《Realm of Exaltia》 [1] Fall of an Empress ¡°Wind Crystal Shard, I plead you to... Impale this traitor!¡± With a shining green crystal in hand, the queen of Faeria descended upon a black clothed woman. This was Herebia, our main character who is about to die. She is one of those exceptional straight-haired sexy beauties. The shining green crystal in the hand of the queen shone brightly and the wind inside of the throne room ran amok. Then, a green colored spear materialized that was made of compressed air. It spun around and the wind congealed around it like a tornado. Herebia¡¯s eyes were blurry as her sight darkened. The throne room of this kingdom would become the place where she dies. Puu! The sound of flesh tearing was heard echoing at the throne room. The guards that were made to stand aside cheered as their queen impaled her enemy. She won. The queen won. As for Herebia... She lost. Suddenly, she felt the constraints of the room weakening. Her mind flashed with insight and she used her last scrap of energy to flee from this place. ¡®Sequestia moved... She stopped restraining this room. I can now use Exodus...¡¯ It seems like this isn''t the place where her dead body will lay. The spear of wind disintegrated to air and Herebia was left standing their with a huge hole through her chest. After that, she abandoned her staff and used the abilities only a Faerie that has the royal bloodline can use. Exodus! The power of the world! Black smoke rose from her feet as she... completely disappeared from the room. She teleported elsewhere. The queen of Faeria did not mind Herebia teleporting away as she knew that even the Overseer can¡¯t save Herebia. She was done in for good. In the shadow¡¯s, a violet clothed figure was standing and watching the proceedings. This figure was paired with an unusual long ears. This was Sequestia and she was the one who cut off Herebia¡¯s escape route in this fight. She slowly blended into the shadow¡¯s while she held a sword that Herebia used other than her staff. In this day of the continent of Exaltia, a traitor died. * * * * * Herebia used Exodus and teleported to an island known as ¡®Island of Reincarnation¡¯. Herebia once came here to research magic and she knew that there were no such thing as ¡®Reincarnation¡¯. There was only death. However, this was her last straw in life. Her vision has long since darkened and she knew that later... the nine black moth¡¯s of Sabbath would come for her. But... What her eyes saw was not the nine black moths. She saw... Nine beautiful white butterflies. This was the sign that she will be resting in Divas not in Sabbath. The True God of Light... wanted her to come to Divas. This puzzled her. Great waves of confusion came to her mind. She was the greatest traitor of the holy land of the True God of Light... why would he take her to Divas? She did many unforgivable mistakes in her life and she never regretted any of them except for one. Herebia... have sinned of many things. In her confusion... Herebia laughed maniacally. ¡° Ha ha ha Ha hA Ha HA!!!¡± Then... she slowly disintegrated into ethereal shining motes of light that flowed with the nine butterflies. * * * * * The butterflies traveled a long distance. They crossed many rivers and mountains as they searched for the current location of Divas. Then... they found it in the middle of the sea. Up in the sky was a floating island. There, in the highest point of sky of the entire Realm of Exaltia was... a luxurious castle. This was the residence of the True God of Light, Aven. There were many celestial beings in this castle but the True God was the highlight. The butterflies, after founding this place, flew towards it and fused together. After fusing... The nine butterflies turned into a shining golden dragon. The golden dragon flew towards the residence of the True God and after landing, the dragon disintegrated and transformed again... Now... It was a beautiful woman. If the queen of Faeria saw the transformation, she would¡¯ve identified this creature as the legendary Celestial Dragon! They were the personal guards of the True God of Light, Aven. ¡°My lord Aven. I have brought the Faerie, Herebia, as per your command.¡± Slowly from inside the residence a figure emerged. It¡¯s eyes were covered by a hood but a mouth could be seen . It¡¯s body was covered with a shining golden armor and it exuded a celestial aura. This was the True God of Light! Aven! ¡°Yes. Thank you for your hard work. Minela you may rest.¡±You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. The beautiful woman, Minela, bowed at the waist level and smiled. This was her, showing absolute respect and her blind faith. ¡°Thank you, my lord.¡± After saying that, Minela flicked her hand and from it flew off motes of light. They rapidly materialized into Herebia, and after seeing that there was no problem with her, Minela left. After Herebia materialized, she was confused for a moment then a flash of understanding entered her mind. She lost. She was dead. She was in Divas. And the one standing in front of her could possibly be... True God of Light, Aven! Herebia¡¯s mind was filled with a deadly crisis. What if this god wants revenge for what I did to his holy kingdom? Is he gonna punish me for what I did? Is he gonna kill me? But... After a moment, Herebia discovered that she was experiencing hysteria from excessive fear. What ¡®Is he gonna kill me¡¯?! Herebia, you are already dead! She was afraid of him. This was because... of many things. She was vigilant against this True God but she knew that even with all of her abilities on Exaltia... she wasn¡¯t even worth raising a pinky in front of this true god. Aven remained silent for a moment but he was the one who spoke first. ¡°You need to atone for your sins.¡± This words jolted Herebia awake. After hearing it, she grew depressed and her fear deepened. What is this guy going to do to me? Sure, he can¡¯t kill me but he can torture me for all eternity. Herebia once again... became hysteric. This was a psychological condition of her that was always bugging her. Every time she meets a more powerful creature than her, she becomes like this. Even though she is only a soul now... She could feel herself sweating. Aven remained silent as if waiting for Herebia¡¯s answer. Herebia decided that if she can¡¯t exit this situation then... she needs to propose a lighter atonement. ¡°H-How?¡± Or so she thought. She was about to propose a method but her fear took over her and this word came out of her mouth. She had no bargaining chip in this conversation so it was natural that she has no say in the decision of her atonement. ¡°You will have to sleep for 1000 years in here. After that, you will serve me and must do one task I order you...¡± Herebia swallowed her soul saliva. 1000 years? What?! That¡¯s... that¡¯s too long! More importantly... ¡°¡®Serve? You mean like Minela!?¡± Aven stared at Herebia and shook his head. He entered his residence and signaled Herebia to enter. Seeing this, Herebia was first alarmed. But, as she once thought that she had no power to resist, she could only follow this True God and entered the residence. * * * * * Aven invited her to a square table where she sat facing him. A woman came from the door and served tea. Herebia didn¡¯t stand in ceremony as she picked up the tea and drank it. She had to admit. The tea here is the best. Herebia decided to engage the conversation. ¡°So? What do you mean by ''Serve''¡±? Aven didn¡¯t mind her tone and he was quiet amused. Even if he was a god, he still had a personality. If gods did not possess jealousy or hatred, then that would¡¯ve been boring. ¡°I mean that you will do a chore. After 1000 years, you are required to clean up your mess.¡± Herebia jolted and she bit her tongue. She hurriedly placed down her tea and she wondered what just happened. How did she just feel pain? Is she a spirit or does she possess a body? Herebia stopped wondering about it and voiced her thoughts. ¡°My mess? What did I do?¡± ¡°Collect all of the Crystal Shards.¡± Herebia stared at Aven for a moment then frowned. The Crystal Shards? ¡°Why? They are already handed down unto the four races.¡± Aven looked at Herebia with an amused look. He laughed a little and then retorted, ¡°You think that will last forever? Look, a war is brewing remember? And that war was instigated by you.¡± Hearing this, Herebia¡¯s eyes constricted. Ah? War? Wait, what?! Weren''t the great Exaltian War already finished? ¡°What war?¡± ¡°Ha ha ha. A war of destruction. The King of Drazian wanted all of the Crystal Shards for himself so he will conquer the continent of Exaltia. He will fail though.¡± Herebia secretly sighed. It seems that it was not because of Eternia... The King of Drazian. This guy was familiar to her. He was a greedy guy and thirsted for power but Herebia knew that the Kingdom of Drazian was not enough force to conquer all of the remaining territories. What Aven said were true. Herebia estimated that he could not conquer the whole continent. But the next words of Aven made her decision change. ¡°The King of Drazian got the help of Sieg.¡± ¡°Sieg? That snake? Then why did that guy fail?¡± Sieg. A giant snake. She was powerful. More powerful than Herebia and she knew this because Sieg was the one who helped her create the Chaos Tome, which Herebia was so proud of. ¡°He failed because of... The Faerie Queen will banish the shards.¡± ¡°Wait... banishing the shards won¡¯t solve the problem. He could still succeed without the shards.¡± Aven took his cup and raised it to his mouth. A thin smile could be seen in his face ans his lips parted and he uttered a question which left Herebia shocked. ¡°Technically, he did succeed. But let me ask you... how did you get powerful?¡± ¡°Because of my Chaos Tome?¡± ¡°Bingo.¡± Herebia¡¯s mind spun as she considered the possibility. Her Chaos Tome... spreading around... creating a powerful army... Now she knew how the Drazian King failed. ¡°Wait, that means everyone in Exaltia knows how to use my Chaos Tome?! They know how to command elemental particles?!¡± ¡°Calm down. It¡¯s not your Chaos Tome.¡± Thinking about it, if not for her Chaos Tome, there was only one power that could mass produce excellent soldiers to overwhelm the Drazian King. It was the Celestial Codex. ¡°No. It¡¯s not the Celestial Codex. Sigh... Could you stop speculating for a bit and start listening to me?¡± ¡°Hey, even if you are a god, I still have my privacy. Stop reading my mind.¡± ¡°Anyway. The lost humans would be the one who finds the four Crystal Shards. Like you... they will develop their own magic. They could not wield it but they studied the shards for power.¡± Aven paused a little and continued. "Soon they discovered a method to command elemental particles." Tsk. Herebia clicked her tongue. So thats why. Herebia knew that when the Drazian King and Sieg were allied, no one can stop them. Unless... They could create many excellent soldiers. And magic was a good way. She could imagine the annihilation of the four royal bloodlines due to this new magic. ¡°So... the next 1000 years would be the era of humans?¡± Aven looked at her for a moment and then nodded. Herebia trembled slightly. She already speculated it but receiving the confirmation of a god reinforced her fear. The four bloodlines were wiped... Herebia swallowed her saliva and computed. This was a decision she could not decide anything in. It was set in stone that she will be Aven¡¯s servant 1000 years later. She needed to make a request now so her job later would become much easier. ¡°That... Aven... Can I have my Chaos Tome when I go down there again? I need power... to you know... accomplish this task.¡± Looking at Herebia¡¯s pausing countenance, Aven couldn¡¯t help but laugh. He flicked his hands and black smoke curled up besides him. A grim looking black book slowly appeared and it exuded an eerie power. ¡°Ha ha ha. You were quite talented in order to make something like this. It reminds me of the combined power of those two idiots. You may use it.¡± Herebia stared for a moment at Aven. The two idiots, she naturally knew who he was referring to. She placed her teacup down and raised her hand. The floating black book flew towards her and landed in her palms. It had a tight binding and the pages were quite old. This was the Chaos Tome. ¡°Then... when do I sleep?¡± ¡°Now.¡± Herebia frowned but she shook her head helplessly. This was not within her control. If this guy wanted her to slumber now, she shall slumber now and not later. Slowly, Herebia turned into motes of light and she disintegrated. She was entering the 1000 year slumber. [2] Descent to Exaltia Herebia¡¯s mind spun but all she can feel is a slight breeze. She was enjoying the wind but she could tell that this was no ordinary wind. Perhaps, it was divine wind? Nah. It was the wind of time. The wind passed her as with the progress of time. Herebia stayed in this state and she did not know how long it will last. It seems to last for a eternity. It also seems to last only in the blink of an eye. Herebia threw all of her thoughts back and enjoyed this time of hers. She did not mind it being an eternity or only being a second. This was a relaxing feeling, a soothing one. Back in the days, she was quite stressed to even dare to relax. Inwardly, Herebia sighed and she turned melancholic. She remembered... her sin. Perhaps... she was the one who caused all of the four bloodlines to be wiped out by the humans. Shaking her head, Herebia stopped thinking too much about it. It was what she did. For no other apparent reason than her greed. Yes. It was greed. This was Herebia¡¯s sin. As Herebia relaxed through the void, a voice could be heard whispering. ¡°Wake up.¡± It gradually grew and became louder as Herebia slowly opened her eyes. ¡°Wake up, It¡¯s time.¡± Herebia felt herself awakening and the feeling of the wind disappeared. Herebia was quite disappointed but she shook her head helplessly. !? She can shake her head? Herebia discovered that she could. She had once again connected to her limbs and the feeling of her hands and her feet slowly returned to her. Her vision turned from black to blurry and from blurry to clear. What she saw in front of her was the True God of Light, seating in the table that they previously used. Herebia realized it and she inwardly sighed. Ah... I have woken up. Thinking about it, the feeling of that deep slumber gave her was soothing. It was a relaxing time. Herebia now knew that the time spent their was only for 1000 years. But... while she was in there, it felt like she was in there for an eternity already or for only a single second. It was mysterious. She thought about it even more and came to a realization. That... was the place of rest. It surely was a relaxing place. The place where the dead goes. Aven looked at her and formed a thin smile. ¡°Actually, you were correct yet not correct. That is indeed where the dead goes but for only those who I approve. The others go to Sabbath.¡± True God Aven clarified Herebia¡¯s guesses. Sabbath. She was familiar with this word. Not only do demons reside within, another True God was guarding the resting place of the damned. Thinking about gods, Herebia suddenly realized that a she could ask questions about them from this person in front of her. After all, Aven is a True God. ¡°Say, Aven, what happened? Why did the three of you fell out?¡± Aven¡¯s smile turned expressionless and he sighed. A True God sighed. Aven knew what herebia was poking at and he was reluctant to answer. But, he realized that this woman would probably know about it in the future. So why not be the one to tell her himself? Herebia looked at Aven as she waited for an answer. She knew that this topic was a sore spot towards this god but she couldn¡¯t help herself from asking. ¡°It was because they broke the first rule. That¡¯s it.¡± Herebia touched her jaw and mused to herself. The first rule... huh... Wait. God¡¯s have rules?! Incredulous! Preposterous! They are the most powerful beings on this continent! They could do everything they want! Aven shook his head. It seems that he was reading Herebia¡¯s thoughts. Realizing this, Herebia tried to think of dumb things which she found out that... she has no idea of. I can¡¯t think of dumb things? Does this make me a genius who always thinks of good things or make me a great grand ninny who can¡¯t even think of something dumb? Anyway, Herebia tried to clear her thoughts as Aven started to explain. ¡°We do have rules. We also cannot do anything we want.¡± Herebia sighed. So even gods have limits. Herebia was satisfied with this questions and decided to stop this Q&A. Aven could read Herebia¡¯s mind, and he understood what Herebia wanted. This Q&A section was now over. It¡¯s now time for official business. The first topic was: ¡°What do you want me to do down there?¡± Aven touched his chin and spoke in a calm manner. ¡°I want you to collect the four Crystal Shards. That¡¯s it.¡± Herebia looked at Aven and thought about it. The four Demigod Gems... It couldn¡¯t be that easy right? Even with the help of the Chaos Tome, this task is still quite hard. ¡°What about the Nine Seraphic Swords? Do I need to collect them too?¡± ¡°Collect them if you want. I don¡¯t care.¡± Herebia¡¯s mind jolted and she realized something. If this guy doesn¡¯t care about them then... ¡°You... you¡¯re not the one who made those Seraphic Swords?¡± Aven shook his head and clapped his hands. Entering the residence was Minela who brought a tray. It was filled with a pot of tea which Minela poured to the cups of Herebia and Aven. Minela bowed towards Aven after serving the tea and left the residence afterwards. Herebia took the cup and raised it to her lips as she took a sip.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. ¡°It was not made by me. I only make God Blades.¡± Herebia placed the cup down and mused to herself. So those God Blades were from you... Wait!? ¡°You mean that what you create is only God Blades?!¡± Aven looked at Herebia as if he was watching an amusing show. He drank a mouthful of tea and simultaneously placed it down on the table. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then... then who created the Crystal Shards?!¡± Shrugging his shoulders Aven tossed the cup in the air. The cup slowly turned to motes of light as well as the cup within Herebia¡¯s hands. Aven stood up and faced his back towards Herebia. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Follow me.¡± Herebia stood up from her seat while her soul was shaken. It was too shocking. Because... Even a god does not know the origin of the Crystal Shards! She also placed the probability of this guy lying but... what would he gain? He was a god and Herebia was only a mortal. There was no need to lie to her if he answered. If he didn¡¯t want her to know the truth, he could¡¯ve just refrained from answering. After all, a mortal can not force a god to answer! Slowly regaining her calm, Herebia followed after Aven. They passed through many residences, and they arrived at a wide field. In the center of the wide field, a humongous magic circle could be seen. Aven stopped for a moment and then turned back to look at Herebia. ¡°It¡¯s time for you to descend.¡± ¡°One last question.¡± Aven paused for a moment and then nodded his head. Not hesitating any further, Herebia voiced her concerns. ¡°Is... is Sequestia still alive?¡± ¡°Sequestia? Yes, she¡¯s still alive.¡± Instantly, a weird expression appeared on Herebia¡¯s face. That was because, the sole reason for her death was Sequestia. She was the one who cut off her escape route when she fought the Faerie Queen and was thus impaled by the power fo the Wind Crystal Shard. Sighing softly, Herebia erased those thoughts. She had a mixed feeling when Sequestia prevented her from escaping but within her heart... There was no speck of hatred. Aven looked quietly at Herebia who was musing to herself. After waiting fo a moment, Aven finally spoke. ¡°To descend to Exaltia, I must reconstruct a physical body for your soul first. Even though you have a body in here, This is the land of the dead, not the living. There is a fundamental difference as that physical body of yours now is made of your soul.¡± saying that Aven gestured Herebia to the big magic circle. ¡°What I mean is, if your physical body were damaged now, the soul would be affected.¡± Herebia proceeded forward as she absorbed this information to her mind. She planned to ask something but she found out that after entering the magic circle, she could not speak. ¡°You cannot speak in there because your body is being reconstructed. There will be a slightly distortion towards your soul and that will render you literally speechless for the entire process.¡± Aven walked towards the side and watched the entire process as he flicked his sleeve and a table and chair materialized in front of him. ¡°That will last for a while. Oh and, that will definitely hurt. It will feel like your body is being stripped cell by cell and reconstructed tissue by tissue.¡± After saying that Aven clapped his hand and Minela arrived swiftly. Just like before, she delivered a cup of tea to Aven and retreated after delivering it. Even if Herebia could not speak, she could still hear. After realizing that Aven just inserted her to a gruesome torture chamber, and the guy in question had the leisure to drink tea, Herebia ground her teeth in anger She was about to curse at Aven because even if she cant talk, Aven could just read her mind. But... the pain came quickly. Herebia¡¯s face contorted as she experienced the pain. Aven¡¯s description is by no means an exaggeration. It really felt like every cell of her was being scraped off and then pasted again in order to scrape off again. It was an eternal cycle of pain. As she could not speak, Herebia¡¯s scream was one of deathly silence. Aven looked at the sight and chuckled as he helplessly shook his head. The reason for them not being able to speak was not because of the soul distortion. What Aven said before was completely bullsh*t. It was because their scream would be too loud and is quite unbearable. So... Aven decided to cut off the sound inside the magic circle. Aven¡¯s followers view him as a god who makes a trial towards his subjects. They will be challenged by countless hardships which they must overcome in order to gain the recognition of this god. In reality though, Aven has a sadistic nature. He enjoys watching others suffer. While drinking tea, which is another one of his addictions, he watches his subjects suffer. But the only thing remarkable about him is that his challenges does not really cross the lines of those followers of his. As for Herebia, she was not an avid follower of Aven. So naturally, she stared daggers at the god who was busy sipping tea while watching her suffer. Thus... time passed as Herebia soundlessly screamed in pain. * * * * * Huff... Huff... While exhaling and inhaling large quantities of air, Herebia did not forget to look at Aven with a menacing look. She was prepared to unleash a few [Chaos Spears] towards this god. She had recovered her mortal body and the information of the Chaos Tome was within her head. She could easily blast out some of the spells of the Chaos Tome towards Aven if she wanted to. Even if she could blast them at him, she knew that her efforts wont even dent that guy¡¯s armor. ¡°He he, try it. If you could at least injure me then I wont be petty and award you with a God Blade.¡± Hearing the guy in question¡¯s provocation, Herebia hesitated for a moment but proceeded onwards. After all, what¡¯s there to lose? Herebia raised her hand and pointed a finger at Aven. She was prepared to unleash her most powerful magic towards this god, because she knew that even with it she could at most dent that guy¡¯s sleeve. The elemental particles in the air congealed at the tip of her finger and formed a black orb the size of a fist. Beneath the orb was a black magic circle. The orb sucked in the elemental particles indiscriminately as fire, water, wind, and earth entered into the ball. The energies inside the black ball was in chaos. There were no dominant type of energy as all energy nearby was sucked within it. This was the Chaos Tome. Aven smiled and casually raised his hand. ¡°[Zera]? That still wont be able to split my skin.¡± Herebia¡¯s eyes constricted as Aven guessed her killer move. This move was called [Zera] because of specific reasons. This move embodies Herebia¡¯s past. ¡°Try it. [Zera : Death]!¡± Peng! The black ball exploded and countless rays of black energy shot off from the black magic circle in Herebia¡¯s finger tip. The rays emitted an aura of death that could exterminate any normal living mortal. If this move was unleashed on a war, this would surely annihilate a thousand or so enemies. The black rays, which was as thick as an arm, sped forth like coiling black vipers. They sped through the air, seemingly hissing. Aven looked at the black rays in admiration. He raised his hand and a shining light coated his hand. He waved it in the air, meeting with the black rays which caused a explosion which buffeted the air around Aven. After the explosion subsided, Herebia¡¯s eyes constricted as she saw that only white dents, like knife marks, were present in the True God''s armor. Aven shook his head and stayed silent for a while. ¡°You know... the Celestial Codex succeeded.¡± Herebia processed Aven¡¯s meaning and she shook her head dejectedly. She thought, ¡®So that¡¯s why.¡¯ ¡°Don¡¯t be discouraged. I know that your Chaos Tome is still not that complete. Later when you descend down there, I am extremely sure that the human¡¯s magic will be of help to you.¡± Aven smiled and waved at Herebia. ¡°Come, now that you have a physical body, It¡¯s time to send you off.¡± Staying silent, Herebia hastily followed after the departing back of Aven. She stepped onto the shining tiles of Divas and proceeded onwards. Herebia was someone who rarely appreciates art so the lavish designs of this place did not really daze her. Of course, she still could somewhat know that Aven did not spare any effort when he designed this place. Slowly, Herebia adjusted her understanding towards this True God. Her impression of this True God could be explained in one sentence. ¡®A sadistic god who loves to drown himself in tea and is a big spender in renovations.¡¯ After a while, they arrived again at another open area. Just like before, a huge magic circle was in the middle of the open area. This time, Herebia was alarmed. Seeing this magic circle, she shivered and hesitated whether she should make a run for it or not. Just as she was about to retreat she finds that the servant of Aven, Minela was behind her. A foot descended towards Herebia¡¯s back and like a sack of rice, she was thrown towards the magic circle. ¡°Damn you, you big sadist!¡± Herebia could not help but curse out. She flew and entered the magic circle and as she was about to unleash more curses, she found that like the first magic circle, this was voice proof. ¡°Sadist, huh? Meh. Good luck in there. Oh and, that portal would definitely shred your skin and grind your guts while it will hammer your brains. You need to be disentegrated cell by cell for this to work. You think it will be easy just like your ¡®Exodus¡¯?¡± Aven looked over at the screaming Herebia and snorted. Well, technically she wasn¡¯t screaming. She just had her mouth open without any sound exitting it whatsoever. And thus, Herebia painfully descended to Exaltia. [3] The Unfortunate Guide The current realm of Exaltia is currently divided into four sovereign kingdoms. They were represented by the four great elements namely: The Terra Kingdom, Ignis Kingdom, Aero Kingdom, and Aqua Kingdom. Currently in the outskirts of the Terra Kingdom lay an enraged female violently cursing the name of a True God. ¡°Damnable god! You scoundrel! At least, you could¡¯ve left me some clothes!¡± All right, Herebia is currently stark naked and is in the center of a white sand beach. She violently grinded her teeth as made her way toward a nearby forest. Actually her clothes back in Divas was materialized due to Aven¡¯s power. Naturally, when she left Divas the clothes made of Aven¡¯s power would be gone like bubbles. The physical manifestation of the Chaos Tome which was the black book had also been disintegrated but the knowledge it contains have been imprented on Herebia''s mind. And so without clothes, Herebia¡¯s sexy curves were revealed to the world. No one was in the beach, which to Herebia¡¯s relief. Remedying this small problem, she used the Chaos Tome to materialize herself a black flowing dress. This design was not like the one she used before because Herebia now treats that design as a death flag. Herebia pondered on what she needs as that sorry excuse of a god did not even give her a decent starter kit. She only had her Chaos Tome. She paused for a while but she helplessly shook her head. What she needed now was information. Even a commoner could give her a lot. So what she needs to do first is simple. Kidnap someone and get every information she can get out of them. It would be a piece of cake as she had the Chaos Tome as her aid. She mused about his notion for quite sometime as she proceeded onwards the forest. She naturally cannot use Exodus as the lands of Exaltia would¡¯ve surely changed after a millennia. Buildings familiar to her would surely fall and many new infrastructure would surely rise. In actuality, Herebia is more curious about this eras sovereigns. She was curious as to how the humans divided the lands of Exaltia to themselves. Herebia knew that this division surely would¡¯ve caused some minor wars. ¡°Damn snake.¡± Snapping her fingers, a finger sized black ray shot towards a nearby tree and instantly killed a snake which was lying within. Herebia paused slightly and shook her head. This creature was too dumb for her to use. This continued for a while as a bloody trail of snakes were left in Herebia¡¯s treaded path. Normally, this forest was avoided by countless humans as this was the nest of snakes. Rumors also hints that a giant snake as tall long as 30 meters were residing within. Of course, rumors could be facts while rumors could also be merely rumors. Herebia¡¯s eyes flashed with a lazy light as she was bored killing snakes. This is boring. How long is this forest walk gonna drag on? Come on, stop the filler ¡®snake killing¡¯ and get on with it! As if the gods heard her wishes, they blessed Herebia with a jaw dropping, face falling, eye opening... dumb scene. Currently, not too far away from Herebia, was a thin man running like he was on fire. The man ran like crazy and rolled on the ground like a lunatic. Well, no one can blame him as literally his rear end is on fire. The man thrashed around like a crazy gorilla and dragged his butt along the ground in hopes of putting out the fire. Contrary to the mans expectation, the fire burned eternally and was as persistent as the smell of a smelly rock which was pissed on for a year. It was an eternal smell. Similarly, this flame was like an eternal flame. Watching the screaming butt-flamed man, Herebia literary smacked his forehead. Face palm. She shook her head as a wry smile hung on her face. She didn¡¯t know whether she should cry or laugh or do both of them at the same time. Surely she wanted an event to trigger but... Seriously?! Should she let the man burn to his idiocy or help and put out the fire? The man still seemed to not have sensed her presence. This was not because of a concealment technique, as Herebia was actually around a two meters away from him, which was fairly close. It was because... No sh*t sherlock. Who would pay attention to others when one¡¯s butt is literary so hot that it hurts? How did she chanced upon this scene? It was because, of this man¡¯s scream. Herebia deduced that a slaughter was happening and wanted to join in the fun but... After a while, the man had a superiorly awesome idea! He should undress! This was Herebia¡¯s concern in the first place. Why did the man not undress himself? He could be a dignified man of status who doesn¡¯t want to strip naked in the woods or just a guy who was dumb. And Herebia was on the spot because this guy was both a noble and someone who possessed a peanut sized brain. As the man in front of her unfastened his pants, Herebia¡¯s face sunk and she snapped her hand. The flames which was raging on the man¡¯s rear end disappeared in a flash. The felt much better and he couldn¡¯t help but let out a moan. He turned around and saw a great beauty dressed in black which was staring at him. Although he was now safe, he became vigilant at the sight of a unfamiliar face. ¡°Who are you?!¡± The man screamed at Herebia and he flicked his hand. A dagger appeared in his hand and he waved it at Herebia. Although this waving seemed threatening, Herebia looked at it as if looking at a kid who still stinks of milk who is handling a toothpick. Herebia¡¯s face turned calm as his opponent was only cannon fodder at best. She sighed and snapped her finger again as a thin cord of black energy as thick as a strand of hair wrapped around the dagger. Like a string, the black energy pulled away the dagger and it floated towards Herebia¡¯s hands, which shocked the man. She waved the dagger nonchalantly and flung it towards a nearby tree. The knife was covered with a sinister dark energy as it collided the tree.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Upon contact, the tree gradually dried up and withered. It became dead in no time. The man¡¯s face flashed with fear. If that knife did scratch him, it probably would have made him a human raisin. ¡°Um... Your too dumb for me to use much. Choose your fate: A) Human Raisin B) Mindless Puppet C) Human Vegetable.¡± Seeing that the choices seem so severe, the man gulped his saliva. He raised his trembling hand and wiped off the sweat in his forehead. ¡°I-is.. Isn¡¯t there another choice? Like a D?¡± Herebia looked at the man and nodded her head down. ¡°It looks like your not that dumb. Fine, I want a concise explanation about this place.¡± The man scratched his head as he didn¡¯t get what this beauty was spouting. This ¡®explanation¡¯ about this place was really vague. ¡°Sigh...¡± Sighing deeply, Herebia knew that a lot of information dump is probably going to happen. She once again snapped her finger and a thread-like black energy bound the man on his wrist and his ankle. Next, a thread connected him and a tree as he was pulled up in the air for as high as 3 meters. * * * * * It seems like the man was named Hilroy. He was a noble of the Terra Kingdom and they were currently at the border between this kingdom and it¡¯s neighbor, the Ignis Kingdom. The relationship between this two kingdoms seem to be quite rocky. ¡°So, why the flaming butt?¡± Hilroy frowned and chuckled wryly. That flaming butt scene was indeed humiliating and he was glad that none of his noble friends saw that scene. ¡°It was because of those Flame Practitioners of the Ignis Kingdom. They have come in a skirmish against the Terra Kingdom and the poor me, which was caught up in it, managed to luckily escape with only a flaming butt.¡± Hilroy paused for a moment and then slightly shivered. ¡°If I wasn¡¯t lucky enough, you would¡¯ve seen a human barbecue.¡± Herebia¡¯s eyes glittered as a new terminology was presented to her. Flame Practitioners. She was filled with curiosity and she deduced that this ¡®Flame Practitioners¡¯ were the cause of extinction of the four major bloodlines. ¡°Flame Practitioners, what are they?¡± Slightly taken aback, Hilroy was stunned. ¡°Where have you lived? Have you never walked out of the mountains? How are you dumber than me?