The Dragon Girl’s Ascension Vol 5
Chapter 1
Desaray
looked at the man and chuckled softly, covering her mouth. She knew this man
was a noble. “Are you stupid?”
“What?”
The noble was confused; he didn’t understand why he was being called stupid.
“Did
you think you would continue to have the same status as before? Now, you are
nothing more than a citizen of my holy kingdom if you stay. There are no nobles
in my kingdom—only Apostles who help me run the kingdom. And even those are
very few. A proper kingdom does not need hundreds of greedy, powerful people.
It only requires a few individuals to ensure the lives of its citizens are
good. They will oversee their departments and make sure those departments are
doing their jobs. And those who work in the departments are nothing more than
employees who get paid a salary.
“Nobles
have no place in a proper government. If you think you can continue acting all
high and mighty now that your king has fallen, you’re mistaken. You will need
to work like the citizens you once looked down on. Your easy life is no longer
going to be easy. I suggest using the money you have to build up a few
businesses and go from there. As long as you can keep earning money, maybe you
can still stay in your expensive house. But just so you know, I tax the rich
much more than I tax those who are living week to week.
*Boom!*
As
Desaray finished speaking, the castle that once stood tall as a symbol of the
human kingdom exploded upward as a massive root shot into the sky. Smaller
roots twirled around it to catch the debris, and like a hand grabbing a toy,
they seized the castle remains and pulled them underground, disappearing from
sight. In its place, a towering pillar of water shot upward and began to fill
the massive hole.
“Heh,
as you can see, this city has already changed ownership,” Desaray said, her
gaze falling on the nobles, all of whom wore ugly expressions. “Anyone trying
to take control of the city will be killed on sight. Anyone daring to harm a
citizen of my kingdom will be killed on sight. Anyone who dares oppose these
new rules and regulations will be killed on sight. Do not make me repeat
myself.”
Desaray
gazed at the fear-stricken people before her and figured now was a good time to
continue. “As citizens of my kingdom, not only will you enjoy an almost
tax-free life, but you will be able to work in a safe society. The poor will no
longer be poor, as we will turn the slums into a place for people to work and
call home. Magic is something that can easily help many people. Earth magic can
quickly build many houses in one go. As you slowly begin to live better lives,
you can then upgrade these homes to whatever you want—wood, stone, brick. You
name it, and it will be within your grasp.
“You
will no longer be limited just because of status. No one will be allowed to
suppress your ambitions anymore. But always remember that where there are
freedoms, there are also rules that must be followed to keep such a utopia from
falling into chaos.” The more Desaray spoke, the more people looked up at her
in awe. A life they had never even dreamed of was beginning to open up: freedom
to do as they pleased, no longer suppressed by the nobles.
This
was enough to win the hearts of the citizens. No one liked being suppressed as
they had been. But that was life. They were under such a rule that they had no
choice. But now, it was as if a goddess had descended from the sky.
Juna
suddenly felt her worship alarm go off as she finished her task and rushed back
to Desaray’s side. When she saw the citizens looking up at her goddess with
eyes full of worship, she couldn’t help but step forward, kneel on the ground,
and lower her head as she said, “Your Holiness, I have finished my task. If you
do not mind, I would like to choose an area within the city to build a second
church for the people to worship, Your Holiness.”
“Of
course, Your Holiness.”
Desaray
did not stay in the city. She left the rest to Juna, who now had full control
of the entire city. She looked over at Yi Ling, who seemed to have many
questions, and smiled. “If you want to ask, just ask.”
“Was
it okay to threaten them like that?” Yi Ling wondered if this would have the
opposite effect on the people of the city.
“The
otherworld humans are different from the humans of our world. They only listen
to the strong. Without the threat of death, they would do anything to try to
take you down. It’s easier to deal with them if they feel afraid. But the
carrot has been hung in front of them. What happens next is up to them. Plus,
the reason I put Juna in charge is that she’s not as good-natured as I am.
She’ll end up making a few examples of the people there who dare to try to
disrupt her plans.
“The
key I’ve found to running a good nation is not the ruler but the people who
work under the ruler. If they are blessed with wise retainers, then they will
have an amazing kingdom. And if the ruler is not wise themselves, and the
retainers are not wise, then the kingdom will fall to ruin,” Desaray explained.
“Your
words are very true. China’s history is filled with good and bad rulers. The
dynasties that survived the longest were led by rulers who had good people
under them and listened to those around them. Of course,
every dynasty was bound to fall eventually. If the son who takes over is too
ambitious or has different ideals than their father, then their fall was
already written in stone,” Yi Ling said. She liked how Desaray did things. Just
by watching Desaray speak and act, Yi Ling felt that Desaray, who was younger
than her in human years, was very capable as a leader.
“I
am one of the blessed, that’s all,” Desaray said with a smile. “People are
willing to follow me, and I am willing to do my best for them. Of course, this
was never my goal, and I somehow fell into this role, but it is now needed due
to my system.”
“Well,
I feel that you will really make the kingdom a place for many. You now have
another huge city under your rule. This will allow you to expand further. Many
of these people might even branch out and begin building new villages. This
will open up more farmland—and new food production for a kingdom that is slowly
expanding. Desa, I am willing to help with anything you need. Just ask, and I
will help,” Yi Ling said, her gaze full of sincerity. She wanted to be of help
to Desaray.
Desaray
smiled and put her arm around Yi Ling’s shoulder, causing a sizzling sound to
be heard. “Then I will be counting on you in the future. Until then, we’ll be
hitting the dungeons to help level you up!”
“Okay!”
Yi Ling smiled. She liked having a friend who understood her—someone else who
was stuck with a part of them that could harm anyone around them if they
weren’t careful. Knowing how great her powers were and how dangerous they could
become, she was glad to have a friend who was much more powerful than her and
could stop her if she ever lost herself in anger.
“That’s
because we are friends. In the future, when you make many new friends, you’ll
also find those you can be close to. I am also very close to Juna, as well as
Sei. I cherish all my friends and family. So, I will never push them aside.
That includes my cute daughter!” Desaray nuzzled her nose against Lily’s,
making her giggle.
“But
what if I never grow up?” Lily asked. The last thing she ever wanted was to
grow up. She wanted to stay the same as she was now so she could always be by
her Mama’s side.
“Then
I’ll just have to take care of you for the rest of your life!” Desaray said.
She wouldn’t mind having Lily like this forever. She didn’t plan to have any
kids herself. She couldn’t see any man who wasn’t as impressive as her father
as a love interest. And in her eyes, no man could ever surpass her father. She
was content as she was now. She had amazing friends, a cute daughter, and
everything she wanted—except the family she had lost.
But
even now, to this day, she still felt that her father and her friends were
still alive. No matter how long it took, she would wait and try to find them,
even if it meant destroying every flying island in the sky in the process of
narrowing it down.
⧫⧫⧫
In
another area, the Demon Queen of Cinder sat on her stone throne with a pout on
her lips. Never in her life had she been so fixated on one person. “Just what
is that girl!? Why is she so powerful!? Not to mention, it seems more demon
queens have arrived in this world. Should I warn her? No?
Why would I warn her!? But… I won’t be happy if the other demon queens defeat
her before me… Yes, I’ll warn her only because I wish to defeat her first! I
don’t want the other demon queens getting ahead of me!”
A
few days later…
Outside
a towering ice wall, a certain Demon Queen of Cinder stood staring at it with a
depressed look on her face. “How am I supposed to sneak in!? Why didn’t she
take this stupid wall down!?”
The
Demon Queen of Cinder stomped her feet in frustration. She didn’t understand
why it bothered her so much. Everything about the stupid ice girl made her
angry, but she couldn’t stop thinking about her! After throwing a small fit,
the Demon Queen of Cinder took a deep breath to calm her emotions before
looking around. “No one will notice if I jump the wall, right?”
Sitting
in her office, Desaray was disturbed when Juna sent a message: “Desa, someone
resembling the Demon Queen of Cinder is outside the wall near the human city we
just took over.”
“She’s
back!? Is she burning the forest again!?” Desaray hurriedly asked. She was
worried things would get out of hand.
“No.
She is in her original form, just standing there stomping her feet. It seems
she is disturbed about something,” Juna replied.
“Alright,
I’ll go see what she wants. Also, ask Rose how much longer she’ll need to
smooth things over for Sir Harland. I want her to come here as soon as
possible,” Desaray said. She had too many things to worry
about and didn’t wish to leave a powerful addition to her force outside the
city.
“I’ll
do it now. Be careful. She might not look hostile at this time, but if this is
a trap….” Juna was still worried about Desaray, even though she knew Desaray
would be fine.
“I
know, don’t worry,” Desaray said as she stood up and stretched before looking
at Yi Ling. “Ling, stay here and watch over Lily for me. I need to go handle
something.”
“Alright.
I’ll play with the Princess,” Yi Ling said. She really liked Lily, and the two
had hit it off well.
“Bye,
Mama!” Lily hopped up from the couch, jumped onto Desaray, and kissed her
before letting go. Desaray smiled and waved goodbye before opening the window
and jumping out. She flapped her wings and headed off toward the human city.
A
little while later, Desaray was watching what seemed like a one-demon queen
show. The Demon Queen of Cinder was jumping up and down, stretching her neck as
far as it could go, but she wasn’t really getting anywhere since she was only
jumping about two feet off the ground.
“What
are you doing? Did you come here for me to kill you?” Desaray asked as she
landed in front of the Demon Queen of Cinder.
“Huh?
You! Why did you come out!? I was working so hard to get in!” the Demon Queen
of Cinder complained. This sudden change confused Desaray greatly as she looked
at the defeated expression on the Demon Queen of Cinder’s face.
“Destroy
the world? No! I only want to defeat you now. But not today. I don’t want to
die. More importantly! I want to warn you,” the Demon Queen of Cinder said. Her
behavior was unlike her past self, which confused Desaray, making her take a
few steps back.
“Huh?
Why are you backing away!? I swear I’m not here to fight! I’m really here to
warn you about something very important,” the Demon Queen of Cinder said, her
eyes looking sincere enough that Desaray finally sighed and asked, “What did
you need to tell me, Miss Demon Queen of Cinder?”
“Just
Cinder is fine. No need for the full name. Hmmm? Why would I be bothered by you
calling me by my full title?” The Demon Queen of Cinder—now Cinder—tilted her
head to the side in confusion. She didn’t even understand her own motive for
saying such things. “Anyway! Many demon queens have appeared! You should be
careful. There are many who are far more powerful than me.”
“Oh?”
Desaray completely ignored Cinder’s self-questioning as she held her chin.
“Where are these other demon queens? What are their powers? What should I look
out for?”
“Oh,
well… It’ll take a while,” Cinder said, beginning to fidget back and forth with
her hands clasped together and one foot drawing circles on the ground.
“I’m not letting you into
the kingdom, so don’t even think about it,” Desaray stated firmly.
“What!?
Why!? I just wanted to take a look!” Cinder really didn’t plan to do anything
at all!
“Because
last time, you tried to set the entire world aflame. You really need to reflect
on your actions! The only reason I’m not freezing you now is because I need
this information to protect my people and because you’ve come here without any
intention of harming anyone. But that doesn’t mean I’ll let my guard down
enough to let you take a stroll in the city,” Desaray replied, her arms crossed
over her chest.
Cinder
pursed her lips as she looked away from Desaray, not daring to meet her eyes as
she said, “I only set a little bit of forest on fire… Just a tiny bit… And ever
since then, I haven’t done anything bad!”
“Just
a little bit!? You set half the damn area on fire as far as the eye could see!
Look, it’s still burnt over!” Desaray yelled. She didn’t know what was going on
with Cinder, but she was acting very strange. Desaray looked the demon queen up
and down and noticed she seemed quite nervous. “What did you do wrong?”
“Huh?
Why would you ask if I did anything wrong!? I haven’t done anything. I even
flew here without burning a single blade of grass, I swear!” Cinder didn’t know
what was wrong with her, but she kept fidgeting. She couldn’t help it. She
didn’t understand this strange feeling that was overwhelming her.
“Alright.
Forget that. You said more demon queens are coming, didn’t you? Tell me about
them,” Desaray said. She just wanted to get the
information she needed and then leave. She had to make plans to protect
Serenity, just in case.
“Ah,
yes… Ummm…” Cinder looked at the top of the wall and then back down at Desaray
with eyes filled with hope.
“What?
Do you want to sit on the wall? You could have just flown up there, you know,”
Desaray said, starting to feel tired.
“I
didn’t want you to think I was here to attack, so I was trying to do things
like a human would,” Cinder replied honestly.
“Was
this why you were jumping up and down like a rabbit?” Desaray actually found
this quite amusing. She was starting to feel that maybe Cinder was socially
awkward. However, this didn’t change her distrust of the girl.
“Ah…
I was umm… That’s not important!” Cinder quickly shook her head, flew up into
the air, and sat on the edge of the ice wall. Desaray followed after her and
stood to the side with her arms crossed over her chest.
“There
are four in total, excluding me. The first one, the one you need to be the most
careful of, is the Demon Queen of Death. She can raise the dead and use them as
her minions. The Demon Queen of Death once turned half the continent into an
undead empire, but unlike normal undead, these had no will of their own. A
billion-strong undead army just covered the land. It took the resources of the
entire world to get to her and seal her away.
“The
second one is the Demon Queen of Darkness. She can control shadows, and from
what I know, she once turned the world so dark that even light magic couldn’t
light your path.
“Finally,
the fourth one… the Demon Queen of Lust… She ummm… enslaved men around the
world and, I guess, can be considered the strongest of the demon queens. While
weak herself, her charm power is strong enough to force any man to submit to
her. Although she’s called the Demon Queen of Lust, she never does anything
with any men. She only forces them to do her bidding. She once enslaved every
man on a continent. It didn’t matter if they were young or old. She used them
as her army. They would rush in blindly and attack anyone and everyone, all in
the name of their demon queen.” Cinder didn’t hold anything back. She didn’t
want any harm to come to Desaray—at least not until she was strong enough to
face her once more.
“Hmmm…
Then, question… if you don’t mind answering,” Desaray said, her curiosity
piqued.
“You
can ask me anything,” Cinder replied as she swung her legs back and forth while
looking at the ground below.
“You
were sealed, and so were the other demon queens, I presume? Why do you only get
sealed?” Desaray didn’t understand why they didn’t kill the demon queens but
instead sealed them.
“I
think it’s because even if you kill one demon queen, another will be born. I
might not look it, but I was once a young farm girl. But the other world seems
to have a kind of curse on it. Any living being can become a demon queen,”
Cinder said, lowering her eyes. She could still remember
it—the day she became the Demon Queen of Cinder.
⧫⧫⧫
In
a small village on the outskirts of the kingdom, near the desolate lands. A
skinny young girl wearing dirty rags walked the same path she always did. The
hot summer sun beat down on her petite frame, burning her skin as it always
did. But this didn’t stop her two feet. Her destination was the same as it was
every day. As long as she went around this time, she might be able to find some
food without being eaten by monsters.
The
hot summer sun made many monsters stay in hiding, only coming out when it
cooled slightly. As she got closer and closer to her normal foraging grounds,
her hunger-filled eyes began to ease up a little. When she reached a patch of
what looked like nothing but a bunch of weeds, the girl crouched down and
smiled. “Good, there’s still plenty. If I only take three stalks, it should
last a while.”
With
a happy smile on her face, knowing she was going to get to eat again tonight,
the girl quickly made her way home. What she didn’t know was that the entire
time she was making her way to her harvesting spot, a few kids—two boys and two
girls—had followed her. The older one of the group, a young boy, looked at the
weeds the girl had just picked and sneered. “That useless thing thinks she can
survive eating these weeds? Let’s see how long she lives if they’re gone.”
The
boy came out of hiding with his three friends and made his way over to the
weeds. He looked at them for a moment before raising his foot and stomping on
them. His three friends did the same. They even laughed and mocked the girl as
they destroyed all the weeds.
The
river was located on the other side of the village, and to get there, she had
to sneak around the entire village early in the morning and risk being eaten to
get water. The other villagers didn’t want her anywhere near the river. They
all seemed to want her to die but didn’t wish to do the dirty work themselves.
They seemed to want her to die on her own from hunger and thirst, but the girl
didn’t want to die. That was why she was enduring hardship and searching for
food every day. She had to risk her life to keep going.
After
tossing the herbs into the old clay pot, she now only needed to let it cook for
a while. Until then, she sat down next to the fire and used a stained cloth—a
worn cloth she had washed many times—and dampened it with a tiny bit of water
before wiping the sweat off her body. It was hot, very hot, but with how drafty
her house was, it wasn’t as bad inside. It shaded her from the hot sun and
allowed the wind inside to cool it off. The only thing she hated was the bugs,
but she had long gotten used to them.
She
only had one pot of bitter soup with a tiny bit of snail meat to last her the
entire day. During hot weather, she didn’t leave the house unless she was going
to forage for more weeds.
Every
night, she would lie there, thinking about the days she spent with her parents
before they were eaten by monsters during a monster wave. She had survived,
thanks to her parents hiding her, but they didn’t make it. The dried blood from
their corpses still stained the floor of the broken-down home. She still
remembered looking up through the crack in the hidden space in the floor and
watching as their bodies were torn apart and their blood dripped down onto her
face.
Instead
of offering her help, the village ignored her, even as she was forced to
collect the remains of her parents and bury them in the back of the house. Her
tiny body was covered in blood that day, and even to this day, her hair still
had some stains left in it.
When
her parents were alive, she could play with the other kids, but now they
shunned her, called her useless trash, and told her to die. The adults wouldn’t
say anything when they saw this, as if it was a silent agreement.
Her
once easier life was now gone, and she had to do everything she could to
survive, even if it meant eating bitter weeds. Her parents had saved her life,
and she didn’t wish to waste it.
The
following day, the girl did her usual routine and snuck around the village to
get water. Once that was done, she had to wait until midday to go to the spot
where the weeds were growing. She suffered under the heat but quickly made her
way to the location, only to find that all the weeds had
been stepped on and crushed. “This…”
“Haha!
Are you going to cry? You’re such a useless thing. You should have died
already. I’m just helping you,” a mocking voice came from behind her. She
turned to see the leader of the village kids standing there with his arms
crossed over his chest. Her eyes were already brimming with tears, but upon
seeing his mocking smile and proud look, her sadness began to turn to anger.
Her little hands grabbed hold of a rock next to her, and she waited as the boy
walked over. Luckily, he was alone today. It seemed he just wanted to see her
reaction, but sadly, as he bent over, the young girl swung her arm as hard as
she could and smashed the rock in her hand against the side of the boy’s head…
Blood
oozed from the young man’s head as his world spun and his vision turned dark.
The little girl looked at the young man with anger still in her eyes, raising
the rock once more and slamming it down. Over and over, she continued to smash
the rock down, not caring about anything. She was sick of it. She was sick of
the way everyone was treating her. She had never done anything wrong. She had
only lost her parents, and the entire village saw her as some kind of monster.
Since that was the case, she would turn into a monster. They wanted her to die;
then they could die. She no longer cared about anything.
She
had kept to herself all this time, suffering on her own with no help from
others. She had never asked them for anything, not even a single grain from the
harvests. She ate what she could find, no matter how bitter it was. She risked
her life to enter the forests while it was still dark. She risked her life
coming to the edge of the desolate lands. She had had enough of it all. The
kids tormented her. The adults shunned her. And for what? Just because she was
an orphan? Did she choose to watch her parents die from
being eaten by monsters? No, she didn’t choose this life. It was forced upon
her.
Life
was hard enough as it was without idiots like this boy ruining her only source
of food. She smashed and smashed until the boy’s skull was crushed into a
paste, along with whatever was inside that hollow head of his.
“I’m
sick of it all. I just want the world to burn…” The little girl’s eyes glazed
over. At that moment, she didn’t notice the flames that sparked from the tips
of her hair. She slowly got up and walked over to the destroyed mound where the
weeds were and scooped up what she could. They might be crushed, but she could
still wash them and eat them.
The
girl walked back to her hut, not realizing she was leaving bloody footprints in
her wake. She only cared about returning home. She began working on making her
soup with the prize she found to add to it today—a baby turtle that had gotten
stuck between two rocks. It was as big as her hand and seemed like it would be
tasty. She smashed the shell open, scooped out the turtle inside, and dropped
it into the boiling water.
“Tonight,
I will eat well…” The girl smiled brightly. She waited for everything to cook
before indulging in her creation. It was bitter, but she didn’t care. She ate
and ate until her small belly protruded out. Only when she was done did she
look around at the flames that surrounded her. This entire time, she hadn’t
noticed them, or maybe it was her own mind that tuned them out, but what she
found strange was that she didn’t feel that the flames were hot in the
slightest.
Even
as the flames burned her skin, she just stared at them as if nothing was
happening. “Strange… Why don’t I feel anything?” The
little girl looked at the door, which had fallen to the floor, and saw that
outside was a group of angry villagers yelling things.
“You
demon girl! You killed my son!”
“You
should have died along with your parents!”
“Burn
in hell, you demon!”
“A
demon, huh?” The girl’s eyes curled up as she smiled. “Then a demon I will
become… The world should be burnt to cinder….”
As
these words fell, the entire house exploded in flames. It began to twist and
spin until it formed a flame tornado that started to expand bigger and bigger.
The villagers who were outside the house all screamed in fright and began to
run away. In the center of it all, the girl let out a maniacal laugh as the
flames surrounded her body. Horns began to appear on her head as her skin
darkened. “Burn the world. The world shunned me, so why shouldn’t I burn it
all!?”
The
girl rose into the air as all the flames suddenly began to flow into her body.
The girl who once looked sickly now looked anew. A dress of flames replaced her
tattered robes. She looked at the village and the retreating villagers and
smiled. “You wished to burn me, but in return, you created a new me. A me who
will burn the world to cinder and live in a place where no one can mistreat
me.”
The
girl reached her hands out, and flames flowed from them. It was as if she and
the flames had become one. They spread out over the village, burning the
fields, homes, and all the people within it. The villagers’ screams of pain
brought a smile to the girl’s lips. This was the start.
The start of her crusade to burn the world. To create a place with no hate.
It
was on this day that the Demon Queen of Cinder was born…
⧫⧫⧫
“So
demon queens are born from the grudge that hate creates?” Desaray asked softly.
Listening to Cinder’s story, she understood that Cinder hadn’t ended up like
this because she wanted to. It happened because they pushed her too far. She
actually felt pity for the demon queens. She didn’t know what they all went
through, but she knew it must have been something horrible to end up hating all
of humanity because of it. Cinder was so young, so her hate was easily
fostered. It only took a small trigger to set her off.
“I’m
not sure about others, but for me, it was. The only kindness I ever got was
from my parents… Why am I even saying all of this….” Cinder didn’t know why she
was speaking like this to someone who was supposed to be her enemy. She didn’t
understand why she felt like she could say all this to Desaray in the first
place.
Desaray
lowered her guard a bit and sat down next to Cinder. “It’s sometimes good to
confide in others. While I know it’s been a long time for you, even after such
a long time, letting out your worries and grievances to those who are willing
to listen is also a good thing.”
“Is
it really that good?” Cinder didn’t know. She had been alone since her parents
died. When she turned into a demon queen, she wanted nothing more than to burn
the world. They sent people to kill her, but since they couldn’t, they sealed
her instead.
“You…
You understand me!?” Cinder’s eyes welled up with small flames. How long had it
been since she last cried? How long had it been since she had talked to anyone
like this? The tears wouldn’t stop falling. She couldn’t help it. All the pain
and suffering she had felt over the years was now spilling out of her like a
dam breaking.
Desaray
sat at the side, not knowing what to do. She knew her aura didn’t affect
Cinder, but she was still afraid to touch her in case it caused them to have to
fight once again. So, instead, she sat there quietly, allowing Cinder to cry
out her anguish. At least with her by her side, Cinder wasn’t alone. Cinder
hugged her knees and sobbed for almost an hour before finally gaining control
of her emotions. “I… Ummm… I’ll go…”
Cinder
stood up and floated in the air. She had only gone about ten feet or so before
she stopped and turned to look at Desaray. “Th… Thank… Thank you…”
Desaray
returned to the city, where she was greeted by both Yi Ling and Lily. “Welcome
back, Mama!”
“Oh?
Look at the buns!” Desaray saw the two buns on each side of Lily’s head and
thought they were the cutest things!
“How
was it?” Yi Ling asked. She couldn’t hold back her curiosity.
“I’m
not sure. Only time will tell, but we do have some major issues we need to deal
with. We need to move your people to the kingdom as soon as possible. Those who
are willing to come are all welcome. I’ll have Juna bring you back to China
later to try to organize things. I’ll be working on setting things up here by
getting some new villages set up outside the city. Well… I guess this is now
the capital city. Anyway, we’ll be busy for a while,” Desaray said. She didn’t
know what else to do. She only knew that if a demon queen attacked, she would
have to work extra hard to deal with things. She just hoped she was strong
enough to fend off any demon queens that appeared.
“I’ll
get on it,” Yi Ling said. She was glad she could bring her people here. She had
only been here a short while, but she could tell the people of this kingdom
were very good.
“I
hope that lady I met a while back is okay….” Thinking of the Demon Queen of
Death, who could control the undead, worried Desaray a bit. There were humans
who had turned undead who were not bad people. She didn’t
wish for them to be controlled by such a person.
“Mama?”
Lily looked up at her Mama with a worried look.
“It’s
nothing. I think we’ll need to make a section of our territory able to
accommodate the undead. I have a feeling that in the future, we’ll end up
needing to take in many refugees,” Desaray said.
Chapter 2
In
a dark underground lair, Cinder sat on her stone throne with her lips pursed.
She was replaying everything that had happened the other day over and over in
her mind. She had been doing so ever since she returned to her lair. “It wasn’t
bad talking to someone… I wonder if she would mind if I stopped by to say hi…
No… why would I say hi to an enemy? But… it’s kind of lonely with how things
are now…”
Cinder
was conflicted. She didn’t know what to make of the situation. She had spoken
to someone about her past for the first time. It was the first real
conversation she had had with anyone since her parents were alive. She didn’t
dislike it. To be able to talk to someone, to speak of her grievances… her body
felt lighter. “Maybe I’ll just take a peek…”
⧫⧫⧫
It
had only been a few days, and Desaray had actually gotten a lot done. With
magic, making small villages with stone houses wasn’t hard. She made quite a
few villages and even set them up with the appropriate means of waste disposal and supplied them with proper water for each house so that
residents could maintain adequate hygiene.
“This
should help with any influx,” Desaray said, looking at the newly built towns.
She felt it was a little sad that they were still empty, but at least they were
ready.
“Your
Holiness!” Rose appeared from the sky, landing a few feet away from Desaray.
“Sir Harland is requesting a meeting.”
“Rose,
I just called you back, and now you want me to go to Rain Ford?” Desaray eyed
Rose. It was supposed to be the other way around.
“He’ll
come here. He knows the rules. He wishes to meet with you about moving the city
of Rain Ford here,” Rose explained.
“Move
the city… Do you mean he wants to move the entire city? Do we even have an
earth mage with that power…? Ah, yes, we do…” Desaray could only think of one
person who could pull off such a feat. She took a deep breath and asked, “Why
does he want to move Rain Ford here? Didn’t he wish to start a new beast
kingdom?”
“Because
there’s an issue with the new neighbors since the last merger. About five miles
away from the city, a major high-elf city appeared. The standing army of the
city is more than triple that of Rain Ford,” Rose replied. This made Desaray
frown. She wasn’t against it, but having such a massive army near her own
borders wasn’t something she liked. Although, she really couldn’t deny that her
army was quite big and powerful now as well.
“As
you command, Your Holiness… But, um, can you also come to the city—or more to
the wall again? It seems she’s back,” Juna’s voice came from the root on
Desaray’s shoulder. By the sound of Juna’s voice, it seemed she was very
exhausted.
“Alright,
I’ll go see what she wants,” Desaray sighed as she looked once more at her new
villages before turning toward Yi Ling. “Can you tell Regal that we need a spot
that can hold the entirety of Rain Ford City?”
“I
can do that. But Desa, you should get some rest, too. You’ve been working day
and night recently,” Yi Ling said, worried about Desaray’s health.
“I’m
fine. I can go a few months without sleep if I want now at my current level.
You should get ready for your dungeon dive when I get back. We’ll be going in
together, after all. Ask Oinktera what you need; he’ll help you get ready for
it,” Desaray said, reaching out and rubbing Lily’s head. Lily was in Yi Ling’s
arms.
“Mama,
be careful,” Lily smiled sweetly as always.
“I
will,” Desaray said as she and Rose flew off into the distance, leaving Lily
and Yi Ling behind.
“Auntie Ling, your face
is redder than normal. Do you like Mama?” Lily asked curiously.
“Hmm?
Of course I do. We’re friends,” Yi Ling said, not knowing why Lily was asking
such a question. She gazed in the direction that Desaray had left in, hoping
that things would turn out okay.
Desaray
floated over the ice wall, looking down at the familiar scene of Cinder pacing
back and forth. “Why did you come here again?”
“Ah!
Why do you keep popping up out of nowhere!?” Cinder jumped in fright as she
looked up at Desaray with a pitiful expression.
“Well,
you appeared again, so of course I had to come. So, what’s up this time? More
demon queens?” Desaray asked as she landed in front of the fidgeting girl.
“I…
I came… I came to ask if we can be friends!”
Desaray
was actually quite stunned. She didn’t expect Cinder to ask such a question.
“You want to be my friend? Didn’t you want to defeat me?”
“I…
That was before I realized that you were a good person. After speaking to you
and then going back to my lair, where it’s dark and lonely, I realized just how
horrible of a life I’ve been leading… I don’t want to live a life like this
anymore. I don’t want to be a demon queen anymore. I just want to live a real
life. The life I’ve long lost…” Cinder’s words grew fainter and fainter toward
the end as she fidgeted with her fingers while she spoke. She felt a little
embarrassed since she was basically begging.
“But…
you’ll need to do one thing. I can’t fully trust you yet because, well, you’re
still a demon queen by all rights. If, for some reason, you begin to flare up
and try to burn my city to ashes, then I’ll need to have a contingency plan to
take care of it. This ice needle will live in your heart,” Desaray said,
holding up a tiny ice needle. “It’ll live in your body. If, for any reason,
this ice needle melts or if you begin burning the city, I’ll activate it, and
it’ll kill you from the inside out. If you can accept this, then you can stay
in Serenity. You can live here and experience what a true life is.”
Desaray
did have a soft spot for Cinder’s story. She didn’t know about the other demon
queens, but Cinder had a hard life from the start—an unfair life. While she
couldn’t let her roam freely without some kind of safeguard, she was willing to
give Cinder a chance.
“I
accept!” Cinder’s eyes began to fill with tears. Her lonely life would soon be
over. She would no longer need to be stuck hiding from the outside world. She
hoped that from now on, she would have a place where she truly belonged.
“Good.
Also, If you could help a friend of mine with fire magic, that would be great.
She is from my world and was turned into a fire elemental. I was hoping you
could teach her a few things before she dives into a dungeon.” Desaray knew she
was coming out of nowhere with this kind of request, but who better to teach Yi
Ling than the Demon Queen of Cinder herself?
“No
problem!” Cinder smiled as she wiped her tears. She then grabbed Desaray’s
hands and smiled brightly as she said: “I hope from now
on we can become good friends. I will do my best to win your trust and show you
that I do not mean you or your kingdom any harm. This, I promise. I will work
hard to be accepted!”
“You
do not need to work too hard. The people in my kingdom are all good people. As
long as you are kind to them, they will be kind to you. And Cinder. Do not let
people take advantage of you, either. You want to turn over a new leaf, but
that does not mean you have to say yes to every request, okay?” Desaray was
worried about this. Cinder still had a child-like mindset that she was afraid
she would get taken advantage of.
“I
will be careful. I will not do anything I do not wish.” Cinder smiled brightly.
Her first true smile in many many years.
“Then
let’s go. With the other demon queens around, it will be nice to have a more
strong backup. For now, you can stay in my house. I think it would be perfect
for you since it’s normally frozen because of me.” Desaray scratched her head.
“Ling is also staying there, so it will be good for the two of you to get
together as well.”
“Don’t
worry, with me around the Demon Queen of Darkness and the Demon Queen of Death
will be much easier to deal with. Both are not good with light and fire.”
Cinder replied as she floated up in the air.
“Then
let’s head to Serenity, then.” Desaray flapped her wings and flew off over the
wall. Cinder quickly followed behind them. Desaray had already placed three ice
needles inside Cinder while they were talking. With this as a precaution, she
was no longer worried about Cinder causing issues. She could easily deal with
Cinder now if needed. She just hoped it never came to that.
In
a large mansion about the size of a castle, an aged elf sat behind his desk and
looked at the man in armor kneeling on the floor. “How is it? Is the dirty
beast kin city heavily guarded?”
“Sir,
no. The city itself seems to be Rain Ford city from the Beast Kingdom. While
large, it does not have a large fighting force. With our elite soldiers, we
should be able to deal with it.” The Man in armor replied.
“Good,
see to it. I want those dirty beasts under collar and chain and out in the
surroundings, building up the new land so our people can live good lives in
this new place,” the aged elf ordered.
“As
you wi—” The man in armor didn’t get to finish his words when the building they
were in began to shake.
*Bam!*
The
door to the office swung open, and another elf in robes rushed in. “Brother!
That beast-kin city is rising into the air!”
⧫⧫⧫
“Ummm…
Apostle Juna, can you please warn me next time you decide to raise the city!?”
Sir Harland’s face was pale; he wasn’t expecting the entire city to suddenly be
raised into the air.
“Huh?
I asked if you had everyone locked within the city. You said yes. I said okay,
let’s do this. And you said yes,” Juna said, looking confused. She had
communicated with him! He said yes, so she began the move. She had many things
to do, and this was one that was going to cut into her
time by a lot since it wasn’t easy to move an entire city like this to a new
location. It took a lot of mana as well!
