster. He seemed focused and clear minded all the time. Never being bothered by much, he had this ability to ept things as they are. He doesn¡¯t overthink, doesn''t ruminate on the deeper inconsequential meanings of things. He just is, and the world to him¡­ just is¡­ Cecilia was privately grateful to him. Her time in the cradle was a terrible four years. No one to talk to except for her jailors. With said conversations usually devolving into her screaming at them¡­ When she got her throne back she was determined to uphold her end of the bargain. She would carve him a nice piece of her domain. A quiet ce to live if he desired, with food as long as he wanted it. If he wished to move on, Cecilia would be a little sad to see him depart but she would respect his decision. She didn¡¯t know what fate had in store for her. With the prophecy and everything, but Cecilia doesn¡¯t intend to be put on another leash or chucked in another cage. She would decide her own fate, that was what she was fighting for. ¡°Now then you two. I will be in¡­¡± Cecilia said as she waved her hand and shed the illusion around her. Revealing her tinum hair and ruby red eyes. ¡°I am Cecilia Averlon, heir to the throne of Averlon. I have returned to im my birthright and I have a very simple proposition for the two of you. If you disagree I will kill you but if you agree you will be very handsomely rewarded.¡± Cecilia said calmly. ¡°How do I know you won¡¯t just kill us afterwards?¡± Cornenk asked. ¡°Why would I? Have you heard of the phrase, there must always be a king. For one must rule or the society falls to chaos. I know this is no different with Peelers Pit. I once told my father to elevate one of the crime lords. Crime will happen no matter what, so if the king could control the crime lord then we could better control Peelers Pit. If I kill you then another will rise to take your ce. I offer you dominion of this little piece of Averlon. You will be king of the scum and the filth that live in this cesspit. You will rule with my mandate, and you can feel free to live asvishly as you want.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Then what about me?¡± Sarana asked softly. ¡°Oh Lady Sarana, I know what you did. You were the only one with the means to do it after all. For aplex structure like that to be constructed and maintained requires a level of subtlety that is out of reach to the average courtier¡­¡± Cecilia said as she calmly walked up to Sarana. Cecilia stood over the seated Sarana, her shadow casting over her. Cecilia could see the fear in her eyes. Your deeds always catch up to you eventually... ¡°Oh how I have dreamed of this moment, I ran it through my head countless times. What punishment and cruelty would I inflict on you¡­ y you alive? Rip your soul from your body and keep it in a jar? Curse you to burn eternally with magic fire? So many possibilities¡­ but I had a change of heart.¡± Cecilia said as she raised her head again and lessened the dominating presence over her. ¡°Change of heart?¡± Sarana asked shakily. ¡°You see I have been conversing with my friend here for a while¡­¡± Cecilia said as she thought back to her conversation. ¨X¨T¨T¨T¨T¨T¨T¨T¨T¨T ????? ¨T¨T¨T¨T¨T¨T¨T¨T¨T¨[ Cecilia sat on a chair as she looked at her friend who was loungingzily on the stone floor reading one of her books. ¡°Friend, could I have your counsel?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°Counsel? I¡¯m not that familiar with human affairs unfortunately.¡± her friend said as he raised his head slightly to look at her. ¡°That is why I asked. I need a fresh perspective.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Alright, what do you want advice on?¡± her friend asked. ¡°You know that spymaster I spoke to you about?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°Yeah? Why? You decided on how you are going to kill her?¡± her friend asked. ¡°No, I was wondering what you would do. If someone wronged you like she has done to me?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°I would see what use I could get out of her. As you know I could eat her and gain some abilities. But I guess it doesn''t apply for you humans.¡± her friend replied wryly. ¡°Yes I suppose it doesn¡¯t it would make things easier I suppose.¡± Cecilia said with a lightugh. ¡°Well I would figure out what I could do with her. From what you told me what that Spymaster did was impressive to say the least. She has a set of unique skills. If what you said about her being the best Spymaster in the region is true then she is one of two things. A threat or a potential asset... I may be wrong about this next part but I don¡¯t think I feel this whole vengeance thing like you humans. I don¡¯t care about it that much honestly, or maybe no one has managed to wrong me yet so I can¡¯t rte. To me it seems petty and stupid. There are two things in your life, assets and threats. Assets should be preserved and threats should be removed. If someone managed to wound me so badly, I would be impressed. I would learn from it and see what I could glean from that wound. Besides, if you could use that Spymaster, wouldn¡¯t killing her just be for your own fleeting satisfaction? If she owes you a debt, why not put her to work paying it? If you want to kill herter you could always do itter down the road. So to me¡­ the real question is. Can you use her and is she too dangerous to use?¡± her friend said. ¡°Hmmm¡­ thank you friend. That is good counsel. You have given much to think about. Although I do have onest question, why do you feel it¡¯s stupid? I understand why you would say it¡¯s petty but why stupid? Wanting vengeance is not inherently stupid.¡± Cecilia asked curiously. ¡°Because those who want vengeance are predictable, those who wear their hearts on their sleeves are predictable. What is predictable is weak and what is weak does not survive for long¡­ There was a group of adventurers that was supposed to check on you. I trailed them for a day or so and I found one of the adventurers was rather smitten with another. So I snatched one of them and used her pain and suffering to goad him to lose his cool. Sure enough he lost his head and he charged into the forest to fight me alone. He didn¡¯tst very long... He behaved exactly how I expected him to, so he ran right into my waiting mouth¡­¡± her friend said with a smile. ¡°I see¡­ that is good counsel friend¡­¡± Cecilia said with a grateful nod. ¨^¨T¨T¨T¨T¨T¨T¨T¨T¨T ????? ¨T¨T¨T¨T¨T¨T¨T¨T¨T¨a ¡°So no you will not spend the rest of your existence as a jar on my table. No, I will use you. You will work for me to topple my fathers vile rule.¡± Cecilia said matter of factly. ¡°And how will you prevent our betrayal?¡± Cornenk asked. To an uninformed observer this question might be seen as stepping on a Griffon¡¯s tail. But everyone alive in this little pocket dimension was no fool. A service bought with threats is fragile, so this question is perhaps the most important of all. ¡°Hmmm good of you to ask that question. If you didn¡¯t I might have just killed you anyway.¡± Cecilia said with a cold smile. ¡°Tell me do you know why I was locked in that ursed cradle?¡± Cecilia asked. At those words it all started to click in Sarana¡¯s mind. By helping lock her away they were nowplicit in this great deception. The angels do not discriminate, they would burn them all if they found out¡­ Cecilia smiled as she looked at how the orc¡¯s face went slightly pale at her words. The two of them had the same face when she said those words. They were rather good at hiding it to their credit but the subtleties of reading a face is the domain of nobles, notmoners. What¡¯s more Cecilia had to extract information from those around her just using leading questions and reading their faces. No one trusted her after all and everyone who was allowed contact with her, feared her. ¡°Do you sir? And yes I do know you had a part to y in this. It¡¯s written all over your face. But just to be sure I have to ask¡­ were you party to the construction of that ursed tower? I wouldn¡¯t lie if you did, because if you did my life now determines yours¡­¡± Cecilia said. ¡°I¡­ made the workers that built the cradle disappear¡­¡± Cornenk said numbly. ¡°Is there anything else you know?¡± Cecilia asked coyly as she slowly approached him. ¡°I know it was you that was locked up there and¡­ some rumors about a prophecy. That¡¯s about it.¡± Cornenk replied. ¡°Good, now let me tell you why the crown princess of Averlon was locked in a ridiculously expensive prison. When I was born a seer made a prophecy about me, it said I would destroy Heaven¡¯s precious little order. It was no ordinary seer, the seer once served the Divine Council in High Heaven. So believe me when I say this, if Heaven finds out about me, about the prophecy, about your involvement in this secret. They will burn you to ash.¡± Cecilia said as she arrived in front of Cornenk. ¡°So before you are two paths, you can be ash and embers or you can work for me. As long as I live and the secret holds then you can do whatever it is you want to do. Your involvement in this secret has sealed your fate. Fate is such a curious thing isn¡¯t it? The seer said my prophecy would be herst. My father then proceeded to kill her to keep the secret and the first piece fell into ce. Then a group of idiot adventurers released my friend here into the world. The prophecy said I would... venture forth to undo the work of Heaven the day I came of age. Sure enough on my birthday I met my friend here and when the clock struck midnight I was free¡­ Now the first people I run into when I return to Averlon are the two of you? The two people who have as much reason to fear Heaven as I¡­ It¡¯s almost too perfect don¡¯t you think?¡± Cecilia said with a smirk. Sarana gulped as she looked at her smiling face. Yes it did seem a little too perfect¡­ ??,`¡ã.???.?.???.¡ã`,?? It was true all this time I felt it was a little too perfect. Not just for her but also for me¡­ The tablet in the tomb where I woke up had some interesting words¡­ The child will remind the world of the truth that it has tried so hard to forget That was written about me. Cecilia had a different prophecy apparently, but her prophecy was awfully simr¡­ She will venture forth to remind the world of the truth it has tried so hard to forget That was the line in her prophecy. Curious don¡¯t you think? Honestly, everyone seems so fixated on Cecilia¡¯s prophecy. But no one knows about mine, I¡¯m notining though. The limelight doesn¡¯t really interest me, what I do enjoy is theck of attention this omission has given me. Not that surprising, humanoids in this world seem to think the world revolves around them. Again that¡¯s not surprising, considering what I know from my past life. But now that I¡¯m not human it has given me a new perspective. By all means let the spotlight fall on them, I¡¯ll wait in the shadows... An unseen predator is afterall the deadliest... I guess you could say I¡¯m a¡­ Phantom Protagonist... Chapter 29: The Game Begins Chapter 29: The Game Begins Lord Averlon grit his teeth as he looked down at the report in front of him. The poption was growing restless, the merchants were in uproar and the guards grew more restless with each passing day. His knights have been petitioning for him to allow them to search the forests to speed up the process. He turned them down naturally, he couldn¡¯t risk his best soldiers without knowing what the hell this beast was. Furthermore, what if the knights found Cecilia? Their oath was clear, they pledged themselves to the rightful ruler of Averlon and the sovereign who defended the welfare of the people. If their spection is correct and Cecilia has found an ally in the beast then things got reallyplicated. Legally, Cecilia has a im to the throne, which is also a stronger im than the ims of his younger children. If Cecilia could promise a better future for Averlon and bring to light his uwful imprisonment his knights might be divided. Cecilia was always intelligent, smarter than anyone in his family by far, himself included. Lord Averlon knew in his heart that his daughter would be a better ruler than him. She just outssed him in all aspects except experience. She was more powerful as an individual, she was able to weave powerful spells almost instinctively. She was also more intelligent, able to see problems and identify solutions rapidly. Most of all she had the most important talent of a ruler. She was able to make sense and order from the chaos. So often when one finds themselves wearing a crown you will be bombarded on all sides with conflicting opinions. The peasants are growing hungry so they are obviously unhappy but the merchants need the grain to be exported to generate funds to fulfill orders for other necessities. Afterall Averlon had to import all their metals, how is a city state to survive without iron for tools and wagons? When finances are low, who do you draw the currency from? The nobles need it the least but they are also in the position to do the most harm. The knights are usually forgiving, but the guards aren¡¯t. If he docks their pay some may leave and turn to banditry. This means there are less patrols and more bandits. Themon peasant then ends up footing the human cost. If he taxes the peasants more heavily then they might revolt, if they start to starve they may choose to take up arms. Afterall to them what difference was there? You either die by the sword or through an empty belly. The sword is arguably better, at least that was a quick death¡­ So this is the predicament Lord Averlon was in. He needed to open the roads, because the merchants were about to riot. Themon peasants couldn¡¯t sell their produce and said produce was about to rot so they were about to riot too. The guards didn''t want to be sent into the forest anymore considering how many of them never came out, so they were about to riot as well. Now that he thinks about it, it seems everyone wants the same thing¡­ except for him... The only person who had a different agenda was himself¡­ Lord Averlon then heard a knock on the door. ¡°Lord Averlon, are you there?¡± He heard Sarana¡¯s voice say. ¡°Yese in¡­¡± Lord Averlon replied. In times like these he is increasingly finding himself more reliant on her expertise. Her talent for subterfuge and her informationwork is the only thing that is keeping him informed¡­ ¡°Good afternoon, your grace.¡± Sarana said cordially. Lord Averlon looked up to see a slightly uneasy look in her eyes. ¡°What is it?¡± he asked. ¡°I have dire tidings, your grace. Do you recall how the attack on Hearthstead was executed?¡± Sarana said. ¡°... Remind me.¡± Lord Averlon replied after he examined his hazy memories. ¡°Yes, I hired the best agents in mywork. The n was agreed upon by myself and your esteemed self. I trust you recall that we buried the bodies on site instead of risking moving them. We obscured the burial site with Nature Magic. There has been aplication however¡­¡± Sarana said gingerly. ¡°What? What happened?¡± Lord Averlon said as he felt a lump in his throat. ¡°There was a group of scavengers from Averlon. They probably exited the city through the sewers, I trust you are aware of howrge they are. They left for Hearthstead in the hopes of finding some scraps. From what I gathered they did so because they were in financial troubles due to the lock down. I suppose desperation is a strong motivator.¡± Sarana said hesitantly. ¡°What happened?¡± Lord Averlon asked softly. ¡°Normally a band of scavengers would not be able to find the burial site. However, they were not the only ones toe looking. I am sure you are aware the Mages are ever thirsty for knowledge. Well a particrly foolish and idealistic Mage decided to journey to Hearthstead to see if it was truly bandits that destroyed Hearthstead. The Mage¡­ after some investigation I found she was quite powerful for her level of study. Nothing like the princess but a mage of decent talent. She came across the scavengers and at first she was¡­ disapproving... of their actions. However, under her rudimentary interrogation she realised that their talents could be put to use to find the truth of what happened there. Everything seemed fine at first and both parties concluded that the attack was indeed conducted by humanoids. Most likely bandits. Unfortunately the Mage decided to do an Ether sweep just to be sure and she managed to pick up the trace amounts of Ether left over from the Nature magic that was used to hide the burial site. They have unearthed the bodies, your grace. Although they do not have any concrete proof, what is concerning is that they realised how professionally the attack was done.¡± Sarana said. ¡°How do you know all of this¡­¡± Lord Averlon asked softly. ¡°The scavengers, they started talking when they returned. Rumors started flying in the Peeler''s Pit. I tried to silence them and even nt a false narrative but I wasn¡¯t sessful. The attack was simply too well executed and a testimony of a mage is not easily dismissed. I trust you are aware that some of the Rogues in the adventurer¡¯s guild have contacts within Peeler¡¯s Pit. News reached the adventurers guild and some of the adventurers decided to investigate, seeing as some of them knew some of the lost adventurers that most likely released the beast.¡± Sarana said. ¡°Where are the adventurers now?¡± Lord Averlon asked. ¡°They are about to leave or have already left. They are joined by the Mage mentioned earlier and a pair of your Knights who overheard about the incident¡­¡± Sarana said. Lord Averlon sat silently and felt a cold chill in his body. A bunch of scavengers would be unlikely to put the full story together. The attack was just professional enough to draw attention. That was always the risk of these types of operations. If you did it sloppily then you run the risk of discovery through nothing but random chance. If you do it professionally and it is discovered anyway, the sheer professionalism of the deed would start to raise eyebrows¡­ ¡°Do you have a solution?¡± Lord Averlon asked, a hint of desperation in his voice. ¡°Yes¡­ I have a team avable that could silence them all. I could also have them remove the bodies to remove the evidence. I suggest I send out one team to remove the bodies and another near the site on standby. The second team will listen in on the investigative party. If they feel the investigation is getting too close to the truth, the team will silence them. The adventurer team is of Gold Rank. I can provide tinum Rank equivalent operatives to do the deed. It will be quite expensive however, about fifty tinum coins for the mission. I will need a requisition order from yourself, to withdraw such funds from the treasury.¡± Sarana said calmly. ¡°Very well, the funds are yours. Keep me updated, what we did cannot be leaked to the general poption¡­¡± Lord Averlon said as he hastily wrote a writ of withdrawal and handed it to Sarana. ¡°Thank you, your grace, with any luck. This will be the end of this matter.¡± Sarana said with a bow. ¡°Hopefully, thank you for your work Sarana. I wille to rely on you more and more in the days ahead¡­¡± Lord Averlon said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. ¡°Of course your grace. I am your loyal servant.¡± Sarana said with another bow as she exited the room. The moment Sarana was clear of the guards outside of the room she took out the magical device in her pocket. With a press of a button the device stopped recording the sound around it. Normally she would burn the writ of requisition after using it as that would be evidence. But she wouldn¡¯t be doing that this time¡­ Privately Sarana marveled at the small device in her hand. It was a one of a kind of device made by Princess Cecilia. Sarana supposed when you are as talented as she was in magic and when you had nothing to do for four years¡­ well you had to pass the time somehow¡­ This little apple sized orb was a dangerous tool in the right hands. A simple device like this¡­ could topple empires¡­ Sarana could only wonder how many more toys Cecilia had up her sleeve¡­ Well, regardless she had a job to do. She needs to get this recording and the writ of requisition to Cecilia. She will need proof to persuade the knights¡­ In the meantime, she will continue to antagonise the poption. Naturally all that she described to the king wasn¡¯t a coincidence. The scavengers were tipped off by her agents, the mage was none other than Cecilia herself. The bodies were exhumed and Cecilia put the so-called pieces together. Now the rumor has spread into the peeler''s pit and Sarana through her agents made sure that those rumors reached the adventurer¡¯s guild and the knight orders. That left thatpanion of hers to seduce the prince. Luckily for that Lily girl, she¡¯s drop dead beautiful and the oldest prince is an idiot¡­ Well mostly because he¡¯s an idiot¡­ A weak minded man is just a toy for a smart woman after all. The weak of mind usually think with their balls instead of their heads. So with a body and face like that? Lily will have the prince around her finger soon enough. That is provided she knows what to do, but Sarana doubts the princess would send herpanion into a task she would most likely fail. All Sarana could hope was that all her effort to get that girl to the presence of the prince would pay off. It was almost a week of work after all. The security she needed to get around alone took four days. Luckily for her she was very intimately aware of the security in the castle. The Lord Commander of the Royal Guard is not as in control as he thinks... ??,`¡ã.???.?.???.¡ã`,?? As Lily walked towards the door, holding a tray of tea, she ran her princess¡¯s lessons through her mind. She is infinitely wise, she knows it isn¡¯t possible to give a noble bearing to her in just a few weeks. So Cecilia trained her in a different approach. She was trained in half truths. She was a peasant so there was no way so she could learn the specifics and execute them wlessly. Her lessons pertained to everything that would make her desirable, not elegant. Lily was taught to look like a klutzy and air headed woman with just enough tricks to make her seem like a desirabledy. It was subtle and Lily doubts any other woman could master it like Cecilia did. The best part of it was that it was incredibly easy to execute. She just had to¡­ act like she didn¡¯t really know what to do. Which will be exactly what will happen... So it all began with her in hermon servants attire walking past the prince at an arranged time. A well ced bump from one of Sarana¡¯s agents ensured she would stumble into the prince. Then she would squeak an apology and bow. As she did so she would press the tray she was holding against her chest. Lily would then break etiquette and raise her head without raising her body. With the tray pushing her breasts up and the low cut of the dress this would reveal her cleavage. Lily, following the script, froze for a moment as everyone paused. She saw the prince¡¯s eyes wander down to her chest and her eyes locked onto his. Eventually the prince would notice and lock eyes with her. The moment he did so she would stand up and look away in mock embarrassment. Another breach of protocol, for she did not apologise but now that the prince saw something he wanted and the fact that this event was highly irregr would mean his interest would be piqued. As Cecilia said, show him what he wants then take it away. Tempt him, just let him see enough to let his imagination go wild. Lily then snuck a nce at the prince before quickly looking away as she demurely yed with her hair. This sent the message that she was interested in the prince. Then before the silence dragged on too long the nearby servant would quickly apologise and Lily would apologise as well. The prince as expected waved their apologies away and as Lily walked away she could feel the prince¡¯s gaze boring into the back of her head¡­ Now sure enough Lily was summoned to the prince¡¯s bed chamber. She wore a servants dress that was a size too small and a simple corset. Most peasants didn¡¯t wear corsets but as a servant of the royal pce a basic dress code was required. When she reached the door she saw a pair of royal guards. The guards gave her a look and one of them opened the door. ¡°His Royal Highness is expecting you.