¡± Her eyes twitched and Herebia nearly blasted Hilroy¡¯s face with [Zera : Death]. Dumber than you? Even a monkey would be smarter than you! ¡°Answer the freaking question or I¡¯ll cut off your toasted meat buns and stuff it into your mouth!¡± ¡°Okay! Okay, sheesh. They are elite soldiers, or should I say citizens, that have successfully learned the arts of Ignis Syllabus.¡± Herebia closed her eyes and twirled her black hair. It seems like this ¡®Ignis Syllabus¡¯ is quite similar to her Chaos Tome. ¡°Wait. If by going to obvious logic, there should also be an Aqua, Aero, and Terra Syllabus along with this Ignis Syllabus, right?¡± ¡°Well, yeah. Each kingdom houses a Syllabus each and those books are treated as priceless treasures.¡± ¡°Priceless treasures? Then why are some small fry like a soldier able to learn it?¡± Hilroy sighed at the word ¡®small fry¡¯. ¡°Although it is only a degraded version and not the original one, it is actually still fearsome. The Practitioners of a kingdom could be treated as their most elite soldiers ever.¡± Hilroy paused for a moment and then commented. ¡°By the way, what kind of magic is this? I never heard of a Syllabus generating black threads.¡± Snapping her fingers, Herebia ignored Hilroy¡¯s questions. The threads that bounded Hilroy¡¯s wrist, ankles and himself on a tree disintegrated into a black smoke which caused him to fall down. Hilroy was not completely useless as when he was released, he somersaulted in order to land on his feet. Unfortunately for him, his feet landed on a rock... While thankful that he was not that injured, he walked towards Herebia in a staggering manner. His butt was toasted and his feet hurts (It is not injured, it only hurts) which caused him to grumble. Herebia cast a sidelong glance at Hilroy and commented, ¡°Aren¡¯t you a noble? Can¡¯t you just heal yourself?¡± Hilroy looked at Herebia in a deadpan look. What? Heal myself? Is there even such a thing as good as that?! ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± Herebia rummaged through her memories and exclaimed in shock. That¡¯s right!.. The four bloodlines are extinct... ¡°Then if you can¡¯t, do you know someone who can somehow control water or fire without the aid of a Syllabus, heal themselves or teleport through the wind?¡± Scratching his head, Hilroy rested beneath a tree. He looked over at Herebia and looked up at the sky. ¡°Not that I don¡¯t know any, It¡¯s just that I don¡¯t know their names. Those abilities you spoke of could only be found in Aqua kingdom¡¯s people. They are known as ¡®Saints¡¯." Hearing the word ¡®saints¡¯ Herebia nearly let out a disdainful chuckle. So... the four bloodlines still exist, huh? ¡°Anyway, we are currently at the Terra Kingdom territory right? If so, become my guide and lead me towards the capital.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Hilroy agreed and looked at Herebia with a meaningful look. It seemed like he wanted to request something and he was calling over Herebia. Sensing his intentions, Herebia walked forward and arrived in front of Hilroy. Seeing Herebia, Hilroy¡¯s face lit up and he stretched both his hands towards Herebia. Herebia backed off and was on guard. ¡°What are you doing?¡± ¡°Carry me.¡± ¡°You wish. Walk on our own.¡± ¡°Please...¡± ¡°Want me drag you on the ground?¡± ¡°...¡± Sighing deeply, Hilroy stood up violently which resulted in him bumping on a branch of the tree which he was using for shade. Due to the impact, he became dizzy and walked forward like a drunkard. Unfortunately for him, he tripped on a rock which resulted in him planting his face on the ground. Herebia grimaced towards his misery as that was not the end. The branch which his head bumped to contained the nest of hornets which... you know. ¡°Wow. Such misery. You know, your lucky that you still survived after all these years with such bad luck. I bet if we went to the capital, something unfortunate would happen.¡± Sighing deeply, Herebia used the Chaos Threads to drag Hilroy with her as they proceeded towards the capital. After a hour, Hilroy woke up. ¡°Um... Lady?¡± ¡°What? You still alive?¡± ¡°Um... where are we going?¡± ¡°To the capital of course!¡± ¡°Unfortunately... that is the wrong way...¡± Herebia¡¯s eyes twitched as she held back herself from smashing her face on a rock. Right, she did not know where she was going... She sighed and proceeded towards the direction that Hilroy was pointing at. She walked onwards while a floating Hilroy who was tied to Herebia like a kite followed suit. In the deep recesses of the forest, two glaring eyes lay. They were crystal clear and are colored green. The iris was sharp and contained boundless ferocity and schemes. Through the eyes, the figure of Herebia and Hilroy was being reflected. Soon the eye returned to normal and it quietly closed the two green eyes. It lies in the forest... watching... * * * * * ¡°Look here Hilroy, know your place! My name is not for someone of your status to know.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a name! Don¡¯t be stingy!¡± ¡°Fine. Call me, Requa.¡± The duo walked forth in the forest as they met with countless snakes which were ultimately gorged out by Herebia¡¯s Chaos Magic. ¡°Say, that black magic of yours is quite powerful.¡± Herebia paused for a moment and then looked back at Hilroy. ¡°How powerful? Is it more powerful than that Syllabus?¡± Hilroy was about to respond but his ears twitched and his face turned serious. Herebia also noticed the incoming hostile¡¯s and she flicked her fingers in order to release Hilroy. Landing on the ground nicely, Hilroy brought out his dagger which he recovered after Herebia threw it at the tree previously. Soon, a red armored troop riding on red armored horses entered their sight. Leading them was... literary a snot filled brat. It was a girl whose age could not have exceeded 14. ¡°It seems like you could test out who is more powerful right now.¡± ¡°Who is that brat? Was that the one who burned your buns?¡± ¡°Yup. I think she did that for the lols.¡± Herebia looked intently at the approaching troop of soldiers which numbered 15. Licking her dry lips, her hands were getting ready to cast spells. She was itching for a good fight as Hilroy was not even her match. This was her first real fight after reviving. [4] First Encounter During these years, the Terra Kingdom and Ignis Kingdom have been in a state of war. Even though the lands are currently peaceful, this was because hey were in a standstill. They only launch short skirmishes against the other country. Stalemates in war are never temporary. Usually, stalemates would last for a while but when it is finally time to reveal all their aces, the one who lost would probably face utter destruction. Once you lose against the clash, your destruction would follow. So, the Kingdoms of Ignis and Terra have been preparing their aces. They are calling out an alliance toward the other two kingdoms, the Aqua and Aero Kingdom. While the Aqua Kingdom spoke of its neutrality, the Aero Kingdom on the other hand supports the Terra Kingdom. This leaves the Ignis Kingdom in a bad position in the eyes of the masses. But, the Ignis King was firm in his decision and he still continued to battle against the Terra Kingdom. Either he is confident because of a powerful backer or he is an utter fool. Although many view him as a fool, his generals, who knew of that their king¡¯s plans were complete opposite. They have blind faith that Ignis will win this war. The Ignis King namely Zeal, is a wise man. He knows what he could and could not offend. Based on his calculations, even if the Aero Kingdom did help Terra, 50% of their land would be ravaged by his troops. One of Zeal¡¯s generals, Ycarus was headed toward his residence on the outskirts of the Ignis capital. With a stern face, he bows to the soldiers who greets him along the way. Opening his house, what greets him is a ball of fire that was heading toward his nether regions. Seeing the insidious ball of fire that was threatening to toast his johnny, he could not help but give a wry smile. Ycarus flicked his sleeve and doing a complex hand seal, a red barrier sprung up around him to protect him against the incoming ball of fire. Peng! The ball of fire, which was the size of an infants fist smashed to the barrier and disintegrates. Snapping his hands three times, Ycarus summoned a red chain from his hands which shot toward a black silhouette inside the house. Like sinister red snakes, the chains shot forth and arrived briefly in front of the silhouette. The silhouette¡¯s hand rose as it performed the complex hand seal that Ycarus did earlier. However, the barrier that sprung up was quite dim and could be considered transparent. One of the chains of fire smashed at the barrier and broke it while the other chain clashed at the ankle of the silhouette. Ycarus grasped the air in front of him and the red chain pulled back toward him. Following which, was a pouting black-haired girl which was dragged by the chain. Chuckling, Ycarus released the young lady and patted her head. ¡°He he, My daughter is getting really good at using the Ignis Syllabus.¡± The dainty black-haired girl, Yassi, frowned and pouted as she chose to ignore her father. Sensing that his daughter¡¯s mood was sunken, Ycarus panicked a little. ¡°What¡¯s wrong Yassi?¡± ¡°Dad, I don¡¯t like Faye, kick her out.¡± Ycarus was taken aback by her direct answer. And then, after processing what her daughter said, he smiled wryly. The new mother in question was her new wife, Faye. Yassi¡¯s mother died in a skirmish against Terra once. This happened around 3 years ago and the small girl has already accepted the fact that her mother was dead. What she could not accept was her father marrying someone other than her mother. The marriage was already a month old, but Yassi was still grumbling about it. She was still around 15 years old and she knew that she needs to accept this new mother of hers but she found out that this b*tch was no more than a collar to her father. For her father, she trained in the Ignis Syllabus to attain power sufficient to murder Faye. For her mother, she trained in the Ignis Syllabus to attain power sufficient to bring down the one¡¯s that killed her mother. Driven by hatred and revenge, Yassi¡¯s training speed was abnormally fast as she has finished the 5th stage of the Ignis Syllabus. One more stage to go and she could officially become a Fire Practitioner. ¡°Sweetheart, Daddy can¡¯t.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s leave her then.¡± ¡°...¡± Seeing that her father became quiet, Yassi¡¯s face sunk and she raised her hand to pound at her father¡¯s chest. Thunk! Thunk! Her small fist clashed with Ycarus¡¯s red armor and made a low metallic sound. She pushed her body away from her father¡¯s embrace and stormed off to her room. Bang! She slammed the door due to her fury. She was definitely, absolutely, without a doubt, a snot-filled brat. Moments, later clicking sound was heard in her room and she came out wearing a red Flame Practitioner robe. Seeing her daughter dressed like that made Ycarus jump in panic. Using his body, he blocked her from the door. Yassi, with a deadpan expression, did various hand seals and a red magic circle sprung up from her hand. Directing the magic circle toward a wall, a red orb appeared in the middle of the magic circle. Ycarus was surprised as he could identify this new spell of Yassi¡¯s. It was the [Fire Blast] which was something only a 6th stage. Official Flame Practitioner could only use! ¡°Wait! Don¡¯t blast th-¡° Boom! A red pillar, as think as a grown man¡¯s thigh, blasted off from Yassi¡¯s magic circle. The blast resulted in the wall¡¯s reduction to nothing more than rubble. A huge hole was present and this was where Yassi made her exit. ¡°Dad, I¡¯m going to join a skirmish. I want to burn some butts in order to please myself.¡± Ycarus was speechless. Her daughter hid her abilities well. What is hard to care for is a brat for a daughter. What is harder to take care for is a talented brat for a daughter. Proud of her daughter¡¯s prowess and her early graduation to becoming a full-fledged Fire Practitioner, tears literary fell out of Ycarus¡¯s eyes. They were tears. Manly tears. ¡°My daughter is all grown up... Sigh. Be sure to return at dusk!" Thus, Yassi joined a skirmish today in hopes of burning some buns.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. As for her safety, she was a 6th stage Fire Practitioner. Instead of the soldiers protecting her, she would be the one protecting them. Still though, Ycarus still commanded a 7th stage Practitioner to tail her and keep her safe. * * * * * ¡°Sigh, leaving around the border is exciting but quite dangerous. What would happen to me if I meet with some Ignis soldiers?¡± A certain noble of Terra was saying inside of his comfortable carriage. He did not know but, his words have already set his fate in stone. This was Hilroy. His words were the catalysts of all of his misfortunes. ¡°Even then, If we did meet with those Ignis soldiers, I would have a sh*tty luck if we did meet a Practitioner. If we did meet one, a dog-sh*t tier luck would probably leave my butt flaming.¡± See, what did I tell you? He is the flaming star of misfortune that shall descend to the world and bathed them with an unlucky halo! He already waved the Death Flag and was willingly stabbing the flag on top of his head! ¡°Ha ha!¡± The soldiers, who are already familiar with this noble, laughed out loud. They were also calculating the chances of meeting the enemy. Unknowingly, this noble they were guarding already dragged them to their misfortune. Like a bomb whose fuse was lit, soon afterwards the explosion followed. ¡°My titanium dog-eyes must be blind! We met up with an Ignis skirmish troop, and an underage brat that is a Practitioner!¡± Yassi, acting like the teenage brat she is, charged forth at the group of Terra soldiers. She immediately cast a powerful spell, [Fire Pillar] at the soles of the carriage. The instincts of a warrior clicked inside of Hilroy and he immediately jumped out of the carriage he was riding. This was actually a stroke of good luck. Puu! Rising like a geyser, was a pillar of flame which gobbled up the whole carriage. What was unfortunate though was a tongue of flame licked at the direction Hilroy was in and it immediately set his pants a flame. ¡°Aaargh!¡± Screaming shrilly like a girl, Hilroy ran toward the forest with no destination whatsoever. Yassi looked at him and a satisfied feeling bubbled inside of her as she watched the man whose butt was a flame, running like someone whose... well, whose butt is a flame. Yassi did not really want to follow him up because she was certain that his cause of death would be his burned buns. What she focused on are the enemy soldiers in front her. Snapping her finger six times, exactly six fireballs floated around her. They were also the size of an infant¡¯s fist but she was thinking of the quantity, not the quality. This small fries could not force her to make a [Fire Bomb], which was six fire balls mashed together. And then, she killed without even batting an eye. How could she be affected by this? She still needed to achieve her goals, and killing would naturally come with those goals of hers. Hilroy, on the other hand was running forth and constantly screaming. You might not know, but he knows. Hell, you should guard your butt well so that you won¡¯t experience something like this. Well, if Herebia saw this, which she did, she would have commented that a certain True God could be watching on his floating islands while sipping a cup of tea. Hilroy dragged his butt on the ground and tried to quench her butt in water but... this was a Practitioner¡¯s flame. They were made of the most basic things, the elemental particles, and is basically unquenchable. Only when you remove the elemental particles that make the fire burn would it be put out. After ¡®the time it takes to drink a cup of tea¡¯, Aven finished his tea and he now knew that the amusing show is about to end. Next came the arrival of a woman. With a palm on her face, Herebia shook her head. * * * * * ¡°Were you the one who burned his buns?¡± ¡°And who might you be? Don¡¯t tell me your ¡®toasted buns¡¯ girlfriend?¡± ¡°Brat, shut your trap.¡± Herebia scratched her head as she remembered a certain someone who also acted like this when she was a teen. Squinting her tiny eyes, Yassi sized up Herebia¡¯s three sizes. Nodding to herself, she made a resolution than when she grows up, her curves would be more magnificent than this mysterious black clothe woman. She was silently preparing her most powerful spell as she sensed that this woman was not as simple as she seems. Everyone could not see, but Yassi could see. The elemental particles around this woman were in a frenzy. They were not floating like dust. They were speeding toward each other, ricocheting when they hit another particle. They were in utter chaos. She could sense a dreadful aura coming from her. The 7th stage Practitioner also noticed this as he slowly revealed himself. His face flashed with seriousness as he gazed at Herebia who was surrounded by rampaging elemental particles. ¡°So? Who¡¯s gonna attack first?¡± Herebia¡¯s eyes shifted and a glint of battle lust appeared within them. Her beautiful face slowly turned ferocious as she grinned like she was looking at her prey. The soldiers did not understand her abilities as they were not capable of sensing elemental particles. Herebia cast a sidelong glance at Hilroy and signaled him to back off. Sensing her intentions, Hilroy hesitated for a moment and then shrugged it off. He went to a nearby tree and sat down on it. For safety, he checked first if there was a hornet¡¯s nest. Luckily, there wasn¡¯t. Drawing their cold swords, the soldiers slowly dismounted their mounts as they surrounded Herebia and Hilroy. Yassi and the 7th stage Fire Practitioner backed off a little and prepared their respective spells. ¡°Heh. Small fries.¡± The expression of the soldiers darkened and they charged at her with their drawn blades. They shouted their battle cry as they ran for Herebia. Momentarily, Herebia¡¯s face became bored. She snapped her hand and countless [Chaos Threads] shot out from her fingers as those threads flew out like hair. They traveled in the wind like a black streak of light as those threads accurately bored through the foreheads of the soldiers. A handful dodged them but still the majority got their brains impaled. They immediately died. Yassi and the 7th stage Fire Practitioner was stunned by the sudden development and this made their spells unstable as they disintegrated into red motes of light. When one¡¯s heart was shocked, they will unknowingly stop controlling the particles which results in the failure of one¡¯s spell. Yassi looked over at Herebia as she saw the rampaging elemental particles being pulled by the black threads. The threads contained a concentrated rampaging power. This was why Herebia called her book the Chaos Tome. The handful who dodged the spell charged at this woman who can control hair as a sliver of fear appeared in their hearts. If they did retreat, they would be the next victims of the black threads. So... they decided to risk it and charge. Clicking her tongue, Herebia was quite disappointed. It was not because her spell did not wipe out the enemy, it was because her spell did annihilate them. She expected her enemies to be much stronger, which made her disappointed when she found out how true the words she uttered before was. That¡¯s right. They were nothing but small fries. Sighing deeply, she clenched her fist and flicked it open. When the fist opened, it generated a deep sonorous sound as a shockwave of black energy blasted out, Herebia being the epicenter of it. This was one of the weakest area-of-effect spell that Herebia has on her disposal. The shockwave touched the soldiers, which made them fly through the air like a broken kite. Their armor was dented backwards and a lot of them died. Only some was barely alive when they suffered the attack. Before those who survived even lifted their heads, a black thread immediately bored through between their brows and took their lives. Yassi was looking at Herebia and she was breathless. This woman is actually so powerful! She was prepared to overdraft herself and cast out a 7th rank spell in exchange of some of her longetivity. This kind of monster was not something she could face in her 6th stage power. Herebia looked over at Yassi and the 7th stage Fire Practitioner and grinned. She looked smugly at the two as she casually created two [Chaos Spears]. Moving forward, she flicked her hand and the spears flew like a dragon toward the two Fire Practitioners. Yassi and the 7th stage Practitioner¡¯s face flickered and they simultaneously cast a [Fire Barrier] around their body. Yassi¡¯s barrier was obviously weaker than the 7th stage Practitioner¡¯s but by not that much. Boring through the air, the spears collided with their barriers. Peng! The barriers survived and the black spears scattered in the air. Sighing in relief, Yassi regained her confidence and reassured herself that she could defeat this woman or at the very least, she could preserve her life. Seeing her spear deflected, Herebia was not angry nor furious, but she was actually delighted. Finally... enemies that could actually fight back! Hilroy looked over at the battle with interest as he rested in the tree. He knew how powerful this ¡®Requa¡¯ was and he knew that soldiers could not even touch a single strand of her hair. What bugs him though is if she will be pitted up against Practitioners. No matter what, Hilroy was enjoying the fight and was musing how lucky he was that not even a hair of his was touched this time. Well, you just raised another flag. Herebia looked over the two off them in glee as she flicked her hands. Two spears once again materialized but obviously these new spears were much stronger than the last. Yassi and the 7th stage Practitioner¡¯s faces fell as they saw that their enemy was not even using her real strength. It was a ¡®fool, this is not even my final form¡¯ kinda feeling. A smile grew on Herebia¡¯s face as she muttered to herself. ¡°Finally, people that could actually take some hits! Be a good punching bag, will you?¡± [5] Magic Duel ¡®The first thing you have to do in a Mage Duel is to set up your barrier. Your simply just a squishy shooting target without one.¡¯ - [How to Mage 101] In the middle of the forest of snakes, Terra Kingdom. Glistening red barriers were enveloping the Yassi and the 7th stage Practitioner as they unleashed their own respective spells. Boiling hot flames darted off from Yassi¡¯s position like a rain of arrows while a humongous red orb was fired from the direction of the 7th stage Practitioner. Herebia stepped forward step-by-step as she constantly deflects her opponents spells. A black spear of hers flies towards the orb while punctures it and caused it to explode. The other spear on the other hand, was spinning like a windmill in order to deflect Yassi¡¯s rain of [Fire Arrows]. Seemingly getting bored by this exchange, Herebia wanted to shake-up the rules a bit. She brought her hand together as she made countless hand seals. Yassi and the 7th stage Practitioner was surprised and they inwardly panicked. Spells that demanded hand seals were abnormally strong. If summoning this freakishly powerful spells does not demand hand seals, what does?! The rampaging elemental particles around Herebia turned silent and then twisted in front of her like a vortex. They swallowed up a substantial amount of the elemental particles around the area as slowly, a black sword concentrated in front of Herebia. Herebia let out a hearty chuckle as she grabbed the black sword. It was quite elegant looking and it¡¯s blade was colored black. The handle was long and the length of it reached about a meter or so. This was the [Chaos Blade], and Herebia considers this spell a mid-tier one. Sword in hand, Herebia readied her stance and ran towards Yassi who was still fending off the already weakened black spear. The young lady was already irritated as she used a ability not even his father could use. Instantly, a magic circle congealed onto both her hands and simultaneously two red orbs the fist of a baby appeared on top of the magic circles. This spell was none other than [Fire Blast]! But what was inconceivable was she could cast it on both her hands! This was duo casting! This did not depend on the stage of a Practitioner, it only depends on talent! Herebia jolted a little and then laughed. ¡°Duo casting? That is indeed good! Say, you must be quite influential right? If your father or mother is influential, I could think of sparing you!¡± Yassi¡¯s face flickered as her connection towards the two spells were almost cut. Those words her opponent used made her heart jump. But, she still steeled herself and ignored her opponents words as she jerked both her hands forward and two beams of read light blasted out of her palms! Bang! The two red beams flew towards Herebia as they threatened to consume her. Herebia looked at the means in amusement and then suddenly crossed her hands. She was also quite curious about how powerful her Chaos Tome was as she was about to test out something that is supposed to be a trump card! A [Zera] spell! Of course, its not [Zera : Death]. That would be too overkill. Hence, what she used was [Zera : Decelerate]! When she crossed her hand, the elemental particles of the surrounding area of 10 meters as diameter, suddenly went more rampant. The elemental particles went so fast as if they were slow as the two beams started to slow down! It was like fish traveling through mud! But... This was only in the eyes of Herebia! What the others could see was that the beams were traveling in a normal speed! Herebia looked at the slow beams and casually dodged them, as the duration of this spell only lasted for 5 seconds. She easily dodged the beams and rapidly approached the glowing barrier of Yassi. Yassi and the others on the other hand saw a ghastly scene! If in Herebia¡¯s eyes they were moving slowly, in their eyes Herebia was moving extremely fast! Well, if you did step out of the 10 meter range of Herebia, you could see that what Herebia see¡¯s is the correct one. You will see that Herebia was moving at her normal pace while her enemies slowed down like someone stuck in mud! When she saw how slow her enemies were, Herebia realized that she made a mountain out of a mole hill. She overestimated her opponents and used a spell that would practically overwhelm them. Seized with this realization, Herebia just shrugged it off. If they cant take it, then fine! You¡¯re future shall be cut off this day! While she calculated her moves, Herebia decided on what to do. She swung up her blade releasing a crescent shaped black beam. This beam waved through the ground as it cut through blades of grass and landed squarely towards Yassi¡¯s barrier. Without even batting an eyelid, Herebia changed directions and advanced towards the 7th stage Practitioner. Yassi saw a black blur speeding towards her and her eyes could help but widen and her iris shrink to a dot. She didn¡¯t expect this attack to be so fast! And their enemy also seemed to be on stimulants as she only appeared to be a blur in her eyes! Peng! CRACK! The result was within Herebia¡¯s computations. The black beam collided with Yassi¡¯s barrier issuing a loud sonorous sound and after a second or so, Yassi¡¯s barrier was cracked and fell apart. The destruction of a barrier made it so that the user will almost certainly temporarily be unable to cast. This was because the barrier was actually more than just that. It could protect it¡¯s user by using the elemental particles and it also collects elemental particles of the particular element a Practitioner trains in. In other words, inside of Yassi¡¯s barrier was a world of fire particles.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Due to the barrier¡¯s breakage, it will cause the other particles that were isolated outside to flow in. Like a crack of a dam, the other particles would throw off the fire particles and render the opponent to be unable to cast spells for 5 seconds or so. This 5 seconds could basically mean life or death though. The 7th stage Practitioner saw Yassi¡¯s barrier crack, as he felt a sense of deadly crisis. That was because Yassi¡¯s barrier only cracked and the black beam seemed to be only enough to crack it. One could say that the black beam could only break it, but one could also say that Herebia chose to spare Yassi. Remembering Herebia¡¯s words, the 7th stage Practitioner mumbled incessantly as he prepared to sacrifice his longetivity to perform a powerful spell. He was also elated to see that his opponent slowed down after 10 seconds and it seems like he could hit her for sure. Making countless hand seals, the 7th stage Practitioner suddenly raised his right hand which showed that it actually had it¡¯s index and middle finger extended out like a blade. Slowly appearing beneath his feet was a humongous magic circle as it shone with a burning red radiance. Herebia didn¡¯t hesitate as she proceeded forward. She knew that this her opponent¡¯s final move and she knew that her sword was enough. This was not arrogance due to her sword, it was because she knew that his opponent could not unleash it¡¯s full power. This was certainly because an energy only someone as knowledgeable as her could identify was floating out of the 7th stage Practitioner¡¯s body. This energy looked dull and gray but this was actually an energy too important for one¡¯s life. This was longetivity force or simply, life force. This guy was sacrificing his life force to make his most powerful move. Although she had knowledge about this life force, she knew that her species actually had an abundant amount of this energy. Wasting an amount like this would be negligible for her. But, not for humans. Humans were limited in their longetivity, they would only last for about 60-90 years where 90+ year old humans are as rare as phoenix feathers and dragon scales. Although they were rare, some could even last for 100 or so but Herebia believed that humans which could last for as long as this would almost positively have an ancestor which was a member of the four bloodlines. Surging upward, the fire elemental energy coiled around the 7th stage Practitioner¡¯s body. He brought down his hand and faced it towards Herebia as his hand formed a claw. The claw was covered with fire elemental particles as it slowly congealed to a ethereal dragon head. His eyes flashed ferociously as he drew back the claw and instantly struck it out! Boom! The speed of the dragon head claw surpassed the sound barrier as it emitted a sonic boom ans blood sputtered from the 7th stage Practitioner¡¯s arms. They were shredded by the air when he broke the sound barrier. The dragon head flew towards Herebia at a blinding speed and the coiled energy followed after it. The energy slowly congealed to become a dragon body! Although Yassi¡¯s situation was in a mess, she still saw what her guardian did. She silently gasped as she understood how powerful this spell was. [Serpent Dragon Claw], ranked around the 9th stage spells. Why? This was because it could be used by both the 8th and 9th rank but the 9th rank were the only one¡¯s who could unleash it¡¯s real power. This was because... the 9th rank could unleash two dragons and have them coil around each other and multiply their destructive prowess! Swishing through the air, the serpent dragon sped forth and shot towards Herebia¡¯s direction. Herebia¡¯s expression grew serene as this spell was something his sword alone cannot deflect. It seems that even if she overestimated them before, this time she underestimated them though. Her expression suddenly relaxed as she realized that this attack was nothing more than a dragon-shaped beam. It was grander and more powerful. Herebia once created a spell book and she clearly knew what a beam would mean. It mean¡¯s that it will always go straight. Casting her gaze backwards, she saw a tree and a man. Herebia mused to herself on how unlucky this guy really was. She augmented a [Chaos Rope] around her waist as she used it to pull herself away from the serpent dragon¡¯s path. She voided the dragon with a big margin as a feeling of pity slowly surfaced from her heart. She pitied the unlucky guy who was about to be burned by the serpent dragon. Herebia mused to herself on where she should bury the unlucky fellow. Contrary to her expectations, the guy dodged afterwards and guffawed proudly about his ¡®magnificent dodge¡¯. But... the tree was still struck by the serpent dragon. Like a being bombed, the tree exploded to smithereens. When a tree explodes what comes after? That¡¯s right, projectiles. Because of Hilroy¡¯s close proximity towards the tree... the one who faced the full brunt was him. Splinters was stuck to his body as half of his body, the one who was facing the tree, looked like a porcupine. Alas, Hilroy¡¯s luck was still as bad as always. The pity inside of Herebia¡¯s heart was gone as she ignored the fool behind her and concentrated on his enemy. She rushed forward and headed towards the 7th stage Practitioner¡¯s direction. But when she saw the enemy, something extremely surprising happened. Herebia... Herebia... Herebia tripped on a rock. ¡°F*ck!! Puew!