“I
didn’t know you meant you would start, start! I didn’t even know you were going
to move the city!” Sir Harland didn’t know what to say. He thought he would
need to have every citizen move to the Holy Kingdom of Serenity, not to
actually move the city.
“Oh?
Did I not mention that?” Juna tapped her chin with her finger and nodded to
herself. She really hadn’t mentioned it! “Hehe… Sorry!”
“It’s
fine. I’ll go make an announcement to the citizens, or they’ll think something
else is wrong,” Sir Harland said, lowering his head and leaving the office
while Juna pursed her lips and shrugged. She was just doing what needed to be
done, just like she did in the human city. Like when she stripped three
nobles—two men and a woman—and hung them outside their mansions upside down.
Next to them was a notification of all the crimes they had committed. She had
thought Desaray had scared them enough, but nobles were still nobles trying to
hold on to whatever power they could.
The
only good thing was that Rose knew what she was doing, so she knew that with
her gone, those nobles still wouldn’t be able to play any tricks. The freed
slaves were also being moved to the other side of the kingdom so that they
could live their lives peacefully and without fear of their old masters coming
after them. The only slavery this kingdom allowed was that of punishment. If
you were sentenced, you would work off your sins. Punishment wasn’t a vacation,
after all. That was just how it was. However, forced slavery outside the legal
system wasn’t allowed.
“It’s
better for them to move than for the person to set their sights on our city.”
“We
must report that we no longer need to go to war.”
The
entire group of elves was in agreement on this and also felt relieved. If they
had gone to war against a person who could lift a city, what would have
happened to them? No matter how big the army was, that one person could have
destroyed them instantly.
“Shouldn’t
one of us follow the city and see where it’s going? We’ve yet to explore beyond
this point.”
“You
can go. We’ll report back. Just remember, don’t get too close.”
“Wait,
I didn’t mean me!” Although the elf didn’t want to go himself, it seemed it was
already too late. His companions had already disappeared. “Damn it!” With no
other choice, he slowly gave chase after the moving city. Well… more like he
began walking after it…
⧫⧫⧫
“I’m
back! And I brought a new friend,” Desaray announced as she got home.
“Mama!”
Lily came flying through the door and pounced into the air. The sudden
appearance of a white streak caused Cinder to flinch and
go on guard, but when she saw the small fox girl hugging Desaray, she suddenly
fell into a daze. For some reason, she was being hypnotized by the white fluff
that was wagging back and forth.
Desaray
looked at Cinder and chuckled. “In due time, she might let you touch her tail,
but until she gets used to you, don’t try.”
“Ah!
I-I won’t… I don’t want to be kicked out,” Cinder said. This was her biggest
fear at this time. She didn’t want to lose her new home.
“I
won’t kick you out unless you try to harm people for no reason. I’m not saying
you can’t protect yourself; by all means, if you’re being threatened, protect
yourself. But just don’t harm people just because,” Desaray replied. She could
understand Cinder’s fear, but she wasn’t so cold-hearted as to kick her out for
any old reason.
“Princess,
don’t run off like that!” Yi Ling ran into the room. When she saw Desaray, her
eyes lit up. “Oh! Desa! You’re back.”
“Hey,
Ling. Sorry, it took a little longer than expected. This here is Cinder, and
Cinder, this is Yi Ling, my friend and the one I was hoping you could help with
fire magic,” Desaray introduced the two girls.
“He-Hello,”
Cinder said, very nervous. She lowered her head and began fidgeting. She wasn’t
used to speaking to people in the first place, but here she was, being introduced
to so many people at once.
“Don’t
mind her. She’s not good around people. But once she warms up to you, she’ll be
fine.”
⧫⧫⧫
On
a remote continent where the desert covered ninety percent of the land, a young
woman sat perched on top of a large throne made of five men acting as the
throne itself, with even more men of all races in front of her. “To think it
was so easy. For I, the Demon Queen of Lust, to now be here spells the end of
this world.”
The
young woman tapped her chin as she looked off toward the north. “The Demon
Queen of Cinder is to the east, the Demon Queen of Darkness is to the north,
while the Demon Queen of Death is to the west. It seems it’s time to see who
the true ruler of this world is.”
All
demon queens could feel the others. It was just part of being a demon queen. It
wasn’t normal for so many demon queens to be alive and able to move around
freely. Since a demon queen was too hard to kill most of the time, they were
usually sealed by powerful people who gave up their life essence just to seal
them. But now, due to the merger, those seals no longer existed. Meaning five
demon queens had descended upon the world. One of which was currently munching
on a roasted rabbit.
⧫⧫⧫
“I
haven’t had a meal like this since my parents…” Cinder could no longer continue
talking as her tears seasoned the meat in her hands.
Yi
Ling didn’t know what to say, but she kind of felt as if Desaray was Cinder’s
mom with how she gently stroked the girl’s back and tried to calm her down. She
began to worry about the training she was going to undergo later on.
“Mama,
is she my sister?” Lily’s innocent eyes showed she didn’t mean any harm by her
words, but Lily also felt that Cinder was much younger than she looked.
“No.
She’s your Mama’s friend. She just had a rough life. It’s been even worse than
yours. So be nice to her from now on, okay?” Desaray could understand why her
daughter would ask such a thing. After all, Cinder didn’t act her age. She was
very curious about things and acted around ten years old. While Desaray knew
this would eventually change as time went on, she didn’t wish to create any bad
memories here in Serenity for Cinder. She wanted Cinder to live a new life,
forgetting about her past.
“Okay!”
Lily walked over and patted Cinder on the back, even swishing her tail against
Cinder’s face. This quickly caught Cinder’s attention; the fluffy tail made her
calm down. But since her hands were greasy, she didn’t dare touch it. “Big
Sister Cinder, later on, can you help me comb my tail?”
“O-Okay!”
Cinder smiled brightly as she nodded her head. She really liked Lily. She was
young and had no hate toward her. She was happy to know
that Lily wasn’t scared of her. While she did remember the days when she burnt
whole villages down, at that time, she was blinded by hate.
Desaray
smiled as she sat down next to Yi Ling. “Ling, how are things?”
“They’re
good. Nina taught me a lot today. She said she’ll soon be caught up in levels
and will also have ice resistance,” Yi Ling replied.
“Nina
has been here for a long time, helping me take care of Lily. Since my aura
expanded, she’s had to limit her duties to only part of the house. I feel bad.
But it’s also allowed her to go and raise her level as well. Soon, she’ll have
free reign of the house again,” Desaray said. She hated how Nina was stuck to
only part of the house. She even had to move her room due to the aura Desaray
gave off. Desaray offered Nina her own house, but Nina refused, saying she
would prefer to deal with the cold than to be unable to do anything. After
that, Nina began wearing layers upon layers of clothing just to help around the
house. It was pure dedication that made Desaray wish she could do more for
Nina.
“She’s
very kind,” Yi Ling said. She realized that everyone she met, even those from
the city, were very kind. Everyone was working hard to make the kingdom a home
for them. Every person praised Desaray as their goddess and a benevolent ruler
who only thought about the people’s well-being. The city itself had so many
escape tunnels and locations that it proved just how much Desaray put thought
into saving the people in case of an attack. Soon, her people would be moving
here, and she couldn’t wait for them to see just how different this kingdom was
compared to any government that the world had before things changed.
⧫⧫⧫
The
night sky was darker than usual. No stars could be seen. When Desaray, Yi Ling,
and Cinder appeared, it was almost impossible to see more than a foot in front
of you. It was as if all light was being sucked out of everything.
“Juna,
are you sure this is the correct place?” Desaray asked as she looked around. If
not for one of Cinder’s flames walking around in front of them, trying to light
as much of the area up as it could, it would have been like a candlelight in
the night, only lighting a foot around it.
“Yeah.
I have my roots all over the place now in the country you called China, and it
seems the entire country is covered in darkness,” Juna replied. Desaray had
Juna send them to China when it was almost eight at night, meaning it would be
eight in the morning in China, but from the look of things, something was off.
“The
Demon Queen of Darkness. She’s in these lands,” Cinder said, biting her lip.
She didn’t think the Demon Queen of Darkness would be this powerful already
after being sealed for so long.
Desaray
frowned. She looked at Yi Ling, who had a worried expression on her face, and
sighed. “Let’s go and find your people. We’ll have to
make this quick. We’re in no position to be fighting a demon queen at this
time.”
“Even
though you can defeat me!?” Cinder was shocked. She now felt maybe she was much
weaker than she had realized.
“It’s
different with you since I can freeze fire. I can’t freeze darkness. If I can’t
see the demon queen, I can’t do anything to her. This darkness is enough to
block my vision, and I’m a dragon!” The reason why Desaray was being wary was
because it was perilous to try to fight an opponent you couldn’t see.
“Right…
Yeah, that might be hard,” Cinder nodded. She hadn’t thought like this before.
But now that she was thinking about it, it was kind of unfair to be able to
block a person’s vision like this.
“Cinder,
spawn a few more flames and light our path, and also have a few trails behind
us as well as the sides. We need to be sure we’re not leaving ourselves too
open. You said the Demon Queen of Darkness can control shadows, so I think this
is a shadow that she’s using to blanket out the sun,” Desaray said. She wanted
to cover every aspect of their surroundings. If they could push the darkness
back just enough, they could walk forward without issue.
“On
it!” If Cinder had a tail, it would be wagging back and forth at this time. She
was happy Desaray was relying on her.
The
path ahead was still as dark as could be, but they could at least walk the dirt
path with the help of Juna’s root leading the way. They walked for almost two
miles before they came upon a settlement that was hidden in the darkness. Even with all the lights they had going, it only lit up the area
within the metal walls. “Who goes there!?”
“Open
the gates! It’s me, Yi Ling. I came to speak to my uncle!” Yi Ling was in
control from this point on. Desaray couldn’t enter, so she and Cinder had to
wait outside.
“Ling,
just tell him to gather all those willing to follow here. Juna’s root will
bring you to us,” Desaray said. She had Juna send over a few roots just in case
anything happened. She was glad she did, or else she wouldn’t have been ready
for this.
“I
will!”
⧫⧫⧫
“We’re
out!” Becky yelled out with a happy smile. Her long white hair went down to her
butt. She had a set of feathered white wings on her back as well as a long
white-scaled tail. She now looked eighteen as well. Beside her was Ricky, who
was now missing an arm. But in his other hand, he held a massive claymore.
Yu
and Mike were also there. Mike now had a humanoid form, but his legs and arms
still had scale-like stones covering parts of them. Yu had a fluffy tail on her
backside with wolf ears. But besides that, she looked very human.
“We
seem to be over the ocean,” Ricky said. He could smell the scent of the ocean
in the air.
“We
reached level sixty, so we should be fine for now on this island, right?” Becky
asked. She wasn’t as clingy as she was before to Ricky. She had confessed and
was instantly rejected. While she did feel down about it, she didn’t wish to
dwell on it either. She had planned to get rejected from the start. She was just glad it didn’t end up being too awkward. Ricky acted
like it never happened. She knew her chances with him were slim since he was
her best friend’s father, but she couldn’t help but confess.
“It
depends. That weird man kept stopping in and giving us updates about the world
outside. This island might have some stronger beings now,” Mike replied as he
looked around.
“Well,
we just need to wait until we get over land. Then, we can figure out where we
are. Maybe we can get home somehow…” Yu just wanted to find Desaray so that
they would all be together once again.
Ricky
looked out over the water and shook his head. “We may have to wait a while.
Those waves look more like the middle of the ocean. With the speed of this
island, though, we should be able to reach land in a month at the latest.”
⧫⧫⧫
“This
is everyone?” Desaray looked at the hundred or so people and sighed. It was not
as many as she had hoped.
“Yes…
I am sorry, I do not have much power or influence. The leaders of the people
said I was telling tall tales and was trying to trick people. I was about to be
kicked out. Only this many were willing to trust me.” Yi Ling’s uncle looked
downcast.
“You
did what you could. For now, let’s take our leave. We need to leave this place
as soon as possible.” Desaray did not wish to stay any longer if it meant
dealing with the Demon Queen of Darkness in her backyard. It was not something
she could easily handle at this time. She had no idea how to fight someone who
could control the shadows. Just by how much power she was using at this time,
it was already enough for her to sense how powerful this
demon queen truly was. She was leagues ahead of Cinder. “Juna!”
“On
it!” Juna controlled a few of her roots and surrounded the entire group of
people before pulling them in and disappearing from the land.
Not
long later, a figure appeared in the air, hovering over the spot where Desaray
and the rest once were, and tapped her chin. “I could have sworn I felt the
Demon Queen of Cinder here. And also another surge of strong power that is on
par with us Demon Queens. This world is truly different from the others.” Her
gaze slowly moved toward the root sticking out of the ground. She looked at it
for a few seconds before turning and looking at the settlement not far away. “I
guess since I am here, I will deal with this first.”
When
Desaray reappeared outside the capital, the sun was shining, causing those who
had been sitting in darkness for so long to break down crying. The root on
Desaray's shoulder nudged her neck, and Juna’s voice whispered into her ear.
“Desa, the settlement that you just left from is now gone. A figure appeared
after I transported you all. She seemed to have sensed my root but did not
destroy it; instead, she took out the settlement, and I mean, she sucked the
entire thing into her shadow as if she was eating it. There is not a living
soul left there. Over ten thousand were instantly just gone, like they were
never there.
“That
woman’s power was scary. We need to figure out how to deal with it.” Juna
couldn’t help but shiver after witnessing such a scene. It was unlike anything
she had ever seen before.
“Understood.
I will fill him in.” Juna knew how grave the situation was. She wished she
could just go to Serenity now, but she was still controlling the roots to move
Rain Ford City to the kingdom.
Desaray
sighed as she turned to Yi Ling and pulled her aside. “I know this will be hard
to take in, but the settlement is gone. Everyone inside seemed to have been
eaten by the Demon Queen of Darkness.”
“Ev…”
Yi Ling tried to keep herself from freaking out as she asked: “Everyone?”
“Yes.
We left just in time.” Desaray placed her hand on Yi Ling’s head. “We were
lucky. We got out who we could.”
“I
know. I know… It’s just hard to believe that those who stayed are gone just
like that. If we were just a bit more forceful…” Yi Ling wanted to cry, but she
could not. She bit her lip and clenched her fists but soon found herself being
pulled into a hug.
“You
should not blame yourself. You were not the only one there. I was there, too.
We gave them the option. They did not heed our warnings, so it is not yours or
anyone else's fault but their own for not listening.” Desaray gently rubbed Yi
Ling’s back. Yi Ling did not move. She only placed her forehead on Desaray’s
shoulder and tried her best not to freak out.
“Alright.
I will need you to ask your uncle to also come to the meeting I am holding
later with the council of elders. We need to come up with some kind of plan to
fight against darkness.” Desaray had no ideas at this time. She could only hope
that working together with her people, they could find a way to deal with this
Demon Queen of Darkness.
“Okay.”
Yi Ling turned and made her way over to her uncle.
Cinder
stood next to Desaray with her hands clasped in front of her and her head down.
When Desaray turned and looked at her, she knew the girl was probably thinking
she was useless. “You are not at fault either.”
“But
I thought I was powerful enough to beat her…. If I had known darkness was such
a powerful element, I would not have boasted about being able to fight her.”
Cinder was embarrassed and depressed at the same time. She had thought, as the
Demon Queen of Cinder, that she could fight on par with the other Demon Queens,
but it seemed she had been mistaken.
“It’s
not like you knew how strong she was. For now, just put it in the back of your
mind. We will begin preparations and figure out a counter plan.” Desaray patted
the top of Cinder’s head, which seemed to calm her slightly.
A
while later, everyone was gathered in the meeting room. “The Demon Queen of
Darkness, huh? I heard tales about her. She was so powerful that she made the
entire world into an eternal night. The only way to
defeat her was to use the power of light. It was a light dragon who had helped
the people of the past seal her away.”
“Regal,
did you just say a light dragon?” Desaray’s ears perked up. She knew of one
light dragon!
“Yes.
In order to disperse the shadows, you needed the power of light. But only the
power of a light dragon was strong enough to disperse the shadows enough to
find their way to the source, which was the demon queen herself. I believe it
is the same manner in which you were able to fend off Miss Cinder here before.”
Regal explained. Cinder lowered her head and softly spoke: “So-Sorry.”
“Don’t
worry, lass. There was no harm done. In this room, you are not an enemy but an
ally, so raise your head.” Regal did not mean to put Cinder down. He was just
using her as an example.
“I
know of a light dragon.” Desaray stood up. “Juna, I need you to spread your
roots far and wide. Look towards the skies and find every flying island you
can.”
“Got
it!” Juna did not even need to ask Desaray any questions. She always followed
her orders faithfully.
“My
best friend Becky is a light dragon. If we can find my family and she is still
alive, we can gain her help in protecting this kingdom!” Desaray took a deep
breath. She had not planned to do this so soon since things in the kingdom
needed to be settled first, but now she had no other option. Without Becky’s
help, there would be no way for them to fight against the Demon Queen of
Darkness.
“Cinder
and I will begin searching the floating islands once they are located. Regal,
Juna, I want you two to start organizing people to enter the dungeons. We need
to get multiple groups at a time going and leveling up. All citizens need to be
at least level 60 to 80 within a few months’ time. I think we have at least
that long before anything significant happens.
“Make
sure all shelters are stocked up on a few years’ worth of food. Interconnect
them as well. We will begin expanding and creating an undercity just in case
the battles with the demon queens grow out of hand. We will build a second
Kingdom of Serenity underground. Each village and city should have a means to
enter it.” Desaray knew they did not have much time. Luckily, they had earth
magic, so building an underground city would be easy. They could even make
areas to produce food. But for now, they needed to work on creating a living
space for all citizens.
“We
will get right to it!” Regal stood up. “I will also have all citizens do their
part.”
“Yes.
Do not keep the citizens in the dark. If we were to ask them to start helping
with such a big job, they would grow wary, so we will be honest and explain
things from the start so that they know exactly what we are up against and why
we are asking them to help.” Desaray also did not wish to hide anything from
the public. The Demon Queen’s arrival was a disaster that could destroy the
world. If the Demon Queen of Darkness was this powerful,
what about the other two demon queens? If they started fighting, how much of
the world would go to hell?
Because
of this, Desaray wanted to ensure the safety of every citizen. She did not take
over the human city to allow her citizens to die; they, too, were part of her
kingdom. The same went for Rain Ford City. She did not wish for anyone to die,
which is why she decided to build an underground city for everyone to retreat
to. This way, they could slowly gain their strength and wait for the right time
to reclaim their lands.
From
that day forward, Desaray was very busy. She had Yi Ling look after Lily while
she and Cinder investigated the different floating islands that Juna found.
Between her investigations and checking on the progress of things, an entire
month passed.
“Desa,
I found another floating island. It is coming onshore now from the ocean.”
Juna’s words caused Desaray’s eyes to light up. It had been a few days since
the last floating island.
“Send
me over now. I will go and take a look…” Desaray took a deep breath. Every
floating island she had gone to thus far had always made her nervous. The
what-if factor was really taking a toll on her heart.
Desaray
looked up at the floating island that was about to make landfall with
nervousness and expectation. But she knew it was best to take a deep breath
before getting her hopes up too much.
Chapter 3
Her
voice was low, but the wind seemed to carry it into the man’s ears. He looked
at the dragon girl in the air, and his eyes turned red. “Desa… My little girl…”
“That’s
Desa!?” Becky was shocked. The young woman in front of her had changed so much.
She could feel a kind of pressure emanating from the young woman. But seeing
her eyes filled with warmth and love as she looked at her father, Becky knew
for sure that she was her best friend. Her lips curled up into a big smile as
she yelled out: “Desa!”
“Becky!”
Desaray shouted back. But she was startled when Becky suddenly flew toward her.
“Wait! Becky, don’t get too…”
“Wha!?
Ahhh!!!!!!!” Becky fell toward the ground and splashed into the water below.
Luckily, they were still somewhat offshore. She had gotten too close to
Desaray, and her wings frosted over, causing her to fall.
“Sorry!
You can’t get too close unless you have ice resistance!” Desaray yelled. She
wanted to go forward so badly and hug her father, but she couldn’t. Biting her
lip, she waved her hand and created a staircase made of ice that led to the ground. Ricky did not even need to think and walked right
down them. Yu and Mike quickly followed behind.
The
top of the ice broke as the floating island continued on its path, but the rest
of the stairs stayed intact as the three made it to the ground. By then, Becky
had already swum back to shore with a sour look on her face.
“Sorry,
Becky!” Desaray felt bad. She should have warned them right away. She had to
stand twenty feet away just in case.
“It’s
fine. You did not expect me to fly toward you suddenly, but what is going on?”
Becky was perplexed. “No wait… I should first say, I am glad you are alive.”
“You
have no idea how happy I am to see you are all safe….” Desaray paused as she
looked at her father’s arm. “Dad… Your arm?”
“We
were locked in a tower of trials and spent a long time in there leveling and
fighting strong monsters. I was careless on the last boss when I got my arm
burnt off. If not for Yu’s quick thinking of slicing it off and Becky’s
healing, I would have lost more than just an arm.” Ricky did not tell the whole
truth since he did not want Desaray to blame the others. He had lost it
protecting them.
“I
see…” Desaray felt her father was not wholly truthful, but she did not wish to
ruin this moment. “Maybe, Regal, we can make a replacement for you when we get
to the kingdom.”
“Kingdom?”
Ricky and the others all looked at Desaray in confusion.
“What
the hell!? We were fighting monsters for months, and you started a kingdom!?”
Becky cried out. But she had to admit it must have been hard for Desaray since
she was all alone.
“It
started as a small camp with a few people from the other world. Then, more
people came, and more came. After a while, we had many races all gathered in
one spot. They all looked up to me as their savior and talked me into forming a
new kingdom. My system is also different from others as well.” Desaray began to
explain her system and how she had to gain followers. All four of them couldn’t
help but be surprised by this.
“So
you have to work extra hard to do anything. But you seem really powerful. What
level are you at now?” Ricky asked as he sat down. He could feel Desaray’s cold
aura and could feel the chill running down his spine, but he still sat as close
as he could so he could be near his beloved daughter.
“I
am level 105. I have control over a few dungeons, one of which is very good to
level in once you reach level 30. We are actually undergoing power leveling for
all citizens of Serenity in order to get ready for the war with the demon
queens.” Desaray’s words caused the four, who had no idea what was happening to
the world, to freeze.
Becky
was the first to react. “Did… did you just say demon queens!?”
“Then
there is the Demon Queen of Lust. She can turn any man into her slave, making
her able to create massive armies.
“There
is the Demon Queen of Death, who controls the undead. The Demon Queen of
Darkness can blanket the entire world in her shadow. And now that I am thinking
about it, I do believe Cinder mentioned a fourth… the Demon Queen of
Lightning…” Desaray had forgotten about this fourth Demon Queen. She did not
know where this Demon Queen was or if she was even still alive. She would need
to talk to Cinder about it.
“Five
Demon Queens… and one is under your control. That is kind of crazy…” Yu
couldn’t help but comment. She never thought such a story-like situation would
ever happen. But then again, she was already a wolf girl.
“We
can win against two of the demon queens because we have the weaknesses to them.
But the Demon Queen of Darkness is troublesome. No light can penetrate her
shadow. We need a high-level light dragon to help defeat her.” Desaray’s eyes
landed on Becky. “So Becky, if you are willing…”
“You
can count on me! I will do whatever I can!” Becky was more than willing to help
her best friend.
“I
owe you one. With your help, I will be able to save my kingdom from being taken
over. I will help you level up. We will do a raid on the trials raid. It is
quite good for quick experience.” She would need to get
Becky to almost her current level to be able to face any demon queen. Maybe
even higher.
“Desa…
I’m sorry.” Ricky suddenly cut in. “You must have had it rough…”
“At
first, it was tough. But I slowly got used to it all. I made new friends and
allies who were all willing to stand by my side. They work hard to achieve the
same goal. At least now, one of my dreams has finally come true. Dad… welcome
back.” Desaray’s smile bloomed, making everyone there blush. They did not know
why, but Desaray seemed to have a potent charm about her that made it hard to
look away from her.
“I’m
home.” Ricky smiled as he stood up. “We should get moving. If what you said is
true, then we should begin leveling as soon as possible.”
“Mmm…
Oh! Right! Dad, I gave my Apostles, who did not have last names, my last name.
So they are also part of our family name.” Desaray felt like she was forgetting
one more thing, but she decided to put it in the back of her mind.
“That’s
fine.” Ricky smiled and took a deep breath. He was glad his daughter was alive.
While she had changed, she had become much more mature. But this did not change
the fact that his daughter stood before him.
“Juna,
if you would.” Desaray’s words confused the group, but soon, they saw multiple
roots suddenly shoot out of the ground. Ricky and the rest quickly went on
guard, but Desaray smiled and said: “It’s fine. These are Juna’s roots. She
will help send us back to Serenity.”
“Everyone,
just allow the roots to let you merge with them. I will bring you all in one
go.” Juna’s voice filled their ears. Ricky and the rest
did not know where the voice was coming from. Before they knew what was going
on, they were all merged into the roots, and their vision was covered in
darkness.
In
no time at all, the group was now standing at the gates of Serenity. “Her
Holiness is back! Her Holiness is back! Raise the gates!”
Ricky,
Becky, Yu, and Mike were all startled by what they saw. The guards at the front
gate were hurrying to open it, and some even knelt and bowed their heads,
praying to Desaray. “Am I seeing things right?”
“She
did say she was seen as a goddess. But I did not think it went this far.” Becky
blinked her eyes and rubbed them a few times, but no matter how many times she
rubbed them, they still showed the same thing. Her best friend was being prayed
to! Desaray ignored the stunned stares of her father and friends and continued
to walk forward, but if you looked closely, there was a tinge of blush on her
cheeks.
“Your
Holiness! Good timing, I wanted to ask you something.” A man in farmer’s
clothes rushed over. He was covered in dirt from head to toe. But Desaray did
not seem to mind at all as she paused her steps and looked at him. “Is there
anything wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing
wrong, but more of what we should do. The farms are all in surplus. The crops
grow too fast. The new kind of seed you came up with seems to be a little too
good. We have too much foodstuff,” the farmer replied.
“It’s
fine. We are storing food now anyway due to the threat of the Demon Queens. So
take what cannot be sold to the Finance Clerk. They will buy it all from you at
market price.” Desaray was glad there was such a surplus.
It would help them a lot.
The
farmer’s eyes lit up as he said happily, “Great, I will do it now!”
Desaray
walked through the streets of Serenity with a smile. She liked seeing the
people happy, not only with how she was running things but also in their daily
lives.
“Desa,
did you build all of this?” Ricky was stunned at what he was seeing. Tall
buildings. Families of all kinds of races, walking around doing their daily
tasks. It looked like how things used to be.
“I
didn’t do it alone. Without the help of those around me, I could not pull this
off. All the praise should go to every citizen of Serenity. It is because of
them that the city has come to be what it is today.” Desaray could not take
credit for everything. While she did help out, it was not just her who had
worked on building the city up. Each person in this city has contributed to its
current state.
“Your
Holiness, you should take more credit. Without you, there would be no Serenity
Kingdom.” Oinktera walked over and knelt in front of Desaray, bowing his head.
“Get
up, please, Oinktera. I keep telling you not to do this unless it is an
official setting.” Desaray really wished people would stop bowing!
“I
do it because it is the respect you deserve,” Oinktera replied with a wide
grin. His eyes slowly fell on the girl in pure white who was staring back at
him with rosy cheeks.
“I
was… I was only looking.” Pursing her lips, she reluctantly looked away. She
did not wish to get killed.
“Mama!”
A figure suddenly flashed and pounced into Desaray’s arms.
Ricky,
Becky, Yu, and Mike all froze as they stared at the fox girl in the arms of the
dragon girl. “Desaray Cambel Harris! Care to explain!?”
Desaray
froze when she heard her full name being called out like that. She turned and
looked at her father, whose face seemed to be turning red. It was only then
that it clicked that she had forgotten to mention she had adopted Lily. “Dad,
relax. I have not done any of that with anyone. This is Lily, my adopted
daughter. She is from the other world and was an orphan when I found her.”
Ricky
heard the word ‘adopted’ and slowly relaxed. Looking at the cute girl peeking
out at him from within Desaray’s arms, he felt like a real bad guy now.
“Sorry.”
“Mama,
who is the mean old man?” Lily asked, causing everyone to laugh except for
Ricky, who felt embarrassed.
Becky
found it so funny she bent over, holding her stomach. Desaray was doing her
best not to laugh but was not doing a very good job of it. “Lily, that is your
grandfather. I forgot to mention he had a granddaughter. He might have seemed
mean just now, but he is actually a very caring man and someone I look up to.
You can even say he is my hero.”
Ricky
felt a little awkward but still bent down and used his remaining arm to lift
the little girl up. She hugged his neck, kissed his cheek, and smiled at him.
“Sorry. I did not know.”
“It’s
fine,” Ricky smiled. Holding Lily reminded him of the days he used to carry
Desaray around, and it felt nostalgic in many ways.
“Alright,
let’s go to my house. I think with Cinder and Ling around, you should be okay.”
Desaray was over the moon. She had her friends and father back. The people she
had yearned for so long had finally returned to her.
Desaray
said goodbye to Oinktera and led Ricky and the others to the house. Ricky
carried Lily the entire way, who kept asking him question after question.
“Desa, you’re back!” Ling walked over with a smile on her face. She had come to
terms with what had happened in China, but she still felt sad about it. But she
also knew she had to move on as well. “This is?”
“My
father, Ricky Harris, my best friend Becky, and my friends Yu and Mike.”
Desaray quickly introduced everyone.
“It’s
a pleasure to meet you all.” Yi Ling greeted everyone with a smile. She then
looked at Desaray and said, “Your wish came true.”
“That
it did,” Desaray replied with a smile. “I just did not think it would be this
soon. Ling, I will have to trouble you to settle everyone in. They do not have
ice resistance, so I can’t help as much as I wish I
could.” Desaray’s aura was something she could not control anymore, and it was
stronger than ever.
“No
problem. There are plenty of rooms, and Nina cleans them every day. If you will
follow me, I will show you to your rooms. There is a bath in each room.” Yi
Ling motioned for the group to follow her. Becky looked at Desaray, who nodded
before following Yi Ling’s lead.
“Desa,
is there a place we can talk?” Ricky did not plan to settle in just yet.
“Yeah,
we can go to the sitting room.”
Inside
the sitting room, Desaray sat on one end of the room while her father sat on
the other end. She hated having to do this, but it was to protect her father
from her aura. “What did you want to talk about?”
“I’m
sorry,” Ricky said softly, his voice slightly choked.
“Dad,
why are you apologizing!? You did nothing wrong. It was something out of our
control.” Desaray wanted to go forward and hug her father, but she couldn’t.
She could only stay where she was and look at him with a pained expression.
“I
should have jumped. I should have done something to get to you.” Ricky’s eyes
were filled with tears. He had wronged his daughter. He should have figured out
some path to getting to her.
“If
you jumped at the level you were at at that time, you would have died! I am
glad you did not jump. Plus… Becky and the others would not have survived
without you. I know you lied about your arm. You lost it protecting them,
right?” Desaray smiled as she held out her hand. Hina came out of her hair and landed on it. “Hina, go to my father and give him a hug for
me, please.”
“Okay!”
Hina flew over and landed on Ricky’s shoulder. He looked at the small figure
who leaned in and hugged his neck.
“Hina
is an Ice Spirit. I can’t get close to you at this time, so think of Hina as an
extension of me.” Desaray said softly. “Dad. You have always been my hero.
Since I was young, I have always looked at you as the blueprint of what it
means to be a hero. A person who is willing to do whatever he can in his time
of need. You knew if you left Becky and the others, they would die. Even if you
could get down with small injuries, what about them? You know, out of all of
us, I had the best chance of survival since you taught me. Who knew it would
have taken almost two years for us to see each other again?”
“You
are right…” Ricky smiled bitterly. “I did think that way, but I still feel I
let you down. Desa, you are my pride and joy. I love you and want nothing but
for you to be happy. I am glad to see that you have been able to grow this much
in a short time. You have built an impressive kingdom. You have made new
friends and allies. You have created a place for yourself. And you did all that
on your own without me.”
“I
know your physical age is twenty now. But in Earth years, from the day you were
born, you are still only sixteen. You are still my little girl. So let me say
this: you have done well. You should be proud of yourself.” Ricky wiped his
tears and gently patted Hina on the head, causing her to giggle.
“Dad,
even if I were one thousand or one million years old, I will always be your
little girl,” Desaray replied with a gentle smile. “I do not know how long I
will live. My system seems to be forcing me to become a true goddess. Either
way, I promise you that I will keep this kingdom and its
people safe and will fight against the demon queens to make sure that you can
live a long life. I do wish for you to spend some time with me. We have a
two-year gap. I also need you to level up so I can hug you. I want my dad to
carry me in his arms and give me a piggyback like he used to. So, Dad, while it
might be a little annoying, just put up with things for now, and I promise in
at least a month, you will be able to sit next to me instead of across the
room. Until then, let your granddaughter give you plenty of hugs and kisses.”
“Hah…”
Ricky let out a sigh as he looked at his daughter. “Do you think I am against
hardships? I am willing to walk through a sea of fire if it means I can gain
the ability to stand at your side. But to think my little girl has a daughter
of her own. You know I almost died when you said Lily was your daughter.”
“Haha!
I should have explained it better. Sorry.” Desaray grinned. “But look! I became
a blue dragon!”
“That
you did. A beautiful one at that. I will need to keep the boys away from you.”
Ricky sighed. His daughter had really become too beautiful.
“I
don’t care too much for men. They cannot match up to my standard of what a man
should be like. Who is better than my father? I am pretty content with my
current life. I have Lily and close friends at my side. I am quite happy. Even
more so now that I have my father and friends back!” Desaray felt lucky.
Everyone she cared about was now within her sights. She no longer had to worry
whether her father was dead or alive. Now, she just had to protect it all.