¡± the guard said curtly. Lily nodded mutely as she entered the room. She knew what she had to do and she didn¡¯t mind. The only thing that mattered to her now was her dearest princess. She would give anything she asks, no request is too demanding. She would offer her body, her soul and her life. Ifying with the prince helped to get Princess Cecilia her rightful throne then so be it. Anything for her dearest Princess¡­ When Lily walked in she saw a pair of servant women standing behind the Prince who was calmly sitting at a table. ¡°Hello my dear.¡± the Prince said with a smile. ¡°Greetings your highness.¡± Lily replied with a slight bow, giving him another peek at her ample bosom. ¡°Please put the supper down and have a seat.¡± the Prince said. Lily nodded as she put the tray down but she hesitated before taking a seat. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± the Prince asked. ¡°I am but a peasant, your highness. Surely I am unworthy of being seated at the same table as your august self.¡± Lily stammered in reply as she stroked his ego. ¡°Hahaha, such honeyed words. But if you feel out of ce¡­ perhaps a change of attire.¡± the Prince said. ¡°A change of attire? Should I get changed first?¡± Lily asked in mock confusion. ¡°No, no¡­¡± the Prince said as he rose to his feet and walked in front of Lily. ¡°I have a set of attire prepared¡­ you see mydy¡­¡± the Prince said as he reached up and gently ran the back of his fingers across her cheek. ¡°I wanted to dine with you tonight. If you would be willing.¡± the Prince said as his hand ran down her face and onto her shoulder. His hand traced down her cor and touched the soft flesh of her breast. ¡°Yes of course my lord.¡± Lily said with a blush as she felt his hand touch the top of her breast. Lily batted her eyelids as she looked demurely at the Prince and she saw his eyes alight with desire. Then let¡¯s get you dressed for a meal with a prince shall we? Chapter 30: Gathering Pawns Chapter 30: Gathering Pawns Lily with the help of the female servants got dressed in a fine red dress. Her in underwear changed to a ck corset and ckce underwear. She put on ck garter belt and pulled up ck stockings. As Lily looked herself in the mirror before the dress covered herself up she saw how the ck color of her undergarments contrasted with her beautiful porcin-like skin. She knew what he wanted and she would give it to him. But first she needed to dig for some information¡­ When Lily reentered the room she found the prince loungingzily at the table sipping wine. As the eyes of the prince locked on her, Lily saw desire sh in his eyes. ¡°Have a seat my dear.¡± the Prince said as he gestured to the chair. Lily walked over and gave the Prince an awkward curtsy, to which the Prince raised an amused eyebrow. ¡°What is your name mydy?¡± the Prince asked. ¡°My name is Lilian, Lilian Goodfield. My friends call me Lily, it¡¯s amon name.¡± Lily replied in mock nervousness. ¡°How did youe to be in service of this castle?¡± the Prince asked. ¡°Well¡­ I was looking for work, you see. Many of themoners are out of work due to the lock down. Many are content to grumble and moan but I felt it would be better to find work rather than run my mouth.¡± Lily replied. ¡°Oh? What are the lower sses saying?¡± the Prince asked curiously. ¡°I would not dare repeat their words, your highness.¡± Lily replied with a small bow. ¡°Humor me mydy. I am not so petty as to punish you for the words of others.¡± the Prince said with a smallugh. ¡°Well¡­ it¡¯s the usual your highness. Many say the lockdown is unjust and the nobility does not care for themon people. Talks like this always re up when times are difficult. They evenin that the nobility has failed them when their own harvests fail. It¡¯s quite nonsensical in my personal opinion.¡± Lily replied. ¡°Really? Why do you say it¡¯s nonsensical?¡± the Prince asked. ¡°Well we don¡¯t know much, your highness. I can barely read, what do I know about ruling a state? Is it really our ce toment on such things. If anything such talk only incites unrest.¡± Lily replied. ¡°You do not give yourself enough credit mydy. The fact that you recognise yourck of knowledge is already far above mostmoners.¡± the Prince said. ¡°Yes, wemoners do not know much, we need the nobility to guide us. If we were left alone, we would starve to death with one bad harvest.¡± Lily said. ¡°Indeed, my father implemented a policy that held our grains in a reserve. Some of the grain rot in the process before it can be reallocated but at least in the event of impending famine we are able to distribute some food to the masses.¡± the Prince replied. ¡°Yes, the king is wise. We only live the lives we do because of his stewardship.¡± Lily replied. The idea for this conversation is simple. Stroke his ego and make him confident. Slowly make him sure of himself so that he can one day be encouraged to do something really stupid¡­ ¡°Well it is heartening to know at least some of themon folk have some good sense.¡± the Prince replied with a nod. ¡°Most justin without providing any solutions. Anyone can point out that the granary is empty, but who can fill it?¡± Lily said. ¡°Indeed, then what do you do with those who would spread dissent? I can tell you that there are alot of them in recent days. They harp about how the lock down is ruining their livelihoods. All my father wants to do is to stop them from getting killed. Do you know that we have lost almost a dozen adventurer teams? This beast is powerful, I suspect the only reason the viges have been left alone is because of the lockdown. If there is no prey along the roads then the bandits will leave.¡± the Prince replied airily, sounding as if he was saying something sophisticated. Even someone like Lily knew that line of logic was absurd. Bandits do not leave because the roads are closed. When they get hungry and desperate they start targeting viges. The reason why the bandit attacks have ceased was because there were no more bandits. The Princess¡¯s friend saw to that at her request. Princess Cecilia said that a bunch of rogue elements wouldplicate things, so she asked her friend to kill them all¡­ and kill them all he did¡­ ¡°Of course, that was why. I was wondering why the roads were safer. I heard rumors about it but I never figured out why.¡± Lily replied. In truth if there was to be an exnation drawn from the information avable. The more likely exnations would be either that the bandits were all eaten by the beast, the bandits have fled because of the beast or that increased patrols on the roads and the forays into the forests have kept the bandits in hiding. Not whatever nonsense the prince was spouting. ¡°As for what to do with dissidents¡­ in truth your highness. I feel dissenters are dangerous, many would respond to a famine by burning the granary. It is always concerning when some of themon folk try to voice dangerous opinions. At worst there¡¯s a riot or some of them be bandits.¡± Lily said. ¡°Yes, that happens more often than you think. The bandits all came from somewhere, they didn''t exactly pop out of the ground like mushrooms. So what do you think should be done to dissenters?¡± the Prince replied. ¡°I feelmon folk such as myself should not question the nobility. Those who threaten the peace should be at least imprisoned to stop them from talking.¡± Lily said. Now this is the real point of this conversation, the idea was simple. Feed and fuel the Prince¡¯s worstpulsions and tendencies. Slowly bit by bit, after goading one stupid decision after the other. Once the people are in uproar, then there is the final card that will be yed. After that the people will beg Cecilia to sit on the throne¡­ ??,`¡ã.???.?.???.¡ã`,?? Sir Rodrick Dane looked ahead and saw the ruins of Hearthstead. He is a knight captain of Averlon, as the third son of house Dane he decided to join the knights when he came of age. It was considered a good choice for someone of his station, the third in line rarely had any im to the family title. So it was much better than some of the other noble children¡¯s choices. Some womanize and drink themselves to an early grave. Others leave to seek their fortunes elsewhere. Joining the knights, adventurer guild or the mage guild was considered the more desirable options. In truth Sir Dane was not interested in the title, he always admired the knights and heroes of old. Men and women who always took the righteous path, no matter how trying or difficult. He admired them, he aspired to be them, so when he got word there was something suspicious about the attack on Hearthstead he immediately sought out the source of the rumor. It turns out the rumor came from a mage, a mage not from the local mage guild in fact. It was a traveling mage that visited Hearthstead. The initial rumors of her being of the local mage guild was proven false. Interestingly the rumors also began with the mage herself. She told the scavengers that she encountered at the ruin that she was from the local guild because she was afraid for her own safety. Afterall the mages in the guild are registered, murdering and attacking a registered mage is punishable by death. A smart move all things considered, then again mages are known for being intelligent. You need a good head on your shoulders to grasp the esotericism of magic. Now he was on the way to Hearthstead apanied by the mage, a gold rank adventurer team and his dear friend Sir Jaymond Holt. What the mage told him was¡­ suspicious and concerning. To bury the bodies of only the women implied that they wanted the women to seem like they were taken by bandits. Someone wanted everyone to believe it was bandits that burned that vige¡­ ¡°My Lady, do you feel bandits could have done what you observed?¡± Sir Dane asked curiously as he looked at the mage. ¡°It is possible¡­ although unlikely. In my travels I have encountered dark mages that have joined roving bands of bandits. Although most of them usually covet the darker branches of magic like Necromancy, Hemomancy and Daemonology. They rarely seek to learn the magic of the light such as the Druidic School.¡± the mage replied. As she turned Sir Dane saw her blonde hair and green eyes. She was very beautiful, it was a shame that she wore that hood to obscure her visage. Then again the roads are dangerous, if one such as her were spotted on the open roads the bandits would start to get ideas. ¡°Yeah I heard from a friend in Tralis, there was once a Hemomancer who did some dark shit with blood magic. He was trying to turn himself into a vampire so that he could live forever.¡± the Rogue from the adventurer team said. ¡°That guy must be messed up, the Tralis mage guild is already more tolerant towards the darker schools of magic. If that guy is too dark even for them then he must be bat shit crazy.¡± the warrior said. ¡°Tralis is considered tame with regards to Dark Magic, I would describe Averlon as sterile. The Mages of the Shattered Isles, also known as the Necrostasi, study necromancy freely there. There is a reason that no one has managed to conquer them. It''s hard to fight an enemy that can raise the dead.¡± the mage replied. ¡°So what makes you think the magic was done by someone other than bandits? It''s not that hard to regrow some grass, you can do that with a scroll.¡± the mage from the adventurer asked. ¡°Because the magic was precise, it was giving off too little ether for it¡¯s age. If the site was a year old then nothing would be out of the ordinary but this site is weeks old. If somemon mage just casted a regrowth spell haphazardly the ether should glowing brightly. Yet when I stumbled across the site it was as if whoever casted it wanted to hide the spell from magical detection.¡± the mage replied. ¡°Then how did you find it?¡± the mage from the adventurer party asked. ¡°I will exin when we arrive.¡± the mage said cryptically. The group rode on in silence as they approached the ruins. As Sir Dane looked at the vige he felt a pang of sympathy in his chest. These families... all dead¡­ what foul creature could do something like this? Such a group or person must be condemned no matter who they are. Noble ormoner, rich or poor, holy man or scoundrel, no one is exempt from what is right and true. ¡°When I see things like this, I am grateful that banditry is punished by death.¡± His friend Sir Holt muttered as the group entered the vige square. ¡°Provided this was done by bandits. I smell Peelers Pit in this¡­¡± the Rogue replied. ¡°But why would the criminals there even do this? There¡¯s nothing worth stealing here.¡± the warrior replied as the group followed the mage. ¡°Because people talk¡­¡± the mage said as she looked down at a spot of earth that looked to be recently dug up. The mage from the adventurer guild raised a hand to her face and intoned [Ether Detection]. The mage¡¯s eyes glowed as he looked at the mound of earth. He walked over next to the dirt mound and examined it. ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ this spell is subtle¡­ How did you detect it? By luck?¡± the mage asked curiously. ¡°No, skill.¡± the mage said as her hand glowed and the dirt rose up. With a calm wave of her hand the dirt moved off the side revealing the rotting bodies. ¡°You can cast silent magic?¡± the Sir Dane asked in surprise. Silent magic was a very difficult skill that was only in the skill set of the most powerful mages. The ability to cast spells without speaking meant the enemy did not know what was going toe flying at their face. Furthermore, the best mages often made custom spells that only they knew, without an incantation it made the unique spell even more dangerous. ¡°Yes I can, I am afterall the most powerful mage the Mage Academy of Averlon has ever seen.¡± the mage said. ¡°I thought you were a travelling mage?¡± the Rogue asked as he narrowed his eyes. ¡°I lied¡­¡± the mage said as she shed her hood revealing a head of ming red hair. She turned to reveal ruby red eyes and a face that Sir Dane thought he would never see again. ¡°Princess Cecilia?¡± Sir Dane stammered as he took a step back. ¡°I thought you died¡­¡± Sir Holt said wide eyed. ¡°Not dead my good knight. Imprisoned.¡± Cecilia replied. ¡°Imprisoned? By who? Has the king recently rescued you?¡± Sir Dane asked as he took a step forward. Sir Dane could scarcely believe it, there was no mistaking it. This was Princess Cecilia, no one could mimic her appearance that well. He still remembers the conversations he had with her asionally. He remembers how the knights mourned her, the brilliant and beautiful Princess Cecilia taken from them by disease. Some within the church even said that was the nature of greatness, how when a me burns so bright that it burns itself out. ¡°My father did not rescue me, he was the one who imprisoned me.¡± Cecilia spat. ¡°The king imprisoned you? Why? Where were you imprisoned?¡± Sir Dane asked, bbergasted. ¡°He was afraid of me, afraid of my power. You know his policies? The reforms he did before my supposed death?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°Yes of course, the grain reserves, the reformation of the taxation bureau to facilitate trade, the incentives for vige creation. All of them were a great boon to Averlon¡­¡± Sir Dane replied. ¡°My father did not take those ideas from his own mind, he took them from mine. How many reforms has he made these past four years?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°None¡­ but we thought it was because reforms were not necessary.¡± Sir Holt replied. ¡°Rule is like any other thing my good knight, it can always be improved. My father imprisoned me because he feared that I would take his throne. He was always afraid of me, of my magical talent, of my intelligence. I am everything he wants to be, everything he will never be. So he locked me away, iming I died. He locked me in this tower surrounded by a magical barrier. I have no idea how much he spent on Ether to power it but I expect it to be a significant sum.¡± Cecilia exined. ¡°The funding¡­ we have been struggling with funding for years¡­¡± Sir Holt said as he turned to look at Sir Dane. In truth both of them had wondered why the crown seemed so short on coin when Averlon was clearly making a profit from all the trade caravans that moved through the city. ¡°Funding? What has been ailing you good knights?¡± Cecilia asked as she furrowed her brows. ¡°Our equipment, your highness, we do not have enough smiths to maintain them. Our border fortifications are also deteriorating with each passing winter. Each winter weakens our walls and watchtowers. Ourbourers are overworked, cutting corners.¡± Sir Dane said with a shake of his head. ¡°That is¡­ concerning¡­¡± Cecilia said as she looked away for a moment as if lost in thought. ¡°What troubles you, your highness?¡± Sir Dane asked as he furrowed his brow. ¡°I will exin in greater detailter. Averlon is in danger my friends. I trust all of you are curious how I escaped, who sprung me from my cage.¡± Cecilia said as she turned to look at the gathered adventurers and knights. Her voice echoed out regal and with purpose. Sounding for all intents and purposes like the voice of a Queen. ¡°Yes Princess Cecilia.¡± Sir Dane said with an instinctive bow. ¡°He is not what you would expect, he is not like us and I am sure you will be rmed. But I ask you to remain calm, stay your weapons for he is a friend to Averlon not a foe.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Very well.¡± Sir Dane said, slightly perplexed. He looked around and saw the rest nod their heads, confusion colouring their expressions. ¡°Friend, would you please show yourself.¡± Cecilia said as she turned her head to look behind her. Then from thin air a wall of golden feathers appeared. Everyone looked up to see that the feathers belonged to a towering beast. It¡¯s body is covered in golden feathers, sparkling in the sun. It had no eyes or speak of, just a smooth white head and maw filled with serrated teeth. The beast reared up to its full height and spread its wings revealing massive wings filled with the same gold feathers. ¡°Hello, humans.¡± the beast said, his voice low and rumbling. ¡°Good knights and adventurers I would like to introduce to you my friend. He is the beast you have been hunting and he is the one who freed me to save Averlon from itself.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°This is the beast?¡± the warrior of the adventurers asked in mute horror. ¡°I am what you seek. I am what you sought to kill, but I do not die easily.¡± the beast said as it slithered next to Cecilia. For her part sheid a fond hand on the side of the beast¡¯s body. ¡°Princess you are allied to this monster? It has killed almost a dozen adventurer teams!¡± the Rogue said as he drew his weapons. ¡°And what were all of you doing in my forest? You were trying to kill me.¡± the beast said. ¡°Does he not have the right to defend himself?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°But he destroyed a merchant caravan!¡± Sir Holt said. ¡°Your wagon was not destroyed by me, human. It was destroyed by one of your kind. I stumbled across it and found your merchants dead by what you call bandits. I know your kind, you will not miss their ilk. If anything I did you a favour, there are no more bandits dirtying my home.¡± the beast replied. This gave Sir Dane pause, it was true. The bandit attacks have all but disappeared barring the supposed attack of Hearthstead. The roads have never been safer. The only one¡¯s lost were the ones sent into the forest¡­ ¡°Then why did you kill the adventurers? Why not chase them away?¡± the Warrior countered. ¡°Because I know how you Humans are. You are weak squishy creatures, pretending to be wolves when you are sheep. Some of you are powerful, yes, but the strong among you are few and far between. If I let your fellows go they would return and speak of what they learned. The next attack will be more prepared. For the rest of you humans, you obtain victory through cunning and guile. For that you have my respect¡­¡± the beast said. Thatst line was not expected, the group was slightly stunned. ¡°Respect?¡± Sir Dane asked after a pause. ¡°Strength is not about brutality or firepower. Strength is a means to an end, all that matters is what lives and what dies. I do not care how you do it as long as you manage to do it. It is a testament to your race, which is why I hid from you.¡± the beast said. ¡°Then why show yourself?¡± Sir Dane asked. ¡°Because of your princess, she offered me something, a ce to live in peace. Without any of you pesky humansing into my home trying to kill me. One of these days one of you just might seed.¡± the Beast said. ¡°So what? We just let you roam the forest and eat whoever you want?¡± the warrior asked. ¡°Of course not, I offered him a simple deal.¡± Cecilia said as she walked towards the group. ¡°I will offer him food and safety, in exchange when I am Queen he will offer me his support. He is a deterrent to our enemies and with our alliance he has a vested interest in the continued prosperity of Averlon. There are many sources of food, condemned criminals, livestock. He is no dull beast, of that I am sure.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Wait, you want to take the throne from the king?¡± Sir Dane asked cautiously. ¡°Yes and for good reason. My father was the one that locked me in that prison and there is more. Are you aware of my father¡¯s Spymaster?¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Yes¡­ that woman, Sarana I believe is her name. She sits by your father¡¯s whispering into his ear.