¡± That was her last curse and the sound of her face slapping on the ground. It seems like she had taken some of that guy¡¯s bad luck. Well, that was really not because of her luck. This was because she was surprised about his opponent and it resulted in her tripping. This was because her fast momentum was instantly depleted rock bottom as she realized that her opponent was already lying down on his butt and passed out. Gritting her teeth, Herebia slowly rose up and slowly walked towards his passed out enemy. She thought something for a moment and then realized that it was because his opponent squeezed out his life force that this happened. This opponent of hers over exerted himself. Sighing lightly, Herebia cast a glance at Yassi as she saw that the brat was looking at her in fear. She nodded her head slightly as she realized that the brat had given up in fighting and accepted her ¡®fate¡¯. Arriving in front of the 7th stage Practitioner, Herebia paused for a moment and then placed her hand on his forehead. She then fiercely grabbed it and dragged it upwards until the man seemed as if he was standing. Hilroy was still grimacing in pain as he sat down on another tree. Like plucking out feathers, he plucked out the ¡®porcupine spikes¡¯. When he got towards his butt, his unlucky halo once again activated. From the top of the tree came down a meter long brown snake. While Hilroy was enjoying his unluckiness, Yassi was shivering in fear. She never expected to meet a truly formidable opponent such as this woman. This woman could actually beat or even mope his father rather easily. Was this the place of her death? But... Yassi slowly connected the dots as she realized that this woman valued her. She did not kill her with the sword beam or pursue her after her barrier was destroyed. If she did, she would have been sliced like tofu from the woman¡¯s blade. A glimmer of hope appeared inside her heart. She could live! But... what worried her was the question wether this woman would release her or not. Surely this woman wouldn¡¯t let her go home, right? Although her life could be somewhat said to be secured, she still trembled. Was this woman going to use her as a slave? Or will she serve towards a Mage¡¯s experiment? Surely she knew that her opponent¡¯s magic was weird and it was neither of the four kingdom¡¯s Syllabus. Watching the woman raise the man, Yassi was prepared to see blood flow. What surprised her was that no blood flew out. Instead, Herebia¡¯s hand which was holding the man¡¯s forehead glowed ominously black as a truly terrifying sight happened. Hilroy, who had fended off the fragments and the meter-long snake, watched with wide eyes. This would¡¯ve been his fate if he didn¡¯t guide Herebia on this forest. Yassi¡¯s face fell as she pushed the urge to vomit down her throat. This sight in front of her did not necessarily mean bloody but it was certainly scary. Her eyes grew wider and wider as her iris constricted further. She was watching someone become... Someone becoming a raisin! The body of the man slowly dried up as if his muscles were disappearing. His bones grew more accentuated and he looked more bony and malnourished. The eyes of Herebia was glowing with a pale black light as countless information flashed inside of her brain! This was a [Zera] spell! The [Zera : Scanner]!!! [6] Exquisite Black Choker [Zera : Scanner] One of the most useful and deadly [Zera] spell in Herebia¡¯s disposal. She could exert the elemental particles through the five orifices of a person and puncture through their brains. Through the [Chaos Thread] that comes from Herebia¡¯s brain that are connected to her nerves which are emitted out of her palm, she could execute this spell. The [Chaos Threads] will slither in on the person¡¯s face, though their orifices, and towards their brain. When the threads connect to the brain, the rampaging particles will run amok the brain and will destroy it in less than 10 seconds. While this is happening, the rampaging energy would circulate throughout the target¡¯s body through their nerves. The rampaging particles would evaporate nearby liquid, specifically blood, which results in a person becoming nothing more than skin and bones. While this could crush another¡¯s brain to a pulp, which is a purpose is almost negligible as the most important effect of it is described in it¡¯s name. Scanner. Herebia could scan the target¡¯s memories for useful information. Although the time of 10 seconds is not enough to learn everything, it is enough to search for information for one topic. After ten seconds, one could not cast this spell again on the same target as literary, that target¡¯s brain would be nothing more than brain soup. Thinking of her plan, Herebia used this in order to search for a certain person. She was interested towards this person as the person in question could probably give her more information than that unlucky fool. The one Herebia searched for was naturally, Yassi. After ten seconds of drying up and convulsing like an epileptic, the 7th stage Practitioner was clearly, without a doubt, dead. Herebia released her grip as she exhaled a red colored fog. This was some residue blood from her retracted [Chaos Threads]. Opening her eyes, Herebia inhaled and the pungent metallic smell of blood was in the air. Although Herebia was used to slaughter, she was never fond of blood. She shook her hand in front of her, seemingly shooing away the blood fog. After getting rid of the blood fog, Herebia¡¯s eyes darted to Yassi. Seeing this scene, Herebia¡¯s eyes twitched as she shook her head and sighed. There, on her usual spot, Yassi was bowing down to a pool of vomit. Yassi tried her best not to fire off, but the sight of a man turning to a raisin was still quite unbearable. Herebia walked towards Yassi, who was still in the process of cleaning up her mouth. The teen finished cleaning her face and turned around for Herebia who was heading towards her. Her face paled as she raised her hand to cast a spell. Although she was fighting back, she knew that she was dead meat. Although there was a chance that this woman did spare her for something, She still wanted to retaliate. She was getting desperate. ¡°Don¡¯t try to resist, I won¡¯t harm you.¡± While saying this, Herebia fingers flicked as [Chaos Threads]bound Yassi at her wrist and her ankles. Her treatment was similar to Hilroy, but Herebia hung Hilroy upside down while she only restrained Yassi. Slowly recovering from the sight of the ¡®raisin man¡¯, Hilroy looked at the bound Yassi. He was not too interested in this Ignis Practitioner brat. Sure, his butt was burnt, but he did not have too much a grievance to her to warrant him wanting to kill her. When Hilroy saw Herebia tying up Yassi, he wanted to shout out that Herebia was biased. Herebia hung him upside down but why not hung this brat? Although Hilroy didn¡¯t look like it, he is a closet petty person. Yassi glared hatefully at Herebia while she shook her whole body in order to wishfully loosen the black threads. Like a wish, this was almost impossible to happen. The threads did not loosen and Herebia was getting closer. Feeling that she won¡¯t be able to escape this situation, Yassi turned towards her plan B. She would use her silver tongue in order to talk herself out of this calamity, or at least have a slight advantage. ¡°You wench, tying me up, do you know who my father is?!¡± Herebia as amused as she watched a depiction of a worm wriggling its body in the form of Yassi. Although Herebia was not interested in girls, as she was a woman herself, she has to admit that a huge percent of men would find this brat good looking when she grows up. That is if... she will grow up. Pursing her lips, Herebia raised her head high as she looked down on Yassi. This motion of ¡®looking at someone as if they were ants¡¯ made Yassi feel a formless oppressing pressure ¡°Of course I know who you are, much less your father. Yassi... daughter of one of the most trusted men of the Ignis King himself...¡± Herebia paused for a moment and then smiled gleefully. Hilroy was thrown to the back of her mind, as she thought of how much information someone like Yassi¡¯s father possesses. Hilroy, on the other hand, felt his ear ringing. His heart pounded inside his chest as he breathed raggedly. His eyes darts from left to right while his iris¡¯s would shrink and enlarge. His mouth was agape and his hands were trembling. Daughter of one of the most trusted men of the Ignis King himself...Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! He was no fool as his mind was crystal clear right at this moment. Hilroy knew that only a single position of the military could Herebia be talking about right now. Only someone like that would... ¡°Daughter of the Ignis King¡¯s right-hand men, the Ignis General, Ycarus. Am I right, little Yassi?¡± Ending her words, Yassi¡¯s heart entered a panic. She was seen through! How? This information was highly confidential and most people, even in the Ignis Kingdom, knew that the Ignis General had no daughter. Her existence was a highly confidential secret. As for why? That would be a secret which only Ycarus and the Ignis King knew. Quite opposite to Yassi¡¯s state, Hilroy was entering a maddened one. His hand greatly trembled, his teeth clenched tightly, as popping sounds came out of his knuckles. Fuming with endless hatred, his feet bulged with their hidden muscles as she charged forth towards Yassi. Like a ferocious beast, Hilroy charge with bared fangs which greatly surprised the two girls. Yassi was frightened as her eyes glossed over, seemingly on the verge of crying. This mad man extremely frightened her... Herebia frowned slightly as she detected the boundless hatred and animosity exuding from Hilroy¡¯s eyes. This was a sign that a blood grievance has possibly existed between him and Yassi¡¯s family. Sighing lightly, Herebia also did the same treatment towards her companion, bounding him up. Looking at the tight-lipped star of misfortune who was glaring hatefully at Yassi, Herebia¡¯s cold voice sounded out. ¡°Speak. What do you have against this girl?¡± ¡°She must die! Or at least I need to f*cking vent my anger!¡±. Hilroy¡¯s eyes grew redder as he struggled greatly from Herebia¡¯s [Chaos Threads]. ¡°I¡¯ll just vent it out of her in replacement of her father! Requa, don¡¯t you dare to stop me!¡± ¡®Requa¡¯, shook her head slightly as she quietly made the thread binding Hilroy more brittle. ¡°Graaagh!!¡± Issuing a maddened howl, hidden strength burst forth from Hilroy¡¯s body as the black thread binding him broke off. Herebia stared at him coldly as she didn¡¯t stop him from advancing. Hilroy took this opportunity and dashed towards his mortal enemies daughter. Pop! Pop! His knuckles tightened to the brim as he prepared to struck a punch towards Yassi¡¯s face! Yassi struggled fiercely against the black threads but she was not able to recreate Hilroy¡¯s miracle. She could not break free. Due to the impending danger that approaches her, she bit her lower lip as she assumed a fetal position. Slowly sliding down her cheeks, was a tear. Bang! Yassi had clenched her jaw in preparation to the impact but the pain that she expected did not appear. She slowly opened her eyes as she saw a fist buried half an inch in front of her face. This was a terrifying strength. ¡°Goddam it! F*ck!¡± With crazed eyes, Hilroy restrained his other fist as he retreated towards a nearby tree. His fists were itching and after he arrived near the tree, he somehow found a way to vent his feelings. Boom! Bang! BANG! Hilroy¡¯s punches heavily landed on the poor tree. The tree shook violently as Hilroy¡¯s hands slowly transformed into a bloody mess. He continued punching the tree non-stop while cursing loudly. The tree was waist thick before and stood mightily. Now though, huge indents riddled it¡¯s trunks and seemingly on the verge of collapsing. Hilroy ran out of steam as he kneeled in front of the tree while breathing raggedly. But then, even if Hilroy was being emotional, the unlucky meteor of legends still shone his brilliance. The tree that was seemingly collapsing, snapped and issued a ¡®tsak! tsak!¡¯ as it fell down towards Hilroy¡¯s direction. Panicking slightly, Hilroy stood up from his kneeling position as he ran the opposite direction. Herebia reasoned to herself that this fool was too dumb to dodge towards the side. After sprinting a good distance, the collapsing tree caught up with Hilroy. What was fortunate though was that he was only hit on the crown of the tree. Herebia had absolute faith that if Hilroy was pounded by the main trunk, he would be reduced to meat paste. Hilroy was trapped inside the crown of the tree but he walked out of it immediately. He was bruised slightly but not too much. This was simply the result of some branches hitting him. What was unfortunate though is, Hilroy didn¡¯t come out alone. This forest deserved it¡¯s name, the Forest of Snakes. Hanging on Hilroy¡¯s shoulders were two brown meter long snakes. Hilroy¡¯s eyes twitched slightly as he cursed the gods for his misery. He had the right to curse though because... cough... Aven... cough... Anyway, Herebia didn¡¯t expect that Hilroy would be safe time and only get a few scratches. Seeing the snakes made Herebia nod her head in recognition. It was like she was saying ¡®that¡¯s the way it is supposed to be¡¯. The dumbfounded Yassi stared at Hilroy while he was being threatened to be ¡®kissed¡¯ by them. Her eyes was still a bit red and her cheeks was still wet. How unlucky is this fellow? And to think that she almost pissed her pants because of this fool? ¡°Pretend that he doesn¡¯t exist. Anyway, as I was saying before, you are named Yassi.¡± Sobbing lightly, Yassi calculated her words. ¡°Who are you? What do you want from me?!¡± ¡°Call me Requa. As for the thing I want from you, do you think you can offer something that would garner my interest? What I want is your father, Ycarus.¡± Yassi was greatly surprised and her eyes went wide. Her mouth opened widely, so wide that you could probably stuff a egg or two right now. ¡°What do you want from my father?! Are... are... are you a secret admirer of his?!¡± Hearing this words almost made Herebia trip foot again. Secret admirer? Your sister is a secret admirer! You whole damn family is a secret admirer! I, Herebia, am not a fan of his! Regaining her composure, Herebia¡¯s face fumes with rage. ¡°What secret admirer?! I want info! Info about this continent! Who else knows a lot of thing other than a general?!¡± ¡°Info? Then what do you get for kidnaping me?¡± ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know where the general is. And is discussion¡¯s arise, I could use you as a weapon against you¡¯re father.¡± ¡°You!.. You cannot do this!¡± Herebia¡¯s face turned solemn as she made many hand symbols. A black magic circle the size of a thumb appeared in front of Herebia¡¯s index finger which was pointed at Yassi. [Zera : Life]!! The magic circle shone with a ghastly black light as it emitted a finger thick black energy which coiled around Yassi¡¯s neck. The black energy tightened around her neck and she felt many elemental particles boring through the pores of her neck. The finger thick black energy slowly crystalized into the form of an extremely exquisite black choker. It had the design of a crescent moon on the front as many runes were engraved around it¡¯s elegant designs. If one looked closer, this runes were the exact same runes that appeared in the magic circle of Herebia! The black light on her index finger slowly dimmed and Herebia looked straightly at Yassi. ¡°This black choker is a device that could instantly behead you on my command. My elemental particles have permeated through your neck and all I have to do is make then rampage in order to kill you.¡± Hearing her threat¡¯s, Yassi¡¯s face fell as her complexion paled. Her face looked aghast. Almost looking like a corpse. ¡°You... You mean...¡± ¡°I can control your life and death. From now on, you will be my slave. If you behave in a good way, maybe I¡¯ll promote you to a disciple.¡± Yassi¡¯s eyes widened as her despair was accompanied by the hateful howls of a certain somebody who was still struggling against the snakes. This choker around her neck was literary a guillotine. She knew that, from today onwards, Yassi was bound by this woman named ¡®Requa¡¯ and her fate was thrown into pieces. But then... she thought of something... ¡®Could... could... could this woman kill that wench for me?!¡¯ [7] Do It Yourself! ¡°If I will serve as your slave, at least promise me two things!¡± ¡°You think you could bargain in this situation? With a snap of finger, I could guarantee that your head will roll.¡± Scratching the black choker around her neck, Yassi behaved like an enraged lion... well nope, like a spoiled brat. She thrashed and turned around on the ground while she was constantly bickering. How uncouth of her status as a 14 year old teen, much less the daughter of a general. ¡°Okay, okay... Goodness. You sure are a handful. Let me guess... You want me not to kill your father and you want me to kill your mother, Am I right?¡± ¡°Eh?! How did you know?!¡± Astonishment colored Yassi¡¯s face as she faced ¡®Requa¡¯. Herebia on the other hand is pondering over the request of this kid and ultimately... shrugged it off. ¡°All right. I wont kill him... but as for your mother I will think twice. Killing the King¡¯s sister this early is not good for me.¡± ¡°... How did you know all this?¡± That¡¯s right. Ycarus¡¯s new wife, Faye is the sister of the Ignis King, Zeal. Herebia was confused at first about this arrangement but she easily deduced many reasons or possibilities. ¡°Let¡¯s just say that I ¡®stole¡¯ information from that guy right there.¡± Herebia turned her head and pointed at the shriveled corpse which was targeted by her [Zera : Scanner]. ¡°If you don¡¯t want to end up like that, spit out real information and don¡¯t try to lie on front of me.¡± Yassi looked at the shriveled corpse¡¯s direction and she couldn¡¯t help but shiver. She retreated backwards but she looked like a worm as Herebia still did not free her from the [Chaos Threads]. Seeing her unsightly action, Herebia snapped her fingers in order to disperse the threads. The black threads around Yassi¡¯s ankle and wrist slowly disentegrated into black motes of light. Yassi checked her wrist as she found out that not even a trace of being bound was visible. It was like she was never tied up in the first place. While the two women was establishing their slave-master relationship, Hilroy was lying on the ground like a dead dog. He was breathing raggedly and his eyes was wide open. Although he killed of the snakes and was not bitten, he was still suffering from injuries. His butt was burnt, his head had a bump, his fists was a bloody mess, his body was riddled with hornet stings, and his skin was full of scratches. One could mistake him for a dead person if it wasn¡¯t for his rising and falling chest. Hilroy felt that this was his most unlucky day ever. Even if before, he was still unlucky, he was not this unlucky. Normally, he would only step on dog shit or trip on his own foot. Now though, It was like his misfortune intensified and if it had a gauge-o-meter, Hilroy was sure that his misfortune level would break the gauge. He wondered what the cause was and he couldn¡¯t help but stare at the two women who was currently bickering to each other. One was a extremely curvaceous beauty while the other was a budding one. Hilroy was only 24 this year, and he couldn¡¯t help but admire Herebia¡¯s assets. This mysterious woman was quite powerful and unfathomable. But... Herebia¡¯s assets was not the one he should be yearning for right now. What Hilroy needs is... Immediate medical care! What do you think this bro for, An immortal?! ¡°Requa! I beg you! Please... Please at least give me some herbs!¡± The two women stopped bickering as their attention was diverted into the fellow that they almost forgot. They both jumped in fright as they saw the state Hilroy was in. ¡°Your still alive? I thought you were dead!¡± The both of the women couldn¡¯t help but exclaim. Their voice sounded out at the same time, almost sounding like a heavenly resonance. They were both suspicious of how could someone still be alive in this situation. Are you in the lineage of cockroaches? ¡°F*ck both of you! Of course I am alive! But... I need medical care or I would be dead!¡± Yassi took a sidelong glance at Hilroy and went for her horse. The horse was not far a way, but it¡¯s legs was trembling. It must¡¯ve watched the fight and was scared, almost pissing his... does horses wear pants? Um... As I was saying, Yassi went to the horse and rummaged through the bag on it¡¯s saddle. She brought out a medical gauze and a circular wooden container. It looked like a can. Yassi hesitated for a moment and then approached Herebia. ¡°Big sis Requa, should we waste our medicine for that guy? I know that I only have this one left.¡± She did not restrain her voice and Hilroy heard what the brat said, making him feel despair. Herebia looked over at Hilroy for a moment, and the placed a hand on her chin. ¡°Apply it on him.¡± Herebia was not bothered by Yassi''s change of tone as she allowed the brat to call her anything that is at least not disrespectful to her. Being called ''Big sis'', Herebia just shrugged it off like usual. Hesitating for a moment, Yassi could only sigh as she went towards Hilroy¡¯s direction. She applied the medical paste on Hilroy¡¯s hands and wrapped his fingers in gauze. Yassi also reluctantly applied it towards Hilroy¡¯s scratches and hornet stings. Although Hilroy was hesitant in letting this brat treat him, he only sighed and muttered things to himself. He considered that venting his anger on this girl was not worth it. He was a simple guy and he did not want this girl''s death. What he wanted was revenge on Ycarus, not on his daughter. So, his attitude regarding this brat slowly turned back the way it should have been. After she finished applying it, she threw the container towards Herebia¡¯s direction. Herebia caught it and proceeded towards the direction of a horse. The horse, like Yassi¡¯s horse, was scared of her. ¡°W-wait!..¡± Hilroy got up and staggered for a moment. Herebia glanced back at him as she saw Hilroy¡¯s head bowed down almost in humility. His body was fidgeting almost like a shy girl. This made Herebia¡¯s mouth uncontrollably twitch. She was expecting that this guy was going to spout something dumb.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°Um... Requa... that brat, Yassi missed a spot...¡± ¡°What spot?¡± ¡°My... my burnt butt...¡± Whoosh! Thud! In her anger, Herebia threw the ointment¡¯s container towards Hilroy¡¯s face. It landed squarely on his forehead and made him stagger back three steps. He caught the ointment, which rebounded off from his forehead. Hilroy touched his forehead as he felt something amazing happening! His forehead... his forehead... was swelling in a pace visible to the eye! ¡°Aaargh! What was that for, Requa?!¡± Holding his forehead tightly, Hilroy grimaced in pain. He knelt on the ground and immediately opened the ointment to apply on his forehead. Damn... the thing that gave him this pain was the one who should¡¯ve relieved his pain. Ah... Irony. Herebia¡¯s face twisted and she turned her head with a swish. Her voice cold, she answered Hilroy with a commanding tone. ¡°Do it yourself! After you are finished, we will depart!¡± While applying the ointment on his buns, Hilroy looked at Herebia with a puzzled expression. ¡°Depart? Where?¡± Herebia looked at Yassi, and then flashed a glint of decisiveness. ¡°We go to little Yassi¡¯s house.¡± Hilroy was surprised and he exclaimed in surprise. But as he considered whose house it was, he didn¡¯t hesitate any longer. His eyes was filled with hatred as he decided to go for the Ignis Kingdom. He was leaving behind his noble status on the Terra Kingdom... Well, every young men wpuld love the prospect of adventure right? Hilroy was not too much worried about his status. If he left, he will leave no one behind... Those noble friends of his could not really be considered friends, at most acquaintance¡¯s... His family... ¡°I¡¯m coming.¡± Walking towards a horse in a serious manner, Hilroy declared towards the two women. He boarded the horse, much to Herebia¡¯s surprise, without a problem. She mused to herself, ¡®Did this guy¡¯s star of misfortune aura lessen? No accidents this time?¡¯ Looking with a sharp gaze towards Hilroy, Herebia had her eyes squinting. Although Hilroy cant see Herebia staring at him as he was bowed down and caressing the horse, she could still feel the sharp gaze of a woman. Herebia dismissed this chance as a ¡®lucky¡¯ time and she commanded her horse forward, She guided it and went besides Yassi. Herebia looked back for a moment, towards the massacre that she did. Hilroy had already prepared himself as he stripped one of the guards naked and posed as an Ignis soldier. Herebia nodded her head and couldn¡¯t help but comment that this fool has times when he at least thinks. ¡°Hey little Yassi, burn the corpses.¡± Sighing, Yassi turned towards the corpses and couldn¡¯t help but think about an excuse for his father. As she was thinking about an excuse for a party wipe, she used her hands to form hand symbols as balls of flame was blasted out one by one. The balls of flames headed towards the corpses, as they exploded one by one. They were burned until not even a bone was left. The remaining horses, those without a master, was also burned. The horses that were been rode by Herebia, Yassi, and Hilroy silently became gleeful that they were chosen to live. After a minute or so, the corpses was no more as they literary returned to ¡®dust¡¯. Herebia looked over once more and then spoke. ¡°Little Yassi, guide us towards your daddy. Don¡¯t misguide us. I have already made my promise... I will not kill him and I will kill her...¡± Yassi was silent as she cast a glance at Herebia. She paused for a moment and then commanded her horse towards a direction. Herebia followed behind her, so did Hilroy. She was not sure if this Requa would keep her promise but she knew that she didn¡¯t have a choice. There is also a confidence inside of her that his father could at least collide with this woman. The horses galloped inside the forest as the three¡¯s silhouette slowly became a blur. * * * * * After traveling an hour or so, the sun was already over head of the group. Yassi was still galloping forward but the group was not in a forest anymore. Rather, they were in a road which was surrounded by farmlands. This was the farmlands of Ignis and as they passed through villages, the villagers would always salute towards them. Herebia and her group had been traveling for a while now but they were still not tired. Suddenly, a sound rang out. ¡°Grrrr! Grrrr! Grrrr!¡± A deep sonorous sound rang out and Yassi¡¯s face showed vigilance. She looked around, alert, as she expecting the attack of a Beast Species. Hilroy also turned solemn as she slowly drew his sword, which he stole from the corpses, from his waist. ¡°Big sis! Be careful!¡± The humans have heard myths about the Beast Species. They were humanoid creatures but they have animal ears with matching claws, fangs, or poison. To summarize it, they were extremely dangerous. Only a powerful Practitioner is qualified to tangle with them. Yassi and Hilroy looked around but their faces were riddles with confusion. It was because... They were f*cking in the middle of the farmlands! Of in the distance, you could also see farmers waving their hands in their direction and a kid peeing in a tree trunk. What Beast Species? They could¡¯ve been partially correct if they were in the middle of the forrest but farmlands?! Seriously? ¡°Grrrr! Grrrr! Grrrr!¡± The sound rang out again and both Yassi and Hilroy noticed that it was coming behind them. They looked back and a deadpan faced Herebia greeted them. The sound was like a beast so Yassi deduced that a Beast Species must¡¯ve been sealed inside of her big sis, giving her unimaginable power. Well... at least that¡¯s what those knight novels said so... Hilroy looked at Herebia and he almost laughed. He clenched his jaw tight but a sound still escaped. ¡°Pfft!.. Oops.¡± Herebia glared at Hilroy and was almost about to decapitate him when her stomach vibrated with a frightening intensity. ¡°Grrrr! Grrrr! Grrrr!¡± Like the waves of the sea, her clothes rippled around the stomach area. Yassi stared foolishly while Hilroy was trying hard not to let out a sound. Although the star of misfortune was trying not to, Herebia can still hear his stifled laughter. And came the first problem along the long road to the Ignis capital. Problem No.1: Food. ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± * * * * * As one would probably suspect, commonly, the main character should be a big eater. Sorry to disappoint you but Herebia is concerned about her sexy body and is always on a diet. Under a willow tree, the three of them ate a roasted bird which is as big as a turkey. Herebia shot this down after she declared her intention to eat. Her companions had no say on the food but they did not regret anything. This was because it was simply delicious. The meat was roasted brown without a single charred spot. The meat had released it¡¯s oil and it was glistening gold. When you eat it, the meat almost melts in the mouth... Who the hell would believe that?! Meat melting inside the mouth? That¡¯s crazy! Almost like Hilroy winning the lottery crazy! Yes, the meat is delicious but it does not melt in the mouth. Like regular meat, you chew it. There is no such thing as melting meat. Enjoying the breast, Hilroy looked at the direction of Herebia. He couldn¡¯t help but voice out his thoughts. ¡°Hey, Requa, how are you so powerful? What was that black energy like thing?¡± ¡°Yeah that¡¯s right, Big sis Requa, what was that black thing? And why are the elemental particles around you always in a frenzy?¡± Yassi¡¯s head also raised as gnawed on a wing. Her interest was piqued and she couldn¡¯t help but chime in. She was still little uncomfortable with this ¡®toasted buns¡¯ but she already tossed that aside. While they left the forest, she made a silent decision that she will forget about this guy almost making her piss her pants. Holding a leg, Herebia listened towards both of their bickering. Although this was her first day in here, she had already made some companions. She naturally estimated that they will probably be curious about her Chaos Tome. ¡°I still cant tell you. What I can assure you is, If you don¡¯t make a mistake and betray me, I would probably teach you this in the future. That said, I am curious about you Yassi.¡± Dodging the question and offering a new topic, Herebia looked at Yassi. ¡°So young yet you are already this proficient at controlling fire... Don¡¯t tell me you...¡± Yassi¡¯s eyes widened and she raised her hand to stop Herebia from continuing. Herebia squinted her eyes and she nodded her head slowly. ¡°So that¡¯s how it is... Huh.¡± Herebia continued to gnaw at her leg but found that it was reduced to bones. She threw the bones away and looked at the bird and found out that they have already finished eating it. She leaned back against the tree and burped. ¡°We rest for a while... Let¡¯s depart after half an hour.¡± Her two campions nodded their head as they rested against the tree. This tranquil atmosphere lasted only for a while when... guess... that¡¯s right. Hilroy found out that he was resting besides poop and he almost... um... you know... It seems that the star of misfortune is at it again... [8] Ignis Capital, Fiera ¡°Say, Bro Hilroy... How do you survive with luck like that?¡± A certain brat couldn¡¯t help but ask out of curiosity. She touched her nose and then maneuvered her horse to the side, dodging a something lying in the floor. This was... god, who still doesn¡¯t know about the star of misfortune? Hilroy groaned as he got up slowly from the ground. He reached out his hands for a distant figure, which was his horse standing a meter or two away from him. The horse snorted in disdain, seemingly not putting this guy in it¡¯s eyes. How did this happen? Well, As they proceeded on their journey, Hilroy was not the only one being baptized by unluckiness. His aura also included his horse. The horse would suffer misfortune, like Hilroy, and as time goes it deduced that it¡¯s luck was due to this rider of his. In other words, the horse ditched him. After being ditched, Hilroy was enraged as he charged forth towards the horse. The horse, in retaliation, landed a kick squarely on Hilroy¡¯s stomach. Herebia watched her two companions bicker back and forth. Seeing them acting like this, Herebia¡¯s eyes glazed over as she became dazed and she entered her own world. She slowly sighed as she became melancholic and remembered her past life, 1000 years ago. ¡®Hey, Odessa! Can you please¡ª¡® ¡®Odessa, Can you----¡® ¡®Mindus Zera, I order you----¡® ¡°Hey!¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Herebia snapped out of her dazed state when she heard the resonating voices of the old and young duo. She shook her head slightly as she dismissed her old memories. After being silent for a while, Herebia looked up and sincerely smiled. !? Yassi and Hilroy¡¯s mind shook as they saw Herebia¡¯s smile. It was definitely alluring and held the charm of a beauty and a monarch. Hilroy couldn¡¯t help but reassess his estimation of Herebia¡¯s femme fatale powers as he deemed this woman extremely dangerous. This smile could bring the fall of a nation. Yassi took a second look at Herebia and then glanced down on her body. She aspired to have an extremely beautiful body like Herebia¡¯s someday but as she saw this woman smile, this brat knew that no matter how hard she tries, she could not eclipse her big sis¡¯s beauty. Hilroy narrowed his look as he slowly climbed his horse. The horse was reluctant but it still let Hilroy climb on top of it. He gazed at Herebia for a moment and then he slapped the rein to make the horse proceed. ¡°So... you could actually smile like that...¡± Hearing his words, Yassi couldn¡¯t help but nod her head in support. This cold and arrogant big sis of hers actually exuded an aura of ... a virtuous woman. The smile on Herebia¡¯s face shook for a moment and then she returned back to reality. Slowly, her smile was plastered with a cold glint and her eyes flashed with arrogance. Her virtuous smile slowly turned into neutral. She faced her companions and then she shook the reins of her horse, accelerating it. The two were left on the back as Herebia led them forward. Yassi turned her head to face Hilroy, only to find that the person in question was also looking at her. Their eyes locked for a moment and then they separated. The old and young duo, although they always fight, at this moment have come to the same conclusion. This big sis of hers was not a woman who acted like this before. Something made her change. As for what made her change, the two of them could only speculate. This was a topic that they naturally knew that Herebia wanted to dodge. Hilroy sped up his horse and so did Yassi. They slowly approached Herebia as the three of them continued to travel. * * * * * Ignis Capital, Fiera. The Ignis Capital was a city bustling with activity. Not only is it the most populated city on the entirety of the Kingdom of Ignis, it also had many attractions. The first was the King¡¯s castle. Although it was called a castle, it probably should be called a ravine. The ravine on a mountain was renovated into a huge fortress and the throne of the king was in front of a pool of lava. The Ignis King always lives on style. Although only rumors, it was stated that dragons had once lived on this ravine. The pet dragon of the king, was rumored to have been discovered inside of this ravine. Due to this matter, the castle was named Dragon¡¯s Ravine. See? Dragons as pets. The Ignis King lives on style. The second attraction was the Ignis Syllabus Academy. This was the main branch and where all talents converge and graduate to become a Fire Practitioner. Almost all of those who learnt the Ignis Syllabus came from this place. Of course, there are also exceptions. Like our little Yassi here, who was taught by her father personally. Although this self taught Practitioners could be considered an inferior grade, this was not true for Yassi because her father was much more capable than the normal teachers of this academy. This was not an exaggeration as generals needed a lot of understanding of the Syllabus for their ultimate weapon to work. Around the outskirts of this city rode three figures. One of them wore an elegant black dress, one wore a soldier¡¯s battle attire, and the other wore the official robe of a 6th stage Practitioner. The group had arrived just after dusk as the sun had still not touched the horizon. They stopped for a while on the outskirts and Yassi finally gave in and blurted out her wishes. ¡°I cannot be seen like this. I must change my clothes first.¡± Although this brat realized this mistake, it was already too late. Her exit before was particularly breathtaking. A brat wearing the attire of a 6th stage Practitioner blasting open the general¡¯s walls, who wouldn¡¯t know such big news? Herebia had searched for information about this brat using her [Zera : Scanner] and she naturally knew of this dolts mistake. Just as the brat was removing her robe, almost exposing her pantsu, Herebia raised her hand and made her stop. ¡°Stop. You are already a hot topic in this city. Better use this opportunity to shake things up.¡± In the end, Yassi brought her robe back down as her face flashed a disappointed light. Hilroy was face palming as he gently shook his head. This little devil in front of him was already practicing seduction arts. Paying this brat no heed, he advanced further. Herebia remained emotionless as they entered the city. This place was bustling and the wide roads could even fit 4 carriages traveling side by side. Her mind traveled around her memory as she was reviewing her understanding of this General Ycarus.