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Chapter 124
🕑 Added 2023-07-14 17:55:54 +0000 UTCIn a dark room, the same one as before, a creature of light and darkness was fuming.
"What do you mean the Countess has disappeared? This is an immature Druid we are speaking of. This planet literally tells you where they are. How do you lose someone like that?" the Master scoffed.
The young human kneeling before him shivered visibly, his breath fogging as he responded. "There was interference, Master. A Beast Emperor swallowed her whole, even her own kind could not save her."
The Master scoffed. "I have been killing her kind for years, it is a mere pittance to shoo them away. Find her, you fool. The plans cannot be allowed to fail."
The man gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing as the gulp passed through his throat far too slowly.
"What is it?"
"Subject 19...is refusing to cooperate." the man bowed further, shivering as he replied. "I recommend we replace him, Master."
"No." the creature of light and darkness was still, as if thinking over something. "There aren't enough resources on this planet to replace him. Not easily. I presume he wants to deal with his local rivals before turning his attention to larger matters? Tell Agent 7 to keep off for now, the Subject is unstable and will betray us if we peter him. How are the preparations for Subject 9 going?"
"Not well, Master. The Mother agent has been successfully eliminating ours, ensuring that we do not succeed. I-I must beg for reinforcements."
The creature shivered, the light in the room began strobing.
"How...inconvenient. To think, after millennia of preparation, this is where we begin to have troubles. I shall interfere with it myself. Find out why the Great Mother is interfering now, and where she is finding the power to do so. The tree should be on her last dregs, not fighting against us." the Master said.
"Have someone killed that thing in the county, what was his name? Yes, Nathan. The half-Fae. The Mother agent might still care for her son. And killing him will be enough to put the county in chaos. That should be enough for our plans to succeed."
The man bowed, turning to leave.
"Remember, the county must be destroyed before the Druid returns. I shall not tolerate failure."
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"The Countess is lost." Ven's words made her expression darken, trying to calculate the fallout from this. The Countess Guarding Diery's connections might not be enough to cause serious trouble, but they would still be trouble.
In her time as the Golden Turtle, she had tried to keep out of politics, but one did not simply refuse a Grandmaster. A pity, for that was exactly what she should have done. The girl might have fared better than she thought, but she still lost in the end. And now the Golden Turtle would have to take responsibility.
A Beast Emperor. Jea still wasn't sure which one of them it was, but they weren't things she could interfere with. The second the girl had pierced the water's surface, her senses had disappeared. The mana beyond it, out of her reach as a Grandmaster chased its prey.
Why was a Grandmaster even interested in a Master stage girl? The ocean had to have far more delicious meals. Why this one? Why within her protection?
"Oh dear, that is unwelcome." she said, covering her mouth in an attempt to continue her act. The thought of Nerusia killing her in her sleep made that difficult.
The girl had been scary two decades ago, but she had only gotten scarier. That fog...it was not something that should be so easily wielded. Jea was sure that it would devour her faster than she could react.
The ship had defenses, but the Empress of Night had destroyed a dozen cities with better defenses together. The eastern part of the continent still hadn't recovered from when the black fog had shown its power.
A half-step Grandmaster might only be half a step more above Adept in cultivation, but it was still more than she could handle. Jea was sure that if not for Nerusia lacking manuals to complete her Path, she would already be a Grandmaster. So would she, but Nerusia was further in than she was.
This was going to be troublesome.
"What do you think we should do, Venny?" Jea revolved around the stoic young man that loved acting old. What was he, fifty? Not even that. With a lifespan of over four hundred years, he was far from old.
"Find out if she is dead." he replied. "The county will know if she is."
How would they? Jew's eyes narrowed despite herself. The clans would love a way to find out when one of their progenies had died. Venny didn't seem interested in giving her that information. The younger man walked into a room, blocking her from accessing it. In her own ship.
How did he do it?
Jea didn't really care about the girl, talented youngsters died every minute. But she was scared about what it would mean. The Grandmaster had warned that there were still threats in the Northern Continent. That there was reason not to invade, despite him being the only Grandmaster around.
The two sides might be more equal until the Adept stage, but the Northern Continent had no Grandmaster. Conquering them should be easy now. But the Grandmaster still refused. And that left her wondering what card they had hidden.
If there was anyone that had a card hidden, it was the Solerian Empire. The Northern Empires might not know, but she had spent some time in the Northern continent under another name. The Solerian Empire didn't just have more artifacts than any other Empire, they had more than every other Empire combined.
The Diery palace had twenty-seven areas with security she could not pierce. The Solerian Citadel seemed to have none, until you looked five hundred meters below the city. The land there was blank, a blank area that was as large as the old, destroyed Solerian capital, and extended down for a thousand feet.
That had to be the location for the legendary Library of Law. The Zerolian duchy had to have something too. But she hadn't detected any.
Now, back to the matter at hand. Jea rose towards the ceiling, accelerating at her fastest speed. And since it was her, that was bloody fast.
Now if only that idiotically loud sound didn't come around when she crossed a certain speed. At least people had a harder time hearing her approaching after she crossed that threshold.
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Headman Schroff
Dane Melissa Schroff was having a terrible day. And for once, it didn’t have to do with his terrible name. No, it had to do with the fact that he had to wake up at six these days. Wasn't life supposed to get easier after college? Why was he busier and more tired than before? Forget growing in power, he would be lucky if he didn't decrease at this rate.
The regent had accepted him as representation, breaking their elaborate plan to force him in two. The bastard had to have known what he was doing. This was no privilege, but a punishment.