⧫⧫⧫
A few days passed, and
Desaray and Cinder were currently sitting in the meeting room. “How is it?”
“I’m
sorry. I can’t seem to detect the Demon Queen of Lightning. She seems to have
disappeared. I am not sure if she was defeated or not already.” Cinder lowered
her head. She felt useless once more.
“Can
a Demon Queen be defeated that quickly?” Desaray mumbled, only for a whimper to
come from her side. Only then did she realize she had defeated Cinder quite
quickly herself. “Sorry, I didn’t mean that!”
“No,
it’s fine… I know I am the weakest of the demon queens now. But to be honest, I
think our biggest and most dangerous foe is the Demon Queen of Darkness. The
Demon Queen of Lust relies on her ability to control men, but if you throw a
bunch of powerful women at her, she will lose quickly. As for the Demon Queen
of Death, she relies on her army of undead to do her bidding. If she can kill
those close to you, she will then use that to her advantage, but the level of
the undead does not change even upon death. She can only strengthen them to be
maybe a few levels higher power-wise, but nothing else. The longer I feel their
powers, the more I understand them. The Demon Queen of Darkness’s power is like
one hundred times stronger than everyone else's.” Cinder bit her lip. She
really did not expect this.
“We
have a light dragon, thanks to my best friend returning. So, we only need to
level her up, which I plan to do. For the time being, I do not think we will
have to worry too much about who will appear here. We are on the east coast,
far away from the other areas. The Demon Queen of Darkness first needs to take
over the other countries before she can make her way here.
And even then, with how our world doubled in size, she will need to pass
through a second continent before even reaching this one.” Desaray waved her
hand and created two globes of ice of what Earth looked like now and before.
“If
you look here.” Desaray pointed toward the continents that were originally on
Earth. “These are what I consider Pre-Merger Earth continents. We are on the
North American continent. But as you can see on this globe here, there are four
more new continents and much more water. Here’s a map of the land that has
appeared since the mergers began. Juna has been using her roots to roam the
oceans and come across new lands. These lands we do not know much about. Juna
has only begun discovering them, but she had her roots trace out the edge of
the continent first, but it seems to be more uncharted territory.”
“This
is much different from what the other world looked like…” Cinder was a bit
confused.
“Different?”
Desaray was also confused. She thought all these lands came from the other
world.
“These
lands are not from my world. Well, not all of them. This one and this one are,
but not these two. These two are much bigger than any of the continents from my
world. Are you sure that it is only my world that is merging into this world?”
Cinder’s question was something that Desaray did not even think to take into
consideration.
She
only thought the one world was merging into hers. She never thought that maybe
a second or a third world was also merging into this one.
⧫⧫⧫
Silas
turned to look at the woman standing behind him. She looked at him with a small
smile on her face and said, “Silas, for a woman, you would do anything. But I
am also a woman. And I will do anything to be with you. Since you care so much
about her, why not see if she can survive when even more powerful beings begin
to appear in her world? The mergers are not over yet. That woman… I killed her
once… I can kill her again. And there is nothing you can do about it. You can
only watch as she dies at my hands. If I can’t have you, I’ll make damn sure
you can’t have her. Once the gates open and I can descend, I will find her,
take everything from her, then kill her.”
“Vinee,
if you touch a single hair on her head, I will….” Silas gritted his teeth. He
wanted nothing more than to kill this woman now. But he couldn’t do anything in
this realm.
“Hehe…
You will what? Watch as your lover loses her life as I slowly choke it out of
her? Haha. The race is on, Silas. Let’s see who wins.”
⧫⧫⧫
Desaray
suddenly felt a shiver. This did not escape Cinder’s eyes. “Ummm… are you
cold?”
“Pfft!”
Desaray let out a laugh and wrapped her arms around Cinder. “Not at all. Not
when the Demon Queen of Cinder is here to warm me up!”
“Oh….”
Cinder lowered her head and blushed. She did not know why, but she liked it
when Desaray hugged her.
“Are
you ready to go? Becky, are you sure you do not want to take a few more days
off? Didn’t you just get out of a dungeon not too long ago?” Desaray asked.
“It’s
fine. All of us want to raise our ice resistance. We can’t not be around our
friend, right? Plus, I am kind of jealous. I used to hug you, too!”
⧫⧫⧫
While
Desaray and the rest were diving into a dungeon, on a new continent on the
other side of the world, the Demon Queen of Lightning was having a minor issue.
“Why the hell is there a barrier here!?”
The
Demon Queen of Lightning did not understand what had happened. She stumbled
upon a strange shrine in the middle of a mountain range. When she began
inspecting it to see if it would be a good spot to make her lair, she never
expected that as soon as she entered the shrine, she would be teleported to
some unknown place. A massive barrier surrounded the place she was in now, and
it did not seem to let things in or out at all.
“Such
a strong barrier. Even stronger than the seal that sealed in the Demon Queen of
Darkness… What could it be sealing?” The Demon Queen of Lightning did not have
a very good feeling about this. While the area around her was all overgrown
jungle, this did not mean it did not hold a powerful being that could crush her
in seconds.
The
forest was thick and hard to move through. If not for her body being made up of
lightning, which could easily burn away what blocked her, she would not even be
able to move a few feet a minute.
After
pushing through the forest, she did detect many monsters, but nothing for her
to worry about. She came to an open field that stretched out as far as the eye
could see. She looked at the large roaming beasts that grazed on the grass and
wrinkled her brow. “What is in this place that makes it so that it needs to be
sealed off?”
The
Demon Queen of Lightning traveled for an entire week before she finally saw a
change in the terrain off in the distance. But what she saw stunned her. It
seemed to be some kind of domed fortress. “Well… It’s not like I have any other
place to go. I should take a look…”
She
did not know if what she was doing was going to be a bad choice or not, but she
decided to go ahead and check things out anyway. She walked for one day and
night before she suddenly spotted a dirt road off in the distance. She made her
way over to the road to find that it had been traveled recently.
She
followed the road all the way to the domed fortress and saw that there was
actually a line outside waiting to enter the fortress. She walked over to the
line and tapped the shoulder of one of the men who was standing there. “Excuse
me.”
“Me?
I have no idea where I even am. Is this place dangerous?” The Demon Queen of
Lightning never expected the man to yell at her. When was the last time she had
been yelled at?
“It’s
only safe inside the domed cities! Only men are allowed outside the walls!
Hurry and get to the front of the line!” The man grabbed the Demon Queen of
Lightning’s arm and began pulling her along. The Demon Queen of Lightning was
shocked about two things. First, the man touched her. She was made of
lightning, but this seemingly ordinary man was able to grab her arm as if she
were a normal person. Second, the man’s strength was hundreds of times stronger
than her own! She could not figure out what the hell was going on.
The
Demon Queen of Lightning was dragged to the front of the line, where twenty
guards stood to help check people. One guard saw the man coming forward and
yelled, “Hey, no cutting in line!”
“I
am not cutting. But this girl is. Who the hell let her out!? We cannot allow
women roaming around, or those damned things will return!” The man yelled as he
shoved the Demon Queen of Lightning toward the guards.
“A
woman!? What!? Hurry, get inside!” The guards yelled and rushed forward. They
grabbed the Demon Queen of Lightning by her arms and were about to bring her in
when a bell began to toll off in the distance. “Damn it! Quickly hurry!
Emergency entrance! Everyone into the city now!”
“Little
lady, I have no idea who let you out, but those damned Angels are heading here
now. Those grotesque monsters only know how to capture women and consume their
souls. God’s Angels, my ass! Those things are not even close to being angels!”
*Dong!*
* Dong!*
The
sound of bells tolling in the sky could be heard. Ten large grotesque eyeballs
were flying through the air with wings made of flesh. They looked like a
science experiment gone wrong. What made things worse was the powerful pressure
they gave off. The Demon Queen of Lightning felt like she was going to be sick.
The weight on her shoulders was crushing her.
“Hurry
and get inside!” The guard quickly pulled the Demon Queen of Lightning into the
domed city. The Demon Queen of Lightning felt as if she was passing through a
membrane, and the weight on her shoulders disappeared.
She
let out a sigh of relief as she looked around and was stunned at what she was
seeing. She was standing on a ledge, and below her was a massive city. Tall
buildings and strange carriages were flying through the air. She had never seen
such a thing before. What’s more, she could tell all these people were much,
much stronger than her. She had no idea where they came from, but their power
was even stronger than the dragons she had fought.
“My
name?” The Demon Queen of Lightning knew she could not say she was a demon
queen, so she said, “Ning… My name is Ning.”
“Then
Ning, I do not know where you came from or who you are, but as of now, you
should have realized that a woman cannot travel on the overworld. If you do,
you will be nothing more than a feast. You have to use the underground railways
if you wish to travel elsewhere.” The guard explained.
“I-I
see…” The Demon Queen of Lightning, now Ning, had no idea about any tunnels,
but she was glad about one thing. She was glad she made it to this city before
she ended up dead.
“We
will need to get you registered with the protection agency. They will set you
up in a dorm. Women are protected as precious jewels, so do not worry about
being mistreated.” The guard replied with a smile.
It
did not take long before Ning was ushered into what she learned was called a
flying car and sent to another building. She looked out the window curiously at
the city. Many flying cars flew by, but the thing that attracted her attention
the most was what she learned was called holographic images. And the bright
flashing lights, which were called neon lights. If Desaray were here, she would
see this city as a futuristic kind of cyberpunk-type city. The guards each had
metal implants and even metal appendages.
The
flying car stopped on a platform, where a woman stood waiting. Behind her, many
other girls in black suits held strange weapons, which
Ning would come to learn were called Phase Rifles.
“My
name is Linda, and I am in control of the Tower of Eden. Please follow us so we
can register you.” Ning nodded and was swiftly ushered away. The group of
females holding weapons surrounded her and Linda and quickly made their way
past the closed doors. Only then did the stern looks on Linda’s and the group
of females ease up a little.
“Sorry
about that. We have to put on a show, or we will end up looking weak. Some
people in the upper echelon want to make us women breeding mules. It is why the
Tower of Eden was constructed, and now every city has one. It is to protect the
women who are not married. While women are indeed treated quite well, there are
still a select few who think otherwise. Since our numbers are much smaller than
the male population, we work even harder to keep what we have going.” Linda
explained.
“Umm…
why is this place like this?” Ning asked. She was very confused as to what was
going on. “I just came to this land not too long ago and found it to be
surrounded by a barrier?”
“Yes.
In order to keep the so-called angels locked in, there is a barrier surrounding
our continent. Come, take a seat. I will explain to you what our world, Eve, is
actually like.” Linda pulled Ning over to a couch and sat down. They were
quickly served some tea and snacks as well.
“I
do not know how you entered this place, but this continent is a place where
humans are locked in an endless struggle with the so-called angels. These
angels appeared over two hundred years ago. They began to spread across the
world, and after almost destroying the world, we humans began to push back until they were contained here on this continent.
This continent is called The Lost Garden.
“Its
true name has been lost, but the reason it is now called The Lost Garden is
because there is no saving this place. We humans can only live underground. The
angels do not die. When the humans of the outside world put up the barrier,
they did not care about those who were left here. So we had no choice but to
slowly work together and build up what we have now.” Linda replied but paused
as she reached up and touched one of Ning’s horns. “These horns are so
realistic…”
“Tha…
That is because they are…” Ning lowered her head. She did not know what they
would do when they found out she was a demon.
“Really!?”
Linda kept stroking the horns out of pure curiosity.
“Yes?
Well… From what I can tell, I am not from this world. And you might not be
either. My world was filled with magic and never came under attack by these
angels, as you call them. But recently, I was transported to another world, and
it seems my world was merging with it. I found a ruin that had a teleportation
magic circle and ended up in your lands. So either I teleported to your world,
or your world has also merged into the world I was on.” Ning did not know what
she was going to do to get back since it seemed that the teleport was one-way
only.
“Teleportation…
Ruins… did the ruins look like a large shrine?” Linda asked reluctantly,
pulling her hands away from Ning’s horns.
“Yes…
yes, it did.” Ning nodded her head.
“If
it were not for this fact our current conditions… Our current life would not be
possible. It is also what allowed us to create this faction and keep women safe
from those who have different ideas. It has also kept our old traditions alive
and well. Those who run the government are still basically those who formed it
in the first place. While humans have grown quite a lot, we still are nowhere
near as strong as the angels.
“Since
you are not from this world and have no family here. How about you stay with
me?” Linda asked with a smile. She seemed to have taken a liking to Ning.
“If you are okay with that…. I can live on my own if you want… I ummm… I have been alone for a few thousand years anyway…” Ning did not know why, but her eyes started to tear up. When was the last time she had been treated so kindly?
Chapter 4
“Then
why are you running!?” The young girl turned and grinned at the maid while
holding her dress up and backpedaling. But even though her light blue dress was
pulled up from the ground, she still ended up stumbling as her feet got tangled
together. “Ah!”
“Young
Miss!” The maid cried out, but the scene of the young girl falling to the
ground was not shown. Instead, there was a thumping sound as the young girl’s
head bumped into the chest of a man around thirty years of age.
“Nell…
why are you running in the halls? Didn’t Riley tell you not to run?” the man
asked in a stern voice.
The
girl was not scared at all when she looked up and saw the man’s narrowed eyes
that were pretending to be angry. “Father!” Instead, she spun around on her
heel, jumped up, and hugged the man’s neck. “Father, I thought you were leaving
today!”
“I
was heading down now. Were you running to come see me?” the man asked as he
picked the young girl up.
“Of
course!” Nell lied through her teeth. In fact, she had heard there were snacks
down in the kitchen, so she was trying to make it there before the servants ate
them all. Nell was different from other noble-class princesses. She got along
well with the commoners and even went to town to play with the street kids.
“Young
Miss, you will be going to see your grandmother today as well, so get ready.”
Riley, her maid, walked over and said.
“That’s
right, you are also leaving. How about this? Travel with Father until we reach
the crossway. Then you can head to your grandmother’s. This way, we can be
together for a week.” Nell’s father was quite happy. He did not get much chance
to spend time with his daughter. So, having a week where they could ride
together and talk was a good thing.
Nell’s
father listened to his daughter telling made-up tales as they rode down the
rocky road in the carriage. The little girl had so much to talk about that the
days passed by quickly. But on the fourth day, the carriage rocked and came to
a stop. Nell’s father furrowed his brow and called out, “What’s going on out
there?”
No
answer came even after asking a few times. Nell’s father held his daughter’s
hand and looked outside to see that no one was around. The guards that were
supposed to be riding next to the carriage had disappeared. “Nell, stay here.”
“Father,
don’t go!” Nell, for the first time, was feeling a strong sense of fear. She
had a feeling that if her father stepped outside this carriage, he would die.
“Nell,
slip through the lower hatch. When you see me land my feet on the ground, you
run into the bushes at the side and keep running. Do not stop. Do not look
back.” Nell’s father already knew that this was some kind of ambush and
betrayal. They would take his life and his daughter’s
life without a second thought. It seemed his family was doomed. If it was just
him, he could try running. But since Nell was with him, he would not be able to
do that. It was easier for him to be a decoy and allow her to escape.
“Father?”
Nell did not want to run away, but when she saw her father’s expression, she
knew if she stayed, she would only be getting in his way. With tears in her
eyes, Nell readied herself to run. She even ripped her skirt to keep herself
from tripping, just as she was taught.
Nell’s
father stepped out of the carriage and closed the door. Thunder began to boom
overhead as streaks of lightning arced through the dark clouds. Drops of water
began to fall from the sky. Nell’s father waved his hand, creating five magic
circles, and five balls of fire began to float around him. “I know you are
there. Come out!”
“Heh…”
A laugh came from the tree line. But due to the darkening skies, Nell’s father
could not see who it was. But he did know one thing. If they had already
infiltrated his guard, then… He did not even want to think about what was going
on in the mansion. He took a deep breath and flicked his fingers. All five
fireballs shot out in multiple directions. Right now, he had to make a show to
make sure his daughter could escape. As long as one of his family members could
escape, he could die without regret. It meant he did everything he could.
“Kill
him!” A voice came from the forest. Bolts of magic flew through the air, as
well as arrows. Ten men with swords also jumped out of the tree line. All in
order to kill one man. It showed just how strong Nell’s father was and how much
of a threat he posed. They had to go all out in order to take him down.
If
she were any other young noble girl, they would not be able to do this. But
Nell played with the commoners in the streets and was used to getting covered
in dirt. In fact, she liked going out into the town and living freely without
restrictions, but now her life was on the line, and her father was probably
going to die.
She
hated this. She hated the fact that she was weak and could not help her father.
She hated how her kind father was being targeted for whatever reason. She bit
her lip as her tears fell. She ran through the bushes that tore at her dress
with all her might. She continued running, not stopping, just like her father
had said.
She
did not know if she was being chased. She did not know if her father had
already been killed. She knew nothing. Her mind right now was on getting back
home and maybe… maybe her mother could appeal to the king to find the people
who killed her father.
Nell
ran for a few hours before finally having to stop. Her legs hurt from running.
Her breathing was heavy, and she was covered in sweat. Her beautiful green
dress was torn to shreds and could no longer even be called a dress. After
resting, Nell continued running. She was smart, though, and was running
parallel to the road. All of which were taught to her by her father. She never
realized the training she had always complained about was actually going to
become useful at such a time.
But
when she went to the place that she once called home, the lavish mansion she
had once lived in no longer stood in its place. Instead, what remained seemed
to be a battlefield. She walked into the mansion grounds to find dead people
still lying about. The rain pelted their bodies. She knew the people lying on
the ground—servants, guards, her brother… She walked into the house to find a
large gaping hole in the roof. In the middle, where the rain passed through
without hindrance, was a body that seemed to have been burnt to a crisp. It was
a woman, and in her arms, she was holding two children.
Lightning
crackled in the sky as a booming sound of thunder filled the air. The little
girl looked at the figures huddling together. Their charcoal bodies looked like
statues. It was hard to figure out who they were, but Nell knew who they were.
Her eyes reddened as she stared at the statues. Hate began to boil up within
her. Her eyes glazed over as she let out a scream of pain and anguish. “Why!?
Why did they need to die!? Why did those who did such evil get to live, but
they had to die!? Why does this world hate the good!?”
Lightning
crackled in the sky, and at that very moment, it struck down, hitting the small
body below.
“Why…
Why… Why… must I suffer when I have never done wrong? Why does this world do
this to me?” Nell looked up at the bright light that was raining down on her.
This lightning was no normal lightning. It was a column that surrounded her. It
did not burn her body but infused her entire being. The
lightning was entering her body, transforming her from head to toe. Arcs of
lightning arced off her body. Her entire being was no longer that of flesh and
blood but that of lightning.
“There’s
one left!” A voice came from behind Nell. She turned and looked at the men in
armor walking over. When she saw the emblem on the armor, she couldn’t help but
laugh out loud.
“Hehehe…
Hahaha! So the king himself wanted my family dead. It figures… This kingdom…
The people who live here. This world should all just disappear.” The men in
armor were confused as to what was going on, and before they could react, they
saw a flash of light as the girl’s body suddenly exploded in arcs of
electricity. As the arcs of lightning died down, a young girl made of lightning
floated in the air, horns now protruding out of her head.
That
day, the kingdom Nell once lived in was wiped off the face of the planet. Her
anger did not subside with just one kingdom. Storm clouds continued to form
over the planet. She wished everyone would just disappear. She wanted the world
to know her suffering. That day, Nell ceased to exist, and the Demon Queen of
Lightning was born.
⧫⧫⧫
“How
can I let you live on your own!? You are new to this place, so it is not good
to be by yourself. While it is a safe haven, the people here are not all
trustworthy. It is best to stick with those you know for now until you get used
to it.” Linda could tell from the look in Ning’s eyes that the girl did not
trust people easily and that she was still in a confused state. In order to ensure nothing bad happened to her, she wanted to take
Ning under her wing.
Ning
was unsure of what to make of this since no one had ever been this kind to her
since she was human and her parents were alive. She had checked back then. She
had looked for her father even after she became what she was today, and her
father did end up dying… She found only parts of his body. The rest were eaten
by the monsters that lived in the forest. As for her grandmother… Never mind
her; the entire village was burnt to the ground, along with everyone in it.
She
had found out that the king had sent down orders to kill her entire family
since the public had more respect for her father than they did the king. In
other words, it was jealousy. The king was jealous of her father and her family
for gaining the approval of the common folk while he was looked down upon. But
it was his own fault. He had raised taxes over and over in order to live in the
wealth of the people. She had killed the king with her own hands. It was not
like anyone could stop her anyway.
“Ning?”
Linda poked Ning’s cheek as she looked at the girl with a worried expression.
“Are you okay?”
“Huh?
Yeah… it’s fine. Just an old memory came to mind. I will take you up on your
offer.” Ning decided to trust this Linda a bit and hoped that maybe… just
maybe, in this place where her powers were useless, she could live a normal
life again.
⧫⧫⧫
“Thanks,
Desa!” Becky’s face was slightly pale. She did not expect to be bombarded with
lasers right off the bat.
“This
is a trial, not a normal dungeon, so you have to be on your toes. Think of it
as the same as the one you just came out of. If you are not paying attention,
you can easily die.” Desaray warned as she raised her hand; ice appeared around
the monster and shot out, piercing through its tough armor and destroying it.
“You have to gain better control of your powers. The element you are given’s
strength is based on your affinity with your element. Just because you are a
light dragon does not make you one hundred percent aligned with your element.
“It’s
a little hard to explain, but you need to gain a deeper understanding of your
element, or you will not be able to grow in strength with your level. While
level does help, it is not everything.
“Take
Juna, for example. Her ability to spread her roots across the world is due to
her hard work in understanding her powers. She was not always as strong as she
is now. But now she is stronger than many ancient dragons, from what I
understand.” Desaray wanted her friends and family to learn their elements and
traits so that they could grow stronger. Understanding your powers was the only
way to gain true strength.
“I
understand. Thank you.” Becky felt like she had been enlightened. She had also
felt her strength had waned a bit even though her level had risen. Now she
understood why.
None
of them expected to gain so many levels so quickly. While they did fight a ton,
they never had to worry about deaths since Desaray was there to protect them.
Ricky felt very conflicted about this since his daughter seemed very used to
using battle tactics. Meaning she has been fighting much more than all of them.
She might have even… “Desa… Have you… ”
“Dad?”
Desaray looked at Ricky questioningly. She wondered what he wanted to ask.
“It’s
nothing.” He couldn’t bring himself to ask if she had killed anyone before. But
he understood that in this chaotic world, it was more than likely that she had.
“Oh…”
Desaray sighed. She looked at her father, who was standing much closer to her
now, and wondered how she could ease his heart. He seemed very worried about
her but would not talk about it. After some thought, Desaray decided to bring
him to that place. “Dad. Follow me.”
Picking
Lily up into her arms, she walked out of the house without saying anything
else. Ricky followed close behind her as the two began walking to an unknown
destination. Desaray walked slowly with her father a few feet behind. “Dad, did
you know that this entire time, my dream was to find the floating island you
were on and bring you all home? A home I built with my own hands so you could
have a place to return to. This kingdom, while it is a necessity to me, is also
a place I treasure. I will defend it and its people, no
matter the cost. Since its founding as a small village, I have worked hard. I
learned how to fight properly with my abilities, and I learned how to lead with
the guidance of those around me.
“I
took in more refugees from all races and helped those I felt were worth
helping. Life is unfair. Life is pointless… I felt this way many times. But the
people around me always seemed to appear when I was feeling down. They allowed
me to keep striving for a future that would bring us all happiness.
“I
have shed blood. I have killed many. But I did so in order to protect what I
felt was worth protecting. I do not regret what I have done so far. In fact, I
feel I have helped get rid of possible dangers.
“Dad,
do you know that I killed Jake?” Desaray’s words stunned Ricky. He never
thought that his daughter would kill someone she knew, even if he was not a
good person. But from the sounds of it, she had killed many people. He wondered
just how hard it was on her.
“I
killed him because he was trying to find an easy out. He was greedy for power
yet unwilling to look at his own actions. Did you know he wanted to pit me
against a base of humans who were just trying to survive? He planned to use
hundreds of lives just to get revenge on me for not helping him level. He was
just that kind of person.
“So,
I handed the stupid rabbit over to Juna. She then turned him into food for her
and her husband. But even now, I do not feel any remorse for what I did. For
every life I have taken, I have felt nothing. Dad, I am no longer human. My
mentality has changed since I became a dragon. I only care about protecting
those I deem worth protecting. The people of my kingdom
are one of them. If I had to choose between my people and outsiders, I would
choose my people every time.” Desaray spoke softly and slowly so that her
father could take all of this in.
“Why…
why are you telling me all of this?” Ricky asked. He thought she would try to
hide it from him. But here she was, being completely open and honest with him.
“Because
I want you to know who your daughter is now.” Desaray turned and looked at him
with a soft smile. “But no matter how much I change, I will always be your
little girl. My love for the man who became my father will never change. You
raised me from a baby. You sacrificed so much for me. If I had to sacrifice my
life to protect you, I would.”
“Don’t
ever say that!” Ricky shouted. “You must never give up your life for me! I
worked so damn hard to save your life that day. I won’t let you sacrifice it!”
“Sorry…”
Desaray smiled. Crystal tears made of ice fell from her eyes. “You are right. I
should protect my life along with yours. But just know, your little girl will
never change when it comes to family. While I might end up killing many in the
future, it does not change the fact that I still look up to my hero.”
“We
are here.” Desaray let Lily down, walked over to her normal spot, and sat down.
“This place will help calm your mind and put you at ease.”
“This
place is beautiful.” Ricky had to admit that seeing the glowing pond and the
lights floating up off it, along with the strange feeling of relaxation, made
him calm down quite a bit.
“This
is a special spot that I discovered a while ago. I come here when I need a
break from it all.” Desaray leaned back and looked up at
the sky. “As you saw, I put up an ice wall to protect this place. I do not wish
for this place to be ruined. Eventually, the kingdom will expand to this point,
and it will be put under protection, but for now, I can only do this much.”
“It
is indeed a place worth protecting,” Ricky admitted. He walked over and began
playing with Lily at the side of the pond.
Desaray
was happy to see that her father had accepted Lily so quickly. He did not seem
to mind the fact that she was an orphan. She looked up at the sky and let out a
breath of air. She hoped days like this could continue. No, she would strive
for it even if it meant going to war with the world.
“I
think I understand why you feel the way you do. You have found something you
wish to protect. It’s like me as I watched you grow up. I would have done
anything if it meant protecting you. I do not know how long I will live for
now, but this much I do know: I will help you protect what you wish to protect.
I will make sure our family can continue living peacefully, even if it means
dirtying my hands.
“In
the tower, we only fought monsters. Each floor was a new trial. We worked hard
and ended up passing the trial. But it was only out of sheer luck. We did not
have the proper means to make the right calls all the time. That is how I lost
my arm…” Ricky looked at his arm and sighed.
“You
will slowly learn. You did enough to keep yourself and the others alive. I
think you did a very good job. As your daughter, I am proud and happy to know
my dad was able to return to my side.” Desaray sat up and smiled as she looked
at the man in front of her. She knew there would be no man who could ever meet
her standards in this lifetime since they had to at least
hold a candle to her own father first. But she also did not care too much about
getting married. Nor did she care about love at this time. She had enough on
her shoulders to care about these things that did not matter at this time.
Ricky
scratched his head as he let out a sigh. “You know Becky confessed to me.” He
did not plan to tell her, but he figured he should.
“I
figured as much. That girl has been in love with you since she was young. But I
know you rejected her. Becky is a good girl, but I do not wish to call her
mom.” Desaray said with a chuckle.
“I
never had any plans to take a wife anyway. I have been satisfied with just
having you. Although now I also have a cute granddaughter.” Ricky gently rubbed
the top of Lily’s head, causing her to smile.
“Hehe…
Grandpapa… Tell me about Mama when she was young.” Lily was very interested in
her mother’s past. Desaray did not stop him. Since her daughter wanted to know,
she would not hide anything, even if it was embarrassing.
“Desa….”
As Ricky and Lily talked, a root appeared on Desaray’s shoulder.
“What’s
wrong, Juna?” Desaray knew Juna would not disturb her unless it was important.
So she knew something was up.
“The
continent to the west seems to have some kind of strange barrier around it. It
encompasses the entire landmass, even underground. My roots cannot get past it.
But from what I can tell, there seems to be some powerful forces locked within
it. My roots can only get on the edge of the land at the
shore and no further than that.” Juna replied.
“Okay…
keep a few roots there to investigate. Report anything out of the ordinary. If
someone tries to break the barrier, teleport them to the prison forcefully. If
the continent is sealed, it must be for a good reason. We need to be careful.”
Desaray hated the idea of more trouble, but there was nothing she could do
about it. She just hoped that whatever was locked inside the barrier did not
break its way out. She knew many seals had been broken in the past few mergers,
especially the demon queens’ seals. But it seemed that this continent came
fully intact.
She
did not know what powers were at work, but to build a barrier around an entire
continent and be strong enough to block Juna’s roots meant that the barrier was
put in place by a powerful race for good reason. If the barrier was blocking
something powerful inside, then what about the people outside? How strong were
they?
“Try
to send some roots to the other newly formed continent as well. Let’s see if
they are connected somehow.”
⧫⧫⧫
“Demon
Queen of Lust, you dare to come before me?” The Demon Queen of Darkness looked
at the young woman before her. She had on a red dress that left nothing to the
imagination. The outfit was so skimpy it even made the Demon Queen of Darkness
want to blush.
“Why
wouldn’t I? You are just a demon queen like myself. You are no more powerful
than I am.” The Demon Queen of Lust snorted as she walked over and sat down in
the chair across from the Demon Queen of Darkness. The house they were in was an old mansion that had survived the mergers.
The Demon Queen of Darkness had cleaned it up and decided to call it home.
“Hmmm…
do you think all demon queens are equal in strength?” The Demon Queen of
Darkness’s lips curled up. She raised her hand and was about to engulf this
stupid woman in darkness when she suddenly felt her body heating up. Her eyes
turned and looked at the woman before her and saw that her pupils had turned
into hearts. “Tch… Your power doesn’t just work on men, does it?”
“Hehe…
It seems you understand. Even if you were to hide in the darkness, I could
affect you. I just don’t like women, so I never used it on them. History is
great in these situations. They pass down stories, and the ones who are fooled
are the future generations. Now, are you willing to listen to me?” The Demon
Queen of Lust asked with a bright smile on her face.
“What
do you want? I am sure you did not come here to make me your minion, or else
you would have done so already.” The Demon Queen of Darkness did not want to
deal with this woman anymore. At some point, she would need to deal with her so
that she did not cause her troubles in the future.
“I
am sure you have noticed, but the Demon Queen of Lightning has disappeared, and
the Demon Queen of Cinder seems to be working with another powerful being. I
believe if we leave this powerful being alone for too long, we will end up
being the ones who will be in trouble.” The Demon Queen of Lust explained.
“It’s
not just one… but two. Maybe more. It seems the other continent has many people
we have to be wary about. I had sensed the Demon Queen of Cinder a while ago
here on this continent. But she disappeared before I got
here. I also felt traces of powerful magic and an icy cold aura. That aura was
biting. It was only a lingering bit, but even I could feel the chill. There was
a weak human settlement nearby, so I believe they came here for that.” The
Demon Queen of Darkness did not act at the time, but she was indeed more
worried about the cold aura. “I sensed this aura before. You flew over it just
to get here.”
“That
ice field?” The Demon Queen of Lust frowned. The ice field was a frozen
wasteland. She had to leave her army behind because a bunch of them froze to
death upon touching the ice.
“Yes….
I investigated it, and the power there is enough to kill even you or me.” The
Demon Queen of Darkness replied. “The icy aura that was there compared to the
icy aura I felt was the same.”
“So
my feelings were not wrong. We should wage war on this person first and get rid
of them before we settle who the true ruler of this world is.” The Demon Queen
of Lust hated to admit it, but this was the only way. She had to team up with
the other demon queens, or they might not be able to win against this person.
“Have
you talked to the Demon Queen of Death?” The Demon Queen of Darkness asked.
“No…
Just going near her makes me sick.” The Demon Queen of Lust wrinkled her nose.
She hated the Demon Queen of Death more than the Demon Queen of Darkness.
“Now,
that is not a very nice thing to say. It’s almost as if you are looking down on
me, Little Lust.” A voice entered the two Demon Queens’ ears. They turned their
heads to see a bluish ghostly portal open, and a woman
dressed in a goth lolita dress walked out. She held a black frilly umbrella in
her hand as she looked at the two demon queens and smiled. “To think I would
see the two of you here together.”
“What
are you doing here, Death?” The Demon Queen of Lust asked with a snort.
“The
same as you, I presume? Trying to find allies to take down the ice queen.” The
Demon Queen of Death paused before continuing. “You see, my powers allow me to
see through the eyes of the dead anywhere I wish to take a peek. I had an
undead mouse on the other continent scurry its way around the lands until I
stumbled upon an ice dragon whose aura froze the little mouse to death. The
poor little guy just got a second chance at life when he was turned into an ice
cube.”
“Second
chance at life? I do not think being dead and under the control of someone else
can be considered a second chance at life.” The Demon Queen of Darkness
snorted. “But it would be easier to take down those who are powerful with the
help of Death.”
“Are
you saying I am useless!?” The Demon Queen of Lust was not happy at all. It was
as if she was being looked down upon.
“If
you are able to get close enough to the ice dragon, then so be it, but I highly
doubt you can. I think only Cinder could do that, and it seems she is working
for this ice dragon now, proving the ice dragon’s power.” The Demon Queen of
Darkness explained. She was not actually looking down on the Demon Queen of
Lust. She knew if she was not careful, she might end up falling under the
woman’s spell. She never thought that the Demon Queen of Lust would actually be
as powerful as she was. She thought she was safe due to
her only controlling men.