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. Casting her glance at a nearby restaurant, Herebia motioned the horse towards it. Yassi and Hilroy followed suit as they left their horses at the restaurant¡¯s stables. They entered it and Herebia found a seat right around the corner. The young and old duo glanced at each other and then looked at Herebia. Their gazes were weird so Herebia felt uncomfortable. She opened her mouth as she scratched her hair in irritation. ¡°What do you two want?¡± ¡°Um... Big sis, do you have money?¡± Hearing this, Herebia¡¯s movement froze. She stayed like this for a while as her mind processed what was happening. In the end, she finally moved and she immediately clutched Hilroy¡¯s and Yassi¡¯s head. ¡°Treat me or I¡¯ll turn you to raisins.¡± Yassi and Hilroy¡¯s eyes twitched as they wanted to curse out loud. Damn your sister! You¡¯re so powerful yet you cant even buy yourself a meal?! We should¡¯ve robbed some robbers a while ago! Yassi sighed as she fetched out a metallic card out of her robes pockets. ¡°Sis, you do not have to threaten us... We both could already be treated as your slaves. Our money, your money. Your money... will only be yours.¡± ¡°Hey! You brat, I am not this woman¡¯s slave! Do not attach such titles to me. Suffer your slavery on your own!¡± Ignoring the two bickering dolts in front of her, Herebia looked intently at the card that Yassi was holding. She couldn¡¯t help but look at it earnestly, almost using her Chaos Tome to knock it to her in order to seriously study it. Why was she interested in this thing? Because this thing exuded an elemental particle that she herself could not control. The fifth element, Light. Herebia contemplated wether to ask or not but her conclusion was that she had nothing to lose other than her pride. She, a 1000 year old or so being, is asking such trivial things to a human who is still in her menstruation. ¡°Brat Yassi, What is that metal card thing in your hand?¡± The two stopped arguing and simultaneously cast a weird look at Herebia. Their facial expression was completely exuding the ¡®Dafuq? How are you so dumb? You must be dumber than me¡¯ kind of meaning. Herebia cleared her throat to signal, and Yassi snapped out of her daze. She gazed at her master for awhile and then spoke out with doubt staining her words. ¡°Big sis, you don¡¯t know what this is? Seriously?!¡± ¡°Just tell it already, the food is here.¡± Herebia looked of at the side as she watched a rather handsome waiter place down her food. After placing down the trio¡¯s food, Herebia noticed that the young man was secretly glancing at her. Her face tightly became a victorious grin as she slowly reached out for her spoon and fork. ¡®Alas... another young man has found me attractive. This old me still has so0me charm left.¡¯ ? Hilroy and Yassi looked questioningly at Herebia, as they voraciously stuff food in their mouths. This duo was quite suited to each other, which Herebia admits, but their age gap was too large. Herebia also considered Hilroy¡¯s grudge... This two peaceful beings would probably clash in the future... ¡°Anyway, what was that card?¡± ¡°Oh you mean this Gold Storage Card? With the power of this card, I could absorb gold into this like a storage. One ounce of gold would be recorded here as 1. Here, take a look.¡± Yassi stood up as she pointed at her card while flashing it to Herebia. ¡°You see? It says here ¡®10,000'' right? That mean that this would have 10,000 ounces (283.50 kilograms) of gold inside.¡±[Rai: Correct me if i''m wrong plz...] ¡°And? Does this amount mean a lot or is it only a daily allowance for someone like you?¡± Yassi didn¡¯t know whether she should laugh or cry. You sister! Daily allowance my ass! ¡°This is not my daily allowance! It is my yearly! Even medium scale bandits would lust for this card!¡± While they were chattering, a man who was watching from the sidelines suddenly saw Yassi¡¯s choker. His eyes widened as he found out that this necklace... exuded a powerful amount of elemental particles! This must be a Magic Enhancing Tool and a fairly powerful one at that! He calculated his chances on being able to steal it away. He deduced that the brat was a capable fighter due to her robe but a 6th stage Practitioner was no match for him so he didn¡¯t think of her too much. As for the ordinary soldier among them, he just cast his glance at him with no wariness whatsoever. This was because ordinary soldiers could not possibly beat a 6th stage Practitioner while this man himself could. So that makes this small fry look like easy EXP. As for the woman who was actually the most mysterious of them all, the man could not sense anything out of her so he thought that she was someone this grunt and Practitioner guarded. She was the one that this two is protecting. The man cautiously glanced at the bystanders as he prepared to make his move. When he was about to stand up, the black clothed woman looked at him with her mysterious eyes. ¡°Young lad, you don¡¯t know who you are offending. Value your life.¡± The man¡¯s heart skipped a beat and then his resolution steeled. What he wanted to steal, he will steal! That black choker will be mine! Flicking his fingers, the man simultaneously summoned two fireballs to distract his opponents. Hilroy and Yassi reacted immediately as Hilroy drew his sword, deflecting one of them, while Yassi countered it with her fire ball. While the two of them were distracted, the man has already built up his barrier as a shining red orb was surrounding him. He slightly smirked as the battle prowess of this two people were within his calculations. ¡°Bro Hilroy, block that bastard for me! I will need to cast a barrier first!¡± Hilroy complied as he brandished his sword and stood in front of Yassi, who was forming hand symbols. Herebia glanced at the man who was trying to steal from them for a while and then closed her eyes. ¡°Yassi, this guy should be good practice target for you. I¡¯ll hold him off while you do a fireball, as small as you can.¡± While this four people were fighting, the people inside the restaurant has already stormed off including it¡¯s management. The four of them were the only people inside so Herebia decided to make a move herself. She formed hand seals quickly as she pointed at the direction of the man. Slowly materializing from her hand was a marble sized black orb. The man looked at the black orb as he sensed a energy similar to the black choker¡¯s. Pah! From the sound of fingers flicking, black snakes flooded out of the marble sized black orb. The black snakes whose body was as thin as a finger, dash through the air as they bound the man¡¯s barrier. The barrier was on the verge of cracking and so the man was forced to abandon his spell in order to strengthen his barrier. His heart pounded violently as he remembered this woman¡¯s warning from before. It seems that he had smashed to a titanium wall today. Maybe after a year, this day would be celebrated as his death anniversary... Yassi watched from the side as she had already cast a fire ball which was the size of a small marble. Much more smaller than Herebia¡¯s, it is almost the size of a pinky nail. ¡°Done. Now what big sis?¡± This brat was eager because she knew that this woman¡¯s technique were unique and powerful. If she could actually learn some, she was confident that with her abilities she could actually develop a fifth Syllabus. That shall be named... Yassi Syllabus. Just imagining it makes this brat¡¯s eye shine like polished armor. ¡°Suck in all the energy around it.¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Yassi was surprised and was dumbfounded. She knew what will happen if she did this and that event was not something she wants to see. She will definitely become minced meat, along with old man Hilroy and this water Practitioner side character. The only one who has the ability to survive would be... Big sis Requa... ¡°No questions. Just do it, I will tell you when to release it.¡± The man who had intended to steal was inwardly crying in despair. The black snakes would not let him go and his offensive was impaired because of this snakes. They clung to his barrier like immortal leeches and was hard as f*ck to remove. What was worse, he was treated as a target practice for this woman¡¯s disciple... His luck was too dog sh*t this day causing his imminent death. Speaking of dog sh*t luck, have I forgotten someone you ask? Oh you mean our own unlucky star of misfortune? You need not to ask... That guy is now sleeping soundly on the ground. His head was bleeding profusely showing that he was knocked out from behind by a strong impact force. Well, opposite to his title, he was lucky to survive this head bash without his head becoming mashed potato. He was not that unlucky to hit his own head... rather standing atop of Hilroy was a young lad that was holding a great sword. He looked around 18 year old, and as Herebia looked at this new variable... she somehow identified this guy to be troublesome. Because... on the forehead of this guy was one of the Four Great Marks of Mastery. Looking like claw scars, the Mark of Strength was present on this lads forehead. If this guy seriously smashed Hilroy''s head, it wouldn''t be an exageration for Hilroy''s brain to become soup and his would body becoming ground meat. Herebia¡¯s eyes darkened as she met with an extremely powerful the very first day in this land. She knew well what the Mark of Strength signified and how powerful one would be if they possessed it. Because the Mark of Strength... represented the creature who had the mightiest innate strength of his generation. He is worthy of the title... War God. "Stop Yassi. You can train later... For now, This young lad here is much more important." Herebia, whose left palm were open, clenched it tightly as the black snakes doubled in size as they easily broke the barrier and devoured the man inside. "Aaaah!..." That was the man''s last shout of agony as the snakes devoured even his bones. The black snakes disintegrated into black motes of light and Herebia focused her attention on the ''War God''. Yassi noticed that her guard was missing and saw that Hilroy was already in the verge of death. She gasped slightly as fear appeared in her eyes as she hurriedly hid behind Herebia. Staring coldly at her new and unexpected opponent, Herebia''s face turned incomparably serious as her mouth slowly curved into a grin. "War God... Let''s see if you could actually compare to that guy... Prepare you fool!" [9] This Generations War God! At the Ignis Capital, Fiera. A certain young lad was standing before a restaurant as his stomach growled like a mad tiger. He tried to hold it in but this stomach of his was quite persistent and rumbled like thunder. The young lad had a striking look and his hair was spiky. He sported a extremely rare type of clothe which was probably not made in the Ignis Kingdom. On his back, a great sword was attached to his back as the sight of it increased his charm. The great sword, though, had a particular peculiar feature. A chain was attached on it¡¯s pommel and at the end of the chain, which was a foot long, hanged a rusty old key. The lad didn¡¯t dare to tamper too much on this great sword and because of this the rusty old key still remained. ¡°Sigh. Adventuring the world sure is hard. This is only the 2nd Kingdom that I have explored... Okay! After this, I¡¯ll have to head towards the Terra Kingdom!¡± The lad pumped up his fist with determination as the claw like mark on his forehead shone with a white light. He was about to enter the restaurant when... ¡°Out of the way, fool!¡± ¡°Hey dude! Don¡¯t push!¡± ¡°Uwah, Let me out! Trouble is brewing!¡± Those who bumped on this young lad felt that they had hit a solid wall and suffered pain. They simply glared at him for a while before speeding off in many directions. The young lad watched them leave in panic with a bewildered expression. Soon, the management of the restaurant themselves came out running. The lad quickly grabbed a passing waiter as soon as this waiter bumped into him. At first, the waiter wanted to escape from this youth¡¯s grip but he soon found that this guy¡¯s strength was too monstrous as his strength could even rival a Casket Armor. The waiter looked at the young man with fear visible in his eyes as cold sweat drenched his back. ¡°What do you want?! Let me go!¡± The lad looked at the man and then smiled amiably. He then loosened his titanium-like grip as he opened his mouth. ¡°Why is everyone panicking? Is there a fight?¡± His eyebrows raised in surprise as the waiters voice quivered a little. ¡°Y-yeah. A fight broke out, but not just any fight! It¡¯s a fight between Practitioners! Normal people like me will included in the ¡®collateral damage¡¯ for sure!¡± Hearing the man¡¯s nagging, the young lad immediately let go of his arms as he positioned himself in front of the door. He tightly gripped the handle of his great sword and a smile slowly crept up his face. ¡°A fight with Ignis Practitioners! I have been thirsting for one ever since I arrived in this city. Hopefully, their barrier could actually withstand my strength so that I could enjoy a good fight.¡± Unlike those rash heroes in stories, the young did not kick the door open like a mighty hero would. He opened it leisurely and found out an interesting scene. Sha! Sha! Sha! Black snakes whistled throughout the air as they bound the barrier of An Ignis Practitioner. These snakes packed gripping strength a level or two beneath this lad¡¯s fingers, but he knew that with that quantity it could directly pulverize a human body into nothingness. Sss! The snakes, who the lad knew that is a product of magic, flicked out their forked tongues. The man inside the group of black snakes was forced to throw away his offensive in order to barely defend himself against this snakes. The young lad watched for a while and determined that this black clothed woman was absurdly strong. His eyes began shining as he imagined fighting with her. His right hand slowly went to his back as he stealthily drew his great sword form it¡¯s sheath. !! Hilroy, who was quite familiar towards the sound of sword drawing, noticed a guy drawing his great sword. This guy was young but not as young as the 6th stage Practitioner brat. Hilroy threw a sidelong glance at Herebia and then looked at the bound enemy. Only then after reassuring that he could leave Yassi to Herebia, Hilroy focused his attention towards this interloper. He readies his sword using his left hand (Hilroy is left handed). Great sword in hand, the young lad pounced towards the direction of Hilroy. Hilroy knew that a clash between a heavy sword like a great sword and a light sword like his sword would eventually end up him losing, so he decided to sidestep this one and dodge. Shua! While the young lad was half-way through his slash, his hands jerked as the blade was completely stopped. Hilroy¡¯s eyes widened as he saw his enemy stopping the mad momentum of an overhead great sword chop with his bare strength alone. The sword, who stopped in mid-slash, traveled clockwise around the young lad as it¡¯s pommel threatened to smash Hilroy¡¯s head into a pulp! During this time, Hilroy¡¯s senses kicked back on. He used his sword and placed it at the back of his head! His non-dominant arm, the left one, was holding the sword¡¯s blade as drops of blood could be seen dripping out. Hilroy had used his sword as a shield! He had hoped that, with this metal sword blocking the pommel, the impact would actually be lessened. At least even if he will be knocked out, Hilroy wanted to survive! Dang! A low resonant sound was heard as Hilroy¡¯s sword bended like tofu. The impact shook his senses as his hair swayed forward. His vision immediately blacked out, like the sun was covered in eternal darkness. His sense of touch was still there as he felt liquid staining his face. This was blood... The young lad looked slightly surprised as his blow didn¡¯t end in death. He looked at this ¡®lowly grunt¡¯ and nodded in appreciation. ¡®This grunt is more skilled than the rest. His ability to survive rivals that of a cockroach.¡¯You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. After praising the grunt, the young lad noticed the woman¡¯s gaze. She was gazing directly to him. This guy knew that the most powerful one of this particular group is this woman. Plus, this black clothed woman was performing a magic which he has never seen before. ¡°Stop Yassi. You can train later... For now, This young lad here is much more important.¡± The woman tightened her arm as the snakes doubled in size. Constricting and biting, the snakes easily crushed the man¡¯s barrier. As the crowd of snakes rushed upon him, the man¡¯s face was filled with despair. "Aaaah!..." That was the man''s last shout of agony as the snakes devoured even his bones. The black snakes disintegrated into motes of light as the woman focused her gaze towards this young lad. Yassi, the 6th stage Practitioner, suddenly noticed that her guard was missing and saw that he was already in the verge of death. She gasped slightly as fear appeared in her eyes as she hurriedly hid behind the black clothed woman. Staring coldly at her new and unexpected opponent, the black clothed woman¡¯s face turned incomparably serious as her mouth slowly curved into a grin. "War God... Let''s see if you could actually compare to that guy... Prepare you fool!" The young lad¡¯s eyes constricted for a moment and then returned to normal. He was surprised that this woman knew about the title ¡®War God¡¯... After a slight moment of hesitation, his eyes shone brightly as they exuded battle lust. ¡°War God? I am still not worthy of that title... Call me Oliver if you may.¡± ¡°Oliver, huh... Call me Requa then. You are the first enemy that is worthy of my power.¡± Wasting no more time in talking, Requa made countless hand seals as her fingers produced after-images. Chaos was evident in the air as two corporeal black swords materialized besides Requa. She grabbed the left one and threw it towards Oliver while she kept hold of the black sword on her right. Swoosh! Oliver held up his great sword as he prepared to deflect the incoming black sword. Requa, who was approaching him, had her mouth perked up into a grin as her hand made countless hand seals. When the black sword was about to hit Oliver¡¯s great sword, the expected deflection didn¡¯t happen. Upon impact, the sword stayed the same way. It¡¯s tip was touching Oliver¡¯s great sword and it¡¯s body floated in mid-air. !! ¡®Trap!¡¯ Oliver was about to step back but was indeed too late. Bang! The black sword exploded as countless black shrapnel flew off! The initial explosion knocked off Oliver¡¯s sword in mid-air, while coming out after the explosion was sword fragments! Strangely enough, the sword fragments only flew off a single foot and then... All of them sped off towards Oliver¡¯s direction only! Originally, shrapnel based spells were dual-edged swords as the explosion would encompass all directions available. This type of spells were generally used in long range and was used in war. But... this spell had all the shrapnel fly towards a single target! This does not only make sure that all shrapnel hit the opponent, it also made the spell effective in close range combat! Pu! Pu! Pu! Countless black fragments impaled Oliver¡¯s body as he experienced pain. In the fights that he fought while exploring the Aero Kingdom, he had not faced an opponent this cunning and strong. His battles lust increased as his muscles tightened, which made the shrapnel that was stuck on his body fly off towards the floor. Requa was not surprised of what was happening as she threw the second sword toward¡¯s Oliver. While the second sword was flying forward, Requa¡¯s hands continued to form hand seals. Oliver¡¯s face turned serious as the Mark of Strength on his forehead shone with a white light. His foot stepped madly in the floor, causing spider web-like cracks to form. Boom! Oliver¡¯s body turned into an after-image as he used his monstrous strength to step back and catch his flying great sword. After firmly gripping the great sword... Requa¡¯s black sword was already near him and was aiming for his chest! His lips curved into a smile as his great sword was raised with it¡¯s blade pointing down. Requa, who was about to explode another sword, had her eyes shine as she recognized this gesture. ¡°Breaker!! [World Quake]!!¡± Oliver bellowed out a war cry as he used his strength to plunge down his great sword, which was named Breaker. The sword plunged down on the restaurant¡¯s floor like tofu as a strange energy bursted out of the great sword! ¡®Damn! This guy possesses the Breaker! Need to flee!...¡¯ Bang! The air bursted out in all directions as the black sword Requa threw was disintegrated into nothingness. All the seats and ornaments of the restaurant was blown off and flew out of the window. Requa, Yassi, and the grunt was strangely not blown away, but they felt that a huge stone was weigheing down on them. They were immobilized. The power of gravitational pull. Requa squinted her eyes as she underestimated her opponent. Having the Mark of Strength was still acceptable but also possessing one of the Nine Seraphic Swords? She would have big problems. Her mind raced as she computed her chances, but the variable of Yassi and the grunt, named Hilroy, was holding her back. She needed this two to be alive. So now what? Escape. She needed to escape. Why? Because this gravitational pull was not the deadliest effect of the Breaker. This was only the initial effect while it¡¯s most deadliest ability will be shown after 30 seconds or so. This gravitational pull was only something that would make opponent¡¯s immobile for thatt time in order for them to taste the real power of the [World Quake]. While Requa could still move herself in this situation, the brat Yassi and of course the seriously injured Hilroy wouldn¡¯t be able to do so. Requa needed to evacuate this two out of here. Requa¡¯s hand seals finished forming as she cried out the name of the spell. ¡°[Zera : Decelerate]!¡± While the first time she used this, she had cast the spell around her, making her body the epicenter of the spell. Now though, Herebia cast the spell on Oliver as the center making his speed drastically fall. While speeding down the opponent was her first goal, Requa¡¯s hand seals still continued to form. Speedily, she had formed her second spell, which she had cast only on herself. ¡°[Zera : Accelerate]!¡± Due to the two spells being cast simultaneously, their time limit was reduced only to 3 seconds. Requa used these short three seconds to do three things and that was to grab Yassi, grab Hilroy, and run out of the window. Although Requa could win this battle withthat spell, she didn''t use it because of the need to evacuate this two. This was her priority. Is she had used it, even someone with a Nine Seraphic Sword, she could still kill them easily. If she had used it though, the collision of power would definitely kill off Yassi and Hilroy. Oliver only saw his opponent speeding up, almost teleporting, and running off. After 3 seconds, he had discovered that his opponent has already fled, leaving him alone in the restaurant. Oliver slowly shook his head as he pulled out his Breaker, canceling the [World Quake]. Staggering backwards, Oliver sat on the floor as he looked at the direction that Requa had fled from. His grip on his Breaker tightened incomparably for a moment and then it slowly relaxed. He sheathed his sword at his back as he sat their quietly while his mind became absent minded. He looked at the countless dents on the floor which once had black fragments stuck to them. Then he looked at his clothes and found that they were in tatters. He slowly shook his head while he jumped off from his sitting posture. Oliver had no intention to chase after that trio as he knew that they had already made it far, and he could not really cause a big ruckus in this kingdom. After all, even if his body possessed the Mark of Strength, he would still have to be careful around here because of their king. He ran towards a window in the opposite direction as he jumped out of it and wandered the streets. Oliver found people looking at him weirdly because of his torn clothes. He looked like a beggar wearing a noble¡¯s torn clothes. Due to the gazes, Oliver decided to look for a clothe shop first. He found one and bought one that was extravagant looking and was colored gray. Fixing his demeanor, no one was looking at him like that anymore. Then, his stomach rumbled as he remembered why he was looking for a restaurant in the first place. Oliver was hungry. He subconsciously went back to the district where he wrecked a restaurant and had once again saw the wreckage. His eyes slowly glazed as he remembered something that was once mentioned by thatguy. ¡°Chaos Tome...¡± After looking at the wreckage for a while, Oliver proceeded towards the direction of another restaurant as he finally filled his stomach. [10] Silly Couple Huff! Puff! Huff! In a dark alleyway along side the streets of Fiera, a woman was using the walls as a support as she tried to catch her breath. This woman was Herebia/Requa and besides her was Yassi who was examining Hilroy¡¯s wound. The hit that Hilroy sustained was based on pure impact. The wound at the back of his head was not that huge but it still was not that small. Luckily, the impact didn¡¯t really damage his brain much as most of the impact¡¯s power was absorbed by the sword, which was abandoned in the restaurant. Blood was not oozing out of his wounds now, as Yassi had already tore off Hilroy¡¯s clothes in order to use as bandage. Although Yassi had a brattish disposition, this will only be evident towards those she hates, those she doesn¡¯t know, and last but not the least, her father. Although Yassi had only met Hilroy for a day, she considered this ¡®unfortunate uncle¡¯ which had once scared her, as an acquaintance. She found out that she could be at ease talking to this guy, so her impression of him improved minute by minute. Herebia, after resting for a while, shot her gaze at the unconscious Hilroy and then towards the sun. A quarter of the sun was swallowed by the horizon as Herebia estimates that night would come shortly after. ¡°Little Yassi, How is that guys wound?¡± ¡°Big sis, I think that...¡± Yassi paused a little and then placed her hand on her chin. Her bloodstained hands touched her snow white skin, which Yassi did not really complain about. This was not the time for things like that. After thinking for a while, Yassi had already found the appropriate words. ¡°... I think that uncle Hilroy would be unconscious for a long time. Maybe around a month or so. The enemy¡¯s hit had not really damaged his brain but it was shaken by it. Due to this, maybe uncle would enter a coma and sleep for a month or so.¡± Hearing the words ¡®coma¡¯, Herebia¡¯s eyes darkened a bit. She looked at the little girl and then after staring for a while, threw her answer. ¡°Will he really awaken after a month?¡± ¡°That... that big sis... is the best possible scenario. Worst case is...¡± Yassi swallowed her words and didn¡¯t dare to elaborate further. She didn¡¯t know what relationship Hilroy and her big sis Requa had but Yassi thought that, at least, their relationship wound have been of friends. In fact though, Yassi¡¯s guess was too incorrect. Herebia and Hilroy had only met each other on this day and they could only be classified as acquaintances or adventure buddies. What made Herebia feel worse was that, she let someone working for her almost die. Herebia, since her birth, didn¡¯t want to see her ¡®subordinates¡¯ to die whatsoever. It was a good thing that the star of misfortune didn¡¯t die, but his awakening was uncertain. Herebia determined that this guy needs to rest under a roof and they had to go inside Ycarus¡¯s house quickly. Applying the rest of the ointment which Hilroy had used earlier to his head, Yassi looked at Herebia and had the same thought. They needed to go to her house and rest. ¡°We need to go.¡± Yassi proceeded forward as Herebia went back and then used her shoulders to support the unconscious Hilroy. The brat wanted to ask many questions, like who was that opponent? What was that incredible strength? Many questions popped up from this young woman¡¯s mind. Herebia saw the girl that was in front of her slowly fidget. When Yassi turned around to face Herebia, Herebia saw some thirst for knowledge in the brat¡¯s eyes. Herebia, while supporting Hilroy, shook her head slightly and then spoke. ¡°We¡¯ll talk later. Let us secure Hilroy first.¡± !? Yassi jolted awake and then her gaze subconsciously landed on the star of misfortune. Her hands slowly tightened as her pace sped up and her direction went for her father¡¯s house. The shadow of a young girl leading a woman who was carrying an injured soldier lengthened as the sun was slowly being swallowed by the distant horizons... * * * * * General Ycarus was holding lint-free cloth as he slowly wiped the dust out of a piece of metal. The piece of metal shone with a blinding brightness and Ycarus was satisfied with this result. He slowly placed the cloth back and held the piece of metal up like a treasure. In a glass container, he placed the piece of metal at the topmost part. He looked at the glass container for a while and then lightly sighed. ¡°Blaze, my friend, it seems that we will once again experience war...¡± Ycarus tapped the glass container and then turned back as he left the secret room of his house. Looking closely inside, it¡¯s content looked like... not it did not look like one, it is one... Inside of this container was a metal armor set, namely Blaze! This armor set was not that big, almost the size of Ycarus, but one could tell that this was not any ordinary armor. This was because... tracing the gold linings of this armor were magic runes! They exuded the scent of elemental particles, and if Herebia was to see this, she would probably mistake this armor for another armor and scream another name. Exuding magic, this armor was manipulated using magic. Ycarus, who was a 10th stage Practitioner, was barely able to use this and he had only used this armor in important campaigns. The design of the armor looked metallic and bushido-styled. It had a overcoat and the emblem of Ignis, which was a dragon coiling around a cross, was inscribed in this armor. It¡¯s dominant colors were red, black and gold. After Ycarus opened the secret room, he had opened a floor tile on the corner of a bathroom. This floor tile was the entrance towards his beloved treasure. He stood up and washed his hands and then left the bathroom. He was walking down the hallway when Ycarus¡¯s stomach grumbled no less quieter than Herebia¡¯s stomach. Patting his stomach, Ycarus went towards the direction of the kitchen as his stomach yearned for dinner. Approaching the dining room, he was able to smell his wife¡¯s cooking. Ycarus had to admit that his new wife was good at cooking, was beautiful, was virtuous, and was good in bed. Although this was the case, deep in the recesses of Ycarus¡¯s heart remained the shadow of another woman.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Shaking his head, Ycarus silently walked forward. Although he knew that his wife was now gone, and he knew that the princess marrying him was only due to the instruction of his brother, Ycarus could not make a move. He didn¡¯t want to offend the king when the king himself gave away his sister to Ycarus. ¡°Dear, are you hungry? Come and eat. I have just finished cooking.¡± ¡°Yeah, I am. What¡¯s for dinner?¡± While the husband-wife duo talked like normal lovers, Ycarus felt that somehow, there was something important that he forgot. He shook his head lightly as he tried to remember what it was and discovered that... There... there was no additional fork trying to steal his meat! Where was the additional fork? Eh, additional fork? Additional F*ck! The brat! Where was the brat!? Where was she?! Ycarus stood up like a rocket from his seat as he sped around the house. His action surprised Faye, as she saw her husband run out of the dining room. Somehow, a vein popped from Faye¡¯s forehead as her eyes continuously twitched. Tears nearly dropped out of her eyes as she swallowed her depression and anger. ¡®Was my cooking really that bad?! You actually need to go into the bathroom and vomit?! What went wrong today... Are you sure that you are my husband? You surely could not be Ycarus right? Ycarus loved my cooking... blah blah¡¯ Faye, who was a quiet person, had a loud and complaining inner monologue. While she ranted on the possibility that the guy who ate her food was absolutely not her husband, Ycarus was opening every room and compartment inside the house. He checked the cabinets, even the ones that contained his underwear, for the familiar figure of a brat. He also checked the toilet, the sink, and the secret room. His search held no results as Ycarus was not able to find Yassi. He walked back dejectedly and sat back on his seat. When Faye saw his gloomy figure, she somehow knew that this was her husband and there was nothing wrong about him. ¡®If there was nothing wrong about Ycarus then... that must mean... my cooking is really bad? No, it cannot be! His must be a dream! Yes, a dream!~ blah, blah...¡¯ ¡°Um... Faye, have you seen Yassi?¡± This question of Ycarus pulled back Faye¡¯s mind out of wonderland. She looked at her husband and then her gaze landed on a big hole in the kitchen¡¯s wall. ¡°You should know. After all, you two were responsible for that hole.¡± Ycarus was dumbfounded for a while and then turned his head and saw the wall¡¯s wreckage. His eyes twitched as he saw the hole that he nearly forgot. ¡®Yeah... something like that did happen...¡¯ ¡°Oh, I remember now. She went out for an skirmish. She should be back by now.¡± ¡°Speak for yourself. You trust your kid too much. What if she encounters dangerous situation that she could not handle?¡± ¡°Thats...¡± Just as Faye had cornered her husband in a debate, a knock came from the door. Tok, Tok, Tok! The husband-wife duo was stunned for a bit and then both of them sighed. Ycarus¡¯s face sported a big grin with a ¡®told you so¡¯ face. Faye shook her head helplessly and then she went for the door. Ycarus followed after his wife, while the rejected food lamented on how they were ignored. While going up on the door, Faye was in front while Ycarus was following from behind. While they were a meter or so away from the door, the universe¡¯s law kicked in. Like those sh*nen Mc¡¯s of those harem mang*s, Ycarus conveniently ¡®tripped¡¯ and... Literally kissed Faye¡¯s ass. Like a swagger, bitch. This was the will of the universe itself. Throughout Ycarus¡¯s life, he had already experienced this scenario many times. At first, he was overjoyed by this erotic events. But... as time goes on, Ycarus felt nothing from it and then finally he was ultimately annoyed by it. Thud! Thud! ¡°Aiyah!! Not again!