The very first thing he had to deal with was accepting Moruvier Senesor into the county. The legend Moruvier Senesor. The only Adept born in the north-eastern regions in the last two hundred years. That Moruvier Senesor.
Dane had thought himself lucky that he had seen him from afar. Seven colleges had led field trips to see him during the Senesor duchy's seven hundredth anniversary six years ago. Dane had to duel his way into a slot.
Now he had not only met the man, he had been on a council that the man pleaded to. This new reality still seemed fake to him. But if that had been distressing, the Empress turning up in the middle of the council chamber and demanding to speak to the regent had made him nearly wet his pants.
The Empress of Soleria was here. In the next room. The Empress had talked to him, even if it was to tell him to get out. The reality seemed too fake to be real. But it was.
Then the news had struck. The Countess was missing. Not dead, missing. A beast Emperor had swallowed her. Dane didn't even know there were beast emperors alive. Didn't they get killed a thousand years ago? There was a war or something about it. There was a section on it in college, but he hadn't paid that much attention in history. Just hadn't felt useful.
If he knew he would have to deal with old, dead legends, then he would have paid more attention.
"Just the land ones. The sea beasts are far more powerful than you think. The planet is mostly water, remember?" A voice said into his mind. Dane jumped in alarm. What?
What was going on? There were people speaking into his mind too?
"I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Pulsie, the Countess Guarding Diery's familiar. I was simply testing one of my new inventions. Pleases ignore me."
Ignore? Ignore the voice in his head? Dane wasn't sure he could do that. Why was he being used as a test subject? That didn't sound safe. This was the Diery palace. The palace was supposed to be safe.
"Oh, it's very safe. I am simply hitting with low grade Mind mana, barely Novice grade. I assure you, your defenses are blocking most of it off. I am trying to make a knocking effect, but the words seem to either be getting through or not at all."
A knocking effect? Dane wasn't sure how he felt about that. Was it necessary to use mind magic? Perhaps sound magic could make do?
"Yes, Mind magic is the only magic that travels faster than light, and is so subtle that it is hard to interfere with. I doubt any other magic, let alone sound magic, can replace it. Now, if you will excuse me, is there something you need?"
Dane took a deep breath. That made sense, but still...well it was probably fine if it was Novice grade?
"What is happening? Do you know?" he asked aloud, not sure how to communicate mentally.
"Oh, the Empress is briefing Nathan how to act in the upcoming royal council meeting. The meetings till now have been unofficial, after all. This one will be long, tedious and actually important. With Nathan being the Crown Prince, it's just going to be more troublesome."
What? What did he mean, the regent was the Crown Prince? That. That was-
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The sea boiled, the sky disappeared as he stepped into the island. The surroundings were bright, brighter than he remembered. The Great Mother must have increased the mana quota again.
The Aer dispersed around him, their antlers sparkling as they tried to get a read of him. The bastards must be too young to remember him. The older ones had to be sleeping somewhere.
K sped forward, flicking through space as he headed towards the inner sanctum. An Aer Grandmaster moved to intercept him, warn him off, or something. K wasn't in the mood. Flicking his fingers, he pushed the servile bastard away.
What a shame of a Grandmaster. There was barely any interference when he negated the Aer's mana. The bastard's path was weak, far too weak to stand against his. The Great Mother must have propped some people up again. A waste of mana.
The folds of space rifled as she stepped through, mana increasing so sharply that he had to stop and let his body adjust. The world outside had forgotten that too much mana could be difficult to handle. This place was a fine example of such a place.
K looked at the garden stretching in front of him, flowers of every color and kind arrayed in front of him. In the exact same pattern as the garden he had made the day of his marriage. The gift he hadn't been able to give.
"Stop with this nonsense." he demanded, knowing that this place only had one resident. There was no mortal that could stand living with the Great Mother for long. Not the way she was now.
The mana increased even more. Becoming distinctly visible as the rest of the world faded away. The trunk of a massive tree appeared before him, stretching upward literally to the sky, as her leaves towered over him. The roots spread out under him, burrowing down until they literally touched the core of their planet.
The Great Mother ruled the world far more literally than he would have liked.
"Why are you here? I thought you swore to never return to my home again." the Great Mother asked.
K pursed his lips, suppressing a growl. "The whale Emperor ate the child."
"I am aware. A regrettable action, but she was far too near to him. A whale can be tempted."
K rolled his eyes at the clear eye. The Great Mother wanted him to ignore her actions. "The Whale Emperor hasn't eaten in ten thousand years. Vader's familiar would never eat one of his descendants, let alone...what she is. Great Mother, you have broken our agreement."
A silence filled the surrounding space as the tree did not answer.
The feeling of anger began to fill him up, making him act. "The two of us had an agreement! If something happens to the girl, I swear I will-"
Mana acted before he could react, hitting him on the head and pushing down on the ground, pressing him down as the Great Mother made a show of force. K found his core dead, the surrounding mana unreactive as the tree shook.
"Do nothing. The agreement is moot. I did what I had to do. I am the Great Mother, the ruler of this planet. The girl was progressing too slowly, choosing paths that would take too long to make her Grandmaster. Or did you forget what will happen if she doesn't?"
The pressure on K lessened, allowing him to stand as the Great Mother continued.
"Ten years. That is all we have. If Althea Diery cannot become a Grandmaster within the next ten years, then this planet shall be no more. Tell me, would she have become a Grandmaster if I allowed her to chase the path of elements? At times, children simply have to listen to their elders."
AM: I am sorry for the late chapter, the next chapter has been written, just needs editing. I sadly don't have the time for that right now cause I have to go on a road trip tommorow and my mother's driving me mad with her preperation. I am also going to change some of the fight scene in the last chap...it just got delayed.