“That
weakling? Can she even be called a demon queen?” The Demon Queen of Lust
snorted.
“You
say that, but you wouldn’t be able to get close to her either. You were sealed
before the Demon Queen of Cinder was born. She is stronger than you think. From
the stories I have heard, she had once burned half the world. It took many
mages to seal her, and they all lost their lives. Her flames are not to be
trifled with.” The Demon Queen of Darkness defended Cinder for one reason. She
would never underestimate another demon queen. The Demon Queen of Lust was a
good example of what would happen if you underestimated their powers.
“Tch…”
The Demon Queen of Lust clicked her tongue. But she could not deny what the
Demon Queen of Darkness had to say. She did not know Cinder’s true strength.
“So…
what should we do? I will admit I am useless against Cinder since she can burn
most of my army. As for the ice queen… It might be hard for any of us to get
close except for you, Darkness.” The Demon Queen of Death suggested.
“I
might be able to get close. But would I be able to attack before I froze to
death?” The Demon Queen of Darkness looked at the other two and sighed. “We can
only try. If we fail, we will need to fall back and maybe just give that
continent to her. She might not be like us.” The Demon Queen of Darkness did
not wish to give up anything, but a powerful enemy was still a powerful enemy.
One needed to know when to take a step back.
“We
also do not know what happened to the Demon Queen of Lightning.” The Demon
Queen of Death was still concerned about this. “If she
had died, it would have been noticed by us. At least the battle that ensued
would have been enough for us to take notice.”
“We
will deal with that later. We will know if she is around or not. Until then, we
can only try to deal with what is happening now.” The Demon Queen of Lust did
not want to bother with the Demon Queen of Lightning, although she did feel
that maybe it would be easier with her here.
“At
any rate…” The Demon Queen of Darkness began before feeling something was off.
“What?”
The Demon Queen of Lust asked.
“I
feel like we are being watched…” The Demon Queen of Darkness looked around but
did not see anything out of the ordinary.
In
a dark corner of a room, a small root the size of a needle tip was hidden
between the grains of the rug. It did not move, but it did give off a very
faint mana signature. But this low amount of mana output was so small it did
not make the Demon Queens aware.
“I
think you are just being paranoid.” The Demon Queen of Lust did not feel
anything. She did not know who would even be able to get close enough to them
to make them feel like they were being watched.
“Anyway,
let’s work out our plans.” The Demon Queen of Death just wanted to get this
meeting over. As for the Demon Queen of Darkness, she couldn’t help but feel
like something was off.
⧫⧫⧫
“Juna, how is it?”
Desaray asked.
“From
what I am hearing, they plan to strike in six months. They want to gather their
forces first before making plans to cross the ocean. Unlike us, they cannot
move thousands of soldiers at one time.” Juna replied.
“Then
we will take three months to gather our strength. During this time, we will
level up our armies and then meet them head-on. Demon queens might be powerful,
but if they think they can even take a single step onto our continent, then
they have another thing coming to them.” Desaray snorted. She wanted to see who
dared to disturb her utopia.
“Should
we ask the dragon clan on the West Coast to assist?” Juna had her roots all
over, so she knew where all the major settlements were now.
“We
will meet with all of them. During this time, we will first level up. In three
months, myself, Rose, An’ne, and you will split up and go to different clans.
Make sure you bring enough people as guards since we need these visits to be
official.”
⧫⧫⧫
“Everyone
here?” Desaray looked at the three teams in front of her. Behind her were Yi
Ling and Ricky, who made up her team. An’ne had Oinktera and Cinder since she
was the weakest of the group. Rose had one level 80 guard and Yu. Juna had
Becky and Mike.
Desaray
split the teams up to have her friends and family together to get a better
understanding of how things worked. In these past three months, everyone worked
very hard and leveled up past level 130.
Desaray herself had her
level rise to level 175.
{World Order System}
[Name]: Desaray Harris
[Race]: Ice Dragon Goddess
[Current Realm]: Transcended
[Age]: 20
[Level]: 175
[Monster Rank]: C
[Realm Advance
Requirements]: Reach Level 200, Kill 100,000 enemies, Gain 100,000 followers
[Evolution
Requirements]: Reach level 100, Kill 2 Demigods, Complete 3 level 100+ dungeons
solo
[HP]: 976,276/976,276
[MP]: 913,876/913,876
[Elemental Affinity]:
Ice (170%)
[Skill Points]: 0
[Skills]
{Ice Breath (Lvl MAX)}
{Ice Immunity (Lvl Max)} {Appraisal (Lvl 6)} {First Aid (Lvl 2)} {Toughened
Skin (Lvl 2)} {Spark (Lvl 1)} {Cleanse (Lvl 1)} {Drink (Lvl 1)} {Dig (Lvl 1)}
{Dry (Lvl 1)} {Ice Arrow (Lvl MAX)} {Fireball (Lvl 1)} {Detection (Lvl MAX)} {Healing
Snow (Lvl MAX)} {Partial Transformation (Lvl Max)} {Full Transformation (Lvl
Max)} {Ice Manipulation (Lvl MAX)} {Summon Ice Elemental (Lvl 1)} {Prison Of
Absolute Cold (Lvl Max)} {Mana Reduction (Lvl MAX)} {Mana Regeneration (Lvl
MAX)} {Twelve Steps (Lvl 4)} {Empress’s Presence (Lvl MAX)}
[Goddess Skills]
{Frozen Step (Lvl Max)}
{Absolute Zero (Lvl 2)} {Ice Throne (Lvl 2)}
{Weapon Crafting (Lvl
4)} {Armor Crafting (Lvl 4)} {Hunting (Lvl MAX)} {Foraging (Lvl 4)} {Cooking
(Lvl 4)}
She finally used all her
skill points as well to level up her skills, while other skills leveled up from
use.
Chapter 5
“Everyone
is accounted for, Your Holiness,” Juna answered.
“Good!
From this moment on, we will be splitting up and going to different locations.
An’ne, you will speak with the Dwarves. Rose, you will speak with the Fairies.
Juna, you will speak with the elves, and I will speak with the dragons. We are
trying to make friends, not enemies. An’ne and Juna, please keep your
indoctrination to a minimum. I know you both like to spread the word about the
Church of the Ice Goddess, but we are currently looking for allies for the
battle ahead. Each and every one of you is high enough level to take on an army
so I am not worried about your safety, but please try not to make too many
enemies. Use proper respect when meeting with their officials. But do not allow
anyone to look down on you. If they are not treating you with the same respect,
you are allowed to use a bit of force to tell them we are not to be pushed
around.” Desaray looked at everyone who was standing at attention and smiled.
“Do your best and come home safely. This is the main order I will give today.
Let’s go! Juna, if you will.”
“Wait!”
Ricky suddenly yelled out, causing everyone to turn to look at him.
“Dad?” Desaray was
confused as to why he was staring at her.
“Put
some damn clothes on! I know you can form ice clothing! I have been meaning to
say this for a while, but you really need to wear something on your body!”
Ricky explained as he held his head. He really wished this daughter of his
realized that she looked as if she was wearing nothing at all. She got too
comfortable when she was in the city.
“Oh!
Okay.” Desaray giggled as she waved her hand. Seconds later, a long dress made
of ice covered her body.
“Since
we are now ready. Have a safe trip, Your Holiness.” Juna chuckled as she waved
her hand, and everyone present was taken into a root and disappeared.
On
the west coast, a large root popped up from the ground, and three people
stepped out of it. Desaray looked around and smiled when she saw the ocean not
too far away. “To think the first time I visit California would be for a
diplomatic mission. Well, I guess you can’t really call it California with how
so many mountains are now covering the landscape. Maybe the California mountain
range?”
“You
still have time to joke? Five dragons seem to be flying our way.” Ricky sighed.
His daughter seemed a little too relaxed.
“Dad,
you should not worry so much. Don’t forget I am also a dragon, a powerful one
at that.” Desaray stepped forward and looked up at the sky. The reason the
dragons were so quick to answer was basically that Juna’s root brought them
right to their backyard.
“I
am the Ice Queen of the Holy Kingdom of Serenity. I am here to meet with your
leader.” Desaray answered without any hesitation. Her Empress’s Presence was on
full blast. When combined with her icy aura that now reached almost fifty feet,
her presence was very hard to ignore.
“The
Ice Queen? The Holy Kingdom of Serenity? Are you from this world?” The black
dragon in the lead slowly flew over but stopped short when he felt the icy
aura. He slowly landed just outside its range and transformed into his human
form. He had black-rimmed glasses and looked very studious with his neat
suit-like clothing. Even his black hair was cut neatly. He eyed Desaray and the
two people with her before asking: “I can not allow you to be near the city
unless you turn off your ice aura.”
“This
I am unable to do. It is part of my physique. You can say it’s something that
is out of my control. Only those close to me are able to withstand it.” Desaray
had Ricky and Yi Ling both standing right behind her, which proved that they
were not affected by it. “I wish to hold a meeting. Here is fine as well. As
long as I am far enough away, no one will be affected. Just tell your leader
that the demon queens of old have been unsealed and are planning to attack. I
wish to form an alliance with him.”
⧫⧫⧫
In
a forest filled with tree houses carved into the massive trees themselves, Juna
stood with Becky and Mike. “You two only need to watch
and learn. Do not answer any questions. As guards, you only need to stand
behind me. If anyone says anything, ignore them as if they are air. If they try
anything, I will deal with it. You must never attack, do you understand?”
“We
understand.” Becky and Mike both nodded. While they now had proper weapons and
armor thanks to Regal, they were only here to learn and nothing more.
“Then
let’s go.” Juna walked and waved her hand, creating a root for them to sit on
before moving forward into the elven town. The elves all turned and looked at
the group of three with curiosity and some of contempt. High elves were known
for being arrogant, and liked to look down on others. So it was not strange to
have some gazes that were not very kind.
As
the group of three drew closer to the massive tree in the center of the eleven
city. A fleet of elven guards appeared on the streets and stood in front of
Juna and her two companions. “Who are you!? Why have you come to our kingdom?”
“I
am the Ice Goddess’s Apostle Juna; I am an envoy of the Holy Kingdom of
Serenity. By the Ice Goddess’s will, I have come to meet with your leaders. I
have urgent news to speak with your king about.” Juna’s calm demeanor and
oppressive aura pressed down on these guards. She was silently showing her
might without anyone noticing.
“Follow
us.” The lead guard recognized Juna’s strength, so he had no choice but to
treat these people with a degree of respect. This was solely because the other
world operated on the principle of strength. Kingdoms of various kinds had to
possess at least one means of protecting themselves. Whether it was a legendary
weapon capable of splitting mountains or a high-level ancient guarding the
kingdom from the shadows, they all had the ability to
fight. Thanks to Juna’s subtle, invisible display of strength, she was now
regarded as if she were a noble from the very kingdom that looked down on
outsiders.
Juna
was brought to the elven palace’s gates, where she was asked to wait while one
of the guards made a report. About twenty minutes later, the same guard came
out with two men dressed in green robes wearing wooden monocles on their faces.
They quickly made their way over to Juna and bowed their heads. One of the men
wearing a monocle stepped forward and bowed his head: “Apostle Juna, it is a
pleasure to be in your presence. My name is Gren, and I am a high aide to His
Majesty. We high elves have always wished to meet someone as your exalted
self.”
“Oh?
The Ice Goddess’s teachings have already reached this far?” Juna asked
curiously. She had no idea why these elves were treating her so kindly. These
high elves were a Woodlyn branch of the high elf race. The high elves that had
planned to attack Rain Ford were of the arcane kind and were not on her list of
races to make contact with to forge an alliance.
“The
Ice Goddess? I am sorry, I am afraid I do not understand… I am referring to
yourself. A Nymph Princess… You are a revered race among the high Woodlyn
elves.” Gren replied in confusion.
“Oh…”
Juna snorted. “My race has nothing to do with anything. Only Her Holiness is
worthy of any kind of praise. Now, may I speak with your leaders or not?”
Gren
was taken aback by how Juna did not seem to care for her race at all and kept
talking about some Ice Goddess. He began to wonder if she had become
brainwashed at some point. He frowned slightly, but it
was only for a split second. He quickly wore an amicable smile and nodded his
head. “This way.”
Gren
gazed at the two behind Juna and began making a few plans. Since a Nymph
Princess had finally appeared after so many thousands of years, he could not
allow her to leave and continued to be brainwashed by the people of this
so-called Holy kingdom. So, he had to come up with a reason to split them up.
The
massive tree that the palace was carved out of was not from this world but the
other world and was one of the very few branches of the Tree of Life. It grew a
special fruit that only ripened every three hundred years. And it only grew one
of such fruits. These fruits were said to be able to give a person an extended
life and cure all diseases. It could be said to be the holy grail of the elf
world.
There
were two large wooden doors that blocked entry with a large set of stairs
carved out of the roots that led up to it. Each step had a single elf guard
standing there, watching anyone who dared to come near. Gren led Juna and her
two companions on the steps, where Juna pulled her root from the ground and
gave it legs so that it could walk up the steps. She was not going to walk by
herself. It would take away from the grandeur of her kingdom!
Gren
grazed at the root that was walking down the palace halls and really had no
words to describe what he was seeing. The root was not just walking, but it was
walking with elegance as if it had the pride of a king.
The
group quickly reached two intricately carved wooden doors, where two elven
guards stood in front of them. The guards saluted and turned, grasping the
heavy handles to pull the doors open. The guard who had brought Juna with him called out, “Apostle Juna of the Holy Kingdom of Serenity
has arrived!”
“What
is the meaning of this!? What envoy!? I will not be accepting no envoys from
some kingdom I never heard of!” An elf wearing golden robes was sitting in
front of a group of elves, seemingly having a meeting, when he heard the
announcement. Being interrupted angered the elf to no end.
“An
elf king should not act all high and mighty in front of my Holy Kingdom.”
Juna’s cold words filled the hall as her roots carried her into the hall. It
was only now that the king realized his mistake. He did not think it was the
nymph princess whom he had just heard about.
“Ah…
so it was you. My apologies. I didn’t expect you to visit me so soon.” The elf
king’s expression shifted as he gazed at Juna, his eyes flashing with a hint of
desire. Juna was beautiful, after all, and her choice of attire made of leaves
and roots that covered her body exuded an allure hard to resist for some.“
“I
believe you were informed of my kingdom’s name. Are all elves so arrogant that
they think they are superior to everyone else? Let me tell you, the tricks you
have in mind won’t work against me or my companions. After all…” Juna smiled
knowingly. She understood the thoughts of these individuals. Once she learned
that these elves revered her race, she realized they would attempt some tricks
to try to separate her and her companions at some point.
“I
am here for one reason and one reason only. Join in an alliance with my Holy
Kingdom of Serenity to fight the demon queens of old, or we will just have to
take over your kingdom.” Juna’s words were not doctrine. She had not planned to
do this, but since they had other ideals, she was not
going to let that slide either.
“Juna…”
Becky was nervous. This was not the plan at all! Juna turned and smiled,
pressing her finger against her lips. Then, she turned back and looked at the
king, waiting for his answer.
“This
is not something we can easily agree to. What benefits do we gain from forming
an alliance with your kingdom? If anything, you should realize that we are
still reforming after being sent to this new place. If you were to take some
time and stay here for…” The king hoped to convince Juna to remain so they
could find more opportunities to separate her from her companions, but he was
quickly interrupted before he could continue when a root suddenly sprang up
from the ground and coiled around his neck.
“Elven
king, your dirty thoughts are written on your face. Do you think Her Holiness
would allow you to take me away from her? She is my family. We carry the same
last name. We are sisters, yet she is a transcended being with greater power
than you could ever imagine. Do you think you can try to swindle me into
staying in this tree house until you can figure out a way to control me? Do you
even think that is possible? If I wanted to, I could uproot your entire kingdom
and send it to the middle of the ocean. Would you wood elves like to become
ocean elves?” Juna was never one to beat around the bush. Once she was angered,
she would show it. Once one dared to try to harm her kingdom, she would make
sure it was known that no one could do anything that would make her goddess
sad.
“You!
Let go of our king!” The guards at the side drew their bows but were soon
blocked off as rocks began to shoot up from the ground
and to the ceiling, blocking them from being able to see what was going on.
Juna
smiled as she gave Mike a nod. “As you can see, you are not even a match for a
single one of my guards, never mind myself nor my goddess. So I will give you
one more choice: you will form an alliance or be destroyed. Pick. You have
three seconds.”
The
king wanted to scream out that he could not even speak, but he couldn’t! The
damn root around his neck was choking him! “We accept!” The elven queen, who
was standing at the side, suddenly stood up and bowed her head. “We accept, so
please… Let my husband go.”
“Hmmm?
Ah, right…” Juna scratched her head. She had forgotten that she had captured
him. “Since you accept, then I will need you two to form a binding magic
contract that states you will form an alliance with us and help defeat the
demon queens of old, or you will die along with your kingdom.”
⧫⧫⧫
“The
fiery menace tried to burn the world once more. But Her Holiness, the Ice
Goddess Desaray, would not allow such a thing. She rushed head on and fought
with the Demon Queen of Cinder and pushed her back, sending her fleeing. But
how could Her Holiness allow such a thing…”
“Wow!
This Ice Goddess is amazing!” A young dwarf boy cried out.
There
was a huge crowd of dwarves gathered in the center of a shopping district.
An’ne stood in front of the huge group and continued to spin her tails of
Desaray’s greatness. Oinktera knew she was not supposed to do this, but he did
not stop her. He felt the more Desaray’s greatness was
spread, the better. Cinder, on the other hand, was having some misgivings about
what was being said. But she felt if she said something, people would look at
her strangely. She was already having issues standing up on stage like this and
being the focus of attention.
“Excuse
me, do you have a permit?” A gruff voice came from behind. An’ne and the others
turned to see a dwarven guard standing there staring at them.
“Permit?”
An’ne asked in confusion.
“Yes.
A permit to hold a demonstration. Look, little lady, I don’t know where you
come from, but we dwarves are civilized people. We do things in certain ways
around here.” The dwarf looked at An’ne with a tad bit of impatience but still
did not give her an attitude.
“We
are very sorry, sir. We had no idea.” Oinktera stepped in. “High Priestess,
An’ne is someone who is true to her faith and is always trying to spread the
word of the Ice Goddess. In fact, she is here in your kingdom to speak with
your king about an alliance with our Holy Kingdom of Serenity.”
“I
see… An Envoy. While we do have some idea of this Holy Kingdom, I am not sure
if I can get you an audience with our king. I will need you to follow me. We
can see if one of the higher-ups is willing to speak with you. But I can’t make
any promises. I myself am low in status as well. Right. You can call me Drig.”
The dwarf guard, Drig, motioned for the group to follow.
Cinder
thought they were about to get arrested and had been holding her breath this
entire time. When she saw that they would be okay, she
let out a long, drawn-out breath of air. Oinktera shook his head. He knew
Desaray wanted to give her a worldly view, which was why he sent her along on
this trip, but he was still worried about her.
The
dwarven city was, as one would expect, built on the side of a mountain. The
mountain did not use to be here but was actually teleported to this place.
“This place is amazing.” Oinktera couldn’t help but voice out his thoughts.
“Thanks.
We dwarves specialize in magitech. We have come a long way since we first dug
our way out of the mountain many tens of thousands of years ago.” Drig replied.
“You
said you dug your way out?” Cinder couldn’t help but speak up. She was quite
curious about what he had just said.
“There
is a dwarven legend that our first ancestors were actually humanoid rock
golems. My ancestors were born part of the mountain and gained sentience. Then,
they dug their way out of the mountain. It is because of this that we dwarves
are drawn to the mountains and like to build our homes into them. It is also
why we have such an affinity to the earth elements.” Drig replied.
“Now
that is an interesting legend.” An’ne had never heard of such a legend before.
“You
dragons were also fairies in the past, were you not?” Drig asked. Dwarves were
different from others. They did not fear the dragon race in the slightest.
Mainly because to attack a dwarf kingdom meant attacking a mountain.
An’ne
blushed slightly as she said: “ I am not sure. I never got to go to the
academy. I was mainly locked up in the castle and given lessons on how to be a
proper wife…” An’ne hated how she was always locked in a
cage. She was the happiest person now because she was able to find her true
calling. She found someone worth following and worshipping. She had learned
more on her own than she had ever learned while taking classes in the palace.
“Were
you a princess lass?” Drig was curious now since An’ne spoke up.
“I
was at one point. But I came to this world and almost lost my life multiple
times. That was when I met Her Holiness, who saved me. It was because of her
that I found my true calling. I also learned so much more about the world and
how the common folk lived. I worked in the fields and got dirty. I played with
the children in the streets. Her Holiness showed me a life outside the castle,
a real life, a place where I could be myself. That is why I decided to dedicate
my life to the Church of the Ice Goddess. To a goddess who is benevolent to
all, no matter who they are.” An’ne’s eyes sparkled when she talked about
Desaray. There was no craziness, just pure admiration for the person she
worshiped. She was like those star chasers who chased after idols.
“I…
I see…” Of course, to others, she looked like a fanatic.
⧫⧫⧫
Rose
was not very happy. The race she could not deal with the most was the fairy
race. They consisted of many different races, but each one was born from mana
and could be considered an outcast amongst the other races. They all took on
the fairy title due to the first fairy kingdoms rise in which all of the fairy
races came together.
“Bad
person!”
“Bad
person!”
“She’s
a bad person!”
“Who
are you calling bad, you damn insects! You were the ones pulling on me! And why
only me!?” There was a gorc and also Yu who was standing behind her, but no one
was bothering them!
“Bad
person! Bad Person! Hahahaha!”
“You!”
Rose wanted to burn everything around her but was quickly stopped by Yu and the
Gorc.
“Rose,
you can’t. We came here as a delegation. If you attacked them now, it would be
the same as starting a war.” Yu tried to reason with Rose.
“They
attacked me first! They started this war! I will end it!” Rose yelled out. She
felt like she should have sent Regal here instead and stayed behind.
“Just
ignore them….” Yu wanted to try to keep the peace, but as she spoke, the
fairies were still pulling on Rose’s hair as hard as they could while calling
her a bad person. “Umm… Can you please stop bothering her? She has never done
anything to your people, so it is not nice to be pulling on her hair like that
and calling her names.”
“Hmmm?
Okay!” The fairies actually stopped when Yu asked them to.
“Puppy
girl is a nice girl. We will listen.” And like that, the wolf girl Yu was now
dubbed puppy girl to the fairy race.
“Why!?”
Rose did not understand. When they first started pulling on her hair, she asked
them to stop nicely as well, but they refused to listen. But when Yu asked,
they instantly stopped and even called her a nice girl! Why was she the bad
girl!?
“Where
do we even find the fairy queen?” Rose wondered. Although she had met fairies
before, she had never dealt with fairy nobility, as they usually kept to
themselves.
“I
will ask.” Yu took it upon herself to step forward. Since the fairies seemed to
like her. She walked over to a group that was watching them. “Excuse me, can
you tell me where I can meet someone who can get in touch with your queen?”
“Our
Queen?”
“Puppy
girl wants to meet the queen.”
“The
queen would like to meet the puppy girl.”
“Let’s
bring puppy girl to meet the queen.”
“But
she has a bad person with her….”
“But
puppy girl says a bad person is a good person….”
“Not
good! Can’t decide!”
“Can’t
decide!”
“Can’t
decide!”
The
fairies seemed troubled. They began discussing what they should do. One after
the other flew into the fairy huddle and began giving their thoughts. Soon,
over a hundred fairies were all sitting in a large circle, having a meeting.
“Children,
I am already here; I will speak with them.” A beautiful lady as tall as Rose
suddenly appeared in front of them. She wore a silver and green dress that did
not seem to be made of any known fabric and elegantly bowed to Yu. “Puppy girl,
it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Trilili, the Queen of the fairies.”
“Umm…
it’s a pleasure… But… My name is Yu…” Yu did not like being called puppy girl.
“My
apologies. I overheard the little ones and figured…” The queen bowed her head
once more, feeling embarrassed.
“It’s
okay. I was just saying.” Yu replied, bowing her head slightly. “We came to
speak to you about an incoming danger to this continent.”
“I
see. Let’s go someplace more fitting, shall we?” The fairy queen, Trilili waved
her hand and created a portal made of mist at the side and stepped through it.
Yu quickly followed, but when Rose and the Gorc guard went to pass through it,
the door instantly closed, leaving them standing there feeling stupid.
“Hahahaha!
The Queen hates bad person!”
“Bad
person!”
“Bad
person!”
“Bad
person!”
While
Rose's face was turning all kinds of colors due to anger, Yu was a little
confused as to why she was the only one there. “Umm… Why are my comp….”
“Don’t
worry, your friends will be fine, but to ensure the safety of this holy land, I
cannot allow outsiders here,” Trilili replied. “You may not know this, but
Fenrirs are also fairies. So you are one of us, and that makes you trustworthy.
The fairy race usually doesn’t help others. This is because we are accustomed
to being exploited. We only form bonds for trade and will never go to war for
any nation. Like elementals, we fairies wield great power. Therefore, we prefer
to stay neutral. However, I’m sure you’re here for a reason that won’t allow us
to remain that way.”
“Yes…”
Yu took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She now knew this alliance was up
to her. “I am afraid my companions and I have come here as a delegation of the
Holy Kingdom of Serenity. We are about to face off against the demon queens of
old and wish to form an alliance with your people.”
⧫⧫⧫
A
white sandy beach spread out before Desaray as she sat down on a throne made of
ice. Across from her, fifty feet away, a young man with a red tail sat on a
throne made of gold. Next to him was a small table with baked treats and a pot
of tea. Desaray, on the other hand, did not need to eat anymore, so she only
smiled at him with her legs crossed and her hands clasped in her lap. “I
appreciate you coming here to meet with me like this. I know it is a little
strange, but it is for your safety.”
“I
understand. And it is my pleasure. My name is Garnet, the new King of Alastine.
My guards have explained to me the situation, Your
Holiness. To think I would get to meet the Ice Goddess herself. My intelligence
corps has told me much about you and your kingdom. In truth, what I think you
are doing is quite amazing. I have been meaning to try to set up a meeting with
you for a while now, but with being in a new world, suddenly, I still have a
mess to deal with here. Also… It seems my little sister has found her true
calling. I thank you for helping her when she was all alone.” Garnet was much
easier to talk to than Desaray had expected. She also did not realize he had
already sent people to check up on her. But she would expect no less from a
dragon who had the wisdom of the ages behind him.
“An’ne
is a blessing in her own right. She is a sweet girl, and I do hope she can
continue living as she pleases.” Desaray did not want An’ne to become a
political tool for her brother.
“Don’t
worry. She is now part of your kingdom. As long as she is safe and happy, that
is all I care about.” Garnet smiled as he replied. He was glad his sister found
a new home. She would end up becoming part of the mess he was dealing with now
in the castle. This was the last thing he wanted.
“That’s
good. Now… I hate to move on from the small talk, but the matter I need to
speak to you about is of urgency. I am sure you must already know, but the
demon queens of old have been unsealed. One of which is under my care and is
now allied with me. But this leaves four others. The Demon Queen of Lust, the
Demon Queen of Death, the Demon Queen of Darkness, and the Demon Queen of
Lightning, whom seems to have disappeared. From the intelligence my people have
gathered, they plan to attack in a few months’ time. I would like to form an
alliance with those willing to stand on the battlefield with me and my people.”
Desaray began.
“My
problem is the Demon Queen of Darkness…. Her power is very strange. The Demon
Queen of Lust and the Demon Queen of Death are no issues, but the Demon Queen
of Darkness’s power is already borderline demi-god. Whether she realizes it or
not, she is much more powerful than the other demon queens. Our only upside is
that we do have a light dragon on our side. She is a dear friend of mine, and I
have been helping her level up as much as possible.” Desaray explained.
“If
what you say is true, then yes, it will be a tough battle. If it were before, I
think you would have no problem, but if she truly is almost at the power of a
demi-god, then we must be very careful. If she happens to evolve any time soon,
then…” Garnet understood that what was to come would not be good for any of
them.
“That
is why I want to bring the battle to them. Not only can we protect our homes
from the battle ahead, but we can keep them locked down on the other continent
as well.” Desaray did not wish for any more demon queens to step on her
continent. Cinder already burnt a good portion of the land she did not wish to
see more damage done. Luckily, the mana-filled air was helping the land
recover.
“Your
idea is good. I, too, do not wish to have my people subjected to a fight with
demon queens.” Garnet nodded in agreement.
Chapter 6
“Cough!
Cough!” Garnet choked on his baked snack. He looked up at Desaray in shock.
“Did you…. Did you just say most of your military is over level 100!?”
“Hmmm?
Mmm… Yes, most of them are only level 100. There are still a few at level 90.”
Desaray replied. This was normal for her since her people were all willing to
go level. Even the most ordinary citizen was at least level 60 at this point.
They had been power-leveling everyone in large groups in the raids of at least
a hundred people at a time. With Oinktera and the others leading the way, all
these people, from young to old, were gaining levels like crazy.
“That
is… Do you even need the help of the other races? If you were to stand on our
doorstep with such an army, I would have no choice but to bow my head and
surrender.” Garnet had no words to describe how he felt at this time. As a
dragon, one of the most feared races of the other world, he could only bow down
to Desaray and her army. He felt just her alone was enough to wipe out the
demon queens.
“And
mainly since this is a threat that concerns us all, I do believe each kingdom
should pitch in to help. I am not one to save others just because I am kind. I
will defend my people, but I will not defend other kingdoms while not gaining
anything from the other kingdoms who might see this as a chance to attack my
own, well… I might just end up going on a conquest if any harm came to my
people. That is if you could ever get past my defenses but to even attack means
war.” Desaray explained bluntly. She may be considered a goddess but she cared
more about her own people than others. If she had a church here in this
kingdom, then she would need to protect it to save her followers, but she did
not.
Ricky
watched as his daughter confidently wrapped the dragon king around her finger
without doing much of anything but using words and felt that he had really
missed an important part of her life. He missed her rise as a capable leader.
In fact, he was very proud of her. She was confident and had her own morals.
She had grown to become an amazing person. A person who could lead a kingdom
even in war without flinching.
Yi
Ling was not surprised by the turn of events. She already knew that Desaray was
capable. She had been working hard at her side all this
time so she understood that Desaray would stop at nothing to protect her own.
Garnet
let out a sigh as he tossed his hands in the air. “You win. I can not argue
with the facts at hand. You are using this war not only to form ties but also
to keep your own people safe at the same time. To be honest, this is very
smart. I also agree that each kingdom should do something about the demon
queens. You have my full support, I will also send a few dragons with you to
help protect your kingdom as well while you are fighting. You can even bind
them by a magical contract if you wish. This way, you know they will not cause
any harm to your people.”
“A
pact of trust is enough. No need for anything over the top. Since we are going
to form an alliance then we should be able to put some trust in each other.
Since you are willing to send a few dragons to my kingdom while we deal with
the demon queens, I will accept. I was also thinking of maybe forming a new
form of office where each kingdom sends an ambassador to the other’s kingdom.
This way, we can keep political ties much easier.” Desaray’s idea was not new
to her world, but she was not sure about the other world.
“This
is also a good idea. As for trade routes, we dragons will share our portal
technology in order to establish an easier route so that merchants do not need
to travel great distances. Each portal will be guarded on each side and
strictly monitored. What do you think?” Garnet was more than willing to deepen
ties with Desaray and her kingdom. Such military might was not something to
joke about. If he did not take this chance to form a deep relationship, now
wouldn’t he be kicking a metal wall when things get out of hand by some idiot
who thinks dragons are the superior race?
“How
do you plan to get us over to this continent?” Garnet asked. He was curious how
they were going to pull this off.
“With
this.” Desaray held out a root. “This root is what will enable us to travel to
the other continent. It takes a while, but we will be able to get there quickly
and without hindrance. I plan to send a forward force as soon as possible. Do
you have any men you can add to it at this time?”
“I
can send a thousand men at once if you want. Without people gathering back
here, as you can see, we have many dragons. Our military might is around ten
thousand at this time.” Garnet replied, which surprised Desaray that he was so
willing to give numbers like this. This was basically giving out a weakness.
“Your
Majesty!” One of the people behind Garnet yelled out. He did not seem very
happy with Garnet giving out numbers like that.
“What
are you yelling for Barraet? If Her Holiness wished it, she could have frozen
our entire kingdom to make us bow to her, but instead, she is here to form an
alliance with us. This means we are on equal terms and friendly. We are not
enemies, nor do I ever wish to become her enemy!” Garnet yelled back. He was not one to keep up with how a king should act
for long.
“This…”
The man, Barraet, did not know what to say. What Garnet said was true, but he
had hoped to keep their lack of might quiet at this time.
“Anyway,
we will do things as Her Holiness wishes; I will follow your orders, as well
will my men. If the demon queens are truly planning to attack us, we know it
will not be good for any race or kingdom. I believe Her Holiness can bring
about a complete victory.” Garnet was betting everything on Desaray’s strength.
“I,
too, will be on the battlefield, so I can only hope what you say is true. But
for any reason, I fall, take your people and leave. I do not wish for you to be
caught up in the bloodbath that follows.” Desaray knew her people well. If she
were to come to harm, then they would go crazy and start killing everyone in
retribution. This was just how being seen as a god worked. Once your followers
worshiped you to a certain point, they would become fanatics.
“I
understand.” Garnet also understood this point. “But… Are you sure they will
not see us as abandoning you?”
“Don’t
worry. If Her Holiness falls, they will all have to listen to my command so you
people can safely retreat,” Ricky spoke up this time. He knew his daughter
would be counting on him to reign in her people.
“I
see. Then I thank you.” Garnet did not know who the man was standing behind
Desaray but he got a strange feeling from him.
“Ahem!”
Ricky cleared his throat, snapping Garnet out of his daze and causing the young
dragon king to blush. “Your Holiness, we should leave. It seems the high elves
are making a move on Serenity.”
“Oh?
I thought they were only a small group. Why are they suddenly making a move?”