¡± Faye felt that something warm connected to her butt and she knew that it was happening again. This was what Ycarus referred to as his ¡®Unlucky Luck¡¯, much to Faye¡¯s annoyance. Although she could not see it, she knew that this guy had already kissed many other¡¯s butts as well. She also knew that this guy was slapped many times or punched many times for this. The group outside of the door, namely Yassi, Herebia, and the unconscious Hilroy, heard the sudden sound and was alarmed. Herebia was prepared to cast a spell as Yassi slowly turned the door¡¯s knob. After being opened, a sight as ridiculous as the ¡®flaming butt scene¡¯ was happening in front of Herebia¡¯s vision. While Faye¡¯s clothing was not described at first, let us describe it right now. It is naked apron. Herebia saw a pervert couple doing s*x to greet their visitors. Herebia was only shocked for a moment while the brat was already used to this sight. If Hilroy were to be present now, that guy surely would have grown a boner. Young boys were still young boys, please understand. Thank you ladies for your understanding. ¡°Um, Little Yassi... is this how they normally greet their visitors?¡± ¡°... Probably... Possibly... Yeah...¡± Yassi went forward and then landed a kick at the side of Ycarus¡¯s stomach. Ycarus, having felt nothing, still lurched on the floor while holding his own stomach. Faye used this opportunity to stand up and then look at their visitors. Faye found out that the brat had two person in tow, namely the beautiful black clothe woman and the seriously wounded soldier. Surprised, Faye went forward and was about to help Herebia support hilroy when Ycarus stopped her. Looking questioningly at her husband, Faye pouted in a cute way. Ycarus looked at her seriously with an incomparably stern face and then pointed towards the master¡¯s bedroom. ¡°Dear... remember that you¡¯re still naked...¡± ¡°Oh my!..¡± Realizing that she was about to support a man while only wearing an apron, Faye felt her blood rush up on her face as she slightly reddened. She quickly rushed towards the master¡¯s bedroom. Ycarus was the one who received Hilroy¡¯s hands and then supported him. He looked at the black clothed woman who had supported this soldier and then back at Yassi. ¡°Who are... this friend¡¯s of yours Yassi?¡± Herebia¡¯s eyes twitched a little and she couldn¡¯t help but voice out her concerns. ¡°Let¡¯s leave the introductions later. We must first lay him in a bed.¡± Ycarus raised both his eyebrows and then looked at the source of the voice. He then considered her words and couldn¡¯t help but look at the soldier¡¯s wound. It was indeed an extremely severe case. ¡°Right. Dad, please place this man inside an unused room. I know that our house has a lot of those. On dinner, I shall explain everything.¡± ¡°Okay sweetheart...¡± Ycarus looked at his daughter for a moment and then led this injured soldier towards an empty room. He placed him on a bed as Yassi and Herebia watched him do so. ¡°There we go, tomorrow I will call for a doctor for your friend sweetheart and get him checked... As for my analysis though, this guy surely suffered a strong impact on the back of his head... And this kind of power is quite abnormal...¡± Speaking up to this point, Ycarus stopped for a while and then he looked at Yassi with his sharp eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you encountered someone as strong as me?¡± Yassi shook slightly and then she raised her hand and pretended to scratched her head in annoyance, fully displaying the attitude of a brat girl. ¡°I said that I will talk about it later! Anyway dad, do you think he has a chance to.. Um, wake up again?¡± ¡°Wake up you say? I don¡¯t know. What I know is that this guy will enter a very long sleep.¡± Herebia shook her head in dismay as the information that this guy spouted was just the same one that Yassi spoke of. Sighing deeply, she turned her back and then walked off into the hallway, musing to herself. ¡®It seems that more concise information would only come from a doctor himself...¡¯ While going to this household, Herebia¡¯s primary goal was Ycarus¡¯s information. Now that hilroy was injured, Herebia prioritized this guy¡¯s assurance to awaken again over Ycarus¡¯s info. At first she wanted to at least know some specifics of the impending Ignis-Terra war and what could beat a general on giving info about his things? Surely it would be the king himself, but Herebia needed to take a the first step in a ladder in order to reach the top. She needed a start, as she first planned to use a noble and find a general. After a general then came a prince. After the prince comes the king himself. Luckily enough for her, she had obtained the control over the life of a general¡¯s daughter. This boosted Herebia¡¯s progress by a step or so. While all of this were true, Herebia¡¯s attention was not on Ycarus at the moment. She knew that this guy would not run away but Hilroy¡¯s condition could become worse if she did not focus on it. So, she prioritized her subordinates safety over Ycarus at the moment. Growl! Growl! Growl! The call of nature came and Herebia¡¯s stomach howled like a wild beast. She realized that she had not properly eaten at the restaurant before because of the War God¡¯s interruption. She was hungry. Growl! Growl! Growl! Herebia looked at her stomach and then realized that it was not her. She looked back and saw Ycarus standing there, looking silently at her. He smiled wryly as he also realized that he had not eaten due to the fact that Yassi was missing. Growl! Growl! Growl! Now though, both of their stomachs howled in a sonorous yet beautifully synced sound. It showed the sign of hunger, hunger and hunger. The two of them looked at each other for a while and then like a tacit agreement, Ycarus went ahead and led Herebia towards the dining room. ¡®I think that we will get along.¡¯ This was the word that was floating in both of their minds. [Extra] Daily Chronicles The morning sun rays drifted across my room as they pulled me away from my dreamland. I looked left and right and then after ascertaining my location, got up from my bed. I really reluctant to because I knew that the event today had nothing to do with me. After tidying up my bedding sheets, I proceeded down the stairs and then descended into the dining table. What greeted me there was my little brother, chewing down some chocolate wafers for breakfast. I sat in my seat and then looked at the table in front of me. Hot milk and wafers was also present in front of me and my stomach was already aching to eat. While munching to my breakfast, I listened to my little brothers rambling and was reminded on what I needed to do today. I scurried after my phone when breakfast was finished, and confirmed that I wasn¡¯t just thinking of things. It was definitely marked as February 14, 2017... Exactly the day of Valentines. Growing much more languid than earlier, I have already reached the toilet and have finished washing up. Dressing up in the color of white, I went out of the house after retrieving my school bag. The distance between our house and the school was not that far away and it only took me a five minute walk. After arriving in the school, my seatmate named Mark already greeted me and bombarded me with questions about a certain game we play. After settling down and checking if I was in cleaning duty or not, I took out my phone and Mark did the same. We had already planned to play Monster Hunter Portable Unite using PPSSPP all day. For the both of us were wearing white. The next to greet me was another seatmate of mine, on the left side, namely Win. He was a rather fat fellow and you would expect that this guy would not have a love life. Wearing a shirt with the color of pink, he was clearly screaming that he is currently ¡®In Love¡¯. This was a certain color coding the Supreme Student Government (SSG) had invented for this day, as there will be a program and no classes would be conducted today. Although there was no classes, attending was still mandatory. Although I am a part of the SSG, I had nothing to do with events just like this. Maybe I will just serve as a facilitator and that will be actually be the most fortunate fate for me who is wearing white, signifying that I am ¡®Single¡¯. I am actually wearing this color because I have no idea how I really feel. I keep denying things and my mind would not really accept anything my heart would say. Well, this was how I always reigned over my class anyway as the top student. Shortly after 15 minutes, all students were asked to go to the covered court. As I guessed, there really was an event. And like I guessed, I, the Vice President of SSG, am only going to serve as a facilitator. Partnering with me is a fellow student of mine from my section, the Treasurer, Mae.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. She was wearing pink like Win and although colors could not be trusted, the human mind will still subconsciously believe them to be true. Mae also seems to have noticed my clothes her expression... didn¡¯t change one bit. Meh. I don¡¯t really care... lies. Of course I care... After the event was over, which was at the afternoon, the SSG were asked to stay back. We cleaned up and then stored things that were used during the program. I was walking back and forth carrying microphones or stereos. Watching those couples enjoying themselves really didn¡¯t make me any uncomfortable but what really made me depressed were... those guys who were like me. Seating in the corners of the hall, men and women wearing white were exuding an extremely depressed atmosphere. When I looked at them during the program, I kind of... Kind of... felt sad. I know that those guys could possibly hate this day because the fact that they were single were almost glowing in neon lights during that event. There were also guys who wore white but everybody knows who is in a relationship. Wearing red means that you are in a relationship. By wearing white, they were mocking our group. After tidying up, we were finally allowed to go home. All of my friends were already home during this hour so I walked home... alone. After passing through the gate, I saw Mae buying herself a soda at a nearby store. She saw me and then approached while smiling. She asked if it was okay for her to walk with me. Seeing as their was no problem to walking with a beautiful girl while going home, I agreed. When we walked, it definitely wasn¡¯t awkward. I was able to talk about things and occupy her attention all throughout the walk. After reaching the gates of my house, which is closer to the school, I turned to her and then said my goodbyes. When I was about to turn my back and enter, I felt a slight tug on my clothes. I turned to her again and then something was shoved into my chest. It was actually a small box designed with a small red ribbon. Don¡¯t ask what is inside of it. I know that it¡¯s chocolate. When I saw the box, I was stunned and stared hard at Mae who was smiling while blushing. She then ran away as fast as she can and then disappeared in a nearby curve. Looking at the box which I knew that was full of chocolate, I couldn¡¯t help but shake my head in dismay. I was awfully too familiar with this box and this made my mind snap open. ¡°Ah... What a wonderful dream you have here... Raizer... What a wonderful dream.¡± * * * * * Di! Di! Di! The morning sun rays drifted across my room as they pulled me away from my dreamland. I looked left and right and then after ascertaining my location, got up from my bed. After tidying up my bedding sheets, I proceeded down the stairs and then descended into the dining table. What greeted me there was my little brother, chewing down some chocolate wafers for breakfast. I sat in my seat and then looked at the table in front of me. Hot milk and wafers was also present in front of me and my stomach was already aching to eat. While munching to my breakfast, I listened to my little brothers rambling and was reminded on what I needed to do today. I scurried after my phone when breakfast was finished, and confirmed that I wasn¡¯t just thinking of things. It was definitely marked as February 14, 2017... Exactly the day of Valentines. I have already reached the toilet and have finished washing up. Dressing up in the color of white, I went out of the house after retrieving my school bag. Just before leaving, I returned towards my room and towards my desk. I then unlocked the upper drawer and what greeted my eyesight was a small box designed with a small red ribbon. Taking the ribbon out, I then placed it into my bag and then a smile slowly formed in my face. ¡°Hee... Wish me luck.¡± - Stop dreaming and work your ass off! It pays out in the end, trust me. - Raizer_xXx Sensei''s Words of Bullpoop [11] Post-Dinner Talk Chomp! Chomp! Armed with an extremely starving stomach, when Ycarus was faced with his wife¡¯s delicious cooking, no one could hold him back from eating like a whale. He took the meat and bit it off while simultaneously chewing rice. As he swallows, he makes sure that he will drink a sip or two of the soup, which helps him in swallowing all that junk inside his mouth. Yassi ate leisurely, not minding her father¡¯s unruly eating habit. She had already been accustomed to this sight and as she saw her father sipping soup, her hands moved as fast as lighting as her fork dragged one piece of her father¡¯s portion of meat. Swoosh! Peng! Before being able to place the meat on her plate though, a fork had made it¡¯s way through the air and impaled the table. This fork trapped Yassi¡¯s fork and left her unable to reach for the meat. Soon, another fork came and took away her stolen meat. The meat was then ingested by Ycarus, while he was waving his index finger in front of his daughter. Yassi¡¯s face twitched and then her sight sped forth towards Faye¡¯s direction. Faye was looking t her teasingly as she slowly chewed on meat. Her plate was relatively empty as Faye was not that big of an eater. Herebia, who was witnessing this sorry excuse of a family, did not have too big of a reaction. She just gazed at them quietly while she enjoyed her food. She had to admit, the king¡¯s sister is definitely a good cook. But... what would happen if someone threatened to take Herebia¡¯s food? This theory was tested when Yassi tried to fork her way through Herebia¡¯s plate. She was about to take a meat when Yassi saw the look on Herebia¡¯s face. It was incomparably grim and cold. Withdrawing her hand as fast as lightning, Yassi took note that she should not do something like that again in the future. Herebia, not minding anyone other than her plate continued to eat leisurely. This silence an tranquility lasted for some more minutes as everyone took in their food. After all of them finished eating, Faye stood up and collected their plates. Maid¡¯s were not present due to the belief of people that they will only highlight the wife¡¯s incompetence. So, in the Ignis Kingdom, maid¡¯s and incompetent wives were viewed as bad. Of course, maid¡¯s are present in the castle of the Ignis King, the Dragon¡¯s Ravine. Hell, even if queen had a Mark of Strength, she would still not be able to clean all the castle¡¯s grounds. Even if it is like this, the queen was still the one who cooks for their king. Well, that is tradition. In reality, the Ignis king¡¯s wife was already dead and his food was being served by maids. Although this was against tradition, it actually did not really attract the ire of the Ignis kingdom¡¯s citizens. When Faye left the room with a stack of plates in tow, Ycarus looked at Yassi and then turned to Herebia. He cleared his throat and then smiled amiably. ¡°First things first, Let us do the introductions. I am named Ycarus, a general of the Ignis Kingdom. What is your name?¡± ¡°You can call me Requa.¡± ¡°Ms. Requa, is that good?¡± Ycarus turned his head and then looked at her daughter. ¡°Anyway sweetheart, how did you met with Ms. Requa?¡± The reason for asking her slightly incompetent daughter this question was due to the fact that Ycarus still hasn¡¯t let down his guard. He was unaware of this person¡¯s background and details about her. Who knows, maybe the name ¡®Requa¡¯ was not her true name. Yassi who was not that familiar of the ways of the world, holds little to no doubt about the name ¡®Requa¡¯. If she did have some doubts, she would keep quiet of it because this woman besides her is the one who controls her life and death. Herebia on the other hand, was already on full alert. If this brat will reveal the things about her ¡®slavery¡¯ and that Herebia control¡¯s her life and death, with only a flick of her hand a head shall roll. During that confusion, she would use all her might to kill Faye and then exit with Hilroy. Even if this meant she would have to start over again, Herebia needed to do this. This is to minimize the possibility of someone identifying her. Then what did she come for in this household? That was information. She needed to learn this country¡¯s state and maybe get on the good side of the Ignis King. That guy would be the guy who knows a lot of thing, and maybe he would have a clue on the... Crystal Shards. All of the things that Herebia had done were all for the Crystal Shards. She needed to be close to the sovereign of a kingdom, or this won¡¯t work. After all, looking for information is better than looking blindly. If the Ignis King didn¡¯t cooperate, Herebia still had something up her sleeve. And that was... [Zera : Scanner] What¡¯s to stop Herebia from searching through the king¡¯s mind for the information about the Crystal Shards? Yassi swallowed her saliva and then her eyes subconsciously turned to Herebia. Ycarus noticed this subtle signs but he didn¡¯t show anything on his face. Afterwards, Yassi looked straight at his father¡¯s eye. She needed to do this as to not show any signs that she was lying. ¡°I met her during the skirmish. Big sis Requa here saved my life.¡± ¡°Oh? It looks like that you have been in a dire situation then?¡± Ycarus looked at her daughter, disbelief coloring his face. Sure, his daughter brought back an injured soldier, but that was not enough evidence... wait... !? Ycarus almost stood up, as a bad premonition entered his heart. He looked around and then stared hard at her daughter. ¡°W-where is the guard that I sent..?¡± ¡°Dead.¡± This time, Herebia was the one who answered. While her head rested on her palm, she looked nonchalantly at Ycarus as she scratched the table in boredom. Yassi looked at Herebia and then to her father next. ¡°That is the truth dad.¡± She had decided that she needed to reenforce Herebia¡¯s words as his father seems to doubt her. And after all, the fact that the 7th stage Practitioner is dead, was indeed the truth. Herebia had indeed said the truth. The only problem was that in reality, Herebia herself was the one that killed the 7th stage Practitioner... ¡°Is that so... an enemy that could kill a 7th stage Practitioner, surely it is not a Cadet Practitioner (6th-7th stage)... Maybe you faced up with an Elite Practitioner (8th-9th stage)...¡± ¡°That¡¯s where your wrong dad. We had faced up against someone wearing the Casket Armor!...¡± Yassi was carried away with the idea of lying that she just spouted a nonsense that could not even be identified as bullsh*t. Ycarus who had thought that he was over thinking previously had his eyes darken. His daughter, Yassi, was obviously lying... The explanation to this is because those who could wear Casket Armor in the entire realm numbered less than 20! Not only that, those who could wear them were either Generals or Prince/Princess¡¯s themselves!Stolen story; please report. Ycarus, who was an Ignis General, naturally possessed a Casket Armor. This was the one he had previously cleaned, named Blaze. This Casket Armor of his was only used for important battles, and this fact held true to the other¡¯s who possessed this armor as well. How the hell would someone who could equip the Casket Armor, go out themselves and meet up with some skirmish troops?! This was lunacy! Pure, 100% lie! Although this was a lie, Yassi had thought that she was only saying true things in different terms. The team had previously met with Oliver, someone whose strength could rival that of an Casket Armor. So she thought that she would use the term ¡®Casket Armor¡¯ in replacement of ¡®Oliver¡¯. She thought that it was ok but then after she had spouted it out, then she found out that she had made an extremely huge blunder. Herebia realized the subtle change in the room¡¯s atmosphere and... Swoosh! Bang! Without warning, a [Flame Pillar] had grown below of her chair! Of course Herebia had sensed the change in the elemental particles and was aware of this attack. Ycarus, the one who had created the spell, had previously been secretly creating had seals beneath the table. Deciding that she had to end this fast, after landing, Herebia was already performing hand seals herself. Ycarus saw this and abandoned making hand seals. Flicking his fingers, he had sent forth 8 [Fire Balls] towards the direction of Herebia. This fire balls were not used to kill, they were used to interrupt the hand seals! Herebia knew this and her fingers sepd up. She wants to finish this spell faster than the arrival of the [Fire Balls]! Swoosh! Boom! The first fire ball had arrived, which Herebia dodged easily. What was unfortunate though is the fact that she had to jump. In mid-air she could not change directions, and the other 7 fire balls threatened to burn her in mid-air! !! Suddenly, the 7 approaching fire balls considerably slowed as the 10 meters around Herebia also followed suit. This was Herebia¡¯s [Zera : Decelerate]! She had caught Ycarus, who didn¡¯t know about this spell, caught off guard! In the eyes of bystanders, Herebia had suddenly became much more agile! This only worked fro 10 seconds but Herebia felt that it was enough. Using the temporary boost slowness of her enemy, Herebia made hand seals as a black sword materialized in front of her. She grabbed this sword and then sped forth, aiming for Ycarus¡¯s neck! She had swung the black sword! Clang! Although Ycarus was slowed, his fast speed could actually slightly make up for it. As he had deflected the first swing of Herebia using a knife, Ycarus felt that he was about to lose. When the next swing was unleashed by Herebia in an extremely tricky angle, Ycarus gritted his teeth and... Bang! Bang! Using the elemental particles, Ycarus had made explosions under his sole so that he would be blown away from the sword swing! Herebia clicked her tongue as the time of [Zera : Decelerate] only allowed her to slow her enemies down like this for only another 3 seconds. When Ycarus landed on his feet, a small spot of weakness was spotted by Herebia. This was because, when Ycarus landed he had experienced extreme pain from his feet. Not wasting this opportunity, Herebia positioned the blade towards Ycarus¡¯s throat! Clang! At the last moment, Herebia¡¯s [Zera : Decelerate] had run out of time and this led to Ycarus having the opportunity to block using his knife. Although he had successfully blocked the attack to his throat, his grip loosened and he had let go of the knife! With her enemy unarmed, Herebia positioned her sword towards Ycarus throat but did not thrust it. She looked at him for a moment and then smiled amiably. She then withdrew he sword, which disentegrated into motes of light. Herebia then returned to the table, seating in a different seat as her previous one was toasted. Herebia returned to her previous posture, laid back and nonchalant. ¡°So? Do you enjoy fighting? Ha ha ha, Ycarus, it seems like you are getting cranky. Little Yassi, could I have some time with you¡¯re father alone?¡± Yassi was still dumbfounded because a fight had just broken out in front of her a minute or so ago. She snapped out of it due to Herebia mentioning her name. Yassi looked at Herebia, nodded her head and then jump down from her seat. She silently went out of the room. Even though she knew that Herebia had the power to kill her father, she believes in this woman¡¯s promise. Although this woman was quite cunning, Yassi had the gut feeling that Herebia valued her words. Although not entirely true, Herebia did indeed value her promises. If nothing would go wrong for her in an extremely unsolvable way, she would stick to her words. Like for example, if Yassi did reveal their ¡®slavery¡¯, she would not kill Ycarus. But... the deal did not contain the clause about not killing Yassi herself so Herebia would probably kill the brat first if that were to happen. If Yassi would remain smart and keep quiet about this then Herebia could even teach her a trick or two. After watching his daughter leave, Ycarus quietly sat in a chair opposite of Herebia. He then stared at the woman in front of him for a while and then with a deep sound his voice echoed out. ¡°How much of my daughter¡¯s words were true?¡± ¡°About 75%.¡± ¡°Which points were true?¡± Herebia was not surprised and then tapped her finger on the table. ¡°The fact that I saved her. The fact that the guard died. And the fact that we faced something that could easily slaughter you at your current state.¡± His voice wavering, Ycarus proceeded to question Herebia. ¡°Th-then what points were false?¡± ¡°The fact that I saved her. The fact that the guard died because of enemies. And the fact that the opponent we faced did not wear something that you people call a ¡®Casket Armor¡¯.¡± This answer of Herebia threw off Ycarus¡¯s senses as the man was greatly confused. Saved her yet didn¡¯t? Died not because of opponents? A man that was as strong as someone who is wearing a ¡®Casket Armor¡¯?! Actually all of Herebia¡¯s answers were correct. She did save Yassi from Oliver but is planting a guillotine on her neck considered one? That¡¯s just silly. The 7th stage Practitioner did die but according to Yassi, that man died due to ¡®an encounter with someone who wears a Casket Armor¡¯. In reality though, that guy was used as a memory bank by Herebia. As for the one with ridiculous strength? Someone who had the Mark of Strength would be enough to explain the situation. What Herebia was curious about right now is about this things called ¡®Casket Armor¡¯. Hearing the words Armor, Herebia remembered the ¡®Heavenly Beast Gear¡¯ of the Crystal Shards. ¡®Are they based on those things? Then if that is so, I need to be careful around someone who is wearing something like that. Those would be monsters at the same level as Oliver.¡¯ Although she though highly of them, that was for those wearing the armor when she faced them. If they weren¡¯t, like Ycarus here, they would be easy pickings. They would be weak without their armor and be prone to sneak attacks. ¡°You are greatly confusing me. Anyway, tell me you¡¯re real name. I know that the name ¡®Requa¡¯ couldn¡¯t possibly be your real name.¡± ¡°Oh, how rude. Doubting the authenticity of a lady¡¯s name. You, Ycarus, sure are not a lady¡¯s man.¡± Herebia with her boredom started to play with her hair. She twirled them using her finger as she slightly leaned forward. ¡°Hey, Ycarus... I have something to propose about. Are you interested?¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± Ycarus felt that when she talked with this woman, an invisible hand had already latched it¡¯s way to his heart, waiting for the command to grip it and crush it to pulp. Due to this feeling, Ycarus¡¯s breathing became slightly ragged and his heart started to pump faster. ¡®Is this fear? Talking to this woman gives me the creeps...¡¯ Herebia¡¯s fingers stopped twirling her hair and then she looked straight at Ycarus¡¯s eyes. Her face slowly contorted into a grin. Herebia had finally shown her true malevolent side. ¡°You¡¯re wife is taking her time, huh? Do you believe that she went and washed the dishes? If so, wouldn¡¯t she be running to this place because we had made a big ruckus?!¡± Herebia grinned broadly which actually resembled a smile. ¡°Hey, hey, Ycarus... do you want your wife dead?¡± ¡°What nonsense! You actually dare to threaten my wife in front of me!¡± Ycarus had thrown away his fear and fury emanated out of his voice. This woman was making an extremely bad joke, and Ycarus didn¡¯t like it one bit. ¡°Even if you could defeat me, I won¡¯t let you touch a single strand of her hair!¡± ¡°Ah, what bravery... unfortunately for you, before the negotiations even started I had already won. You just have to choose, your wife or your daughter? Is it really worth it to get you¡¯re daughter killed because of the stalker the Ignis King had planted on you!?¡± This time, at the end of her statement Herebia had raised her voice. She had finally figured out something about Yassi¡¯s talent on controlling flame. Although not that young, no normal human could possibly be able to control fire as proficiently as Yassi at her age. No normal human could. Ycarus was greatly shaken and then he started to shiver. This decision was actually something that he could easily answer. Of course, Ycarus would certainly choose his daughter over his wife. ¡°I... I...¡± Memories flashed forth in Ycarus¡¯s mind in an extremely abnormal way. Although the flashing of memories seemed weird, Ycarus was sure that this memories were correct. ¡®Dear, what should her name be-¡® ¡®Let¡¯s name her Yassi-¡® ¡®Protect our daughter at all cos-¡® ¡®I will definitely, at all co-¡® ¡®No!! Do not touch he-¡¯ Ycarus blinked and the memories stopped flashing in his mind. He then entered a quiet state as resolution slowly bubbled from his heart. As for Herebia, she had a thin smile hanging from her face. The [Chaos Thread] that had impaled through the back of Ycarus¡¯s head slowly disintegrated as if it didn¡¯t even exist. When they were conversing, Herebia had secretly formed hand seals and cast her spell. This was... [Zera : Memory]! [12] Where Were You!? [Zera] A collection of mighty spells that only Herebia could execute. Well, in this era at least. Although this collection of spells could be seen as over powered as it could do many things, In reality... They were imitations. The [Zera] spells were actually imitations which Herebia had copied around 1000 years ago. Through the power of the Chaos Tome, Herebia was able to make spells that imitated the real Zera¡¯s. Her spells, the [Zera], could be divided into five types. Although this types won¡¯t be disclosed right now... Herebia had once watched the real Zera¡¯s perform this types of spells. Her imitated spells versus the real ones? That would always end in her spell being destroyed in the clash. The only advantage Herebia had over the real ones were that she could wield all of the five types. Looking at the unknowing victim of her spell, the [Zera : Memory], Herebia smiled lightly as she felt that she won the gamble. Although this spell could bring out someone¡¯s memories, that was the only thing it could do. This could not let Herebia read other¡¯s minds or alter someone¡¯s memories. She only has the power to make them resurface and use it negotiations like this. She could use the [Zera : Scanner] to read memories though, but that would kill the victim of the spell. ¡®Just by looking at his quiet appearance, I could deduce that Ycarus has already made his decision...¡¯ Ycarus raised his head after calming his breath and his eyes exuded resolution. His lips curled into a smile which slowly turned into a grin. ¡°Of course I would choose my daughter. Why would I trade my child for that woman?!¡± Her thin smile also turning into a grin, Herebia once again looked at Ycarus. But... this time it was different. She looked at Ycarus at an extremely domineering way, like looking down at an ant. This was Herebia threatening Ycarus. ¡°Yo, tell me one thing. Is your previous wife a ¡®Saint¡¯... or to be precise, a Drazian?¡± The courage that Ycarus had gained from regaining his senses once again plummeted as something that an outsider should not know were being spouted out by this woman. Ycarus looked at him in fear as he retreated to the edge of his seat. ¡°She is right? Anyway, I have already confirmed this by looking at the abnormal growth of your daughter. The reason she could be this proficient while be so young is that...¡± Herebia paused for a moment as to drag her words. ¡°Yassi is a Half-Drazian, right?¡± Ycarus was sitting still while cold sweat dripped from his forehead. This was not information a simple someone could actually learn. No, not even an ordinary general would know about this. The word ¡®Drazian¡¯ was not something anyone would know. The royal family of Aqua Kingdom had always been a peculiarity in this realm. This was because miraculous ¡®Saints¡¯ were always born from them. Although the general public considered the term ¡®Saint¡¯ to be correct, there was actually a much more precise term for them. ¡®Four Great Bloodlines¡¯ Ycarus knew about this information because his previous wife was a Drazian herself. Not only that, she was actually a noble of the Aqua Kingdom. Although he knew that others would know about this, he didn¡¯t expect that the woman facing him right now would know about this things. ¡°How did you know! M-more importantly... Just who the hell are you?¡± ¡°... Who the f*ck do you think I am!¡± Herebia slammed her fist at the table fast as her voice actually raised in volume. Not minding that someone might hear them, Herebia had raised her voice in order to intimidate this general. ¡°Ycarus... Before I kill you¡¯re wife we have to discuss something. And that is about the upcoming war.¡± ¡°W-what about the war?¡± ¡°Tell me an extremely concise explanations on what has been going on around this realm! The war is only a small part!¡± Ycarus raised his brows as if to question Herebia¡¯s request. ¡°Are you asking for an info dump? That would be boring isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Who cares! I need info right now. More, the better! Just dump them!¡± Sighing and shaking his head at the same time, Ycarus went off and ranted. He made sure to give Herebia only a concise information and the info dump lasted only 10 minutes or so. * * * * * Due to some specific reasons, concise information was the only thing available. It seems like Ycarus didn¡¯t want to was his words even if it was a rant. And so the happenings actually were kinda dramatic on itself. At first, the Ignis Prince and the Aero Princess (Now a Queen) were supposed to be married as a couple. They were fiances even before birth. This arrangement actually was not that opposed as the Prince itself loved the Princess while the Princess didn¡¯t object. She resigned to her fate. After a few years though, the Aero Princess fell in love to a Terra Prince, which was actually the said Ignis Prince¡¯s close friend. After the Ignis prince learned of this, he was enraged. The Prince joined the plans of his father, the Ignis King, and the plan was to wage war against the Terra Kingdom. Well that was a plan that was hatched around 16 years ago. Something like a ¡®country wrecking beauty¡¯ could only do. The war was announced around 3 years ago and after an intial clash which killed a lot on both sides, the Aero Kingdom had interfered. This made the war stop for 3 years. After 3 years though, the Aero Kingdom had withdrawn some of their protection because an important matter was likewise happening inside it. It was the competition of the Prince and Princess¡¯s for the rank of King or Queen. Anyway, long story short, the Aero Kingdom¡¯s protection has loosened and the Ignis Kingdom saw this as an opportunity to attack decisively. There was also an information from Ycarus that the War Council of the Ignis Kingdom would be meeting tomorrow for a strategy meeting. ¡°Oh wait. Ycarus, I haven¡¯t heard you mentioning the Aqua Kingdom¡¯s name in this war. Don¡¯t tell me those guy¡¯s are neutral.¡± ¡°Yeah. Those guys never moved but they had actually followed the ¡®an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth¡¯ method. There was once a Aqua noble that was dragged in this war...¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Stop. Don¡¯t say anymore.