¡± Sir Dane said darkly. The knights do not approve of the spymaster as she weaved her secrets and web of spies. They feel such things are dishonourable and they detest the fact that the crown works through criminals. ¡°She has given me some concerning news. This attack was ordered by my father¡­¡± Cecilia said with a sigh. Cecilia then began to exin what has been transpiring. Sir Dane¡¯s eyes widened as the truth was revealed. How some adventurers from this vige stumbled across the tomb that held that beast. How that beast was awakened from it¡¯s long slumber and released into the world. How the king ordered the families of those adventurers, kidnapped and tortured to find information on the location of that tomb. How all the people in this were ughtered as a cover for the kidnapping. But of course all of this needed proof¡­ then the Princess brought an orb and yed an audio recording. Sir Dane recognised the voice of the king, the king spoke on how the cover up was failure and how¡­ he would pay to have all of them silenced¡­ Sir Dane has served loyally for ten years and what was for in the end? If not for the Princess he would be dead, killed for seeking truth and justice. This is unforgivable¡­ Then for the final nail in the coffin, the Princess brought out the writ of requisition for twenty tinum coins with the King¡¯s seal. Twenty tinum coins was the amount said in the recording¡­ So that was it? That was what all his service was worth? Sir Dane smiled bitterly as he wondered if he should be ttered, twenty tinum coins is a king¡¯s ransom¡­ ¡°Good knights, brave adventurers. Averlon has a sickness and Spymaster Sarana also brings troubling news beyond our borders. In the north, Tralis and Baralis are on the verge of war, whoever wins will have territory that will rival this entire region. They may soon turn their gaze to the south. When that happens we will need a strong leader and we will need my friend here. The great empires of old all fielded monsters in their ranks, we may need to as well one day.¡± Cecilia said. Sir Dane paused as he turned to look at Sir Holt. Sir Dane saw the indecision in his eyes for a moment but they both soon reached the same conclusion. The Princess was right, the king hasmitted an unspeakable crime. Having her friend as an ally would prove useful, at the very least bandits will think twice about hiding in the forest¡­ ¡°What will you have us do Princess?¡± Sir Dane asked. ¡°For now keep this secret, help me arrange a meeting with your knightmander. As for you adventurers, I need a meeting with the head of the guild. We must keep this a secret, if my father catches wind of this he will tear Averlon apart to keep his throne.¡± Cecilia said as she looked around at the group. ¡°Can I count on your support? Loyal citizens of Averlon¡­¡± Cecilia said. Sir Dane paused as he contemted his options, his oath and his duty. He was sworn to the throne of Averlon, to be loyal to the Crown of Averlon. Yet he also swore to uphold justice, to protect and to defend the people. So what happens when the King kills the people? What is higher? His oath to the king? His oath to the people? His oath to uphold justice? Which is it? ¡°You know, I can never understand why you humans are so obsessed with swearing this and swearing that.¡± the beast said as if reading his mind. ¡°I do not expect something like you to understand.¡± Sir Dane replied with a shake of his head. ¡°What¡¯s so hard to understand? Cecilia here told me all of you would be torn. In truth I think the answer is very simple. What do you value most?¡± the beast asked. ¡°I value them all, that is the issue.¡± Sir Dane replied. ¡°We both know that¡¯s not true. Put it this way, if the king ordered you ughter the women and children in this vige. Would you do it?¡± the beast asked. ¡°No¡­¡± Sir Dane replied after some introspection. ¡°Then that is your answer, you value your loyalty to your king less than your oath to uphold your human justice.¡± the beast said. ¡°But what is my word worth when an oath is broken so easily?¡± Sir Dane retorted. ¡°One oath is broken regardless now. If you remain loyal you throw out your oath to uphold justice. So feel free to continue to be loyal to that false king, I will flee thisnd, your princess will die. When the next vige burns, when you see the next set of bodies you need not look far for those responsible. You need only look in a mirror¡­¡± the beast said with a small rumbling chuckle. The beast was right, Sir Dane knew it. This won¡¯t be thest time this happens, if the king can do this once, he will do it again. Some lines must never be crossed¡­ Then the beast let out another smallugh as it spoke once more. You can go back and pretend everything is fine Cover your eyes Cover your ears¡­ By all means, bury your head in the sand Live your little lie But remember, no matter how beautiful, how entrancing A lie will always remain a lie... Chapter 31: Tales and Legends Chapter 31: Tales and Legends I flew over the mountains as I scanned thend below. I was looking for phoenixes on the way to a special ce. Cecilia told me she just needed me for that little meet up with the knights and adventurers. They were on her side now, thanks to the evidence provided by that spymaster woman. But it would still take a while for Cecilia¡¯s subtle machination to take root. I would be only really needed if things went to shit before the revolution or during the revolution itself. So I decided to take a little excursion in the meantime. Cecilia was a little concerned at first because I wouldn¡¯t be on hand. So as a result she gave me a little magic device that I ced in a pocket I made under my armor. It was amunication device that she could use to contact me in the event of an emergency. As for why I suddenly decided to leave, it was simply because I came across something very interesting. In the north there was a desert known as the Zariman Sands in the territory of a nation called Varakrima, apparently it used to be home of the Zariman Empire. The empire was now fragmented into several nations, much like the region that Averlon was in used to be part of the Elysian Empire. I thought back to the map I saw of the region. It was a rough map showing only the capitals, major towns and main roads. However, it was enough for me to get my bearings in this new world. Tucked away in the deste dunes of the Zariman Sandsy a great treasure. Within that great desert where none of the people dare tready a creature. Or perhaps not A creature, more like a hive of creatures. The humanoids native to that desert called the Lizard Kin by the humans in Averlon avoided the central desert because there was this strange group of monsters burrowed below the sands. The lizard people call them the Armzaftund which roughly trantes to sand demons or sand monsters. This particr type of creature had a rather unique survival adaptation. The first thing that interested me was the fact that this particr creature had an interesting adaptation whereby it could infect others with a type of parasite. The parasite would burrow into the brains of the victims and change their mental state, making them loyal to the hive. It wasn¡¯t turning them into drones, it was more of turning them into loyal followers. There was also in fact a cult in the middle of the desert of infected humanoids that worshipped the hive and protected it. So that adaptation was extremely useful as I could perhaps use it to make a private army. The thing is I won¡¯t just use humanoids. The parasite could also infect other creatures, so I¡¯m thinking¡­ a troll army wouldn¡¯t hurt. Those guys are tough, like a group normal schmucks would get ughtered by them. This mountain range is huge if I grabbed every troll in this mountain and turned them into my obedient v¡­ erm loyal servants. I would have a reasonable military force. I could also in theory use the parasite on stronger creatures but I also read that the parasite doesn¡¯t work on creatures of sufficient strength. Apparently the control limit was at around the gold rank of adventurers. Which is pretty high considering the average level of power in this world. That would be like 80% of the humanoid poption at least. The second thing that interested me would be that the parasite also altered the bodies of those it infected over time. For humanoids it would slowly turn them into creatures resembling the hive creatures. This change made the humanoids more resilient inbat. The beastiarians theorised that the change was based on the hive creature''s physiology because different hives created slightly different changes. So¡­ if the change was based on the base creature, could I perhaps gain a tool to modify those I infect? I could make the trolls stronger, grow armor, maybe even make them more intelligent. Since this ability is already well documented and the whole story I was spinning was that I am this ancient creature. It would be a reasonable sell to say that my supposed species eventually ended up as those hive creatures. Technically that wouldn¡¯t be a lie considering the devourers were the origin point of all species... it wouldn¡¯t be a lie, it would be¡­ intentional misrepresentation. So yes you could say I was extremely jazzed about this. For now I was still soaring over the mountains, the desert was quite a distance away even by air. If I ran into another Phoenix I would see if I can take it out and get some extra food. Then again¡­ should I wait to see if I can control any phoenixes? But phoenixes were way above the gold rank, on the other hand the ability should be a stronger version judging by what I have seen from my other abilities. There is a chance this parasite ability will merge with something I already have to create a superior version. Hmmm¡­ I guess I will just have to wait and see then¡­ When I finally arrived at the desert I looked down to see sand, stretching all the way to the horizon. As I flew I spotted the odd oasis or two, then I spotted a caravan. It was a line of what looked to be some creature simr to camels. On their backsid whatever cargo they were carrying. They should rest soon, the sun is setting. Maybe I could listen in on what they had to say. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be wise to attack them, I don''t want to risk discovery in a region I don¡¯t expect to return to for a while. Things can spiral out of control quickly after all¡­ I tailed the caravan for another hour before they stopped when the sun was going over the distant horizon. I descended a short distance away from them so as not to alert them to my presence. Afterall with wings like mine, when Ind I¡¯ll kick up some sand. Once I was on the ground, I hovered off the ground with [Gravitic Hovor] so I wouldn¡¯t disturb the sand below me and stalked close to the camp. I saw that it was a rather well guarded caravan. The whole caravan consisted of what must be the Lizard people that I read about. They were covered in scales with long necks and digitigrade legs. The men were shorter than the females but with a stout muscr figure, the females were taller and much slimmer. They all walked with a strange grace, their bodies moving lightly over the sand. The armed guards were moving around nting strange sticks in the ground around the camp. Then I noticed a small child Lizard trotting over to one of the guards. ¡°What are you doing sir?¡± the child asked curiously. ¡°Oh your parents didn¡¯t tell you? These are vibration rods, they detect vibrations below ground. It helps warn us if the Armazaftund is near.¡± the guard exined. I moved closer to get a good look at the rod and I saw there was a section at the top that was made of ss. Within I saw a thin rod that looked to be made of wood, attached to the top of the thin rod looked to be a small metal ball. ¡°How does it work?¡± the child asked curiously. ¡°Simple really. You see this thin rod inside?¡± the guard exined as he pointed at the rod inside the sspartment. ¡°Yeah.¡± the child affirmed with a nod. ¡°This rod goes deep into the sand, when the Armazaftund moves underground it creates vibrations. The vibrations shake the rod in the sand, the vibrations travel up the rod and shake the top of the rod. You see that metal ball at the top? The vibrations will cause the ball to shake and when the vibrations be too much it will hit the bells around it creating a sound that will warn us.¡± the guard exined. ¡°Ohh that is clever.¡± the child said in wonder. I have to admit that was clever. It is a low tech way to tell if there are monsters burrowing under the sand. I read that the Armazaftund like to burrow below the sand and ambush their prey. That was another ability that would be useful although it wasn¡¯t that alluring. I think it would have a niche use at best, flight still seemed better. Maybe as a method of escape? Then I saw what must be the mother run over and scoop the child up. She apologised to the guard whoughed and waved her apologies away. The mother then returned to the camp as she chastised the child on the dangers of wandering off out here in the desert. She was saying some interesting things though... ¡°But you said the Armazaftund doesn''t appear so far south!¡± the child retorted as he crossed his arms and pouted. ¡°It is rare but not impossible.¡± the mother snapped in response. ¡°Yes the Armazaftund live further north where the sand is red. But they have attacked caravans this far south asionally. If an attack was impossible, do you think they need to ce those sticks in the ground?¡± the mother said angrily as she stormed back over to the camp. So these Armazaftund live further up north¡­ that exins why the trade routes avoid the center of the desert. The thing was, ording to the books I read this wasn¡¯t always the case. The old empire apparently had cities in the center of the desert, using the many oases as ces where civilization could bloom. It was a good area considering the searing heat of the desert provided a natural barrier to invaders. What happened? Did they lose the means to deal with the Armazaftund? I mean lots of spells and other technology were lost during this time called the great copse. It was a time where all the empires fell because of conflict between Heaven and Hell. Apparently the two sides made war and everyone on Terra had to choose a side. Eventually Heaven won and they decided to defang Terra even the ones that stood with Heaven in the war. So all the really destructive spells and tech were taken away, all the powerful individuals were killed as well. I suspect that was the period that gave birth to the Syndicate, after all that was the best time to recruit a vast amount of powerful individuals into an organisation to oppose Heaven. Or at least that¡¯s how the story goes... Well questions for another time I suppose... As I continued to eavesdrop I heard the child ask the mother for a luby. ¡°Which one do you want to listen to dear?¡± the mother said gently as she stroked the top of the child¡¯s head, their past argument forgotten. ¡°The Bad of Maha.¡± the child replied. ¡°Good choice, there¡¯s no story like a fallen hero.¡± one of the guards quipped as he polished hisrge axe. ¡°Alright. Should I carry on fromst time?¡± the mother asked and the child nodded. ¡°Ok, this is the part as she topples the tyranny of the third dynasty.¡± the mother said and she began to sing. Oh violence does call me, I¡¯ve answered before I¡¯d made many enemies, I¡¯d settled my scores But I did grow weary and I settled down And proudly bore the weight of my crown I stayed in my lonesome away in the far Where there was no violence to trouble my heart I¡¯d hung up my sword and I¡¯d raised up my hoe And I lied as I said that I ne¡¯er would go But came a cry from a friend that I¡¯d known Someone to whom rarepassion I¡¯d shown And so I opened up my door To the man who promised me blood and war I followed him far to a distantnd Where he had been exiled by one single man His ns they were wicked, his power was great And you looked in his eyes and were swallowed by hate He took me to shelter, his humble abode A pitiful cavern hisrades called home He handed me bedding and bid me adieu And I sat and pondered on what I should do I prepared for battle, I hoarded and schemed But I did not know all was not what it seemed My allies treacherous, their loyalty thin Yes we would have victory but what would we win? The battle was chaos, blood roared in my ears A chain of warcries, my foes quaked in fear They raised up a tyrant and shouted hoorays And I shuddered and realized that I¡¯d been betrayed Is this what you want, corruption and power? Well I won¡¯t stand for it, this is my hour! Feel my wrath, I¡¯m now friend to none! If you think you¡¯re a hero, then die like one! Oh woe to thee, people of order I hope your homes continue to smolder And that you never rise again And woe to those who called me a friend I fled until silence was all I could hear Their voices once screaming now hummed in my ears The cold it was lonely but I was alone And I promised that I¡¯d not let blood taint my home But then came a message from my only friend Oh warrior hide, or else this is the end They¡¯ve bound up my limbs and they hunt for your head They promised me justice; but they¡¯ll see you dead! They came to me with an armed battalion Held a de to my innocentpanion And said, now it is your turn to bow! See how the queen has fallen now? They raised an stone andid me below They thought to crush me painful and slow But I did live, and I did flee And I put my de through the butcher¡¯s teeth Oh, Woe to thee, ye people of order I hope your homes continue to smolder And that you never rise again And woe to those who called me a friend... Huh, that''s certainly an interesting song, sounds like someone worth meeting if she doesn¡¯t immediately try to cut my head off. Then again most of these songs usually talk about people from long ago, like King Arthur or something. She¡¯s probably dead¡­ ??,`¡ã.???.?.???.¡ã`,?? Heimdall raised his two handed ymore and brought it down hard on the wounded angel. It¡¯s gold blood sprayed out as the de severed one of her wings and bit deep into her back. The angel let out onest gurgled cry as her wings twitched. As Heimdall ripped his sword free, he turned to see three of his men battling a High Angel. The angel sent out a wave of gold light and knocked them all back. His men recovered easily enough but that attack took out a city block. Heimdall scanned the surroundings of this once prosperous city. Once a ce of knowledge andmerce, nowid low because of machinations of powers far beyond them. Lady Nemesis has chosen this region for her grand distraction. Heimdall was tasked by Nemesis to do one simple thing. Cause mayhem and start a war, draw all of Heaven¡¯s attention to this unfortunate piece ofnd. This continent was in the far north while Nemesis was in the far south. The Syndicate was now split, half were at the roof of the world and the other half was at the bottom. In the city of Averlon something big was brewing, they knew about the prophecy and they have been preparing for years. Sleeper cells in every nation, Nemesis was ready to sacrifice this entire continent if it meant the ultimate victory. So the mes of war roared high as a civilisation began to fall from grace. Caught in the crossfire between two great powers. But at the end of the day, this piece of the world and it¡¯s people have lived this long because the Syndicate have allowed it. Or as Lady Nemesis said in her letter... The people of Boreal Arm live because we allow it They will now end because we demand it Heimdall hefted his sword and charged at the High Angel, this skirmish was far from over. They needed to at least wound that angel in order to antagonise Heaven. Heimdall had just finished off the Angel¡¯s second inmand. With the right hand gone, now it was time for the head. ¡°Sofiel!¡± Heimdall heard the Archangel cry as his gazended on his right hand¡¯s broken body. ¡°Don¡¯t grieve yet angel, you will join her soon.¡± Heimdall growled as he readied himself for the inevitable attack. Heimdall saw the Angel¡¯s face contort in anger, it¡¯s white glowing eyes sh. It spread it¡¯s four wings and brandished it¡¯s twin des. Heimdall saw his men attack and the angel spun it¡¯s four wings glowing. ¡°INSECTS!¡± the angel roared as his men were once again thrown back. These men were rtively weakpared to the upper echelons of the Syndicate. The reason he was fighting with these weaker troops was that his strongest soldiers were causing havoc in another city. He was just here to be the target and sure enough Heaven sent a High Angel, the only things stronger than a High Angel were the Principalities, the Arch Angels and then the Seven Divine Virtues that sat at the Divine Council. Those three groups had a few members and most rarely entered Terra. Technically there was still the great Dominion that sat on the throne of Heaven but no one knew anything about that entity. Whatever it is, it never interferes with affairs in Terra, the most the Syndicate knows is that the Seven Divine Virtues reports directly to the Dominion. Perhaps it was simr to Hell¡¯s Prime Evil. The two domains were opposites of each other after all. Seven Princes of Sin and Seven Councillors of Virtue. Each world with one all powerful will ruling over all. ¡°Withdraw, I¡¯ll handle this. Go pick off the other gnats.¡± Heimdall said and his men nodded as their forms dissolved into shadows and they left the battle to hunt for other prey. ¡°Your battle is with me Angel.¡± Heimdall said as he brandished his sword. The angel didn¡¯t reply; he just dived and flew straight at Heimdall. Heimdall parried the angel¡¯s strike and the angel pressed the attack. Heimdall waited patiently, deflecting blow after blow from it¡¯s ming swords. Then finally an opening, Heimdall knocked one of the swords off course and moved into the Angel¡¯s guard. He grabbed the Angel by the neck and dragged him into the earth. He delivered a hard kick to the face of Angel drawing blood. But the Angel was undeterred, instantly channeling power into its wings as a wave of force. Heimdall tried to resist but he was still pushed back slightly and that gave the Angel enough time to recover. In a sh their de met again, this time their des locked and Heimdall looked into the hate filled eyes of the Angel. ¡°You pathetic rats pretend to be lords of this world. Know the will of Heaven, know what you have pretended to be.¡± the Angel hissed and Heimdall responded by mming his helm into the Angel¡¯s nose. Heimdall tried to follow up his headbutt with a downward sh but the Angel channeled power into its wings, and managed to parry the sh. He needed to get a good hit on the Angel''s wings or halo. Those were the two parts that were not easily healed, once those two were damaged, the Angel¡¯s ability to fight was severely hampered. Then Heimdall felt a chill go up his spine as his danger sense went through the roof. The angel sensed it as well as his eyes widened. Heimdall immediately tried to leap back but he felt a searing pain in his tendons and he felt his legs give way. As he fell he saw a sh of steel and all four of the Angel¡¯s wings were cut off. The Angel too fell and behind the Angel revealed a smiling Elf. Her hair was gold like the sun and her eyes the colour of sterling silver. In her hands she held a simple spear, for all intents and purposes she looked like amon guard that staffed the multiracial organization that is the city guard. Hang on¡­ Heimdall knew that look in her eyes¡­ could it be? ¡°My my Heimdall, it¡¯s been awhile. Or are you still calling yourself that?