Desaray sighed. She did not understand these egotistical races who thought they
were better than the rest unless you were to put them in their place.
“Juna
does not know. She only said that one of her roots saw and overheard the five
thousand-man army making their move.” Ricky replied. He also did not understand
why they would want to attack Serenity.
“Alright,
let’s get going then.” Desaray turned to Garnet and bowed her head. “Thank you
for meeting with me today, Dragon King; I hope our future alliance will bear
fruit between both our kingdoms.”
“As
do I. Please think of this place as your second home from now on.” Garnet also
stood up and bowed his head. He was showing proper respect to a person he saw
as his equal, even though he knew she should be above him. But as a king, he
had to hold a certain doctrine.
“She
is very bright and powerful. I can see why her people see her as a goddess.”
Barraet answered.
“No,
you are wrong. They do not see her as a goddess; she is truly a goddess. You
might not be able to sense it, but she has a power in her that is not mortal. I
believe she is in a weakened state at this time, but even that weakened state
is enough to wipe out a kingdom on her own.” Desaray had no idea Garnet saw her
as a goddess who had been injured at some point and was only resting in the
mortal world.
⧫⧫⧫
Sitting
on a wooden throne, Juna looked down at the group of elves below with a small
smirk on her face. “So, have you decided? O’King of the Woodlyn Elves?”
Yes,
below Juna were not just normal elves but nobility. Even the king and his
family were currently all kneeling before Juna. The only ones Juna cared about
were those close to her. She would protect what her goddess wished to protect
and nothing more. As for a mere elven kingdom, she only saw them as a bunch of
bugs running around, thinking they were better than others. As long as they
treated her with kindness, she would have done the same, but since they decided
to try to scheme against her, she would not allow them to do so. She would not
even treat them as equals but as mere beasts who needed to be trained. And even
then, she felt calling them beasts was an offense to the beasts.
“Hmmm?
Terms? Who said you had the right to argue about terms? My law is the law.”
Juna was basically extending her foot out to the king as if she was saying:
‘Lick it’. She wanted total obedience from these woodlyn elves since she knew
they were prideful people. However, she would never commit such an act of
disgust. Not only would it make her feel sick, but she knew that Oinktera would
also freak out.
Becky
and Mike, who were standing behind Juna, had eyes full of worship for Juna.
They really liked how she got things done! Her way of speaking. Her way of
handling ignorant people. It sent chills of excitement down their spines.
Little did they know that when they went back and praised Juna for how she
handled things, Juna would get an earful from Desaray about proper manners when
dealing with other kingdoms.
“Then…
We have no choice but to accept.” The king of the woodlyn elves bowed his head.
He feared if he said or did the wrong thing, the Nymph Princess would destroy
their kingdom.
“Good,
we will now sign a binding contract. Remember you break this contract, you and
your entire kingdom will go up in flames.” Juna’s words weighed heavily over
the king and the other nobles. They hated how they were bowing their heads, but
they had no choice. The Nymph Princess that they once worshiped was now
stepping on them like bugs and treating them like dirt. They hated it. But
what’s more, they hated the person that Juna was protecting!
⧫⧫⧫
“Ah-choo!”
Desaray rubbed her nose. She knew she did not catch a cold but she did wonder
who was scolding her behind her back.
⧫⧫⧫
In
another place, Yu was still speaking with the Fairy Queen, Trilili. “So because
of this, we are looking for races who wish to form an alliance with us. But you
must also understand that if you do not form an alliance with us and are
attacked, it is by no means our responsibility to protect your people. Her
Holiness is very kind and would probably still come to your aid if she can
spare the people, but it will not be on her priority list. Those who had formed
an alliance with her would be the ones to receive help first. This means, let’s
say the dragons were being attacked at the same time as the fairies; you would
not get any help until the attack on the dragons is thwarted.”
“I
understand this. That is why I am willing to form an alliance. While some of my
kind can be very problematic, with a single word from me, they will become a
fighting force worthy of fighting alongside your Queen. We fairies can not stay
neutral in this new world where we have no idea what dangers await us. I would
like to accept Her Holiness’s extended hand and form an alliance with the Holy
Kingdom of Serenity.”
⧫⧫⧫
While
alliances were being made left and right, the one having trouble the most was
An’ne. “You want us to form an alliance without proof?” A haughty dwarf sat
down and glared at An’ne, Oinktera, and Cinder.
An’ne
and Oinktera both looked at Cinder in shock. They never expected her to get so
angry! “Cinder, let’s calm down.” An’ne did not wish for Cinder to get too
excited and accidentally do something she would regret.
“But…
They are not even willing to listen! Desa trusted us…” Cinder pouted. She hoped
Desaray would not be mad at her for revealing herself…
“Snort!”
The haughty dwarf snorted loudly. “Just because you say you are someone, you
become that person? If I said I was the queen of the elves, would I suddenly
become the queen of the elves? You really need to think about what you are
saying. We dwarves do not need the help of outsiders. We are strong enough to
deal with any situation that comes. So take this crazy dragon out of here
before I have all three of you jailed for pretending to be envoys.”
“Okay…
I’m done.” Oinktera threw up his hands. He was sick of this bastard. An’ne was
a kind girl who only cared about her goddess. There was no reason to call her
crazy. “You know, calling an envoy crazy is as good as
saying you want war. Since you want war, let’s do this now. It would be fine if
we annexed the dwarven kingdom as well.”
Oinktera
walked over to the table and kicked it hard. It was sent flying straight
through the thick rocky walls of the room. It did not stop there as it
continued to make a table-shaped hole in more walls as it continued on its
path. He then walked over, picked the short and stocky dwarf up with one hand,
and smacked him hard. “Never ever look down on the people around you. She may
not look it. But An’ne is actually over level 100. You are nothing more than a
weak ant in front of her, and you dare to call her crazy!?”
“You
dare to hit me!? I will have your head for this!” The dwarf yelled. By this
time, many guards were already pouring into the room. But they did not dare
move forward since Oinktera held the noble dwarf in his hands.
“You
will have my head? You do realize your head is in my hands. For someone so
noble, you are quite stupid. Who the hell even got you to come speak with us?
Are you even allowed to speak to an envoy? I think I will hold you here until
we speak to someone with proper authority.” Oinktera looked over at the guards.
“Get someone with higher authority than this idiot! So I can have an
explanation on why this idiot is allowed to look down on my kingdom! As an
apostle to Her Holiness, I will not allow your kingdom to think you can step on
myself and my people!”
“Hold
on!” A voice from the hall filled the room. “Please hold on!”
Oinktera
watched as a young dwarf girl in a pink dress walked in. She did not look like
the stocky male dwarves but like a normal child. She
slowly pushed her way through the guards and came to stand before them.
“Please, allow me to say a few words.”
“Princess!”
One of the guards wanted to pull the young girl back but was stopped when she
raised her hand.
“This
is the fault of our dwarven kingdom. They are also envoys, and it seems Baron
Grandbelt does not know he does not have the standing to even speak to a
political envoy. Who gave you the right to speak to an envoy from another
kingdom!? Especially in a world we know nothing about yet!?” Oinktera was not
sure how young this princess was, but he knew one thing. She did have the aura
that a member of the royal family should.
“Princess…
These people are frauds. I was just…” Baron Grandbelt was trying to state his
case, but when the princess glared at him, he shut his mouth.
“Who
are you to tell me if these people are fake or not!? Do you have more
information than I, the princess of the dwarven kingdom!? Are you trying to
have us wiped out due to your own ego and wanting to climb the noble ladder?
What you have done is nothing more than treason! You have almost put this
kingdom in a state where we would be wiped out! Take him away! He is to sit in
the lowest reaches of the dungeon until he is to be beheaded! Do the same for
his immediate family!” The princess was not messing around. She knew that the
people who had arrived were not lying. Their intelligence corps had already
brought back news that an envoy would be coming. They were planning to meet the
envoy at the entrance of the city, but they had never expected the envoy to
appear here. The baron must have intercepted the guard who brought them to the
castle.
“It
is alright. It is the fault of the baron for even saying such words. We will
make sure this never happens again. As the princess of this kingdom, I,
Princess Penlopia, give you my word we, the dwarven kingdom, wish to sit down
and have talks with the Kingdom of Serenity.”
⧫⧫⧫
A
few days later, in a large meeting room within the Holy Kingdom of Serenity,
representatives from four other nations sat at the table with Desaray seated at
the head. “Let me first start by saying welcome to my Holy Kingdom of Serenity.
It is good to see that all of you are willing to form an alliance with my
kingdom to fight alongside each other against an enemy that can threaten the
entire world.
“If
any of you have any immediate questions before we get started, please ask now.
Otherwise, please wait until after we have gone over the objectives at hand.”
Desaray wanted to keep the meeting orderly, so she was doing a before-and-after
questioning system. This way, those who had questions not related to certain
topics could ask them now and after, and those with questions about the
subjects at hand could ask them during the meeting.
“I
do! I do!” A fairy tried to fly towards Desaray but quickly stopped and
shivered before retreating.
Desaray
smiled warmly as she said: “Please, be careful. My aura is not something I can
control. I do not wish for anyone to come to harm, which
is why this meeting room has been expanded multiple times now and why heating
has also been installed, or else you would all be very cold by now. Now, what
is your question.”
The
little fairy blushed and lowered her head before swaying back and forth. “I
just wanted to know how to become as beautiful as you.”
“Hehe.
You are already quite cute as it is. If anyone says different, then they are
blind.” Desaray replied, which made the little fairy blush even more. She flew
back to her group and hid behind her companions, feeling very embarrassed.
“I
also have a question.” A woodlyn elf raised his hand, copying the fairy just
now. Unlike the other elves, who had an air of arrogance, his aura was quite
mellow and more serious.
“Please
go ahead,” Desaray replied with a smile.
“Thank
you. My name is Trintan, and my question is… With your strength, why are you
still afraid of the demon queens?” Trintan asked.
“The
one I worry about is the Demon Queen of Darkness. Her abilities are close to
the demi-god level. Unlike the others, her powers are also strange and not easy
to deal with. While we do have a light dragon to help counter her, there is no
way of telling how useful it will be. Not to mention, if my kingdom were to go
into this alone with the hordes of enemies we would need to fight, we would end
up exhausting ourselves before we even managed to fight with the demon queens.
They are likely not to show themselves unless they have no choice. However, I
will be taking out the Demon Queen of Lust right away. Luckily, to pinpoint her
location, I have my close friend, who was once known as
the Demon Queen of Cinder.” Desaray explained. She felt that Trintan’s question
was very good.
“I
see. That does make sense. From our records, the Demon Queen of Darkness has
always been the one that took the most resources. But you must be careful with
the Demon Queen of Lust. She might not use it often, but she can also control
females with her powers.” Trintan wanted to make sure everything went smoothly,
so he had looked into things beforehand before coming here.
“Yes,
as Tristan said, the Demon Queen of Lust seems to be hiding most of her powers.
We also do not know why.” The dragonkin representative cut in.
“We
will talk about all of this during our main meeting.” Desaray decided to end
the conversation for now. “Any other off-topic questions?”
“I
have one.” A dwarven princess, Princess Penlopia, had come as the
representative of the dwarven nation. “The magic technology of the Dwarves that
we will be adding to help with the war. How are we going to deal with what is
left once the war is over? We do not wish to give anything to other nations
except for your kingdom.”
“Very
good question. We will take an inventory of all magic weapons, their fuel, and
ammunition. If anything is not accounted for, we will then do a search of every
kingdom involved until it is found.” Desaray looked at everyone present. “We
are all in this alliance together. We are not here to steal from others, so
those who might have such an idea, please forget it now. I would hate to have
to accuse an ally of stealing. This is not how alliances work. So please make
sure you tell the people who will be trained to use such equipment that if they
dare to have ideas, they will be put on an international
trial. This could not only mean their own death but the death of their own
families for high treason. This goes for all those involved, whether they be
the king or queen.”
“Well
said!” The dragon representative replied. He really liked how Desaray handled
things. There was no means for unlawful action under her watch. If someone
dared to have ideas, they would suffer along with the kingdom they are from.
This would push those kingdoms to keep their people in line.
“Yes,
I also agree with this.” Trintan nodded as well.
“Fairies
have no use for such things, so we also agree.” The fairy representative flew
forward.
“Then
I do not see any future issues with this. We will be able to have the
representatives do an investigation alongside one of my own people as well as
people from the dwarven kingdom. No one will be accused of wrongdoing unless
evidence is in hand. I do not wish to condemn someone to death if they are not
truly at fault.”
“Now
if you look at this map. We will need a large medical tent here that can
accommodate over a thousand soldiers and another here. Then, the barracks will
surround it. We will need a few command posts with lines of communication set
up between them, as well as a massive wall to surround it all. We will name it
Fort Daybreak.” Desaray pointed out all positions. She was trying to remember
how she set up her camps in a real-time strategy game she used to play. “Does
anyone have any more suggestions that can be added to this?”
“This
setup is not bad, but we will need more space for magi artillery. And barrier
generators.” Princess Penlopia began adjusting the way
things looked. “I may not look it, but I am one of the top magi tech
researchers in the kingdom.”
“I
never judge a book by its cover. I myself am only twenty years old.” Desaray
smiled. She would never judge anyone since even the youngest child could have
an idea no one would have thought of. Society was no longer bound by
technology. Magic could do things that technology could not. A child could come
up with an idea that would seem like fantasy to a low-technology civilization,
but with magic, it could be made possible.
Princess
Penlopia smiled and nodded. She was glad that was the case. “With our barriers,
we can ward off any magic attacks, and it will not take much time to set up.
While Sir Regal’s elder dwarf runes are much better, we can not allow such
things to fall into the hands of our enemy. Dwarven tech is not as powerful
and, if not created properly, could result in an inferior product.”
“Then
we will go with your setups then. Adjust the base blueprint to fit what you
need. Just make sure to leave the basics.” Desaray had no problem with having
the dwarves take over the base building plans. It was their specialty, after
all.
“Leave
it to us!” Princess Penlopia smiled brightly. She was glad her people could
play a bigger role.
“As
for the wood elves, I believe your people are good at scouting, right?” Desaray
asked.
“Yes,
we are very good at tracking. We have skills that let us blend into our
surroundings as well. We are also good at setting up traps.” Trintan replied.
“We
will not let you down.” Trintan bowed his head. He then began discussing things
with the fairies.
“Dragons
and my people will work together and run drills since we will be the main
fighting force. Everyone will have their own jobs. Ours is to make sure the
enemy never reaches the shore to begin moving towards this continent. We still
do not know what their full plans are since they have split up to gather their
fighting force. I highly doubt that they know what we are doing. If they do,
then we will just have to overpower them no matter what. Does anyone have any
questions on what they should be doing?” Desaray asked. She was ready to wrap
up this meeting and begin setting things up.
“I
have one.” One of the dragon representatives, named Gragnor, spoke up. “Some of
our soldiers are still low-level. Is there a way to raise their level quickly
before we set off?”
“Yes,
I already planned to do that. You will be running a raid dungeon with me. I
will power-level you all. This goes for all races as well. You will be split
into two groups. The ones leveling that day and the ones working on the base.
We will alternate these groups so you can level up and still help with the
other things. Those on long missions, I will make up for it when they get back.” Desaray knew she had to get everyone’s
levels up, which was not a bad idea. This way, their alliance will not only
become stronger, but their region will become a place that no one will dare try
to attack.
“I
am sorry to interrupt but… Your Holiness, some idiots have come to wage war.”
One of the soldiers on the lookout walked into the room. They were only allowed
to enter a meeting in emergency cases only.
Desaray
held the space between her brow and asked: “Who is the idiot?”
“The
high elves that once had their sights on Rain Ford City.” The soldier replied.
“Then
capture them and put them to work. We will send them home after a few weeks of
hard labor. Since they dared to attack us, they can do some hard labor to make
up for our troubles.” Desaray brushed it off as if someone had robbed a store.
She had full faith in her people that they would not lose to some high elf
army.
“Understood!”
⧫⧫⧫
On
a white sandy beach, Desaray stood with Yi Ling standing on top of a wall made
of stone and ice, looking out over the construction site. “Desa, things seem to
be going along smoothly.”
“Mmm…
We should have the base completed in the next few days. The dwarves are already
setting up magitech sentry guns. To be honest, I never thought I would see such
technology so soon since Serenity has been researching it as well.
But it seems the dwarves of the other world are not to be underestimated.
“Juna
is also keeping an eye on the demon queens, enabling us to monitor everyone
closely. However, it seems that the Demon Queen of Lust could be somewhat
troublesome. She keeps sensing Juna’s roots, yet she can’t locate them. As long
as we can keep tabs on her, that's what matters most.” Desaray felt pleased
that things were progressing so smoothly. Each kingdom has truly invested all
its efforts into this. The wood elves and the fairies worked well together to
gather intelligence and set traps.
“Will
Cinder really become bait?” Yi Ling was worried for her friend. The two had
become very good friends since they met. Yi Ling was also learning a lot from
Cinder, who would teach her many things about controlling fire.
“I
will be with her, so it is fine. They probably would never think that they
would be walking into a trap. From the moment they decided to move to attack
our homeland, they should have been ready for war.”
The
days passed quickly. Between leveling the other kingdoms’ soldiers, building
the base, and preparing for whatever may come, Desaray’s days were always busy.
Inside a room filled with ice, Desaray patted the top of her daughter’s head.
“Be good and sit here. You will be in charge alongside Regal. So look after the
kingdom for me.”
“Mama,
it won’t be dangerous, will it?” Lily hugged Desaray’s waist. She was most
worried about her mother getting hurt.
“Okay!”
Lily liked the idea of traveling. She always wanted to see what this new world
was like.
After
pacifying her daughter, Desaray met up with Juna, Becky, Cinder, and Oinktera.
“Are you all ready?”
“We
couldn’t be any more ready than we are. Domar and the others already have our
troops ready to be transported. Once we pull the demon queens to us, we will be
able to bring them to the fight instantly.” Juna replied.
“Alright.
Then, Oinktera, make sure to protect Becky well. She is our key to winning
against the Demon Queen of Darkness. Cinder and I will do our best to keep the
demon queens busy, but our main aim at the start is the Demon Queen of Lust. We
need to take her out before any of the others.” Desaray had to get rid of this
variable. Alone, she was not all that powerful, but her ability to turn foes
into allies was not something she wanted to deal with. The Demon Queen of Death
did not make her worried, but the Demon Queen of Lust did.
“Don’t
worry, Your Holiness. I will be sure to protect her no matter what.” Oinktera’s
resolve was firm. He knew how important Becky was to this fight.
“Can
you not put so much pressure on me…” Becky was not feeling all that happy about
having so much put on her shoulders.
“You
are such a demon! Why more training!” Becky whined, but she only got a teasing
smile from Desaray.
“Then
Juna, I leave it to you. Let’s go meet with our enemies, shall we?”
Chapter 7
“Why
do I always feel like I am being watched…” The Demon Queen of Lust was not very
happy at this time. Over the past few months, she kept feeling as if she had a
set of eyes on her. But when she looked around, she could not find anything. It
was almost as if some kind of god was staring at her. “Hmmm? Why did she come
to this continent again?”
The
Demon Queen of Lust instantly detected the presence of Cinder. “I need to meet
up with the others. Something feels off, but I can’t figure out what it is.”
She quickly took off and flew towards where the Demon Queen of Darkness was
located.
⧫⧫⧫
“What
is it now, Lust? Have you come here once again to tell me you are being
watched? For someone who built her own harem, you really are a strange one.”
The Demon Queen of Darkness snorted in disdain. She was starting to get sick of
this paranoid demon queen.
“Do
you really think I don’t know that I have to make direct eye contact with you
and myself before your powers can work? My eyes are currently shrouded in
darkness, so your powers won’t affect me. That’s why you’re almost always
wearing so little. You want people to turn and look at you. With just a single
glance, you can put them under your spell. If they run, they’re as good as
dead; if they look, they become your slave. You tried to pretend it was due to
an aura, but… Hehe… With you coming around all the time, I’ve long figured out
your abilities.” The Demon Queen of Darkness glanced at the trembling Demon
Queen of Lust and smiled.
“Why
are you shaking? Are you mad? Are you afraid? Hahahaha! Your paranoia has
allowed me to figure your powers out. You should have been like Death and just
stayed away. But no, you came running every time you thought someone was
looking at you.” The Demon Queen of Darkness sat down in her chair, leaned
back, and reveled in the expression she saw on the Demon Queen of Lust’s face.
The
Demon Queen of Lust had no words. If she tried to deny it, it would seem like
the Demon Queen of Darkness was right. If she was silent, that meant she had no
way to disprove what was said. But what scared her the most was that the Demon
Queen of Darkness was correct. At this time, the Demon Queen of Darkness had
her in the palm of her hand.
“Lust,
I will throw you a bone. If you pledge allegiance to me, I promise I won’t do
anything to you, and you can even take part of the world
as your own. Of course, you will need to sign a life pact with me. Meaning your
life will always be in the palm of my hands. What do you say?” The Demon Queen
of Darkness loved what she was seeing. The Demon Queen of Lust was biting her
lower lip, shaking from head to toe. It was both out of anger and
embarrassment.
“Darkness,
you bitch! Fine!” She had no other choice. Once they dealt with the situation
at hand, even if she did try to run away, the Demon Queen of Darkness could
sense her so she would be killed on the spot. But if she gave in now and signed
the contract, she could at least live a decent life.
*Clap!*
*Clap!*
“Wonderful!
Wonderful! Lust, don’t worry, I will treat you very well. You will not regret
your decision today. Not that you had a choice. Isn’t that right, Death?” The
Demon Queen of Darkness snapped her fingers, and another figure appeared from
the shadows.
“It’s
as Master says…” The Demon Queen of Death knelt down and bowed her head.
The
Demon Queen of Lust stared at the Demon Queen of Death with wide eyes. She did
not understand what was going on. She had no idea when The Demon Queen of Death
had been turned into the Demon Queen of Darkness’s pawn!
“Hahaha!
You really have some funny expressions, Lust. From this moment on, you are no
longer titled Demon Queen. You are nothing more than Lust, and she is Death, my
subordinates. Isn’t it lovely? Now, we will not need to fight each other. You
can both live long lives and only need to follow my orders.
Now, Death, have you been able to spy on them?” The Demon Queen of Darkness
became serious.
“No…
There is a strong pulse that is spreading out in all directions. No matter how
close I get with my undead whether it is underground or above, they will be
shattered instantly. The dwarves seemed to have prepared to battle undead.”
Death replied.
“I
see… This might not work well for us. We will need to keep your army back and
attack with Lust’s army instead. That base needs to fall before we can
advance.” The Demon Queen of Darkness tapped her finger on her chin. “Luckily,
it is only I that knows your weakness, Lust, so make good on your name and
bring down that base for me, okay?”
“Wait,
what base!?” Lust was confused. She had no idea what the Demon Queen of
Darkness was talking about.
“To
think you were once a demon queen, don’t you know that the enemy has already
reached our shores? They are preparing to go to war against us.”
“What!?
They are already on our shores, but… I did not detect anything at all!” Lust
was confused. She had been doing her best to keep things under her control. She
had been trying to keep her eyes on everything, but now…
“This
is what happens when you rely too much on your eyes alone. If you use your
magic perception, you would have been able to notice the concentration on the
shore to the south.” The Demon Queen of Darkness smiled and sat down in her
chair sinking into it feeling very calm and relaxed.
“Because
it makes things more interesting. The look on their faces when they realized
they could not defeat me. When they see that, they are completely overwhelmed
and will all die for nothing, that they would be the reason why their homeland
was destroyed. I want to see their desperation. I want to see the fear in their
eyes as they are all consumed by darkness. Just like the fear I saw when I told
you I knew everything about your powers, Lust. You see… I feed off that fear. I
find that fear to be euphoric.
“The
feeling of seeing others’ fear makes me feel happy. That is why when I consume
this word in darkness, I will not kill everyone. If I did that, it would not
leave me any fun. The lives of the desperate. How they struggle. How they yearn
for me to let them go, but they can only struggle to survive while I sit and
watch from the sidelines.” The Demon Queen of Darkness reached over, pulled
Death into her lap, and hugged her waist. “So Lust…. Behave like little Death
here. Or else, you too will be one of those people running away, always looking
over her shoulder, wondering when I will consume them with darkness.”
Lust
gulped a mouthful of saliva. She realized that she was truly no match for the
Demon Queen of Darkness. She did not wish to die. She also did not wish to be
controlled like this. But between life where she could still live as she
pleased and a life where she would be always running in fear, she would always
choose the latter. “I will follow all your orders…”
“Good!
Now, let’s get ready for war, shall we?”
“Hmmm…
I do not sense them anymore….” Cinder frowned as they all appeared in a forest
covered in darkness.
“It’s
fine. I know where they are. Desa, I also have some information on the Demon
Queen of Lust and the others.” Juna began explaining what she had seen and
heard. She was not sure what to make of it all, but she knew that the Demon
Queen of Darkness now had full control of the other two demon queens.
“I
see… we can use what we know about the Demon Queen of Lust to block her
abilities. If the Demon Queen of Darkness can obscure the Demon Queen of Lust’s
powers by shielding her eyes in darkness, I can do the same by just covering
mine in ice. It never dawned on me that she used her eyes to control people. I
thought it was some kind of aura.” Desaray found this bit of information very
good.
“As
did everyone else. Those who know about the old demon queens have heard that
the Demon Queen of Lust used some kind of strange power to control others, but
no one knew it was just her eyes. And if they did know, they were probably dead
or now under her control anyway.” Juna explained.
“Then
it’s good you were able to find this information out. Your ability to make your
roots so small that they barely use any mana is insane.” Desaray was very
impressed with Juna’s abilities.
“Hehe,
I worked hard.” Juna was all smiles from being praised by her Goddess.
“Now
that they are all gathered together, should we hold off on meeting them?”
Oinktera cut in.
“Desa,
I might not know much about fighting in wars, but if the two demon queens that
have the massive armies are not close to their armies, is this not a chance to
try to fight with them? Even if we only took out the Demon Queen of Lust and
retreated?” Becky was not sure, but she felt this might be a golden
opportunity.
“Hmm…
you may be right. But do you think you, Juna, and Oinktera can hold back the
Demon Queen of Darkness? Cinder can face off with the Demon Queen of Death, but
the Demon Queen of Darkness might make a move. If she fills the place in
darkness, my ability to even get close to the Demon Queen of Lust will be
completely reduced.” Desaray was very wary of the Demon Queen of Darkness. Her
powers were not something to laugh at. They were the real deal, and she was
truly the most powerful enemy that Desaray had gone up against.
“What
if I surround you in an aura of light?”
“That
would hold back the darkness. But can you really do that? You never said you
could wrap people in light.” Desaray pursed her lips. She wondered when Becky
learned to do this.
“You
have been so busy lately that I have not had much of a chance to speak with
you.” Becky poked Desaray in the side. “If you trust me we can do this. Let’s
take out the one we need to be wary off as quickly as possible.”
“Alright,
then let’s do this. Juna, if you will.” Desaray took a deep breath. It was
finally time. At Desaray’s command, Juna waved her hand,
creating a large root that wrapped around the group.
Inside
a large mansion, the Demon Queen of Darkness frowned. “Get ready for battle. It
seems they are coming to us.”
“What!?”
Lust was shocked. She had been preoccupied with her new situation that she had
not been keeping track of Cinder or anything else for that matter.
“Just
get ready!” The Demon Queen of Darkness yelled out. She was not very happy at
this time.
A
cloak of darkness filled the room as a crashing sound was heard. A massive root
shot up through the floor and out through the roof. “Juna, keep them from
escaping. Wrap the entire place in your roots.”
“On
it!” Juna replied before doing what she was told. The huge mansion was quickly
wrapped in these roots imbued with magic, making them harder than steel.
“You
have a lot of guts coming to my domain!” The Demon Queen of Darkness was both
amused and angered. She never expected to be attacked head-on.
“Well,
you can say it is your lucky day,” Desaray replied before giving Becky a nod.
The entire room that was filled with darkness was quickly illuminated,
revealing the positions of the three demon queens.
“Oh?
A light dragon…” The Demon Queen of Darkness’s brown furrowed. This was truly
not within her expectations.
Desaray
did not waste any time. She waved her hand creating a wall of ice that shot up
between the three demon queens. Her aim was to
temporarily block off the other two demon queens while she took out Lust.
“So
that is your plan.” Desaray’s move was immediately seen through. The Demon
Queen of Darkness knew more than anyone that their aim was Lust. She would be a
very big problem for their forces. “Engulfing Darkness…”
The
ice wall was quickly swallowed in darkness revealing Lust being held in the air
by Desaray’s massive claw dragon claw.
“Stop!”
The Demon Queen of Darkness yelled out.
“You
were too slow.” Desaray clenched her fist crushing the former Demon Queen of
Lust.
“Damn
you! You will all die here!” The Demon Queen of Darkness’s eyes sparked with a
murderous light. Multiple magic circles filled the air. “Dark Rain!”
“Juna,
we need to leave now!” Desaray knew this was not going to be good. Since their
objective was done they had to get out of here as quickly as possible.
⧫⧫⧫
A
few seconds earlier….
Lust
was in such a confused state that she was still trying to comprehend what was
going on. By the time she was able to react, a bluish figure appeared before
her. She tried to use her abilities to keep her attacker from causing her any
harm, but for some reason, no matter how much she looked into the figure’s
eyes, they did not seem to react at all. Before she knew it she was already
grasped in a massive dragon claw.
⧫⧫⧫
“Ah!”
Becky cried out as she was hit by the dark droplets of rain that were falling
onto them. It passed through her shoulder causing blood to gush out.
“Juna,
hurry up!” Desaray yelled out.
“Sorry,
here we go!” Juna waved her hand and wrapped everyone up in her roots before
disappearing from the mansion.
That
mansion that was once in good condition was now collapsing in on itself. “Damn
it! Damn it! Damn it! They took her!”
“Why
would they take her!?” Death did not understand. They had stormed in and
snatched up Lust. She thought that their goal was to kill Lust, which it seemed
they achieved, but she did not understand why they took her body with them.
“Are
you stupid!? It’s because you could have turned her into an undead! Lust was
useful even in death!” The Demon Queen of Darkness gritted her teeth. She
figured even if Lust had died, her corpse would still have its uses, but now…
“Gather our forces. We need to gather everyone. Kill all those under Lust’s
command and turn them into undead. We will attack when everything is ready. I
will not let that ice bitch get away with this!”
⧫⧫⧫
Desaray
looked at Becky, who was trying to heal and purify her wound, but nothing was
working. “Becky, this might not feel all that good, but I will have to freeze
your wound for the time being.”
Desaray
could not think of any other options. If Becky continued to bleed, she would
end up bleeding to death. But if she froze the wound, they would have time to
figure out how to heal it.
“What
happened!?” Ricky came rushing into the tent when he heard the news. He looked
at Becky, covered in blood with ice wrapping around her shoulder, and then at
the Demon Queen of Lust who was dead, lying on the ground.
“We
took a risk.” Desaray began. “The Demon Queen of Darkness, Death, and Lust were
all in the same place, away from their armies. In order to take out the biggest
threat to us on the front lines, Juna brought us into their mansion. As you can
see, our mission was a success, but the Demon Queen of Darkness’s Dark Rain
spell has some kind of strange properties to it that does not allow wounds to
heal. This is why Becky has ice on her shoulder. I am stopping her blood flow.”
“Why
would you do something so stupid!?” Ricky yelled out. Ricky did not care about
Desaray’s position as a ruler. He only cared about his daughter’s and her
friends' well being.
“Dad,
it was a necessary risk. I will not allow my people to be forced to fight their
loved ones due to the Demon Queen of Lust’s abilities. You might be worried
that we could have died, but it is a risk we had to
take. This world is not like it was before. There is no one there to help
protect us from the battles ahead. Each of us will be walking the battlefield.
Some of us might even die. But Dad… That is our reality.” Desaray wanted to
drive this point home. She could see her father’s concern, but she had no
choice but to do this. They did not come this far to turn back now.
“I
know…” Ricky held his head. “I’m sorry, it’s just that when I think about
losing you or the kids I can’t help but react this way. I promised myself I
would protect you all…”
“Have
faith in us, Dad. We are much stronger than you think. Even Becky took that hit
like a champ.” Desaray joked.
“That
is only because before this, you were beating me up. Your punches hurt much
more than this injury to my shoulder. You never held back…” Becky complained.
She was glad she got the training she did because it allowed her to understand
how to fight in her mixed form more but Desaray never held back. She was quite
ruthless, too. But Becky knew the training was necessary since she was key to
the entire fight. Desaray put her through a real-world scenario of what it
means to be on the battlefield and face down the final boss.
“At
any rate…” Desaray wanted to change the subject before she began getting the
third degree from her father. “We accomplished our mission with only a single
injury. This will hamper The Demon Queen of Darkness’s original plans by a lot.
And make her want to fight us head-on. What she doesn’t know, though, is that
we have Yi Ling, who is just as powerful as Cinder is. This gives us an edge.
The Demon Queen of Darkness will probably not stand on the front lines right
away, so we have some time. As long as we can hold them off for a while, we can
get Becky healed.”
“It
shouldn’t be a problem.” A short, petite girl answered Ricky’s question. She
wore a white coat and had a monocle adorning her left eye. “It seems that The
Demon Queen of Darkness’s power now comes with a curse. After growing so strong
her powers have actually evolved. The curse, however, is something that is well
known and only stops the wound from healing, making it bleed out. It’s called
Slow Death. We dwarves have run into it a few times while mining. It’s a curse
from the old era in the old world. Sometimes, we would dig to the point of
finding old ruins. In these ruins, we would find traps that would spit out
arrows or spikes that would hit our people. These objects would be cursed, and
the wounds of those hit would not heal.”
“Then
what needs to be done to heal it?” Desaray asked. She was now glad that she was
able to get the mountain dwarves on their side.
“We
have an elixir that can cure it. Only a small drop is needed to break the
curse. But we did not think we would be running into any curses in this battle.