¡± Herebia signaled her hand for Ycarus to stop talking. She then continued to muse to herself and felt that something was missing. When the conversation between her and Aven was commencing... there was something that was missing here! Herebia knew of it! And that was... tea! Or at least something that she could sip or chew on. Not minding to explain herself, She flicked her finger and sent a fast paced [Chaos Thread] towards the kitchen. Ycarus was about to stop her when he saw that the thread had actually brought back a bag of nuts. ¡°That¡¯s some convenient magic...¡±, Ycarus whispered to himself. Herebia heard what Ycarus had said and then she raised her eyebrow. ¡°You do not know how to magic an Elemental Thread? And you actually dare to call yourself a Practitioner or something.¡± ¡°Enough about that, Would you still want more info?¡± Crunch! Crunch! Herebia was chewing on her nuts and was looking at Ycarus nonchalantly. Then something dented her mind as fast as lightning as she remembered an important question. ¡°Oh, Ycarus do you know of a man named Oliver? Someone who could be considered the strongest man on this realm?¡± Hearing the name ''Oliver'' didn''t really project a reaction Ycarus. Herebia took note of this as she raised her eyebrow in question. ¡°Is this man supposed to be your ideal boyfriend or something?" ¡°Nope. Forget that I ever asked." Herebia was staring at a nut on the table as she listened to Ycarus¡¯s rant. She then flicked the nut in boredom, watching it spin. After losing momentum, Herebia once again flicked it and watching the nut spiral around had placed a spark of creativity on her mind. ¡®Spin... huh? How the hell didn¡¯t I think of this before? And, why in the actual f*ck did I learn this from a nut?!¡¯ Although her inside thought was raging out, her outer disposition was still calm and nonchalant. Ycarus stared at this beautiful woman and how nonchalant she could act. He then remembered her threatening appearance before and compared the two. ¡®This woman... is she on her period? She is actually a major victim from mood swings.¡¯ ¡°Anyway... I¡¯ll get to the point. Do you know of the Crystal Shards?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Do you know anything about a shiny gem of power¡¯?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Then do you know anything about a 2-pronged staff that has a black orb?¡± ¡°Nope, and nope.¡± Herebia sighed as she realized that even a general like Ycarus knew nothing about the items she desired. Asking for this things were on the top of his agenda and the second was... ¡°Hey Ycarus, work for me.¡± ¡®Another mood swing?¡¯ Ycarus¡¯s eyes twitched and then he looked at Herebia like she had spouted something equivalent to a joke. ¡°Are you a retard?¡± ¡°I have your daughter in hostage.¡± Saying this, the room quieted drastically that even a needle dropping would be heard. Herebia looked straight into Ycarus¡¯s eyes and what she saw made her flinch but was within her calculations. What she saw was madness. Herebia twirled with the nut for a while and then she brought it up in front of her eyes. Pinching it using two of her fingers, Herebia narrowed her eyes and then. Crack! Swoosh! The moment that the nut crumbled to pieces, Ycarus had leapt up from his seat and flew head first towards the direction of Herebia. Grinning, Herebia had spread both her arms sideways and then flicked her right and left fingers! Ycarus felt something tightening around his wrist and ankles and then... like a rag doll his body was dragged back to his seat! Black threads coiled around his ankles and wrist which was not tied on the chair. This thread were actually... impaled through the ground! [Chaos Threads]!! ¡°Ah, I should have done that before. If I had actually set a trap for you, you wouldn¡¯t even last a second against me back then. Sadly, I didn¡¯t move because I assumed that you could actually sense the elemental particles.¡± Although humans could control the elemental particles, only a select few could see them. Naturally, the ones that could see them could be a supreme master or an extremely gifted individual. This ability could actually save someone¡¯s ass on the long run as he will be sensitive to magic based sneak attacks. Herebia then reached her hand out and grabbed another nut. She then threw it at her mouth and then chewed it soundlessly. ¡°Ycarus, you know, I only ask a simple thing to you. I could promise that I would not kill your daughter and in exchange, you will work for me.¡± ¡°Fine, you win you f*cker!¡± ¡°Oh my, calling a lady a f*cker... Aren¡¯t you supposed to be a gentleman. Anyway, there is also something that I would need to know again.¡± Ycarus didn¡¯t reply this time but he had signaled that he was listening. This pleased Herebia a bit as a thin smile surfaced from her face. ¡°Where could I learn the Ignis Syllabus?¡± Ycarus looked at the cuffs on his hands and feet and then pouted his lips. Herebia saw the direction of the lips and they were pointing at the cuffs. She flicked her finger and then the black cuffs had transformed back to black motes of light. ¡°Ignis Syllabus? You could go and grab an incomplete one in the Lexicon Hall. As for the real Syllabus, it is stored in the storage room of the King¡¯s castle, which is the Dragon¡¯s Ravine.¡± Herebia stood up and then felt that she had already asked all of her questions. Although herebia felt this way, Ycarus was still uneasy and couldn¡¯t help but blurt out what was bugging him. ¡°M-my daughter! You haven¡¯t promised yet!¡± ¡°Little Yassi? Do not worry too much. I have grown fond of that brat and wouldn¡¯t want to see her die so young. I only used her as an ace during this conversation.¡± While Herebia¡¯s back was facing Ycarus, she had caught a glimpse at an approaching human. This was none other than Faye! Faye went towards the dining room, only slightly bowing in front of Herebia, and made her way towards Ycarus. Ycarus watched his wife approach him. With an unusually stern look, Ycarus stood up and stared at his wife. Faye who was approaching Ycarus felt that something was abnormal and her paced subconsciously slowed. ¡°Where were you?...¡± ¡°I was washing the dishes, Dea-¡° ¡°WHERE WERE YOU!?¡± Faye was shocked as her husband had actually raised his voice. She then scanned the room and found out that remnants of a fight could be seen. ¡®I-It couldn¡¯t be that they fought right?¡¯ Realizing that she was in a bad situation, Faye threw a red ball on the direction of Ycarus and then sped forth towards the exit. Herebia grinned and then she positioned herself in front of the door and then blocked it. While doing so, Herebia had already formed her first spell using some hand seals. [Chaos Rain Dragon]!! Rising from the shadows of Herebia¡¯s foot, a black dragon which was as thick as a human thigh, went forth and coiled around Herebia¡¯s body. Roar!!! Ycarus¡¯s eyes constricted and then he intentionally tripped on his foot in order to dodge the red ball. When he was about to slam in the floor, Ycarus used his hands to stop his fall and launch him back to his feet. That ball was something a Practitioner could produce. It was actually an extremely condensed fire ball which didn¡¯t emanate any flame at all and looked like a red marble. And unlike any other [Fire Balls], this fire ball didn¡¯t actually act like a bullet. It didn¡¯t speed forth but it had dropped and was affected by gravity! BOOM! The fire ball broke the dining table and Ycarus was glad that he had dodged that earlier. He would amount less than minced meat if that were to hit him. But, unlike most Practitioners, he didn¡¯t summon his barrier. Dashing towards Herebia, Faye was forming many hand seals. Herebia then swung her right fist forwards, making the [Chaos Rain Dragon] fly forward and bare it¡¯s fangs on Faye! Growl! Like an agile monkey, Faye had avoided the dragon and was already in front of Herebia. She was about to exit it when... Swoosh! Pow! Straight in the face! Herebia had swung her fist and had landed a direct hit on the bridge of Faye¡¯s nose, almost ruining her face. Faye had not thought that this mage would actually punch her face in order to prevent her from leaving. Herebia looked at her fists which had a little trace of drool, and then subconsciously clenched them. ''Woah! Punching other''s faces felt good! Maybe I should do this more often...'' Flicking her hands, Herebia¡¯s face had once again turned nonchalant. The [Chaos Rain Dragon] is back and had coiled around Faye¡¯s whole body, rendering her motionless. Ycarus watched his wife being tied by someone¡¯s magic and he regretted something. That was not getting more action. Herebia had stolen the limelight from him. With Faye being constrained by the black dragon, Herebia looked at Ycarus and then a smile emerged from her lips. ¡°Now... We should interrogate your waifu, Ycarus.¡± [13] The Interrogation Bound by a coiling dragon, Faye tried to struggle free but the dragon was as hard as rock. She had been dragged by the hair by the black clothe woman which Yassi had brought home and was positioned in a chair. While in the chair, Herebia released the bindings of the black dragon but came after were countless threads that bound her wrist and her ankles. Herebia made it so that the [Chaos Threads] that bound Faye were so tightly put, that she wouldn¡¯t be able to flick her fingers. ¡°Now then... where should we start? Oh I know!¡± As Herebia pointed at the ceiling like she had discovered a good idea, Ycarus was slowly approaching them. His face was blank, almost emotionless, as he watched what was happening. Although they were married for a while now, Ycarus was not that emotionally attached to Faye. She could cook, she could wash, and generally, she was a wife that was desired by all. Compared to Ycarus¡¯s previous wife, Faye was much more virtuous. This was the case but Ycarus knew of everything that had been happening behind his back. He knew that this wife of his was none other than a watcher sent by the Ignis King. He also knew that every month, Faye would be gone for a while and report to somewhere. Coincidentally, Herebia had arrived at this household during a day that Faye would report. Even if she did all of this, why would Ycarus not protect her? That was because his daughter was the other choice. There was also something about the death of Ycarus¡¯s previous wife and this matter involves Faye and her brother, the Ignis King. Even if he wanted to rebel before, Ycarus knew that he wasn¡¯t a match for the Ignis King. So, although he knew, he had pretended to not know in order to protect his life and his daughter¡¯s. ¡°Y-you bitch! Untie me! Ycarus, what is the meaning of this!¡± ¡°Nothing much.¡± Faye raged about and violently cursed Herebia. She had looked into the direction of Ycarus but when she saw his eyes, she knew that this guy wouldn¡¯t help her. ¡°Damn it! Ycarus, you bastard, my brother wouldn¡¯t let this matter go easily! DARN IT! F*CKING UNTIE ME!!!¡± ¡°Shut up or I¡¯ll stuff a sword in your mouth!¡± Herebia countered as she made hand seals. After a while, a black sword was already floating in front of Faye and was pointed at her mouth. When the sword appeared, Faye flinched slightly as she swallowed back her words. ¡®T-this woman!!¡¯ ¡°Yeah, shut it for a moment. I¡¯ll gift you something that I gave to Yassi earlier.¡± Ycarus directed his gaze at Herebia as he was confused by what Herebia had said. Gift Faye with something that Yassi had received before? What was it? Finishing her hand seals, Herebia pointed her index finger at Faye¡¯s nose. Instantly, a black magic circle popped out of her finger and a snake-like black energy coiled it¡¯s way toward¡¯s Faye¡¯s neck. After hugging the entirety of Faye¡¯s neck, the black energy had slowly materialized into a black collar. [Zera : Life]!! Unlike the one that belonged to Yassi though, this black collar of Faye¡¯s looked that of a dog¡¯s collar. It was certainly beautiful but it was not elegant like Yassi¡¯s black choker. Instead, it gave of the feeling that only a dog should wear something as fitting as this. ¡°Ha ha ha! Now you are literally a dog! Hey, hey, Ycarus! I give you permission to ask first.¡± ¡°What did you tell you¡¯re brother this time?¡± Not waiting for Herebia to encourage him further, Ycarus had fired the first salvo. Although he wanted to ask something much more important, he started by asking much more simpler. He just wanted to know what Faye had reported to the Ignis King. ¡°Why should I f*cking tell-¡° Pah! Landing a rather heavy slap, Herebia looked at Faye while signaling her not to speak bull sh*t. ¡°Hey Faye, was it? Anyway, you should answer this guy. I could guarantee that if you pissed me off, I would activate your dog collar and a head will roll.¡± ¡°Yeah right you bitch! Like hell I would talk! You¡¯re gonna be dead anyway if I we¡¯re to die! To tell you a warning, I had reported that... you were present here today!¡± Herebia raised her eyebrow and then chuckled. It looks like if she did kill this woman right now, the Ignis King would likely come knocking on their doors next month. Why next month? That would be the time when Faye¡¯s next expected report would come. If so, then the time that Herebia has would be only a month. If she did kill Faye, the Ignis King would come to investigate. If she didn¡¯t kill her and made her write the report, who knew if she would rat out Herebia. Although Herebia herself could write a fake report, this type of important matter could only be orally reported so Herebia didn¡¯t really place her hopes high with a fake report. And so, this matter of kidnaping Faye had placed a timer for Herebia. One month. She needed to do everything in one month. ¡°Still not giving in? How about I plunge this sword inside you anus or something?! Wait...¡± Herebia paused for a moment and then her face brightened up. She flicked her hand summoning a black rod and waving it in front of Faye. ¡°What about this sh*t? Let¡¯s make it bigger!¡± There, on Herebia¡¯s hands, was a black rod made up of pure chaos particles. Although it was called a rod, it was actually a dildo. It would be described as a rod because rod¡¯s are less obscene than dildo¡¯s. That way, it would much less vulgar. Ycarus looked weirdly at Herebia and then his face turned slightly red. ¡°Um... Requa, what do you need that for? Don¡¯t tell me your gonna..¡± ¡°What else am I gonna use this for?! I¡¯ll plunge it into her she-hole of course!¡± The black rod flew off from Herebia¡¯s hand and then twisted in the air. She then flicked her hand a many small rod¡¯s grew off from the black rod. The small rod¡¯s once again disappeared with a flick and then appeared with another flick. Remembering the spinning nut, Herebia grinned from ear to ear. Clapping her hands, the small rods that had grown from the original started to spin like a drill. ¡°A-are you sure that you would stuff that inside her?!¡± ¡°Ha ha ha! Of course! My drill, shall be the drill, that would pierce her anus!! Prepare you bitch! This bad boy will certainly rip open your stomach walls! Although that would hurt like f*ck, I wouldn¡¯t allow you to easily die.¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Herebia then mused to herself while the black rod and it¡¯s drills still floated in the air. She then raised one of her finger and then after a while raised another of her finger. ¡°If I were to do this, I guess you could last for a week or two. The drills would certainly not give you pleasure. It would give you intense pain. Well... things would be different if you¡¯re a masochist though.¡± ¡°Graaagh!! Get that thing out! D-Do not even try... Do not even try to stuff me with that sh*t! I... my anus is still a virgin!¡± After hearing the woman¡¯s pleading, Herebia looked at Ycarus with a teasing smile. ¡°You still haven¡¯t tried anal? And you actually call yourselves married.¡± Ycarus fidgeted a little and was actually embarrassed. ¡°I-I am not into something like that...¡± ¡°A problem with fetishes, huh? Oh well, let¡¯s get started. Dildo, go!!¡± As Herebia commanded, the [Chaos Threads] that had been on Faye¡¯s ankles protruded up ward and impaled through Faye¡¯s seat. The two thing threads carved out a circle on the seat, and after that a circular piece of wood fell and a huge hole was present. Faye was struggling fiercely as she watched the horrifying thing retract it¡¯s drills and slowly float beneath her. Knowing that the drills would be unleashed once it was impaled through her, Faye panicked even more and her struggles grew. ¡°No!! No! Ugh... F*cker NO!! OKAY, OKAY! YOU WIN BITCH! YOU WIN!¡± Herebia heard the thing she wanted to hear and her smile grew brighter. She then flicked her hand, which disintegrated the drilldo (Drill + Dildo). Satisfied with Faye¡¯s answer and her discovery of a new spell, which Herebia named [Chaos Drilldo], Herebia sat down and gnawed on some nuts. ¡°Ycarus, go ahead and ask. If you feel that she is lying, call out my name and I will, without a second of a doubt, plunge the [Chaos Drilldo] into her lower lip and anus.¡± ¡°E-even on my lower lip!?¡± Thinking of that thing ravaging her genital, Faye shivered just by the thought of it. ¡®Does this mean that... even if I said the truth, if Ycarus here shouted, I would still be impaled? That¡¯s ridiculous!¡¯ Without ado, Ycarus seated himself in reverse, that means he could hug the chair¡¯s back support, and positioned himself in front of Faye. Faye knew that they had been a previous wife-husband but she knew that this guy never had any feelings for her. Neither did she. ¡°So, Faye, answer my previous question. What did you tell you¡¯re brother this time?¡± ¡°... I told him about your daily life. Who visited you, when, what you do, and where you go. He is also interested with Yassi¡¯s progress and her skirmishes. Lastly, I also reported this woman, Requa, and her companion to my brother.¡± ¡°Why are you watching me?¡± ¡°Because of you¡¯re daughter. I need to monitor this Half-Drazian daughter of yours. She is quite the fast learner. Although she could not compare to a full-blooded one, Yassi still holds the potential to become someone powerful.¡± ¡°... why was my wife killed during the war before?¡± Herebia raised her eyebrow as the previous info dump appeared in her mind. ¡®Yassi¡¯s mother was killed three years ago and the war between Terra and Ignis stopped three years ago too. Hmm... If my guess is correct then, Ycarus¡¯s info wasn¡¯t that precise...¡¯ Bringing a nut in her mouth, she watched the two of them stare at each other fora long time. ¡®Rather than saying that the reason the war stopped was due to the Aero Kingdom¡¯s interference... it could actually be due to the Aqua kingdom¡¯s move... Or actually, now that I think about it, it should be both reasons...¡¯ ¡°B-because...¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°I-I do not know...¡± ¡°WHY!!¡± ¡°I SAID I DO NOT KNOW!¡± Tap! Ycarus, who was about to charge forth and punch Faye, was stopped by a tap on his shoulder. He looked back and saw that Herebia was holding him back. ¡°Stop. She does not know. Bring her to a room and tie her up.¡± ¡°Wha- You are not gonna ask anything?¡± Herebia exited the room while shaking her head. She yawned then she raised her hands, stretching her tired muscles. ¡°Nope. I got every information I need for now. After tying her up, let¡¯s call it a day.¡± Herebia disappeared and was swallowed by the shadows of the hallway. With the [Chaos Threads] still binding Faye, Ycarus had carried her in a princess carry and brought her into a nearby room. While Ycarus was busying himself by tying the Ignis Princess up, Herebia had walked forth and had already checked the rooms of Yassi and Hilroy. While both of them were sleeping, they were sleeping in different lengths. One was indefinite while one was guaranteed to wake up in the morning. Reaching her own room, Herebia locked the door and planted [Chaos Bombs] on both of her door and windows. After feeling much more secure, the feeling of drowsiness overcame Herebia and she drifted into her sleep. * * * * * Light! Too much light! Due to this excessive amount of light, Herebia had woken up. But she soon found herself inside a world of nothing but darkness. She was surrounded by an infinite amount of darkness, and even her feet was not touching anything but the darkness. In front of her was the only source of light. It was a robed man who was only showing his mouth while. ¡°Yo what do you want with me now, Aven?¡± Yup, the one in front of Herebia right now is the Sadist God of Light. Looking slightly annoyed, Herebia sat cross-legged within the darkness. She didn¡¯t know if her body was flying or not but who cares anyway? What Herebia was annoyed about was that the Sadist God of Light was back! And he was more sadistic and lighter than ever! ¡°Enjoying your new life? You¡¯ve made lot¡¯s of progress for someone having only descended for a day.¡± ¡°Not really. Because when I died and had ended in that resting place, I had felt that time was long and time was short. What I mean is, I didn¡¯t feel that I have died for 1000 years.¡± Herebia stopped for a moment and then reminisce was evident in her eyes. ¡°The only thing that would make me feel that way is the fact that most of those I knew previously, are currently all dead.¡± ¡°Ho... You have some interesting companions their. Star of misfortune, a half-drazian brat, and an Ignis General.¡± ¡°Oh, Aven I would like to ask you. What happened to Hilroy? Although everyone says that he is in a coma, how could that be possible? Creatures only experience coma when their souls leave them right?¡± Aven pursed his lips then he flicked his hands. Motes of light materialized and they turned into tea cups which floated towards Yassi and Aven. ¡°Hilroy? I was the one who knocked him up. Although unlike you guys, Humans could be knocked into a coma even without their souls leaving theri body. His soul is resting in the same place you rested. Do not worry, I did this so that he wouldn¡¯t clash with Ycarus.¡± Herebia was surprised and then she considered what would happen if Hilroy was wake during the time that Yassi and her reached Ycarus¡¯s house. ¡®It would certainly be a disaster...¡¯ ¡°I am kinda surprised though, Aven. You are an even more active god than what the rumors said.¡± ¡°Of course! Hilroy is a favorite of mine!¡± Herebia¡¯s face twitched slightly and she shook her head helplessly. She knew that Hilroy¡¯s luck was abnormally sh*tty and know she knew why. It was because of Aven. ¡°So? Aven, what did you call me for?¡± ¡°To inform you that you could now use the power of ''Evictus''." "Yeah, I have noticed that I am unable to use my ''Evictus'' and ''Exodus''. It seems that you sealed them huh? Even so, this is only the first day Aven. Why give me something as powerful as ''Evictus''?" "I didn''t expect you to meet him right after descending but I had planned to reveal this to you anyway. I thought that sooner or later, he and you would most likely cross paths, but this was too premature! I''ll give you a warning...¡± Herebia jolted in surprise and then her eyes turned into a slit. Her face turned extremely serious as she didn¡¯t even touch Aven¡¯s teacup. She was in no mood to drink some tea. Aven, on the other hand, was relaxed and brought the tea to his mouth. He enjoyed it for a while or so and then he looked straight into Herebia¡¯s eyes. ¡°Beware of Oliver.¡± ¡°Wut?¡± After saying his warning, Aven disappeared completely and Herebia was left in the darkness. Although she could not see anything, she could still feel that her body was rotating. Flashes of light made her able to see. The light was actually lightning. The lightning came with a rain and the rain came with puddles. Herebia could not move nor talk. She could only hear and see. In her sight, greeting her was... An armored figure. With a big-ass sword. This figure was drenched in rain and it looked extremely domineering. The figure seemingly looked at Herebia''s direction and raised it¡¯s sword... ¡®Goddam it! Move! MOVE!¡¯ SLasH!!! * * * * * ¡°Graaagh!¡± Herebia stood up from her sleeping position with her back drenched with cold sweat. She looked around and found out that she was in the room that she had slept in yesterday. The [Chaos Bombs] that were plastered on the door and the windows were still there. Looking around, Herebia stood up and tidied her bed. After doing so, she had released the spell that was her black dress, making them turn to motes of light. Thus, Herebia was once again naked. She formed another dress, which was also black albeit of a different design. She then looked at the window and found out that it was already morning. While she was looking at the sky through the window, Herebia¡¯s thought is already wandering... ¡®Is that... what was that dream? Was that... no... can¡¯t be... That''s impossible...¡¯ [14] Power of Ghosts The sight... was not of Herebia dying. It was someone else but Herebia could still not accept it. When Herebia was dreaming, the slash actually passed through her and slashed someone on her back. That specific someone died due to being halved. ¡®Seriously?.. Aven... you actually... lied...¡¯ The fall of the Four Bloodlines... were directly associated to Oliver. Although it may look like that the remnants of the Four Bloodlines is living together with Oliver in harmony... Herebia somehow realized something... ¡®Damn it!.. Just... who the hell is this new War God?!¡¯ Oliver was directly related to the fall of the Four Great Bloodlines. She was musing with herself while staring at the sky when she heard a knock coming from her door. She flicked her hands disintegrating the [Chaos Bombs] and then approached the door. She rotated it and then the sight of Yassi appeared in front of her. ¡°Little Yassi, what is it?¡± ¡°Big sis, what happened yesterday? How come I could not see Faye cooking in the kitchen today?¡± Herebia looked at Yassi and thought that this little brat didn¡¯t really have respect for Faye. ¡®Damn, if she were not talking to me who is the controller of her life, then she would¡¯ve called Faye a bitch.¡¯ ¡°Faye? Already taken care of. She should¡¯ve been tied up on one of the rooms.¡± ¡°Really?! Why didn¡¯t you kill her yet?¡± Ecstasy was evident on Yassi¡¯s face as she entered the room with a skip and sat at Herebia¡¯s bed while humming tune. The tune was actually kinda good and Herebia could here Yassi¡¯s mumbling when she sang the song. ¡°Why didn¡¯t I kill her yet? Hmm... Let¡¯s just say that she is an important hostage and an info mine.¡± ¡°Ooh? Then, big sis, what¡¯s your plan for today?¡± Eyeing Yassi for a moment, Herebia then went to her room¡¯s desk table and took out a bowl of nuts. She took a liking to them and considered to take more with her. She placed one in her mouth, which emitted a crunching sound when she chewed it. ¡°Hmm... I would accompany your father when he goes to the meeting and maybe explore the castle for a bit. Anyway, First things first, our lesson was previously delayed by Oliver¡± Remembering the sight of the super human Oliver and how he plunged his sword down and create a powerful gale, Yassi quietly shivered. Sure she was afraid of Herebia, who could literally kill her with a flick of her hand, but Oliver meant something else to Yassi. He was the embodiment of strength. His strength was not trained, most likely it came from his talent and Yassi feared people that were naturally more talented than her. Yassi calmed down for a moment and then remembered Herebia¡¯s instructions to her before. She summoned the smallest [Fire Ball] she could, which was around the size of a pinky¡¯s nail. Like before, she tried to suck every type of particle towards the fire ball. Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind. They were all pulled and entered the fireball which was now fluctuating. It was on the verge of collapse because of the abnormally un-proportional elemental particles that were inside her spell. The spells that Practitioners unleash are normally only made up of only two elements, while one of them is the dominant one and the other one the recessive one. The purer the elemental particles that you absorb in your spell, which means the lesser recessive inside your spell, the more powerful your spell would be. Yassi had no problem making an extremely powerful spell as she is blessed by eyes that could see elemental particles. Herebia also had eyes similar like this, and this was one of the requirements of being able to create chaos particles. In reality, although every Practitioner could control particles, they could not control all four of them. Some say that being able to sense three of them is sh*tty talent and that was true. As for being able to sense all four of them? That would mean that you already have the qualifications to and could already see elemental particles with your eyes. Although this was good talent, Herebia had to admit that at first the particles were pretty annoying and hard to get used to. Anyway, now that the spell was going berserk, Yassi started to panic. She tried to separate them but, the particles were being held by each other and none of them wants to exit the spell. Herebia also approached closely while still holding her bowl of nuts. ¡°Control the particles and... make them collide like crazy!¡± Just like instructed, Yassi made the particles collide and making her spell more chaotic. In the guise of this chaos though, she could feel a small part of harmony. Chaos is... just a type of messy and twisted harmony. After saying that, Herebia turned around and then left the room. Before closing the door, she glanced back at the unstable spell of Yassi and then smirked. ¡°Blast that thing in the window or something. Do not touch my bed.¡± ¡°Wait, big sis!¡± The fireball in Yassi¡¯s hand slowly deformed and grew darker in color. But it was still not as black as Herebia¡¯s and Yassi knew what this could mean. It would f*cking explode! She hastily threw it out of the window and ran out of the room. Yassi followed Herebia¡¯s direction and then glanced at her for a while before she started to hum her tune again. Not long after... Boom! Herebia and Yassi looked back and saw that smoke was being emitted from Herebia¡¯s room. Although Herebia instructed Yassi not to touch her room, she was quite happy to see the power of Yassi¡¯s fire ball. ¡®If her spell hadn¡¯t been that powerful, I wouldn¡¯t keep teaching her. It seems like she is quite the good seed.¡¯ ¡°Hey Little Yassi, I was wondering about something. Why isn¡¯t this house still wrecked?¡± Actually, Herebia¡¯s question was justifiable. The hole that Yassi¡¯s [Fire Blast] had caused, the burns in the kitchen, and the explosion on Herebia room. With so much damage, why hasn¡¯t the house collapsed yet? And... who in the world will repair this things? ¡°Oh? The damages that is usually dealt by the aftermath of me and my father¡¯s fight are usually repaired at noon. I was wondering why the hole I had made yesterday was still there...¡± ¡°The repair man¡¯s daughter had her birthday. It was his day off. I think he will be back today.¡± The two females had reached the dining room where greeting them was Ycarus. He sat on a chair, and was drinking coffee. Ycarus had overheard their conversation and naturally answered.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Growl! Growl! Growl! ¡°Damn, I¡¯m so hungry. Ycarus, why didn¡¯t you cook any breakfast?¡± ¡°Faye is locked up don¡¯t you remember? She was the one who had cooked us food. I had a maid before but, maid¡¯s are viewed with ire on this Kingdom and I had Faye...¡± ¡°Maid¡¯s viewed with ire? What a weird bunch... Fine! I¡¯ll cook!¡± Yassi sat besides the seat that was toasted by Ycarus¡¯s [Fire Pillar] yesterday while Ycarus himself had sat on a position where you could see the whole in the wall that was blasted open by Yassi¡¯s [Fire Blast]. Moving sluggishly, Herebia placed nuts in her mouth in order to energize herself a little. She then began to cook. Yassi looked at her big sis and a big theory was slowly being created inside the brat¡¯s mind. ¡®Woah! Big sis cooking?! Doesn¡¯t she look like... a wife? And big sis clearly took over Faye¡¯s role! Isn¡¯t this like those throne coup d¡¯etat? Stealing the position of wife... how fearsome!¡¯ And that is how Yassi came to realize a big misunderstanding that in the first place Herebia¡¯s goal was to become her mother and her father¡¯s wife. That¡¯s some imagination you got there. Herebia finished cooking and served it in a big plate. She looked sideways at Ycarus and Yassi and as she saw the expectation¡¯s in their eyes, somehow a vein popped inside her. ¡°Damn, you daughter-father duo! You think I will serve you your food?! Go and get your plate on your own!¡± ¡®Sigh, Big sis... you still have a long way to go in the road of being a wife...¡¯ This were Yassi¡¯s thoughts at the moment. Ycarus stood up and looked at his daughter for a moment, and then inwardly sighed. He knew that his daughter was acting like the brat she is and wants him to fetch her utensils and plate. He obliged to his fate and fetched two plates and two sets of utensils which was for him and his daughter. Chomp! The three of them ate their fill and filled themselves up. Like yesterday evening, the daughter-father duo was still bickering bout each other¡¯s food and Herebia didn¡¯t give a single f*ck about it. When they were full, Herebia had once again brought out her bowl of nuts and chewed on them. They were not peanuts and instead they were nuts a bit bigger than almond. ¡°Hey Ycarus, when is the meeting thing going to take place?¡± ¡°You mean the War Council Meeting? It will take place a hour later. I will be departing towards the castle after I bathed.¡± ¡°Is that so. Inform me when you go. I¡¯ll go with you.¡± ¡°Oh, ok... wait what?!¡± Herebia had already left the room when Ycarus realized what the woman was spouting. He looked at the direction of the hallway and could see the shadow of woman which immediately disappeared. ¡°Don¡¯t sweat the details. Just call me when you¡¯re gonna depart! I¡¯ll be using the bathroom first then!¡± When the words that had echoed in the hallway died down, the duo looked at each other and then looked at the table. They saw dirty unwashed plates and utensils. A spark came of their eyes and they realized that Herebia had ditched both of them and left them the uncleaned dishes. ¡°So who¡¯s going to wash the dishes?¡± This question was asked by both of them in an almost harmonic way. And so, this question yet again sparked a debate and started a fight which almost burned the unwashed dishes... * * * * * After finishing her bath, which was hot and steamy by the way, Herebia left the bathroom in the same outfit. It was an outfit made out of chaos particles. Why does Herebia favor clothes like this so much? It was because of the versatility. She could change the design everyday and still won¡¯t have a ton of laundry. Although she said this, if you actually look at it, Herebia is technically naked. Well, a question to be asked. Remember the time when Yassi¡¯s spell disintegrated due to excessive shock? What would happen if Herebia herself was shocked? Sigh. The spell would not disintegrate and Herebia won¡¯t be naked. It was a shame but this phenomenon of having your heart shocked and getting your spell¡¯s disintegrated is only applicable to attack spells. It means no scenes of Herebia naked in the middle of a fight. Herebia had returned to the dining room, only to see it scorched to the brim. She looked into the direction of the kitchen and saw Yassi grumbling while washing the dishes. ¡®What the hell hap- oh, I get it.¡¯ Waiting in the table, Herebia started to spin her nuts like before. Not long after, Ycarus came to the dining room and saw that Herebia was already waiting for him. ¡°Hey Requa, I just had a question to ask you... What the hell did you teach my daughter?!