¡± the Elf said with a smallugh. The Angel tried to struggle to its feet but with its wings clipped it was significantly weakened. It spun around in an attempt to sh at the Elf but her form vanished and next thing Heimdall knew the simple spear¡¯s iron point emerged from the Angel¡¯s belly. The elf was now behind the Angel spear in one hand. A normal spear had little chance of piercing the body of a High Angel... ¡°What¡¯s wrong Heimdall? Don¡¯t recognise me? Would you know who I am perchance?¡± the Elf asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes as she looked down at the Angel who was now on his knees. The angel turned and looked up hatefully. Heimdall saw his mind turning but he came up nk. Heimdall had suspicion who this Elf really was but he hoped he was wrong. ¡°Maybe this will help¡­¡± the Elf said as she roughly ripped the spear free and the gold blood from the wound flowed up into her empty left hand. The blood turned to a white fog and the fog covered the Elf¡¯s body. When the fog dissipated it revealed a Lizard Kin with pink scales, sterling eyes andrge pink fins on the side of her head. The Angel¡¯s eyes widened in fear as it gazed at her. Heimdall wondered what she of all people was doing here. ¡°A little better? I¡¯m sure you know me, I believe the standing policy of heaven is that only an Archangel is allowed to engage me inbat. Unlucky you¡­¡± the lizard said as she smiled and her forked tongue flicked out tasting the air. ¡°Well now you know littlemb. You think yourself a wolf in this world? Know me, know what you have pretended to be.¡± the lizard said as her eyes narrowed in mischief, then in a sh the Angel¡¯s head popped off it¡¯s body. Where the spear was now there was a long rapier in each hand. ¡°So how¡¯s life treating you Heimdall? Is Nemesis doing ok? Or is she not called that anymore, Ophelia always did like to change her name often.¡± the lizard said with another smallugh. Heimdall silently casted a healing spell to heal his legs and he immediately brought his sword up in a sh. Heimdall saw a sh of steel and he found his sword knocked out of his hand and the point of one of her rapiers pointed at his throat. ¡°Hasty as ever Heimdall, I taught you everything you know boy. But I didn¡¯t teach you everything.¡± she said with a twinkle in her eyes. Then the de was removed from his throat and Heimdall watched as she calmly sheathed her rapiers in the middle of a warzone. ¡°Really Heimdall, what¡¯s your game? What is this? Open war? This isn¡¯t the Syndicate¡¯s style, I thought I taught all of you better than this.¡± the lizard said as she calmly surveyed the devastation around them. ¡°What do you want? Maha¡­¡± Heimdall said evenly. ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious I¡¯m just wondering what all this ruckus is about¡­¡± Maha said with a smirk as she drew a dagger from her belt and calmly twirled it for a moment. Then without a nce she threw it straight up at an angel that was diving down from above the clouds. Heimdall looked up to see the dagger hit home and the angel just exploded from the force of the dagger. Maha calmly held out a hand and after a few seconds the daggernded neatly between her fingers. ¡°You¡¯re being really noisy. It might fool Heaven into thinking you are looking for something here but I know better. This is a distraction, so what are you hiding¡­¡± Maha said calmly as she leaned in to look at Heimdall. The pair paused for a moment as they just looked at each other. ¡°Where is the real event? In the center of the continent? It can¡¯t be in the south, that¡¯s too obvious. Set a fire at the exact opposite end of Terra as a distraction? Way too obvious...¡± Maha questioned as she peered at Heimdall who stayed silent. ¡°Unless¡­ that¡¯s where it is because it¡¯s too obvious¡­¡± Mahi said as she raised an eyebrow, Heimdall kept his silence but he saw a smile appear on her face. ¡°You twitched Heimdall, you were never good at subterfuge. Well a bit of sun never hurt anybody. I was getting tired of the cold anyway.¡± Maha said with augh. Heimdall internally winced as Maha easily deduced the truth. Maha justughed as she turned away and began walking away. She walked a few steps away before turning her long neck slightly and looked over her shoulder. I¡¯ll tell Ophelia you said hi... Chapter 32: Honoured Guests Chapter 32: Honoured Guests As I flew across the destendscape I noticed the sand slowly started to turn to a reddish hue. I switched my vision to see if I could spot anything and sure enough I saw some trails in the sand. The trail was faint but it was enough for me to follow. I soon saw something odd on the horizon as I followed the trail. It was an oasis, glittering in the deste sands. I could see something red sparkling inside the oasis. I also spotted structures near the oasis, the strange thing was that the structures looked well constructed. When I heard there was a cult worshipping some hive mind type group of creatures, I expected a bunch of shacks filled with rabid crazy people. As I got closer I saw¡­ well I didn¡¯t see any rabid crazy people¡­ I saw what looked to be some kind of small town. This oasis was surprisinglyrge, I couldn¡¯t tell at first from a distance considering it was surrounded by empty desert so I had no way to get a sense of scale. As I circled over the town I saw the buildings were made of some kind of sand coloured stone. Most of the buildings were three stories tall and they looked very well maintained. The people below were mostly Lizard Kin but I spotted a few humans and dwarves as well. The books were right, their bodies looked¡­ mutated. I could spot purple armored tes growing from their flesh. The skin tore where the tes emerged and it honestly looked quite painful. There were a few that were quite far into the transformation, their backs were hunched and their arms were elongated. Their bodies were almostpletely covered in armoured tes and their heads looked quite different. Their heads were now longer with a long armoured snout and I could see they now had four eyes on the sides of their head. Their irises looked different as well, almost reptilian with yellow slit-like pupils. On their backs also grew what looked to be strange red crystals, the crystals covered their back like masses of red barnacles. They walked like apes, using their arms to move forward, shambling along the streets of the oasis town. Again surprisingly they still looked quite intelligent, I could see one having a civil conversation with a Lizard Kin. I tried focusing my senses on the conversation and I started to pick up their conversation. The Eternal Mother said we have a powerful visitoring soon. Really? Who is this honourable visitor? I don¡¯t know, but the Eternal Mother said to allow it entry. It? So it is a beast? I assume so. I see, I will spread the word¡­ Huh¡­ was that a coincidence? Is there something else that was supposed to be visit? Or were they talking about me? I doubt they were talking about me, I haven¡¯t revealed myself and how would knowledge of my existence spread all the way to here? It¡¯s not like Averlon had any contact with the people here? Or did the Syndicate have something to do with it? Well I sure as hell am not going to just swoop down and just dere myself. What if they were expecting something else? Something powerful¡­ I suppose I could just maintain my flight and circle the oasis. Maybe if I continue to eavesdrop on them I¡¯ll learn more... As I silently observed the town from above I noticed asionally some strange creatures appeared. These must be the Armazaftund I¡¯ve been hearing so much about. They were strange creatures, they had long centipedes like bottom half and a humanoid like torso with tworge muscr arms. Their hands were tipped with long thick ws, their hands looked very good for digging and shing. I wonder if those ws could improve my des¡­ Their whole bodies were covered with the same purple armoured tes and a simr elongated head with four eyes. On the back of each shoulder de protruded arge red crystal. I wonder what those crystals are for? From what I can tell these are Ether Crystals, simr to the ones that were powering the barrier that imprisoned Cecilia. The crystals would pulse with energy for a few moments before dimming again. I couldn¡¯t tell why they were doing that, but I guess I¡¯ll find out when I get their genome. These creatures seemed powerful, they were above gold rank, as to which rank they were at I¡¯m not sure considering I haven¡¯t seen a tinum or Mithril rank before. So I waited, quietly circling the town and then I spotted a small group approaching the oasis. They were riding those weird camels with three humps. It looked like there were about a dozen riders. Were they the mystery visitor? As I flew over to the approaching party, I sensed some of them were indeed powerful. The six of them were at least Gold Rank. Was it me or could I sense killing intent among these six? Well something told me these guys weren¡¯t here for a friendly visit¡­ ??,`¡ã.???.?.???.¡ã`,?? Tissa was a Lizard Kin, she had blue scales and small fins on the sides of her head. An extremely in appearance as far as Lizard Kin were concerned. She calmly rode her mount as she eyed the oasis. She tried to keep her heartbeat under control. They were finally here, with any luck after this the whole team can retire in luxury. Varakrima has a long-standing bounty on Armazaftund Queens, 100 tinum Coins to be exact. This was honestly an absurd price, considering most nation treasuries only had a few thousand tinum Coins. The reason for this price was simple, not many groups have actually seeded. This bounty has been imed three times in three hundred years. Those have all been imed by Mithril Rank adventurers, the Hero Ranked teams don¡¯t bother with this bounty. They are already so rich the money doesn¡¯t interest them, as their name suggests they were usually focused on dealing with the real threats. The Armazaftund are not big threats to the people unless some poor fool wanders too deep into the desert. This bounty was only there because of national pride. The Lizard Kin kingdoms wanted to recapture the ¡°Glory of the Ancients¡±. So reconquering the central desert was part of this n. The problem with this whole bounty thing was that even if a Queen was killed, the other hives soon moved in to upy the territory and assimte the members of the now leaderless hive. So no, even if they seeded here today, Varakrima could not simply march back here and im the territory. Their colonists would get butchered by the Armazaftund before they finishedying the street cobblestones. This bounty may have once been part of a n to recapture the central territories but now it was just a glorified badge of honor. A way for a cash in and promotion to the upper ranks of the Varakrima Adventurer Guild. Well Tissa and her group of tinum Ranked adventurers were here just for the payout. A normal tinum Ranked team has no chance of carving their way through the legions of Armazaftund that defend the Queen. But they had a unique advantage on their side. Their mage Nihashir was a rather peculiar male lizard that developed an interesting magical artifact. To put it simply it was antern that could stun the Armazaftund with shes of magical light. The Armazaftundmunicated through the Ether Crystals that grew from their backs. The Queen sent outmands and those crystals received those instructions. Thentern was simply a tool to jam those signals and send in arge amount of garbage information to confuse the Armazaftund. They had tested it over the past year on various Armazaftund foragers and soldiers. It seemed to work quite well, the only concern was if it would work on the more powerful members of the hive. The Armazaftund had numerous castes within their hive structure, the lowest were the workers and foragers also known as ves. The next tier above them were the soldiers, which are called the Legionnaires. Above them were the Centurions who coordinatedrge groups of Legionnaires, and finally above them were the Praetorians who guarded the Queen and acted as coordinators for the Centurions. The Armazaftund lived and died on their hierarchy, if you kill a Centurion everything under the Centurions falls into disarray. So the n was simple: stun the weaker ones and kill the higher ranked Armazaftund. With the head gone the body loses all sense of organisation and bes easy prey. Even if thentern didn¡¯t work on the stronger ones, as long as they managed to kill themanders while the lesser castes were stunned they would have victory. The Armazaftund¡¯s strengthy in their numbers, each hive had tens of thousands of members. There just weren¡¯t that many higher caste individuals as far as they knew. As Tissa looked at the Cultists that walked forward to greet them she smiled. Their n looked to be going well. They had spent the past two months trying to pose as people who wanted to join the cult. As far as anyone knows, new members are infected with that parasite by the Queen when they are epted into the fold. So they would attack when they are before the Queen, with the Queen dead the rest of the Hive should copse in short order. They will turn feral until a new Queen ims the members of this Hive, by then they¡¯ll be long gone with the head of the dead Queen in tow. ¡°Greetings friends!¡± a particrly grotesque creature said cheerily as it approached. Tissa could just barely tell this one used to be a Lizard Kin. The only indicator she had was it¡¯s long tail that all Lizard Kin had. ¡°Hello, it is good to finally be in the Holy Land.¡± the lead Lizard Kin in the caravan said. ¡°Yes my friend, I am sure it was an arduous journey. Come friends, for you must be weary.¡± the lead grotesque creature said as it beckoned them to follow. ¡°Though our lives are very humble. We have water here to revive you, we have bread to make you strong. We have beds to rest till morning, rest from pain and rest from wrong.¡± The creature said it opened its mouth in some attempt to smile. Tissa and herpatriots just needed to get into the Queen¡¯s chamber. Just a little more¡­ the conversion is usually immediate¡­ As Tissa and the rest were led to a central square filled with sand, oddly there was no stone below their feet unlike the rest of the town. Then the group was halted and made to stand in a line. Tissa looked further forward and saw a cavern leading down into the sands. They were so close¡­ Tissa and her group decided to line up together at one side, with the other six ¡°honest¡± hopefuls all on the other side of the line. Tissa could sense her party were tense, they were so close but this sand filled square made them feel uneasy. The Armazaftund were burrowers afterall. ¡°We will now take you to the ascension chamber. The path is narrow so we will take you half at a time¡­¡± the grotesque creature said cheerily as it gestured for the other six to step forward. Tissa watched silently as the six were led towards the cavern, something felt wrong¡­ ¡°Now then¡­¡± the grotesque creature said as he turned to face Tissa and her party. ¡°You shall make a fine gift for our honoured guest¡­¡± the grotesque creature said with a mad cackle. Instantly the sand around Tissa¡¯s party erupted, from below ground emerged severalrge Armazaftund, they were the size of a small wagon, towering 2 meters tall on all fours. Then two particrlyrge ones also emerged, these one had massive crystals on their backs that pulsed with arcane energy. The ones they had fought so far were the size of cows, not wagons. The two big ones were the size of a royal carriage towering three meters tall. Tissa instantly drew her weapon along with the rest of her party. Her blood ran cold as she realised this whole thing was a trap. How the hell did they know? Then there was a sh of light from Nihashir¡¯sntern and the smaller Armazaftund were all stunned with shrieks of agony. As Tissa got ready to attack she saw thergest ones were unaffected. ¡°HAHAHAHA DO YOU TRULY THINK SUCH PETTY TRICKS WOULD WORK ON THE QUEEN¡¯S GUARD?¡± the creature howled in zealous ecstacy. ¡°NAIVE NAIVE NAIVE NAIVE NAIVEEE!!!!!!!¡± the creature screamed. Then sure enough the Praetorian¡¯s let out a pulse of energy instantly calming the swarm around them and they pounced... In an instant Tissa found herself mmed face first into the sand. She struggled and writhed but as she looked up she saw the snarling maw of an Armazaftund growling in her face. Tissa stiffened as she realised this was as far as her journey was going to go¡­ They had miscalcted, they didn¡¯t expect the higher castes to be able to override the interference from thentern¡­ Their whole strategy banked on stunning the weaker ones and killing the stronger ones¡­ Then the creature looked up at the sky as if looking for some invisible flying creature. Then it shouted up to the heavens as loud as it could manage. Tissa could hear its voice crack and tear as it screamed with zealous fervour. HONOURED GUEST! WE HUMBLY PRESENT THIS GIFT TO YOU! YOUR KIN SENSES YOU! YOU KIN OF THE ETERNAL MOTHER! Tissa then felt a rush of wind and the Armazaftund in front of her stepped aside revealing a golden feathered beast. It was huge, towering almost five meters tall, with wicked long des and a serpent''s tail. ¡°My Kin you say?¡± the beast said calmly in a deep rumbling voice as it turned to face the creature. ¡°YES HONOURED ONE!¡± The creature said it fell to its knees and lowered its head into the sand. ¡°Do you even know what I am?¡± the beast asked as it approached the creature. ¡°You are kin to the Eternal Mother, Kin to the Queen of Queens. All her children have awaited your arrival. You are the great reminder of the truth that this world has forgotten. But please if you would, the Eternal Mother can answer all questions. For now would you partake in a meal we have prepared for your august self?¡± the creatures said. ¡°Well if I¡¯m expected¡­¡± the beast said as it turned to face Tissa and she felt a chill go up her spine as she saw it lick its lips. I wouldn¡¯t want to be rude to my hosts... Chapter 33: The Eternal Mother Chapter 33: The Eternal Mother As I stabbed one of my des into the body of the first female lizard. I heard a choked cry of despair echo from the side. ¡°TISSA! YOU FUCKING MONSTERS!¡± one of the adventurer team cried out. Yeah yeah, shut up lunchy boy, she tasted good! I ignored the screams and sobbing as the Armazaftund got off the corpse and allowed me to pick up the now limp corpse. So this is a tinum ranked adventurer¡­ and a lizard kin too. I wonder what I¡¯ll get from this¡­ Achieved [Lesser Homo Lacerta] Level: 3 / 10 [Advance Cognition] improved [Olfactory Perception] improved [Fine Motor Skills] improved [Pathogen Resistance] improved [Toxin Resistance] improved [Lacerta Fire Resistance] acquired Augmenting... [Lesser Fire Immunity] improved by [Lacerta Fire Resistance] [Lesser Fire Aspect] acquired Lesser Fire Aspect? What the hell does that mean? ¡°Yo disembodied voice you know what it means?¡± I asked internally on ark and immediately I heard the voice in my head. Query received [Lesser Fire Aspect] conveys [Lesser Immunity] and [Greater Fire Resistance] Huh¡­ you know¡­ I¡¯m feeling really stupid right now. It never ured to me to ask the voice anything¡­ All this time I was just making blind guesses and assumptions when all I had to do was¡­ just ask¡­ I guess this is what my lil sis would call a muffin head moment¡­ Lil sis¡­ I hope she¡¯s doing well wherever she is¡­ At least I know she¡¯s not gone forever¡­ Well I¡¯m sure she¡¯s doing better, her life was terrible just like mine, so I¡¯m sure those bureaucrats at that¡­ weird afterlifepany thing¡­ probably arranged a better life for her. Well anyway I guess I should ask more questions. ¡°What¡¯s the difference between greater and lesser fire resistance?¡± I asked mentally. Query received [Lesser Fire] and [Greater Fire] are separate types of [me] Ah so that¡¯s what it is, so there¡¯s different types of fire. ¡°Do you know what kind of fires there are?¡± I asked. Query received Full list unavable¡­ Comprehensive Data on... [Lesser Fire] is the weakest and mostmonly observed variant of [Fire]. Limited effect on Ether Enchantments and poses negligible threat to host physiology. Fire type is too weak to damage external armor and flesh. The only potential dangeres from obstruction of sensory abilities if [Lesser Fire] is present in sufficient quantities. [Greater Fire] has been observed to appear from spell conjuration and the breath attack of the [Feathered Wyvern]. This fire type poses a low threat to host physiology due to resistances and regeneration. [Ether Fire] has been observed to appear from the attacks of the [Lesser Phoenix]. This type of fire poses a moderate threat to host physiology. Extended exposure maypromise exterior armor. Threat is diminished by [Molting] capabilities to purge fire effects, avoiding extended exposure is advised. It is rmended that the host should pursue further assimtion of the [Lesser Phoenix] genome to increase resistance to this fire type. Limited Data on Spell [Walpurgis me] Analysis indicates possible spell conjuration of [Greater Cursed Fire] Contextual Mentions reference list... ¡°Angels will purge you in [Holy Fire]¡± ¡°The angels wield [Divine Fire]¡± ¡°Few things burn like [Daemonic Fire]¡± No data avable on above mentioned [Fire Types] Temporary tags allocated for future analysis and reference Hmm interesting¡­ Well, I guess I should finish the rest of my meal... When I finished off the rest of the screaming sobbing Lizards I got to level 5 of their genome. These were tinum rank, so they are definitely worth more than usual. I got more of the same for the bonuses and the [Lacerta Pathogen] which will definitelye in handy if I run into anymore Lizard Kin. ¡°Did you enjoy the meal we prepared, great one?¡± the strange mutated lizard kin asked, his eyes alight with religious fervour. I could see it in his eyes, the me of fanaticism mixed with a desperate need for validation. ¡°It wasn¡¯t bad, now then who are you?¡± I asked as I looked down at the creature, drowning its body in shadow. ¡°I am the first advocate, great one. I speak for the Eternal Mother and the more mundane members of our family.¡± the creature replied. ¡°This Eternal Mother is one of the Queens of the Armazaftund?¡± I asked. ¡°No, great one. She is queen of queens. Shemands all her children in this resplendent desert.¡± the advocate replied. ¡°All of them? In the whole desert?¡± I asked as I tilted my head. ¡°Yes, great one.¡± the Advocate replied. That doesn¡¯t sound right... After I ate those Lizard Kin I got pieces of their memories from my ability [Memory Assimtion]. From what I can gather the Armazaftund warred with each other, each hive fighting for supremacy. So either this guy is lying or there is some misinformation floating around here. ¡°I thought the Hives warred with each other, as far as I know they aren¡¯t working with each other.