So we will need to have someone grab it from my kingdom. I can go if Apostle
Juna is willing to send me there and bring me back. We can have her healed up
in about an hour.” The dwarf doctor replied.
“Juna,
please accompany her and send her where she needs to go.” Desaray did not
hesitate. She did not wish for Becky to be stuck with ice covering her
shoulder, not just because of the battle ahead but because she was her best
friend, someone who was like a sister to her.
“While
they are doing that, Oinktera, Dad, please watch over Becky and protect her. I
will be going to build a few more lines of defense.”
“Lady
Darkness, all preparations have been made.” Death announced as she walked into
the room.
“Good
job. To think that they would leave their backs open. They made this huge fort
but left the ocean side clear. How many undead have you made?” The Demon Queen
of Darkness asked as she lay lazily on a couch she found.
“This
world seems to have many dead, I have over three billion undead ready to fight.
Two billion have moved into the ocean and are on standby to storm the beach while
the other forces are marching towards the base now.” Death replied.
“Good.
You added the magic I taught you to their bodies, right?” The magic in question
was a magic resistance buff. It would last until removed. It was an ancient
magic that The Demon Queen of Darkness had stumbled upon during her conquest.
It was very powerful and could ward off most magic.
“Yes,
I did as you asked.” Death nodded her head. She had never thought she would be
able to win against Cinder or the strange ice dragon. But now she felt she had
a chance to storm the beach and take out their entire command force while their
main force was trying to fight off the frontal attack. The two-pronged attack
would allow them to win this fight with little work. And the best thing about
it all was this world was rich in dead bodies. Compared to her old world, where
she had to find small grave sites to start building an
army before moving to a village to kill and turn the people living there into
undead.
“Good,
we will move as well.” The Demon Queen of Darkness sat up. In her hand was a
book. “This world language was quite easy to learn. It resembled ancient elven.
This book on military strategy is quite entertaining and helpful.”
“Is
that where you got the idea to attack by sea?” Death asked. She had wondered
where The Demon Queen of Darkness had come up with the idea.
“Mmm…
Before this, I did not know much about proper military tactics and just
attacked at will, but now… It seems we will be able to strike a decisive blow
to our opponents, and if we are lucky, we can take them out all at once before
moving to conquer the world.” The Demon Queen of Darkness smiled as she walked
over and wrapped her arms around Death’s waist. “You made the right choice
choosing to side with me. I promise to let you rule the world at my side.”
“Mmm…”
Death’s cheeks turned red. It seemed this was the reason why The Demon Queen of
Darkness was so kind to Death compared to Lust.
“Also,
make sure you watch out for small roots. Don’t let anything slip by you or our
plans will be for naught.”
⧫⧫⧫
“So,
how are things?” Desaray stood at a large table. Dormar and a few other
generals were all working hard at coming up with a proper war plan.
“We
are still working out the best strategies that will allow our forces to work
together better. But ummm… Your Holiness, have you heard
any word from Apostle Juna about the enemy forces? We haven’t gotten an update
yet…” Dormar was starting to worry. Without Juna’s roots giving them
intelligence, this battle will be very hard.
“I…
I have not. She was helping the dwarven doctor back to her kingdom to get a
cure for Slow Death.” Desaray knitted her brow and poked the root on her
shoulder. “Juna, I know you can hear me. What is going on?”
“I...
do not know. All my roots seemed to be getting taken out no matter how small I
made them. I think the Demon Queen of Darkness has figured out my trick. I have
been trying to get close to her once more but I can’t seem to do it. I have
tried everything. Your Holiness, I am sorry, but it seems I have failed you.”
Juna was really depressed. She could not get close no matter how hard she
tried.
“Just
focus on the main force. I will take extra precautions.” Desaray had a strange
feeling that things were not going to end well for her or her army. “Juna, I
know it is asking a lot but can you give every member of our forces a root? And
if I give the command to retreat, take them in and teleport them back to our
kingdom. Also if they get injured you can teleport them back to base camp as
well.”
“I
can try… But the teleport will not be quick enough to protect them from a fatal
blow. So they might die. But I can at least keep our own from becoming soldiers
for the Demon Queen of Death.” This was a huge weight on Juna’s shoulders. She
was the only one who could react in time to try to help reduce their losses.
While it would be taxing on her she was willing to do it to help her Goddess.
“Darkness,
what is this?” Death looked at the ten large crates filled with strange
cylinder-shaped objects inside.
“These,
Death, are what the people of this world called bombs, according to the
information I have gathered. When I first arrived in this world, I used my time
wisely and learned what I could, starting with the language and working my way
from there. These bombs are something that can be dropped on the enemy and
cause massive explosions. These weapons are crude at best, but they will do the
job we need. You see, they can kill humans easily. And they can cause large
destruction on the terrain. With that, we can use them as a means of
distraction while we go all out.” The Demon Queen of Death was never one to not
know the enemy. Even if they were weak, she would be sure of what she was
getting herself into first. She learned from before she was sealed it was not
good to underestimate her opponent. Even now, she was learning new things.
She
understood that when she saw the ice dragon and the others appear, and instead
of attacking her or Death going straight for Lust, that they knew of her plans
and who would be the most troublesome on the battlefield.
“We
may have numbers advantage but the people who we are up against are on par with
us. We are not facing a weak enemy. We need to use everything we can to take
them on.” The Demon Queen of Darkness’s eyes were filled with playful light. She had not been so excited in a long time. She truly
wondered just how this battle would turn out.
“Let’s
hope it all works out well… Shall I have some of my undead bring these to the
front lines?” Death asked. She wanted to help as much as possible.
“Yeah.
But only start throwing them when I say so. We need to throw them in an arch so
that the rounded front part will crash into the ground, causing an explosion.”
⧫⧫⧫
A
massive horde of undead were cutting a path through a dense forest. Trees were
being pushed down left and right as they continued pushing forward. Staying
just ahead of them was a group of woodlyn elves and fairies each one was not
looking too good. “We have to retreat quickly. This many undead is just too
much!”
“Her
Holiness said we had to keep our positions. She only told us to retreat if we
came under attack. Our main forces are already on the move. It seems they are
already aware of the numbers. They are taking extra precautions just in case.”
“Are
we really going to fight this!? They even have a few undead dragons as well as
giants!” One of the fairies cried out. Off in the distance was a massive
skeleton twenty feet tall and bones as thick as tree trunks. But the thing
about these giants was that they did not come from the other world. The world
where the fairies and woodlyn elves originated from. These giants were part of
Earth’s ancient hidden history. A history covered up by the governments and
scientists. Why this was, no one will ever know.
“All
of you relax and continue to stay at a distance. When you meet up with the
army, retreat to the back and only cast long-distance spells once the battle
begins. You guys have been a great help.” Juna’s voice filled the air.
“Understood.”
The group of woodlyn elves and fairies all responded.
⧫⧫⧫
Back
in the base, Desaray waved her hand. “Prison Of Absolute Cold….” A dome of ice
formed overhead. This was Desaray’s first line of defense for the base. If they
could break through her barrier, which freezes everything, then they would need
to use the other defenses to keep the base safe. At that time, she would be
calling for a retreat.
Retreat
would only happen if they start losing too many people, if the situation looks
grim, or if she feels like the battle is useless. “Let’s just hope we do not
have too many surprises.”
“Desa,
you should rest…” Yi Ling stood at Desaray’s side.
“I
can’t. My best friend is hurt. They have an army of well over a billion
marching towards us. We have no idea what the Demon Queen of Darkness has up
her sleeve. We have to keep our guard up at all times, especially now that our
own people are out there moving to fight the massive army. Ling, you led your people as well, so you know how war is. If this was just
some other kingdom, I would stand on the front lines. But like the demon queens
who are not showing their faces, I also need to do the same. Only when they
appear will our strongest appear as well.”
⧫⧫⧫
“Right
flank! Don’t let them pass!” Oinktera was yelling out orders.
“Yo-You
are really…” Cinder whined as she set another thousand undead on fire.
“I
am here to give out orders not only to you but the others as well. This is what
being a general is all about. Dormar is doing the same on the other side with
Sister Yi Ling. I know it sucks to be taking orders from me and not Her
Holiness, but please bear with it.” Oinktera had to admit that Cinder was being
slightly annoying with her complaining.
“It’s
not that… Your voice is just too loud…” Cinder was not saying she was not
willing to follow orders. It was just that Oinktera’s voice was scary.
“Oh…”
Oinktera had forgotten one important fact about Cinder. She was scared easily
when it came to those close to her. Even now, she still really only trusted
Desaray. She was always afraid of rejection. “Sorry, but please understand I am
not trying to scare you.”
“Okay…”
Cinder nodded as she continued her job. She knew how important her role was in
killing these undead.
On
the other side of the line Yi Ling was doing the same as Cinder. Both were
going all out to destroy as many undead as possible.
“Little Ling, Her Holiness, asked me to remind you that you might see many of
your own people that you knew. She asked me to tell you to be prepared.”
“I
understand. Thanks, Dormar. I know. I am already ready for it.” Yi Ling had
already mentally prepared herself for this fact. She did not like it but this
was just a fact of life now. The dead could rise.
Before
they set off for battle, Dormar had been raised in rank to that of an apostle.
Desaray had meant to do it a lot earlier, but because of everything that had
been happening, she had to wait until now. He was now Dormar Harris and
Desaray’s new older brother.
While
the front line was battling on, Desaray was watching everything through a
special device that the dwarves made. “These numbers are endless. Even with our
higher levels, we are having a hard time keeping them at bay. We have only been
fighting for an hour, and we have been pushed back almost half a mile.”
“Desa,
why not have them retreat to this line here.” Ricky pointed out their first
line of defense. “If we do that, we can then try to isolate them more so they
are not so spread out.”
“Hmmm…
we could do that. Let’s wait a bit longer. I still feel like something is off…”
⧫⧫⧫
“You
are telling me the entire base is covered in a barrier that freezes everything
on contact?” The Demon Queen of Darkness furrowed her brow.
“I
see… then let’s do this. Split the undead we sent to attack the base into two
groups. Each group will flank the enemy on the sides, making it harder for them
to break off. While they are strong, they are lower in numbers. If we are
lucky, we can take a few of them out before the ice girl makes her move.” The
Demon Queen of Darkness also had a makeshift map laid out in front of her, with
rocks acting as the enemy and allies. She had learned everything from the books
she had read.
“And
if she makes her move?” Death was curious what The Demon Queen of Darkness was
going to do next.
“We
will start to pull our forces back to save as many as possible. I already know
fighting her head-on will not be easy without you to help keep the others at
bay. Right now, as power goes we are lacking slightly. Unless I went completely
all out, we might not win, but since we do not have a one hundred percent
chance of winning, I would prefer to hold off a front attack for now. After
all, they still have a light dragon.
“We
need to stay on our toes since our enemy is also not stupid. They have just as
much capability as us. So for now, begin bombardment.” The Demon Queen of
Darkness grinned. Her goal this time around was not to wipe out Desaray and her
people since she now knew that was impossible, but to at least weaken the
numbers. She never realized there would be so many high levels concentrated in
one place.
Chapter 8
“What’s that sound?”
Oinktera looked up at the sky. He could hear a faint whistling sound.
“Not
good! Those are bombs! Apostle Oinktera, you need to have our mages put a
barrier overhead!” one of the humans behind Oinktera yelled. He was one of the
soldiers from the base Desaray visited a while back.
“Got
it!” Oinktera did not need to be told a second time. “Pass down my orders, all
mages, concentrate your barriers skyward!”
Because
of Desaray splitting her people up into different ranks, they now had four
classes: scouts, warriors, healers, and mages. This made giving out orders much
easier, even if most could cast magic.
*Boom!*
*Boom!* *Boom!*
The
bombs began to fall…
“How
is it?” Desaray asked after she began hearing explosion sounds off in the
distance.
“It
seems the Demon Queen of Darkness is much smarter than we could have ever
imagined. She is using bombs from a military base she found. On top of that,
she has two more forces flanking ours from the sides.” Juna replied after
returning from her trip.
“Then
I guess it is time to show some of our own cards. Juna, take the left flank. I
will take the right flank. We will destroy both of their flanking forces before
they make contact with our own. I have a feeling that Darkness will not show up
during this battle. They might even start their retreat.” Desaray now
understood that The Demon Queen of Darkness was smarter
than she had expected. If she was using the bombs as a distraction while the
enemy flanked them, then she knew what she was doing.
“I
will follow your commands, Your Holiness.” Juna dropped to one knee, clasped
her hands together, and lowered her head in prayer.
“Just
get up and get moving.” Desaray hated it when Juna did that. She always did
that in front of so many people. Now, the entire Kingdom of Serenity did it
when seeing her.
Juna
stuck her tongue out at Desaray before wrapping herself up in a root and
disappearing. Desaray sighed and flew off in another direction. It did not take
her long to find the massive army of undead. Over five hundred million of them,
moving forward, not letting anything block their path.
“It
looks like I will need to use that. There are just too many of them to try to
take out with normal spells.” Desaray sighed as she suddenly sat down on an ice
throne that had appeared: “Frozen Throne… Absolute Zero…”
On
the other side, Juna rose high up into the air and let out a sly smile. “I need
to show my goddess that as her Apostle, I can get the job done just as quickly.
World Tree…”
As
soon as Juna’s words fell, a massive tree taking up fifty miles of space in all
directions rose up into the air, sucking in all the undead as it did. Those
undead became food to allow the World Tree’s leaves to grow instantly. The lush
greenery of the tree, casted a shadow on the land below. “Tree Summon.”
Juna
spoke again and the same massive tree suddenly turned into a stream of green
light and shot into Juna’s waiting open hand. It was now the size of her pinky
finger sitting in the palm of her hand. “I will plant
you in our kingdom, after all, your fruit can save many lives in the future.”
“How
is it?” Desaray asked through Juna’s root.
“Mission
accomplished. It also seems our enemy is retreating. Shall we give chase?” Juna
asked.
“No.
Pull back as well. This skirmish has allowed us to learn a lot about our enemy
and the same for them. The Demon Queen of Darkness is not to be underestimated.
Let’s group and count our losses.” Desaray knew many had died in this battle,
but she did not know the body count just yet.
“Understood.”
Juna relayed Desaray’s orders before disappearing.
⧫⧫⧫
“You
are retreating, right?” The Demon Queen of Darkness asked.
“Yes,
the one billion undead had easily been defeated on both fronts at the same
time. I never expected the Nymph Princess to be so powerful.” Death did not
like the fact that her army was defeated just like that.
“I
think if Cinder and that other elemental were to use their full strength, the
rest would be wiped out as well. But something was keeping them from using it.
We need to regroup and rebuild our forces. But we can not lose what we already
gained, so if they are not following us, make a defensive line. Then, begin
rebuilding our army. There is plenty dead bodies you can raise. One of my
shadows also found some fun bombs as well. These ones are much bigger and seem
to be the weapons that this world’s inhabitants feared
the most.” The Demon Queen of Darkness seemed to be having quite a bit of fun.
“What
if we force some live humans from this world into the mix as well? If they are
forced to fight, then they will have no choice but to, right? It could throw
off the enemy.” Death did not know if her plan was good or not, but it was
worth a try.
“Then
let’s do it. We will promise them freedom if they fight for us and live. Our
biggest problem is the ice girl and Nymph Princess… we need a way to defeat
them. Or maybe we can try to find some more powerful people to side with us. It
seems I have found an ancient Tribe of the Ereian people.” The Demon Queen of
Darkness smiled.
“The
Ereian people?” Death had never heard of them before.
“They
are a race of ancient beings, but it seemed this tribe had been hiding. I just
found them by mistake. They are known for having such great magic technology
that they made their flesh and blood into magic technology. With them, we might
figure out a method of destroying the ice dragon.”
⧫⧫⧫
Inside
a large meeting room at the base on the beach, the current king of dragons was
sitting at the end of the table facing Desaray, who was on the other side of
the room. Around her were her generals. To his side were the other leaders of
their respective races. “What was the death count?”
“Roughly
one hundred lives were lost. The overwhelming numbers were just too much, even
for my own people, which accounted for fifty percent of the losses. But even
this number is just too much. When the Demon Queen of Darkness and the Demon Queen of Death regroup, Juna and I will lead the army
from the front and wipe out everything we can. I held back just in case the
Demon Queen of Darkness made a move, but now I know this was the wrong
decision. She is too careful. She is very smart and will not show herself
easily. She is also wary of Juna’s roots, so we can not get too close to her
position. But that does not mean we can’t narrow down her location. I think the
best option right now for us is to regroup ourselves and do two things. One, we
will find the Demon Queen of Darkness’s location, and second, we will wipe out
all undead in one go while advancing.” Desaray laid everything out in front of
her.
“I
understand. So we are now going to expand our territory?” The dwarven king
asked.
“Yes.
We will be expanding territory here, but it will belong to all of us. This will
be alliance territory. So, all resources will be shared. Those who can use the
resources the most will get the majority of it, but what is made with these
resources will be fairly distributed to all kingdoms. No one has any issues
with my decision on this, right?” As the most powerful person in the alliance,
Desaray had the main say on what was happening. The other leaders had no way of
saying no to her.
“We
dwarves will be sure to help each kingdom have the means to protect itself.
Since we will be sharing this land that means our alliance will extend past
this battle, correct?” The dwarven king asked. Everyone turned and looked at
Desaray.
“Of
course, I am always willing to have long term allies. I think we all work well
together. As long as no one tries to break the peace between kingdoms, I see no
reason why we can not form a long-term alliance between our kingdoms. Each of
us has had our own disagreements, I am sure, in the past, but now we are all
fighting for the same cause and understand each other much
better. So, as long as no one breaks the pact between us, we can stay friends.
Once things are over, we can discuss the ins and out of our alliance.” Desaray
was more than willing to continue the alliance. She did not wish for war
between her and other kingdoms from the very start.
“My
Fairy kind is glad to know that Your Holiness is willing to be our alliance
leader. As you know my kind is a weak race and only takes up so much land. We
do not ask for anything. So being allowed to be a part of an alliance like this
allows me to feel at ease to know that my kind will have protection from those
around us. While we may not have a lot, we will do what we can to help when you
need it.” The Fairy Queen bowed her head to Desaray and then to the others. She
only cared about the safety of her own people. She had no greed to speak of.
“You
can count on the woodlyn elves to help protect you, your highness. And your
fairies have helped greatly in this war, so do not look down on your kind.”
“Yes.
We dwarves are grateful to the help your kind has given. You have saved more
lives than you think.”
“Yes,
we dragons are also grateful.”
“As
is the Holy Kingdom of Serenity. Fairies, elves, dwarves, dragons, all of you
have contributed your fair share and worked hard. Your people have risked their
lives and died at the hands of a common enemy. In the end, we are all just
people. We may look different, but we are all equal. It doesn’t matter how much
strength one race has; I see them as no different from those who are weaker. If
we can keep this in mind, we will cultivate long-lasting friendships.” While
war is never something anyone desires, it can also bring people together. The
races that would typically act as if they were superior to others are now laying down their pride and forming friendships
with those they once looked down upon.
“Your
Holiness, may I ask you to set up a monthly meeting between leaders? I would
like to be able to meet with you and the others at least once a month.” The
dragon king asked. He felt that this was the best path to follow.
“That
is fine. As long as the others are okay with it.” Desaray looked at the other
three leaders, each one nodded their heads. “Since you all agree, then I will
now announce the formation of the North American Alliance.”
⧫⧫⧫
Since
they were currently expanding the base, and there were no new signs of attack
from the Demon Queen of Darkness, Desaray returned to Serenity. She was
currently sitting in her room with Lily drawing pictures on the table next to
her. “I really have a lot of gold…”
Desaray
looked at the gold she had accumulated all this time. There was over five
billion in gold. The consistent dungeon raids had made her very rich and this
was just her personal wealth. “Maybe I should try the astral shop once again…”
Desaray
just wanted to see if there was anything good in the shop now. She had not
checked in since she first gained access to it. She brought the shop interface
up and began looking through it. “Let’s see… Elixir of Ethereal Sight costs
seventy-five astral points and will allow me to see the ethereal plane for an
hour, revealing the hidden spirits and astral residues. It will allow me to see
hidden threats and even speak to the spirits that have passed on.
“This
is actually quite useful. I will buy this…” Desaray felt this would come in
really handy at some point. Even in dungeons, this might help them get past
obstacles and other things that might bar their path.
“Next
up is…” Desaray was really interested in this shop now that she had money to
burn. She felt like a kid in a candy store. However, she couldn’t understand
why most everyday items are so much more expensive than some of the other
things. For example, the Galactic Compass cost five hundred astral points but
was incredibly helpful. While it was a compass, it didn’t point north; instead,
it guided the holder to the nearest source of powerful magic. It was a treasure
hunter’s dream item, allowing you to discover powerful treasures and helping
you avoid or locate magical anomalies anywhere in the world. “I will be buying
this. It may help us track down the Demon Queen of Darkness…”
There
were other items as well that were very useful. The more Desaray looked the
more her finger was hitting the add to cart button. The next thing she bought
was the Astral Cloak. It cost seven hundred and fifty astral points. It was a
shimmering cloak that blended the wearer into their surroundings when in
starlight or moonlight. This would render them nearly invisible. Expensive, but
she figured it would be useful for Lily for times when magic would not work.
She
also bought an item called the Quantum Locker. It cost over five thousand
astral points, but it was very handy. It was basically an item box. But only
the owner could retrieve items from it. Once bought, it would merge into the
buyer’s skin. And with just a thought, you could store items in it.
There
were so many items in the shop that Desaray was having a hard time choosing
which ones she wanted to use, like the Temporal Dial, which allowed the user to
stop time for one minute. It cost over ten billion astral points. Or the
constellation blade that cost one hundred million astral points, which allowed
you to cut though any barrier. Desaray did not hesitate to buy this sword. She
figured it would also be a handy item later on.
There
were even very dangerous items like the Singularity Sphere that cost over one
trillion astral points. It would allow you to create a black hole anywhere, but
the strength would vary each time. “I really wonder where this shop came from…”
The
shop itself was quite strange. She ended up spending almost all her gold just
buying things. Many items were for herself and her family, while others were
for the kingdom. She hoped to put these things to good use and maybe even deal
with the Demon Queen of Darkness.
“Okay!”
Lily smiled brightly, she hoped everyone would like her drawing.
⧫⧫⧫
“Claire,
are you sure these people will accept us?” A skeleton asked as it followed
behind a ghoul.
“Yes.
I heard they will accept any race. We can not continue as we are. If we keep
roaming around like this, we will end up with no place to truly call home. I
might not be from your world, but my world, before things merged together, was
a place where you looked for a place you could call home. I may be an undead
now, but I still wish for a place we can settle.” Claire replied. She had no
hope of finding love, but this did not mean she was going to give up living a
somewhat normal life.
It
was also thanks to the little dragon girl who explained things to her that she
was able to live this long. At first, she craved flesh and blood. She
slaughtered every monster in her path and finally leveled up to the point that
she was able to evolve.
“A
home….” The skeleton’s bones shook. It too, wondered what it would be like to
have a home.
“We
are slowly expanding our base. In the past week, we have uncovered three
dungeons. We checked them out, and they are all level 250 and over dungeons.
Level 250 is the weakest of the two dungeons.” Juna replied.
“Oh,
it seems I'm in for a new dungeon dive. I really need to level up more if I
want to keep everything I hold dear safe.” Desaray opened her menu to look at
her status screen.
[Name]:
Desaray Harris
[Race]:
Ice Dragon Goddess
[Current
Realm] Transcended
[Age]:
20
[Level]:
175
[Monster
Rank]: C
[Realm
Advance Requirements]: Reach Level 200, Kill 100,000 enemies, Gain 100,000
followers
[Evolution
Requirements]: Reach level 100, Kill 2 Demigods, Complete 3 level 100+ dungeons
solo
[HP]:
976276/976276
[MP]:
913876/913876
[Elemental
Affinity]: Ice (170%)
[Skill
Points]: 0
[Skills]
{Ice
Breath (Lvl MAX)} {Ice Immunity (Lvl Max)} {Appraisal (Lvl 6)} {First Aid (Lvl
2)} {Toughened Skin (Lvl 2)} {Spark (Lvl 1)} {Cleanse (Lvl 1)} {Drink (Lvl 1)}
{Dig (Lvl 1} {Dry (Lvl 1)} {Ice Arrow (Lvl MAX)}
{Fireball (Lvl 1)} {Detection (Lvl MAX)}
{Healing
Snow (Lvl MAX)} {Partial Transformation (Lvl Max)}
{Full
Transformation (Lvl Max)} {Ice Manipulation (Lvl MAX)}
{Summon
Ice Elemental (Lvl 1)} {Prison Of Absolute Cold (Lvl Max)}
{Mana
Reduction (Lvl MAX)} {Mana Regeneration (Lvl MAX)} {Twelve Steps (Lvl 4)}
{Empress’s Presence (Lvl MAX)}
[Goddess
Skills]
{Frozen
Step (Lvl Max)} {Absolute Zero(Lvl 2)} {Ice Throne (Lvl 2)}
[Professions]
{Weapon
Crafting (Lvl 4)} {Armor Crafting (Lvl 4)} {Hunting (Lvl MAX)} {Foraging (Lvl
4)} {Cooking (Lvl 4)}
“Has
anyone found any level 100 dungeons?” Desaray wanted to work on her next
evolution. She figured if she could evolve once more, she would gain even more
power. In this new world, where wars can happen at any time and even the
unthinkable could suddenly happen, she did not want to risk being too weak and
unable to protect what she cared about.
“There
has been word on two locations. But…” Juna paused. “They seem to be under the control
of two monster clans.”
“Monster
clans?” Desaray was quite interested in these so-called monster clans.
“One
of them is the Arachnids, and the other is the King Bees. Both are groups that
have evolved into a humanoid form and are very violent.
It will not be easy to enter the dungeons without using force.” Juna explained.
She did not mind using force, but she knew that Desaray would normally try to
talk things out before resorting to force.
“Hmm….
So, in order to enter the dungeons, we either need to talk with them or force
our way in… This is simple enough since I will be the only one going anyway.”
Desaray needed to complete three dungeons solo, so she did not plan to bring
anyone with her when she went.
“You
plan to go by yourself?” Juna looked a little disappointed. She also wished to
go.
“I
have no choice. I need to complete three level 100 and above dungeons. Bringing
me one step closer to my evolution. After I do these, I will only need to kill
two demi-gods and complete one more dungeon. Although I am not sure what is
considered a demi-god or if I can even fight one head-on.” Desaray had no idea
how strong she was but if what the others were saying was true and the Demon
Queen of Darkness was on the demi-god level, then it would not be easy for her
to fight such a being on her own. At least not yet.
“I
am not sure about this either. But Your Holiness, I believe we should also be
worried about the next merger. It could bring even greater threats than what we
have now.” Juna was really worried about this. If the last merger woke up the
demon queens, then what would appear in the next merger?
“I
am sorry to interrupt, but we have a large group of Undead waiting outside the
kingdom’s walls.” A human soldier barged into the room in a hurry. He was
sweating which meant he had run as fast as he could to get here.
Desaray sighed as she
said: “I will go take a look…”
Desaray
flew out of the city toward what was now known as the Great Wall of Ice, and
landed on top of the wall. Below were a few of her kingdom’s soldiers and at
least five hundred undead who were camping out in front of them.
The
main reason they were not allowed in was the Demon Queen of Death. It was not
that Desaray rejected the undead but because she had to be careful. All undead
had to be checked before coming into the kingdom. There was already a small
undead city in the kingdom. Just like the dwarves and elves who moved here,
they all branched out to different areas since they all lived differently.
Many
lived in the capital as well or other small towns that had sprung up. Even
undead roamed the city streets of Serenity. It was a common sight. “There are
quite a few here.”
Desaray
landed behind her soldiers and walked over to the lead Gorc, who was the gate
captain. “Fomar, what’s going on?”
“Your
Holiness!” Fomar turned and grew excited when he saw Desaray walking up. “Your
Holiness, as per your order, the undead here have been waiting for approval to
enter the walls. It is just taking time since there are so many of them. But
they refuse to enter one by one and wish to enter as a group. It seems they are
still wary of the kingdom. Afraid they will be treated badly.”
“I
see. Have you asked the leader of The Great Citadel if they could come and
speak with them?” The Great Citadel was the newest City of the Holy Kingdom of
Serenity. It is a massive church city that holds the largest statue of Desaray
ever created. It has become a hot spot for worshipers
who go there to worship along what is called the Icy Pilgrimage. Desaray knew
all about this new expansion of her religion but had decided to put it to the
back of her mind since it still felt embarrassing to her.
“He
did come to speak with them. The leader of this group of undead said she was
fine with waiting until she could enter with everyone. She seems to really care
about the people who have been following her.” Fomar replied.
“Alright,
then show me to this leader so I can speak with her.” Desaray now understood
why she was called. It seemed that because of the numbers and the time to check
to make sure each person was free from any kind of control was taking very long
and because no one could persuade those who had already been checked to enter,
her people called for her.
After
a few minutes, Desaray arrived outside a tent that Fomar had led her to. “Your
Holiness, the leader’s name is Claire.”
“Claire?”
Desaray felt this name was familiar, but she could not pinpoint where she had
heard the name before. Shaking her head and composing herself, Desaray
announced her arrival, “My name is Desaray; I am the Leader of the Holy Kingdom
of Serenity. I am here to speak with the leader of the Undead, Clair.”
“Desaray…”
The flap to the tent was quickly pushed open and an undead stepped out and
looked at Desaray in surprise. “Desaray… are you the little blue dragon I once
met in the park?”
“Wait,
Claire!?” Desaray now remembered where she heard the name! “You survived!
That’s great!”
“Ah,
don’t get any closer. It is for your own safety.” Desaray warned. “My elemental
affinity is very high, resulting in my surroundings being frozen. As an undead,
you will not die per se, but I do not wish to harm anyone.”
“I
see. But why is Commander Formar able to stand next to you then?” Claire was
confused. She wondered if Desaray did not like her race and was just making up
a story.
“My
ice resistance is very high, Miss Claire. Most of everyone within the Serenity
Kingdom has worked hard to build up our ice resistance so that Her Holiness
will not be by herself. Having great strength is not always a good thing.”
Formar stepped in to reply.
“Your
Holiness!” A lich with bone wings landed on the ground next to Desaray. He was
the leader of The Great Citadel.
“Oh,
Trell, how are you?” Desaray smiled as she saw Trell appear. She liked this man
because he was someone who had worked very hard to make his city what it is
today in such a short time. He worked alongside the other undead and other
races, building the city up from nothing. He was a very good leader.
“I
am doing fine. It is thanks to Your Holiness’s kindness that we undead now have
a home.” Trell replied as he knelt down and bowed his head. Praying to Desaray,
which once again made Desaray really want to kick Juna in the butt! She was the
start of this stupid trend!
With
her words, those who were uneasy about the Kingdom of Serenity finally looked a
little relieved. While they were still nervous about going to a new place they
could now finally call a place home. This excited many of the undead who had
always been scorned because they were misunderstood as monsters when in reality
they were no different from anyone else.
⧫⧫⧫
In
a meeting room inside Serenity City, Desaray sat in her normal seat while her
father, Becky, and the rest of her friends sat near the other end where Claire
was sitting. “To think you all made it through.”
“I
remember it was a huge shock when I first saw you in the park that day. But now
it’s normal for me to see undead. It kind of feels surreal.” Becky replied with
a bright smile.
“Claire,
you have been roaming around for a while now. So, have you met anyone yet?”
Desaray asked. She liked Claire’s character. She was an
upright person and was willing to help others. She felt she would be a perfect
stepmom!
“Hah…
Who would be willing to talk to me? Look at me!” Claire may have what looked
like dried-out skin that stuck to her bones, but she still had a pretty face
nonetheless. Once she evolved again she might even look almost human. Both
Oinktera and Juna were the same. Now Oinktera has waves of girls sending him
flirtatious glances while Juna has waves of men always staring at her.
“You
just need to evolve again. I think you will turn into a real beauty. Right,
dad?” Desaray tossed the ball to her father. She was hoping he would catch her
hint.
“Hmm?
Definitely.” Ricky replied without much thought. He did not seem to understand
his daughter’s scheme. Becky and Yu did, which caused the two girls to giggle.
“Th-Thank
you.” Claire couldn’t help but feel slightly embarrassed. Ricky was really
handsome, so having him say she was going to turn into a beauty made her happy.
“Then
why don’t we do this? I will have Claire follow my father from now on. Dad, you
can help her get acquainted with things here in the city and help her level a
bit as well.” Her father did not really have any other jobs, so by sticking him
to Claire, she was hoping some feelings would one day bloom between the two.
The
group talked for a bit more before breaking up. Mike took Yu to go and do
couple things while Becky stayed with Desaray with a small smirk on her face.
“You want Claire to be your stepmom?”
“I
think it is a good thing. But what about you, my dear Desa? You are already a
mom, have you thought about finding a special someone?” Becky was all about
love talk now.
“Mmm.
Not really. I have so much on my plate, and with my current aura, it is hard to
say who will be able to stand by my side in the future. My main goals at this
time are to level up and evolve. But you never know. One day, I might meet
someone.” She had to say to whom she was really close to, Yi Ling, Cinder, and
Juna came to mind. She was close to Becky as well but she seemed to confide
more into those three as of late.
“You
are no fun.” Becky pouted. She was hoping to hear some gossip. “Well, if
someone catches your fancy, they would need to meet up to your father in
standards for men… Unless Desa, are you a les?”
“Are
you stupid?” Desaray just had no plans for love. She never thought of men or
women in that way. She could say some men are very handsome and that some women
are also very beautiful, but she never thought oh, I want to marry so and so.
“Okay!
Okay! I was just asking no need to get mad. Anyway, from how things are going,
you might just become a grandma before you ever marry anyone.” Becky teased.
Desaray chuckled and
nodded her head as she looked up at the ceiling. “You may be right.”