¡± ¡°Hmm? What do you mean?¡± ¡°I mean that black magic of yours! That [Fire Ball] of hers almost toasted my hair! Or is that even a fire ball...¡± Herebia stood up and then flicked her hand. Black chaos particles surrounded her and slowly turned into a black and elegant pouch. Like her dress, this was made of chaos particles. She then threw the whole bowl of nuts inside I and then placed it at the side of her hip. The pouch attached itself into her dress and matched it perfectly. Yassi, who had finished washing the dishes, saw the phenomenon and nearly released a girly tear. ¡®Big sis¡¯s magic... It is absolutely the thing most girls dream of... even this deadly choker looks so elegant...¡¯ ¡°What was that?! Was that fashion magic?¡± ¡°I can''t tell you. Stop asking and lead the way!¡± ¡°But... how will you enter the castle?¡± Herebia, who was already near the dining room¡¯s door stopped in place. ¡°I¡¯ll use...¡± Evictus! The power of ghosts! Slowly, Herebia¡¯s body blended with the background until even her shadow was not visible. This was the power of Evictus, the power of invisibility. Although someone might be able to sense her using eyes that could see elemental particles, they would need to look much more carefully in order to do that. Yassi and Ycarus was surprised when they saw Herebia disappear. Although Ycarus could not sense anything, Yassi had the slight feeling that something was inside this room other than her and her father. The feeling was extremely faint and almost unnoticeable. This power could not be acquired through any means other than through a God Item (Item¡¯s created by gods) or through your own bloodline. This came from Herebia¡¯s bloodline talent, which will not be revealed for now. ¡°Pretty neat right? Now I could follow you to the castle!¡± Suddenly, a voice echoed out of the room and both Yassi and Ycarus identified the owner of the voice. Ycarus sighed and then walked out of the dining room. ¡°Hey sweetheart, stay home for now. If the repairman did arrive, please pay him fro me.¡± ¡°What!? Why should I?¡± ¡°Because most of them were wrecked by your spells anyway! Requa and I will be leaving now... I could already sense that a sh*t storm would come this following month so stay home!¡± ¡°Tch! You win this time old man!¡± And so, Ycarus left the house while he himself could not see his companion. It must¡¯ve felt extremely uncomfortable to know that someone was following you but you could not see anyone. It totally feels like a ghost was creeping behind him. It seems like the name of this ability had a well deserved name. * * * * * ¡°Woah, that¡¯s some dope ass castle there! Built inside a ravine... and the ravine of dragons, no less!¡± A voice echoed out behind Ycarus and he couldn¡¯t help but shiver. The other people around who also heard the voice was fear stricken and looked for the source of the voice. They found nothing... which led to more fear in their hearts. Ycarus, although already exposed to it for minutes now, he still couldn¡¯t say that he wasn¡¯t afraid of a voice coming out of nowhere. He knew that Requa was behind him but... goddamn it! The duo (does ghost-chan Herebia count?) arrived at the entrance of the ravine and it was one hell of a sight. The ravine was surrounded by big walls towering 20 meters and then the castle which was built below the surface level had it¡¯s tip around 50 meter high or so. As it was built on a fissure of earth, the people who would want to enter the castle would need to descend down first as the first floor of this castle was around 15 meters below the normal surface. The air around the castle is also hot, as this ravine was once rumored to be a dragon¡¯s nest. Herebia could not comment on the speculation of a dragon¡¯s nest but she was sure that the castle that she was seeing differed from what she remembered. That¡¯s right, another castle was once built in here. Herebia remembered it that there was no walls surrounding it and the castle was not that high. In actuality, the previous castle she knew that was positioned in this land was extremely deep. The race that had once lived in this ravine was a bloodline that loved the fire and was good at taming dragons. Maybe this is where the rumor came from? Anyways, the ones who once occupied this lands were the... Drazians. This ravine... was previously the home of the Drazians. Ycarus started to walk down the metal drawbridge which was slanted downwards. This drawbridge was quite weird as it tilted down but it actually has a good advantage. Tilting down would make it much more easier to raise the bridge after all. To avoid getting lost, Herebia pinched the Ycarus¡¯s clothe. Ycarus felt that something was pulling his clothes and knew that it was Herebia. Acting like nothing was present, Ycarus proceeded forward as the both of them arrived at the gates of the castle. When the Ignis guards saw that the one arriving was a general, they hurriedly saluted and raised the gates. Ycarus smiled at them and then bowed slightly. ¡°The War Council Meeting... did it start yet?¡± ¡°No, they still haven¡¯t started yet General.¡± ¡°Good...¡± Entering the castle, Ycarus¡¯s silhouette slowly disappeared from the sight of the Ignis guards as a ghostly woman trailed behind him. [15] War Council Meeting Unlike Aven¡¯s ¡®overly renovated floating castle¡¯ which is the Divas, the Ignis King¡¯s castle is mush more monotonous. Lining the castle halls were nothing but sets of armors, doors and windows. You could literally not see a single potted plant. Ycarus and Herebia had just passed by the residential quarters and were now proceeding to the council room. With a turn to the left, the both of them saw a big door which was guarded by two Ignis Practitioners which were at the 8th stage. These were the bare minimum amount of ability one must have in order to guard this castle. ¡®Woah, A big shot does live in style. Although this castle is monotonous, it is not the castle that is quite showy. It is the guards... well, I am no better myself.¡¯ Still invisible, Herebia reached out for her pouch and munched a nut or two. Her exodus power could affect everything in her body, including her dress and pouch, but not the things she touches. When she took the nut, Herebia made sure to clench it on her fist and put it in her mouth as fast as she can. Well, the things that this ¡®Evictus¡¯ affects really differs. If the power considers the thing that Herebia held as a ¡®weapon¡¯, the ¡®weapon¡¯ would be concealed like Herebia. If it was something unimportant like the nut she just ate, the power of the ghosts would not conceal it. Ycarus stopped for a while as he heard a quiet crunching sound. He almost face-palmed and was screaming inside his head that they would be found out. ¡®Wait a minute... would a nut be affected by her power? I hope no one sees a suspicious floating nut during the meeting...¡¯ The two 8th stage Practitioners saw Ycarus arrive and they simultaneously saluted. Without waiting for orders, the both of them opened the door which swung inwards. Greeting the sights of Ycarus and Herebia was a triangular table. Herebia, stopped for a moment and then she quietly returned the nut in her hand, which she was about to chew on, back to her pouch. She needed to be as quiet as possible while inside this room. ¡®... Is it not supposed to be round? Like the roundtable? Is triangle the new fad at this era?...¡¯ The triangular table was an equilateral one and seating on one side that was directly facing the door. This was only occupied by a single seat and this particular seat was reserved for the Ignis King, which had still not arrived. Of course he would still not be here! Who do you think he is?! He is the king! A king would always arrive later than his subordinates! The other two sides of the triangle also had two seats each, making it 4 seats in total. The seats in the left side were already occupied by a red-armored man and a sexy tanned woman. The other side was empty. When Ycarus entered the room, the red-armored man¡¯s and sexy tanned woman¡¯s eyes landed on him. He saw the ones that were staring at him and Ycarus bowed to them in respect. ¡°Prince Ranz, General Noreen, Please excuse me.¡± ¡°Oh if it isn¡¯t General Ycarus, Please take a seat.¡± The sexy tanned woman who looked like she was in her late 20''s, namely General Noreen, stood up and made a small bow. When she stood up, her sexiness was evident even through her light armor. Although she could use improvements in her breast area, no one could complain about her battle hardened face and slim body. The armored man who Ycarus branded as ¡®Prince Ranz¡¯ didn¡¯t stand up and only made a small bow towards the direction of Ycarus. Ycarus and Noreen were fellow generals so they had to show each other respect, but this matter changed when Ranz was involved. He was a f*cking Prince. Why would I stand up and greet a General? Ycarus sat at the other side and then he and Herebia waited. Feeling bored, Herebia brought out a nut and started to chew on it. Since no one was besides Ycarus, Herebia felt that munching a nut or two would be safe. True to her calculations, Noreen and Ranz did not hear any munching sounds. Nom. Nom. Nom. Noreen looked at the direction of the door and then she supported her head with her hand. She was evidently bored. ¡°Old man Jager sure is taking his time.¡± After munching for 15 minutes or so, the door issued a creaking sound and another man entered the room. Unlike Ranz and Noreen who wore armor and was youthful, this man wore a red robe and aged around 60. This was Jager, another General. Jager walked forth into the room and only bowed in the direction of the prince. After doing so, he went on his way and sat besides Ycarus. This behavior of Jager made Noreen pissed but Ycarus was already used to this old man not greeting him. Okay time to explain some things! The Ignis Kingdom has three generals because each one of them commanded a different type of soldier each. Ycarus, titled ¡®Commander¡¯, is in charge of the warriors, which makes up about 65% of the whole army. Jager, titled ¡®Magus¡¯, is in charge of the practitioners, which is the min power of the army. Noreen, titled ¡®Adviser¡¯, is in charge of the special troops and was personally the Ignis King¡¯s personal adviser. While this was explained, a 50 years old or so man was already seating in the king¡¯s seat. The four of the generals did not feel his presence when he entered but Herebia did. Unlike most depictions of kings, the Ignis King did not really wear any flamboyant capes or sh*t like that. He wore a sturdy looking red armor which sported the Ignis Kingdom¡¯s symbol. A sword was strapped on his side and he wore a red gauntlet. On his head was not the typical golden crow, but it was a red crown which was shaped into a flame. Overall, this guy looked nothing like a king. He looked like an extremely powerful general or something. Well, that was indeed the case. In this realm, a weak-ass sovereign is not needed. A powerful general is much more accepted than a weak ruler, so being a ruler in this world would mean that you have a lot of power. Herebia¡¯s eyes were glued to the sword that was strapped on the Ignis King¡¯s side. Although the Ignis King was colored red overall, this weapon was the only one that looked out of place, which had the color of black. A chain was also attached at it¡¯s pommel which at the end of it hanged... ... A rusty old key. ¡®... A Nine Seraphic Sword, huh? This guy has some power there!¡¯ All four of the seated personnel stood up and bowed to the seated figure of the Ignis King. When the four of them were bowed, they simultaneously greeted the Ignis King. ¡°Greetings! King Zeal!¡± The Ignis King, Zeal, raised his right hand and signaled them to seat down. All four of them sat down in an orderly manner and then did Zeal clear his throat.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°We shall start the War Council Meeting early, I still have some matters I need to attend to.¡± ¡°Father, If I may ask... could I come and help you with those matters?¡± Starting off with that question, Ranz leaned forward in inquiry. Noreen, Ycarus and Jager remained quiet as this conversation was not something that they could join in. This is the conversation between father and son. Herebia didn¡¯t dare to munch more nuts because she was in the presence of an enemy which she couldn¡¯t underestimate. After all, Zeal possessed something that could scare her. ¡°Hm... You should come in order to train yourself. One day, you would carry my will and continue this war.¡± ¡°Thank you, Father.¡± Herebia stood behind Ycarus as she placed her hand in her chin. She was deep in thought... well not that deep anyway. ¡®This Prince Ranz... don¡¯t tell me he was the prince that was mentioned on Ycarus¡¯s story? Seriously? Although he looks quite the filial son...¡¯ When Zeal looked away from Ranz, Herebia could see a small spark inside the prince¡¯s eyes. Although small, Herebia¡¯s eyes widened and then her mouth curved into a smirk. ¡®... he feels more like a schemer to me. Although the spark of betrayal is still not that big... with my [Zera] I could fuel him with negative emotions... and... make it grow...¡¯ ¡°Anyway, this is not the topic that we will be discussing for today¡¯s meeting. We will discuss about the Aero Kingdom¡¯s retreat.¡± Jager raised his right hand while his left hand was supporting the left side of his head. ¡°I think my king, that this news is quiet authentic. I recently heard from spies that the Aero Queen, Laira, was choosing among the three of her daughters for a suitable replacement. I think this event would last for a year or so, as the Aero Kingdom¡¯s selection for successor always last that long in average.¡± Noreen also raised her hand and then provided her comment about the topic. ¡°I second what General Jager had said, my king. This is the best time to attack the Terra Kingdom! Although our time is limited, if we could execute a fast way to annihilate our enemy...¡± ¡°What way would that be? If you look at our army, that would not be possible.¡± This time it was Ycarus who said that. It was because Noreen¡¯s idea was quite absurd as well. Wiping out another kingdom in no more than a year? That¡¯s just ridiculous! Jager and Noreen stared at Ycarus and lightly frowned. Ranz, who was quiet all the time, lightly coughed and caused the other¡¯s attention to be drawn to him. ¡°What General Ycarus said is the truth. If you did look at our army, wiping out the enemy in a year is simply wishful thinking. But... it is possible.¡± Ycarus processed the underlying meaning inside Ranz¡¯s proclamation. While Ycarus was still thinking about it, Noreen had already raised her hand. ¡°P-prince... don¡¯t tell me that we will be in an alliance with the Aqua Kingdom!¡± When Ycarus and Jager heard those words, both of their breathing became ragged. If... If they really did have the support of Aqua Kingdom then... destroying the Aero Kingdom and the Terra Kingdom together would not be a dream. ¡°It is not the Aqua Kingdom. The negotiations between us and this ¡®ally¡¯ is still ongoing and I would reveal their identity after we sort out the negotiations. This will be the matter that Ranz and I will attend.¡± This time it was Zeal that opened his mouth. Seeing that his subjects were taking the initiative to talk, he was not mad was actually joyful that his generals were quite initiative. ¡°Enough with our ¡®ally¡¯, what we need to discuss now is the conditions of the army. Ycarus, how many soldiers are available in your command?¡± ¡°My king, available soldiers number around 900K to 1M but I suggest sir that we should leave 30% of them here in the Ignis Kingdom in order to guard.¡± ¡°Good, that number is much more than what I had expected. Jager, what about the number of Cadet Practitioners in your number?¡± ¡°The total number of Cadets in the population number around 150K, my king. Although 15K of these are underage and they could not be called for war.¡± ¡°I see, then how much Elite Practitioners do we have?¡± ¡°Around 3,000, your honor. The number was reduced during the initial clash between us and the Terra Kingdom three years ago. Although the number of Cadets have increased, they were the underage Cadets three years ago who have entered the appropriate age now.¡± This banter of reports continued for quite sometime and Ycarus had felt that he had forgotten about something important. The forgotten woman was seated at the corner of the room as she listened to the info the generals dumped on Zeal. Herebia was in the far reaches of the room and was munching on her nuts. Although Zeal was powerful, he could still not hear something as subtle as the sound of chewing from that far away. ¡®This info dump is getting boring though... I guess I asked for it when I declared that I wanted info... sigh...¡¯ Time passed as Zeal, Ranz, Ycarus, Noreen and Jager discussed while a ghostly woman munched on her snacks around the corner of the room they were ranting on. * * * * * ¡°That concludes the meeting. Jager, Ycarus, Noreen and Ranz you may go.¡± The four of them stood up and bowed. Zeal then turned around and left the room. When the king left the room, the four of them went on their separate ways. Jager and Ranz went to a different direction while Ycarus and Noreen went to the same direction. Feeling full, Herebia trailed behind Ycarus and Noreen. Why was she feeling full? She was satisfied with the nuts she just ate and had also gained a lot of information about the war. Sadly, the Crystal Shards were not brought up in this meeting. Although she still didn¡¯t have a single clue about the Crystal Shards, Herebia had already found two of the Nine Seraphic Swords. One was possessed by Oliver and the other one by Zeal. Aven said that Herebia didn¡¯t need to get them but Herebia had the gut feeling that she will somehow need them in the future. Herebia had listed a new agenda on her schedule and that was to intervene during the clash of Terra and Ignis. She would sneak up on Zeal and steal the Nine Seraphic Sword from him during the confusion. Maybe even kill him in the process. While she contemplated on how to achieve her goal, the two Generals were having a good chat. Although these two would sometimes cross swords, at most times they were amiable to each other. In fact, the closest¡¯s generals were Ycarus and Noreen. Ycarus and Noreen didn¡¯t like the attitude of Jager and they could not befriend Ranz as he was a prince. They were also not that apart in age, so it made their friendship into a natural thing. ¡°Oh, how is Little Yassi doing?¡± ¡°The brat? She¡¯s doing quite well. You know, she recently reached the 6th stage! Isn¡¯t that quite fast?¡± ¡°Woah amazing! I reached that stage before when I was around 17! Little Yassi is still 14 at this year...¡± Herebia followed the two as they talked about lots of things. It seems like Ycarus has already forgotten about the presence of Herebia and was happily chatting with his fellow colleague. ¡°Oh yeah, Noreen, how¡¯s your love life been?¡± ¡°Same old, same old. I still haven¡¯t found one and I am already turning 30! Damn, you? How have you been doing with you wife?¡± When Ycarus¡¯s wife was mentioned, Herebia nearly choked on the nut she was munching on. Although she prevented herself from choking to death, she needed support. She quickly clawed on Ycarus¡¯s back and she rested her full weight on him while gasping for breath. Ycarus heard a quiet choking sound behind him and then felt a heavy burden on his back. His mind then clicked as he realized that a ghostly woman was supposed to be following him. As expected, he had completely forgotten about this fact. Noreen noticed the strange behavior of her fellow colleague and then walked to his front. She looked at him and concluded that Ycarus was definitely acting weird. ¡°What¡¯s wrong Ycarus?¡± ¡°N-No... It¡¯s nothing...¡± After gaining her breath, Herebia didn¡¯t need any support anymore. She pushed the ¡®wall¡¯ which was Ycarus forward and then summoned a handkerchief made out of chaos particles to wipe her mouth. While she was wiping her mouth, Ycarus was already grieving. It seems that the universe¡¯s law was once again in effect and once again his ¡®Unlucky luck¡¯ had struck! Diving like the pervert he is, Ycarus face planted his face in Noreen¡¯s stomach, which was not covered by her light armor. Although the design of her armor was not practical, no one could deny that it was quite hot. Of course Noreen would wear more practical armor¡¯s in battle but what she attended was a meeting. ¡°Goddam it, Ycarus, not again!¡± Thud! During the process, Ycarus hugged Noreen¡¯s body and flipped her around in order to reduce the impact on her body. The one who cushioned the fall was Ycarus. The two was momentarily stunned and was figuring out why they were laid in the floor. The ghostly woman behind Ycarus¡¯s back suddenly remembered something and a grin crept up in her face. Herebia took this opportunity to whisper on Ycarus¡¯s ear. ¡°Hey Ycarus, You can go on ahead but wait for me at the entrance. I have some matter that I would like to attend to...¡± Ycarus was still confused as he heard Requa talk besides his ear. Herebia turned around and went back towards the direction of the room that they had a meeting before. When she was about five meters or so away from the duo, Herebia heard a crisp sound of someone being slapped. ¡®My... that would¡¯ve been painful. I wonder if I should blast Ycarus if that were to happen to me...¡¯ Herebia ignored the two of them and then she proceeded forward. Bring a hand in her pouch, she searched around for a nut and was unable to find some... It seems that she had devoured all of her supply. She sighed inwardly and shook her head. No. The matter that she remembered was not refilling her supply of nuts. It was... ¡®I wonder where... where that Ranz¡¯s room is?¡¯ [16] An Interesting Prince When the meeting was adjourned by his father, Ranz separated out of generals. Ranz felt that hanging out with them right now is unneeded because he has lots of things he needed to do. Firstly, he needed to prepare for this upcoming war. While walking around the castle, the guards that he had met would salute him. He was heading towards his own chamber, which was just at the back of the keep. There were no guards in front of the metal door that guarded his room. Ranz has specified that he didn¡¯t want guards protecting him. Zeal didn¡¯t really care that much as he was confident in his son¡¯s ability to guard himself. When he reached the metal door, there were no such thing as passwords. He just brought out a key with a design similar to the Ignis symbol. Using the key, he unlocked the metal door and entered his room. Clack! When he was inside and he saw his bed, Ranz let out a sigh and rested himself their. Feeling as if he had nothing better to do other than train, Ranz sat cross-legged and looked around the room. He was practicing his ability to detect elemental particles and properly control them. He scanned around the room a bit and found out that it was particularly normal. Using the fire particles, he materialized many shapes in front of him in order to practice his control. The finer the details of the object he creates, the more his control improves. He made pencils, sticks, and he even tried to create a figurine. He had decided to use Noreen as the inspiration for the figurine and the fire particles danced to his intentions. While he was watching the silhouette of a woman form, a different image suddenly flashed into his mind. He did not know what happened, but images of a certain woman flashed forth in his mind. There were also another woman in this flashes of memory but Ranz ignored them as they were extremely painful. It was abnormal. The memories he had buried deep in his heart was slowly being pulled by something... strange... The figurine made out of fire particles which was supposed to look like Noreen, distorted slightly and then it divided into two. The first one turned into an amiable looking woman who had a motherly aura. The second one... turned into an extremely beautiful young teen with flowing hair. Although the model of this girl is now supposed to be more than 30 years old, the only happy memories that remained inside of Ranz were of the age when they were still young. Eyeing to the right, Ranz could see his loving mother. Eyeing to the left, Ranz could see his previous fianc¨¦, Laira. Seeing two women who have greatly affected his life, made Ranz break his cross legged posture. Tears slowly slid down his face. Although in a highly emotional state, his control over this two figurines actually improved. More detail was made as they both turned much more life like, although still colored red. He didn¡¯t know what made him recall this memories but they had made him enter a lethargic state. He didn¡¯t have any more energy to train as he stared continuously at the two figurines created with his magic. His tears have already stained his bed. ¡°Mom... Laira... why? Why did...¡± A voice seemed to have answered him inside his heart as he felt boundless wrath. He felt his anger, fury, or simply his wrath explode out in huge quantities. More memories were unearthed and the two figures also simultaneously changed. They were affected by his wrath. Ranz¡¯s mother turned into... surprisingly Zeal. While Laira, Ranz¡¯s previous fianc¨¦ since birth, turned into a handsome young man with brown hazel hair. This young man was the Terra Prince, namely Franco. Although wrath was the first emotion that surfaced in Ranz¡¯s heart, it slowly birthed to anger and hatred. He hated these two figures as he commanded the two figurines to approach him. They flew towards him and Ranz gripped their neck, crushing them instantly. ¡°I¡¯ll destroy you... I promise that I would destroy both of you! I shall vow to get rid both of you! Even if I were not the one to deliver the hit, I would want to cause you... YOUR DEATH!! AAARGH!!!¡± Boundless hatred and anger was evident in his voice. Unlike Hilroy at that time though, this hatred was much more rich... they were already embedded deep in Ranz¡¯s bones. He would not accept death if he at least didn¡¯t cause these two men to die. Why? They had taken two of the most important women in his life. The spark of betrayal which was so well hidden before, bursted out of this moment. Instead of training right now, Ranz felt that he needed to check on something and make sure that it was in good conditions. While Ranz was distracted with his raging emotions, he hadn¡¯t noticed that the door to his room had been opened and then closed. The one that opened it, the ghostly woman, smirked and then slowly muttered in her breath. ¡°What an interesting prince...¡± * * * * * 15 minutes before that happened. Herebia had found the prince¡¯s residence by turning a lone guard into a raisin. In order to dispose of his body, Herebia disintegrated it using a [Chaos Dragon] which gobbled the withered body of the guard. How did she enter without a key? Heck, she could create clothes out of magic! Why not stuff elemental particles in the key hole and then turn it around? The elemental particles would be like fluid first but when it filled the entirety of the key hole, it will harden. Clack! Herebia pulled out the crystalized chaos key and she didn¡¯t disintegrate it yet. When she saw that no one was around, Herebia entered the room and using the key she made, she locked the room. Looking around the room for snacks, this was how Herebia passed the time. She also searched around the room for something like a diary but, sadly she didn¡¯t find any. When she was looking at a picture of Ranz that was hanging on the wall, she had noticed a peculiar thing about it. ¡°Hey... isn¡¯t this frame supposed to be double sided? It isn¡¯t even supposed to be hung, It is one of those flip frames that should be placed on desks...¡± Without any hesitation, Herebia took the picture and flipped it over and then found a pretty surprising picture. It was of an extremely beautiful girl. Herebia pieced the information in her head together which included Ycarus¡¯s info dump and the info dump during the meeting. She deduced that the one in this picture is Laira, the country wreaking beauty. ¡®Hm... Hee... This is getting interesting.¡¯ Right after Herebia placed the frame back in it¡¯s previous place did Herebia hear a clacking sound from the door. She quickly hid her presence and then sat herself in the corner of the room. A grin slowly crept up in her face. ¡®It seems that the prey is already here...¡¯ Like what she was expecting, Ranz was the one who entered the room. Herebia watched the guy as he laid down on his bed and laze around. She still determined that now wasn¡¯t the time to do it as the guy still didn¡¯t have his back unguarded.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. When Ranz sat cross-legged in the bed, Herebia felt that her chance was getting near. While the prince was distracted by his own things, a small black thread slowly crept to his bed from the dark corner of his room. She started to make hand seals but when she was about to the last one, she paused a bit and waited for a good timing. After creating various things, Ranz finally made something that Herebia felt that she could use. A figurine. ¡®Bingo... Right now!¡¯ Smirking, Herebia made the last hand seal and then plunged the [Chaos Thread] at the back of Ranz¡¯s head. He jolted a little and his eyes glazed over like he was somehow unconscious. His eyes suggests that his mind was wandering right now. This was [Zera : Memory]! She had used this before against Ycarus and it¡¯s effects were merely unearthing memories in crucial times. Although Herebia and Ranz were not in the middle of a negotiation, winning a negotiation was never her intention. It was something else. Herebia watched as the figurine divided into two, which even surprised her, and transforming into two women. She expected one of them to turn into Laira, but the other woman was someone that Herebia didn¡¯t know. The memories that the [Zera : Memory] will unearth was not something for Herebia to decide. Learning that Ranz valued another woman, most likely his mother due to the resemblance, Herebia couldn¡¯t help but smile. This was extra info for her. Ranz started to cry and this was what Herebia had expected. She wanted this guy to enter into a lethargic state in order to use a specific spell on him. When the tears were flowing down Ranz¡¯s face, Herebia had already started to form hand seals for the next spell. ¡°Mom... Laira... why? Why did...¡± Her face flashing the smile of victory, Herebia made the final hand seal. The [Chaos Thread] that was impaled at the back of Ranz¡¯s head glowed with th color of red and started to shake. [Zera : Wrath]!!! The [Chaos Thread] implanted ¡®wrath¡¯ into Ranz¡¯s limbic system and made him... into an beast that had been unleashed. Those he truly hate, hidden or openly... he had finally come to realize who they were. The two figurines turned into King Zeal and a certain young man. Although Ranz¡¯s hatred to Zeal had been deeply hidden inside his heart, at this very moment... He had come to embrace this hatred. He would not show it in the surface but... if he has the opportunity to kill his father then... ¡®Hee... King Zeal and that Terra Prince, huh?... This guy has such a tragic love life though...¡¯ He would take it without the slightest hesitation... After crushing both of the figurines he had created, Ranz ranted with boundless hatred. ¡°I¡¯ll destroy you... I promise that I would destroy both of you! I shall vow to get rid both of you! Even if I were not the one to deliver the hit, I would want to cause you... YOUR DEATH!! AAARGH!!!¡± Seeing his slightly demented state, Herebia felt that the small spark that had her interested was finally ignited into a flame. This was her objective. To turn this prince against his father, and this would surely make the task of stealing Zeal¡¯s sword easier. Using the opportunity when the prince was shouting out loud in rage, Herebia unlocked the door and then left like the ghost she is. Herebia sighed lightly and then a smirk slowly crept up in her face... she then proceeded forward and walked forth towards the direction of the main exit, where Ycarus was probably waiting. While she hummed a particular tune that was made by Little Yassi, Herebia had already reached the entrance. She found Ycarus and Noreen, still chatting like before. Herebia was surprised as the time she left, Ycarus was clearly slapped. Looking closer, that was indeed the case. This was because a clear red hand print was visible on the right side and the left side of Ycarus¡¯s face. Herebia remembered that she had only heard a single slapping sound but it seems like... The same shenanigan happened when she was away. Herebia had clearly underestimated Ycarus¡¯s ¡®Unlucky luck¡¯. Although still wary of the pervert, Herebia approached Ycarus like always and then tugged on his clothes. Ycarus felt that something was tugging on his clothes and he remembered the fact that a ghostly woman was supposed to meet up with him here. He only remembered the fact that he needed to wait here. ¡°What¡¯s wrong Ycarus?¡± ¡°N-no... It¡¯s nothing...¡± ¡°Wait... I could feel a sense of deja vu...!! O-okay... I need to go now! Bye!¡± And with those words, Noreen retreated with speed as fast as lightning. She had felt a slight sense of deja vu back then and remembered that she had asked exactly the same words before and Ycarus had answered the same way. After the same exchange was... Ycarus diving for her stomach head on. Retreating like what a good tactician would do, Noreen left Ycarus¡¯s location while waving him goodbye. Herebia saw what she did there, and she couldn¡¯t agree more. She approached Ycarus¡¯s ears and then whispered. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here. We still need to go somewhere.¡± Ycarus nodded slightly and then they both left the castle. While going up the uphill drawbridge, Herebia looked around the ravine. She saw pointy rocks and then other trivial things. ¡®Ho... I just saw something interesting... Prince Ranz... what are you doing there?¡¯ On the corner of her eye, Herebia saw the figure of the prince she just drowned with wrath. It was only a slight glimpse but she was sure that Ranz was the one that she saw scaling the rocky walls of the ravine. In the next second though, Herebia totally lost track of him. ¡®Hmm... I need to see for myself what that guy is hiding...¡¯ Ignoring the fact that she just saw something that is incredible, Herebia closely followed Ycarus. When they were out of the main gates, Herebia immediately went to a dark alleyway. She cut off her ability, which was ¡®Evictus¡¯. Like reflecting light, the air around Herebia shook and revealed her figure. She then went out of the alleyway and after she saw Ycarus, she slowly walked towards his direction. Ycarus saw that the woman following him was n longer a ghost, and he simply sighed in relief. ¡®Man.. What a day... being followed by a ghost sure is unnerving... although you know she is not one but knowing that someone was watching you while others do not... what a scary experience...¡¯ When Herebia had arrived at his side, Ycarus noticed that his companion was looking for something. ¡°Um... Requa, what are you looking for?¡± ¡°A place... Hey Ycarus do you know...¡± ¡°Do I know?..