¡±I said as I leaned down towards the advocate. ¡°Please, the Eternal Mother will exin everything. If you could just amodate¡­¡± the advocate began. I opened my mouth and snapped my jaw shut an inch from his face. The advocate shouted in rm and fell back into the sand. ¡°Do you think I survived this long by being amodating? You think I''m some sort of fool? You think I''ll just follow you blindly down into that dark hole?¡± I snapped in response. ¡°Please great one, I meant no offense.¡± the advocate stammered in reply as it buried its head into the sand in deference. ¡°THEN TALK! My patience wears thin.¡± I growled as I brandished my des. I sensed no movement from the Armazaftund around me, as far as I can sense they have no inclination to defend this guy. I guess he is a disposable pawn¡­ does he even know anything? ¡°I do not know much, I just know that you and the Eternal Mother are kin¡­¡± the advocate stammered in response. ¡°I highly doubt that.¡± I said with a snarl. ¡°It is what the Eternal Mother says great one. You who came before all¡­¡± the Advocate replied. Huh now that is interesting. Am I really going to meet another Devourer? Well if this is true¡­ then I can¡¯t really pass up the possibility. Besides there is no way they can possibly know what I truly am. Maybe this Eternal Mother can sense me, if I can¡¯t sense her it might mean she is stronger than me. She probably is, the Varakrima Empire fell thousands of years ago. The time frame alone would give this Eternal Mother plenty of time to build up her strength. Still, why work through proxies? Invisibility isn¡¯t that hard to get, those mantis things had invisibility, I am sure she would have been able to hide and survive if she really wanted to. Why would she just lock herself in a hole in the ground, is she that afraid of Heaven? Well the Armazaftund here don¡¯t look that bad, the queens guard looks slightly challenging but I feel I could still win. The Phoenixes I ate previously gave me a strong powerup, I could set their entire den on fire and make a run for it. It¡¯s still risky but I suppose nothing ventured, nothing gained¡­ Afterall I still have my trump card, I have this ability called [Sr Beam]. I basically shoot this ray of searing light from my mouth. I tested it a bit and it essentially superheats everything around it. I can resist it to an extent but most other creatures just catch fire from the heat. So in theory if I fire that in their tiny enclosed cave, I¡¯ll turn the whole ce into an oven. This should seriously inhibit the Armazaftund¡¯s ability to fight. So in the chaos I can just run past the burning enemies and make a break for it. At least that was the n on paper¡­ ¡°Alright take me to her.¡± I said. As I followed the advocate deeper into the cave, I could sense slight vibrations in the earth around me. The walls were made of some kind of hardened sand, from what I could tell, the sand was held together with some kind of secretion. I guess they really do live up to their reputation as burrowers. Eventually we arrived at thisrge cavern with a hole at the other end. In front of the hole stood a strange creature, it had a vastly different body structure from the rest of the Armazaftund. For one thing it was big, about as big as me at full size. Towering 5 meters tall, it had a long elongated head. The head connected to a torso that looked suspiciously like mine, it had a rough humanoid shape with four arms. The arms were slender, nothing like the muscr arms of the other Amrazaftund. The hands were tipped with four slender knife-like fingers. The shape was honestly simr to my hands. Odd¡­ maybe the Eternal Mother really was a Devourer¡­ It¡¯s lower half was this bloated armoured abdomen, simr to the kind you see on insects. From the sides of the abdomen protruded eight insect-like legs that held the creature up. On the front was two smaller insect legs that looked like it can be used for rudimentary digging and close ranged attacks. ¡°Greetings honoured one¡­¡± the creature said as it bowed slightly. Huh so it can talk¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t think you are the Eternal Mother.¡± I replied. ¡°I am not, I am the Queen of this Brood. I am but a loyal servant of the Eternal Mother. The Eternal Mother awaits in the chamber behind me, all the other Queens from across the desert have arrived and we await your arrival.¡± the Queen said. ¡°You have a name?¡± I asked as I assessed the Queen¡¯s power. She was strong, stronger than the two Praetorians standing next to her. Although there was an anomaly with what I could sense. I could tell she had strength yet I sensed little danger. Perhaps her strength lies in abilities beyondbat. Which I suppose is expected of a Hive Queen. A Hive Queen after all usually wouldn¡¯t appear on the battlefield. ¡°My name is Nafas, Queen of Brood Nafas.¡± the Queen said as it bowed again. ¡°And yourself, great one?¡± Nafas asked. ¡°I¡¯ll let you know.¡± I replied calmly, that was half a power y and also the fact¡­ I don¡¯t have a name¡­ I guess my old name Timothy would be a bit underwhelming wouldn¡¯t it? The great devourer, eater of heroes and gods. It¡¯s name? Timothy¡­ Yeah that soundsme as hell¡­ ¡°As you wish great one, would you be willing to follow me to the Eternal Mother?¡± Nafas asked. ¡°Lead on.¡± I said with a nod. As I walked past the guards I heard growls from behind me and I saw one of the Praetorian¡¯s block the advocate¡¯s way. ¡°You will return to the surface.¡± Nafas said coldly as she turned to look at the advocate. ¡°But¡­¡± the Advocate began. ¡°Obey...¡± Nafas growled and the ether crystal on the Advocate¡¯s back pulsed. The advocate stiffened for a moment as every muscle in his body seemed to tense. ¡°I understand¡­¡± the Advocate said as he bowed and turned around robotically. I looked at Nafas for a moment and her gaze turned to me. ¡°We have utter control of the weaklings on the surface. They are useful pawns although they do asionally forget their ce.¡± Nafas said. I calmly nodded in response and Nafas continued to lead me deeper into the tunnel. Eventually I arrived in a massive cavern, I looked around and saw numerous paths leading out the chamber. The chamber was tall and I could see more passages leading out in the walls. For all intents and purposes this ce looked like a centralmand center. I¡¯ll bet those tunnels lead to the other Hives¡­ Although there was a ring thing that was strange about this ce. This chamber wasn¡¯t like the tunnels that were made of hardened sand. This ce was constructed by humanoids. I could see pirs of sand coloured stone and the floor was made of what used to be finely cut stones, but they were now weathered and cracked, ravaged by the toll of time. This ce was old, very old¡­ In the center of the chamber I could see seven other Queens surrounding this chained creature. Or should I say the remains of a creature. It¡¯s head was huge, about half as big as my body at full size. The thing was it looked like it was missing half its body, I could see it¡¯s flesh and bone protruding from it¡¯s lower half. For all intents and purposes it looked dead except for one thing. Leading out of it¡¯s cracked open torso was a string ofrge blood vessels that connected to arge still pumping heart that was ced on a pedestal. In my vision, the heart glowed like a sun, and I couldn¡¯t help but feel that primal hunger roar up from within. Above the creature, was arge device with five massive Ether Crystals arranged in a circle. I watched as arks of lightning bounced from one crystal to the other. The lightning arced from crystal to crystal in a circuit. ¡°Ahh¡­ atst¡­ it is good to see a fellow Firstborn¡­¡± I heard the mangled creature say wearily. As I approached the Queens all parted and bowed reverently and soon I stood before the mangled creature. It¡¯s body greatly resembled the Armazaftund Queens, with the same purple armoured tes and four eyes. I couldn¡¯t tell what the rest of the body looked like because simply, the rest wasn¡¯t there anymore. My best guess was that this magical contraption was the only thing keeping this creature alive. ¡°Ah a youngling, how quaint¡­¡± the creature said with a weak chuckle. ¡°You are the Eternal Mother? Are you a Devourer?¡± I asked curiously. Although the heart was tempting, this was a priceless opportunity to learn about this world. Thus far all I¡¯ve heard are second hand ounts and books written by people with agendas. I¡¯m pretty sure everything I know has a hefty amount of embellishment to it, I doubt I could trust most of what I have been told. So, who better to ask about Devourers than from a Devourer¡¯s own lips¡­ ¡°Yes and yes¡­ As for the second yes, I am what¡¯s left of one I¡¯m afraid and what¡¯s left won¡¯t be¡­¡± the Eternal Mother said as she was racked with coughing. ¡°You¡¯re dying.¡± I stated as I examined her body. From what I can tell it''s a wonder she¡¯s even able to talk or even stay conscious. ¡°Yes. This infernal contraption is running out fuel and it is the only thing binding me to the mortal coil.¡± the Eternal Mother said. ¡°What happened to you?¡± I asked. ¡°You would be amazed what a ten thousand mage ritual powered by enough Ether Crystals to build a fortress can do. Also I simply was not that powerful, I served another of our kin. He has departed this world thanks to the efforts of the Divine Council. I was his¡­ vassal you could say.¡± the Eternal Mother said. ¡°Why weren¡¯t you that powerful?¡± I asked. ¡°I simply preferred the pursuit of the mind rather than growing my body. I did to flesh what a sculptor did to marble. I was a sculptor of flesh and I built my master an army to police the weaklings below us. The fodder below loses their vour after a point after all and it would be a waste to simply wipe them out. Tribute does not flow from a dead race afterall¡­¡± the Eternal Mother said. ¡°So you created the Armazaftund?¡± I asked as I looked around at the Queens, interestingly they all looked away as if in shame. ¡°Ha, look at me young one I may be a broken wreck of a creature but do you truly think these crude husks was all I could create?¡± the Eternal Mother said with a wearyugh. ¡°No these were cobbled together under my instruction by my captors. Their simple minds did what they could, albeit extremely crudely despite my guidance. It¡¯s all quite embarrassing to look at honestly.¡± the Eternal Mother said with a sardonicugh. ¡°Uh huh, so who did this to you?¡± I asked. ¡°The Pyfnarth Daiwyn, or Empire of the Sun if you use themon tongue. The Third Dynasty of the Empire to be exact. They wanted an army since they were the one fighting my creations for most of the Third Conflict.¡± the Eternal Mother replied. It struck me how odd it was, to be having a leisurely conversation with a dying thought to be extinct creature¡­ but here we are I suppose¡­ There¡¯s a lot of information in that reply but I think I¡¯ll take this one step at a time... ¡°So what exactly do you want from me? And how did you know I wasing?¡± I asked. ¡°You are young and since you asked how I knew you wereing I assume I am the first Firstborn you have ever met?¡± the Eternal Mother asked and I nodded in reply. ¡°Well you will have the ability to sense our kin at some point. I could sense you for quite awhile, you were born further down south from what I can tell. Although how do you seemingly disappear every day? You couldn¡¯t exactly defend yourself from something you didn¡¯t know existed after all.¡± the Eternal Mother asked. ¡°I was born in this tomb, it''s this magical structure that can change its shape to fit my needs.¡± I replied. ¡°Ah, the Elysian Empire I assume?¡± the Eternal Mother asked. ¡°Yes as far as I can tell.¡± I replied. ¡°They always did like their secret vaults, you¡¯ll probably run into a few more. Although I doubt they would have any more of our kind¡¯s eggs lying around. We didn¡¯t exactly breed that often.¡± the Eternal Mother said. ¡°How do we breed?¡± I asked. ¡°Well we don¡¯t breed in the way everything else does. We transform into a pair of eggs and we effectively die at that point. The whole gender phenomenon was just a way some of our predecessors came up with to create more of us without dying in the process. Two halves share the load of reproduction, it makes it less demanding after all. But of course that made them weaker, and just through evolutionary pressure reproductive ability trumped individual strength. The rest of the Firstborn tolerated the presence of the lesser races. ves have their uses afterall, we didn¡¯t think that these lesser creatures could ever overthrow us. Oh how wrong we were. It turns out quantity has its own quality, like sending a legion of your progeny to gather Ether crystals behind our backs.¡± the Eternal Mother said with a sigh. ¡°So they killed all of us?¡± I asked. ¡°In a way, we let the cretins roam free. We didn¡¯t even care that they broke off two sections of the world to make their own personal domain. A domain we could not enter by the way, that is unless we managed to eat one of the denizens of those worlds. They did so to flee and we thought their power was beneath us. But the lesser races used techniques and technology to give themselves an edge. They simply learned to y a bad hand better than we knew how to y our much more favourable hand.¡± the Eternal Mother exined. ¡°You were killed by arrogance.¡± I stated calmly. ¡°Oh you don¡¯t have to say it outloud. It¡¯s embarrassing enough as it is.¡± the Eternal Mother said with augh that was followed by a raspy cough. ¡°So what now? I don¡¯t think you asked me toe here to have a pleasant conversation.¡± I said. ¡°Well the conversation is certainly a treat, these ones don¡¯t exactly make good conversation.¡± the Eternal Mother said as she shifted her gaze to the Queens. ¡°How may we be of service, great Mother?¡± the Queens said in unison. ¡°See what I mean? The deference grew old after the first few millennia. These ones are rather dull minded as well, theyck cognitive capacity. Not surprising considering those that actually created them preferred clubbing their way through all their problems.¡± the Eternal Mother said with a sigh. ¡°Also if I have to see another bipedal cretin walk in here and beg for my blessing I might just ask my Queens to just destroy my heart and be done with all this.¡± the Eternal Mother said. ¡°So what do you want? Why have you just lived like this for so long?¡± I asked. ¡°Hate young one. I wanted vengeance, I wanted to destroy all there is of those who wronged me. I wanted heaven to burn and hell to freeze over, I wanted the usurpers undone. I want them to fall the same way our kind did. I want them to fall to their own arrogance.¡± the Eternal Mother. ¡°And how exactly are you going to do that?¡± I asked as I raised a nonexistent eyebrow. ¡°Simple really¡­¡± the Eternal Mother said. I want you to eat my heart¡­ Chapter 34: New Me, New Strategies Chapter 34: New Me, New Strategies I looked at her nkly as I took in what she just said. She wants me to eat her? To be honest I could just take it but I was expecting she would ask me to do something to extend her life. Like refilling that giant magic machine above us or something. Isn¡¯t our whole race¡¯s schtick survival of the fittest? You know surviving is part of that whole thing¡­ ¡°You want me to kill you?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes.¡± the Eternal Mother replied calmly. ¡°Why? You could ask me to find a way to heal you or find a way to recharge that machine or something.¡± I replied. If there is one thing I know from my past life. If something seems too good to be true, chances are it is. Incidents where you get free stuff are few and far between. Once I was offered a slice of pizza by this teenage girl. She said she wanted to help me and honestly it was 5 degrees celcius out, I hadn¡¯t eaten in a day so I wasn¡¯t about to be picky. It turns out the reason she bought me the slice of pizza was because she had a school project about helping the poor. So she just bought me a slice of pizza and made me take a picture with her. How did I find this out? Well she was bbing on her phone almost immediately after she took the photo. So that was a lesson in how everyone always wanted something¡­ Then there¡¯s the time that a group of men in suits visited the slum I was living in to ask for applicants to this medicine trial in exchange for cash. I was about to sign up with lil sis but this nice man stopped me telling me the medicine may do horrible things to me in the long run. There¡¯s a lot more examples I have but the point is that I learned everyone wants something and nothing is free. ¡°Does it matter?¡± the Eternal Mother asked. ¡°How long do you think I¡¯llst if I¡¯m so trusting?¡± I replied with a question of my own. ¡°Ha, good, it would not do for one of our kind to be meek and trusting. Trust no one, we are Firstborn, we stand alone.¡± the Eternal Mother said with a smile. ¡°So why do you want me to help youmit suicide?¡± I ask again. ¡°It¡¯s simple really, you see that contraption above me willst about a few more months at most. Even if you could restore power to this infernal contraption it wouldn¡¯t matter. I am forever chained to this machine, I am living on borrowed time. Do you know why so many of our kind decided to transform ourselves into a pair of eggs?¡± the Eternal Mother asked and I shook my head in response. ¡°Because for us the only goal, the only purpose we have is to survive and grow strong. Back then long ago, in a time that lives on only in distorted legends. There were some who could not grow any stronger and were on the cusp of being devoured. For you see we only eat those worthy and some are born more worthy than others. Every single one of our kin is different, we are a species of one. None of us can fully assimte the essence we obtain, we take what we have the most affinity for and some of us can take more than others. So then came the solution, by turning themselves into eggs they found a way to live on. For we would not eat a newborn, it is simply a waste. Just like how those bipedal cretin fatten cattle, we too did this for our own kind. It wasn¡¯t umon for one of us to look the other way when we came across something that was not worth eating. Because you see the strongest among us battle for supremacy and everything else grovels at their feet. For the strong do what they will and weak suffer what they must. That is our way, that has always been our way. Eat or be eaten, kill or be killed, consume, adapt, ovee.¡± the Eternal Mother said. ¡°So you want to live on through me, because you can¡¯t leave anymore. You''re basically dead.¡± I stated. ¡°More or less. Unfortunately you won¡¯t get much from me. Well it¡¯s a lot for you as you are now but I once had four hearts. So you just have a quarter of my power at your disposal.¡± the Eternal Mother said. ¡°So our essence is concentrated in our hearts?¡± I asked. ¡°Yes, essence is just energy in the form of information, we call it the essence code. It is both an information database and a power source. We add to our code and grow its power. The difference between us and everything else is that our essence code is mutable like y. It can change, adapt and our bodies can handle this chaotic nature. For you see the bulk of our power is not actually in our physical or magical strength, it is in our ability to change our essence code. This ability of controlled evolution and adaptation is an extremely resource intensive trait. That is why most of the other races switched to the mating system, which eventually evolved into the gender system. They gave up their ability to change, and banked on random mutations and poption size. Thus when they breed it bes rtively cheap in terms of resources. With two parents offering the power for two offspring. This has changed greatly over the eons of course, now breeding mostly hampers the female. The males only offer a copy of essence to meld with the essence of the female. The offspring then inherit a randombination of the traits. From there, the ones with the best traits for survival will continue to sire progeny. They used evolutionary pressure andrge poptions to fulfill the same function our mutable essence did. It is a crude solution but understandable for weaklings, they were after all unfit to walk among the strong. Not everything that crawled out of the Primordial Pool was fit for survival in our world. To their credit this solution is¡­ creative to say the least.¡± the Eternal Mother said. ¡°I see. Although, after hearing all of this¡­ it looks like the others had the winning strategy. After all we are the ones thought extinct.¡± I replied. ¡°Hahaha, you may be right, so what will you do with that information?¡± the Eternal Mother asked. ¡°Simple really, the other races get power from numbers. I¡¯ll just have to get a lot of them on my side. With your abilities to change them, I can change them to my designs. I will offer them power in exchange for loyalty¡­ or perhaps sculpt loyalty into their very being.¡± I said. ¡°Hmph I tried that young one, eventually the other races figured out those under my sway were just ves, with no independence. They realised submitting to me was as good as dying.¡± the Eternal Mother said. ¡°I n to do it¡­ more subtly.¡± I replied. ¡°Subtly?¡± the Eternal Mother asked curiously. ¡°You see there is one thing I realised about them. You don¡¯t have to control them directly, you just have to control what they care about. If you offer food to the starved they will do pretty much anything. I will have some ves for sure, but I will let the more intelligent groups keep their own free will. I n to make them be my very willing servants.¡± I said. ¡°Hmm I''m not sure how you are going to do that but I doubt you wish to give a long exposition on it.¡± the Eternal Mother said. ¡°Yeah, it would be a pain...¡± I replied with a small chuckle. ¡°Now then, I assume you are willing to devour me?¡± the Eternal Mother asked. ¡°Naturally.¡± I replied. ¡°Excellent, now then there is a problem. I have a lot of adaptations but I can only give some of it because I only have one heart left. So now you have to choose¡­¡± the Eternal Mother said. ¡°What¡¯s on the market?¡± I asked. ¡°The adaptations I have were made for a different time, our kin once evolved to fight each other but now the world is different so I expect you will choose a different approach. The first option I give you is mybat focused adaptations. Mybat abilities focus on ambushes and stealth. I used my creations to distract and impede while I waited for the perfect moment to strike. I have a weak defence but powerful offense. I am what is called a stalker type strain, essentially I am an ambush predator. There are two other types, the first being brawlers that focus on physical strength andck speed. The second are those that focus on magic and ether maniption but fall short in physical capabilities.