⧫⧫⧫
“This
seems to be the place…” Desaray stood in the sky looking down at a tribe of
humanoids with eight arms and many eyes on their heads. “They seem to be in a
tribal state. They are at least wearing clothing. The dungeon entrance must be
over there…”
Desaray
sighed as she floated down to stand just far enough away to not affect the
tribe below with her aura. “People of the arachnid tribe. I would like to enter
the dungeon.”
Her
voice was clear and carried far quickly getting the attention of all those
present. The tree tops even shook as heads popped out from between the leaves
to stare at her. But no one answered, they only stared at her without saying a
word.
Desaray
did not know what to do. She was about to call out to them again when an old
woman with long white hair seemed to float up into the sky and stood before
her. She did not seem to be affected by Desaray’s aura at all. “Dragon child,
turn back. This is your only warning.”
“I
can not. I need to enter the dungeon here for my evolution. Please allow me
access to the dungeon. I did not come here for a fight.” Desaray politely bowed
her head. She did not know how strong this old woman was but she was easily
standing in the air in front of her so she had to be on par with herself. She
could use her appraisal but she did not dare to in case the old woman could
detect it and took it as a hostile action. Only if the old woman attacked first
would she use it.
Desaray
sighed. She did not want to fight but there were not many level one hundred
dungeons that she could solo right now. She needed to solo the dungeon in order
to evolve. Desaray thought for a moment before asking: “What if I gave you
something in return? A form of payment if you will? I can capture a year’s
worth of food for you and your tribe to eat this way you can prioritize other
things. Or I can build an ice wall around your tribe’s lands to protect it from
invasion. Maybe both. I would rather solve this peacefully than end up
fighting. I have to enter that dungeon.”
The
old woman did not say anything. She seemed to be thinking about it. They had
just appeared in a new place with many strange things all around. Anyone who
dared tread upon their lands would end up captured and eaten. But this dragon
child had not stepped foot on their lands but was also trying to compromise.
“Two
years’ worth of food. And the ice wall. But only you may enter the dungeon.”
The old woman decided it was fine to compromise. If they were to fight many
lives might be lost.
“Deal.
I will even make a room to freeze the meat so that it will last and not go bad.
You will only need to take it out to thaw it before cooking.” Desaray replied
with a smile. “I can do the ice wall now but I will need you to show me where
you wish for it to be and where you want the entrances located.”
“Follow
me. Do not go near my kin.” The old woman did not want to take any chances. She
floated through the air while Desaray followed her and
began pointing out the tribe’s territory. It was not large at all, in fact it
seemed a bit too small.
“If
you do not mind, why don’t we take this time to expand it a little? With two
gates you can have two people guarding it. If your tribe begins to grow, the
walls will hinder expansion, so if we make it a bit bigger, taking up a larger
area, you will have plenty of room to grow for many generations.” Desaray
suggested.
The
old woman looked at her and thought for a moment before nodding her head. “Can
you go to the river to the north and the forest edge to the east? And then west
to the valley and south past the dungeon?”
“Of
course.” Desaray smiled and with a wave of her hand, she did as the old woman
asked. She created a hundred-foot wall of ice all around the territory allowing
plenty of room for future growth.
The
old woman’s eyes open wide for a moment before returning to normal. “This is
enough. You may enter the dungeon. But wait one day for me to inform the tribe.
Then you can enter our lands. As for the food. With so much space we can hunt
ourselves.”
“Then
I will return here tomorrow.” Desaray gave the old woman a small bow before
heading over to the next dungeon to scout things out. She did not know if she
would be able to escape a fight with the bee humanoids.
Desaray
made her way to the next location, which was about three hours away, even if
she flew very fast. She could have Juna just send her to the next location, but
Desaray wanted to take a look around as well in case
there was something that might have been missed between the two areas.
“Trees,
trees, and more trees. So much for being able to find anything around here.”
Desaray sighed as she continued flying.
Chapter 9
In
a house inside Serenity City, Juna sat at her kitchen table with a pout on her
lips. “Why are you mad now?” Oinktera asked as she handed her a cup of tea.
“I
am not mad, just a little disappointed. Desa wouldn’t let me follow her. She
said spend some time with your husband. It will be good for your marriage.”
Juna replied with a sour expression. Oinktera couldn’t help but feel happy
about this, but only for a few seconds. “Like that has anything to do with
anything. Protecting Her Holiness comes before anything else.”
“Umm,
Juna, your husband is sitting right here.” Oinktera did not know if he should
feel depressed or what. Desaray did come before everything else but he still
kind of wished his wife thought of him once and a while. He loved Juna from
head to toe, but sometimes, she completely forgets his existence.
“I
know that! That is why I am even saying any of this. Who else can I confide in
if not you? Tera, tell me, why does she always have to do things on her own?”
Juna looked at Oinktera with watery eyes. She was on the verge of tears since
it was hard for her to let Desaray go out on her own.
“I
know, but…” Juna bit her lower lip before finally letting out a long sigh. “I
need to get used to this. One day, she might even fall in love. Then we won’t
be able to be at her side as much. Although I might kill any man who tries to
get close to her.”
“Juna,
that’s borderline… Craz… Ouch! Why did you hit me!” Oinktera cried out. His
wife was beating her husband. This was domestic violence!
Juna
glared at Oinktera before snorting at him and standing up. He flinched slightly
but soon found himself in a warm embrace. “When the war is over, and we have
more free time and Her Holiness can finally relax, let’s make a few oink
oinks.”
After
receiving a kiss on the cheek and watching his beauty of a wife walk away,
Oinktera sat there in a daze. He couldn’t help but think about how he would
love it if the Demon Queen of Darkness just dropped dead.
⧫⧫⧫
“It’s
big!” Desaray cried out in surprise. There was no way to miss this place. The
massive hive was so big it towered over the treetops! “I was thinking they
would each have their own little hive, but it seems bees will be bees.”
“Who goes there!?” A bee
guard flew up and pointed its spear at Desaray.
“My
name is Desaray, and I come from the Holy Kingdom of Serenity. I am here to ask
if you can… Please stand back. If you get any close, you will…” Desaray just
wanted to talk, but the bee kept getting closer and closer until finally, it
froze to death and fell from the sky.
Desaray
stood there, unsure of what to do. She did not mean to cause the bee any harm!
“Who are you!?” Another bee guard came flying over, once more pointing a spear
at her and once more still flying straight at her with no intention of trying
to stop.
“Please
don’t get any clos… Damn it!” Desaray held her head. She really wished these
stupid bees would not just charge at her aimlessly. She had no idea why the
damn things were so bent on asking a question and then not giving the person a
chance to answer before outright attacking!
“I
give up. I will just go down and take a peak around. These people do not listen
to a word I am saying.” Desaray sighed and went to scan the area. Juna had told
her the dungeon entrance was actually at the foot of the tree, but from the
looks of it, the entrance was now blocked off. “Now what? I can’t really…”
“Who
are you!?” Another bee yelled out before charging. This time, Desaray just let
out a defeated sigh before continuing her search for a better way to get in. “I
guess I will just have to enter the hive by cutting a hole in the bottom.”
She
did not wish to harm these bee kin, but there was not much she could do. She
had to clear three level 100+ dungeons. Deciding she
might as well find a place to camp for the night. Desaray flew up into the air
and was about to leave when.
“Who
are you!?”
“Why
did you come here!?”
“Stop
right there!”
She
could only shake her head as the three bee guards all fell to the ground.
The
next morning, Desaray stood in the sky above the arachnid tribe, waiting for
the old woman. Luckily, she did not need to wait long. “You have come.”
“Yes.
I would have come down to greet you, but if I did, I might accidentally harm
some of your kin, so I decided best not to.” The last thing Desaray wanted was
to harm the tribesmen of the old woman after they had made a deal.
“I
understand. I have cleared the area around the dungeon. You may fly down at any
time. If some of the more fearless and curious of my tribe get too close, do
not worry. It is their own fault.” The old woman did warn her people but the
young ones were a bit too curious. They might get too close and end up frozen.
After they froze, there would be no saving them.
“Thank
you.” Desaray smiled and flew down towards the dungeon. To avoid any accidents,
she quickly entered instead of hanging around.
“Hmm?”
Desaray looked at the desert in front of her and realized she was probably in
for a long ride. “Let’s see my stats are currently…”
[Name]:
Desaray Harris
[Current
Realm] Transcended
[Age]:
20
[Level]:
175
[Monster
Rank]: C
[Realm
Advance Requirements]: Reach Level 200, Kill 100,000 enemies, Gain 100,000
followers
[Evolution
Requirements]: Reach level 100, Kill 2 Demigods, Complete 3 level 100+ dungeons
solo
[HP]:
976276/976276
[MP]:
913876/913876
[Elemental
Affinity]: Ice (170%)
[Skill
Points]: 0
[Skills]
{Ice
Breath (Lvl MAX)} {Ice Immunity (Lvl Max)} {Appraisal (Lvl 6)} {First Aid (Lvl
2)} {Toughened Skin (Lvl 2)} {Spark (Lvl 1)} {Cleanse (Lvl 1)} {Drink (Lvl 1)}
{Dig (Lvl 1} {Dry (Lvl 1)} {Ice Arrow (Lvl MAX)} {Fireball (Lvl 1)} {Detection
(Lvl MAX)}
{Healing
Snow (Lvl MAX)} {Partial Transformation (Lvl Max)}
{Full
Transformation (Lvl Max)} {Ice Manipulation (Lvl MAX)}
{Summon
Ice Elemental (Lvl 1)} {Prison Of Absolute Cold (Lvl Max)}
{Mana
Reduction (Lvl MAX)} {Mana Regeneration (Lvl MAX)} {Twelve Steps (Lvl 4)}
{Empress’s Presence (Lvl MAX)}
[Goddess
Skills]
{Frozen
Step (Lvl Max)} {Absolute Zero(Lvl 2)} {Ice Throne (Lvl 2)}
{Weapon
Crafting (Lvl 4)} {Armor Crafting (Lvl 4)} {Hunting (Lvl MAX)} {Foraging (Lvl
4)} {Cooking (Lvl 4)}
“Realm
advancement is almost complete except for my actual level. Killing two demigods
and three dungeons… Let’s try to get this over with quickly.” Desaray took a
step forward from what seemed like a safe zone. Besides the desert in front of
her, there was the stone floor underfoot and behind her, a wooden door that
stood out among the dunes of sand that spanned out in all directions as far as
the eye could see.
Desaray
decided it would be best to first check the area from the sky. She did not know
what was in store for her in this place, so she had to be careful even if she
was at a higher level.
“Sand
to the left. Sand to the right. Sand to the back and to the front… Something is
sticking out of the sand. I guess I will head that way.” Desaray had no idea
what was sticking out of the sand, but she knew one thing. If she could not
fly, she would not be able to figure out east from west and would not know
where she was supposed to go.
Desaray
flew to the spot where the thing was sticking out of the sand to find that it
was another platform with a door. She slowly landed just outside the platform
on the sand and looked around. “This is quite the big platform. My guess is
that as soon as I step on it, monsters will appear.”
Desaray
took a step forward and stepped on the platform. A blue barrier suddenly formed
around the platform, and multiple monsters jumped out of the sand, landing in
front of Desaray. Each one had a shark-like body but also had hands and feet.
“Appraisal…”
[Level]:
120
[Monster
Rank]: B
“I
don’t think you can actually call this thing a man… it’s just a shark with
hands and feet.” Desaray had an issue with the naming sense of this system.
She
did not even use a weapon and instead just walked forward. With each step she
took, the ground froze underfoot. Causing the platform to quickly turn into a
sheet of ice. The sharkmen didn’t even get to move before they were frozen
solid.
[You
Defeated A Sand Sharkman]
[Experience
Points Gained…]
[You
Defeated A Sand Sharkman]
[Experience
Points Gained…]
[You
Defeated A Sand Sharkman]
[Experience
Points Gained…]
[You
Defeated A Sand Sharkman]
[Experience
Points Gained…]
[You
Defeated A Sand Sharkman]
[Experience
Points Gained...]
The
notifications kept pouring in as Desaray stopped in front of the door and
opened it. She had no idea if there were more sharkmen on the way to this place
but it did take a good twenty minutes to just fly over. Desaray looked at the
blue sky on the other side of the door and stepped through it.
“Still
sand dunes…” Desaray felt depressed. She flew up into the air once more and
looked around, but this time, she saw more than just one platform. “Ten
altogether?”
[You
Defeated A Massive Sand Worm]
“Each
platform has had different monsters, and each one just blindly attacks me…”
Desaray couldn’t help but sigh. She had not even attacked yet herself and they
died to her aura.
Desaray
walked over and tapped the frozen worm causing it to shatter. Sadly, there had
been no drops yet. Not that she would expect much loot from a worm or shark
thing. “This was the last platform. I wonder where this door will lead me to
next.”
Desaray
passed through the door in front of her and looked at the massive platform in
front of her. She was still in a desert, but the platform this time was about a
few hundred times bigger than the previous one.
“Yo…
Ho…” A sound came from off in the distance. “Yo… Ho…”
Desaray
squinted her eyes as she saw the dark clouds rolling in. The wind began to pick
up, and the sand dunes seemed like waves as they began to roll. “Hmm? I guess
this will be a boss?”
“Yo
Ho… Yo Ho… A soul for the taken, come and give it to me…”
“Now,
this is very interesting,” Desaray exclaimed in excitement. She was not scared
at all, but what made her so excited was the fact that a ghostly looking ship
made of metal being pulled by two skeletons that seemed to be sand worms had
appeared.
The
ship was made of metal and had cannon hatches. The giant tattered sail had the
image of a skull and crossbones. Desaray almost wanted
to shout out, “You're missing your straw hat!”
She
held it in as she waited to see just what she would be fighting. The ship
finally reached the platform and docked. A rope ladder fell from the side of
the ship, and then hundreds of ghostly beings suddenly descended onto the
platform.
“Yar!
Get her soul and bring it to me!” A baleful voice was heard aboard the ship but
Desaray did not see where the person was. She did wonder though, could ghosts
be frozen?
“Attack!”
The ghosts yelled, and with their ghostly blades, they all charged at Desaray.
Desaray
didn’t move; she wanted to see just what would happen if they got into range of
her aura.
[You
Defeated Ghost Pirate.]
[Experience
Points Gained…]
[You
Defeated Ghost Pirate.]
[Experience
Points Gained…]
[You
Defeated Ghost Pirate.]
[Experience
Points Gained…]
[You
Defeated Ghost Pirate.]
[Experience
Points Gained…]
[You
Defeated Ghost Pirate.]
[Experience
Points Gained…]
[You
Defeated Ghost Pirate.]
[Experience
Points Gained…]
[You
Defeated Ghost Pirate.]
[Experience
Points Gained…]
[Level
Up!]
Desaray
frowned. She noticed she was not gaining as much experience as before. She
could only sigh. All good things come and go so quickly. She wondered if this
was what it was like to have a hot fling with someone and then suddenly break
up because they both did not put the same amount of sugar in their coffee.
Desaray’s thoughts were really wandering around into all kinds of strange
scenarios.
“Yar!
Useless! I will take care of them!” The voice rumbled across the sky, and as if
on cue, lightning also streaked across the dark clouds. A ghostly figure in
tattered pirate clothes appeared. He had a long beard and a wooden right leg.
Even his right hand had a hook on it. But what really set the bar was his
massive pirate hat. It was three times too big for him! At least the brim of it
was.
The
ghostly pirate captain drew his rusty, broken sword and charged at Desaray. One
step, two steps, three…. Steps… The pirate captain froze and fell to the ground
and shattered.
“Really!?”
Desaray was so disappointed. Why did this guy die so easily!?
“Whatever…”
Desaray stood up and walked over to the treasure chest that had appeared. She
opened it to find two rocks. Confused, she quickly used appraisal.
[Item:
Intermediate Skill Stone ]
[Rarity]:
Rare
[Consume
to gain a random skill]
After
passing through the door, Desaray was met with an entirely different scene in
front of her. “Snow as far as my eyes can see. Luckily my ice affinity is not
something to laugh at or else I would not survive for a second here.”
The
wind whipped, kicking up the loose snow that was stacked up around the platform
that was guarded by a barrier. “A normal person would probably never want to
come to this kind of place. Just to survive they would need to wear enough
layers to keep them warm. But this place would probably still freeze them in a
matter of seconds, unless they had ice resistance.”
While
Desaray was fine with the chill in the air, she was really wondering just how
ice-resistant these monsters would be.
⧫⧫⧫
Flying
through the air like a balloon caught in the wind as a young woman with blue
skin and scales. Her body formed a perfect arch as she pierced through the snow
that fell heavily to the ground.
*Boom!*
Desaray
was excited she finally could fight! The monsters here were not affected by her
aura making the dungeon fun! She shook the snow off her body as she dashed
forward, her dress made of ice fluttering as she did.
“GOOOM!”
A massive ice golem let out a roar as it once more smashed down at Desaray. Its
huge body shook the very ground it walked on.
“You
want to match strength? Then fine!” Desaray pulled her fist back and thrust it
forward. The two fists, one small, the other two times the side of her body,
collided with a loud explosion. A shock wave spread out, parting the heavy snow
around them.
*Boom!*
“GOOOM!”
The ice golem roared once more before swiping its other fist out at Desaray,
trying to crush the bug that was bothering it. But to its shock, the small bug
had actually stopped its other fist as well.
“Hahaha!
That’s the way! Now my turn!” Desaray flung the two massive fists away and then
spun around, kicking the one closest to her. The fist shattered and crumbled
into a pile of rocks on the ground.
“GOOOOOOM!!!!!”
The ice golem was angered beyond belief. A small bug had actually injured it!
While Desaray did break its fist, this did not mean it would stay broken
forever. The ice golem glowed, as did the icy rocks on
the ground. The icy rocks began to shake before rising up into the air and
forming back into a hand. They then connected back to the ice golem’s arm,
making it seem as if it had not lost the hand in the first place.
“Interesting!
How many times can you do that!?” Desaray cried out before charging forward
once more. She had never had so much fun in a dungeon!
⧫⧫⧫
As
Desaray was having the time of her life on the other side of the ocean, far
from the current expansion of the alliance, the Demon Queen of Darkness
expression was not so good. She was currently being forced to kneel. “Why!?”
In
front of her was a man standing there looking down at her coldly. “You think
too highly of yourself. A mere lower being trying to control this god?”
“I
did no such thing!” The Demon Queen of Darkness had no idea how this happened.
She had been searching for more power to help gain an advantage against the ice
woman. She had stumbled upon this ancient tomb, and after battling her way
through hordes of powerful undead, she had finally arrived at the main chamber
where this sarcophagus sat. But how was she supposed to know that the being
inside was actually not an undead? She had Death try to take control of the
body, only for the being inside to suddenly sit up and emit a suppressive aura
that made both of them kneel on the ground.
“You
did no such thing!?” The man’s gaze fell onto Death, eyes glowing slightly.
“Death!”
The Demon Queen of Darkness’s eyes showed a pained expression. A woman who
should not care about others at all and see everyone as pawns in her path to
take over the world actually showed emotion when it came to Death.
“Hahaha!
Weak! How dare you even think of controlling this God!” the man let out a laugh
as he turned his attention back to the Demon Queen of Darkness. He looked at
the cloud of darkness that was beginning to pour out of her body and snorted.
“You want to attack this God!? Good! I have not had a good fight in a long
time!”
The
Demon Queen of Darkness could hardly move under the man’s powerful aura. She
could only stretch out her hand, guiding her darkness to surround the man
before using all her strength and jumping into a strand of darkness that shot
toward death.
“Hah!”
The man yelled out, waving his hand and dispersing the cloud of darkness. But
soon frowned when he saw that the two women had disappeared. “Escaped, hmm? I
guess to be able to escape from this God means you have some power. It has been
so long since I have woken. I, Erebus, have finally awakened from my slumber.
The seal that Phoebus had placed on me has finally broken. I can once more
reign supreme in this world.”
In
another location many miles away from where Erebus was. The stream of darkness
suddenly collapsed, and two figures fell out of it.
“What was that!? What was that!? How could there be someone so strong!?” The
Demon Queen of Darkness had never heard of any god-like figures on her world.
And now she suddenly ran into a being that could easily suppress her? If she
had not used up almost all her mana just now, she would have died. She was sure
of it! “This world… Why are there so many variables!?”
“Darkness
what do we do? We can not defeat him.” Death was still shaken up. Her wounds
were serious. If not for the Demon Queen of Darkness taking care of her she
would have died.
“I
do not know what to do. All I know is that that man is hundreds of times
stronger than me. We only have two choices…” The Demon Queen of Darkness
gritted her teeth. She hated to say this, but she was no match for that man.
“We can either die or submit.”
“No!”
Death shook her head. We still can ask her for help… I know we are currently
enemies, but that man is far more terrifying than us. If we give up on taking
over the entire world and only occupy a section of land, we can make a deal
with her. Then, after that man has been defeated, we just play nice for a while
before continuing our conquest.”
The
Demon Queen of Darkness bit her lip. Her ambition was to take over the entire
world and fill it with darkness. But only she could do this, no one else was
allowed to take her ambition away. Death’s idea did seem like a good one. What
was another hundred years or so? As long as she was alive she could once more
continue with her goals. “This may work. But will she even be willing to speak
with us?”
“You
have an interesting story.” A voice filled the air. A root suddenly sprung up
from underground and a young woman stepped out of it. The root then spun around
and twisted in different spots before finally turning into a chair. The young
woman gracefully sat down and looked at the two who looked worse for wear.
“Tell me about this man you mentioned just now.”
“You…
A Nymph Princess… wait roots, you were listening, watching, Lust wasn’t lying
she really was being watched ” The Demon Queen of Darkness couldn’t help but
feel a bit of pressure from this woman. She and the ice dragon were both
powerful beings. And this woman seemed to be a subordinate to the ice dragon.
“Yes,
I know what race I am. And soon, I will evolve once more. But I am not here to
talk about myself. I am here to talk to you about what you have just mentioned.
Now tell me. Who is this man you spoke about?” The young woman asked with a
smile on her face. At this moment, she looked like a queen herself. Her aura
was oppressive as she looked at the two injured demon queens. The only reason
she was willing to appear here like this was because they were injured, and the
story she had just heard piqued her interest.
“If
I am to speak to anyone, it will be with your leader.” The Demon Queen of
Darkness still had her pride. She was a demon queen. Why
would she speak to someone of lower status than her?
“I
do not think you have a right to refuse to tell me anything. Right now, your
injuries make it so I can kill you easily. So either you tell me what is going
on, and I can talk with my Goddess about working with you, or you can both die
here and now to save a headache later on.” The young woman replied. She had the
upper hand. There was no reason for a defeated demon queen to put on airs.
“You!”
The Demon Queen of Darkness wanted to attack, but she was still heavily
injured. When she escaped from that man, she had pushed herself to the extreme,
which caused her to sustain many internal injuries.
“I
know who I am, but that still does not answer my question. Now tell me who is
the man you speak of.” The young woman’s eyes narrowed as she raised her hand,
and hundreds of sharp, pointy roots shot up from around her and began bending
and twisting their sharp tips towards the two demon queens.
The
Demon Queen of Darkness couldn’t help but grit her teeth even more. For some
reason everyone was looking down on her, but she had to admit the young woman
sitting on the chair made of roots seemed very overbearing. Right now she
indeed was not able to fight her. “I will explain everything…”
The
Demon Queen of Darkness began to explain what had happened from start to
finish. When she was done she looked at the young woman and asked. “So what
will you do? Will you notify your master or not?”
“I
will, but how long it will take for her to answer is another story. For now, we
will do a temporary truce. But if any of your undead
dare to attack my army here on this continent, the truce will end there and I
will hunt you both down even if I have to spring roots up all over the world.”
⧫⧫⧫
Meanwhile
said master…
“Hahaha!
Cough! Ouch that hurts…” Desaray looked at the ice golem in front of her and
wondered just what level it was. She could not even use appraisal on it! But
she could tell one thing after fighting it for many days and nights. The
regeneration seemed to be slowing down!
“GOOOOOM!!!!”
The ice golem was not very happy. No matter how many times it tried to squish
this bug, it would not squish. It had exerted so much of its power that it was
having a hard time regenerating its parts.
“Come
on! I still have plenty of energy left!” Desaray yelled out. Her body swayed
slightly. She had been fighting this golem for so many days that she had lost
count. But even so, she was still brimming with energy. She had been so lax
lately, which made this a really refreshing fight.
“Goom!”
The ice golem felt its power quickly diminishing as it defended against another
barrage of attacks. It made a quick decision. It turned and began running.
“What!?
Wait! Come back!” Desaray quickly gave chase. How could the ice golem outrun
her? First, it had already lost too much power so just running was expending
more energy.
She
quickly caught up to the ice golem and landed a punch on its head with all her
might. This was a full-on dragon claw. She had done a
partial transformation to deliver the final blow!
[Demi-God
Ice Elemental: Bogdrad Slain]
[Special
Reward: +100 Levels]
[Special
Reward: Skill: Regeneration(Lvl 1)]
[Special
Reward: Item: Golem Core]
[Golem
Core]
[An
item that is necessary in creating Ice Golems. The level of golem created will
be the same level as the core it was created with.]
“Now,
this is quite a surprise. A level 100 dungeon had a demi-god? So if I run this
again, will there be another demi-god?” Desaray figured this was probably not
the case but she decided she would try once she finished the dungeon.
{World
Order System}
[Name]:
Desaray Harris
[Race]:
Ice Dragon Goddess
[Current
Realm] Transcended
[Age]:
20
[Level]:
276
[Monster
Rank]: B
[Realm
Advance Requirements]: Reach Level 200, Kill 100,000 enemies, Gain 100,000
followers
[Evolution
Requirements]: Reach level 100, Kill 2 Demigods, Complete 3 level 100+ dungeons
solo
[HP]:
1569235/1569235
[MP]:
1478265/1478265
[Elemental
Affinity]: Ice (240%)
[Skills]
{Ice
Breath (Lvl MAX)} {Ice Immunity (Lvl Max)} {Appraisal (Lvl 6)} {First Aid (Lvl
2)} {Toughened Skin (Lvl 2)} {Spark (Lvl 1)} {Cleanse (Lvl 1)} {Drink (Lvl 1)}
{Dig (Lvl 1} {Dry (Lvl 1)} {Ice Arrow (Lvl MAX)} {Fireball (Lvl 1)} {Detection
(Lvl MAX)}
{Healing
Snow (Lvl MAX)} {Partial Transformation (Lvl Max)}
{Full
Transformation (Lvl Max)} {Ice Manipulation (Lvl MAX)}
{Summon
Ice Elemental (Lvl 1)} {Prison Of Absolute Cold (Lvl Max)}
{Mana
Reduction (Lvl MAX)} {Mana Regeneration (Lvl MAX)} {Twelve Steps (Lvl 4)}
{Empress’s
Presence (Lvl MAX)} {Regeneration (Lvl 1)}
[Goddess
Skills]
{Frozen
Step (Lvl Max)} {Absolute Zero(Lvl 2)} {Ice Throne (Lvl 2)}
[Professions]
{Weapon
Crafting (Lvl 4)} {Armor Crafting (Lvl 4)} {Hunting (Lvl MAX)} {Foraging (Lvl
4)} {Cooking (Lvl 4)}
Desaray
opened her status screen and pondered for a moment before quickly deciding what
to do with her skill points. “I will use these five hundred points on three
skills first. Let’s max out regeneration.”
Desaray
quickly used up 270 points. Regeneration now heals over 300,000 HP every
second. She was basically invincible unless she died instantly. Luckily, this
will also rise as she leveled up as well. Right now, she
could go from one HP back to full in six seconds. What she found strange was
that this did not consume any mana or anything. She wondered if this was a
different skill than what the Golem had or if it was because it had to use its
core to do the healing since it was a golem that required energy.
“For
the last two, I guess Absolute Zero and Ice Throne can each get raised a level,
but after that, it will cost too much..” She now only had 230 skill points
left. Before she confirmed anything she looked through her skills and realized
she still had one amazing skill she could level up. “Toughen Skin. If I were to
raise this mixed with my current defense and regeneration I really will be
unbeatable.”
While
Absolute Zero and Ice Throne were goddess skills, they were already quite over
powered even at level two so she was not in a hurry to level them up. “Let’s go
with this then.”
Desaray
nodded in satisfaction; she could feel that her skin had become very strong,
much stronger than before, yet it still had a soft, supple feel and a golden
glow to it. “Now then.”
Desaray
continued forward. As she did, she wondered why a demi-god had appeared in this
dungeon. She wondered if it was because of her evolutionary requirements. “If
my evolution requirements require me to do certain things, then it’s kind of
like a quest. So, if I do the dungeon a few times, will I be able to run into a
second demi-god? I still need to kill one more.”
Desaray
pondered this as she pushed through the dungeon. The rest of the monsters were
nothing compared to the ice golem, and with her new strength, she easily
dispatched everything that jumped at her.
Desaray
looked down at her feet and saw the ground freezing over, causing steam to rise
up around her and sighed. Her aura had jumped by a lot with that 100-level
boost. “Alright let’s rush through this and head to the next dungeon!”
⧫⧫⧫
“I
ran this place three times, but no more demi-gods.” Desaray was a little
disappointed. What she did notice though, was that her dungeons were not
limited to different dungeons, but she could actually do the same dungeon over
and over and was able to complete this part of her quest. The only sad part was
that her level did not go up at all.
“Desa.”
Juna’s root suddenly appeared at Desaray’s feet.
“What’s
wrong?” Desaray knew Juna would not bother her unless there was an issue so she
had a feeling something major was up.
“I
have formed a truce with the Demon Queen of Darkness. There is a reason for
this, and I think it would be best to have a meeting with her.” Juna replied.
She then began to explain the details, which made Desaray frown.
“Let
me leave the area of the arachnid people. Then teleport me to the meeting
place.” Desaray made her way over to where she could meet the village elder,
gave her thanks, tossed a token to her, and told her
that if she ever needed anything to use the token to enter the kingdom to visit
her.
Chapter 10
Arriving
just outside the ice wall she had built she was quickly wrapped in a root and
taken to her destination. When she arrived, she found both the Demon Queen of
Darkness and the Demon Queen of Death sitting there waiting for her. But she
quickly noticed that something was wrong with the Demon Queen of Death. “What
happened to her?”
“She
was heavily injured and is still recuperating.” The Demon Queen of Darkness
replied.
“I
see. So what does the Demon Queen of Darkness wish to do?” Desaray asked. She
had to stand almost a hundred feet away in order to not harm the two of them.
“We
want to take down that man. You know the saying from your world, the enemy of
my enemy is my friend? You can think of it like this. While we may be enemies,
this man is a threat to both sides. If we do not work together, how will we be
able to live if this man decides to try to take over the entire world?” The
Demon Queen of Darkness answered. Desaray fell into thought. From what she
understood, this man’s aura was enough to suppress these two. This meant that
man was powerful. Very powerful.
“You
said he called himself this god?” Desaray asked.
“Yes.
He kept saying this god that and this god this. It was very annoying.” The
Demon Queen of Darkness replied.
“A
demi-god?” The Demon Queen of Darkness raised an eyebrow. She was confused but
was suddenly hit with a realization. “Wait, you said one more? Does this mean
you have killed a demi-god already?”
“Yeah,
it was a fun fight. Took a long time, though. That bastard could regenerate its
limbs almost instantly. I had to wait for his power to drain in order to kill
it.” Desaray really did have a lot of fun in that fight. It had been a long
time since she could fight to her heart’s content.
“I…
I see…” The Demon Queen of Darkness did not know if she could beat a demi-god.
She wondered just how strong this ice dragon was.
“Then,
Demon Queen of Darkness, if you are forming a truce with us, this means you
will need to be under a contract. The both of you.” Desarasy turned serious.
She wondered if this demon queen realized that there was no way in hell she
could be trusted.
“Contract?”
The Demon Queen of Darkness furrowed her brow. She had not been expecting this.
“Yes,
contract. I will stick an ice needle in both of your hearts. As long as you do
not do anything to break the truce, I will not kill you, but if you do… I will
activate the ice needle, and it will freeze your body from the inside out. The
blood that runs through your veins will turn into ice
spikes that will pierce through you from the inside out.” Desaray explained.
“And
how are we to know if you will not break the truce?” The Demon Queen of
Darkness did not like this idea at all.
“Because
if I wanted to kill you, I would do it now. I would rather settle things
peacefully. Murder is not my top priority. I do not wish to take over the
world, so as long as you do not attack me or my allies, we will not have an
issue. Although, we will need to make sure that any issues will be dealt with
through talks instead of war. If you wish to take over land, that is fine, but
send those living on it to my territory. This way, they can still live. Life in
this world is scarce, and I am sure there will be more powerful people in the
future. So wouldn’t it be better if we both work together in a way that
benefits us both?”
The
Demon Queen of Darkness couldn’t help but nod at Desaray’s words. Working
together and avoiding conflict would be much easier than trying to wipe her and
her people out. Her conditions were not bad either. While this was far from her
plans of world domination, the idea that she could take what land she wanted
without hindrance was not so bad.
One
thing that the Demon Queen of Darkness had learned from reading the materials
she found from this world was that citizens were also necessary if she wished
to create her own kingdom. At first, she thought that killing all life and
living alone was the best course of action, but now… after spending so much
time with Death and realizing that having company was not so bad, she was more
against the idea of slaughtering. While the urge was strong within her, it was
slowly starting to dwindle.
She
wondered if this was how Cinder had come to a realization and became friends
with this ice girl instead of enemies. She really had to
admit that her way of thinking was wavering for the good. “I will form a new
kingdom. The Kingdom of Darkness that will allow those who wish to live there
to live.”
“Oh?
Not going to wipe out all living beings anymore?” Desaray asked. She was quite
curious why the change of heart.
“If
I did that, that would mean getting rid of Death as well and… I can’t do that.