¡± Herebia stopped for a moment and then slowly looked at Ycarus¡¯s face. Ycarus was surprised as this time, unlike her usual cold or nonchalant face, this time there was... desire. Yup... this Requa who had planted bombs on the neck of his wife and daughter, was making a face that only belonged to those who thirsted for something. Smirking, Herebia who was looking at Ycarus faced her back at him. Ycarus was stunned for a moment, but Herebia¡¯s words followed after. ¡°Where is this... Lexicon Hall?" * * * * * !! Crack... Crack!! Crash! Ranz looked sideways at the part of the ravine that cracked and fell. He had gripped that previously but when he felt that the soil was loose, he had quickly changed where his grip would be. His intuition was not wrong as the previous protrusion on the wall that he gripped had crack off the ravine¡¯s walls and fell off. Right now, Ranz was scaling the ravine walls. Call him a madman or whatnot, he had something he needed to do right now in a specific place up in this side of the ravine. He needed power. This is what he seeks. Gripping protrusions on the wall, Ranz spotted an extremely hidden cave not too far away. A grin surfaced in his face as he had finally found his goal. Scaling like a monkey, he quickly arrived at the cave and landed inside of it. The cave was not that big as it¡¯s mouth could only allow to enter a single person. It was also extremely narrow and looked more like a passageway than a cave. Ranz slowly exhaled and then he recollected his resolve. ¡®I-if... If I don¡¯t do this... I would not be able to do anything... In order to something... the first requirement would be...¡± Strength. Much more strength. After walking in that dark narrow passage way for 30 seconds or so, Ranz could finally see some light, although green. Up ahead was a space that probably had the dimensions of 3x3x3 meters. It was definitely weird, as the edges of the space was extremely sharp. Like someone made this space. Heck, a cave that is an exact cube? Who the hell are you tricking, this ain¡¯t made by nature! Glowing stalagmites were visible at the edges of the room. They looked like exquisite gems and they exuded the majestic color of green. They were the source of the green light. Ranz had been here previously but he was still awed by this beautiful sight. In the middle of the room though, was a big ass magic circle. It was different than the one that would appear in Herebia¡¯s [Zera] spells but... there was indeed some similarities. Looking at the magic circle, a smirk slowly contorted out of Ranz¡¯s face. Using the elemental particles in the room, Ranz concentrated them onto his palm. The elemental particles slowly materialized in his palm into a violet colored skin. Bang! Ranz bought down his palm onto the magic circle and the violet color of his palm was slowly sucked by the magic circle. The Stalagmites glowed with their eerie green light and the magic circle shone with it¡¯s violet light. When he pulled out his hand, he knew that ¡®that¡¯ thing will be coming and he knew that... that what he did was reckless. But who the f*ck cares? Let¡¯s just laugh like a f*cking madman!!! This is something he needed to do! For the things he want... he needed... Power. They had said that the seven sins were connected to each other. Without Herebia doing anything, Ranz''s wrath was slowly turning to... Greed. Greed for power. Two lights bloomed inside the cubical room... Green and violet... It is the color of a... ¡°Ha hA HA!! Sieg... SIEG! I beg you.... please, SHOW YOURSELF!!!¡± ... The color of a snake and it¡¯s deadly venom. [17] Thirst For Power Viewing from this part of the forest, one would feel endless night. Gazing just directly into the sea, one would feel that when they stood at this part of the Forest of Snakes... Even if it is day, it is clearly night... !!! The top predators of the forest was alarmed and they scurried away into their holes. Even if this forest was named after snakes because the animals mostly inhabiting it were... snakes. Not all animals in here were one of those slithery guys. Even so, the best predator here would always be those who could hunt them all. Snake or not. And this predator himself was a... snake. They were Cannibal Snakes, which would prey upon anything that has flesh, even if it was a... snake itself. The normal and weak beasts all tried to hide. It felt like a powerful beast would awaken. Shu! With a heavy sound, two glaring eyes opened in the depths of the darkness. They were hideous and extremely terrifying. It felt like one gaze would petrify you, killing you in an instant. These eyes were definitely not normal considering... They had the size of a boulder almost three times as big as a human head. It had the color of green... with violet sharp iris. They were truly feral and demonic. Although this was the darkness, one could clearly see this two eyes. They could not be hidden by any darkness. Sss! A forked tongue flicked out and a hissing sound reverberated throughout the forest. The mighty beast and creatures of this forest all whimpered in fear when they heard her hiss. The two eyes looked up and then a violet light was present between them. The violet light was dim but it was shaped in the form of a magic circle. It was exactly the same as the one that Ranz had activated back in Fiera. Although the light of the magic circle was dim, It still illuminated a part of the snake¡¯s face. Violet skin. Green underbelly. With a hood as sharp as a dragon¡¯s claw, and scales that is even harder than the hardest metal. It looked divine yet it still had the visage of a monster. The dim light only revealed a part of it¡¯s face but it did not really illuminate all of it¡¯s body. Who knew how long and how thick this monster was. It opened it¡¯s mouth as if to yawn and it revealed it¡¯s two fangs. It was colored abnormally as fangs were not supposed to be colored... red. Dripping from the fangs were violet fluid which was known as the best venom in exaltia. This was... Sieg. Atop the violet magic circle appeared a green colored mark. It was unusual but it was not more unusual than Hilroy winning a gamble that has a 99% win percentage. ¡°So, Ranz finally called me, huh? Oh, well...¡± * * * * * Kneeling in front of the magic circle, Ranz had enough of laughing maniacally. He had activated the magic circle for only at least 5 seconds but he already feels that the elemental particles around this place is diminishing. The unique violet elemental particles of the room was fading away and Ranz deducted that he will only be able to activate this spell for 5 more seconds. ¡®Tch! I can only activate it for once? Grr... Fair enough...¡¯ After this activation, this magic circle could not be activated again because of the deficit in the violet elemental particle. Ranz¡¯s breathing became ragged and his body faltered. Using the hand which was not activating the magic circle, Ranz supported his face while elbowing the ground. Sweat slowly dripped out of Ranz¡¯s face, which traveled to the bridge of his nose and dropping into the solid ground. Plik! Ranz heard the sound of a water droplet and then... !!! Ranz found out that he couldn''t feel his face anymore. It was not because it was gone, it was because the nerves on his hand was disabled. He knew of this because he could still see his hand covering his face but could not feel it touching his face. He slowly lost the feeling to his feet and then up to his stomach. His diaphragm was disabled next, making Ranz unable to breath. He suffered in this vegetable-like state. He felt like he could not move had no limbs and could not breath, like a vegetable. Soon even his mouth refused to move anymore as the muscle controlling his jaw suddenly became disabled. Ranz knew what was gonna happen next... It was either something that would make him powerful or something would cost him his life. Ranz tried to hold out until the light of the magic circle dimmed. He was staring at the magic circle intensely as this was the only thing he could do now. ¡®Do not f*cking underestimate me!!... Eh? Wh-Where is... it?¡¯ Ranz could not find the magic circle anymore but he could not looked for it as his neck was disabled. He thought that he had lasted till the magic circle dimmed out but... It was his eyes. They were disabled. With no shred of though supporting his body, Ranz¡¯s hands that supported him from the ground gave away and his body fell towards the magic circle. Splash! When his body smashed onto the magic circle, it rippled like a disturbed lake. Ranz¡¯s whole body fell inside the magic circle which now looked like a violet colored lake. After fully submerging, the ¡®water¡¯ slowly turned peaceful once again. Ranz felt his body entering water and a smirk formed in his mouth. It was because he could finally sense his body again, the proof of it was the smirk. He had succeeded. Opening his eyes, he was deep in a black water-ish region. He could not feel a sense of direction and he could not identify where the ground was. This was because, there was no gravity in here. After twisting around a minute or so, something finally entered Ranz¡¯s eyes. Two glaring eyes. Violet sclera and green iris. Ranz¡¯s eyes constricted as fear once again struck him. The first time he had seen the figure of Sieg, he had been too afraid to even talk. Even if he only saw her eyes, he was still terrified. Although he could not see it, he could feel that the body of Sieg was moving around this space. This was because of the distortions all around Ranz and he felt that this space was something similar to water. His foot finally landed to something solid, but this further made Ranz scared. He started to shiver as he had already guessed what he was standing on. This was... the body of Sieg herself. Due to the movement of the platform beneath Ranz¡¯s feet, He was brought forward and made to stand just beneath the eyes of Sieg. A forked tongue flicked out and the snake issued out a hissing sound.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Sss!!! ¡°Ranz... After 3 years you have finally made your decision... What took you so long?¡± Ranz opened his mouth in order to answer but he found that he could not. When he tried to speak, bubbles were emitted from his mouth and the sounds that he emitted were drowned out in this black sea. ¡°You do not need to answer... I already knew. I was just speaking casually. I know what you seek... And you have already proven yourself worthy to hold it.¡± The disabling of Ranz¡¯s bodily functions before was not a natural effect of the magic circle. It was a test given out by the green stalagmites and they will judge one if they were worthy or not. Passing meant power and failure meant... death. ¡°Anyway, I have a power that is just what you seek... In this conversation between us, you only need to nod or shake your head. Yeah, that is how you answer my questions...¡± Gulping down his saliva, Ranz was visibly excited. He could finally obtain it. The power that would make his desires come true!.. ¡°I plan to give you... a bloodline! A bloodline that could pierce anything!" * * * * * In the middle of a crowded street on Fiera. The crowds were just minding their own personal business, being a crowd and making the wide road almost unusable. Suddenly a random passerby saw someone approaching from the east and when he discovered who it was, he felt a sense of awe and then shouted out. ¡°It¡¯s General Ycarus!¡± His shout attracted the attention of other people and so all of the crowds gaze landed on the upcoming group of two. When they saw who the male was, they exclaimed in surprise and then they started to talk. ¡°That¡¯s General Ycarus!¡± ¡°Amazing! He looks as manly as the rumors said!¡± ¡°General Ycarus, give me your babies!¡± The crowd ignored the female who shouted that and then divided into two to let the general and his companion to pass. Like wood being split open, a crowd dividing into two is quite the sight. When Ycarus saw, and heard, what the crowd did he was actually embarrassed. ¡°Hey, Hey! Ycarus, you sure are famous! Even someone wants to bear your seeds. This was the fourth one you know?¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± Following behind Ycarus was a hooded figure, and this was naturally Herebia. Herebia decided that she could not be seen together with Ycarus, as a girl following behind a general is still big news. This could lead her enemies in finding her. Although everyone knew that the figure behind Ycarus was a female, due to her proportions (Dem boobs), everyone could actually not see or identify this mysterious female. It was shrouded in darkness, which was the chaos particles. It somehow worked like Aven¡¯s hood that even if you could see the features of his nose down to his chin, you could still not make a full judgement of his face without seeing his eyes or eyebrows. ¡°So, where is it? The Lexicon Hall?¡± ¡°What do you mean Lexicon Hall? Were not going there.¡± ¡°What? Then where are we going?¡± Ycarus stopped for a second and then proceeded forward. He looked back at Herebia for a little and then a small smirk formed on his face. Herebia was puzzled by this smirk of Ycarus but she knew that this guy was not scheming something. ¡°Do you really want to learn something that only has 7 stages?¡± ¡°... Hee... Ok then, were going home.¡± Ycarus shook his head a little and he knew that this woman has already figured out what the underlying meaning between his words was. He walked forth and changed his direction towards his house. ¡®Bright woman... I wonder if she is a... Nah... Couldn¡¯t be...¡¯ Shaking off his wandering mind, both of them went forth and did not visit the Lexicon Hall. * * * * * ¡°Puh... I¡¯m bored...¡± Yassi said this while twirling her hair and had supported her face with her hand. She looked around and then sighed slightly. Without anything to do, she was doing what she had observed Herebia do when she is not doing anything just like this. And that was to eat. Chomping on a carrot, Ycarus used her eyes that could see elemental particles to play around. She created little fire soldiers and made them battle each other. So boring... With the boredom striking her, Yassi thought of the previous day. It was somehow one of the most intense moments of her life... Facing a monster like Requa. Traveling with the said monster. And then almost being killed by another monster named Oliver. She had thought that Herebia was somehow strong and could beat Oliver. And this was indeed the truth. If Herebia had pulled out ¡®that¡¯ spell and slapped it into Oliver¡¯s face, the result would lead him into nothing more than ashes. Not even his bones would be left. Although she could have done it, she didn¡¯t do it because of two variables. One was that her comrades will not survive the clash and the second one was that her location will be discovered. Using that spell, which only Herebia and a certain someone could do, would definitely expose a lot of information. Specially since they were fighting inside a city. Anyway, since Yassi had remembered her big sis Requa, she also subconsciously created the tiniest fireball she could create. Abiding the instructions of Requa, Yassi started to control the elemental particles and then... Made them collide! The color of the ball slowly turned into black but it¡¯s stability worsened second after second. Although Yassi could not perfect the spell yet, making this much progress after only half a day of training was actually impressive. As expected, when Herebia knew that this brat could see elemental particles, she knew that the brat was a perfect candidate to practice the Chaos Tome. ¡°Yeah!¡± Yassi guffawed in pride as she held up the unstable black orb of particles in her hand. When she felt that the ball would blow off her arm sooner or later, she casually threw it at the wall. Bang! The explosion made a hole, not smaller than the one that [Fire Blast] had made on the wall. Now within this wall was two equal holes, both blasted by Yassi. A head popped out from outside the house and through the hole. It was a middle aged man with an expressionless face. He had popped out of the [Fire Blast] hole and then looked at the new hole that Yassi had casually created. ¡°... More work burden for me...¡± This middle aged man was the repair man. He had already been used to the destructive prowess of this family. Making hand seals, he then clapped his hands and then placed them on the floor. The ground shook a little and then the broken pieces of rocks slowly pierced back together. Yassi had already seen this before and she had already come to conclusion on what it was. It was the Terra Syllabus. Although the syllabus¡¯s could be used on things other than fighting, almost all of them chose to be employed in the military contrary to this fact. Those oddballs who don¡¯t want to fight using their Syllabus, will use their powers in order to make money. Like this repairman which was a 7th stage Terra Practitioner, there are also other Practitioners from other countries seeking jobs. Like an Aqua Practitioner that is working in a clinic in Fiera, and specializes in mixing antidotes and removing poisons. After fixing the two holes and other small dents on the floor, the repairman had finally finished his job. While he had seen the destruction, he was not that surprised as this could be considered a daily task for him. ¡°Little miss, where is the general today? It seems he is not present. Who would pay?¡± ¡°Oh, dad went out for a date today. While he is away, I would be the one paying.¡± Yassi approached the middle-aged man while still halfway through with her carrot. She then brought out her Gold Storage Card and then the repairman also did the same. The repairman brought his card forward and then Yassi placed her card atop the repairman¡¯s. The Gold Storage Card of Yassi shone with a gold light and then the value of her card dropped by 25. When the repairman saw this happening, he smiled a little and then backed out. He checked all of the rooms once more in order to see if he missed anything before leaving the house. Once more... Yassi was bored. After munching on her carrot for a while, she heard something that somehow made her quite happy. She had heard the door swinging open... Yassi ran to the door and she found two people that she had been waiting for. It was her father and her big sis Requa. Ycarus went forth and ruffled the hair of Yassi but Herebia only glanced at her and then proceeding forward. When she saw the reaction of her big sis, Yassi was quite disappointed. But then, when Herebia reached the bend on the hallway, with her back facing Yassi, her voice sounded out. ¡°You should be able to create unstable black chaos orbs right now. If you aren¡¯t then, you would either be a talent less lad or a lazy one.¡± ¡°Big sis, don¡¯t call me that! Humph, I could create something as easy as that!¡± A smile then formed at the corner of Herebia lips as she shook her head slightly. She proceeded forward and then her figure was finally not visible to Yassi. Then a voice echoed out in the hallway. ¡°That¡¯s good then. Continue practicing. Ycarus, we should start now!¡± ¡°Sigh... where to? Should we head to the garden?¡± ¡°Then lead the way!¡± After the voice echoed out, Herebia returned to the entrance and was greeted by the gazes of Ycarus and Yassi. The atmosphere turned awkward, and then Yassi coughed a little and decided to break the silence. ¡°Sis, why did you leave before? Did you do it because... you wanted to look coo-¡° ¡°Nope. Let¡¯s go Ycarus.¡± Herebia didn¡¯t let Yassi finish and the dragged Ycarus into the house. Ycarus shook his head helplessly and then he face-palmed. ¡°Requa. That¡¯s the wrong way.¡± ¡°... then lead the way.¡± Bowing her head in defeat, Herebia followed after Ycarus while Yassi trailed behind, almost unable to endure her laughter. When they reached the garden, Yassi sat at the corner and then munched on another carrot that she had taken on the way to the garden. Ycarus sat cross-legged while Herebia also did the same. They stared at each other and then Herebia spoke up, impatience was evident on her voice. ¡°What are we waiting for Ycarus? Just teach me the Ignis Syllabus already!¡± [18] Tranquil Days ¡°Wait is that it?¡± ¡°What do you mean by is that it?!¡± ¡°That was too easy. I could surely master it in a day or two.¡± Looking nonchalantly at her audience like usual, Herebia snapped her fingers as she manipulated the nearby fire particles. Forming them to make a thread as thin as possible, she suddenly made them line up in group of two¡¯s. Yassi was also watching the changes in the elemental particles and was surprised on what Herebia was doing. She was bewildered as this was not the proper way to execute the Ignis Syllabus. ¡°Um, Sis Requa, what are you doing with those particles?¡± ¡°Teaching you how to make an [Elemental Thread]. It is a weakened version of my [Chaos Thread] but it should do you good for the time being. You could ambush unknowing noobs by tying a thread around there neck and then...¡± Herebia paused as she pointed to a nearby rock. The invisible line of particles suddenly moved and crashed towards each other. Due to the friction between particles, fire was created and due to the particles being lined to a thread, the fire looked as thin as a hair. Suddenly tightening on the rock, the fire thread was tied around it. But... when the fire thread came into contact with the it, the rock melted in a speed that almost as fast as a blade swing. Due to this, the rock was cut in half. Ycarus, who was observing from the sidelines, suddenly felt fear. If that thread were to be tied around his neck then... Heads would surely roll. Although Herebia demonstrated a new ability for her, Yassi felt some fear inside of her. She new that the extremely elegant fashion choker in her neck was made up of pure chaos particles. Herebia could definitely snap her finger and that choker would tighten around her neck. A thread as thin as a hair could cut through rocks, why not a choker as thick as a finger? Herebia had said that learning the Ignis Syllabus is easy, which is certainly is. The only problem she is having now is on how she will incorporate her new found abilities to further improve her Chaos Tome. ¡®Aven said that I could perfect my Chaos Tome if I study these syllabus¡¯s, but... how? How should I improve it...? I need to think about this for some time...¡¯ ¡°Hmm... Wait. I just remembered something. Shouldn¡¯t we get a doctor for Uncle Toasted Buns?¡± ¡°Toasted Buns?¡± ¡°Yeah! I¡¯m kinda worried about him...¡± Ignoring her father¡¯s confusion, Yassi looked at Herebia for permission. She didn¡¯t know anything about Herebia and Hilroy¡¯s relationship, but she knew that she needed Herebia¡¯s permission for these things. Herebia heard the voice of Yassi and then also remembered about the doctor. She somehow forgot about it around this morning as the conversation of Aven still bugged her. ¡®Wait, speaking of the conversation of Aven... that sadistic god said that he had Hilroy¡¯s soul. Even a doctor couldn¡¯t solve that... and I also don¡¯t want Hilroy waking up now.¡¯ This was because of the grudge between Hilroy and Ycarus. The root of the problem was still a mystery for Herebia, and she was slightly confused as to why Hilroy hates Ycarus, while Ycarus looks like he doesn¡¯t even know Hilroy. Ycarus didn¡¯t react in the slightest when he saw Hilroy¡¯s face. ¡°Do as you wish.¡± Although she knew that it was useless, she still approved of it as she saw the small trace of worry on Yassi¡¯s eyes. Smiling widely, Yassi jumped on her feet and then sped off out of the house. Ycarus didn¡¯t care and so did Herebia. When both of them were alone, Herebia looked at Ycarus and then asked a peculiar question. ¡°Ycarus, does dragon scales exist in the market?¡± ¡°Eh? Dragon scales? Is that even something that you could buy on the market?¡± ¡°So they do exist. I was worried they those overgrown lizards are already extinct.¡± Scratching his head, Ycarus stood up and then chuckled slightly. He stood up and then beckoned Herebia to follow him. She wasn¡¯t doing anything important, so Herebia decided to follow after him. When they reached the kitchen, Ycarus, without any warning, coated a finger of his with fire particles. This made his finger shine red like a glowing blade. Herebia watched as Ycarus plunged his finger on a certain part of the wall, melting it in the process. Ycarus dug the wall for a bit and then he felt something hard, he stopped digging. Using his fingers, he plucked a small box out of the wall. ¡°Dragon scales are inside that thing, huh. Where did you get those?¡± ¡°It was something my wife hid. She said that maybe we would need it someday.¡± ¡°Your wife? No wonder. She is a Drazian after all.¡± Ycarus brought the box towards the table and then opened it. Herebia was also watching from a seat nearby. As big as a coin, blood red and they emitted a fiery aura. This was enough to describe these scales. They were the scales of a dragon, and the box contained 3 of them. Herebia took one and then, just like Ycarus, coated her finger with fire particles. Ycarus saw what Herebia wanted to try and he then panicked. ¡°Hey, be careful with that! That is a memento of my wife!¡± ¡°Relax. If these were the scales of a true dragon, no fire other than the origin could break it. This Ignis Syllabus definitely does not have the power to break a scale of a true dragon.¡± Without further ado, Herebia pressed her finger against the first scale. When the scale came in contact with Herebia¡¯s glowing finger, a frying sound could be heard. !? Surprised, Herebia immediately pulled out her finger and found out that she made a hole in the scale. She then knitted her brow as she stared hard at the scale in front of her. Ycarus stood at the side with an ashen face, as he realized that maybe... Herebia would fry all three. ¡°Well, that one was a dud. That could¡¯ve been the scale of a young dragon. Although that would be good for a full Drazian, it would not suffice for Yassi. Let¡¯s try the other two.¡±You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°Wait-¡° Not listening to Ycarus, Herebia pulled out her other arm and simultaneously stabbed both of the remaining scales. This time, there was no sound. Smirking, Herebia slowly retreated her fingers to see the conditions of the scales. They were still in there former luster, but the fiery aura it wielded before intensified with a small amount. Before they looked like dull yet powerful scales, now they shone with a red glow as if the scales were still attached to a dragon. ¡°These two are good. Now then, two shall be good for now.¡± ¡°Wait Requa, you never told me what these were for.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, thanks for reminding me. Actually these are for...¡± * * * * * ¡°I¡¯m back! I brought the doctor!¡± Slamming the front door open, Yassi entered the house while literally dragging a doctor inside with her. Herebia and Ycarus were playing card game in the kitchen, which in all honesty was boring for them. Both of them heard the shout of Yassi and they finally found something to do. ¡°Hey, show respect to the man. Do not drag him like a sack!¡± ¡°I give you permission to drag him. Continue what your doing and you will grow into a splendid woman, like me.¡± Ycarus glared at the direction of Herebia while she was nonchalant as always. Ycarus shook his head helplessly and watched her daughter drag the helpless doctor towards Hilroy¡¯s room. ¡°How could she even drag someone as big as an adult?¡± ¡°She has the blood of a Drazian. Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re wife didn¡¯t try to drag you one time before?¡± ¡°Thats...¡± Ycarus was speechless as a memory flashed inside his mind. His wife indeed dragged him a lot back in the day. Towards the market, the front lines in battle, and towards the bathroom. Oh and by the way, Herebia didn¡¯t use [Zera : Memory]. ¡°Kid, Aiyo! Stop dragging me!¡± ¡°You¡¯re coming with me! You have no other choice!¡± Along the way towards the room of Hilroy, there was also another room of notice. This room was where Faye was tied up. Yassi made a mistake and opened the room that held Faye captive instead and she saw what her step-mothers state was. All limbs tied to the edges of the bed using [Chaos Threads]. She was haggard and a gag was placed over her mouth, which was also made of chaos particles, to prevent her from screaming out. There was also a beautiful ornament on her neck, a choker, just like Yassi. ¡°Wrong room.¡± Looking at Faye for five seconds or so, Yassi slammed the door shut and then preceded towards the other room. When she reached the correct one, she once again, slammed it open in hopes that the sound would actually wake up Hilroy. Herebia saw the little girl enter Hilroy¡¯s room as she chuckled. She did not follow after her like Ycarus, but what she did was enter another room. She entered the room where Faye was locked at. Inside the room, Herebia locked the door and then she made lots of hand seals. Chaos particles rampaged around the room and then they glued themselves all around it. The room was coated in the inside with chaos particles. The particles didn¡¯t allow any sound, air, or light to pass through, making this the ultimate cage. If light could not pass through, that means that inside of the chaos particle shell, darkness reigned. Herebia could easily remedy this by creating floating balls of fire using the fire particles. ¡°Now then...¡± Flicking her hand, Herebia made Faye¡¯s body stand up right as more [Chaos Threads] bound her body. The gag in Faye¡¯s mouth disappeared as Herebia was extremely sure that a sound definitely not escape this place. Faye was conscious all this time and she was looking for an opportunity to break free. She has not found any yet, because she found out that no matter how much force she exerts, those black threads would not even budge. They were much more sturdy than a wall itself. !!! She had felt that the threads on her hands loosened a bit and Faye used this chance to join her hands together in an attempt to form a hand seal. Her eyes flashed with desperation and as she saw her hands... ... not reach one another. She was dumbfounded. She tried to retreat back her arm and then try again in order to gain momentum but still. They could not reach. There is that one inch space between her hands. ¡°Ha ha ha! You think I¡¯ll let you? That was just me teasing you. You¡¯ll never be able to escape. At most you¡¯re dead body would.¡± Faye looked at both her hands and then she resigned herself to her faith. She stretched them apart again and with a face full of fear and depression she looked at Herebia. ¡°What do you want with me now? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re gonna take me hostage against my brother. That¡¯ll never work.¡± ¡°I know. That would never work. I met with Zeal today and could tell that he is much colder than what you think. When he threw you with Ycarus, he already abandoned you.¡± And of course, Herebia is lying. This was only Herebia psychologically attacking Faye, weakening her resolve so that she could spit out more information. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t know that! He is MY BROTHER!!! How would you know more than ME!¡± ¡°Oh I know. Why? Because I could read someone¡¯s memories. He he he... Here let me show you a part of my abilities.¡± Herebia suddenly brought her hands together and begun to make hand seals. After a while, she pointed at Faye and then a [Chaos Thread] poked through the back side of Faye¡¯s head. [Zera : Memory]! Once again, Herebia could not read minds. She was only doing this in order to frighten her victim and reinforce the lie about her abilities. She was certain that unusual flashing memories could somehow be used as a proof of her non-existent mind reading abilities. Watching a set of memories, Faye¡¯s eyes glazed over as she was flooded by those abnormal memories. When she returned to consciousness and saw Herebia¡¯s face, She turned ashen immediately and tried to retreat. Seeing her like this made Herebia smirk. ¡°Now do you believe me? Anyway, that is not what I came here for. I came here to feed you.¡± ¡°Feed... me?¡± ¡°Yup. I wouldn¡¯t want you dying before you serve your worth. Eat up! I would only be doing this once a day.¡± * * * * * Herebia¡¯s schedule was always the same. Practice some magic in the morning, Go with Ycarus when something important happens, and then feed Faye in the afternoon. This was how Herebia mostly spent her time. About the doctor that Yassi dragged inside the house, Herebia didn¡¯t expect that he would become interested in Hilroy¡¯s condition and would visit him at least once a day. He described Hilroy¡¯s condition as ¡®abnormally rare¡¯. Herebia didn¡¯t really care so the doctor was allowed to inspect Hilroy¡¯s state. Interrogating Faye was something that Herebia does once every two days but she is finding out that interrogating her is a wasted effort as most of the information she has left is useless for Herebia. A week passed like that with Herebia doing the same things. She cooks, she eats, she sleeps, and she bathes. Yassi also practiced using the Chaos Tome and her improvement could be seen by the naked eye. She also mastered the art of using the [Fire Thread]. Unlike the first night, Aven didn¡¯t really appear on the following nights. * * * * * ¡°Yawn!!¡± Standing up from her bed, Herebia stretched her body like usual. Deactivating the [Chaos Bombs] on her window and door, she stood up and began to change. Like usual, She would remove her magically created clothe and then make another one. Since she had already mastered the control of the fire particles, she could also use them when she makes clothes and that is why Herebia will be wearing maroon clothes today. She had also found out that by combining her knowledge with the Ignis Syllabus and the Chaos Tome, she could use another type of energy. It was a flame. A flame that would suck out the fire inside of one''s own soul. It was a never ending blaze. An advanced element, named Inferno After she had completed her clothes, Herebia once again looked at the window and she saw something peculiar. She could see the road through her window and she could see a reflection of water on the road. This could only happen if there really was some water there or if it was a mirage. Herebia suspects that it was something else. ¡®Mirage? Impossible. Were still at the morning, the roads should still be cold... Oh, right. It¡¯s about time, huh?¡¯ Seriousness was evident on Herebia¡¯s face as she flicked her finger in order to materialize a mask. This mask covered her entire face except the eyes. Herebia did this because she was expecting something... 3... 2... 1... Herebia back stepped and then a second later a gust of hot wind traveled in front of her. This gust was extremely thin and the power behind it was enough to cleave a someone into two. ¡°Oh my... He he he, time to play...¡± She smiled a little and then retreated into the shadows. She blended with it and then vanished like thin air. Herebia had used the power of ghosts. ¡°Tch!¡± Outside the house stood a man in a hood. He looked around if someone saw him and when he confirmed that no one was around, he leapt forward with his foot in front of him. His feet collided with the window of Herebia¡¯s room, breaking it and allowing him to enter it. The hooded figure looked around and when he confirmed that no one was inside the room, he stood up from his defensive position. When he stood up, the light of the rising sun shone upon his face, revealing his identity to the hidden shadow lurking just around the corners of the room. It was Zeal, the Ignis King. Herebia looked at the one who had arrived before her and she couldn¡¯t help but laugh inwardly. ¡®Excellent. Truly... excellent! You have stepped right to my trap, you foolish king.¡¯