¡± the Eternal Mother said. ¡°So the warrior, mage and rogue?¡± I said. ¡°Yes the chaff imitate our strategies even till today. Afterall we had eons to perfect it.¡± the Eternal Mother replied. ¡°And the next option?¡± I asked. ¡°The second is my magical abilities, they are formidable by your standards but it is nothing worthy of note against the true masters of the arcane. I just learned them out of curiosity and I rarely used them in battle. But if you desire to move into that path I can give you head start. The third and final option is my abilities of fleshcrafting, I can give you the power to sculpt flesh and turn what is sallow into something... more¡­ much more¡­ This is my strongest ability, you will be able to create works from scratch or change what is weak. In truth this ability is also very rare, there is a reason after all they decided to keep me alive.¡± the Eternal Mother replied. Honestly, straight up power sounds good but¡­ I can get that from elsewhere. What¡¯s more, what she described sounds alot like what I have now, I¡¯m mostly an ambush predator as well. So her physical traits won¡¯t give me many new strategic options. I¡¯ll just be able to do what I do now but better. The second option just didn¡¯t seem like a good choice, I mean she basically admitted that she¡¯s a shit magic casterpared to the other Firstborn. But then again that¡¯s a really high bar, Cecilia said in the old legends the Firstborn could raise inds from the sea, create pocket dimensions and other crazy shit like that. So her powers may still be really powerful¡­ But thest option was really interesting. I have been thinking about this for a while actually. I have a feeling individual strength may simply not be good enough. From what I can tell the old devourers were individualistic, they didn¡¯t coborate. I have a feeling if the other devourers all worked together they wouldn¡¯t all be dead. Strength in numbers and all that. Plus being strong alone didn¡¯t seem to workst time and back then there were a lot more of us. Isn¡¯t the definition of insanity doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different oue? She said it herself, this world is different than what it used to be. I mean I don¡¯t exactly have ess to the kind of prey that used to exist. Finding this mangled piece of a devourer is a big win butpared to the stuff the other devourers had ess to this is probably just crumbs. I need to use a different approach¡­ I need people on my side, strength in numbers... So my n is this, I¡¯m not going topel loyalty through direct control, at least not on a mass scale. I¡¯m going to get them addicted to something, in this case power. With this ability I can change them, make them better. The past devourers were born with their power; they don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like to be weak and helpless with no way of fighting back. Well at least the ones in charge didn''t know... But me? Oh I know what that¡¯s like. In my past life my life was a dead end, I had no opportunities to improve my life. I was helpless, powerless, I couldn¡¯t save myself, I couldn¡¯t save my lil sis. But now? Ohhh now¡­ I can be as powerful as I want, I have limitless potential. And this feeling¡­ ohh it¡¯s intoxicating¡­ I will offer this forbidden fruit to those who are willing, their power growth will rely on me. If I control this desire, then I control them. Of course I will alter them slightly to be addicted to this quest for more power. If I make the game I can ensure the house always wins¡­ They can have whatever goals they want, do all that hero shit, feed the poor, save the nation, h h h, whatever... At the end of the day no matter what the goal, no matter the passion they need power to do that. People are ves to their passions, we are nothing without them. We are all addicts and I know addicts. Afterall in the slums if there is one thing that is always present it¡¯s addicts. Whether to some kind of drug or to their lost dreams. Take away what someone lives for and you might as well kill them where they stand. Afterall, that¡¯s what happened to me. When I lost lil sis, I just gave up. I stopped caring, I suppose that¡¯s the main reason I died¡­ Well I won¡¯t be powerless this time, everything in this world is one of two things to me. They are either allies¡­ Or food¡­ If there is one thing that I have that the old devourers don''t, it''s that I know what it''s like to be weak. I used to be human, and that knowledge will be useful. I know how they think, well how I used to think anyway. Humans are weak and squishy creatures but we are quite smart. As the Eternal Mother said the humanoids here learned to y their worse hand better than the devourers learned to y their far better hand. I may be smart but I can¡¯t think of everything and I can¡¯t be everywhere. I need help¡­ So that¡¯s the n, those who serve me will get something for it. If I can just offer a better deal than anyone on the market, converts shouldn¡¯t be that hard. What do those business people call it? A value proposition? A USP? Well that can¡¯t be right... USP and value proposition doesn¡¯t sound remotely like the same thing¡­ Well whatever, I get the general idea. I give you shit, more shit than anyone else, shit only I can give you and in return you work for me. Maybe I can throw in a year end bonus or something. I¡¯ll see how it goes¡­ ¡°So what is your choice youngling?¡± the Eternal Mother asked. ¡°I¡¯ll take flesh sculpting.¡± I replied as I saw the corner of her mouth curl up slightly in a small smile. Good choice... Chapter 35: The Eternal King Chapter 35: The Eternal King As I approached the beating heart I could sense the eyes of all the queens on my back. The Eternal Mother said when I eat her heart I will assume control of the Armazaftund. I will also be able to change them, apparently they are creatures that are based on the one whomands them. So I could change the Armazaftund to fit my designs. She also warned me not to squirm when I finally understood what the Armazaftund truly are, crude and simplistic creations. A creation made by those who have a rudimentary understanding of the art of flesh sculpting. The Eternal Mother can apparently control what essence she chooses to store in the heart. In the past she has prioritised adaptations that can extend her lifespan but now she is going to expend what little energy she has left to give me the tools that I need. She told me after she does this she will die soon after, she simply doesn¡¯t have enough strength remaining. ¡°Farewell young one, even in death may I be triumphant.¡± the Eternal Mother said softly as she shut her eyes. I opened my maw now wet with saliva as I approached the heart. I bit down hard on the organ and I savoured the explosion of vour. Oh my god this tasted good, this must be how crackheads feel¡­ Essence is a hard drug, no one can convince me otherwise¡­ When I finished the heart I heard a crackling overhead. I looked up and saw the crystals seemingly short circuit before dimming. Well that¡¯s broke as shit now¡­ I felt my body heat up and I don¡¯t mean like it¡¯s getting warm here I mean really hot. I felt my body change and shift as I began absorbing this enormous amount of essence. The amount of essence in that heart was probably more than I had in total¡­ Then I heard the voice ring out in my head¡­ Acquired New Devourer Strain [Eternal Mother] Strain Acquired Warning Strain Iplete¡­ Analysing¡­ [Eternal Mother] strain assimted [Gestalt Domination] Acquired [Mutagenic Parasite] Acquired [Flesh Sculpting X] Acquired [Psionic Transcendence VIII] Acquired [Ether Mastery] Acquired Core Evolution Achieved Stage: 5 Core Evolution Achieved Stage: 6 [Monomolecr Edge] Acquired de Sharpness greatly improved Augmenting¡­ Combining [Chitinous Bone des] with [Monomolecr Edge] [Kaiser des] Acquired [Kaiser Spines] Acquired [Metabolic Boost] Improved [Metabolic Frenzy] Acquired [Movement Speed] Greatly Increased [Strength] Greatly Increased [Perception] Greatly Increased [Advanced Cognition] has evolved to [Ascendant Cognition] [Memory Assimtion] has evolved to [Greater Memory Assimtion] [Intelligence] Greatly Increased [Eternal Mother] Strain augmenting base [Wraith Strain] [Void Core] Acquired Adjusting [Void Core] to present adaptations [Void Enchant] Acquired [Void Enchant] now avable for [Kaiser des] and [Kaiser Spines] [Void Enchant] causes strikes to ignore 30% of [Resistances] [Void Enchant] causes [Sunder] effect on [Resistances] reducing their effectiveness by 5% per stack up to 25% [Void Cloak] Acquired [Void Cloak]bining with [Ethereal Invisibility] [Unseen Predator] Acquired [Stealth] is no longer susceptible to [Advanced: Magic Detection] This effect is [Toggleable] Oh so I can adjust the strength of my invisibility on the fly. Well I can do alot of mental fuckery with this¡­ Augmenting... [Unseen Predator] and [Gestalt Domination]bining with [Ether Decoy] [Void Decoy] acquired [Void Decoy] can now use [Unseen Predator] User can now swap positions with [Void Decoy] [Void Decoy] can now be controlled to a greater degree [Void Decoy] [Automated Intelligence] improved Woah shit¡­ that¡¯s cool. My decoy is now smarter and I can actually use it to reposition on the battlefield. [Void Burrow] Acquired [Burrowing: Movement Type] effectiveness greatly increased There it is, the Armazaftund¡¯s burrowing ability. I didn¡¯t get muchbat stuff, just a few things here and there. Most of thebat rted traits just came from my core evolution. If I took thebat rted abilities I am sure I would have gotten some really good stuff. The Void stuff must just have been the tip of the iceberg. I hope I made the right choice... But overall some pretty cool stuff I¡¯ll examine those in more detailter, now there is a more pressing thing to address. I can now sense a presence in the back of mind, it wasn¡¯t that strong and it had no control over me but I know it¡¯s there. I focused on the presence and I started to feel a connection. I turned to the queens and they all bowed in unison. Then I heard a chorus of voice speaking in perfect unison echoing in my mind. The Eternal Mother is dead Long live the Eternal King I focused again on the presence and I instinctively began to trace the signal. I could feel a hundred thousand minds thinking in unison. A chorus of a hundred thousand voices¡­ and¡­ The reception was terrible¡­ It''s like an old radio... Yeah ok I can see what the Eternal Mother means when she said these ones were hastily cobbled together messes. As I zero in on queens minds I could sense their Essence code. Honestly the whole thing was a giant hot mess, inefficient, crude, mediocre at best. I can improve the reception by improving the queens. Theyck the power to fully integrate into this hive mind as for the rest of them it was even worse. The biggest problems of the queens designs was that first off it was extremely inefficient, so much wasted potential. I could double their effectiveness just by shifting some things around. The second being is that their base hardware was crude to begin with, I could make them better and I instinctively know how¡­ But first a question¡­ I focus my mind and send out a clear message into that mass of minds. Who do you serve? Instantly I heard the voices ring out again. We serve you great one Good. That¡¯s what I like to hear¡­ Now then, time to make some changes. I looked at the queens and I saw them look at me expectantly. I could tell they were excited and I could sense there was a good amount of relief in their minds. It was odd to say the least, it was like their minds were now a part of my psyche. I was still in control but it was like a part of me that I could control andmand, kind of like a very obedient split personality. Hmm¡­ they were ashamed of their current state, the Eternal Mother must have harboured quite a bit of disdain for them. I mean I can see why, these guys were terrible. The moment that thought crossed my mind I saw the queens in front of me flinch slightly. Right sorry, hive mind, gestalt consciousness and all that. Well let¡¯s start with the more obvious issues then¡­ Let¡¯s see¡­ ok first thing why the hell is this main artery going up from the heart into the neck and looping back down? What the hell is the point of this detour? I could put stuff there. Ok let''s change that first¡­ The moment I made this change I saw the Queens curl up and a cocoon formed around them. As I examined the cocoon I could see their body change. Ok so that¡¯s easy, I just make my changes and they alter themselves on the fly. From what I can tell¡­ I can alter the different castes as well. The castes are better designed¡­ far better... I wonder why¡­ As I scanned the Eternal Mother¡¯s memories I realised the Lizardkin only designed the queens, the queens designed the lower castes and the queens were directed by the Eternal Mother. Since the Eternal Mother couldn¡¯t change the queens they were stuck with this crappy design for who knows how long. Time to do some sweeping changes, I have a feeling this is going to hurt¡­ I started to resolve all the problems, I broke bone and tore flesh, rebuilding them from the ground up. They were now significantly morebat effective, I modeled them after myself. They now looked much more simr to me hmmm¡­ actually¡­ I did a few more changes and reverted one of the queens to look more or less the same as its old form minus all the internal problems of course. If the Armazftund suddenly disappeared it would raise some eyebrows. Thest thing I want is for someone to find this ce. I still made the queen better than before. I just wasted some resources to maintain the appearance. As I continued to work I really started to understand why the Eternal Mother spoke about humanoids in the way she did. The way she talked about them it was like she was treating them like piles of talking shit. I mean honestly the older designs were really bad. I just got this new ability and I could tell the old design was crap. It was barely holding together, so much wasted potential. I¡¯m not even that good at this whole thing, I could tell I still needed more practice and experimentation. My memory assimtion is limited and even what I do manage to get the information doesck some context so it¡¯s up to me to make sense of it all. Well we¡¯ll see how it goes I guess, everyone starts from somewhere. By the end of my changes I made the queens stronger in terms ofbat abilities but more importantly I made them smarter and extended their control abilities. They should be able to control more of the lower castes now and also control them better. They should also be able to make better modifications to the lower castes. The queens now had a crown of gold feathers on their heads just like me. Their bodies now looked much slimmer with the same white armoured skin that I have. I gave them a vaguely feminine torso and the same roughly shaped head I had. I didn¡¯t give them sensor domes, it was expensive and honestly I see little purpose for it so I gave them four eyes instead with their heads covered with armored tes. Their lower bodies were snake-like simr to mine but the snake half was significantly thicker because they needed room for the ovipositor, or eggying organ in simple terms. They also had four arms, with the top two tipped with des, again simr to me in design. I will need to make some flyers in the army at some point since I can fly¡­ having a flying creature like myself have an army of burrowers just seems weird. They shouldn¡¯t have much issuesying more eggs since the eggs grow and mature onceid swelling to the appropriate size. Interestingly theyy the same kind of egg and the egg will grow into the desired caste. So that is certainly useful, it makes it so that the hive can replenish its poption extremely quickly. From what I can tell the lowest caste can be fully formed in just a few days. All the queens needed is food, which I can arrange with Cecilia. My n is to make the Hive help out the humans in farming and construction to make their lives easier, since more food output means more extra food to feed my hive. It should buy me some good will as well. Hopefully that means less people will try to kill me¡­ As I focused on the hive mind I found the reception to be much better. The voices were clearer, less discordant and much more unified. But there was a problem¡­ The stronger queens meant their force of will in the hive mind is more pronounced as well. I can tell they are interfering with each other slightly¡­ I could potentially solve this by making an overall controller, a caste above the queens. A prime queen? I guess? I dunno I¡¯ll think of a nameter. Now then the only problem is I need some power to create it and I don¡¯t feel like giving any of my own. Hmm¡­ I could use one of the queens and ascend one of them¡­ but a new addition would be good. I also want to try my hand at actually creating something¡­ Then I heard a crackle above me. I looked up and saw therge crystals still had a decent amount of juice in them¡­ Hello my pretty¡­ Yes, that''ll do just fine... But first I should probably get the queens out doing something, I don¡¯t know how long this will take. They¡¯re all still loyal, I have total control of them, yes they have individuality to an extent. They aren¡¯t mindless drones but their minds are tied to me. Which is good, initiative is important for subordinates. What is your will, my king? I heard the queens ask in unison. Well for now the instructions are obvious. ¡°All of you except you.¡± I said as I looked at the one queen that still looked the same. ¡°Prepare for travel. When the preparations areplete, have a look at your children. See how they can be improved. As for you the odd one out, your job is to stay here and maintain our presence here. Make sure the rest of the world thinks nothing has changed. Be more aggressive if you have to, just make sure no one knows what has happened today.¡± I said. ¡°Yes my king.¡± the queen said with a bow. ¡°We will make preparations at once my king. We will be burrowing towards a new home, yes?¡± one of the other queens said. ¡°Yes, we are moving south past the mountains.¡± I replied. ¡°If we wish to remain undetected we will first need to burrow deeply. The stunted ones upy the earth below the mountains. If we are to avoid them, we must seal the tunnels behind us as we move to ensure secrecy. That will take some time.¡± one of the other queens said. ¡°Very well, how long will the journey to Averlon take?¡± I asked. ¡°A week my king.¡± the same queen said. Huh, that''s faster than I expected¡­ ¡°Fine, y it safe, don''t rush it. Take whatever detours you need, take whatever measures you need. No one is to know tens of thousands of us are moving through the mountain.¡± I said. ¡°By yourmand, my king.¡± the queens replied in unison. ¡°By the way what¡¯s your name?¡± I asked. ¡°I am Nafas, I was the one who brought you here.¡± the queen replied. Ah so she¡¯s the same one. Honestly, they¡¯re a little hard to tell apart. What''s more I just changed all of them dramatically and I didn¡¯t really pay attention to which was which. I should probably give them some markings so I can tell them apart. But that¡¯s something forter I suppose. ¡°My King, I will struggle to maintain the illusion of ourbined presence here with only the children I have in my brood.¡± the unchanged queen said. ¡°Your name?¡± I asked. ¡°Yagdra my king.¡± the queen said with a bow. ¡°Can you all transfer forces between broods?¡± I asked. ¡°We can, my king.¡± the queens replied. ¡°Take what you need from the other broods, we¡¯ll fill the rankster.¡± I said. ¡°As you wish¡­¡± the queens replied with a bow. ¡°Alright get to it. I have some work to do.¡± I said as I turned away. ¡°As our kingmands.¡± the queens said in unison. I could feelmands being sent out in the hive mind and a hundred thousand affirmations being replied. These soldiers will be useful, for many purposes. One of the pressing issues was that humans fear things that are a lot stronger than them. It doesn¡¯t matter if the thing in question means them no harm, they just want to kill it just in case. That is something I¡¯m going to have to address. Initially I thought just converting all of them to be my ves would solve the issue but if I can¡¯t do it to everyone at once. At some point everyone will just be terrified of what I was doing and unite against me. That may still happen regardless but at least if Ie across as helpful some may think twice¡­ hopefully¡­ I mean food and nice sturdy houses is better than facing a sea of gnashing maws and shing ws. In the long term ideally I¡¯ll create a hive sorge to rival any nation, the world iscking in essence but it has plenty of food, or should I say plenty of fuel¡­ The Armazaftund or at least what used to be Armazaftund were kind of simr to devourers in concept. They couldn¡¯t change themselves but they could change the castes below them. Normally this wouldn¡¯t be a problem to the rest of the world since the queens can¡¯t grow that much stronger so the power level of the Armazaftund¡¯s power is capped. But now I¡¯m the top of the chain and I can grow infinitely. Which means now it¡¯s time to make a level above the queens, a right hand to help memand the hive. I looked up at the crystals and I felt a smile grace my lips. This is going to be good... Chapter 36: A New Queen Chapter 36: A New Queen I took a step back from the cocoon as it ruptured and from it emerged a creature that looked rather humanoid. I got the idea from the advocate dude I met earlier. I will need an advocate and I rather not use any piece of trash I find lying around. The queens were rather terrifying creatures, with therge armoured crowns on their heads, sharps des and rows upon rows of serrated teeth. The Queens were alsorge, being about asrge as a small house. They were only the ones who could reallymunicate with anyone else considering they were also the only ones that were smart enough to have a decent conversation. What¡¯s more the queens tended to talk down to other species. I can feel the disdain for everything dripping off their consciousness. If I just imagine what would happen in a conversation with other humanoids I can already hear lines like ¡°greetings lesser creature¡± being thrown in. So I needed a diplomat and ambassador that the humanoids won¡¯t feel too weirded out by. Thus came my first creation. As she copsed out of the cocoon and gracefully stood back up I finally got a good look at what I had created. She had a sensor dome and white skin just like me. Her head was long, extending rather far backward to allow room for the brain matter that she would need tomand the queens. I gave her the sensor doom because I need her to be able to read people, tell if they are lying or if they mean any harm. From the back of her head extended a tail like appendage that was tipped with a spike. I am going to test a design with this trait, I¡¯m curious to see how this will work out. The tail can extend and split into four, allowing her to use the tail to move rapidly across any surface by using the tail as legs kind of like a spider. It also doubled as an offensive weapon as she can quickly strike with four spiked appendages simultaneously. That will be a nightmare to defend against an unprepared opponent. Oh yes and those spikes wereced with venom so that¡¯s another thing as well. I gave her an elongated neck and shoulders covered in a regal cor of armoured tes that extended outwards in almost like a crown shape made of thin horns. She had four arms just like me but her arms were thin and slender to give her a graceful appearance. But that doesn¡¯t mean she was weak, she could most certainly snap a gold ranked adventurer''s neck or bend metal with those arms. Her hands were four fingered with retractable talons, those talons were of the same grade as my Kaiser des. So those were three inch knives on each finger that could cut mithril. On her back I gave her wings simr to the ones I had. My idea was to design two sets of creatures, one for above ground and one for under ground. That way it won¡¯t be too weird if a hive of burrowing creatures was controlled by a flying monster. I don¡¯t want anyone to know these guys used to be the Armazaftund. I want them to think that these guys have always served me. It should be easy enough for them to uphold the deception since I can control them with directives. As for her lower half I gave her legs since it would be more familiar to the humanoids aspared to a snake''s lower half. The idea for her was to be alien yet familiar. If she looked too much like a human or any other humanoid she would seem like someone was trying to imitate them which would raise eyebrows. The idea I went with was that she was an ancient precursor to most humanoid races. So I designed her to look slightly simr to the present humanoids. I know what most of the humanoids look like thanks to some of Cecilia¡¯s books so I made her resemble them slightly. She had wide hips that led to digitigrade legs that ended in three taloned feet simr in design to the lizardkin. I modeled the angle of the leg joints closer to the other more odd races that I haven¡¯te across like the Vulpine that look like anthropomorphic foxes. She was about two and half meters tall, making her much taller than your average humanoid. Okay maybe that¡¯s less than the really tall ones like trolls but the high elves were the oldest surviving race and they were like two meters tall tops. The high elves as far as I knew were the most innately powerful humanoid race. They live so long they might as well be immortal by most of the other races'' standards. Then again the Heirs of the Firstborn seemed to be exceptions, they could pop up in any race and their power matched even the most powerful races in existence. But I suppose that¡¯s a topic for another time. ¡°Who do you serve?