Not anymore.” The Demon Queen of Darkness lowered her head. She was actually
feeling slightly embarrassed. If it was not for that god guy attacking her and
Death, she probably would never have realized her strong feelings for the girl.
But now she really understood how she felt, and she did not wish to be without
Death in her life.
“Then
I will call you Darkness from now on. My people will also stop expanding our
borders. The land we have already taken will be our base of operations here.
You can also form one on our continent to make communication between our two
lands possible. During this time when there is a threat to both of our lands,
we should indeed form an alliance. Why don’t we call this the Ice and Darkness
Pact?” Desaray was quite proud of the name she thought up on the fly. It was a
perfect name for a pact between the two. It would ensure that they would not
fight over stupid things without talking it out first. And with her ice needle
inside Darkness, she would have the leeway to make things move in the right
direction.
Desaray
knew this was a tyrannical way of doing things, but Darkness had killed many of
her own people. The war they had already fought did not go without its
casualties. If she could avoid war and the loss of life she was more than happy
to do so.
“I
agree. Put whatever ice needle you need inside me. While I think this is a bit
unfair I can understand why you would not trust me.
After all, I am a demon queen.” The Demon Queen of Darkness had planned to form
a truce now and then destroy them all later on, but after listening to Desaray
and remembering everything she had read up until now, she realized this was the
best course of action.
“Then
I will do that now. We will write up a proper agreement in the coming days.
Once you read it, feel free to make any amendments you wish to make. But for
now, let’s get Death some medical care. If she goes on like this, she will
die.” Desaray had used appraisal on Death and saw that she was really not doing
well. While outwardly she was healing, inwardly, she was not. Her organs were a
mess. Even a demon queen was still mortal.
“T-Thank
you…” Darkness was not used to saying such words, but she said them now to her
former enemy. This was because she, too, was afraid that Death would not make
it much longer.
With
Juna’s roots, they moved to the base on the coast. Dormar, who was in charge of
preparation here, was surprised to hear that the two women who had been brought
into medical were actually their sworn enemies. Those same sworn enemies were
now their allies.
“Your
Holiness, what is the meaning of this?” The Dragon King asked. He had thought
the demon queens were their enemies. Why were they now being treated in their
base of all places? He was not the only one to voice their concerns either.
“They
are no longer enemies. We have formed a nonaggression pact with them. We will
also stop expanding our territory on this content and shore up our defenses,
making this our base of operations here. A new threat that even the demon queens were unable to deal with has appeared. One much
stronger than all of us combined. Our main goal now is to work hard on leveling
up and trying to grow stronger in the quickest time possible.” Desaray scanned
the leaders of each kingdom as she continued in a much colder tone: “Anyone who
has a problem with this will be going against me and will be wiped out. I am
not trying to be forceful, but we need to stick together, or I will end up
turning my kingdom into a full-fledged Empire. Does anyone have any more
questions about my actions?”
“You
are being quite forceful with this.” Princess Penlopia couldn’t help but frown.
“I
have no choice. I know the demon queens are our enemies, but this is a case of
the enemy of my enemy is my friend. They both have one of my ice needles in
their hearts as well. With a flick of my fingers, I can now kill them. They
agreed to this even though it put them at a disadvantage. This should tell you
just how serious the situation is.
“We
do not know the true strength of our foe. But from how hurt the two demon
queens got just from trying to escape already proves whoever this is is
formidable. And just so I am clear, it was the demon queens who wished to speak
with me first to form a truce against this new foe. I only added in a complete
alliance since it would be better than sending our people out to die. I would
rather not kill and befriend those who are stronger in case this world faces a
crisis that we can not deal with alone. While I know this is also risky we must
make deals sometimes that benefit the greater good.” Desaray knew very well
what she was doing was very risky but she had no choice. The path to victory
could not be won by her and her alone.
“I
understand now.” Garnet nodded his head in understanding. “Your way of thinking
is much broader than our own. We would have just killed
her at first chance, but you see it as a means of having another powerful ally,
even if we are at odds now. This is quite good.”
“Yes,
I seem to have been short-sighted. Now, hearing the full explanation, I also
agree with this.” Princess Penlopia also stated her position. The others
followed suit, and soon, the alliance had come to a full agreement on Desaray’s
actions.
After
the meeting, Desaray went to her office, where Dormar was waiting. “What’s up?”
“One
of my men has found a level 150 dungeon. I figured I would tell you since you
have been looking for dungeons level 100 and over.” Dormar replied. He had been
telling his men to keep a look out for dungeons and if one is found to take a
peek inside and see what level the monsters were.
“Thanks.
Give me the location and I will head over now.” Desaray smiled. She hoped to
find her last demi-god in this dungeon.
A
few hours later, Desaray was standing in front of a tall metal double-arched
door that was semi-embedded into the ground. The large skulls depicted on each
door looked quite horrifying, given how lifelike they were. “It is quite
strange how a dungeon can just be a door standing in the middle of nowhere. But
from what was said the monsters inside were all undead which is fairly simple.
Let’s hope a demi-god is in there as well.”
Desaray
did not waste any more time and pushed the doors open. What awaited her was a
thick fog and the smell of rotting flesh. Old moss-covered gravestones were
spotted here and there. “Hina, can you sense any powerful beings on this
floor?”
Desaray
really wondered just how much sleep this fairy needed. But she had to admit
having the little one as a trump card in case she really needed help was always
a good thing.
Desaray
stepped forward and began making her way through the dungeon. Her aura was now
much stronger and extended almost two hundred feet, so it was easy for her to
pass through the first floor since all the monsters inside would die before she
could even see them.
“My
level is too high. They give like five experience.” Desaray sighed as she
looked at her experience bar. She then made her way down the stairs leading to
the next floor. When she arrived she was met with what looked like a real
dungeon. But the screams of pain and the thick smell of blood filled her nose,
making her wrinkle it in disgust.
“What
is this place, the eighteen levels of hell?” Of course, that was not the case.
She had already gotten a notification that this dungeon was called Death’s
Grasp.
Sounds
of clinking chains echoed through the halls, along with the screams. As she
made her way through the tight hallway her ice covered the entire area from
floor to ceiling. As she walked she passed by what looked to be cells to see
the people inside frozen from her aura. This was the first time she had seen
actual people inside a dungeon. The looks on their faces showed lifelessness.
It was as if they had already given up on life.
As
Desaray stepped through the doors, her eyes widened when she saw the scene of
torment and torture that was happening inside. Boiling pits of lava with
thousands of people inside, all screaming in agony but not dying. People with
spears sticking through their bodies yet dangling there, moaning in pain,
propped up as if they were some kind of display.
There
were people being burned alive but not dying. Some were being beaten by large,
giant, demon-looking creatures with short wings and red bodies. The block horns
and tail, along with their hoofed feet, made Desaray think of devils. “This
really is hell.”
Desaray
frowned as she continued walking down the path. She had no idea what kind of
dungeon this was, but she knew she had to deal with the boss if she wanted to
continue. The so-called devils ignored her. They did not even glance at her as
she walked past them, which was strange since they were not even affected by
her ice. With each step, she was freezing her surroundings, but the devils, as
well as those being tortured, were not affected at all. Even the methods of
torture did not change. The only thing that was actually affected was the
ground she walked on.
“This
place is very strange.” Desaray continued on the winding path. Fields of fire
and ice. Grass that was razor sharp that people were walking through. Bloody
rivers that flowed through the place, branching out all over. It was the
picture of hell that Desaray envisioned.
She
walked along the road and finally reached the front doors of the castle. “There
is nothing else here… Just this castle.”
Taking
a deep breath, she didn’t just push the doors open; she knocked on them
instead. She felt it would be rude to walk in without knocking first. If the
people inside truly lived here and weren’t enemies, she didn’t want to be
disrespectful. Despite what she had seen, she believed there was a reason for
all of this. Something about this place felt very off. The first floor was
clearly a dungeon, right up to the doors she had entered.
After
she knocked, the doors suddenly opened, and an old man with horns on his head
and red skin answered the door. He wore a butler uniform and bowed his head
when she saw Desaray. “The master is waiting, Miss.”
Desaray
wrinkled her brow as she asked: “ He knew I was coming?”
“Yes,
Miss. Master knows everything that happens in his realm.” The old man replied.
“Then
please lead the way.” Desaray did not know if she was making a mistake or not,
but she felt if she refused, things might get hairy.
Desaray
stepped into the castle to see a lavishly decorated interior. The walls had
many pictures of a woman with golden hair and white wings on her back. But what
stood out were the black horns on her head. One of which
had a golden halo wrapped around it.
“This
is?” Desaray couldn’t help but ask. The image of the woman seemed familiar to
her, but she couldn’t put her finger on where she had seen such a woman.
“That
is the Madam, Madam Aria.” The butler replied. This name made Desaray’s brow
wrinkle even more, but before she could remember where she heard it, the butler
said: “This way, please, Miss.”
Desaray
noted that the Butler was extremely polite, not something she had expected to
see while here in this dungeon filled with torture.
She
was slowly led down a grand hall and up a flight of stairs before walking down
another long hall and to a room with double wooden doors. The butler stopped
and opened the doors before stepping to the side and bowing his head. “Master,
Miss is here.”
“Let
her in.” A calm, low voice replied. Desaray gave the butler a nod before
stepping into the room. When she saw who was sitting at a table that was
covered in desserts and a kettle of what she presumed to be tea, she was
slightly stunned.
“We
have met before,” Desaray said as both a statement and a question.
“We
have met more than you can ever imagine, Aria.” The man replied.
“Now
I know why the name sounded familiar. You called me it once before.” Desaray
gave the man a look up and down, but she had no recollection besides the first
time they met in that dungeon of who this man was. Nor
did she care. She had no feelings for anyone she did not know.
“That
is because you are her. I would never mistakenly call someone else such a
name.” The man replied. “Since we are officially meeting in a more relaxed
state, let me reintroduce myself. My name is Silas, the king of the underworld.
I was once Aria’s husband.”
“Then
we are definitely not the same. I have never even dated a boy, never mind had a
husband. And to be honest unless you match my high standards, you would never
catch my eye. I would rather date a woman than a man who can’t even live up to
my expectations.”
“What
if I said I would be willing to live up to those expectations?” Silas could not
let things go like this. He worked hard to come to this world and even broke a
few taboos to do so. He was now here and would not give up on the one he truly
loved for all these millions of years.
“You
can’t,” Desaray said flatly. “Mainly because I feel nothing when I look at you.
I want nothing to do with some life I once had if it were to be true. I am me,
and that is that. I will not force myself to change to be anyone else. I have
my kingdom to run and enemies so strong that I do not have time for idle chit
chat. If this is all you wish to talk about, then I will be taking my leave.”
Desaray
decisively stood up and began walking towards the door. But she paused and
looked back at the man staring at her in a stupor. “I will leave you some
advice. Don't try to force what is unwanted on someone. I do appreciate the
help you have given me in the past. I thank you for that. You can consider it
as me owing you a favor. Without your information, I would not have been able to progress to the state I am in today. Now,
if you will excuse me, I have to go find another demi god to kill so I can evolve.”
Silas
snapped out of his daze and quickly called out to her. “Wait! If you only need
to kill a demi-god, I can make it easy for you. Just kill one of the guards
there. They are demi-gods close to becoming quasi-gods, so it should give you
plenty of experience.”
“Oh?
Then, I owe you a second favor.” Desaray turned and looked at the guard who
just walked in. She formed a sword of ice, walked up to him, and stabbed her
sword through the skull. It was the fastest method to kill instantly.
[Demi-God
Demon Guard: Trinog Slain]
[Special
Reward: + 130 Levels]
[Special
Reward: Skill: Demonic Toughness]
[Special
Reward: Item: Demonic Core]
“Hmm?”
Desaray looked at her stats and noticed she had long been able to advance in
realm rank, and now she could also evolve once more. With a small smile on her
lips, she turned to Silas and gave him a slight nod. “Thanks. If we meet again,
you can ask me for those favors as long as it is not you asking me to love you
or something stupid like that.”
Desaray
gave a small wave as she left the room. She had no plans to return to this
place. Silas could only watch her retreating back. The girl he had been longing
for had rejected him without a second thought. He could only fall back into his
chair and let out a sigh. “I was too rushed. I will need to let her see my good
sides…” He waved his hand and the guard who had just died came back to life.
“Go back to work…”
After
leaving the dungeon, Desaray was actually in a good mood. “I guess I will first
start by evolving. But I will need a safe place for that. Hmmm… Maybe near the
raid dungeon. We did build a small house there and it is far enough away from
the city that it should not harm anyone.”
With
this plan in mind, Desaray called out: “Juna!”
“You
called!?” Juna instantly appeared. Anytime Desaray needed her, she would be
there.
“Can
you bring me to the house near the raid instance? I need to evolve and do my
realm advancement. Also… Can you surround the entire house in roots so I will
not bother the surrounding area?” Desaray was worried her evolution, or maybe
even her realm advancement, would cause a scene and maybe destroy part of the
land, covering it in ice. This was something she wished to avoid.
“You
don’t need to ask. I would be more than happy to help.” Juna’s eyes glowed with
excitement. Her Goddess was once more going to become even stronger!
While
Desaray and Juna were preparing for Desaray’s advancement, a man stood over a
certain continent with a massive barrier around it. He rubbed his chin as he
looked at the barrier with interest. “This is quite a powerful barrier, but
what could it be containing?”
The
man flew over the top of the barrier when a certain structure caught his eye.
“Oh? God's tower? The Tower of Babylon? It seems things will be getting
interesting soon. Let’s allow the punishment from the
ruler of all to continue, shall we?”
The
man raised his hand and poked the barrier; a cracking sound was heard, and the
barrier began to crumble. Piece by piece, it fell apart and fell to the ground
before disappearing.
*Dong!*
*Dong!*
“Haha,
amazing! The Angels of Wrath!” the man cried out as he saw the large grotesque
eyeball monsters flying out from the tower. There were not just one or two but
thousands of them flying up into the sky. The man stood there in the air with
an amused smile on his lips. “I wonder just what kind of fun this world will
give me. I haven’t been able to have any fun since I arrived on this world.
Let’s hope the people of this world will allow me to be entertained.”
⧫⧫⧫
With
the sounds of bells ringing off in the distance, Desaray frowned when she
looked toward the direction they were coming from. “Juna, I leave the
protection of the kingdom to you. We are now on red alert. Seal the entire
kingdom with its roots and call back all forces. When I finish my evolution and
realm change, I will seal the entire place in my ice prison.”
“Understood.
I will make arrangements quickly.” Juna bowed her head before quickly
disappearing. She made sure to seal the house Desaray was in as well with
roots.
Desaray
sank into darkness as she found a place to sit. “I need to do this quickly.”
After sitting down and getting comfortable, she hit the evolution button and
closed her eyes. Before she knew it, she fell into a deep sleep.
[Evolution
Process Will Now Commence…]
[Confirming
Systematic Report…]
[Confirmed…]
[Notice:
Requirements Met To Begin Realm Advancement…]
[Will
Commence After Evolution]
While
Desaray was in the process of evolving, the entire kingdom was suddenly wrapped
in roots, and Juna was now on the Magi Vision that could be seen in every
settlement in the kingdom. “Attention all citizens of The Holy Kingdom Of
Serenity… I, Apostle Juna, Under the orders of her Holiness, have sealed off
the kingdom. But do not fret. All those who are part of our kingdom will be
allowed in, as well as those seeking refuge. We will not say no to those who
need to seek refuge. As you all have heard, the sounds of bells from the sky,
her Holiness deems it to be a threat, which is why she made the decision to
protect the entire kingdom.
“Not
only will my roots stay in place until further notice but our barriers will
also be raised, allowing for you to still see light and grow crops and other
daily things as you normally would. While the sky may be fake for the time
being, we will do our best to assess the situation happening in the world and
hope we do not run into anything that we can not handle. If it does come down
to needing you all to hide in the bunkers we have set up in every village,
town, and city in the kingdom, the alert sirens will go off as normal.
“At
that time, no matter what you are doing. Grab your children and your elderly
and head to the bunker teleport system. Supplies and other daily necessities
will be there for you. Each person has been allocated a
room in the bunkers so you can still maintain some resemblance of life.
“I
know this may scare some of you, but please remain calm and wait for word from
us. Praise the Ice Goddess!” Juna bowed her head in prayer, as did all who were
watching the broadcast. After a few moments, Juna once more lifted her head and
finished her speech. “I will repeat this message every hour, along with updates
if we have any. For now, please continue to have a wonderful day.”
After
finishing her speech, Juna teleported herself to the base on the other
continent. With a wave of her hand, she put the entire base on lockdown:
“Dormar, recall off personnel.We are on full lockdown.”
“Apostle
Juna!” Darkness ran over and gave Juna a worried look. “What were those bell
sounds? I felt a tremor deep within my soul that is telling me to hide and
never come out.”
“I
am not sure. For now, we will be going on lockdown. Once everyone is recalled,
we will be moving everyone here back to the kingdom. Darkness, I want you to
work with Dormar and seal this base on the outside in darkness once everyone
has been accounted for. While there will be no one here, I wish to try to
protect this place so we can use it again.” Juna hated asking Darkness for help
but this was no time to be caring about old grudges.
“I
don’t mind. I will do what I can. But I hope we can get everyone here quickly.”
Darkness did not even feel this scared when facing the man who called himself a
god. This deep-rooted fear seemed to be a natural instinct of some kind,
causing her to feel as if the world was out to get her.
⧫⧫⧫
Desaray
slowly fluttered her eyelids. The darkness of the room made it easier for her
to open them. She had no idea how long she had been out for but she had no time
to care about that. She decided to take a quick look at her stats before
calling Juna to teleport her to the capital.
{World
Order System}
[Name]:
Desaray Harris
[Race]:
Ice Dragon Goddess
[Current
Realm] Immortal
[Age]:
21
[Level]:
406
[Monster
Rank]: S
[Realm
Advance Requirements]: Reach Level 5000, Kill 10,000,000 enemies, Gain
10,0000,000 followers
[Evolution
Requirements]: Reach level 1000, Kill 5 Gods, Complete 10 level 1000+ dungeons
solo
[HP]:5876125/5876125
[MP]:
5769834/5769834
[Elemental
Affinity]: Ice (500%)
[Skills]
{Ice
Breath (Lvl MAX)} {Ice Immunity (Lvl Max)} {Appraisal (Lvl 6)} {First Aid (Lvl
2)}
{Toughened
Skin (Lvl MAX)} {Spark (Lvl 1)} {Cleanse (Lvl 1)} {Drink (Lvl 1)} {Dig (Lvl 1}
{Dry
(Lvl 1)} {Ice Arrow (Lvl MAX)} {Fireball (Lvl 1)} {Detection (Lvl MAX)}
{Healing
Snow (Lvl MAX)} {Partial Transformation (Lvl Max)}
{Full
Transformation (Lvl Max)} {Ice Manipulation (Lvl MAX)}
{Summon
Ice Elemental (Lvl 1)} {Prison Of Absolute Cold (Lvl Max)}
{Mana
Reduction (Lvl MAX)} {Mana Regeneration (Lvl MAX)} {Twelve Steps (Lvl 4)}
{Empress’s Presence (Lvl MAX)} {Regeneration (Lvl MAX)}
[Goddess
Skills]
{Frozen
Step (Lvl MAX)} {Absolute Zero(Lvl 2)} {Ice Throne (Lvl 2)} {Undying Frost (Lvl
MAX)} {Palace of Ice (Lvl 1)}
[Professions]
{Weapon
Crafting (Lvl 4)} {Armor Crafting (Lvl 4)} {Hunting (Lvl MAX)} {Foraging (Lvl
4)} {Cooking (Lvl 4)}
“Congratulations
on your evolution and realm advancement.” Juna was currently kneeling on one
knee with a fist pressed against the ground. Right now her goddess truly felt
like a true goddess. Her aura made her feel otherworldly.
“We
have some issues. The woodlyn elves are not very happy about a quarantine. When
I tried to explain this was to keep them safe until we figured out what the
bells were, they were stubborn and told me to leave. The dwarves, fairies, and
the dragons all agreed. They know you would not put them in harm’s way for no
reason. I also told them if things get too bad they will need to evacuate to
Serenity which they agreed upon. The Dragons said they would be willing to do a
full evacuation now just to be safe. The fairies were the same but said they
would need time to get things in order. As for the dwarves, they live in a
mountain so their defenses are already good. Now that mountain is also
surrounded by my roots. They said they would be willing to be used as bait if
needed to get information on the enemy if there is one.” Juna reported. She had
expected more push back but only the woodlyn elves were unwilling to listen.
“Then
that works. If anyone were to be attacked first it would be the woodlyn elves.
Set me up a connection to the woodlyn elf ambassador. I want to talk with him
personally so he can understand the situation better.” Desaray decided the only
way to really deal with this would be to try to talk to them personally. Since
no one could get near her now unless their ice resistance was completely maxed
out she could only use the new magi vision as a means to communicate between
herself and the other leaders and their proxies.
While
Desaray was trying to do some diplomacy, large grotesque eyeballs with
human-skinned wings were making their way across Africa. Any bipedal females
were caught and had their souls sucked from their
bodies. Even if they were not fully sentient they were still being captured.
One
after the other they would be captured in this golden light and sucked into the
eyeballs, their bodies then ejected from a hole under the so-called angel. Word
quickly spread across the continent and the survivors were doing their best to
keep the women hidden. But houses had no effect on detecting a female, only
those who were hidden underground were safe. As words of this spread all
females were slowly being pushed underground.
⧫⧫⧫
A
lone man stood in the sky as he watched the happenings below. He rubbed his
chin when he saw how these so-called angels went about their destruction. “I
see… so they only go after the women eating their souls. That old man sure has
a sadistic side. Wipe out all women and lose full reproduction. He did not kill
the men because females would still be able to reproduce on their own. He made
natural selection so he knows how to defeat it.”
The
man began scanning other areas around the world before suddenly stopping when
he felt a set of eyes staring back at him with an icy pressure. “Oh? Chione is
here? No… she is slightly weaker than the goddess of ice. This person though…
To think there was such a strong being in this world. I wish to take a look but
it seems she has noticed me and was only giving me a warning.”
Erebus
shook his head and looked at the angels once more before turning and
disappearing in a different direction. “I should leave things be first and
figure out who this person is.”
⧫⧫⧫
“Someone
just used magic to scan this area. I think it is the man the Darkness was
talking about. I have no idea how I did it but I sent my own pressure back
towards him. This seems to have scared him off.” Desaray did not know how it
worked but she instinctively knew how to send a warning to him.
“Anyway…”
Desaray looked back at the screen, “Talk with your king and try to get him to
listen. If not, the Holy Kingdom of Serenity will not be sending any
assistance.”
“Understood,
Your Holiness. I am not sure if I can get my point across to him, but I will
try.” The woodlyn elf ambassador replied. He could not understand what his king
was thinking. Did he think that just because one issue was resolved another was
fine to deal with on their own? If even a powerful figure like the Ice Goddess
was worried about this threat, how was it that the woodlyn elves would be able
to deal with it themselves? This way of thinking baffled him. “Your Holiness…
If I may ask.”
“Go
ahead.” Desaray was curious as to what the woodlyn elf ambassador wanted.
“Is
there a chance you can extract my family from my kingdom and bring them here? I
do not wish for something to happen to them.” This was his main worry. His
family was still in the woodlyn elf kingdom. He would abandon everything for
his family.
“I
will have Juna bring them here soon. Don’t worry, those in my kingdom even if
you are an ambassador will be treated like every citizen. We will do what we
can for you.”
“We
are friends, so it’s fine. You can also call me Desa. No need for titles. We
are, in fact, supposed to be on the same level, and this is not a public
setting.” Desaray was sitting in a completely different room, which she knew
was rude, but if she did not, she would end up killing Garnet.
“Then
Desa, please call me Gar like those close to me do.” Gar smiled. He was
actually very glad he became friends with Desaray. If he had not there was no
telling what the future may hold for him and his people.
“Then
Gar.” Desaray smiled faintly before continuing: “We have finally figured out
what the main threat is.” Desaray tapped the crystal in front of her and in the
other room, a picture of a grotesque massive eyeball with flesh-like wings
appeared. “I am not sure what this monster is, but from the information Juna
has gathered using her roots, these monsters will suck the souls out of women
and kill any man who attacks it. In other words, they seem to be culling the
female species off this planet. As long as it has some sentience, the female
will have its soul sucked from its body.
“Any
man who is near and does not attack the eyeball will just be completely
ignored, which is why I say it is culling females. It’s basically trying to
make it so that we can not reproduce. What level they are and how powerful they
are, I do not know. I can not use appraisal on them like I can with others. It
just does not work. I get no reaction. I had Juna send me out there to try, but
I failed.” Desaray felt slight fear of these monsters since it instantly sensed
her and turned toward her. If not for Juna quickly
teleporting her out, she was sure she would have had her soul sucked out of
her.
“This
is much more serious than I thought… If it was only killing everyone it would
be fine but they are basically trying to bring despair. It’s as if they want
all beings to suffer before finally going extinct.” Gar had a point there that Desaray
couldn’t help but think of the old biblical testaments.
Desaray’s
eyes suddenly widened when she thought of something. She turned to her side and
said: “Juna, go to the library and bring me back all the books you can find on
the end of days and gods angels.”
“I
will be back soon.” Juna disappeared as Desaray leaned back. She had seen many
things when researching dragons when she was younger. She remembered she went
off topic and looked up other mythical monsters as well. And she came across
what was supposed to be the biblical interpretation of a real angel.
“Gar,
hang on for a bit. I think I might know what these things are.” Desaray had
forgotten Gar was there.
“I
am in no rush so take your time.” Gar replied with a smile. He had to admit
that Desaray was very beautiful but he knew he would never have a chance with
how weak he was.
Within
fifteen minutes, Juna returned with a stack of books, which they all began to
go over. After a while Desaray stopped on a page that was explaining the traits
of angels. “I see… so these are angels…”
“Angels?”
Juna and Gar both asked at the same time.
“What
do you mean?” Gar asked.
“Well,
from what we understand, the barrier that was once surrounding a certain
continent has disappeared and we believe these angels came from there. But the
thing is that this continent came from another world and is not part of this
original world, meaning some other world’s apocalypse has been moved to our
world.” Desaray explained.
“If
that is the case then what should we do?” Gar really did not understand much of
what was being said but he understood enough to know they were in a bad spot.
“We
have to figure out a way to kill these angels. If we can, then we can stop this
so-called apocalypse. From what I can tell if these match what is written here
and are the messengers or should I say the harbingers of death of the one god,
then we will be in for a long, drawn-out fight. We will be basically fighting
against the gods themselves. We need to call a meeting between all nations as
well as all council members. This includes Darkness and Death as well. We have
our work cut out for us.”
⧫⧫⧫
Inside
a domed city, The Demon Queen of Lightning now known as just Ning sat at a
table inside a restaurant, called Too Deep. “Ning you know the barrier was
broken right?”
“You
can stay with me as long as you want. While I will not say what you did was
heroic, because it wasn't, it was foolish. Very foolish. You have no idea how
worried I was! You came back covered in blood and basically half-dead. I…”
Linda was truly worried. She had never been so panicked in her entire life.
Ning had become someone very important to her like a daughter but the stupid
girl actually tried to fight the Angels alone.
“I-I’m
sorry. I will never do anything like that again.” Ning lowered her head and
stared at her plate of food. She was hungry but right now she was filled with
regret. Linda was the first person to ever treat her so kindly and worry about
her from the bottom of her heart. Although technically she was much older than
Linda, her mentality was still the same from when she first became a demon
queen. This was the same for all demon queens. Their maturity rate was very
slow and would take thousands of years to evolve. Ning looked up to Linda as an
older sister who cared for her deeply. This was why she was willing to risk it
and try to kill an angel. But sadly she failed and all she did was worry Linda
more.
“Good.
Now eat before it gets cold. This restaurant is one of the highest rated in the
city.” Linda smiled and began digging in. She was glad Ning understood what she
did was wrong even if she meant good by it. There had been countless people
even stronger than Ning who had tried to kill an angel but they all failed. Those things were just unkillable. Even if you
sliced it in half it would just mend itself back together. This was just what
they were. An unkillable monster that fed on the souls of women.
“What
do we do now that they are free?” Ning suddenly asked.
“We
do nothing and continue our day-to-day lives. You said you wish to stay so just
spend your days relaxing. I will take care of the rest.” Linda smiled. She did
not dare to let Ning do anything else besides rest. Her soul was too weak. If
she tried to do any labor, it could shorten her life span even more. No matter
how long Ning has lived, her soul was what allowed her to live, and with it now
injured, unless she can heal it, it would only get worse with time. However,
she did not tell Ning this. She just wanted Ning to live out her days joyfully
without worry.
While
the two girls chatted, a small root slowly slithered over to their location. It
had slipped into the dome and made its way to the location of the two girls.
Only when it was right next to the table did it spring forth and grow revealing
a young woman wearing a green dress made of leaves.
Linda
and Ning almost jumped out of their skin when the woman suddenly appeared. “Who
are you!?” Linda went on guard and positioned herself to get ready to jump in
front of Ning.
“My
name is Juna, I am from the Holy Kingdom of Serenity, ruled by her holiness
herself the Ice Goddess Desaray. I have come here to ask you about the angels.”
Juna glanced at Ning and nodded her head slightly before saying: “Darkness,
Death, and Cinder are glad to know you are okay.”
Juna
saw her confusion and smiled: “Many things have happened since you disappeared.
Her Holiness has taken the others under her care, and they are now working
alongside her to stop the angels and a man who refers to himself as a god. I
have come in hopes of gaining as much information about the angels as
possible.”
Juna
noticed that her root could finally enter the area it previously could not, so
she quickly asked Darkness for help to see if she could track the Demon Queen
of Lightning again. Sure enough, they were able to detect her once more,
indicating she had been trapped within the barrier. It was easy to understand
where the angels came from, as the barrier seemed to have kept them locked in.
With it now gone, the angels were able to escape.
Lina
furrowed her brow and asked: “What do you plan to do with this information?”
“Kill
the angels of course.”
Lina
and Ning both looked at Juna in surprise, and even more surprising, it was Ning
who suddenly said: “No, don’t! Just hide. Have your people hide. Those things
can not be killed!”
“We
do not know that yet. Her holiness has also become very strong since her last
evolution. This is why I am here and not her since if she appeared, this entire
city would end up frozen solid. It does not have the wards we have to contain
her power.” Juna was filled with pride. Her goddess was just so amazing she
couldn’t help but tell people about it.
“Ning?”
Linda was confused by Juna’s words. She did not know what Juna meant by them.
“That
is something you two should talk about. I am only giving her a push so that you
will hear her true story. But can that please wait until later? I really need
to know as much as I can about the angels.” Juna wanted to give Ning a small
push since she seemed to still be in a state of limbo. Cinder took a while to
warm up to others, but once she did, everyone saw her as a cute girl who just
needed some love, and the older women of the city all took to her, quickly
showering her with the love she so needed.
“Right.”
Linda nodded before taking a deep breath. “Angels… It all started when the
saintess of the Mage’s Tower had a premonition. This premonition was a
blueprint to build a tower named the Tower of Babel.”
If
Desaray were here and heard this she would have recognized this word almost
instantly since it was used in many of the stories she had read.
“The
Mage’s Tower had a lot of sway in the world and got the kingdoms in the
surrounding area to send people to help build the tower.
Millions of people came and began work. Ten years later, just as the last stone
was being placed onto the top of the tower, dark clouds formed overhead, and a
pillar of lightning that surrounded the entire area crashed down and killed
everyone, destroying the tower in the process.
“Now,
normally, one would take this as a sign that they can not continue, but the
Mage’s Tower did not give up. They had the leaders of the kingdom continue
their work, even if it meant starting from scratch. The same process continued
every ten years until finally, the last stone was placed, and bells began to
toll in the sky across the world. The dark skies that had formed overhead
suddenly opened up, and these so-called angels flew down. They began hunting
women and sucking out their souls. The tower itself was quickly taken over by
these angels as if it had been intended to be a resting place for them from the
very beginning.” Linda’s expression was starting to grow pale as she continued
speaking.
“What
happened to the Saintess?” Juna asked out of curiosity.
“She,
too, ended up having her soul sucked out of her. The Mages Tower went into a
frenzy and began working on a method to contain the angels before they spread
across the world. In the end, we were locked in a barrier, unable to go out.
The only difference was it seemed we all gained immortality in the process. I
have no idea how long I have been alive for now. Nor do I know how long I will
live for now that the barrier has disappeared. I only know that letting those
things loose is only going to cause more hardships.
“They
are evil beings who kill women and are unkillable. Trust me when I say my
people have tried everything they can to take even one down. But there has been
no progress all these years. Many have died trying. Even
Ning tried and almost died. Her soul was harmed in the process.” Linda’s
expression soured as she thought about how long Ning had left to live.
“Oh?
Injured?” Juna’s eyes glowed as she scanned Ning up and down a few times before
seeing the problem. “It is indeed not good but not something that can not be
fixed.”
“You
can heal, Ning!?” Linda asked as she stood up, almost knocking her chair over
in the process.
“It
is healable, but it will take time. We have elder dwarves and elves who are
able to combine their magic to do many things. And since we have many undead we
have ways to heal wounds to the soul as well. If you and Ning are willing to
come back with me I can have them heal you and return you back here. Although
it will take about a month to heal her fully.”
Afterword
Volume 5 has come to an
end. I wish to thank all of you for reading this volume. It means a lot to me
that you are enjoying this story. There are still plenty more adventures to go.
I am also writing a few more novels as well, which can be found on Amazon.
Beyond
Respawn Volume 1: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D3X74ZS9
Rebirth: How To Make A
Villainess Volume 1: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DKDFV4W5
Monster Academy: Rise of
the Card Master Volume 1: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DWT8VJLY
If you wish to support me
and read further ahead in this series and some of my other novels. You can join
my Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/c/invayne
Once again thank you all
for taking the time to read this Desa Volume 5.