¡± I asked as I sensed her consciousness connect into the hive mind. ¡°I serve you, great one.¡± she replied in a melodious voice that sounded almost ethereal. I tested and probed her psyche and I found her mind to be a powerful presence in the hive. She is easily the most powerful mind in here, besides me of course. I could tell she was very intelligent which is good, since I gave her all that brain matter for a reason. ¡°You need a name¡­¡± I muttered as I looked her up and down. Something that showed her status and would roll easily off the tongue¡­ ¡­ ¡­ I got nothing¡­ Yeah photographic memory, have the brain capacity to control an entire race of creatures mentally¡­ can¡¯te with a name¡­ Oh for fucks sake¡­ Maybe I¡¯ll ask Cecilia, she might be able to think of something... I guess¡­ Well that¡¯s that I guess¡­ It¡¯s been four days since I started working on her, I guess I might as well get the hive moving towards Averlon. I¡¯ll get the hive settled down in Averlon first then I¡¯ll go try out that [Mutagenic Parasite]. It apparently lets me mutate and alter existing organisms outside of the hive. The change is limited based on the base temte of the creature and I could decide if I wanted to add their minds to the hive mind. I would need a lot of practice on this one, since this would be my key offering to some of the humans. Well I should probably get on with it then¡­ ??,`¡ã.???.?.???.¡ã`,?? Sir Dane sat nervously in the room of an inn. It was a musky dank ce, utterly unfit for someone of his stature. Thest time he was in Peeler''s Pit it was to put down a riot. Now he was sitting with his Knight Commander and his fellow knight Sir Holt as they waited for Princess Cecilia. ¡°Why have you brought me here? Enough with the riddles, out with it.¡± his Knight Commander finally snapped impatiently. ¡°Knight Commander please¡­ this is important¡­ we cannot tell you¡­¡± Sir Dane began. ¡°Cannot tell me?¡± his knightmander snapped in reply, his face slowly turning purple. ¡°I came here because I trusted you two, you are the best knights I have. But remember whomands you, we all have many duties with that rogue beast ughtering our friends in the adventurer¡¯s guild we do not have time for this. WHY AM I HERE!¡± his knightmander thundered. Then Sir Dane heard the door open behind them. He turned to see Princess Cecilia gracefully shed the hood that was covering her beautiful visage. Her ming red hair and red eyes glittering like rubies. ¡°Greetings, Knight Commander Rober I hope the years have treated you kindly.¡± Cecilia said warmly. ¡°Princess Cecilia?¡± Knight Commander Rober asked in shock as he stood up. ¡°What? How?¡± Knight Commander Rober asked in confusion. ¡°This is why we couldn¡¯t tell you why we brought you here. Thank you for your trust sir.¡± Sir Dane said with a bow. ¡°Trust? Why couldn¡¯t you tell¡­ a plot? But are you truly Princess Cecilia?¡± Knight Commander sputtered in reply, his mind reeling. ¡°My good Knight Commander, do you remember when I asked for your counsel in a hallway in the east wing of the pce all those years ago. The time when I wanted your opinion on how a grain reserve would improve your knight''s ability to do their duty?¡± Princess Cecilia said. ¡°Yes¡­ I told you a parable¡­¡± Knight Commander Rober said cautiously. ¡°Yes. From ashes to mirth our lives are decided by the whims of fate.¡± Cecilia replied as Knight Commander Rober¡¯s eyes widened in shock. ¡°Your Highness.¡± Knight Commander Rober said as he fell to his knees. Sir Dane and Holt both did the same following theirmander. The sound of their armoured knees striking the half rotted wood floor echoing out. Cecilia calmly approached and she knelt down before the loyal Knight Commander. ¡°Rise good knights.¡± Cecilia said gently as helped Knight Commander Rober to his feet. ¡°How¡­ I thought you were dead¡­¡± Knight Commander Rober replied. ¡°It is a long story¡­ that is why your loyal knights could not tell you why they brought you here¡­¡± Cecilia said. Cecilia then recounted what has happened, her imprisonment, her escape, her alliance with the great beast and now what her father has done to Hearthstead. She of course didn¡¯t mention the prophecy and merely spun the narrative of her father being power hungry. With a vige burnt to the ground it wasn¡¯t that hard of a sell all things considered¡­ ¡°If you need proof please listen to this.¡± Cecilia said as she ced the audio recording device. Now in addition to the old audio there was more. The eyes of the knight¡¯s widened as they heard the voice of their king roar out of the small device. What do you mean your operatives failed? You said they were the best you could find! Your grace, the mage was skilled, very skilled, her identity is unknown I suspect it might be the Princess¡­ She is a very gifted mage and she has had nothing but time to practice the arcane arts during her imprisonment If you recall she constructed her first original spell at eight years old So she is trying to turn my own knights against me¡­ Possibly with the evidence at the scene it would be easy to persuade them or at least sow the seeds of doubt Yet my knights have not sought an audience¡­ Treason in my ranks¡­ Very well, Sarana make preparations for a purge If the knights prove themselves disloyal we will need to cull the traitors Your grace, with respect. If this fails¡­ it will be the end of your reign¡­ It will be the end of my reign if my own knights turn against me! I will not let that happen, you know what is at stake. If we fail it will be both your head and mine will be on the chopping block Your grace¡­ THAT IS A COMMAND! Make your preparations¡­ Cecilia inwardly smiled as she listened to the recording. In reality that whole both of their heads on the chopping block thing wasn¡¯t talking about the people lynching the pair of them. It was talking about what heaven would do if they found out about the prophecy¡­ But the knights didn¡¯t need to know that¡­ ¡°A purge¡­¡± Knight Commander Rober said shakily. ¡°Yes, my father in his bid to remain in power has decided that your long years of service are something to be easily discarded. He has clearly shown that he does not value the lives of his soldiers or his citizens. He has on all ounts broken his oath as protector of the realm.¡± Cecilia said solemnly. ¡°Then we must act¡­ we cannot allow this to happen. He won¡¯t stop at one vige¡­¡± Knight Commander Rober muttered. ¡°Yes, he won¡¯t. He burned that vige just to get information on my friend. What will he do when his crown is at risk?¡± Cecilia asked. ¡°Yes, he will¡­ but what of your friend? That beast has killed dozens of adventurers. Why would you ally with it?¡± Knight Commander Rober asked. ¡°He was the one that freed me. He is no dull beast my good Knight Commander. As far as he knew, he woke up to see a group of humans trying to kill him. Is that surprising that one as powerful as him would not strike back? A human would not react much differently. My friend is quite reasonable, Knight Commander. He has a sharp mind and his life spans far into ancient times. I dare say he is the wisest individual in the region.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°How old is he?¡± Knight Commander Rober asked cautiously. It ismon knowledge that what is old is powerful. Size is not a good gauge of strength, it is what lies within that matters. An individual¡¯s strength can vary from a cup to an ocean and when the creatures of old fought the legends say they could sunder mountains. Even today millions of yearster some parts of thend bear the scars of ancient battles. Cursed desserts in the middle of jungles. A frozen ind in the tropics. A mountain that looks like it has been cleaved in twain. Cliff sides that are made of ck ss. Many vestiges of a time when gods walked the world. ¡°I do not know, he has never shown me his full strength. Best to not show your full hand until necessary, at least that¡¯s what he told me. I can tell you he is at least as old as the Elysian Empire. The vault he was sealed in had some of their old magics. I saw some old runes of power within.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Elysian Empire¡­ if we let this go on, more adventurers will be butchered¡­¡± Knight Commander Rober muttered as all the implications started to sink in. ¡°Yes, I saw a fight between a gold ranked team and my friend. It wasn¡¯t a battle, not even a fight, it was ughter. Their spells and attacks bounced off their hide likemon stones and his des cut an adventurer¡¯s mithril shield in half with a single blow. But not that surprising considering we use mithril because the old alloys are lost to us and we no longer possess the knowledge to properly capitalise on mithril¡¯s ability to hold enchantments.¡± Cecilia said with a shake of her head. ¡°We cannot beat him Knight Commander Rober, if he has survived the empires of old we do not stand a chance. We cannot kill what we can barely understand.¡± Cecilia said. ¡°Yes, we fight monsters by capitalizing on their weaknesses. There is no guarantee we can even exploit the weakness even if we knew what it was¡­¡± Knight Commander Rober said with a sigh. ¡°That is not all, in truth if I wanted to take the throne by force I could have already done so. But I cannot do that, a violent usurpation would throw our nation into chaos. We cannot afford that now, especially with Tralis and Beralis at each other¡¯s throats. Lady Sarana tells me they are already at war and Tralis is winning. Tralis is ruled by a usurper house, Lady Sarana has sent me concerning news about their leadership.¡± Cecilia said grimly. ¡°What kind of news?¡± Knight Commander Rober asked as he narrowed his eyes, the steel of an old warrior showing in his gaze. Although he did not always agree with that spymaster, as a militarymander he cannot deny the utility of the information she provides. ¡°The crown prince is a brute. He razed a town that refused to surrender to him. He found a particrly beautiful mage and he wanted her as his personal toy. But as you know mages are not easy to tame, we can strike and kill with nothing but our minds. So he subjected her to the Rite of Tranquillity.¡± Cecilia said darkly. The Rite of Tranquillity was a form of dark magic. Cecilia herself is familiar with it and she knows how to use it. It is a cruel form of the arcane, it is essentially a form of magical lobotomy. It is spected that the Rite of Tranquility severs the connection of the individual from their font of ether. Which is where all creatures are believed to draw their power from. It turns the victim into a dull drone-like creature that obeys orders blindly, the individual is only left with their most base instincts. Leaving only their three core instincts behind, the desire for self preservation, sexual reproduction and social inclusion. This means if you keep them safe and fed, while praising them like one would a dog, a victim made tranquil will do anything to make you happy just like amon pet. The only difference here is that you could sleep with your victim and chances are they will enjoy it because the tranquil aren¡¯t that picky about their partners. After the Rite they have to be trained after the fact on how to maintain their own personal hygiene and how to eat in a semi presentable fashion again. It is mostmonly used to turn enemies into pets for the cruel and desirable individuals into toys for the perverse. ¡°The Rite of Tranquility¡­¡± Knight Commander Rober said through gritted teeth. Cecilia knows the Knight Commander hated this spell with a passion. He has on many asions said it would be kinder to hang the victim, better to die than live like that. ¡°If Tralis wins and they annex Beralis they will be uncontested in power in the region. Without my friend they will be unchallenged as they march south. My good knights look at me, do you think that vile prince would let someone who looks like me walk away unharmed and unsullied? Would you be willing to watch me get subjected to the Rite of Tranquillity and turned into a toy? Let the prince bend me over a desk and have his way with me? Let me carry his vile progeny in my belly as he exploits and mistreats the good people of our nation?¡± Cecilia asked, making her statements as graphic as possible. ¡°Never¡­ my body will be cold before I let that happen...¡± Knight Commander Rober said through gritted teeth. Cecilia could hear his gauntlets creaking as he clenched his fist. Inwardly she smiled, it was almost too easy. She was beloved by the people when she was still in Averlon. The people grieved when they thought she passed. Now they have an unjust ruler at the helm, with a just and capable recement avable. Now they have amon enemy to rally against. A vile creature of a prince to demonise. There¡¯s nothing like a crisis and copious amounts of fear mongering when you want to unite people¡­ As her only friend likes to say¡­ This is going to be good... Chapter 37: Overriding Will Chapter 37: Overriding Will Lily gasped as she felt the prince grab her right breast, at the same moment she felt him m himself in as deep as he could. She moaned and writhed as she felt his searing hot rod hit her deepest parts. Her mind was a haze of lust and pleasure thanks to the potion that both her and the prince had taken. Lily has very quickly be the prince¡¯s favourite night timepanion. She was spending pretty much every night with the prince between her legs. At this moment it was their third round for that night and Lily could hear the wet sound of the prince¡¯s body pping her seed coveredhers. Lily didn¡¯t mind the potion because it certainly made her life easier, she barely had to do any acting during their nightly sessions. The potion made them both extremely lustful and also filled with stamina allowing them to go for longer than they normally could. The specific version of the potion they were using was also the more expensive variant used by royals that prevented pregnancies so the prince could finish however he wanted. Afterall bastard children were just potential usurpers to the throne. The potion was certainly useful for Lily since she didn¡¯t need to pretend to actually enjoy sleeping with the prince. With the potion she would actually enjoy it so in a way her nighttime sessions were a good way to destress from having to maintain her cover. Lily was struggling to contain her release when she heard the prince groan as she felt his member twitch inside her. Lily released the floodgates when she felt him pour even more of his seed into her. She felt a wave of pleasure coursing up her spine as she screamed into the night. Her toes curled as her back arched, her body convulsing from the strength of her release. She felt her walls close around his member as if she was trying to milk him dry. After that the prince extracted himself with a satisfied sigh andyed down next to her. Lily cuddled up next to him and she felt him pull her head towards him for a kiss. Lily closed her eyes and their tongues danced in a deep passionate kiss. Lily then curled up onto his chest making sure to press her voluptuous breasts against his side. The two of them bodies slick with sweat basked in the afterglow and as Lily felt the lustful haze in her mind start to clear her mind returned to the next part of the n. Lily had been spending most of her nights with the prince, emphasis most of the nights. Pretty much every night is not every night. Lily was as ofst night sleeping with two partners. The second partner took a lot more work for her to make him invite her into his bed or perhaps take her to his bed... It was a lot of slow methodical temptation, since her other target was much more strong willed. She lost count of the amount of times she had to bow low enough to give him a clear view of her cleavage, hug a tray hard enough her breasts threatened to pop out of her maid dress and bend over to do something with her rear in the air with her dress that was a size too small for her long legs and voluptuous rear. Her beloved princess told her men could potentially turn to sex when they were stressed. So who would be more stressed than the king with a monster on the loose and his imprisoned daughter supposedly teaming up with it. Lady Sarana has been strategically assigning her as the King¡¯s maid every time there was a particrly stressful day. Sarana had also been spiking his wine with a mild aphrodisiac, the queen for her part was in no mood for a nightly tussle in the sheets. The queen was in fact distraught and barely eating, feeling immense regret for treating her daughter poorly enough that she would turn to a monster for help. So you could say the queen wasn¡¯t exactly in a mood for it¡­ It must have been hard being so stressed and sexually frustrated with nowhere to release it. This meant he was bing rash, impulsive and very very emotional. Sarana told her it was working, the king was bing more and more open to rash measures. He was even thinking of purging parts of his knight core despite her warnings of a potential ascendant Tralis in the north. The n was rather simple, the end goal was to destabilise the power of the royal family. So one of two things can happen with their efforts. One the king may just force himself on the queen and that would be a massive scandal since Sarana would be sure to leak news of this event and spin it out of proportion. Sarana did have all the maids in the castle under her thumb, the maids after all stood in every room serving the aristocracy. They see almost everything and they can spread rumors like wild fire with a little strategic whispering. The king forcing himself on his own wife is the better result but quite unlikely. The king is many things but weak willed enough to risk something like this is unlikely at best. Afterall why would he attempt such a thing when there is a far better prize right in front of him? A prize that is always sticking her rear up in the air invitingly. A prize that his own son is slowly falling in love with¡­ Yes the prince is falling in love with Lily, she could tell just by the way he holds her and the way he looks at her. Originally he just used her body for his own pleasure but over the weeks their sessions were getting more gentle and loving. Lily remembers their first session, he practically tore her undergarments off and shoved his rod all the way in immediately. But to be fair they had both already drank the potion and Lily only felt a shock of pleasure when he did so. When the king forces himself on her, she would have the perfect thing to pit son against father. Love can drive people to extremes, Lily herself was living proof. She wholeheartedly used her body to serve her beloved princess. Butst night the King finally cracked when she bent over to pour him some tea. He didn¡¯t react at first but as she stepped away she heard him ask her to lock the door. Lily did as she was bid and she was then instructed to stand in front of him. The king walked behind her and she felt him tug on theces on her back that held her dress in ce. Lily pretended to yelp as she held her dress up. She internally rejoiced at the fruition of her dear princess¡¯s n.With this incident her dearest princess is one step closer to taking rightful ce on the throne of Averlon. Lily remembers as he roughly pulled the dress down. She yelped and covered her chest as she felt the dress fall to her ankles. Luckily for her it was fall and the temperature was rather chilly so she instinctively began to shiver from the cold but it would look like she was terrified. She felt his hand roughly reach forward and grabbed her breasts. ¡°Be quiet¡­¡± the King growled huskily as he gave her breasts a squeeze. Lily stiffened as she felt him grab the top of her simple white cloth bra and pulled them down. She felt the king bury his head in the side of her neck as he inhaled her scent and he pinched her nipples between his fingers. They were in his study so there wasn¡¯t exactly a bed avable. So instead the king shoved her towards the desk and pushed her onto it. Lily found herself on her back as the king unbuckled his pants revealing his erect and throbbing member. Lily pretended to close her legs in fear but the King roughly pulled her legs apart and tore her panties off, ripping the fabric. ¡°Please, your grace¡­¡± Lily whimpered. ¡°Silence, if you scream no one will ever know what happened to you. My spymaster will see to that¡­¡± the King growled as he grabbed her hair. Lily pretended to nod fearfully and he roughly released her head before positioning his member at her entrance. In rough motion he was inside of her and Lily yelped as she felt the pain. Not surprising since he didn¡¯t bother to do anything to get her ready for it, he was only interested in using her. Lily covered her mouth to stifle her voice as she felt him thrust into her roughly. He grunted like an animal as he used her, shoving his member as deep as he could with each thrust. His grunts turned to pants and his pants turned to groans as he finally found his release. Lily felt him pull out and then the warm feeling of his releasending on her belly. Thinking back on this incident Lily idly wondered if this is considered rape. She didn¡¯t want to do it but she was willing to do it because that was what her princess wanted. Well what she wanted didn¡¯t matter, all that mattered was what her dearest princess wanted. In the back of her mind she was aware that what she was doing was immoral but all she could think about was her dearest princess. She knew that spell changed her but she didn¡¯t mind. Looking back at who she was before that fateful day she was d of who she was now. Before that she was lesser, a woman with no purpose. Now she knew exactly what she lived for and why she did what she did. It was almost liberating¡­ ??,`¡ã.???.?.???.¡ã`,?? As I looked at the gathered queens I pondered a gnawing question in the back of my mind. We were about to move out after being here for almost a week but still that same question was gnawing at me for all this time. One of the dangers of any organisation is betrayal¡­ so since these queens weren¡¯t mindless drones, what exactly is stopping them from rebelling? I know they can¡¯t, it¡¯s like thismon sense thing in the back of my mind but the logical part of me still wanted to know what exactly was holding them in ce. ¡°What is stopping you from rebelling?¡± I asked. The queens all looked at each other in slight confusion as if I asked an absurd question. ¡°Why would we rebel, my king?¡± Nafas asked as she tilted her head slightly. ¡°Are you incapable of considering betrayal?¡± I asked. ¡°I do not understand the purpose of the question.¡± Nafas replied looking more confused. ¡°We are capable of understanding the concept of it but we have no reason to do so, nothing can be offered to us that can sway us, great one.¡± Nafas said in a tone that implied she was stating the obvious. It was the kind of tone that you would use when someone asked you what colour the sky is. I have a feeling these queens have no idea how to even answer me¡­ Then I saw my new creation step forward, the queen of queens, prime queen¡­ something, I haven¡¯te up with a name yet¡­ ¡°Great creator, I believe I can answer your query.¡± she said gracefully. Well she is the smartest of the bunch by a very wide margin. So I suppose it isn¡¯t that surprising that she was the one that could answer. ¡°Go on.¡± I replied. ¡°We are not like you, great creator. We are but parts of a greater whole, the I is only a piece of the we. We cannot exist outside of the greater whole. Without an overriding will we are beasts, feral, lesser. We are bound by your overriding will, you give us purpose, you give us direction. Without you we are reduced to feral instinct.¡± she said. At those words I felt a wave of affirmation from every mind in the hive mind. So they simply cannot exist without me, or at least they can¡¯t exist in the way they are now without me. My presence and control is a crucialponent of their psyche. ¡°One day, if you so desire, we can be a mind the size of a continent. We are all bound to your great song. If your song is gone we will be lost to deafening silence, then only madness and solitude awaits us. To be separated from the whole is to lose arge portion of who we are. A fate worse than death. Trust us, great creator. We are many and we are one, we are legion. We will not fail you.¡± She finished with a bow. ¡°So it¡¯s safe to say you will give up anything for me?¡± I asked with a small smirk. For you great one Without question¡­ I heard a hundred thousand voices reply in unison in my mind. Now that I think about it¡­ she is supposed to be the voice of the hive, like a secondary controller. So technically she is the hive or¡­ the legion? But Legion is a male name right? Hmm¡­ What about Legia? Hmm Legia means to read and literacy if I recall, I know this because of some of the memories I stole. But Legia doesn¡¯t sound that nice¡­ Legiana? It¡¯s kind of fitting, it has this royal feel to it and it sounds like thebination of Legion and Legia. She is the Hive and her job is to read the Hive, report to me and represent us. ¡°I think I have a name for you.¡± I said with a smile. ¡°Legiana, your name is Legiana.¡± I said. ¡°As you say, I am Legiana. ¡± Legion replied with a bow. Then I heard her voice echo out into the hive mind. I am Legiana, the voice of the hive¡­ Chapter 38: Portents of the Future Chapter 38: Portents of the Future Cecilia hummed happily as she poured herself a ss of wine. It¡¯s been so long since she had a nice vintage. She always enjoyed the fruitier sweet wines as a child, they weren¡¯t that strong since they were made for women. They also made her giggly and bubbly after a ss or two. Now that she was older, she wondered if she could handle the stronger stuff. But still this ten year old fruit wine was still a wee treat. It was even the favourite vintage she would taste once in a while as she grew up. It was a gift from the knightmander during their second meeting. It was quite sweet that he remembered what she liked even after four years. Honestly she was feeling a little lonely, she missed having her friend around. It was nice to have someone you would talk to, someone who didn¡¯t see the crown or the prophecy. He spoke to her as if she was just another person you plucked off the street. To be able to speak your mind, no protocol, no grand political game in the background. Just two individuals speaking their minds. It was quite liberating honestly. She could be her true self, no need to pretend to be anything. She had no inclinations to betray her friend, after all she wasn¡¯t aplete imbecile. He could kill her easily now, or at least since shest saw him. He had a tendency to return from his trips with a significant boost in power. She could only imagine what power he had stolen this time. What¡¯s more it was in his best interest to work with her and she had no problem if one day she would answer to him. Most royals would balk at the thought but if she was anything, she was pragmatic. There is always a bigger fish in the pond, it just depends on how big the pond was. Afterall it was better to answer to a friend rather than a tyrant. She would rather work under her friend than under the tyrannical wings of the seraphim any day. He afterall does not have themon failings that most creatures possess. For starters he doesn¡¯t really have an ego, and is pragmatic to the extreme. It made sense when she thought about it. It is theorised by schrs and beastiarians that the ego is just a way for creatures to showcase their power to others. There was a need to impress who the creature thought they were onto others. It creates a power dynamic and it can serve to amplify perceived power when used correctly. But for the Firstborn? There was no need for that. They could read each other¡¯s strength at a nce, they all knew exactly where they stood rtive to each other. Any Firstborn trying to bite off more than they could chew would find themselves as a meal to their fellows soon enough. Why lie? Why deceive? When the truth isid bare at a nce? Why do you need a poker face when the cards of every yer are t on the table for all to see? As Cecilia took a sip of her wine and savoured the fruity and nutty taste on her pte, she couldn¡¯t help but find her mind go to that ancient time. A time when civilisation would be seen as a tool of the weak. One stood alone, and stood strong alone. A time where might makes right or perhaps right and wrong had no meaning back then. It was just who lived and who died. To say her friend was made to exist in a different time would be an understatement. So one could say Cecilia was very curious to see how he will behave in the world today. It is a different world with different rules, a world where the fall of a Firstborn is precedent. Cecilia knew her prophecy meant she would change something, something big. The truth the world has tried to forget¡­ It was definitely vague considering she had no idea what this truth was¡­ But with her friend now walking the world and him being the one that freed her to begin the prophecy... She couldn¡¯t help but think it had something to do with the Firstborn¡­ But what could it be? Survival of the fittest? That seemed too easy¡­ The powerful prophecies were always vague and held a deeper meaning within them. Cecilia has been pondering this question ever since she was freed from that infernal prison. Yet she found herself no closer to the truth. If she was to get a leg up on this prophecy she would need to observe her friend closely. He may not have ever lived amongst his kin but there were always the little details there that spoke of his ancient heritage¡­ Cecilia shook her head and cleared her thoughts. Well she wouldn¡¯t get her answer with him gone. She was a little worried at first when he said he was leaving. What if something happened? Well at least for now everything was going perfectly to script. She just got news that her father had forced himself on Lily. Now with any luck her traitorous brother will skewer her father for her. Yes, traitorous, Sarana did some digging at her behest. Her brother had coveted the throne and whispered in her father¡¯s ear to get her locked up in that prison. Oh how she would have her vengeance, by the time Cecilia was done with him he would beg her to kill him... Ah what a wonderful mental image¡­ Well she just had to wait for her dear friend to get back. He¡¯s been gone for almost two weeks now so Cecilia was sure he would be back with many new tricks up his sleeve. She just hoped it wasn¡¯t something too big that he would have no need for her¡­ She afterall had no idea if the Firstborn were even capable of being attached to others emotionally¡­. As Cecilia finished her ss and let out a small sigh, well she would find out eventually... She should probably take a bath now... She had just finished pleasuring herself and she was covered in sweat. Well it was another plus of being alone with a monster, she could do whatever she wanted to herself whenever she wanted. Even when he came in when she was stark naked with her toy or Lily between her legs he just calmly greeted her and went into his favourite corner of the room to read. If you base it on his reaction she might as well have been eating lunch or something. From what she could tell he just viewed it as one of the many needs that humans have. As for what the future holds, Cecilia knew only one thing. There are big thingsing, she knows she is looking at the end of an era maybe even an age. With a prophecy like that, the Syndicate on the move and a Firstborn loose in the world, who knows what else is happening in the shadows? Maybe the demons are on the move? The heroes of old? The old tales said many things, towards the end of the Third Conflict many of the great heroes didn¡¯t die, they just wandered off and disappeared. Heaven tried as they might just couldn¡¯t get them all, or even get the most powerful ones. They killed a lot of chaff but none of the true wolves. So many old names, so manyrger than life characters, their sagas told around crackling fires¡­ Could they still be alive? Heroes tended to have long lifespans that far outreached their races'' typical lives. There is Maha the Swift who was trained by The de himself. The de... a legendary figure who was of a long dead race that towered three meters tall and resembled anthropomorphic pigs. The de who fought with a one handed sword style, unheard of for most warriors as it often made more sense to use a shield, dual wield or use a two handed weapon. The free hand after all lended little advantage beyond grapples and unarmed techniques, but The de was devastating with that style thanks to his immense strength and speed. The de who killed the Lord of Dreams. The de who was in turn killed in that great battle. If she recalled correctly Maha his apprentice was about¡­ 100 000 years old approximately, give or take a few millennia. Then there is the King Crow or Crow Father depending on who is telling the story. He is perhaps the oldest of the heroes, records of him dating back even before the War in Heaven during the First Conflict more than 250 000 years ago. He was apparently a good friend of The de and some of the other heroes of that time. There are other figures as well, less well known ones, or perhaps simply those that have less records. The Ender Knight bearer of a soul of ckest night and the Furtive Vulpus who was and is worshipped as a god by the Vulpine on the eastern continent. But that whole worship part was not that impressive when one considers Maha is also a figure that has achieved deific status amongst the Lizardkin, being worshipped as a goddess of war and marital valor. Not that surprising considering she was supposedly a Draconian, the ancient precursor to the Lizardkin. These figures as far as she knew predated even the Syndicate. Well if any of them are alive and still kicking around she¡¯ll find out soon enough. Lots of blood in the water has a tendency to draw out the really big sharks¡­ But as it stands everything was going fine, she was only a few steps away from getting her throne, she wondered what other interesting events will be thrown her way by the time her little life story is over... ??,`¡ã.???.?.???.¡ã`,?? Maria sat in her bed silently as she held the sheets up to her bare chest. Her head was lowered slightly and she tried to ignore the soreness and wetness between her legs. Most of all she tried to ignore the vile repulsive man putting on his clothes in front of her bed. This man, Crown Prince Ss Tralis the first, decorated militarymander, master duelist, breaker of the Beryl Line and lecherous pig¡­ The war had died down for a period after the sessful assault on the Beryl Line; the door to Beralis was now open. But now both armies were exhausted both in terms of strength and equipment. The city statescked the resources to maintain sustained warfare for too long, inrge pitched battles alot of equipment tends to be destroyed so often a few weeks were required for the armies to recuperate after major shes. Such is the price of a fragmented continent. So now during this lull the Great Conqueror has returned to Averlin to make an announcement. Maria Averlin once was to be Prince Ss¡¯s bride; she had sold herself to Tralis for the safety of her nation. But with Beralis¡¯s great Beryl Line now in tatters, Tralis was now set to annex and defeat their longtime rival and be the preeminent power in the region. Now the only thing left for them to do was to recover and push for victory before the snows arrive. Even if winteres the invasion would only be dyed. Prince Ss has made sure to advance far enough into Beralis to seize their agricultural heart. So after winter is over Tralis will just need to march on a demoralised and hungry Beralis. With such a victory on the horizon, why should a great conqueror like Prince Ss settle for someone like Maria? Why should a soon to be prince turned emperor limit himself to a princess from a small nation like Averlin? So the victorious prince, drunk on his victory, has journeyed to Averlin to make a grand announcement and to deepen Maria¡¯s humiliation. She was not to be a queen, she was to be relegated as a concubine in Prince Ss¡¯s harem. The original deal was for her to marry Prince Ss and then Averlin will integrate into Tralis. But now the arrangement was Maria would be relegated to a concubine and Averlin would submit and integrate anyway. It¡¯s not like Maria¡¯s tiny nation could stand against the might of an ascendant Tralis¡­ Maria couldn¡¯t ask for help, her sister nation of Averlon couldn¡¯t help her. She had heard from her spymaster that there was a new monster loose in the forest north of Averlon. From what she heard the Beastarians had no idea what it was and adventurers were dying in the dozens on the hunt. There was no way her sister nation was willing to march to war for them with a new monster in their backyard¡­ The sessor kingdoms of the now dead Volerian Empire, Boria , Vororia, Jaria and Veria all continue to squabble amongst themselves. It seems all they are interested in is fortifying their own borders. Chances are they won¡¯t act until the usurper nation of Tralis is ready to kick down their door. By then it might be toote¡­ Besides the sessor kingdoms have focused too much on trade and their militaries arecking, all of them relied on their flimsy defence treaties with each other for security. Marina to their south will most likely attempt to form an alliance with the likes of Averlon, Arunem, Isnd and Cathay to contest Tralis if they do turn their gaze south. Afterall on the march south Tralis will meet the borders of Marina first at the Elysian Gate. If they could put aside their differences long enough to form the alliance in the first ce¡­ That n had no ce for Averlin as far as she knew the other nations were treating Averlin like it was part of Tralis already. The ambassadors left in Averlin were all the lesser ones just here to get some court experience. The better ambassadors have all been sent to Tralis¡­ ¡°Well that was nice, when I wipe Beralis off the map I¡¯ll move you to Tralis. Then we can do this every day. I look forward to introducing you to my new toy, you¡¯ll like her, she''s a redhead like you, she¡¯s not as tight as you but she has bigger tits. She was some mage that tried to fight us when we advanced past the Beryl Line. She¡¯s tranquil now, so she¡¯s a great toy, mages can be troublesome.¡± Prince Ss said with augh as he turned around now with most of his clothes back on. Maria didn¡¯t answer, she just quietly looked down, this man won¡¯t stop until his harem is filled with every beautiful maiden in the world. ¡°I¡¯m talking to you.¡± Prince Ss said as his eyes narrowed slightly at herck of response. ¡°I look forward to the day your highness¡­¡± Maria replied softly. Maria stiffened as she saw him approach her and she instinctively flinched and held the sheets closer to her body. ¡°You really are a dull woman, I should make you walk my pce nude and on a leash to get it into your head¡­¡± Prince Ss said as he marched over and tore the sheets off Maria revealing her bare body. Maria instinctively tried to cover herself with her hands and she found the Prince¡¯s hands at her throat. ¡°You belong to me, do you understand?¡± Prince Ss said softly. ¡°Yes¡­¡± Maria whimpered in response as she felt her eyes grow hot with fresh tears. ¡°Good¡­¡± Prince Ss said Maria felt his hand tighten around her throat. She opened her mouth in a gasp and she felt her head being yanked forward. Next thing she felt was his tongue in her mouth, she gagged as his hand tightened and he shoved his tongue deeper into her mouth. Then in an instant he shoved her head back and she fell back onto the bed. Maria raised her head back as she gasped for breath. ¡°Do you know why I like you redheads?¡± Prince Ss asked with a lecherous grin. Maria just looked at him tearfully and shook her head. ¡°Because of this.¡± Prince Ss said as he opened her legs revealing her red swollenhers and red bush. ¡°Your bush matches what your hole looks like when I¡¯m done with you.¡± Prince Ss said with augh as he stood up. ¡°You know it¡¯s a pity that Averlon Princess died. I heard she had a bosom as big as yours when she was 14 winters old.¡± Prince Ss said as he looked at her small petite chest. ¡°Ah imagine how her body would have been when she came of age. I would have loved to have my face in her bosom and have your mouth around my cock.¡± Prince Ssughed crudely as grabbed his overcoat. ¡°Well I¡¯ll be back after I kill the Beralis royal line, then you can move to Tralis and we can do this everyday.¡± Prince Ss said as he walked towards the door and without a backwards nce he left the room leaving her behind like amon whore. As soon as he left Maria saw the door open again and her handmaidens all came in their eyes filled with concern. ¡°Princess are you alright?¡± one of her handmaidens said. ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­ draw me a bath¡­¡± Maria replied softly. Maria gingerly got off the bed trying to ignore the throbbing between her legs. That brute liked pain, he only gave her a potion that stopped pregnancies, no royal wanted bastards afterall. He did nothing for her to make the experience more tolerable. He liked to hear her scream and sob during the act¡­ Not surprising, House Tralis is called the usurper house for a reason. Their line was born from a mercenary¡¯s rebellion. A nameless mercenary usurped the rightful ruler of Tralis and took their house name for his own a hundred years ago. The stories still spoke of how he and his mercenarypany raped their way through the nobility forcing thedies of the court to give birth to their heirs, who would then take their ce. At least it was a quick way to get your officers instated as nobility, even if crude and alienating to the other nations. He then switched the royal guard and his knight core with his own men to secure his hold on the nation¡¯s military. All the dissenting knights were executed, a few caved and decided to serve the new ruler. Their name was like mud in the eyes of the other royal families, synonyms with bandits made kings. The Tralis¡¯s royal line even had a tradition of collecting beautiful maidens and creating a vast harem. Brutes and scoundrels all of them but Maria supposed she should count herself lucky. Prince Salis¡¯s father, the current aging king of Tralis had a reputation for beating his partners. At least his son didn¡¯t like too many marks on his toys so he never touched her face or womanly bits. The most he did was p her rear or choke her¡­ Some of his father¡¯s concubines have ended up dead¡­ When Maria got a look at herself in the mirror she felt another fresh wave of tears. Her red hair was a mess and her red eyes held a dull gaze. Her mascara was streaked from her tears and she looked utterly defeated. In the back of her mind Maria wondered how long before she was truly broken by the Prince¡­ She could only hope her sister nation and the other states of the south could defeat Tralis. If Averlon couldn¡¯t deal with the monster at least it would be Tralis¡¯s problem. Maybe Prince Ss will confuse human conquest and monster hunting¡­ Maybe he¡¯ll end up as it¡¯s lunch... I want to create some Beastiary Entries for some extra world building would you prefer...